*Slam*

Sheng Hunagye's fist shattered the precious heavy wood table.

He had always been known for two things, his quickness to anger and his cunning mind. But none of his plans and orders coming from the latter had born fruits. And so, he resorted to the former.

Deng Guiying's suggestion of sending Chen Guang into the 'Underground Land of the River' had proved to be accurate, and not even the old man could have expected such great results.

The information about the incident from 5 years ago, names, and even a group from the Demon Worshippers region. All brought by a single 16 years old Sage cultivator several hours ago.

But, Sheng Huangye had not managed to use it at all.

Oh, he had acted, and orders to capture the people Chen Guang mentioned flew even before the boy finished talking. But as he and the council received reports, it turned out that all the groups had failed to find their targets. It was like both the Ke and the 'Blood' clans elders were aware of what would happen and escaped from the city in time.

"Pill Master Hu Chang, and instructor Tao Mei" Sheng Huangye muttered the names of Hu Mu's master and the one used by the female elder that had brought the Ke clan youngsters to the city six years ago. Using this moment to calm himself, he immediately issued an order "Shou Yi, I want bounty notices sent to every power in the region, and pass them to the 'Ten Families' as well"

"What about the reward?" The elderly woman asked while lightly inclining her head.

"Up to a hundred medium spirit stones for information and an Earth-tier weapon for their capture. Ideally alive, but if not, we will pay as well" Sheng Huangye thought for a few moments and decided. Such a bounty was good even for a peak Warrior King target, and the targets weren't close to that level.

"High, but it should make the bounties far more attractive. It will be done" Shou Yi slowly nodded.

"I will not ask how it was possible for them to have lived in the city for so much time and us not having even the slightest idea of their true identity. Still, Uncle Meng, even if you have to do it yourself, investigate every contact, acquaintance, and employer" After sending a glance at his uncle, the head of the 'Law Enforcement Palace', Sheng Huangye continued

"It would have been impossible for Hu Mu to get that spot without assistance, and his master could not have provided it. The same thing with Tao Mei, or whatever she's called. I want to know who brought her into the clan and who made it possible for five unrelated youngsters to get their spots"

"It will be done" It was now the thin and balding man's turn to incline his head.

"Shou Tian, what do you think of the incident at the boy's manor?" Sheng Huangye returned to the topic that had been the motive of his last anger outburst. They had not even thought of sending someone to keep an eye on it, and now it was almost as if they allowed it to happen.

"I am not sure, Lord. From what he told us, the only possible suspect would be Hu Chang. Grandmaster Li says that anti-tracking measures were used. So except the timing, about a week ago, we can not be sure of anything" Shou Tian slightly lifted from his seat and reported. Although neither he nor the other people in the room could even consider this information a report.

"Haaa... Deng Guiying is there, but do send a few items, and my condolences" Sheng Huangye heavily exhaled. Chen Guang was just a Sage and not even a true resident of the city, but he had been of use. And could be even more in the future, as the reports about his talent were not mistaken, Sheng Huangye confirming them in person.

"Understood" Shou Tian nodded and lowered himself back.

"And make someone to keep an eye on Chen Guang all the time. Until he departs the city, I want every moment documented. And not a single strand of his hair to fall inside the city, understood?" Sheng Huangye looked at the two men and the single woman of his close council and confirming that they all nodded, continued "You are dismissed. It is time for the Lantern Festival to begin and for me to make an appearance"

Sheng Huangye stood up and began making his way towards the exit of the meeting room right as he finished speaking. But he was stopped midway, by Shou Yi, who asked in concern "Lord, what about Sheng Fang?"

"What about him? I made him brought in and confirmed that he's safe" Sheng Huangye only briefly turned to look at the woman and then answered with a shrug, restarting his way.

He knew what she was asking about, but Sheng Huangye never discussed his decisions. He could ask for advice and even followed a good deal of them, but only before he took action. In Sheng Feng's case, the decision to lock him into the dungeon for 15 days as punishment was already taken and enforced.

___________________________________________________________________

Having controlled himself quickly, for when Grandmaster Li had arrived Bai Qi was calm. It wasn't the fake calmness from before, but his normal state. The Grandmaster had rushed with the intention of not only trying to track the culprit but also console the boy, and so, was taken aback by Bai Qi's calm words.

"Grandmaster, I am sorry to take your time, especially in such a moment. But as you see, while I was inside the zone, someone killed my helper" Bai Qi politely greeted and after calmly explaining, requested the Grandmaster's assistance.

