That sound, like a rain of swords slicing through the air, naturally came from the yao servants of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda.
Just as the situation settled down, the yao servants and Outsider Rulers arrived as reinforcements. Eight Outsider rulers led the group, while the other rulers remained at the city gates, four per direction, to maintain control of the city.
There were lots of people you couldn’t offend, and Ye Zichen was one of them.
Word of him had spread far and wide: he was the nephew of Xuan Ji, the head of the Profound Pavilion, and the Association of Saints’ Lord of Seven Stars was his mother. As of yet, Zhou Wu had not listed either faction amongst his enemies, so he repeatedly ordered the Bai Family to treat them with caution and avoid causing any rifts.
Bai Yulong had seen through Ye Zichen’s identity, but he still didn’t get it…
Rumor had it that Ye Zichen had only opened the first two floors for the Yao-Sealing Pagoda, but now it seemed he could open it and release the third floor’s diviner-level yao servants as well.
More importantly, although Bai Yulong wracked his brains, he couldn’t recall ever interacting with Ye Zichen. They’d never met, or even seen one other, so why did Ye Zichen hate him so much?
“You’ve got the gates under control?” Ye Zichen ignored him and turned to the rulers and yao servants.
“Spirit City’s gates have fallen completely under our control. We left enough people at each gate to hold them, but we worried about your safety, so some of us came over to reinforce you,” said an Outsider ruler.
“Good.” Ye Zichen nodded.
All of a sudden, Bai Yulong cut in. “Brother Ye.”
Now it seemed that there was a change, but not the one he’d expected. Bai Yulong was flattering him!
“Brother Ye, what happened between us was undoubtedly a misunderstanding. I don’t know how I’ve offended you to make you this angry. How about we get it all out in the open and talk things over? Please give me a chance to explain myself.”
“My family and I serve the God Emperor, and are loyal to him and his estate. Lady Providence also serves under the God Emperor’s Estate, and furthermore, she’s the God Emperor’s favored subordinate. We are allies, not enemies. If we have a grudge, we should talk it through. Is there any need for all of this?”
Bai Yulong’s words sounded heartfelt, but Ye Zichen only laughed.
HIs laughter was sinister and hideous. “Are you playing dumb, or do you really not understand?” Ye Zichen glanced at Bai Yulong coldly. “A misunderstanding? Even now, you’re trying to tell me this is just a misunderstanding? Fine, I’ll tell you so you don’t die in ignorance. Do you remember the Battle of Geniuses?”
…
“There’s no need for us at all,” said one of the hidden Profound Pavilion Divine Generals, the mustached man. He pursed his lips resentfully.
From the look of things, Ye Zichen and his allies were at an absolute advantage. Although they had a disadvantage in terms of sheer numbers, Yang Jian and the other imperial-level rulers were each worth thousands of ordinary troops.
Now that the yao servants and Outsider rulers had arrived, their advantage grew, until now it seemed like victory was all-but inevitable.
“What do you mean?” said the mustached man, his eyes glinting.
“The Bai Family is a family clan Zhou Wu spent thousands of years developing. If Young Master Ye could use nothing but a three-fourths unsealed Yao-Sealing Pagoda to wipe them out, Zhou Wu might as well just give up and drop dead,” said the elegant man.
“What are you saying?”
The elegant man glared and snorted in response. Meanwhile, Thirteen put down her hand mirror and said, “Fifth Bro is saying that the Bai Family has yet to reveal its true strength. The ones outside are just a bunch of losers and small fries, while the true elites have yet to show up. Otherwise, why would Boss send us here? Surely you don’t think she’d send us here just to take a vacation?”
“Thirteen’s the smart one, as expected. Ol’ Three, you….”
‘
“Call me ‘Third Bro!’” shouted the mustached man.
The elegant man shrugged resentfully. Calling a meathead like this his brother? He naturally didn’t want to. Besides, “Third Bro” had seniority over him, making him the “older brother.” Worst of all, Ol’ Four was here too, which meant that as “Ol’ Five,” he was one of the juniors!
“Put simply, you’re saying that the Bai Family still has something up their sleeves, right?”
“Then how much longer are we going to wait? My fists are already….” Before he could finish his sentence, he stopped, then forced the rest of it back down.
Thirteen put down her mirror. Ol’ Five put away his fan, and the most junior of them all, eighteen, stopped sharpening his axe.
The God of Wine staggered to his feet, then returned his gourd to his waste.
“Gather your things. It’s almost time to stretch our muscles.”
….
No matter how dense Bai Yulong was, by now, he knew what Ye Zichen was referring to.
He’d only fought once in the entire Battle of Geniuses, and that was at God Emperor Zhou Wu’s request: he’d been ordered to test the Sea of Innocence’s Xue Family.
In that battle, he’d offended the Sea of Innocence, and now, the Bai Family stood at odds with them.
However, they had the God Emperor’s protection, so the Xue Family hadn’t dared to act against them. Even though Xue Mo was grievously injured, Bai Yulong was still living his usual, carefree life.
“You…..”
“You get it now, right?” laughed Ye Zichen. “Since I’ve already said this much, I’ll help you understand. Xue Mo is from Skyspan Academy, and coincidentally, I am too. Even more coincidentally, we’re rather close to each other. I heard that, in that pocket dimension, you were rather vicious to her indeed, to the point that she couldn’t even fight back. As her close friend, I’ve got to help her vent her anger, now don’t I?”
He understood.
He understood completely.
Bai Yulong suddenly recalled the last part of that battle. Only he and Xue Mo were left. The second young miss of the Sea of Innocence had even tried to convince him to succeed, saying the sword in the pocket dimension was very important to her. She had a friend who used swords, and she wanted to give it to him.
In order to compensate him for his losses, she offered to pay him an equivalent amount in other resources.
In the end, that sword wound up in Bai Yulong’s hands, but he didn’t keep it as spoils of his victory. Instead, as Xue Mo hung onto consciousness by a thread, he broke it, right in front of her.
He used the tip of the broken sword, pushing it between Xue Mo’s eyes and ruining her bloodline power.
Next, he stabbed right through her arms. Blood spilled down the broken sword, dripping into the dirt.
Bai Yulong stopped in accordance with the rules and ceased torturing her. Instead, he’d grabbed her by the air, then arrogantly dragged her out of the pocket dimension before flinging her onto the dirt.
Xuan Ji of the Profound Pavilion had personally treated her wounds to protect her life, as did the dean of Skyspan Academy.
Quite a few people had gathered around her, and when they saw the severity of wounds, they’d glared daggers at Bai Yulong, but none of them dared approach. They could only clench their vists and bury their hatred in their hearts.
Bai Yulong had maintained his victorious posture, then used the most disdainful gaze he could muster…. To look them right in the eye, then laugh.
But he never would have guessed that the friend Xue Mo mentioned was……
“You’ve understood,” said Ye Zichen. He laughed emotionlessly, then turned to the yao servants and outsider rulers. “Wipe them out! Don’t leave a single Bai Family member behind!”
