Just as the Four Righteous Ones of the Fallen Heaven Society stood poised and ready, their faces filled with fury, several figures emerged from the main gate of the Fallen Heaven Society's headquarters.
Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan led the way, while the Peerless Great Emperor and Lady Yun strolled along unhurriedly behind them. Liu Zhen hadn't come out at all — he'd stayed inside to guard all of the Fallen Heaven Society's prisoners.
Every last prisoner had been placed under seal, reduced to turtles in a jar with absolutely no room to resist. Forget Liu Zhen — even an ordinary martial artist at the True Qi Realm could cut them down one by one now.
The Four Righteous Ones were shaken with both shock and rage. What shocked them was how brazenly these people moved in and out of their territory. What enraged them was that they, the very masters of the Fallen Heaven Society, now looked more like the challengers barging in. The other side had completely taken over their own turf!
Cong Taiyan drew a deep breath, suppressing his fury, and said through gritted teeth: "Coming to the Fallen Heaven Society's territory to slaughter our people — I have to admit, you've got some nerve."
Jiang Chen offered a mild smile. Long Xiaoxuan just shrugged. "Killed them already. What are you gonna do about it? Why don't you say they deserved it instead?"
Cong Taiyan nearly coughed up blood from rage.
They'd killed his people, and they were still this arrogant — not a shred of awareness that disaster was bearing down on them. Cong Taiyan was thoroughly provoked by Long Xiaoxuan's attitude.
"Fine, fine, fine! Looks like there's no point in me asking about your backgrounds." Cong Taiyan shot a meaningful glance at his three sworn brothers.
"Doesn't matter where they're from — kill them all!"
With a thunderous shout, Cong Taiyan was about to strike. He could see clearly enough that while these two youngsters looked arrogant, the real power behind them was undoubtedly the couple in the back.
Gave to say, Cong Taiyan had a sharp eye.
The atmosphere on the scene turned heavy in an instant, a battle on the verge of erupting.
Right at this critical moment, a loud shout suddenly came from the distance: "Hold! Hold your hands!"
At the sound of that voice, Cong Taiyan and his companions were overjoyed, because they recognized who it belonged to.
Third Master Jing — the Vice Sect Master of the Moon God Sect's First Branch!
Third Master Jing's strength might fall slightly short, but he was much younger than them, held no less of a position or backing, and carried considerable weight in the Moon God Sect's councils.
Most importantly, the First Branch of the Moon God Sect represented one of Frost Moon City's official powers. With their involvement, the odds of bringing down these madmen improved dramatically.
Third Master Jing approached with hurried steps. Seeing the tension-filled standoff, he quickly said: "Everyone, calm down. Brother Cong, calm down."
Hearing Third Master Jing address him this way, Cong Taiyan felt a twinge of displeasure. In terms of seniority, Third Master Jing was actually a generation below him.
Yet this man had the audacity to call him "Brother Cong" directly — that was hard to swallow. Still, considering Third Master Jing was the Vice Sect Master of the First Branch, Cong Taiyan gritted his teeth and let it slide.
But these words — they did nothing to bolster the Fallen Heaven Society's morale. Instead, Third Master Jing was telling him to calm down. Wasn't that the same as deflating his people's fighting spirit?
And so Cong Taiyan's mood plummeted from hopeful to cold in the blink of an eye.
"Third Master Jing, you're the Vice Sect Master of the First Branch, at the very least. Here in Frost Moon City, you have an obligation to uphold its rules. These men came to my Fallen Heaven Society's headquarters and went on a killing spree. Look at them — every single one was a pillar of our society! Killed just like that? Third Master Jing, tell me — can I really just swallow this?"
The more Cong Taiyan spoke, the angrier he became.
Though they were both factions of Frost Moon City, the Fallen Heaven Society and the First Branch were never exactly on the same page.
Sure, there had been the occasional private cooperation. But the First Branch was an official power, while the Fallen Heaven Society operated underground.
Between the two, there were bound to be frictions.
Most crucially, the camps they each belonged to weren't even in the same faction. That made any genuine closeness impossible.
But even so — in times like this, everyone was working for the Moon God Sect. The First Branch had every obligation to join forces with the Fallen Heaven Society against a common enemy.
Third Master Jing was a man who'd seen the world. He certainly wasn't going to panic and lose his composure just because of a few sharp words from Cong Taiyan.
True enough, each of the Fallen Heaven Society's four leaders surpassed him in martial cultivation.
But a slight edge in strength didn't necessarily mean their status was higher.
In fact, his position as Vice Sect Master of the First Branch actually carried more weight than any of the Four Righteous Ones. After all, he was significantly younger than them — a promising seed that the Sect had invested in nurturing.
So, seeing Cong Taiyan's hostile tone, Third Master Jing said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes: "Master Cong, Frost Moon City does indeed have its rules. If you truly want the First Branch to step in, shouldn't both sides at least get a chance to speak?"
If it were any other troublemakers, Third Master Jing wouldn't have wasted a breath — he'd have thrown them in chains first and asked questions later.
But from a distance, he'd already seen that the ones causing trouble were this same group again — the very people who'd humiliated him before, forcing him to swallow bitter pills he couldn't spit back out.