“Here are spirit recovery pills—everyone take one, get yourselves to peak condition. We move out in half an hour!” Tang Yan retrieved all the pills he’d left at the Tang estate, distributing one to each fighter.

Tang Ling’s eyelid twitched. These were genuine second-rank pills—worth a fortune!

Though it stung, he didn’t object. Compared to the payoff, this cost was trivial. Swallowing a pill, Tang Ling adjusted his state for battle.

Past the midpoint of Xu hour, Tang Ling’s fierce gaze snapped open. With a roar, the Tang family warriors sprang into readiness.

“Move out!” Tang Ling waved a hand, leading the guards in a thundering charge toward the Liu estate.

At the same moment, the city lord’s mansion issued a public notice:

*The Liu family, blinded by madness and audacious beyond measure, took advantage of Tang Yan and Lin Dongxue’s solitary journey to Fang City for the Eastern Domain Competition by secretly sending Liu Jing to assassinate them.*

*Tang Yan and Lin Dongxue represent Cloud City’s finest, indispensable talents of our Eastern Domain.*

*The Liu family’s actions outrage both man and heaven. Tonight, the city lord’s mansion joins forces with the Tang family to eradicate them. Any who aid the Liu family will be deemed traitors to the city and executed without mercy!*

The notice sent family spies scrambling to report back. Cloud City’s clans reeled in shock.

Targeting Tang Yan was one thing, but daring to strike at Lin Dongxue? That was a death wish.

As the announcement spread, the mansion’s elite converged on the Liu estate.

On a broad road leading to the Liu family, a scout raced toward their gates. The city lord’s mansion and Tang family joining forces to attack—if they weren’t warned, annihilation loomed!

Before he could reach the estate, a gust sliced through the air. Heart pounding, he threw a punch.

*Splurch!*

Pain stabbed as he realized a sword had struck him. His right arm was severed clean off.

Before he could scream, another blade flashed, slashing his throat.

In the darkness, Tang Yan’s striking face emerged.

Swiftly disposing of the body, he melted back into the shadows, awaiting the next scout.

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Sure enough, another Liu family runner soon dashed toward the estate.

His fate mirrored the first—throat slit before he could cry out.

Tang Yan cut down four scouts on this key route before two menacing forces approached.

A faint smile curved his lips. Phantom Step flared, and he vanished, finding a high perch to calmly watch the slaughter unfold.

“Who goes there!” Two Liu family guards at the gate barked as the forces arrived, their voices trembling with dread.

Six or seven hundred people loomed before them—where were the scouts?

Before they could process it, Tang Ling’s furious fist roared forth. “Who’s your grandma!”

*Boom! Boom!* An Earth Stage strike, swift as lightning, ended both guards instantly.

*Crash!* With a kick, Tang Ling smashed the Liu estate’s gate open, roaring, “No mercy!”

In his study, Liu Wuwei—the Liu family patriarch—pored over martial techniques. For peace, he’d moved his workspace to a secluded corner of the estate, its layout serene, insulated from outside noise.

This time, though, tranquility eluded him. A guard burst in. “Master, trouble! The Tang family and city lord’s mansion are attacking!”

Annoyed at the interruption, Liu Wuwei scowled. “What’s the panic! The Tang family and mansion hitting us? Where are they now—how many?”

“They’ve breached the gates! Many are already down—six or seven hundred, at least five hundred Yellow Stage fighters!” The guard’s voice cracked with desperation.

“What!” Liu Wuwei jolted upright. A Tang-Liu clash wouldn’t shock him, but why was the neutral city lord’s mansion involved?

In a flash, Liu Jing came to mind.

He’d sent Liu Jing to assassinate Tang Yan, but the fool hadn’t returned. Liu Wuwei had assumed he’d succeeded and was off enjoying himself. Now, it seemed the plan had unraveled!

Rushing from the room, he leapt to the front courtyard. Flames soared, bodies littered the ground—all Liu family members.

The enemy fought like madmen, brimming with ferocity.

If he knew each head fetched a hundred taels, he’d understand their zeal.

*It’s over. All over.*

Watching his family fall, Liu Wuwei’s heart sank to the abyss.

“Liu, you old cur! You dared send someone after my grandson—today, it’s you or me!” Spotting Liu Wuwei, Tang Ling charged, eyes blazing red.

“Earth Stage!” Liu Wuwei gasped, reeling at Tang Ling’s aura.

From a nearby ancient tree, Tang Yan perched on a branch. Seeing the Liu family’s doom sealed, he smirked, Phantom Step flickering as he darted toward their storehouse.

With the battle raging, the storehouse stood unguarded. Heaven and Earth Creation Fire melted the steel lock, and Tang Yan slipped inside.

Gold and jewels didn’t interest him. He hunted through the shelves, soon finding the spirit herb stash.

“Century-old Spirit Ginseng!”

“Withered Leaf Grass!”

“Lotus Stem!”

“Snow Marrow!”

Tang Yan’s eyes widened, heart blooming with glee. The long-dormant Heaven and Earth Creation Cauldron stirred to life.

“Tch, always perking up at times like this!” he muttered, chiding the cauldron, then got to work.

With the Spirit Storage Ring, gathering was a breeze.

The Liu family’s deep roots in Cloud City meant a hefty herb stockpile, despite lacking an alchemist. Tang Yan swept every valuable spirit herb clean.

Job done, he glanced at the battlefield. The Liu family was nearly finished. Breathing easy, he slipped away.

Back at the Tang estate, a stir in his dantian startled then thrilled him.

With his imminent departure from Cloud City, the Liu threat had weighed heavy. Their destruction tonight shattered that burden, smoothing his true energy’s flow.

Without hesitation, he returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating.

In Cloud City, a usually peaceful night now rang with clashing steel.

All eyes fixed on the Liu estate.

The city lord’s late-night notice sparked wild guesses. Had Liu Jing succeeded or failed? Why was the lofty mansion so ruthless this time?

Amid the chatter, a second announcement suddenly dropped from the city lord’s mansion.