Late at night at the west gate of Sky City.

I was currently standing on the square next to the gate with all of my equipment visual effects turned on. The hilt of The Chill of Nine Provinces was peeking out of my cloak. Swirls of icy energy could be seen circling around it. Anyone who lay their eyes on the weapon would know that the weapon was used for only one purpose: murder. The Phantom Wolf King was crouching next to me and enjoying my ministrations to its head and ears.

"Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls is offering 10000 RMB to purchase 1 Luck! Buyers will gain the right to join Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and fight by the side of Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, Beiming Xue, and Gui Guzi!"

Chaos Moon spared no effort in shouting her lines as loudly and invitingly as possible. It was like a cold war. Whoever gained the most Luck out of this race would gain the upper hand in future conflicts.

Not far away, Blue Sky Scar, Nangong Lexi and Laughing At The Heavens were doing the same thing. They were all doing their best to purchase as much Luck as possible for their guilds. Even Candle Dragon and Snowy Cathaya were in the race despite the fact that Bronze City and Dark Steel City’s buffs weren’t permanent. After all, it might as well be permanent if they never lost the cities to anyone. Considering their strength, it was definitely doable.

……

"Hello, Beauty Chaos Moon!"

A young fighter wearing Earth-grade metal armor stopped in front of Chaos Moon and asked, "10000 RMB for 1 Luck, is it? Can you offer anything else if I give you more?"

Chaos Moon shot him a glance. "How much Luck do you have?"

The fighter raised four fingers. "4!"

Chaos Moon smiled. "Donate it all, and you will be given the right to become a Dragonlight Cavalryman after one month of observation!"

"Deal!"

And so the fighter became a member of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and donated all 4 of his Luck to his new guild. After he went away in a chippy manner, Chaos Moon shot me a smile and said, "One Dragonscale Beast for 40 Holy Mages? It’s so worth it I almost felt sorry for the guy!"

My mouth twitched. "Keep it up. You have all of my moral support!"

"Kay…"

……

A short while later, I decided to set up a midnight stall right beside Chaos Moon and began selling the equipment I had gotten during the war for the Cities of Heaven. There was a ton of great stuff like a Heaven-grade ring with a 7% lifesteal that was worth at least 50k RMB. Earning money was the only way I could feel better while spending money and resources to purchase Luck.

An hour passed, and the number of players on the western square grew smaller and smaller. Then, I saw Candlelight Shadow and Warsky walking over to their booths. They were probably here to check how their Luck purchasing was going.

It was an odd sight. We guild leaders rarely gathered at one place that wasn’t the battlefield. About ten meters away from me, Candlelight Shadow watched me coolly with one hand on his sword hilt. Then, he abruptly unsheathed the weapon but kept it pointed to the ground. His fire dragon, currently in a child form, was perched above his sword. It was obvious that he bore a grudge against me after I screwed him over during the contest for Gold City.

I rose to my feet and shrugged fearlessly at him. "Allow me to remind you that Amber Pupil was the one who took your life. If you feel resentful, feel free to fuck up the Dark Mercenaries in the outer lands!"

Candlelight Shadow smiled. "Do you think I’m stupid, Lu Chen? Why would I hunt down Dark Mercenaries at this critical moment? Those fuckers will die one way or another, but now is not the time. Candle Dragon may have only gotten the consolation prize, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make good use of it. Just watch. I, Candlelight Shadow, will make even a piece of rotten wood shine as bright as the sun!"

Blue Sky Scar was also glaring at us menacingly.

Chaos Moon grew annoyed. She planted her sword on the ground and glared right back at them, "The war for the Cities of Heaven is already over. If you’re displeased with the result, then you may challenge our ace to 1v1 outside the western gate. I’m sure you’re not that stupid though. You know your chance of beating Lu Chen is lower than 50%, right?"

Candlelight Shadow gritted his teeth visibly, but he didn’t fall for Chaos Moon’s taunt. He knew just as well as I that his chances of winning against me were less than 40%. My equipment was slightly better than his, and my Ancient Divine Dragon was much better than his fire dragon. My Chill of the Nine Provinces, while not one of the Twelve Divine Armaments yet, was also better than the sword he was using right now. Its septuple damage property especially would one-shot Candlelight Shadow every time it triggered. Even my Ancient Divine Skill, the Xuanyuan Slash, was a tad better than his Pangu’s Axe. Frankly, his chances of beating me in a fair fight weren't high at all.

A long time later, Candlelight Shadow finally squeezed out a retort. "I’m not going to argue with a woman, especially one whose tongue may as well be forged in iron."

Chaos Moon stomped her foot furiously. "Who the fuck are you calling an iron tongue!?"

I glanced at Chaos Moon’s bouncing bunnies and chuckled. "Hi, Chaos Moons. You girls are looking very bouncy today…"

Chaos Moon’s gaze turned murderous. "Whose side are you on!? Just you wait, I’m going to drive to your workshop and murder you tonight!”

After a brief pause, she added, “My bunnies are pretty bouncy though…"

Me: "..."

……

It was at this moment Warsky walked over with October Rain, Lin Bing Dou Zhe and the rest of his generals. He said smilingly, "To be honest… I understand Candlelight Shadow’s feelings pretty well…"

Candlelight Shadow shot him a disdainful glance. "Like hell you understand me!"

