Chapter 1028 - Bei Ming's Murderous Intent

Though nearly a hundred thousand miles separated them, a Heaven Profound Realm expert could cross that distance in a single step.

"I don't want him to return to Northern City again," Bei Ming said. His voice was cold.

"Understood. I'll take care of it immediately," Steward He replied, bowing as he retreated.

"Make sure you leave no traces," Bei Ming added. His figure slowly faded from sight.

"Rest assured, City Lord. I'll handle it myself," Steward He said, his eyes flashing with cold intent.

The Half-Moon Nunnery and the City Lord Mansion had always opposed each other. Now that Liu Wuxie had sided with the nunnery, the City Lord Mansion was resolved to eliminate him.

......

The danger already brewed inside the City Lord Mansion, but Liu Wuxie and his companions remained unaware.

As they crossed the icy terrain, patches of green spread across the horizon, a clear sign they had finally crossed out of Northern City's territory.

Miao Jianying's eyes lit up with excitement. He had spent his entire life in Northern City and had never ventured beyond its borders. Now that he was heading for the Central Plains, he could barely contain his enthusiasm.

"Brother Liu, how much farther?" Miao Jianying asked, his eyes shining with excitement.

"About half a month's journey," Liu Wuxie replied. He stood tall, and there wasn't a trace of fatigue on his face despite the long trek.

Then, something shifted. Liu Wuxie's pupils narrowed. A chilling pulse surged from the Heavenly Dao Book, warning him deep inside his soul.

Miao Jianying immediately noticed the change.

"Brother Liu, what's wrong?" Miao Jianying asked, startled as frost crept into Liu Wuxie's aura.

"Get behind me now!" Liu Wuxie commanded, his voice cutting through the air.

Liu Wuxie couldn't sense where the threat came from, but he felt it crash down like a collapsing mountain. A suffocating aura surged toward them. This was no ordinary enemy. The pressure eclipsed anything he had ever faced.

Xu Lingxue, Murong Yi, and Miao Jianying instinctively sensed the tension in Liu Wuxie's tone. Without hesitation, they summoned their weapons and adopted defensive stances.

The tension thickened as the aura of impending danger grew with each passing breath. The threat edged closer, creeping into the edges of their awareness like the calm before the storm. Even Miao Jianying, now in the Earth Profound Realm, finally felt an eerie, foreign aura that disturbed the flow of natural energy. His divine sense, sharpened by his recent breakthrough, trembled as he detected faint pulses of malice in the air.

"Since you've come, why not show yourself?" Liu Wuxie said, his voice calm but commanding, slicing the silence like a blade.

The air warped and shimmered.

From within the distortion, a brown-robed elder stepped out. Age weighed on his gait. A black cloth concealed most of his face, and only his eyes showed.

However, that was enough for Liu Wuxie to know who this person was. He had seen those eyes before, eyes he would never forget.

He stepped forward and spoke, his face bearing a faint, mocking smile. "Steward He, have you come to see us off, or have you come to kill us?"

At the mention of that name, Miao Jianying's expression froze. His thoughts tumbled into chaos.

There was only one man in Northern City known as Steward He. Even if others shared the same surname, none dared to use that title.

"How did you recognize me?" Steward He tore off the black cloth, revealing his face.

Liu Wuxie stayed calm.

"You haven't answered my question. Are you here to see us off, or to kill us?" Liu Wuxie asked again. His voice remained calm and fearless. Though, he knew Steward He wouldn't provide an answer.

"You already know the answer," Steward He snorted, displeasure clouding his expression.

Liu Wuxie's arrival had thrown Northern City's delicate power balance into chaos. Steward He now viewed Liu Wuxie not as a mere troublemaker but as a genuine threat that needed to be eliminated.

The City Lord Mansion never minded minor friction among the city's factions. It kept them divided and easy to control. But the open conflict between the Renowned Sword Manor and the First Sword Manor had escalated beyond containment. A life-and-death struggle would only weaken Northern City's strength.