One that he received immediately, although to no avail.

Bai Qi's senses had already caught on to the lack of trackable aura traces, so he mostly wanted confirmation from a half-saint formation master.

Afterward, Bai Qi refused the youthful-faced but old man offer of company, citing that he would like to remain alone for a bit.

Grandmaster Li complied, inwardly considering that Bai Qi's calmness was only a facade. And that he simply did not want to show his emotions in front of others. Thus, after thanking him for the discovery of the Ke clan's actions, the ones that led to the death of the Grandmaster's son, he almost immediately retired.

Bai Qi's true thoughts at the moment were more about revenge, and no true sadness permeated them. Still, he understood that even if he could track the culprit, which should probably be Hu Mu's master, Hu Chang, he had no way of enacting revenge.

Hu Chang was supposedly a peak Warrior Lord, and even with most of Bai Qi's trump cards, it was an opponent out of his league. Bai Qi also felt that even if he risked and began searching for him, the 'Blood' clan cultivator probably was on the way back to his clan. And that meant the Demon Worshippers region, a place where Bai Qi could not guarantee his safety.

Hu Chang had not only killed Xia Fan but also trashed and destroyed everything inside the manor. And although there had been not many valuables, and the City Lord had already promised to repair and replace everything, Bai Qi decided that there was nothing for him here.

Thus, Bai Qi decided that his plan of leaving Shuomen city still was the correct one. "I need to find a place where I can safely train and improve my cultivation" He reaffirmed his objective, and now left alone, planned to think about such a place. Ideally, he also wanted it to be a place free of politics and power struggles, lest he got involved again.

***

When Deng Guiying had brought Sheng Feng to the City Palace, he was already planning to meet with Chen Guang. The boy had proved himself talented at everything, even making enemies. Sheng Feng had been trying to explain how badly he had been treated by him for half of the path after all.

Deng Guiying did not believe more than a tenth of what he heard, mainly because he knew how Sheng Feng was. Still, that probably would not be the same with his parents. Or the trash that had been bootlicking the young Lord in hopes of getting into the City Palace later.

Thankfully he knew Sheng Huangye fairly well, and Deng Guiying was sure that the Lord would not truly pay attention to anything else than actions. And for the latter, even without hearing everything, it was certain that Chen Guang had the advantage.

Even so, he did not expect that the City Lord's first and only command would be to place Sheng Feng into the dungeon. And to the meek attempt of speaking back, the City Lord stated that "Foolish nephews that act like fools have no right to speak. 15 days in the dungeon for your escapade, and then, we will speak"

With the youngster out of the way, escorted to his new lodgings, Deng Guiying was thinking of speaking with Sheng Huangye for a bit and then going with Chen Guang, but it was at that moment that the message talismans from the guards reached the Lord, and as the latter shared the contents, Deng Guiying simply excused himself before rushing towards the 'Purple Haze' manor.

***

Deng Guiying found a pensive Bai Qi sitting near the spot that Xia Fan had chosen for herself. Beneath the tree on a mound that overlooked the lake.

*Plop*

The old cultivator simply sat nearby, and loudly placed a bottle of wine between Bai Qi and himself.

"My condolences. She seemed like a decent girl, even if I only spoke with her once" He said while taking out two cups and serving them.

"I would lie if I say that she was special or something else, but she was someone that I did consider a part of my group" Bai Qi shrugged and shared his honest feelings, taking the presented cup and giving it a sip.

"Mmm, I see. The City Lord will use all the resources of the city to hunt down the 'Heavenly Blood' clan elder. If he is the culprit, then he will pay for it as well as all the other evils" Deng Guiying took a sip and answered similarly.

A few minutes passed before the old elder asked "You can not stay here, so what do you plan to do?"

And before Bai Qi answered, Deng Guiying added that if he planned to stay, then the elder's residence was available.

"Thank you, Senior, but no. I will leave Shuomen, even the Region for now. A lot of things happened, and I am getting strayed from my path" Bai Qi sipped on the refilled cup and explained.

"I see. Probably that will be for the best, at least until we deal with everything" Deng Guiying approved, considering that with the several plans Chen Guang had destroyed, he would be in danger here. Not that they could not protect him, but, what cultivator can grow tucked behind four walls?

"So I wanted to request Senior's, and the City Lord's help" Bai Qi spoke up after another brief silence.

