Chapter 270: Eavesdropping

With his divine sense covering the courtyard, nothing should be able to hide from him.

The moment Hai Min left her room, Shang Xia’s eyes snapped open. He quickly assumed a sleeping position and he took deep breaths as though he was sleeping.

Hai Min had changed into a set of clothes that allowed her to camouflage in the night and she stopped outside Shang Xia’s room for a moment to ensure he was asleep.

It took a few moments, but she was convinced that Shang Xia was asleep. Leaping into the air, she started to run across the roof and out of the courtyard.

The Changfu Inn might be the largest and best inn in the Changfeng City, but the reputation of the best restaurant in the city belonged to the Yanlai Restaurant.

That night, the son of the city lord, Yang Zhenbiao, was hosting several esteemed guests on the second floor of the Yanlai Restaurant.

Hai Min used the cover of night to approach the restaurant, but when she arrived a hundred feet away, she discovered that the entire area was crawling with guards. The streets around the restaurant were also well lit to stop anyone from hiding in the darkness.

Pausing for a second on the roof of a nearby house, Hai Min retrieved a cape and after draping it over herself, her blurry figure disappeared in the darkness of night.

That wasn’t all. Her body odor, the sound of her breathing, and anything that could give her presence away disappeared. It was appropriate to say that she managed to merge herself into her surroundings.

In the restaurant, a young man who looked barely twenty and had a high nose bridge and a large forehead stood up and raised his cup. “It’s not every day all of us get to gather together. In order to make things less awkward, let me start the introductions!”

He was clearly one of the higher ranked members in the group. The moment the words left his lips, everyone broke out into laughter and someone in the crowd replied, “Brother Li, you’re too kind. Brother Li is a third generation disciple of the White Deer Paradise. It’s our honor for you to start with the introductions!”

“Thank you, Brother Tianshou!”

Li Tianshou downed his cup of wine and the introductions in the hall started.

The first person to continue was Yang Zhenbiao. He was around 24 years of age, and his cultivation had also reached the Martial Intent Realm. He was the host of the feast that was currently happening. Along with him was his father’s disciple, Qin Yuyuan. He was also an expert who had condensed his divine sense.

Other than the two of them, there were four other members present. They were the four young martial artists Shang Xia noticed at the city gates.

“This is the second young master of the Liu Clan, Liu Yunjia. The Liu Clan is one of the three largest families in the Ji Continent.”

“This is Guo Yuxi. He’s the fourth young master of the Guo Clan. Similarly, the Guo Clan is one of the three largest families in the Ji Continent.”

“That is Young Master Zhang Yushu. He’s the fifth young master of the Zhang Clan. Naturally, the Zhang Clan is also part of the three largest families in the Ji Continent.”

After introducing the three of them, everyone drank another toast.

A strange look appeared on Li Tianshou’s face when he introduced the fourth person. “This… This is Young Master Chen Sanyang…” Pausing slightly, he suppressed his emotions before continuing. “Young Master Chen comes from the Changbai Holy Land!”

The faces of Yang Zhenbiao and Qin Yuyuan changed as they stared at the fourth person in confusion.

Qin Yuyuan eventually waved his hand to dissolve the awkward atmosphere. “Brother Tianqin, I apologize for my ignorance, but I wonder where the Changbai Holy?Land is located?”

Roaring with laughter, Li Tianshou refused to say anything more.

Chen Sanyang raised his cup slowly and the corners of his lips curled upwards. “Brother Qin, have you heard of the Liao Continent?”

A frown appeared on Qin Yuyuan’s face. There wasn’t a place in the Azure Origin World called the Liao Continent. However, he seemed to have heard the name somewhere before.

In contrast, Yang Zhenbiao’s face darkened. His voice became extremely low. “Are you from the Azure Spiritual World?”

Qin Yuyuan jumped in fright after hearing what Yang Zhenbiao said.

Noticing the mocking looks on the faces of the other three and Li Tianshou, Qin Yuyuan quickly suppressed his emotions. He also saw that Yang Zhenbiao’s initial anger transformed into contemplation and he decided not to do anything.

Even so, his heart was filled with unrest and he raised his caution to the maximum. Naturally, his facial expression didn’t show a thing.

Chen Sanyang laughed loudly before releasing his aura.

In that instant, an energy wave swept through the room. From the senses of those present, it was clear that Chen Sanyang had already entered the Martial Intent Realm.

“Indeed… It’s bloodline essence qi…” Yang Zhenbiao’s gaze shifted over to Li Tianshou and his divine sense emerged. “Brother Tianshou, what’s the meaning of this?”

Yang Zhenbiao was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, and even though the aura released by Chen Sanyang was threatening, he was clearly unafraid to take on any challenges.

Li Tianshou waved his hand once to stop the rampaging heaven and earth qi in the hall and forced their divine sense back. He chuckled with amusement, “Young city lord, please don’t get worked up. Brother Chen merely wishes to take a look around the You Continent and experience your culture. That’s all there is to it.”

Sniggering softly, Chen Sanyang looked at Li Tianshou before cupping his fists towards Yang Zhenbiao. When he was done, he returned to his seat.

