“Do not call me master after we enter Twilight City. That’ll make it easy for others to figure out your identity. Call me Young Master instead,” Zhang Xuan instructed while sitting atop the aerial divine beast.
“Also, you don’t have a surname yet, right? You shall follow my surname ‘Zhang’. Zhang Jia, that will be your name.”
“Got it,” the young man, Zhang Jia, replied with a nod.
“Also, I like to maintain a low profile, so make sure not to make any trouble or do anything that stands out too much within the city.”
“Rest assured, Young Master. I also like to maintain a low profile as well,” Zhang Jia replied leisurely as it picked its ear.
Despite being the strongest divine beast in the vicinity of Twilight City, it had obediently remained in its own territory and never left the area. That should probably be the epitome of humility and low profile.
“That’s good. By the way, who are the ones who attacked you last night?” Zhang Xuan asked.
The first time he encountered the Phosphor Armored Beast, there had been two fairly strong individuals who attempted to assassinate it.
“They should be from City Lord Manor. Wu Fangqing has been trying to tame me for some time now, but he has never succeeded,” Zhang Jia replied.
“If the city lord is trying to tame you, shouldn’t he challenge you personally? Why would he choose to assassinate you instead?”
Given the prowess of the Phosphor Armored Beast, the City Lord Manor’s prestige would be significantly boosted if the city lord was able to tame it. However, if it was made known that the city lord had been launching underhanded assaults on the Phosphor Armored Beast, it would really sully his reputation!
If it was found that the one who had set the rules had not been observing them, it would surely cause a major public uproar!
“Why would he choose to assassinate me? Isn’t that obvious? He’s a hypocrite!” Zhang Jia scoffed coldly.
“Putting aside assassination attempts, he has already tried time and time again to poison me. If not for my powerful constitution that allows me to break down most poisons, I would have died by now!”
“He tried to poison you as well?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
If that was the case, he would really have to tread carefully around the city lord in the future.
He had thought that the person who established the law in Twilight City would be someone honorable and dignified, but from the looks of it, it seemed like the rules were only a way for him to control others.
Just like that, Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jia chatted atop the aerial divine beast as they swiftly made their way back to Twilight City.
At the same time, in the residence where Zhang Xuan and the others were staying, a name scroll was delivered.
“Ying Fei?” Sun Qiang read the name on the name scroll with a frown.
The young master was not home, and the others were busy cultivating. So, he was the one who was handling all the miscellaneous matters at the moment.
“Based on how he introduced himself, he appears to be a merchant that came from another town. He’s here to visit the young master for an urgent matter,” the servant who received the name scroll reported.
Even though they had only moved in not too long ago, Sun Qiang had managed to recruit a few servants to cook for them and clean the residence. It would be unfortunate if they had to cultivate on an empty stomach after earning so much money.
“Invite him in,” Sun Qiang instructed.
Very soon, an elder was brought to the main hall.
“Butler Sun,” Ying Fei greeted with a bright smile.
He had already investigated the group carefully prior to visiting the residence, so he knew the names of everyone there.
Sun Qiang nodded as he gestured for Ying Fei to take a seat by the side. After that, he looked at Ying Fei and asked, “May I know the reason behind your visit?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. I heard that the Beauty Pill that the entire city has been raving over is forged by Young Master Zhang Xuan,” Ying Fei said.
“Beauty Pill?” Sun Qiang repeated in confusion.
What the heck has Young Master been up to?
I’ve never heard of this before!
Seeing how the fatty was able to hide his emotions so well despite his low cultivation, Ying Fei chuckled softly and said, “There’s no need to put on an act before me. I did my homework before coming all the way here.”
“Is that so?” Sun Qiang replied calmly. “Then… what’s your motive here?”
He knew that the Young Master had many means, and he tended to do whatever he wanted based on his whims, never bothering to inform him in advance. Given the current situation, it seemed like he could only try to sound out the other party, assess the situation carefully, and adapt accordingly.
“I like your forthright personality, Butler Sun! Since you have asked me straight, I won’t beat about the bush either. My motive is very simple. I hope that you can sell the pill formula behind the Beauty Pill to me. Of course, the price is negotiable,” Ying Fei said.
“Pill formula? You wish to buy the pill formula of the Beauty Pill?”
“That’s right.”
“My apologies, but the pill formula was something that our Young Master came up with after countless sleepless nights. It’s not for sale. Men, send our guest out!” Sun Qiang spoke with imposing authority, leaving no room for rebuttal at all.
He had no idea what the Beauty Pill was, but there was no way he would sell the pill formula created by the Young Master.
Those words immediately wiped the smile off Ying Fei’s face.
“Butler Sun, I think you should give this matter some more consideration. There’s no need to rush into an answer. Twilight City is indeed a place governed by law, but your group has just arrived here, and you even offended Streak of Gray before entering the city. It would be unfortunate if the other bandits were to exact vengeance on you, don’t you think?” Ying Fei sneered.
At the same time, he snapped his finger, and an eerie mist quietly crept toward Sun Qiang’s feet.
The will of the city lord was very clear. They had to acquire the pill formula of the Beauty Pill by any means necessary.
Since Zhang Xuan’s group had dealt with Streak of Gray, they could use him as a cover to make a move on them.
It was not without reason that Streak of Gray had managed to live to this day.
Sometimes, the City Lord Manor needed a cover to move, and there were no scapegoats better than bandits.
“Are you threatening me?” Sun Qiang’s eyes narrowed into slits as he rose to his feet and stepped forward.
With imposing majesty behind his movements, he sneered coldly. “I have weathered countless storms with the Young Master, and it was through overcoming difficulty after difficulty that we managed to come this far. Do you think that the likes of you will be able to scare me?”
