"That's the kid!" In response to Liang Yong's question, Shan Ying jabbed a finger forward and said through gritted teeth, "That's him! He doesn't regard our Lingxiao Sect in the slightest! I told him clearly and plainly that Bibō City falls under the jurisdiction of the Lingxiao Sect, and that I'm City Lord Liang's man. But this kid is utterly brazen and arrogant — he didn't believe a word. I beg City Lord Liang to teach him a proper lesson."
After speaking, Shan Ying turned to look at Yang Kai with smug satisfaction, his gaze brimming with malicious anticipation.
He was eager to see Yang Kai drop to his knees and beg for mercy, which would let him vent all the fury bottled up inside.
But to his disappointment, Yang Kai showed no trace of panic. He simply stood there as calmly as ever, arms folded across his chest, a faint, inscrutable smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, his eyes pressing boldly toward Liang Yong with undisguised arrogance.
This kid really had nerve! City Lord Liang himself had arrived on the scene, and yet he showed not the slightest fear. In that moment, Shan Ying couldn't help but feel a sliver of grudging admiration for Yang Kai.
But his contemptuous disregard would only push City Lord Liang further over the edge, and when that happened, his fate would surely be even more wretched.
Shan Ying sneered inwardly and cast a casual glance at Liang Yong — just in time to see him stride forward, surging rapidly toward Yang Kai.
Shan Ying's eyes widened in anticipation, eagerly awaiting the show.
The girl in green and her companions were all drenched in nervous sweat, their faces drawn with alarm. The many martial artists who had just moments ago voiced their support for Yang Kai and taken his side, seeing Liang Yong bear down with such ferocity, instinctively retreated several steps, putting distance between themselves and Yang Kai — afraid that the fire at the city gate would claim innocent bystanders.
Some were already silently cursing their earlier impulsiveness.
Liang Yong's great name was well known to all.
After the Zhantian Alliance was destroyed, he had become the City Lord of Zhantian City, placed directly under the Lingxiao Sect's management.
Though the Lingxiao Sect's reputation had spread far and wide in recent years, their operations seemed remarkably low-key — no one had ever heard of a Lingxiao Sect disciple appearing out in the world. And Liang Yong had apparently become the Lingxiao Sect's public face!
Now that he had come to this place, regardless of his personal strength, he represented the colossal power of the Lingxiao Sect!
Even if he were an ordinary mortal with no Cultivation whatsoever, no one would dare lay a finger on him — let alone the fact that he was a top-tier expert at the Void Return Third Stage, whose pure strength surpassed even Shan Ying's by a considerable margin.
The kid was done for!
Many people looked at Yang Kai with expressions of sympathy. No matter how formidable a backer this young man might have, today he would surely meet a horrible end here, and no one would dare avenge him.
A distance of over a dozen zhang closed in the blink of an eye. Liang Yong rushed up to Yang Kai and, without the slightest pause, swept his robes aside and dropped to one knee, lowering his head as he spoke in a deep, resonant voice: "Your subordinate Liang Yong pays respects to the Sect Master!"
The movement was clean and precise, as if rehearsed countless times, without the slightest hesitation.
Yang Kai's expression remained cold and detached as he gazed down at Liang Yong from above, the faint smirk at the corner of his lips unchanged, lending him an unfathomable air.
Every pair of eyes in the vicinity nearly burst from their sockets.
Everyone who witnessed this scene stood with mouths agape and eyes bulging, nearly convinced they had misread what they saw, nearly convinced they had misheard — as if trapped in some waking dream.
The scene fell utterly silent, yet from somewhere beyond, an invisible chill seemed to descend upon the space before the City Lord's Manor, plunging many into an icy dread.
Shan Ying's face was a mask of stunned disbelief. He stared, transfixed, at Liang Yong.
He suddenly noticed that fine beads of sweat were seeping from Liang Yong's forehead. The beads coalesced into droplets that slid down from his brow and along his cheeks.
Drip. Drip...
Shan Ying's body shook violently. A flash of insight struck his mind — he suddenly recalled a piece of information he had heard before.
It was said that the Sect Master of the Lingxiao Sect, Yang Kai, was apparently a young man not far past his youth. Judging from all the various descriptions he had heard, the person bore a vague resemblance to this troublemaker standing before him...
And the way Liang Yong had addressed him just now appeared to be...
Shan Ying's eyes rolled back, and he nearly collapsed on the spot.
"Your subordinates pay respects to the Sect Master! We were unaware that the Sect Master had graced us with his presence, and we failed to come out and welcome you properly. We humbly beg the Sect Master's forgiveness!" The shouts rang out in perfect unison from the martial artists Liang Yong had brought, shaking the heavens and thundering through every heart present.
The girl in green was once more frozen in place, staring blankly at Yang Kai. It took a good long while before understanding seemed to dawn, and a brilliant, extraordinary light shimmered in her beautiful eyes.
"Liang Yong..." Yang Kai called out, his voice flat and unhurried.
"Your subordinate is here!" Liang Yong answered hastily, his voice trembling slightly.
"It's been a few years, and you've really made something of yourself." Yang Kai remarked with a light, cold laugh.
"Your subordinate wouldn't dare!" Cold sweat continued to stream from Liang Yong's forehead, his entire appearance as though he had been fished out of a river — his robes completely soaked through. Hearing the displeasure in Yang Kai's words, he hurried to say, "Your subordinate has failed to discipline those under him, causing the Sect Master unnecessary trouble. I beg the Sect Master to punish me!"
"Hmm. We'll get to your punishment later. But I'm rather curious — when exactly did you join the Lingxiao Sect? I never gave the order. Who recruited you?"
Liang Yong's body trembled, and his gaze darted sideways toward Shan Ying with venomous hatred — a fury beyond words.
Just moments ago, he had received word at Zhantian City that someone was causing trouble here. He had immediately led a group through the Space Teleportation Array to this location, never imagining that the moment he stepped out of the City Lord's Manor, he would lay eyes on the person he feared most in all his life.
He wished he could tear that blind, senseless fool Shan Ying to shreds.
"The Sect Master sees clearly! Your subordinate has long admired the grandeur of our Sect and harbored the desire to join, ready to pledge his life and blood in its service — but the opportunity never arose. Your subordinate was fortunate enough to be valued by the Sect Master and appointed City Lord of Zhantian City, to manage it on behalf of the Sect Master and the Sect, and to gather supplies and resources. But your subordinate is merely a survivor of the Zhantian Alliance. Fearing that my authority might not be accepted by others, I made this public announcement as a necessary pretense — it was a measure born of necessity. Vice City Lord Ge is also aware of this matter." After a brief moment of thought, Liang Yong hastily delivered his report.