Chapter 2539: You Didn't Offend Anyone, Did You?

You Die was severely injured, but City Lord Zhao only sustained superficial wounds. On the surface, You Die clearly suffered more. However, City Lord Zhao's status was ultimately different; furthermore, being injured within his own He Dao City caused him to lose significant face. So, one could say they broke even for the time being.

This incident, however, made City Lord Zhao realize Yuan Xi's vengeful nature. Coupled with her reckless arrogance and formidable strength, he truly dared not offend her too much in such a situation.

Otherwise, if she were to truly incite rebellion and ally with enemies to attack, his side would certainly be hard-pressed to resist.

Lu Ye returned safely. Yuan Xi looked him over, confirming he was unharmed. Only then did she nod slightly.

Then she turned to City Lord Zhao: "Friend, shall we join forces?"

City Lord Zhao's eye twitched at her words. He truly couldn't keep up with Yuan Xi's thought process. Just moments ago they were almost at each other's throats, and now she wanted to ally?

This woman must have something wrong with her mind.

Had it not been for Lu Ye's recent strike, he naturally wouldn't have minded allying with Yuan Xi City. They had no real grievances. An alliance would have allowed them to contend equally with the enemy. In the current environment, "lotus seeds" were incredibly rare, and no one would want to miss an opportunity to acquire one.

But at this moment, he was seething with anger. How could he be in the mood to ally with Yuan Xi?

If he actually did that, how would his numerous subordinates view him?

Furthermore, there was only one lotus seed. If they secured it, how would they divide it? Yuan Xi's strength was formidable. Her small city was also a Flood-grade city, clearly extraordinary. This inevitably caused him many concerns. Rather than dealing with a headache later, it was better to withdraw now. After all, this trip wasn't without its gains.

He immediately refused, "Not interested."

With that, he retreated into his city. Moments later, the Wild-grade city moved away into the distance, departing directly.

Almost simultaneously with their Wild-grade city's retreat, Yuan Xi City also began to withdraw. With an ally unwilling to cooperate, Yuan Xi City naturally wouldn't stay.

The City Lord of the enemy's Wild-grade city was still somewhat reluctant to give up, calling out, "Friend, are you truly not considering switching sides?"

Yuan Xi chuckled and replied, "I'll think about it."

"Very well, very well. If you decide, you can contact me anytime. This City Lord will vouch for you!" the City Lord responded.

From start to finish, the other side showed no intention of pursuit. They were clearly apprehensive. They couldn't guarantee that if they attacked Yuan Xi City, City Lord Zhao wouldn't return for a counterattack. If that happened, it would be another major battle, and no one would benefit.

Furthermore, they were already aware that Yuan Xi City had killed a military inspector from the Commandery City. Perhaps they even harbored thoughts of winning her over.

A moment later, inside their own Wild-grade city, a He Dao cultivator, clearly disgruntled, asked, "My Lord, are we just going to let this matter go?"

The City Lord was injured in his own city, and a military inspector died right under their noses. Yet their city had to retreat ignominiously. This was truly unacceptable.

City Lord Zhao's expression was placid: "Of course, we can't just let it go." He turned to the He Dao cultivator who had remained behind: "Send a message to the Commandery City, reporting the military inspector's death. No need to exaggerate; just report the facts. They are a lawless bunch. If this city can't deal with them, someone else naturally will."

The remaining He Dao cultivator understood and departed to carry out the order.

In the central area of this war zone, a colossal He Dao City stood like an ancient beast. This was Thin Bamboo City, the Cosmic-grade He Dao City overseeing this entire war zone.

Inside the central hall, the light of a He Dao Pearl radiated in all directions. Many figures sat cross-legged, and countless cultivators moved in and out.

As the Commandery City overseeing the entire war zone, it bore the responsibility of coordinating and dispatching all He Dao Cities in the region. Messages and various orders flowed incessantly.

At the highest seat, a slender figure sat, his expression placid. This was the City Lord, Thin Bamboo.

He hailed from the Four-Armed tribe, possessing four arms. To be the City Lord of a Cosmic-grade He Dao City, his own strength was paramount in the region.

Since the chaos in the snowy plains began, he had remained seated here, like a statue, never moving.

Suddenly, a figure below roared, "That's outrageous!"

Thin Bamboo cast a calm glance downward, slowly speaking, "Thunderbolt, your temper is still so impetuous. What has made you so angry?"

Thunderbolt immediately approached Thin Bamboo, cupping his fists and saying, "My Lord, a military inspector I dispatched earlier to relay orders has been killed."

Thin Bamboo calmly said, "The snowy plains are in turmoil; life and death are fated. If he was killed, he was killed. Have few people died on this battlefield recently?"

Thunderbolt shook his head: "My Lord, you don't know. This military inspector wasn't killed by an enemy, but by our own people!"

"Oh?" Thin Bamboo's eyelids lifted. "Which He Dao City is so audacious?"

"A small city called Yuan Xi City!" Thunderbolt replied. "Previously, I had heard that this city had harmed allies and destroyed allied He Dao Cities, so I sent a military inspector to convey orders..."

"What did you say that city was called?" Thin Bamboo frowned.

"Yuan Xi City..." Thunderbolt repeated.

"The City Lord is named Yuan Xi?" Thin Bamboo straightened slightly in his seat.

