Chapter 804: Chaos in the City Lord's Mansion

The Lord's Mansion in Ye City.

Lord Duan Xiu emerged from his quiet chamber, gazing towards the prison with a deep frown. "Who is so audacious as to attempt a rescue here?"

He was once a military general, later transferred to Ye City to become its Lord. His military experience had forged him into someone who remained composed in times of crisis. Calmly analyzing the situation, he summoned his subordinates. "Anyone daring to raid the city to rescue someone must be at least at the early stage of the Fusion Realm. Go quickly and seek help from the four neighboring cities, and have them inform the army stationed nearby!"

"Yes, sir!"

Duan Xiu donned his old black battle armor and helmet, looking as if he had returned to the army of over a hundred years ago.

"Husband, what on earth is going on...?" "Dad, what happened?" Duan Xiu's wife and son also noticed the commotion and came out of their rooms. Seeing Duan Xiu in his battle armor, their faces were filled with worry.

Duan Xiu's resolute gaze softened. He held his wife's hand and said earnestly, "It's just a group of thieves. Don't you know my strength? Nothing will happen." Besides, Ye City still had a secret weapon that hadn't been used.

"Then you must be careful." Both his wife and son were very worried about Duan Xiu.

Without turning his head, Duan Xiu waved his hand and shouted, "Alright, go back and rest."

After bidding farewell to his wife and son, Duan Xiu headed for the underground secret chamber of the Lord's Mansion.

Few knew that a city-protection array of the Fusion Realm level was hidden beneath Ye City. Once activated, it could, at the very least, hold off the intruders until reinforcements arrived, even if it couldn't defeat them outright.

He twisted a book on the bookshelf. With a thud, the bookshelf moved aside, revealing a stone door. He channeled spiritual energy into the stone door, and it opened, revealing a long tunnel.

He quickly entered the tunnel, making his way to the underground secret chamber. As he moved through the tunnel, oil lamps fixed to the stone walls lit up one by one, all the way to the deepest part of the chamber. "What!"

When he reached the chamber, he was instantly shocked. The core of the city-protection array, originally carved into the chamber walls, had been completely destroyed, with no possibility of repair!

"How is this possible!" Without his spiritual energy as a key, no one should have been able to break in here!

"Lord Duan, are you surprised?" A ghostly voice came from behind Lord Duan. "Who's there!" Lord Duan sharply turned his head. He had maintained his spiritual energy awareness throughout, yet he hadn't noticed anyone approaching him. The opponent's strength was above his own!

The other party introduced himself with a name Lord Duan had never heard: "Ruthless Sect, Wu Lei."

"It really is your Ruthless Sect!" Lord Duan vigilantly stared at Wu Lei, subtly touching his storage ring to retrieve a red-tasseled spear. "It seems you've split into two groups: one to rescue the prisoner, and the other to hold me here!"

Wu Lei gently shook his head and said calmly, "Rescuing the prisoner was merely a cover. Our true purpose for this trip is to kill you!"

"What audacity!" The red-tasseled spear surged forth like a dragon soaring through the nine heavens, its tip glowing with intense light, engulfed in raging flames. Although he was in the Void Refinement Realm, he currently possessed the combat power of the Fusion Realm, so he had no fear of this Ruthless Sect member named Wu Lei!

*Pfft* — Lord Duan was caught in the center of the lightning storm. Thunder raged, and before his red-tasseled spear could even reach Wu Lei, he was electrified, losing control of his body. The long spear clattered to the ground.

"Lord Duan, did you not know that there are still distinctions in strength even among those in the Fusion Realm?" Wu Lei spoke without any trace of mockery, yet in their current situation, his words carried an even stronger sarcastic undertone!

"How is this possible!" Lord Duan's body was numb from the electricity; he couldn't even clench his fists as he stared at Wu Lei in disbelief. Even if there were distinctions in strength within the Fusion Realm, it shouldn't be a one-hit victory. The lightning storm just now had actually attacked all his weaknesses!

"What's impossible about it?" A voice, all too familiar, rang out from behind Wu Lei. "Wenwu?!" Lord Duan's eyes widened as he watched his son, Duan Wenwu, step out from behind Wu Lei.

"You're a mole for the Ruthless Sect?!" The existence of the secret chamber, his own weaknesses — if his son had revealed all of this, then everything made sense!

Duan Wenwu looked at his paralyzed father and chuckled, "I haven't truly joined the Ruthless Sect yet. Only after killing you will I be considered a member of the Ruthless Sect." To join the Ruthless Sect, one had to kill their closest kin. For Duan Wenwu, his closest kin were his parents.