Warsky’s smile froze for a second, but he continued, "Of course I do. During the war of Gold City, almost all of your main force was crushed by Ancient Sword’s 70000 Dragonlight Cavalrymen. Your Qiu Beast Cavalrymen were completely useless against them. Later on, you were easily taken out by a piece of shit like Amber Pupil, which led to Ye Yuse’s death afterward. Ye Yuse is your woman, isn’t she? How can a man who can’t even protect his own woman deserve the title of China’s Martial God? In the end, it was Lu Chen who took out Dark Mercenaries for you, but instead of thanking him for his efforts you’re provoking him instead. Do you understand what gratitude means, Fang Zhuo?"

Candlelight Shadow’s face was white with rage at this point. "What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Warsky? Are you here to ridicule Candle Dragon or what?"

Warsky raised his head, slammed his Immortality Blade into a brick, and declared fearlessly. "You should’ve seen this coming, Candlelight Shadow. Do you still remember that battle at Venomous Wasp Forest? I had gone to you to check if you were willing to form a military alliance between Candle Dragon and Warsky Alliance, and how did you respond? You pointed at my nose, called me useless trash with hollow authority, and claimed that Warsky Alliance doesn’t even deserve to become Candle Dragon’s shoeshiner, much less an ally. I’ve never forgotten that humiliation even now!"

Candlelight Shadow laughed. "I see, I see! The guild leader of Warsky Alliance is really a small-minded person!"

Warsky sneered. "So what if I am? Yes, I’m the type who’ll hound you forever for one humiliation! Are you terrified? I’ve been waiting for this, Candlelight Shadow. Both Candle Dragon’s three-year reign as the number one guild and your legend are over, while the era of Ancient Sword and Warsky Alliance has just begun! That’s the reason you’re acting so pissy, isn’t it!? You’re angry that Ancient Sword has replaced your guild as the new number one!"

Candlelight Shadow replied darkly, "You’ve barked and bitten off too much for a noname who didn’t even register as a blip on the radar until Heavenblessed, Warsky. Just watch. Your retribution may come sooner than you think!"

Warsky shrugged. "And I and my 100000 Gold Cavalrymen will look forward to your arrival. I cannot wait for you to see how badly your Life of the Tamer is going to perform before my Gold Cavalry!"

I interrupted, "Bruh, you only have 700+ Luck right now. Are you going to pull out the rest of your cavalrymen from your asshole or something? At least prepare a script for your boasts!"

Warsky’s mouth twitched. "Fuck, stay out of this man, I’m not even talking to you…"

Chaos Moon agreed. "He’s right. Why the heck are you interfering with the stand-off between two dogs when you can be buying more Luck instead? Once we’ve gotten our 100k Holy Mages, both their Gold Cavalrymen and Life Tamers are going to be wiped off the surface of this continent anyway…"

Me: "..."

Candlelight Shadow: "..."

Warsky: "..."

Silence enveloped the western square of Sky City for a time. All the other players in the area were keeping their heads low to avoid attracting attention, but opening their ears as wide as possible so they wouldn’t miss a single word of our conversation. After all, it wasn’t every day you've got to listen to the dialogue between the executive-level players of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Warsky Alliance and Candle Dragon, much less the CGL Hall of Famers. It was one of the juiciest gossips you could learn from this game.

Blue Sky Scar glared at Warsky and uttered out words that dripped with venom, "Savor this while it lasts, Warsky. When your lucky streak is over, Candle Dragon will grant you a payback like nothing you’ve ever seen before…"

Warsky guffawed while lifting his Immortal Blade to his shoulder, "It’d better be! It’d be too easy otherwise!"

……

Swhoosh...

Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the darkness. He lay his emotionless gaze on Blue Sky Scar and said, "Blue Sky, you must think you’re so cool right now, don’t you? Want to make good on your threat and become even cooler? I offer you the chance to 1v1 me outside this gate in a best of 7 right now. Whoever wins will pay the other person 1 million gold. What do you say?"

"You!"

Blue Sky Scar wasn’t dumb enough to fall for the taunt. He uttered through gritted teeth, "Are you a child, Farewell Song? 1v1?"

Farewell Song smirked. "I knew you wouldn’t dare."

"Is that so?"

Candlelight Shadow abruptly pointed his sword at Farewell Song. "I challenge you to a 1v1, Farewell Song. In fact, I raise you 1 million each round for your best of 7. Do you dare?"

……

Farewell Song looked surprised. Candlelight Shadow’s counter-challenge had surprised everyone.

Warsky pressed his lips together. "Forget it. This match isn’t fair at all. Everyone knows how disadvantageous it is for an assassin to go up against a warrior. Are you seriously lowering yourself to this extent, Candlelight Shadow?"

Candlelight Shadow replied indifferently, "If he was any other assassin, sure. But he is Farewell Song, the strongest assassin in the entire China server, isn’t he?"

Farewell Song raised his head and declared, "It’s fine, Warsky. I accept. 1 million per round, is it? Very well! I’ll fight you, Candlelight Shadow!"