Chapter 158: Drawing The Sword (1/2)

ever since the death of donglin yuhuang, head of house donglin, all of the visiting dao immortals had withdrawn from dusk province, too nervous to remain in this strange territory. as a result, all of the delegations were headed by peerless immortals.

grudges, big and small, had always existed between different factions. dao immortals were the cornerstones of a major faction’s power, its strongest combat strength. it would be a grievous loss if one of them died to a plot in a place like dusk province.

yet the qing clan’s dao immortal had come in broad daylight to chastise the governor!

the previous free-for-all had ended not long ago, and the title of the five youth sovereigns was imprinted on everyone’s mind. among them, lu yun was publicly recognized as number one.

however, a dao immortal had come to spoil the party before he could even catch his breath, assaulting his residence with a great treasure and turning it upside down. the title of youth sovereign was nothing but a joke to such a powerhouse. there were also many people keen to laugh at lu yun’s expense.

the five youth sovereigns had stormed unopposed through the cultivators of the entire immortal world, and had even defeated immortals. such prowess left various factions seething with jealousy and resentment—why couldn’t they have equally promising talents of their own?

by calling lu yun to account, the dao immortal was bound to strike a lethal blow at the prestige of the so-called five youth sovereigns and cause their influence to plummet. all would know that a youth sovereign was nothing but a child that crumbled at the first blow from a true heavyweight. lofty immortals were still the real masters of the world.

prodigies?

exceptional prodigies had emerged en masse after the great war, as numerous as carp in the river or grains of sand on the beach. however, only a handful had ultimately developed to peak powerhouses, while the names of most others were quickly forgotten.

thus, it would be best for these so-called youth sovereigns to keep their heads low before maturing and refrain from provoking people they couldn’t afford to offend. otherwise, lu yun was a prime example of the consequences they’d suffer.

……

thousands of miles away from dusk city, on a verdant mountain peak.

zhao changkong, chen xiao, and qing buyi sat face to face, engaged in conversation when chen xiao suddenly froze and looked at dusk city.

“was this your goal all along when you lured the two of us here?” chen xiao fixated the crown prince with an icy glare.

“i’m simply doing someone a favor,” zhao changkong replied, unruffled. “i’ve already confirmed that it’s neither the qing clan nor the two of you backing lu yun. that means there’s another influence behind him, one that doesn’t belong to nephrite major. since my imperial father is about to go into seclusion, someone of unknown origins like lu yun will become a malignant tumor sooner or later. i might as well excise him as soon as possible.”

the prince leisurely lifted his teacup and carefully tasted the tea inside.

qing buyi looked at zhao changkong, his tone deadly serious. “lu yun was in the middle of healing my younger brother qing han. the two of us should’ve gone to keep an eye on him, but you called us here and let that old fellow qing quan attack the manor. if something happens to my brother, you can kiss the imperial throne goodbye.”

zhao changkong stiffened.

“the one whose leg i broke last time, then-crown prince shenguang was it? he should be your younger brother. if qing han is injured, i’ll kill that old fossil with my own hands, and zhao shenguang will become nephrite major’s next celestial emperor.”

chen xiao nodded as well. as serene as still water, he took his teacup and gently sipped from it while zhao changkong’s expression twisted into a grimace. the current crown prince had no doubt that chen xiao and qing buyi would make good on their word.

……

the cultivators of dusk city were very tense, including wu tulong, dong fanghao, zi chen, and mo qitian. they’d been in the middle of sharing their insights, but had now risen to their feet and stared fixedly at the several hundred qing immortals in the air.