Outside the cave on Dragon Cave Mountain, two Return Void Stage One experts unleashed their Holy Yuan without restraint, bombarding the open ground in an effort to wear down the array that Yang Yan had set up.
Wu Yi clenched her fists nervously, her voice trembling. "Yang Yan, hurry up and deal with them!"
Last time, it was Yang Yan who had been operating the array, helping Yang Kai kill the Saint King Realm experts of the Xu family. In the end, not a single member of the Xu family had escaped. Wu Yi had assumed Yang Yan could do the same thing again.
Yang Yan shook her head. "If they entered the array, I could guarantee they wouldn't get out. But if they won't go in, there's nothing I can do."
Arrays had this inherent flaw — no matter how powerful or unpredictable they were, if one simply stayed outside their range, even the mightiest array was rendered useless.
"Then what do we do?" Wu Yi panicked.
Yang Yan smiled faintly. "Don't worry. That array is meant for others to break."
Yang Kai glanced at her in surprise, immediately realizing that the array over there was far more than what it appeared on the surface. He was certain that if Hong Zhen and his senior brother broke through the array they could see now and pressed further in, they would absolutely fall into a far more formidable one.
Even Yang Yan — the most cautious among them — was completely composed right now. How could Yang Kai fail to see through the trick? How laughable that those two Return Void experts were completely oblivious, thinking that breaking those arrays would settle everything.
Boom, boom, boom…
Hong Zhen's twelve flying daggers and the octagonal spiked hammer of the other Return Void expert continued to pound the array, making it look as though it was on the verge of collapse at any moment.
Xie Hongwen seemed to have tired himself out from shouting and was now waiting expectantly nearby, his gaze sweeping hungrily back and forth over Yang Yan and Wu Yi. His lewd stare was deeply unsettling.
Ian, the patriarch of the Haick family, and several of the family's elders and patrons fawned nearby with servile smiles, making Wu Yi feel nauseous.
While the array out here had yet to be broken, a group of people suddenly appeared from over a dozen li away.
"Huh? Why is there the sound of fighting over there?" The Return Void expert leading the group exclaimed in surprise. The commotion from Hong Zhen and his fellow disciple attacking the array was considerable — audible even from over ten li away.
"That person must have offended someone he shouldn't have again." A middle-aged man walking behind the leader glanced toward the cave. Secretly delighted, he put on a grief-stricken expression and wailed, "Lord Luo, that brat has been incredibly arrogant. Just days ago, he slaughtered over a dozen members of my Xu family — from the patriarch down to the young masters. Our family has suffered terribly. Please, Lord Luo, uphold justice and avenge us!"
Luo Qing nodded lightly. "I know. Patriarch Xu once did me a small favor. That's why I came along with you this time — to get an explanation on his behalf. If the young man knows what's good for him, we'll let it slide. If not, I'm afraid he'll have to be taught a lesson."
Luo Qing stressed the words "small favor" heavily, clearly signaling that while he was willing to help, he absolutely would not risk his life over it.
"Thank you, Lord Luo! Thank you, Lord Luo!" The group, led by the middle-aged man, showered Luo Qing with gratitude.
This group was none other than the warriors of the Xu family. When the news that their patriarch, elders, and patrons had all perished reached the family, they immediately realized they lacked the strength to seek revenge on their own and hurried to Tianyun City for help.
The middle-aged man, Xu Zhibing, was the cousin of Xu family patriarch Xu Zhikun. Only at the Saint King Stage Two level, he was the one who had invited the Return Void expert Luo Qing.
Xu Zhibing knew his own limitations well. He understood that with his own standing, there was no way he could get City Lord Fei Zhitu to uphold justice. And indeed, the facts proved him right — even when Haick family patriarch Ian went in person bearing gifts, Fei Zhitu hadn't taken him seriously either.
How could he be bothered with feuds between minor families? If Ian hadn't happened to run into Xie Hongwen, he would still be waiting for news at the city lord's mansion right now.
Xu Zhibing hadn't gone to the city lord's mansion. Instead, he went straight to find Luo Qing, because years ago Xu Zhikun had once done Luo Qing a small favor. That alone was enough to ensure Luo Qing wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
Sure enough, Xu Zhibing had brought Luo Qing along. They stormed toward Dragon Cave Mountain with aggressive momentum, but before they even reached the cave, they could already hear the sounds of battle.
The group quickened their pace and soon arrived before the cave. Looking ahead, Luo Qing let out a soft sound of surprise and quickly walked up to Xie Hongwen to bow. "Greetings, Young Master Xie."
Xie Hongwen was in the middle of urging Hong Zhen and his fellow disciple to break the array faster. Hearing the voice, he glanced sideways at Luo Qing and said in surprise, "Aren't you that guard from the Jubao Tower? What are you doing here instead of standing watch?"
Luo Qing hurriedly replied, "If I may explain, Young Master Xie, I had some prior dealings with the Xu family patriarch who died here. I've been asked by his people to come and demand an explanation from his killer."
Xie Hongwen responded with an "oh." "So you're here to stick up for someone too, are you? Good, good, good — your timing is perfect. Go on then, help Hong Zhen and the others smash that damned array to pieces. Break it and I'll reward you handsomely. Those two useless wastes can't even handle a single array — they've been at it forever."
Although Luo Qing served as a guard at the Jubao Tower, he was ultimately a man of the Shadow Moon Hall. Naturally, he dared not disobey Xie Hongwen's words. He nodded and said, "I wouldn't dare refuse Young Master Xie's command."