Chapter 53: Disruption at the Banquet

No one expected that the Chen family would truly dare to make trouble here, nor did they anticipate such a massive display of force right from the start.

There were two masters at the first and second tiers of the Earth Nether Realm, and another who seemed on the verge of breaking through to the third tier. In this place, probably only Luo Qiuhe, the father of the current city lord, could hope to match even one of them in combat.

Nobody had foreseen that the Chen family possessed such a profound foundation; it was clear that this move had been long and meticulously planned.

However, Mo Xuan was not anxious at all. Although these three were all in the Earth Nether Realm, even if they combined their forces, they would be no match for Lan Bing.

Yet, Lan Bing might not necessarily choose to act.

Therefore, lingering worries remained, especially among the various great families present.

"Do not worry. With Tian Xi here, they will not actually take any lives," Lan Bing reassured Mo Xuan, telling him to calm down and simply watch the spectacle. After all, there were three peak eleventh-tier Earth Profound Realm experts present here, along with five others ranging from the early to mid eleventh-tier of the Earth Profound Realm, not to mention numerous tenth-tier Earth Profound Realm practitioners. Even with three Earth Nether Realm experts showing up, they would not be able to gain any cheap victories.

Tian Xi—at this moment, Mo Xuan was also extremely curious about Tian Xi's true identity. Judging by the situation, Lan Bing seemed to know something about it.

"Does Sister Bing know Lady Tian's identity?" Mo Xuan inquired.

"There are seven major sects, three ancient clans, and three domains as the supreme powers across the continent, yet there are also certain forces that are essentially no inferior to these. You should have some personal experience of this. If I am not mistaken, standing behind her is the number one merchant association in the world, the Overflowing Waters Pavilion."

Lan Bing's words were overheard by Tian Xi nearby, who sighed with slight emotion: "It seems that the sister by your side is also truly extraordinary, haha!"

Clearly, these three had no intention of embarking on a wholesale massacre. They first put forward terms to allow some of the smaller factions meddling in the affair to withdraw.

After all, the Chen family was not yet powerful enough to completely disregard the existence of the other families; if they pushed too hard, they would not reap much benefit either.

Thus, they laid out their conditions!

It was very simple: they merely wanted to become the preeminent power in Luochuan City and had no intention of swallowing up these smaller families.

Naturally, these words were undoubtedly deceitful. With so many factions allied together, the Chen family might not be able to digest them all at once, which was why they intended to proceed step-by-step and take their time.

As soon as these words were uttered, some of the smaller families began to entertain the thought of withdrawing from the alliance. Other families, suddenly intimidated by the abrupt arrival of the three Earth Nether Realm experts, were too cowed to openly fall out on the spot.

If the situation continued to develop along this trajectory, the City Lord's Mansion, acting as the leader, might fall into an extremely passive position tonight.

City Lord Luo was extremely furious, but more than that, he felt a deep sense of panic. Having seen much of the world, he did not let his current emotions show on his face: "Everyone, do not listen to them! The fact that they sent people to lobby us shows that they are also afraid of our alliance. Remember the Mo family and the Yue family from earlier—those are lessons written in blood."

"Ha-ha, is the Mo family not doing well right now? As for the Yue family, they were simply too stubborn. We merely wanted them to relinquish their title as one of the four great families, and they were unwilling! Tonight, our target is solely the City Lord's Mansion. As long as you withdraw, we will not make things difficult for you. As for the Bai family and the AI family, you need only pledge to renounce the title of the four great families and surrender thirty percent of your assets, and we will let the matter rest."

Thirty percent of their assets was not actually much for such a large family, and as for the title of one of the four great families, they could afford to lose it. However, as the leaders of their respective clans, they naturally understood that this was a divide-and-conquer tactic.

They claimed they would let the matter rest, but once these families allowed the towering tree of the City Lord's Mansion to be uprooted, they would lose any leverage to negotiate whatsoever.

"Abominable!" City Lord Luo was growing anxious now, never expecting the Chen family to be so insidious.

It was truly unimaginable.

The heads and members of the Bai and AI families naturally understood this as well, yet for the moment, they lacked the resolute determination to engage in a bitter battle against these three.

"Little brother, if you can resolve the current crisis, whenever you decide to leave in the future, we will certainly look after the Mo family."

City Lord Luo was also a clever man. Earlier, Tian Xi had strongly recommended Mo Xuan and guaranteed that he could break this deadlock. Given her status, she naturally would not speak vaguely or make empty promises.

The current situation was utterly beyond the capability of the City Lord's Mansion to resolve. Furthermore, in their previous clashes with the Mo family, the Chen family had gained virtually no advantage and had instead suffered the loss of many high-tier combatants. In particular, Chen Kaishan, the strongest entity in the Chen family, had actually fallen at the hands of the Mo family.

City Lord Luo was certain that there must be formidable hidden experts by Mo Xuan's side. The Mo family remained a mortal enemy of the Chen family; while Mo Xuan was here, things were manageable, but once Mo Xuan left—and City Lord Luo knew that a genius like Mo Xuan would ultimately soar to higher realms—if the Chen family achieved sole dominance, it would prove disastrous for the Mo family.

Moreover, even if the Chen family were to exterminate the Mo family without Mo Xuan's knowledge, Mo Xuan would be powerless to exact revenge unless he surpassed the Upper Azure Sect.

His remark immediately drew the attention of the three Chen family experts, though unaware that the young man referred to was Mo Xuan, they did not pay it too much mind.

