Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

「Tian Shu City.」

"Big Brother," one of Lu Yi’s deputies asked with a troubled expression, "do we really want to spread the news about Young Master Ning being in the city?"

"Spread it!" Lu Yi decided after a moment’s hesitation. "Since he’s the one who asked for it, he must be fully prepared!"

Not long ago, Ning Xuan had approached them for help, even offering a treasure of considerable value in return. Then, without lingering, he promptly left.

Once the decision was made, Lu Yi immediately began making arrangements. Before long, the news of Ning Xuan hiding in the city spread like wildfire.

As a result, the Domain Lord’s Mansion dispatched even more people to search for him. However, what they didn’t know was that Ning Xuan had already left the city. He had recently received news that the Realm Lord wasn’t the only one in Tian Shu with a Teleportation Array. Another faction could also provide the service. Though the price was steep, it had one major advantage: the teleportation couldn’t be traced.

His trip to the Dali Realm to cause trouble for the Lu Family was actually of secondary importance. His main objective was to lie low and wait for things to cool down. With his current strength, he stood absolutely no chance against the pseudo-emperor Chi Ming. The consequences of winning first place only to flee would surely be severe. Therefore, the fewer people who knew his whereabouts, the better.

At this moment, Ning Xuan was grateful that his message to Qin Ruonan hadn’t revealed his destination. On top of that, he had managed to catch Wang Ao and his group before they left, telling them he had changed his plans. It was safe to say that now, besides himself, no one else knew he was headed to the Dali Realm.

First, I’ll lie low in the Dali Realm. If possible, I need to break through to the Holy Realm as quickly as I can!

Having made up his mind, a disguised Ning Xuan headed toward his destination. He was extremely cautious along the way. After all, he’d heard that Lu Jing had somehow escaped from the clutches of the Domain Lord’s Mansion’s cultivators. Moreover, Zang Peng was undoubtedly still searching for him. Ning Xuan had no desire for any further complications.

「Mercy City.」

A small border town in the northwest of Tian Shu. Desolation, chaos, and brutality were its defining traits. It was home to refugees, beggars, and bandits... in short, anything one could imagine could be found here. Due to its lawlessness, the place had become a land of exile.

However, there was one exception within this city of chaos: Skywolf Fort.

Skywolf Fort was a faction with a strict hierarchical system that valued absolute order. Anyone who dared cause trouble here would die without a proper burial!

The information Ning Xuan had received indicated that it was Skywolf Fort that offered teleportation services. Therefore, Ning Xuan didn’t even enter Mercy City proper, instead heading straight for Skywolf Fort.

Skywolf Fort was situated on Skywolf Mountain, north of the city. From the mountain’s summit, the entirety of Mercy City was visible, which was why Skywolf Fort was always the first to know about anything that happened there.

Seeing Ning Xuan heading straight for Skywolf Mountain, someone at the peak laughed.

"Third-in-Command, your method is truly ingenious! This must be the tenth person to come to our Skywolf Fort recently, right?"

"Hehe, these guys trying to sneak across are all ridiculously wealthy. I wonder how many treasures this one has on him!"

Ning Xuan hadn’t even gotten close, yet he had already been marked as prey. The moment he set foot on Skywolf Mountain, Skywolf Fort had already laid an inescapable trap for him.

"Halt!"

Ning Xuan was stopped not long after he started up the mountain.

Although the foot of the mountain was manned by Skywolf Fort’s peripheral members, they knew exactly what kind of business brought people to their gates. Most importantly, the higher-ups tacitly allowed them to skim some benefits for themselves. Those seeking illicit passage were all rich and wouldn’t be stingy about it. As a result, they had been successful every single time. Consequently, their appetites had grown larger and larger.

Ning Xuan didn’t want to get tangled up with them. Realizing what they were after, he generously made an offer.

The leader weighed the Divine Crystal in his hand, then tucked it away and snorted, "This little bit? Are you trying to fob off a beggar?!"

Ning Xuan’s eyebrows twitched. "Oh, sorry about that. I grabbed the wrong one. Give me back what’s in your hand; this is what’s for you."

As he spoke, a package much larger than the first appeared in his hand.

"Let me see it. I’m afraid you might grab the wrong one again."

The eyes of the men lit up, their faces consumed with greed.

Ning Xuan appeared very hesitant.

"This is Skywolf Fort! Do you have any idea what kind of place this is? Let me tell you, even if the Tian Shu Realm Lord Wang Dingchen himself came, he couldn’t dream of climbing Skywolf Mountain without our permission, let alone meet our Fort Master!" the leader declared haughtily.

"That’s right. Who haven’t we met? What treasures haven’t we seen? Don’t worry, we won’t scam you," a lackey chimed in.

Hearing this, Ning Xuan finally seemed to relax. He tossed the object in his hand over.

It landed with a heavy thud. Overjoyed, the leader immediately opened the package. The other goons craned their necks to see.

Then, they all froze. Their shock turned to rage.

The package contained nothing but a rock!

"You son of a—"

He barely got the words out. Ning Xuan had already vanished.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Amidst the sounds, all of them collapsed.

Ning Xuan retrieved the Divine Crystal he had given away and continued straight up Skywolf Mountain. From his attack to his departure, only a few seconds had passed.

Everything that happened here was witnessed by several people in a pavilion halfway up the mountain.

"What the hell? The guy who showed up is a Martial Artist?!"

They were surprised enough that he dared to attack, but what was even more shocking was that this guy hadn’t even transcended into the Holy Realm! Who gave him the courage?

"No matter. All the better if he’s a Martial Artist. Once he comes up, we can boldly strip him clean!"

"That’s true."

The men quickly reached a consensus. Then, they all waited with eager anticipation for Ning Xuan to arrive.

They waited.

A full half-hour passed, but there was still no sign of him.

"What’s going on? Don’t tell me he got scared and turned back?" one of them muttered, standing up to peer down toward Mercy City. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, another voice called out, "He’s here!"

Shortly after, a young man appeared in the pavilion. He sat down on the outermost seat, panting heavily.

"Please... please tell me you have some water? I’m exhausted! Dying of thirst!" Ning Xuan exclaimed as if he’d found his saviors.

The men in the pavilion were all taken aback. This guy had some serious nerve. Could he be a runaway young master from some major family? This kid had zero experience in the Jianghu!

The man in the center of the group of five gave a subtle look to the man on his right. The latter immediately stood up, walked over to Ning Xuan, and handed him a waterskin.

Without even checking it, Ning Xuan began to guzzle the water down, not stopping until not a single drop was left.