Night.

Inside the Wu Family Collection,

A raging fire illuminated half the sky.

Thick plumes of smoke billowed toward the heavens.

Crumbling city walls, collapsing houses, buildings burned to ash—the prosperity of just a few days ago was utterly gone.

In its place,

was a battlefield of blood and chaos!

On every street and alley,

bodies lay everywhere in pools of blood.

"Kill! Charge!"

"Haha, I’m about to get rich!"

"You bastard, I’ll kill you!"

The surrounding battle cries rose and fell, weaving together with the roar of clashing Magic.

Fierce Tribulation Cultivators charged left and right under the moonlight, plundering everything in sight.

The major merchants in the Workshop could only bolt their doors, activate their Arrays, and let the madmen outside run rampant.

The battle had erupted too quickly!

One moment, the Wu Family Collection was a scene of prosperity, its streets brightly lit under the night sky, bustling with crowds like a flowing river.

The next, it was suddenly under a coordinated attack by more than twenty Cultivators at the Qi Introduction Late Stage.

Behind them followed dozens, even hundreds, of formidable Tribulation Cultivator groups.

In the span of just a dozen breaths,

the city walls were breached,

and the outer defenses were broken.

The Tribulation Cultivators drove deep into the city in a frenzy, unleashing a storm of blood and gore!

In the chaos,

there was no time to mount a defense, and the local forces were routed and scattered.

The leaders of the major merchant houses, hunkered down in their residences,

could only gather their people, fall back to their compounds, and continuously strengthen the defensive Arrays around them.

Many looked up toward the Wu Family’s estate.

They hoped the Wu Family would react quickly, crushing and scattering these invaders.

But at the same time,

a sliver of worry began to creep into some of their hearts.

"Who are these madmen? How dare they attack and plunder the Wu Family Collection? Aren’t they afraid of retaliation?"

"They must be Tribulation Cultivators. I recognize some of them! They’re on the wanted lists issued by Qing City!"

"They’re insane, grouping together to cause such a huge ruckus! After this, Qing City will probably launch a massive crackdown!"

"My fear is that this isn’t just a case of reckless Tribulation Cultivators, but that another power has a hand in this!"

In the darkness,

people spoke in low, grave voices.

A scene of this scale was a once-in-decades event, even in the outside world.

One didn’t have to think hard to sense the strangeness behind it all.

Behind this terrifying, earth-shaking incident, a higher-level game was likely being played!

However, compared to the few insightful individuals hiding in the shadows, calmly analyzing the situation with confidence,

most people were simply worried.

If even the Wu Family, the local hegemon, couldn’t stop this,

then next,

they would probably be finished along with the entire Wu Family!

Just then,

BOOM! A tremendous roar echoed through the entire city.

Everyone felt a vast surge of Magical Power from the city’s center.

"Wu Yuanzhi, you... you’ve already broken through to the Soul Emergence Realm?!?!"

An incredulous cry washed over the entire city at almost the same moment,

startling everyone.

But before the remaining people in the city could even process what it meant,

another series of even more violent, booming collisions followed, sending palpable vibrations through the entire city.

The battle over there seemed to have grown even more intense.

A quarter of an hour later,

"Hahaha! Wu Yuanzhi, what a scheme! Truly, what a scheme!"

"But do you really think you’ve won?"

"You managed to break through and advance to Soul Emergence without a Soul Emergence Pill."

"I suppose the old rumors about your Wu Family possessing a treasure trove of Cyan Essence Water Grass weren’t just rumors after all!"

"Hahaha! I’ll be waiting for you in the afterlife!"

Everyone in the city clearly heard his crazed shouts.

His voice was rushed, however, and his words were fragmented, as if he were facing a desperate siege from another person.

His situation seemed dire.

As his final, maniacal curse faded,

an earth-shattering BANG erupted.

The entire city shook violently,

and a dazzling Fireball rose from its center.

The man had self-detonated!

The entire city, at that moment, fell into a dead silence.

’Is it over?’

No.

It was all just beginning.

In the darkness,

countless pairs of eyes lit up.

...

「Meanwhile.」

In a certain valley.

Shen Changchuan and his party had stopped to rest for the night.

A simple fence had been erected around their camp.

At the center of the campfire,

Shen Changchuan sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed in meditation, performing his daily Cultivation.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something.

His eyes snapped open.

"Ambush! Be careful!"

With a shout,

he leaped up, landing on a high platform. His gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, shot in a certain direction.

Not far away, the Mortal Martial Artist who had been on patrol now lay in a pool of blood.

In his place,

stood two figures who had appeared from nowhere.

"We were discovered?"

"Impressive perception. No wonder the He Mountain Four Fierce ultimately fell at your hands."

A burly, one-eyed, bald man slowly emerged from the darkness behind the two figures.

His remaining eye stared at Shen Changchuan, his gaze filled with a slavering, covetous greed.

"But it’s a pity. Today, you will die here!"

"Attack!"

Following his roar,

figures leaped out from all directions—north, south, east, and west—

and descended upon the camp.

Unbeknownst to them,

the enemies had already formed an encirclement, completely surrounding the entire camp!

"You’re courting death!"

"Fools who don’t know their place! Everyone, let’s go! Kill them!"

At this moment,

alerted by Shen Changchuan’s earlier shout,

the other members of the party—Guo Cheng, Patriarch Li, and the four other Patriarchs—had all awoken.

Seeing the enemy attack without a word,

they didn’t waste time on words either.

With a roar, they charged forward.

The last time they were on the road, they had fled without a fight when attacked by men in black.

That incident had left a deep impression on them.

It hadn’t even been that long ago.

This time,

facing another ambush,

although they hadn’t yet grasped the situation,

they charged forward without the slightest hesitation, terrified of once again leaving a terrible impression on Eldest Young Master Shen.

Besides,

they had Eldest Young Master Shen, who could effortlessly slay a Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak expert, as their backup.

What was there to be afraid of?

All they had to do was charge!

However,

BANG! BANG! BANG!!!

With a series of dull thuds,

the men were sent flying back just as fast as they had charged forward!

They had no power to resist whatsoever.

The enemies opposite them didn’t even use any Magic; within a single breath, they had crushed them and sent them flying back with kicks.

At that moment,

even Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but facepalm in exasperation.

’Fucking hell. Every last one of them charged forward looking so menacing, but they’re all just paper tigers relying on someone else’s strength.’

"Die!"

Perhaps seeing Guo Cheng and the others crushed so easily,

a certain worry in the one-eyed bald man’s heart vanished without a trace.

’Good,’

’There’s no bullshit trap.’

With a sinister grin, he leaped out, agile as a cheetah. In an instant, he was in front of Shen Changchuan, his massive hand, the size of a meditation cushion, swatting down at his head!

He was going to smash the little brat’s head to pieces with a single palm strike!