"City Lord, I am sorry to interrupt your meeting, but there is a matter of utmost importance for me to report." The [Hall Protecting Formation] activated as soon as Lei Su had acted. And so, none of the events that took place inside the [Meeting Hall of the Manor] had alerted any cultivators outside, not even the guards who stood by the gates of the latter.
It wouldn't usually be so, as the [Hall Protecting Formation] was also programmed to activate all the highest alerts in the city. But between Lei Su and Zhu Chen, the formation was activated fully, trying to suppress both hostiles above the level of the current ruler, Lady Liao, and had no qi left to enact the alerts.
With the guards outside unaware of the incident inside and seeing a red flag emblazoned with Zhu Gao's name, they wouldn't dare to stop the messenger and even ushered him inside, his arrival, strangely, overlapping with the formation's deactivation as both hostiles retracted their auras.
Thus, the simple Sage realm soldier, one of the guards in the city's prison, ran into the [Meeting Hall of the Manor] without meeting any obstruction or knowing anything. And he would immediately start his report - right after excusing himself and kneeling before Dongpo Liao, his liege.
***
Dongpo Liao sensed something was wrong. The soldier arriving before her, holding the red flag of urgency, was something unexpected, but it was still inside what she could foresee. In the end, she was the leader of the city. Thus, urgent messages were a common occurrence, especially in a city that wasn't high tier but would be visited by several dozens of powerhouses each year, both the roads and the [Teleportation Formations] considered. Even if crashing in during a negotiation, Lady Liao wouldn't feel anything but thrill, as, after all, any urgent situation that only she could resolve would be a significant help to create an image of a ruler, which she would later use as to pressure any person she was talking with.
But this time, Dongpo Liao felt that the news wouldn't help her. Call it a gut feeling or the true awakening of the 7th sense; she believed the messenger shouldn't speak lest she landed in an unfavorable position. Not daring to shout a command in the presence of the three people who were her current headache, she raised her hand - as to command a stop. But regretfully, the young soldier, someone who was literally meeting the city's head for the first time, understood the command differently and began hurriedly speaking, revealing the reasons for his intrusion.
"I was sent here on the command of Head Warden Zhu to meet Minister Tang and inform him of an event related to a recent prisoner. Regretfully, I learned that the Minister left the Palace. Thus, with no other instruction but the one of urgency, I overstepped my boundaries and forced my way here, interrupting your meeting." Wang Li was just one of the medium-tier guards, and so he had never had a chance to interact directly with any of the true powerhouses of the city. Just a command from Zhu Gao had made him rush away at utmost speed, and now, before the City Lord, he could only shiver as he recounted his reasons for breaking in, not daring to look up as he kneeled.
Because of his subservience, Wang Li would miss Lady Liao's killing glare and headshake. And, in place of shutting up, he would take the silence as a signal to continue speaking, which he did, "Lord Qingqiu ordered and captured a person called Bai Qi, who had thoroughly offended both his esteemed self and the entire [Dongpo] clan by unspeakable crimes."
"Stop speaking!" Feeling how all of her advantage from before slipped through her hands, Dongpo Lian didn't contain herself, and as she spoke, a heavy burst of aura and qi rushed towards the guard, intending to silence him before he continued. Just the fact it was her son was the sole responsible for the capture was already out of what she was ready to admit before, and it was clear that the guard hadn't finished explaining. After all, if Zhu Gao sent an urgent messenger, other things were going on. Matters of such importance that even the best cultivator of the city, in the open, was forced to call for counsel.
*Crack*
Just as Dongpo Liao's silencing attack was about to reach the kneeling and looking down guard, who hadn't even noticed the danger yet, a far more powerful power resolved the current City Lord's aura and qi, all without making a single sound except for the one of a crack forming on the jade seat she was sitting it.
A qi transmission would enter her mind right after, {Liao'er, I would very much like to know what trouble my grandson attracted now. I have already cautioned you from acting overbearing, with dozens of powers eyeing the [Jade Qi Spring] which supports this city. But you have learned nothing from the stories about my defeats and concessions.}
***
Lei Su and Zhu Chen had noticed Lady Liao's attack and had been ready to counter it before it could silence the guard, feeling that the latter had something more to disclose about Bai Qi. They had already held themselves back when they heard Bai Qi's name, and now, they weren't planning to lose the chance to pressure the [Dongpo] clan.