Bei Ming couldn't afford to support either side openly. As the head of the City Lord Mansion, he had to maintain a facade of neutrality, or he would lose the people's trust.

Worse still, word reached the City Lord Mansion: the Renowned Sword Manor had started sending men to the Central Plains. Trying to leave Northern City meant they intended to escape the Mansion's control.

Naturally, the City Lord Mansion wouldn't allow that to happen.

For years, Northern City had enjoyed relative stability. The factions nursed grudges and rivalries, but the Mansion kept all of them under its watchful grip.

That grip began to loosen the moment Liu Wuxie arrived.

"Steward He, we've never offended the City Lord Mansion. So why have you come after us?" Miao Jianying asked. He couldn't understand the reason for this hostility, especially since the Renowned Sword Manor had always shown respect to the City Lord's authority.

"Don't bother asking. He won't answer," Liu Wuxie said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Liu Wuxie, you're smart," Steward He said, a trace of regret in his voice. "But you shouldn't have come to Northern City."

Though his tone carried a hint of pity, it didn't mask his intent. He knew Liu Wuxie was a prodigy, someone who might one day reach the summit of the True Martial Continent. But that was precisely why he had to kill him.

"No room for discussion?" Liu Wuxie asked, his smile calm.

"None," Steward He replied without hesitation.

Liu Wuxie had sealed his fate the moment he had aligned himself with the Half-Moon Nunnery.

"Before we start, can you tell me if this is your idea or Bei Ming's?" Liu Wuxie asked.

"How dare you speak the City Lord's name directly?!" Steward He snapped.

In Northern City, people avoided saying Bei Ming's name aloud, addressing him by his title.

Liu Wuxie gave a slight nod. He had already guessed who wanted him dead. But he still didn't understand what he had done to offend Bei Ming so severely that the City Lord would send Steward He to kill him.

"Come!" Liu Wuxie called out, summoning the Heretic Blade.

He knew pressing further was pointless. Steward He wouldn't give him any answers.

Liu Wuxie faced a fifth-level Earth Profound Realm expert. The odds weren't in his favor.

As soon as Steward He unleashed his aura, a crushing pressure slammed into Liu Wuxie like a falling mountain. The air around them grew suffocating under the force.

"Brother Miao, protect them for me," Liu Wuxie said, his voice calm but firm.

He knew that if the others joined the battle, they would only be throwing their lives away.

"Brother Liu, allow me to fight alongside you!" Miao Jianying protested.

Though he stood no chance against Steward He, he had just broken through to the Earth Profound Realm and could at least stall for time.

Steward He scanned them all with cold eyes. "You're all talented, so I'll give you a choice. Take your own lives, and I'll let you die with dignity."

Liu Wuxie suddenly burst out laughing. He couldn't help it, as the words sounded too familiar. He had used them himself in the past, and now someone else was turning them on him.

Steward He narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?"

His voice remained flat, devoid of emotion. He didn't hate Liu Wuxie. He was only carrying out Bei Ming's orders.

"If I'm not mistaken, Bei Ming wants me dead because of the Half-Moon Nunnery. Am I right?" Liu Wuxie's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, biting tone.

If this was about the Renowned Sword Manor, Bei Ming would've acted long ago. The conflict between the two manors had stayed manageable without creating any new challenges.

Liu Wuxie connected the dots quickly. He realized their visit to the Half-Moon Nunnery hadn't escaped Bei Ming's notice.

"That's right," Steward He admitted without hesitation. To him, Liu Wuxie was already a dead man, and there was no reason to conceal anything.

"I see now," Liu Wuxie said, his voice sharpening. "The City Lord Mansion must have a long-standing grudge with the Half-Moon Nunnery. The City Lord Mansion forced them into the extreme north, isn't it?"

