“I’ve finally won their acceptance.” Lu Yun sighed with relief when he felt the flow of goodwill from Dusk City. Although it wasn’t much, it was all directed to him, which meant that the cultivators in the city approved of this job performance.

That was a very good start.

I’m close to ascending to the origin core realm, but no hurry. I still have time. With a wave of his hand, he bid the hovering fortress ship to land.

Having taken care of that trivial matter, Lu Yun quickly put the thought of House Donglin from the Aureate Major out of his mind. What bothered him was the way he’d flown into a rage when he heard that Qing Han had been injured. He had many good friends back on Earth, but that had never been his response to a good friend’s injury before.

Has he somehow turned me gay? He decisively swept the random mess away with a firm shake of his head and retreated back to the Gates of the Abyss, beginning his grueling training regime anew.

……

“That’s the head of the ninth young master, sir!” A group halted outside the southern city gate, looking up at the head hanging over the walls.

“This subordinate will—” A man in crimson robes moved to retrieve the head with the young master’s nascent spirit, but another man stopped him.

“No need. Let the embarrassing brat hang there and reflect over his mistakes,” said a middle-aged man with a visage that demanded respect. He carried himself with a majestic walk, and the qi of the land wreathed around him at all times. Clearly, he was a high-level immortal who’d sealed his own cultivation.

“However, we must teach that governor a lesson for disrespecting House Donglin.” The authoritative, middle-aged man’s expression turned frosty. “Soldiers, charge. Raze all of Dusk City except for the southern gate! I want the Dusk governor to retrieve Shaogong’s head on his knees.”

“Understood!” exclaimed hundreds of immortals in golden armor behind him. They rushed toward the city like a golden wave. All of them were high-level immortals who’d sealed away their cultivation. Even in this state, they were much more powerful than regular august immortals.

“Be ready, Zhu He.” The middle-aged man turned to a man in crimson by his side. “As soon as the governor’s pet zombie shows up, capture it with the Mirror of Reincarnation.”

“Understood.” The man vanished in a flash of red.

“Celestial Emperor of Nephrite Major?” The middle-aged man’s gaze turned mocking. “So what if you’re powerful? Your major is so weak. What can you do when House Donglin takes the Dusk Province seal by force and acquires the legacy of the ancient lord? Are you going to risk offending the Eminent Aureate Major?”

The immortals in golden armor began their attack on the city by making quick work of the grand defensive formation.

Roar!!

That was the cue for a tremendous dragon howl to explode from within the city. A giant black dragon head poked over the city walls with its maw wide open, creating a terrifying suction force. It devoured all of the armored immortals in a quick flash.

“What is that?!” The sudden appearance of a ten-thousand-yard long black dragon floored both the middle-aged man and Zhu He, the man in crimson who’d concealed himself in the air.

“Where did that wild dragon come from?” raged the middle-aged man. “How dare it injure the immortals of House Donglin?!”

Reaching the golden immortal realm made one royalty in this world, enabling them to preside over a city. Therefore, it was no easy task to create an army of golden immortals. Forming an eight-hundred-strong troop of entirely golden immortals was an impressive feat, even by the standards of the world of immortals.

The eight hundred armored immortals that’d just been eaten alive were all golden immortals, and one of the stronger troops in House Donglin’s employ. However, the immortals, with their cultivation sealed, had been swallowed by a black dragon before they could do anything.

Such an ignoble end quite enraged the middle-aged man, who held absolute power over his house.

“House Donglin again?” A young man clad in black floated to a graceful landing on the head of the black dragon. With a hand on the dragon’s horn, he settled his cold gaze on the middle-aged man. “Didn’t you learn your lesson last night?”

“You aren’t the Dusk governor. Who are you?!” The man narrowed his eyes and began undoing his seal. However, a cold, murderous intent locked on to him when his aura approached a tipping point, intimidating him into reinforcing the seal and halting the attempted ascension.

The Dusk Province restriction was certainly no child’s play.

“Me?” The young man smiled. “I’m an envoy of His Majesty the Celestial Emperor of Nephrite Major, here to preside over the selection on his behalf. House Donglin has challenged Nephrite Major’s authority one too many times. It seems you truly hold no respect for His Majesty.”

Qing Han’s expression turned frosty and he manifested the shiny token that represented the will of the celestial emperor. His bright voice rang throughout the province, “By the order of His Majesty the Celestial Emperor, House Donglin of the Aureate Major is hereby divested of their right to pursue the seat of the Governor of Dusk. Moreover, all Donglin immortals are to piss off from Dusk Province within thirty breaths, or there will be no mercy shown and no quarter!”

……

“Qing Han’s changed! He’s picked up Lu Yun’s bad habits! That governor’s a bad influence!” Feng Li collapsed to the ground from his vantage point in the city.

Lu Yun had turned the Lu Clan into a Nephrite laughingstock by prohibiting the clan from entering Dusk Province. And now Qing Han had done the same… no, he’d done something even worse!

He’d humiliated House Donglin with the entire world as witness! Did he really not worry that this would trigger a war between Nephrite and Aureate?

……

“I don’t know them, I don’t! Mommy, I wanna go home!” Li Youcai shot out of Duskwater City in the throes of a tearful breakdown, but a strand of starlight caught up with him in the next moment. Mo Yi grabbed his giant meatball of a body and set a course for Dusk City.

“Lu Yun and Qing Han, hmm hmm. They’re quite heroic alright. Come, let’s go show our support for them!” Carrying Li Youcai like a sack of potatoes, she vanished from her city in a flash of starlight.

……

“What did you say?!” It took some time for the middle-aged man to recover from his shock. His eyes blazed with uncontained fury when he digested what had just happened. “Say that again?!”

“Thirty breaths have passed. Kill all members of House Donglin.”

Roar!!

The black dragon under Qing Han’s feet shook the skies with its furious howl. Its giant body soared into the air and lunged at the man.

“Peerless immortal!” The man widened his eyes. “Isn’t there a restriction here forbidding all immortals over the golden immortal level? Why is there a peerless immortal here? Is the restriction a lie?!”

Clink!

A strange glyph appeared between his eyebrows and shattered.