"I remember that we promised you an introductory letter so you can travel to another region, so that would be not an issue. As for the other probable help you speak of, don't worry. There are only six people that know everything about you, and no one of them will talk about your friends to anyone. I will make sure" Although Deng Guyin sounded sure of his words, in truth he was inwardly doubting them.

Indeed, there were only six people who knew that Chen Guang isn't from this plane and has friends in the Region. But it was the same six that should have prevented all of this. "Is it possible that someone revealed something? Chen Guang's manor isn't so easy to find, with him staying in it only a few days. And he isn't the only Chen Guang in the registry, so how could a cultivator with almost no connections find and attack it? And disappear without traces?"

___________________________________________________________________

Deng Guiying had kept him company for a while the day before, and then departed, returning a few hours after with the letter and a token of identity. Although 'Chen Guang' was not part of Shuomen City's Palace, the badge would identify him as one.

"Where you are going it will not serve you for much, but it will open a lot of doors in the region when you return" Deng Guiying had stated, and Bai Qi accepted it with gratitude. Not that he truly cared, or planned to use it, but some status was always better than none.

Bai Qi had planned to leave right as Deng Guiying had brought him the letter that would allow him to enter his chosen district and use its teleportation formation. But he was stopped by an overlooked matter. Namely, Zhen Zexi.

Zhen Qigang, the Patriarch of the Zhen Clan presence should have been surprising. Or at least it was supposed to be so. But Bai Qi did not show any extreme reaction, simply greeting courteously and after the introductions acting respectfully, but without any trace of servility.

Bai Qi had received them in the only room that had remained free of destruction, a small reception near the main gate. It was usually used for small everyday meetings, and so it could be said to be an offense to the Patriarch. Not that the hints of destruction and the mourning stripe on the gate escaped the latter. But Bai Qi did not point or mention anything about either.

Such manner of conduct made Zhen Qigang even more interested in the youth in front of him, and so, made the patriarch attempt to find out more. Even test the boy a little, starting with a veiled threat "Are you the one that stole the possessions of my apprentice? I have come for them"

"We fought, she lost, I simply took the spoils. But except for the materials, they are not useful for me. Thus, I offered her to ransom them. And although the Patriarch's presence graces me, if you are not here for that matter, I will have to wonder what did bring such a distinguished personage to my manor?" The response was calm and even polite, but it was easy to understand the underlying meaning "Either pay or just leave".

"Gehahahaha! Boy, you know who am I, and still try to get money from me?" Zhen Qigang laughed and asked with a tinge of amusement.

"Cultivators are supposed to be greedy, and my intentions of leaving the City make me reasonable so" Bai Qi shrugged and ignored the aura that seeped from below the black cloak and hood of the Patriarch.

Such back and forth continued for a few minutes, but in the end, both parties reached a deal.

Zhen Qigang had come to look at Chen Guang personally, and he had not been disappointed. The boy was calm, and even if overly sure of himself, conducted himself in a way that no one could find fault.

It could be said that the boy appeared as an old and experienced cultivator, even though both his age and current cultivation were in plain view. "Definitively worth keeping an eye on. From what I know, he has ties with Deng Guiying and Sheng Huangye, and his actions inside the zone had something else to them" Zhen Qigang had concluded after Zhen Zexi, on his command, passed a Storage Ring filled with materials.

Speaking of which, the contents were also part of the reason for the Patriarch's interest. After all, what a young boy would ask for materials for pills, talismans, refining, formations, and so on in place of treasures and readied items?

"Does he intends to attempt to enter one of the paths? Or has someone behind him that requires such materials?" Zhen Qigang could not say, and Zhen Zexi had only been with the boy for a few days, not a single of which had revealed anything except a stronger than the average mind.

In the end, the Patriarch did the unexpected, inviting Bai Qi to visit their Clan when he returned. "I do not know what ties do he has, but I feel that he will be involved in far more matters than just this one" He had answered to Zhen Zexi who asked about such a strange invitation right after they left.

***

And on the evening of the day after the zone closed, Bai Qi left the 'Purple Haze' manor, and without looking back began walking towards the exit from the district.

With both the letter and the fact that he had been invited previously by one of their members, Bai Qi met no trouble to enter one of the overlords' districts.

Neither he met trouble in requesting the usage of the formation, and after paying 5 mid-grade stones to the expert guarding it, he murmured "Heavenly Blood Clan, just wait for my return" and stepped into the golden light of the formation...