Chapter 251: Chapter 244: The Curtain Falls

"What are you doing?"

The Government Army panicked as they rushed to the intersection—the forces arranged by the Law Enforcement Hall and Elder Council didn’t come to their aid. Instead, they suddenly turned on them.

Amidst screams of misery,

the Law Enforcement Hall and Elder Council quickly tightened their battle array.

At this moment, some of the elders from the Law Enforcement Hall and the Elder Council were also stunned. They never expected things to turn out like this.

"Yun Huai, have you gone fucking mad?"

An elder spotted that the commander leading the troops had, at some unknown point, become none other than the Right Protector’s son, the current Patriarch of the Yun Family, Yun Huai. At once, they began to curse out loud.

"Yun Huai, why aren’t you killing those rebels—instead, you’re blocking us?"

"Yun Huai, are you out of your mind?"

"We’re allies..."

"..."

Amidst the troops, Yun Huai slowly drew his saber from its sheath,

At that instant, he seemed to realize why his father insisted that he personally lead the army to kill these people. He knew full well that he’d always sided with the Eldest Young Master and was allied with these people, but he was being forced to butcher his own.

In a daze, he understood,

After today, the storm in Canglan City would finally come to an end, and the true victors would be the Sixth Young Master Mo Beiyan and Gu Zhan.

As for him, he was never on the same path as the Sixth Young Master up till today; even though they’d never clashed head-on, from now on, at most Mo Beiyan and Gu Zhan wouldn’t go after him for his father’s sake, Yun Wei, but he’d never have a chance to approach the center of this new ship.

So, taking this opportunity,

he decisively boarded the ship before it was even fully built,

mending the pen after the sheep are lost—better late than never.

For one brief moment,

he suddenly understood why, even though the death of the Fourth Young Master was undeniably connected to Gu Zhan, the Tian Family would now openly support the Sixth Young Master, and even the Fourth Young Master’s widow donned mourning clothes to come lend her support,

All of this was about choosing sides, about making their stance clear,

The Tian Family truly had wise people!

Reflecting inwardly, Yun Huai looked at those elders and called out in a loud voice, "Colluding with Demon Cultivators—kill without mercy!"

The thunder of hooves, the sounds of slaughter rising,

The elders and members of the Liu Family began to curse and scream,

But when they watched the Law Enforcement Hall’s army charging in,

They were seized with fear—their tempestuous anger instantly doused as if by cold water. In a flash, they turned and ran toward the Sixth Young Master Mo Beiyan.

The Law Enforcement Hall troops encircled them,

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Tian Family pressed the attack,

Under Gu Zhan and Tian Yu—two unmatched prodigies—the elders stood no chance at all. They were butchered outright. As for the Liu Family, it was even worse: the moment Gu Zhan made his move, he killed the Liu Family’s Great Cultivator first thing. They had only the chance to flee for their lives.

Now, even the escape routes were blocked off.

"Sixth Young Master, we are willing to serve!"

"Sixth Young Master, we’re all old hands of the Beidou Bang. Acting this way before you’ve even taken command, aren’t you worried about chilling the hearts of your own people?"

"Sixth Young Master, that’s enough! If you can’t tolerate even a little, how will you win hearts and minds?"

"..."

The group of elders rushed at Mo Beiyan, shouting at the top of their lungs.

For a moment, the Tian Family members all subtly held back their attacks, and among the Embroidered Uniform Guard—many of them from the Pingyang Gu Family—they, too, slowed down, awaiting Mo Beiyan’s decision.

Amid the chaos,

Tian Yu killed an enemy, and instinctively looked toward Gu Zhan.

But at this time, Gu Zhan acted as if he hadn’t heard anything. The Horizontal Saber in his hands didn’t falter in the slightest. Waves of Saber Qi erupted, a dozen Flying Sabers flitted wildly around him, and wherever they passed, blood mist swirled.

Outside the melee,

A group of masters guarded Mo Beiyan, who held his mother’s memorial tablet in his arms, face expressionless. He looked at those elders and said calmly, "Today, I am merely bringing my mother’s token back to the Mo Family’s Ancestral Hall. I only happened by as the Kaiyang Sub-Branch’s Squad Leader Gu Zhan was ordered to purge Demon Dao traitors. Since you lot are colluding with the Demon Dao, you must die!"

At that instant,

The Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Brocade Spring Sabers began another round of slaughter,

The Tian Family, stunned for a split second, once more surged forward in attack.

In a flash, cries of agony rang out,

The elders howled curses, hysterical and wild.

Tian Yu raised his sword,

He glanced at Gu Zhan, who seemed oblivious to all that was happening across from him, and sighed lightly: "Those two sure have not an ounce of mistrust or suspicion between them. Even my Tian Family and the Fourth Young Master never had this level of mutual trust." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Just now, all of them had been watching Mo Beiyan’s reaction, trying to see if there were any hidden tensions between him and Gu Zhan.

If Mo Beiyan was concerned about Gu Zhan, he’d surely call a halt here, and then rope in those who were already sworn enemies with Gu Zhan, to avoid letting Gu Zhan become too powerful.

But if Gu Zhan thought Mo Beiyan might burn the bridge after crossing the river, he would likewise stop for now, giving Mo Beiyan a way out, showing where he stood, so as to avoid any rift between the two.

Too bad, though—these elders were all old foxes, yet none realized there really wasn’t the slightest suspicion between Gu Zhan and Mo Beiyan. Gu Zhan didn’t believe Mo Beiyan would question his loyalty, so he killed without restraint; Mo Beiyan, likewise, never showed a hint of unease with Gu Zhan.

In a daze,

Tian Yu suddenly recalled that moment earlier, while he was in seclusion—a terrifying flash of Sword Intent had awakened him. That blade of intent, so brief, had almost transcended the Fifth Realm itself,

And that Sword Intent didn’t belong to any powerful figure within Canglan City,

After ending his seclusion, he asked around briefly and guessed it must have come from Gu Zhan’s saber.

Now, he thought about that slash again,

And suddenly, it all made sense,

A wave of inexplicable envy for Mo Beiyan washed over him,

What a... free windfall!

He didn’t need to do anything but follow behind Gu Zhan—from a young lord with an empty title, he was suddenly heir apparent, successor to the Mo Family. Even without the Dragon King, as long as Gu Zhan was there, the Mo Family would know no unrest, and Mo Beiyan’s position would never be shaken.

"Damn it, some people just live charmed lives!"

Tian Yu suddenly began cursing, and looking at those Government Army soldiers running for their lives, he was seized by a wave of unreasonable anger, brandishing his sword and hacking wildly.

...

The chaos at the East City Gate had begun abruptly and ended just as quickly,

In this fight,

Gu Zhan himself felt little accomplishment—the members of the Elder Council, aside from their lofty status, simply had no real combat ability. Killing them brought no sense of achievement. There were plenty of Great Cultivators, yet none could take even a single cut from him,

There were, however, two Fourth Realm Great Cultivators among the Government Army brought by the Liu Family, and Tian Yu ended up snatching the kill of one of them right from under his nose,

Gu Zhan could only shake his head in speechless exasperation,

Not only that, but Tian Yu even shot him a toothy grin...

The long street, where a heavy rain had only just ceased, was still puddled with water that now began to trickle with blood. The whole street was shrouded in a stench of gore,

Gu Zhan wiped the blood from his face, vaulted onto his horse, and rode with Mo Beiyan toward the City Lord’s Mansion.

Hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guard, thunder of hooves shaking the earth,

Within Canglan City, they churned up stormy winds, yet also brought the storm itself to an end!