Yet, as they gathered their aura and qi to launch a counterattack, they sensed that both of them were suppressed by a far greater power, one which came from a being that had already reached the Warrior Emperor realm. And they had to retract their power before being crushed by the latter.
Pan Tong wasn't a Warrior King, and so his reaction had been far slower. Even so, he was the first to speak as the Warrior Emperor's aura expanded while crushing Dongpo Liao's sudden attack. Having interacted with a good deal of Emperors before, and with an Emperor following him around, the reason he had even been able to interrupt the clash between the Warrior Kings before, he held no great fear before Dongpo Ao's aura's separation, even if the latter was heads above his realm.
"Lord Dongpo Ao, I am very happy to be present for your auspicious return to the [Dongpo] clan." Pan Tong wasn't so bad himself, with his cultivation already reaching the levels of known figures in the world around his age, but he was still far from a true Warrior King, what to mention a Warrior Emperor. Thus, no matter the protection he had, nor his background, he first chose to congratulate Dongpo Ao for breaking whatever had been holding him back at the 1st level of the Warrior Emperor realm, the reason for his defeats, and now presenting an aura apparition comparable to a 2nd level Peak Emperor, with the latter meaning his true strength had reached the 3rd level, the same as the [Pan Trade Family] main external guardian, Wang Yelu, an elder of one of the [Wang Great Family] factions that had become so indebted that had to offer his services to the Pan's in exchange for a debt closure as many did before.
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"Pan Baili's son, you're not so bad!" Hearty laughter, which couldn't be expected from a simple aura apparition resounded. And indeed, as soon as the laughter faded, the previous Emperor-tier aura dissolved before being replaced by a more powerful one - one that was actually alive.
Dongpo Ao hadn't appeared in the flesh, but just the change in aura already signified he had left secluded seclusion and was about to enter the [Meeting Hall of the Manor].
The Emperor's aura grew in strength with every breath, but surprisingly, it wasn't just Lei Su or Zhao Chen the ones to wobble on their feet and feel as if they had lost all of their strength, but also Dongpo Liao, Dongpo Zan, and Zhu Yun felt the same.
An Emperor's aura was indiscriminate, and except for the people that the Emperor himself wanted to be freed from his suppression - all would be suppressed. And in this case, it seemed that Dongpo Ao had not even tried to protect them at all.
***
Eventually, except for two people, everyone in the entire hall would be slowly pressed to their knees. Some in a more forceful way, like Zhu Yun and Lei Su, the latter crashing against the ground even as she released all of her sword comprehension and used her weapon to try and withstand the Emperor's aura. Others, like Dongpo Liao, were sent down from any seat or standing point, forcing them to kneel before the seat of the city lord. As for the non-resisting Zhu Chen, he was simply dropped to one knee, as if in a simple salute and not submission.
Pan Tong was one of the still-standing people, even without the still-concealed protector behind him interfering, although the latter was ready to but was stopped by both Pan Tong's command and Donpo Ao's goodwill message. As for the other person, who had been brought up from kneeling, it was Wang Li, the Sage realm guard that had rushed into the [Meeting Hall of the Manor] with his urgent report.
----------------------------------------
Half an hour after Dongpo Ao finished his interrogation of Wang Li, Pan Tong, and the others.
The [Eastern Inscription City] prison was probably the most guarded place in the entire city. Except for the city guarding formations, they had not only the best defense but also had a manner to counterattack cultivators of the Warrior King level. In fact, as attacks of cultivators couldn't gather enough force to penetrate the prison's defenses, they would be shot back. And woe the cultivator that couldn't dodge his own full power.
While in other cities it would be the Palace to have the best protection, in [Eastern Inscription City], it was the prison, with reasons going back for over seven hundred years.
While with his status, Dongpo Ao could enter it without trouble, as he could do so in any formation or forbidden zone of the city, he still chose to force his way in. Partially as a way to intimidate the five people carried by his aura, partially as to show the hidden Warrior Emperor that he could deal with him by himself, but had a lot of formations to use against him as well.