Naturally, tonight was merely meant to be a display of deterrence. Once the City Lord's Mansion collapsed, the Chen family could run roughshod here virtually unopposed.

"Lord City Lord is too polite. We came here precisely to help, and if our assistance is needed, we will naturally step in."

Mo Xuan could not afford to act just yet, so he merely offered a polite and perfunctory response.

For the moment, this much was already sufficient.

"How truly arrogant!" A burst of laughter drifted over from not far away, landing before Luo Haiji. The newcomer wore a black-patterned robe, his face slightly mottled and his hair a mixture of black and white.

Luo Haiji bowed and temporarily stepped back.

The newcomer was none other than City Lord Luo's father, Luo Qiuhe, who had remained in closed-door seclusion. His cultivation had now advanced somewhat, reaching the third tier of the Earth Nether Realm, with a profound, weathered aura surging around him.

It was evident that this breakthrough had occurred very recently.

Originally, the City Lord had been deeply worried about how to deal with the Chen family's Earth Nether Realm experts, but now he felt somewhat relieved—at least in terms of overall strength, they were still capable of putting up a fight.

Of course, it was impossible that the Chen family had only sent these three; their reinforcements had likely already arrived, merely awaiting the next order.

One of the chief stewards, Chen Zaixing, stepped forward a few paces: "Ha-ha, trust you have been well! I never expected you to reach this stage, but it is still not enough."

"I never imagined you could reach this step either. It seems you must have obtained some extraordinary treasures!"

Luo Qiuhe expressed slight surprise. He should have recognized this steward, whom he had not seen for a very long time; he had never expected that upon emerging, the man would be at the peak of the second tier of the Earth Soul Realm.

As his voice fell, several figures flew over from the distance—eight in total, all of them in the Earth Profound Realm and above the eighth tier, including two at the eleventh tier.

As these figures converged, Chen Zaixing did not hesitate, directly teaming up with an Earth Nether Realm first-tier expert to engage Luo Qiuhe in combat.

The remaining figures successively launched their attacks. However, that Earth Nether Realm first-tier steward, alongside an Earth Profound Realm expert, remained stationed at the rear to hold the line without attacking, seemingly standing guard against contingencies.

The City Lord's Mansion was not weak either; despite facing the assault of so many powerful experts, they still managed to hold their ground in a stalemate.

Boom, boom, boom!

The three figures high in the air unleashed massive fluctuations of aura, and the shockwaves from their collisions seemed to tear the surrounding space apart. The pressure was suffocating, and from time to time, swirling vortexes of wind whipped past, rendering lower-tier cultivators completely unable to keep their eyes open.

"It seems this is rather different from what you said!" Mo Xuan observed the situation. It was abundantly clear that they were now reaching the threshold of full-scale warfare.

"Did you sense it? A familiar aura, not far away!" Lan Bing's heart suddenly experienced a wave of turbulence.

"What aura?" Mo Xuan asked, looking bewildered.

"Heh, you'll know in a moment!"

Lan Bing offered no further explanation, gazing fixedly at the battlefield ahead as though waiting for something.

"Rest assured, that fellow will not intervene. You can put your mind at ease!" Tian Xi said calmly, her voice soft.

Tian Xi's meaning was crystal clear: Lan Bing was free to take action.

"Since a big shot like you has given the word, how could I refuse?" Strictly speaking, Mo Xuan and Lan Bing had come here primarily to help Tian Xi resolve her predicament.

Thus, Lan Bing hesitated no longer, slowly rising to her feet. Her movement immediately drew attention.

However, Lan Bing made no effort to conceal her tenth-tier Earth Profound Realm cultivation.

Consequently, the Chen family steward guarding the flank paid her little mind, merely casting a subtle glance at a nearby tenth-tier Earth Profound Realm cultivator.

The look conveyed a clear message: Go take care of her!

With a single exchange, the opponent was heavily injured and sent crashing to the ground.

Meanwhile, Luo Qiuhe, who was fighting two opponents simultaneously, found his techniques and cultivation arts slightly inferior, leaving him at an obvious disadvantage.

Before long!

Luo Qiuhe was ambushed by the other Earth Nether Realm steward who had been holding the line, causing him to suffer a defeat. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and nearly collapsed to the ground.

Though an ambush was indeed an unglamorous tactic, their overall strength was completely overwhelming; this was merely a method to end the fight swiftly.

Such was the nature of real combat!

With Luo Qiuhe, the strongest figure in the City Lord's Mansion, defeated, the other families on the sidelines dared even less to make a rash move.

Worse still, the morale of everyone from the City Lord's Mansion plummeted.

Yet, Lan Bing had managed to heavily injure a tenth-tier Earth Profound Realm expert in a single clash—a feat that astonished everyone present.

Consequently, this immediately caught Chen Zaixing's attention. To play it safe, he gestured for the other two stewards to deal with this disruptive interloper.

To everyone's surprise, however, Lan Bing's combat prowess was terrifyingly formidable. Facing two Earth Nether Realm experts, she did not fall behind in the slightest. Whether in terms of speed or the explosive power she unleashed, she was superior, and after holding a momentary stalemate, Lan Bing soon began to completely suppress them.

"Rumor has it that the Chen family ancestor, Chen Kaishan, perished while setting a trap to assassinate Mo Xuan. Could it be that he fell at the hands of this person?"

Within the crowd, some began to vaguely piece the clues together.

"It must be true!"

"It looks like she is helping the City Lord's Mansion!"