“We’ll know whether I’m scary enough for you very soon…” Ying Fei smiled coldly as he quietly counted down to the moment that his poison took effect.
Then, he stood up as well, tilted his chin upward smugly as if victory was already his, and said, “How is it? Are you starting to feel some discomfort in your chest…”
Pah!
But before he could even finish his words, a slap had already fallen on his face, causing his cheeks to sting in pain.
“Discomfort? The hell with your discomfort!” Sun Qiang spat with fury. “Stop trying to put on airs before me. While I was gazing down upon the world, you were still playing in the mud! How many times do I have to say it to get it through your thick skull? You aren’t welcome here, so scram!”
“You…”
The fatty should have collapsed from the poison by now, so Ying Fei was completely stunned by the abrupt slap. Just thinking about the humiliation that he had just suffered caused his body to tremble in fury.
He was really tempted to slap the living daylights out of the other party at that very instant, but thinking about the possible evidence it would leave behind, he suppressed his rage and held himself back.
Instead, he flicked his finger once more and sent a surge of poison energy toward Sun Qiang.
Pah!
Barely a moment after the poison energy seeped into Sun Qiang’s body, Ying Fei’s face suddenly flew to the side from another slap.
“Do you not understand words, or do you intend to challenge me?”
“H-how are you fine?” Ying Fei was bewildered.
He might have failed by an accident the first time, but the second time, he had seen the poison energy seeping right into the other party’s body. Yet, the other party was still moving around vigorously, seemingly unaffected by his poison. What the heck was going on?
While this poison was not enough to deal with the Phosphor Armored Beast, it should have been more than enough to force any ordinary high-tier God to their knees!
Given that the other party was not even a god, there was no way he should have been able to withstand his poison! Or could it be that… the other party was actually concealing his true cultivation?
“I don’t believe it. There’s no way such a thing could happen!”
With gritted teeth, Ying Fei took out all the poison powder he was hiding under his cloak and tossed it all over.
Pah!
Sun Qiang dealt yet another slap on Ying Fei’s face as he bellowed, “What the heck are you doing? If you don’t want to die, you’d better get out of here right now. Or else, don’t blame me for getting nasty on you!”
Do I look like a helpless lamb to you? Is that why you are scattering powder all over me?
It seems like I have really been too kind to you!
Even though the three slaps were not too heavy, they had really crushed Ying Fei’s dignity. He had never felt so humiliated. If not for his fear that Sun Qiang might have been hiding his true strength, he would have long made a move.
“You’re asking for it…”
However, he had finally come to the limits of his patience.
He raised his arm to return the slap to the arrogant butler, but at that moment, his ears suddenly twitched a little. It was a transmission from his subordinates.
Hu!
He shot a piercing glare at Sun Qiang before turning around and leaving the residence.
A short moment after walking out of the residence, two silhouettes suddenly appeared before him.
They were the ones who had attempted to assassinate the Phosphor Armored Beast just a while ago.
“What’s wrong?” Ying Fei frowned.
“Lord, someone stepped in when we were trying to capture the Phosphor Armored Beast, resulting in the failure of the mission!” one of the silhouettes reported.
“Who was it?” Ying Fei asked lividly.
“Zhang Xuan. Furthermore, it seems like he has somehow managed to tame the Phosphor Armored Beast!” the silhouette replied.
“Zhang Xuan managed to tame… the Phosphor Armored Beast?” Ying Fei could hardly believe what he was hearing.
He knew full well just how proud the Phosphor Armored Beast was. The city lord had visited it time and time again, offering it all kinds of treasures, but the latter simply refused to lower its head. Yet, it actually submitted to a mere low-tier God…
“There’s no mistake about it. Not only so, I also suspect that Zhang Xuan might have been hiding his true strength all along!”
“…” Ying Fei felt a little light-headed.
He had found it weird how a low-tier God like Zhang Xuan was able to capture the middle-tier God Streak of Gray so easily, and now, the latter had actually managed to tame the divine beast that even the city lord had trouble dealing with.
It was indeed very possible that Zhang Xuan had been hiding his true strength, just like Butler Sun!
Even though he had yet to meet Zhang Xuan in person, he could still deduce a thing or two from how his subordinate acted.
If Butler Sun was really as powerless as he appeared, how could the other party face him with such confidence and slap him without any hesitation?
Furthermore, his poison actually turned out to be completely ineffective against the other party!
If the other party was truly a mere Semi-Divinity, any one of his poisons would have been enough for the other party to die many times over!
On top of that, Butler Sun had said something about ‘gazing down upon the world’. It was definitely no easy feat to gaze down on the Nine Skies of the Firmament!
“It’s fortunate that I didn’t make a move earlier,” Ying Fei murmured as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He felt relieved that he had held his anger back when he was slapped earlier. Otherwise, if he had really confronted the other party directly back then, he might have died in there!
Having realized this, he subconsciously shot a glance back at the residence that he had just left. The gates had not closed yet, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the fatty standing at the very center of the courtyard with his hands behind his back.
He was gazing at the sky with a firm look on his face, and it felt as if even the greatest of problems would not be able to faze him.
“Despite appearing to be a mere Semi-Divinity, he actually wields unfathomable strength!” Ying Fei widened his eyes in realization.
From beginning to end, Ying Fei had never concealed his cultivation as a high-tier God. There was no way a mere Semi-Divinity would have dared slap him without showing the slightest hint of fear!
It was very likely that he had met the real deal.
“Lord, what do we do?” one of the silhouettes asked.
“Let’s wait out here for the time being. Perhaps we’ll catch sight of Zhang Xuan while he’s coming back,” Ying Fei replied.
Even though he was semi-convinced that Zhang Xuan and his group were far stronger than they appeared, he still wanted to verify the matter once more. The value of the Beauty Pill was definitely worth the extra effort.
