~~~

Few cities in the Storm Dragon Empire are as old as Cloudburst City.

Fertile land and abundant rain brought people to the area. Decades passed, and the city was not just producing agricultural goods but also giving birth to some of the most powerful fighters of the Storm Dragon Empire and its most skillful artisans. A private art collection wasn’t complete without a piece from Cloudburst City. A tournament had no merit unless it invited the famed fighters of the Cloudburst City Arena.

However, that all changed.

A year after the Black Dragon vanished, the City Lord of Cloudburst City declared the city independent and himself sovereign. He was hardly the only one doing that. The people had realized the new emperor was weak, and, angry at the carnage caused during the Black Dragon’s rise, countless cities began rebelling against imperial authority.

Unfortunately for Cloudburst City, it was Murong Bang who came to quell the rebellion. The best fighters of Cloudburst City were killed overnight. The city’s prestigious clans were slaughtered to the last child, and their treasures were taken. Worse still, Murong Bang had no intentions of just merely reasserting imperial rule. Cloudburst City was to become Murong Bang’s personal territory. His seat of power for years to come.

Now, Cloudburst City is a husk of what it used to be.

The city walls are surrounded by poorly-made houses, little more than barely-standing planks of wood pushed together. That is where the poorest live. The actual city walls are in good state. If they were damaged when Murong Bang conquered the city, they have already been repaired. They are thick and sturdy, ready to hold against an enemy attack. However, that’s all there is to them. In the past, those walls had been painted and adorned. Now they are nothing more than ugly stone.

Behind the walls, the situation is better but far from well. The roads are cracked and have not been repaired in years. The houses are much better built, but it’s clear they have been left to the mercy of time. They are dirty and rundown. Some have cracked windows. Some have no windows. Missing doors and walls seem to be a common theme. It all looks like it is about to fall at any moment.

Then there are the people.

They don’t see many of them. Perhaps the entrance of the Flame-Wheeled Wagons caused most to retreat into their homes. At least, Liu Jin would like to believe that. What few people they do see are lying by the side of the road. Beggars surrounded by flies. People with more bones than flesh and hair falling from their heads.

“Disgusting,” Lady Bai says, looking out the windows. Liu Jin feels incredibly grateful for the ring she is wearing. According to her, it should hide her Qi, making her pass as another Spirit Realm cultivator. She gave another one like it to Lei Kong. Otherwise, it would be impossible to stop Murong Bang from focusing on them instead of him.

Right now, that ring is surely saving them from feeling the angry aura of a Heaven Realm cultivator.

Lady Bai is hardly the only one displeased by what she sees. The Flame-Wheeled Wagons are full of grave faces. Even the most callous among them cannot remain unmoved by this formerly great city turned pigsty.

Their guide rides on a horse in front of the wagons. As he leads them deeper into the city, the houses start to look better. Beggars and bums no longer litter the streets. Instead, the people look reasonably well-fed, and their cultivation level is noticeably higher.

This is where the soldiers live. They pass through the barracks, which look full of activity, but they do not stop there, nor do they stop at any of the nice houses that surely belong to the high-ranking members of the army, people who command thousands of men. No, their goal is still further away.

They are going to the arena.

The arena is visible as soon as one crosses the city gates. It is a colossal structure made of stone, marble, and gold. A place fit to hold hundreds of thousands of spectators. A remnant of majesty in a ruined place. Still, even that has been tainted. The atmosphere around the building is dark and foreboding. Though they are in broad daylight, the arena seems to be cast in sinister shadows.

Worst of all, the scent of blood is everywhere around it.

“General Murong is waiting for you inside,” their guide tells them when they leave the wagons. As he finishes speaking, someone’s Qi goes out. The people inside the stadium cheer loudly.

Fear. Bloodlust. Ecstasy. All those emotions are heavy in the ear.

Their guide bows his head. “A celebration has been prepared to welcome you.”

“A celebration,” Lady Bai echoes, her tone frosty enough to lower the temperature. Their guide shivers. “Is that what you call it?”

“Big Sister Bai,” Liu Jin says. “Remember, we cannot-”

“Do not think me foolish,” she tells him. “Unfortunately, this is not a situation that can be dealt with in a satisfying fashion.”

Liu Jin breathes a sigh of relief. He was worried about it, but Lady Bai understands the situation. Murong Bang cannot be handled like Duke Lai was.

The soldier leads them into the arena. They walk up several stairs, the cheers growing louder as they do. Eventually, they exit into one of the box seats located at the highest level of the stadium.

“Finally! What took you so long! I have been waiting since I felt you enter the city!”

Just like that, Liu Jin finally lays his eyes on Murong Bang.

Murong Bang’s face is almost entirely covered by his huge beard and mustache. His mouth is wide and open in a grin that shows off his teeth. He is not wearing his armor but a simple set of robes that do little to conceal his musculature. He has a leg of roasted pork in one hand and a large goblet full of alcohol in the other.

This is the man who destroyed Eastern Port City.