"It's a pity to kill you now," Steward He replied, a trace of sorrow coloring his words. Taking the life of someone like Liu Wuxie truly felt like a waste.

"Then let us go," Liu Wuxie offered. "Pretend we never crossed paths."

He didn't want to fight Steward He if he could avoid it, nor did he want to make an enemy of Bei Ming.

"I follow orders," Steward He said. His tone turned cold, and his aura darkened. "If you don't end your own life, I'll do it for you."

Murderous intent surged from him like a wave. The blood he had spilled for Bei Ming over the years weighed on him unmistakably. Countless had fallen by his hands, and anyone who dared defy the City Lord Mansion vanished without a trace.

Liu Wuxie let out a quiet sigh. There was no avoiding this fight.

He lifted the Heretic Blade high into the sky, its edge catching the cold light.

There was nothing more to say.

Only one of them would walk away from this.

If he survived, he would one day demand answers directly from Bei Ming.

After all, it was absurd that the City Lord Mansion sentenced him to death for nothing more than a brief encounter with the Half-Moon Nunnery. The City Lord was too arrogant, too full of himself. He looked down on others as if their lives held no weight.

"You're no match for me. So why resist?" Steward He asked, his tone calm but laced with a hint of regret. He didn't want to act if he didn't have to, and he hoped the four of them would take their own lives.

"How would you know that unless we fight?" Liu Wuxie countered, his eyes burning with determination.

"I've gauged your strength precisely," Steward He replied. "The Great Five Elemental Palm, the Great Dragon Aspect Art, the Spatial Dao Art... All of them are formidable dao techniques. If you were at the Earth Profound Realm, I wouldn't stand a chance."

His voice carried the certainty of someone who had done his homework. Steward He had taken time to investigate Liu Wuxie thoroughly. After all, nothing that happened in Northern City escaped Bei Ming's eyes.

Even Liu Wuxie was taken aback. He had moved cautiously the entire time he was in Northern City. Even during his battle with the First Sword Manor, he had refrained from revealing any of those techniques. The only time he had used the Great Five Elemental Palm and the Spatial Dao Art was during his visit to the Half-Moon Nunnery.

That could only mean that there were spies in the nunnery.

His heart sank. It was a chilling realization. If the City Lord Mansion had managed to plant spies even in a secluded place like the Half-Moon Nunnery, then nearly every force in Northern City had likely been compromised.

"In that case, let's fight!" Liu Wuxie roared. He swung the Heretic Blade with all his might.

Golden flames erupted alongside crackling lightning and surging metal-attribute energy. His strike unleashed the full force of the Golden Flame Strike, a move equal in power to the Great Five Elemental Palm.

Steward He might have been aware of the dao techniques Liu Wuxie had shown, but he remained unaware of two crucial facts.

First, Liu Wuxie had refined the Frost Bead.

Second, the Annihilation Fist.

The Annihilation Fist, his true trump card, could shake heaven and earth the moment he unleashed it.

And now, after refining the Frost Bead, Liu Wuxie's Frost Dao Art had grown so powerful that it surpassed even the Great Dragon Aspect Art.

Xu Lingxue, Murong Yi, and Miao Jianying stood tense and anxious. Their faces tightened with worry. They all knew their enemy had reached the fifth-level Earth Profound Realm, and none of them could match his strength.

When Liu Wuxie brought down the Heretic Blade, a deafening roar echoed through the sky. The sheer force of the strike split the air apart, sending shockwaves cascading in every direction.

They stood at the border between Northern City and the Central Plains. No other cultivators were nearby to witness the clash, and it became clear why Steward He had chosen this place.

To Liu Wuxie's surprise, Steward He narrowed his eyes at the force bearing down on him. For a brief moment, a glint of admiration flickered in his gaze.

He had battled countless experts over the years, but never had someone at Liu Wuxie's level, still beneath the Earth Profound Realm, had exerted so much pressure on him.