However, his cultivation was too low; even if Lord Duan stood still, he couldn't harm a single hair on him. As the City Lord, Duan Xiu possessed life-saving magical treasures bestowed by the imperial court. Therefore, he needed to ask the higher-ups of the Ruthless Sect for help. The Ruthless Sect's higher-ups wouldn't assist him for free; in return, he promised to help open Ye City's treasury, allowing Wu Lei to take whatever he desired.

"Why?!" Lord Duan's eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to resist the raging lightning within his body.

"Why? You have the audacity to ask why!" Upon hearing the question, Duan Wenwu seemed to snap, his expression turning manic. "You never used your privileges to exchange favors with sects to get me into a Supreme-grade or First-grade sect, nor did you let me use the treasury's treasures to advance my cultivation! Because of that, I'm twenty-five this year, and my cultivation is still stuck in the Golden Core Realm!" "I'm the City Lord's son, yet you've never used a single privilege for me!" "Mother only comforted me, saying I wasn't naturally suited for cultivation and could pursue a career in civil service!" "A career in civil service, a career in civil service, a career in civil service — is that to make me as rigid as you are?! Did either of you ever consider my feelings?!" "Since you named me Wenwu (meaning 'civil and martial'), where is the martial part?!"

Being in the Golden Core Realm at twenty-five years old was not slow for cultivation talent, but this was not the result of Duan Wenwu's own training. Instead, it was the outcome of Lord Duan using his own savings to help his son improve. This was already the limit; Duan Wenwu's aptitude was too poor, and any further advancement would require rare heavenly treasures that Lord Duan could not provide.

"Exchanging favors would harm the interests of Ye City's people. The treasury belongs to the imperial court, not to me personally, so how could I give it to you—" "Enough! Don't say another word!" Duan Wenwu roared in anger. "Since you insist on clinging to your City Lord's facade, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The Ruthless Sect had methods to improve one's aptitude, requiring the heart's blood of a family member as a medicinal ingredient. The higher the family member's cultivation, the better the effect of the ingredient. Since his father was a cultivator at the Void Refinement Realm, he might even transform into a dual spiritual root genius!

"Wenwu..." Lord Duan's eyes blurred. Looking at this unfamiliar Duan Wenwu, a series of images flashed through his mind: his son's birth, learning to babble, taking his first steps, climbing trees to get bird nests, getting his hand slapped by his teacher, crying while reciting texts, testing his spiritual roots, guiding spiritual energy into his body. A good child, how had he become like this?

Seeing his father's state, Duan Wenwu's tone suddenly softened. He sighed and said, "Father, I do love you and Mother, but I want to become stronger even more. For that, I have no choice but to sacrifice you both. I hope you can understand."

"True Monarch, I trouble you to act!" Duan Wenwu bowed to Wu Lei, a murderous glint in his eyes. "My parents, and everyone in the City Lord's Mansion, please kill them all!"

If the imperial court were to learn of his joining the Ruthless Sect, they would undoubtedly use it as a clue for investigation, leading to endless trouble. To prevent this, he had reported the Ruthless Sect's Ye City branch, leading to the arrest of everyone there. Wu Lei and another high-ranking Ruthless Sect member then used this as a pretext to raid the prison, kill his resisting father, and everyone else in the City Lord's Mansion. He himself would appear on the death list, and there would be no more Duan Wenwu in the world. He could then smoothly join the Ruthless Sect without worrying about imperial investigations.

The Ruthless Sect prioritized benefits. He had given True Monarch Wu Lei so many advantages; once he joined the sect, he would naturally receive True Monarch Wu Lei's patronage.

Wu Lei said nothing, his body pulsed with lightning, and a bolt of thunder condensed in his palm. "Farewell, Lord Duan."

*Whoosh* — A sword light descended from above, carving a bottomless chasm between Wu Lei and Lord Duan. The secret chamber, along with the study above it, was similarly split open.

Wu Lei sharply looked up, staring intensely at the old Daoist priest holding a sword above him, squeezing out four words through gritted teeth. "Daoist Silent!"

Daoist Silent examined Wu Lei, gradually matching him with someone from his memories, and then realized with a sudden understanding. "You're Wu Lei? We haven't seen each other in over a thousand years, have we? I remember you were at the late stage of the Fusion Realm when I joined the Ruthless Sect. How are you still at the late stage?" "Your Ruthless Sect's cultivation methods aren't very effective, are they?"