There are no guards with him. No companions. No weapons. Even his bearing is completely unguarded. Careless.

And yet, none of that matters.

Murong Bang is an Emperor. Not a single one of them is a threat to him.

“Come, sit! Sit!” Murong Bang gestures to the empty seats next to him. “It is not every day Dan sends people to me. Enjoy the show while it lasts. A pity you missed most of it.”

Liu Jin grimaces.

Down in the arena, there are two fighters facing each other and dozens of dead bodies around them. They have no armor, and their only weapons are a rusted knife and a broken spear, respectively.

The fight is already over.

The one with the broken spear has a large wound on his side. The knife reached all the way to his liver. For him, it’s already too late.

However, the crowd is not content to wait for the man to die. They jeer and throw garbage at the fighters, urging them to continue fighting. There are not enough people to fill all the seats, but they scream so loudly they seem more than they are. The effect is enhanced by how they are packed in the lower rows. Their bloodlust is so heavy the fighters throw themselves at each, fearful of what will happen to them if they don’t.

However, that’s not the worst of it.

The people fighting are noticeably weaker than those in the stands. These are not warriors fighting but probably beggars picked up from the streets for the amusement of those here. It would not surprise Liu Jin if they picked them from other cities as well. All brought here so the people could watch them sloppily kill each other.

“Before the battle began, the winner was promised a spot in my army as a hundred-man commander,” Murong Bang tells them. “A little incentive is needed sometimes. Of course, I intend to keep that promise.”

A hundred-man commander.

How cruel.

Neither of the two men is even close to the level of a Hundred-Man Commander. The one who survives here would be put in charge of people much stronger than him, and they will kill him for his position. That’s no prize.

It’s just another death sentence.

“Look, it’s almost over,” Murong Bang says, laughing as the knife wielder knocks the other man to the ground and gets on top of him, ready to plunge the knife into his throat. “We have our winner!”

As the knife begins its downward path, a single hand wraps around the man’s wrist and stops him.

Liu Jin wonders who could have the gall to do something like that. Despicable as the spectacle is, challenging Murong Bang is foolish. Had Liu Jin done that, he’d be risking not just his life but the lives of the entire delegation. Even Lady Bai cannot protect them from Murong Bang’s anger. Lu Mei would die. Ten and the others who came because of him would die. He simply cannot afford to act so recklessly.

“Well, well, well, it seems my show has not pleased you.”

The arena is so deathly quiet that Murong Bang almost doesn’t need to use Qi to make his voice heard. The large man smiles and looks down at him.

Why is he looking down at him?

Oh.

Gradually, Liu Jin realizes he is in the center of the arena. He’s the one who jumped down and stopped these two men from killing each other, men who stare at him not with gratitude but as though he were a specter of death.

“Well?” Murong Bang shouts. “Do you have something to say, brat? Were you not pleased with this show?”

In this situation, Liu Jin must swallow his bile and say simple, crowd-pleasing words. That is objectively the most correct course of action.

“This is disgusting.”

Silence.

Complete utter silence. The whole stadium is left stunned.

“Was I not pleased? How can anyone be pleased with this? Are you all animals?” Liu Jin asks. His Qi carries his voice to every corner of the stadium. “Are your lives so empty that weak beggars desperately struggling and killing themselves is somehow entertaining? What does this accomplish? What does this serve? What joy is there to be found here? Anyone who finds amusement here is worse than an animal! I don’t see people in front of me. I don’t see beasts. All I see are hollow husks who have cultivated nothing!”

Liu Jin is shouting by the time he finishes. He breathes heavily, unable to believe he just said that. No one can. The whole stadium is silent and fearful. Everyone looks at Liu Jin in astonishment. They are waiting for the moment in which Murong Bang will crush his head like a grape, and they are hoping that is all it takes to sate his anger.

Laughter.

A single person dares to fill the silence with wild, uproarious laughter.

It is Murong Bang.

The man holds his belly and throws his head back as he laughs. His laughter echoes across every corner of the silent arena. It is as if thousands of ghosts are laughing with him.

“Ah, that was good,” Murong says, wiping a tear from his eye. “It’s been a while since I laughed so hard. Yes, I can see why Dan sent you to me.”

He turns to the crowd.

“Well, did you not hear him? We’re worse than animals! Are you not going to laugh as well?”

The crowd does not react at first, but eventually, someone laughs nervously. Another one joins in, and soon the whole arena is laughing, but it’s laughter born out of desperation.

Murong Bang frowns. “What are you laughing at?”

The laughter stops.

“Did you not hear? Do your ears not work? This is shallow entertainment! You’re all shallow people for finding value in it! What are you doing here, then? Go home. Train yourselves. Fuck your wives. Do something useful instead of being useless wastes!”

The crowd all but flees out of the stadium.

Murong Bang looks at Liu Jin. Though they are standing several yards away, it feels like Murong Bang is right before him.

“Follow me,” Murong Bang tells him. “Pick up that trash if you want it. It has served its purpose. I will hear you out.”

~~~