No matter if he had allowed his daughter to rule the city as he secluded, he had never done so officially before the Overlord's 1st tier vassal in charge of this area, the [Boulder Forest Sect], or even the relevant powers nearby, he was still the official ruler, and now, he had left seclusion.
It was also a way to show that he invested himself entirely to resolve the incident, as from Wang Li's words, he would learn that Bai Qi's identity was something that could provoke big problems for the city, even if he had reached the 3rd level of the Warrior Emperor realm, and could be considered an expert of the region.
<[Shoumen City Hall], the [Void Palace], and even a friendship message on the conqueror arena, signed by no one but Lord Yi himself. Now declared as a friend by Pan Tong and a ward of elders from powers such as the [White Grove] and [Yuxuan] city...> Even in seclusion, Dongpo Ao had been receiving the latest important news from his personal guards, which he had never passed to Dongpo Liao, and so, he was very well aware of the incidents in both the [Void Palace] and [Zihoadao Island].
He couldn't disrespect powers as such, as even if the latter had lost their vice-leader, and the former had suffered many losses, their real strength was far above the [Dongpo] clan and even city, what to say about either [Shoumen], [White Grove], or [Yuxuan].
Now, with the addition of the [Pan Trade Company], the forces behind Bai Qi, if allied by a cause, like his death, wouldn't need to even bow before a 1st-tier vassal like the [Boulder Forest Sect], not to mention some [Dongpo] clan, one which any of them, even with everything that had happened or was going on, could easily deal with, without even being held accountable by the Overlord, as each of the powers was also greatly contributing towards the war effort.
***
[Eastern Inscription City] inner formations were indeed centered around the prison, and they could stop even an expert of the Warrior Emperor of the advanced stages. Still, not only Dongpo Ao was more powerful than his 3rd level cultivation, but he also knew every detail about the city's formations, so he flew through without even breaking a sweat, easily breaking through all of the formations.
Still, the formations around the prison were of a higher level than the ones in the city's manor, alerting all of the experts, including the hidden ones, of the city. In fact, they even alerted the hidden cards of the city, the Yinhao's, a couple of 9th level Warrior Kings that had been concealing themselves from both the world and the current [Dongpo] clan, their orders always unchanged, to prevent anyone from breaking into, or out of, the prison.
***
While the show he was putting on was important, Dongpo Ao didn't plan to force his way into the prison he was the lord of, and so, as soon as he passed the formations, and even before the alerted experts and soldiers flew up to block him, Dongpo Ao spread his aura while taking out the City Lord's seal, another item that he had never passed down to his daughter, perfectly aware of the misuse she could commit with the unlimited authority item.
"Greetings, Lord." The Yinghao couple swiftly flew out to meet the threat. But not a breath later, they demonstrated their quick understanding and respect by kneeling before Dongpo Ao. Showcasing not only their advanced cultivation but also their sharp reaction speed.
While both Lei Su and Pan Tong knew that it was just a show of might, directed at the former as well as Zhu Chen, who did have some knowledge about the true powers in the city, neither of the three could avoid praising Dongpo Ao's methods.
It would be a few moments later that Zhu Gao, the officially strongest cultivator of the city, who was also alerted by the formations shatter, appeared in the sky, dragging Dongpo Qingqiu, who he had been preventing, for some time, from torturing Bai Qi.
Zhu Gao knew the Yinhiao couple and had studied under the female elder, Yinhiao Yai, years ago. Thus, he wasn't so surprised to see them react to the breakthrough even before himself. What did surprise him was to see Dongpo Ao in the flesh, the lord who hadn't appeared in public for several years. The man who had subjugated the Zhu family but also gave them a way to live while serving the city of their birth.
*Plop*
Releasing Dongpo Qingqiu, without even caring if the latter could prevent himself from falling down from the several hundred feet they were in the air, Zhu Gao went to a knee while cupping his fists.
"Tell me, what has happened in the city, that even the prison head warden, the head of the Zhu's, is implicated in an incident that made me leave seclusion?" Continuing the play, Dongpo Ao boomed, even not caring about the now now-falling grandson. A Warrior Lord - even as fake as Qingqiu, wouldn't be so heavily injured from a fall like this. So, if it would help him later, why would he care? Especially since the one to be injured was also the culprit behind his forced appearance, which he had planned to do in other, far better circumstances?!