In the dark of night, firelight flickered,

Mo Beiyan rode his Red Fire Dragon Steed, gently tugged the reins, spurred his horse forward until he was in front of Yuan Yi, then slowly leaned down and said blandly, "Immediately notify all Hall Masters and Stewards—this young master has matters to attend to."

Yuan Yi’s face revealed a faint smile as he replied, "Sixth Young Master, I’m truly sorry, but without orders from Canglan City headquarters or the Squad Leader, no one has the authority to mobilize the Sub-Branch. I really have no way to summon all the Hall Masters and Stewards."

After he finished, Yuan Yi hesitated a moment and said, "If you truly have an urgent matter, perhaps Sixth Young Master could wait a few days at the entrance of the Branch, wait for the Squad Leader to return, or send someone to headquarters to request an order. As for myself..."

Mo Beiyan suddenly lashed his whip toward Yuan Yi.

However, just as the whip was about to strike, Yuan Yi reached out and caught it.

Anger flashed across Yuan Yi’s face as he said somberly, "Sixth Young Master, your status is exalted, but I am not your servant. Don’t you think it’s inappropriate to attack me so casually?"

Mo Beiyan tugged at the whip, but couldn’t retract it. Embarrassed, he turned his head to look at Gu Zhan, forcing a smile, "Brother Gu, this... was just trying to copy your panache, and hell, isn’t this awkward as fuck!"

Gu Zhan: "..."

Yuan Yi looked puzzled and turned to glance at Gu Zhan.

When he saw Gu Zhan, his brows knitted slightly. He felt Gu Zhan’s attire was somewhat familiar, but this face was utterly strange—he simply couldn’t recall where he’d seen him before.

Gu Zhan gently tugged his reins, spurred his horse forward two steps to stop beside Yuan Yi, shot him a glance, then looked at the Beidou Bang members, raising his voice, "The Sixth Young Master represents the Dragon King—if he tells you to do something, you do it. All you have to do is obey without question!"

When he finished, Gu Zhan looked at Yuan Yi and said softly, "Do you understand?"

Panic flashed in Yuan Yi’s eyes. Feeling Gu Zhan’s chilling murderous aura, he instinctively prepared to draw his sword,

However,

At that instant,

A flash of white light swept past. A spray of blood surged forth,

Accompanied by a wretched scream,

Yuan Yi’s arm was severed outright, falling to the ground.

"Pa!"

Gu Zhan’s whip lashed out again, winding directly around Yuan Yi’s neck and hoisting him into the air.

"Release Steward Liu!"

"You audacious scoundrel, let go of Steward Liu!"

"..."

In that instant, all the Beidou Bang members drew their weapons and shouted angrily.

Gu Zhan lifted his eyelids slightly to look over,

And in that instant,

A terrifying pressure erupted out of nowhere,

As if a mountain was descending upon them. The members could hardly keep their footing and staggered uncontrollably,

A wave of deadly murderous intent washed over them,

Making the entire crowd shudder with inexplicable dread.

"The Sixth Young Master stands before you and you dare draw your blades? Is this mutiny you’re after?"

Mo Beiyan advanced with his horse, holding up a token, his tone icy: "Carry out my order—summon every Hall Master and Steward of the Branch stationed here to come see me at once!"

Then Mo Beiyan glanced at the leader who’d gone to deliver the message earlier, his voice cold: "This is your last chance—fail again, and I’ll have reason to suspect you’ve colluded with the Mang Mountain Thieves to betray Beidou Bang!"

The crowd hesitated.

Gu Zhan cast a glance at the suspended Yuan Yi and tossed him to the ground.

In that instant, Yuan Yi, barely surviving, completely forgot the agony of his severed arm and bellowed, "Why are you standing around? Hurry up and follow the Sixth Young Master’s command!"

"Ah..."

"Y-yes, yes!"

"At once!"

Immediately, the members dispersed quickly.

Yuan Yi collapsed on the ground, hurriedly circulating his True Essence to stop the bleeding, his face ashen. Terrified, he raised his head to look at Gu Zhan, cold sweat pouring down, and stammered, "Y-you... you’re... the God of Slaughter, Gu Zhan?"

Gu Zhan slowly returned the ordinary Horizontal Saber to its scabbard, his tone cold: "What, do you want the Sixth Young Master to hold an assembly here?"

Yuan Yi scrambled up, hurrying to say, "S-sixth Young Master... Lord Gu, this way please!"

Sweating buckets, Yuan Yi shot Gu Zhan a furtive glance, then lowered his head and led the way,

His heart now full of terror,

He knew exactly why Liu Ziyuan had gone to Yujiang County, and now, with Liu Ziyuan nowhere in sight and Gu Zhan appearing instead,

There could only be one outcome: Liu Ziyuan was dead.

As for Sixth Young Master Mo Beiyan, everyone knew he had no foundation and couldn’t possibly be capable of killing a Celestial Destiny Realm cultivator like Liu Ziyuan. That left only one possibility,

The newly risen God of Slaughter of the Celestial Pride List, Gu Zhan, had killed him,

That was the only explanation,

He harbored little doubt,

Because he too was a Great Cultivator, yet in front of Gu Zhan he hadn’t even had the chance to act.

Now he dared not try any tricks,

The God of Slaughter Gu Zhan was a bloodthirsty butcher,

And with a reputation like that, plus having just killed the Liu Family’s Third Master, Liu Ziyuan,

He didn’t think he had any leverage to make Gu Zhan spare him.

Soon,

The group arrived at a manor inside the docks.

As soon as they entered the manor, the entire dock erupted into commotion. Signal flares exploded in the sky, and horn blasts sounded everywhere.

Not long after,

Outside the manor came a chaotic clamor of footsteps, and under the dark night, countless torches shone, reflecting off a mass of glittering blades as a dense throng of martial world ruffians surrounded the manor completely, leaving no gap at all.

Inside a grand hall,

Sixth Young Master Mo Beiyan sat in the seat of honor,

The left-hand chief seat was Gu Zhan, the right was Gu Fengwei,

Only the three of them were seated—other Embroidered Uniform Guards and Gu Family seniors stood as bodyguards on either side of the hall.

From outside the hall came the sound of footsteps,

Soon, a group entered,

These were the high-ranks of the Kaiyang Sub-Branch: seven Hall Masters and nearly a dozen Stewards.

Gu Zhan held a cup of tea, glancing over,

The seven Hall Masters were all Great Cultivators; among the Stewards, three were also Great Cultivators. Adding the armless Yuan Yi standing in the center of the hall, there were eleven Great Cultivators in total, with five in the Second Realm. Such strength was enough to make the entire Pingyang Martial World bow in submission.

When the group entered, they immediately spotted Yuan Yi in the center. Two Hall Masters at the Second Realm quickly stepped forward, checked his severed arm, their faces dark and sullen. They looked towards the seat of honor at Mo Beiyan; one of them said coldly, "Sixth Young Master, you had no orders to summon us to the Kaiyang Sub-Branch—which is already irregular enough. Now you attack our people. What exactly is your intention?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Mo Beiyan looked over at the two Hall Masters and slowly spoke: "It has been verified that there are traitors hidden within Kaiyang Sub-Branch. To uphold the Righteous Martial Dao and the honor of the Beidou Bang, I am here to assume emergency control of Kaiyang Sub-Branch, conduct a thorough investigation for traitors. Who agrees? Who objects?"