"Probably..." Thunderbolt was somewhat astonished. He didn't understand why the City Lord's expression had suddenly become so serious. Furthermore, He Dao Cities were usually named after their City Lords, so it was highly probable that Yuan Xi City's Lord was indeed Yuan Xi.

"What does she look like? What's her personality?" Thin Bamboo asked again.

Thunderbolt couldn't answer immediately. The information he received didn't mention these details.

"Go find out clearly," Thin Bamboo instructed. He added, "This is a serious matter!"

Thunderbolt instinctively replied, "Yes." He quickly returned to his position and used the power of the hall to send out a message asking for information. He was very curious, as the City Lord's demeanor suggested he knew this Yuan Xi. But even if he did, he shouldn't be so serious about it, unless there was some entanglement between the City Lord and Yuan Xi.

Yet he had followed Thin Bamboo for many years and had never heard of such a thing.

In City Lord Zhao's Wild-grade city, they received feedback from the Commandery City shortly after sending their message. But to the immense astonishment of the remaining He Dao cultivator, the Commandery City neither gave them instructions nor indicated how Yuan Xi City would be punished. Instead, they were asking about Yuan Xi's appearance and personality.

"My Lord, what is the Commandery City trying to do?" the remaining He Dao cultivator asked, looking at City Lord Zhao. "Shouldn't they be asking for the detailed account of the incident? Why are they asking about Yuan Xi as a person?"

City Lord Zhao's expression was grim: "Just as I thought!"

He had vaguely sensed before that Yuan Xi's background was unusual. Her strength was too great, and she possessed a Flood-grade city, which was simply not something an ordinary person could achieve.

Now, the Commandery City was actually inquiring about that madwoman's appearance and personality. This further confirmed his suspicions.

The Commandery City inquiring meant that this woman indeed had an extraordinary background. Her standing was such that it made the Commandery City feel apprehension. Otherwise, the Commandery City wouldn't need to inquire about such things.

Since the Commandery City was asking, he dared not delay and promptly reported the information.

Moments later, in the central hall of the Commandery City, Thunderbolt rose again to report the information he had gathered.

Thin Bamboo listened carefully, one hand lightly tapping the armrest of his chair. After a long moment, he nodded and said, "You don't need to concern yourselves with Yuan Xi City's matter anymore."

Thunderbolt's curiosity instantly exploded. "My Lord, could it be that there's something between you and this City Lord..."

Thin Bamboo cast a faint glance at him. "You, your impetuous temper is one thing, but you must keep a tight rein on your tongue. This City Lord is not someone you can casually comment on. I've only met her once. You just need to know that she is someone even I cannot afford to offend."

Upon hearing this, Thunderbolt froze.

He had merely assumed there was some entanglement between his City Lord and Yuan Xi. But now, after hearing Thin Bamboo's words, he realized that Yuan Xi's identity and status were far beyond his comprehension.

"My Lord, could this City Lord be..." Thunderbolt's expression was uneasy.

He was the Deputy City Lord of a Cosmic-grade He Dao City. In this world, only beings of a certain origin were beyond his ability to fathom.

"Just know it in your heart," Thin Bamboo said calmly. He then frowned, "You didn't offend her, did you?"

Thunderbolt wiped cold sweat from his forehead. "I... I don't think so." He had never even met Yuan Xi, so naturally, he couldn't have offended her. It was only because of the destruction of Morning Moon City that he had sent the military inspector. But that inspector had been killed, and Thunderbolt had no idea what he might have said before his death.

Since that inspector was dispatched by him, he nominally represented Thunderbolt.

"You'd better not have," Thin Bamboo glanced at him.

Thunderbolt now felt a little panicked. He quickly returned to his position and hurriedly sent another message to the Wild-grade city, asking for a detailed account of the previous events.

In the Wild-grade city, the remaining He Dao cultivator scratched his head, unable to understand what was going on at the Commandery City. First, they messaged asking for specific details about Yuan Xi, and now they were inquiring about the events that transpired before.

City Lord Zhao had already gone to rest. The remaining He Dao cultivator thought for a moment, then reported everything truthfully.

In the Commandery City, Thunderbolt's cold sweat flowed even more profusely.

This was a disaster.

Yuan Xi City was originally well-hidden. Yet, its location was exposed because of the military inspector he had dispatched. It was then besieged by numerous He Dao cultivators, its great array destroyed, and it almost fell.

Moreover, Yuan Xi herself seemed not to have been in the city at the time. She only returned from the Integration Realm at the very end. Furthermore, one of her He Dao subordinates was injured.

If he had been completely ignorant of Yuan Xi's situation, it would have been fine. But now that he knew some of the circumstances, Thunderbolt suddenly felt that the military inspector truly deserved to die. Why did he have to force them out when they were perfectly well-hidden?

The crucial point was the environment at the time.

This was still good luck that Yuan Xi City ultimately escaped. If luck had been bad and enemies were everywhere, Yuan Xi City might already be gone.

If Yuan Xi City was gone, then he probably would be too.

What made Thunderbolt most uneasy was that the military inspector had specifically mentioned his name when relaying the order!

Wasn't that pushing him into a pit of fire? Although he had indeed dispatched the man, there was no need to deliberately mention it.

He now wished he could bring that military inspector back to life, just to kill him a hundred times over.

He looked up at Thin Bamboo, seeing that the City Lord had already closed his eyes to rest. Thunderbolt's heart was heavy. What was he to do?