Yang Zhenbiao was sullen. He wasn’t worried about Chen Sanyang. Instead, a trace of vigilance was born in his heart after seeing how easily Li Tianshou suppressed the two of them earlier.

Liu Yunjia broke the awkward silence. “Brother Chen is our friend and we were the ones who invited him to the You Continent.”

.

Guo Yuxi also added, “That’s right. Ever since the collision between our worlds twenty years ago, we had multiple instances of interactions with each other. There might be a spatial barrier separating both our worlds, but cultivators have entered each other’s worlds regardless. Brother Yang, there’s no need to make a fuss of things now. “

“That’s precisely the case.” Zhang Yushu continued. “Brother Yang, as the young city lord, you’ll eventually ascend to control the Changfeng City. You should go out and take a look at the world before then. I’m not trying to be insulting here, but the only ones seeing the Azure Spiritual World as an enemy are the cultivators in the five border regions. Your You Continent is taking the grudge to a new level, hating on everyone in the Azure Spiritual World.”

Liu Yunjia chuckled. “Brother Yang, why don’t you think about it? So what if the five border regions win, or lose the war? IIt doesn’t matter. The five border regions are barren as fuck anyway. With the limited population, you can’t even find many talented individuals around. Why should the fate of our Azure Origin World be decided by them? The only ones who have the authority to decide the situation on the Azure Origin World belong to the eight great holy lands in the central continents!”

Qin Yuyuan was in a state of complete bewilderment. He didn’t know what was going on anymore.

However, a trace of unease flashed in Yang Zhenbiao’s eyes. It seemed as though he was fighting hard with his morals.

A casual smile hung on Li Tianshou’s face as his gaze went back and forth on everyone present.

A snort eventually left Yang Zhenbiao’s lips. “Whatever. The matter regarding Brother Chen here has nothing to do with me. That’s not the point of this gathering anyway.” Turning to Li Tianshou, he continued, “Brother Tianshou, what do you say?”

Nodding in response, Li Tianshou took over. “Brother Yang is right! We can deal with other matters next time. Today, I’m going to act as a middleman. Why don’t we get on with today’s agenda? All of you can speak as you please. I won’t interrupt anything.”

“Alright.” Yang Zhenbiao nodded before looking at the person who came with him. “Brother Qin, please.”

Suppressing his emotions, Qin Yuyuan spoke. “The reason behind our meeting today is regarding the cooperation of the great families of the Ji Continent and our Changfeng City against the bandit group up north. The situation involving the Eighteen Horsemen is basically resolved. We have the third horseman, Hai Pei, in custody. Due to their strong sense of comradery, they will definitely launch a rescue operation soon. When the time comes, we will be able to capture all of them in one fell swoop. However, my master, City Lord Yang Hu, hopes to take them in as his subordinates. After all, the reputation of the Eighteen Horsemen is too striking. Everything they own can go to the three great families of the Ji Continent. What do you think?”

“That’s not possible.” Zhang Yushu spoke right after Qin Yuyuan gave his proposal. “The Eighteen Horsemen have been messing around in our Ji Continent for too long. The number of crimes they committed can fill countless books. The members of our Ji Continent want nothing more than to capture them and sentence all of them to a horrible death. Now that we finally have a chance to do it, we won’t allow them to live. Moreover, the resources they plundered came from our Ji Continent anyway. Naturally, everything has to be returned to us.”

“Hehe, since when have your families cared about the well being of the common population of your Ji Continent?” Qin Yuyuan sneered.

A frosty light flashed across Liu Yunjia’s face and he growled, “Brother Qin, what’s the meaning of this. The Eighteen Horsemen have been terrorizing my Ji Continent for a long time and our clans suffered endless pain in their hands. Don’t tell me we’re unreasonable to request that all of them die for their sins?”

Glancing at Yang Zhenbiao, Qin Yuyuan continued, “All of you came here wanting us to cooperate with you. Now, you’re not even willing to give us some benefits. Where’s your sincerity in this matter?”

Guo Yuxi sneered in ridicule, “Even if we don’t kill them all, do you really think they will serve City Lord Yang? If we’re not wrong, those bastards are backed by the Tongyou City anyway. Isn’t City Lord Yang afraid of raising a bunch of wolves that might overthrow him in the future?”

“How do you know we won’t be able to…” Qin Yuyuan wanted to speak, but he was interrupted by a cough from Yang Zhenbiao.

“There’s no need for you to worry about how we convince them. That’s our problem.” Yang Zhenbiao added.

Liu Yunjia turned to Li Tianshou and asked, “Brother Li, you’re from our Ji Continent too. What do you say?”

Casually sipping his drink, Li Tianshou muttered casually. “That’s easy.”

“I hope you can enlighten us.” Yang Zhenbiao sighed.

“Even though they’re called the Eighteen Horsemen, there are only five or six of them who can truly fight. The rest are nothing more than garbage. Since Young Masters Liu, Guo, and Zhang want an explanation, you can bring a few of them back and kill them. The rest will be left to the Changfeng City.”

After he spoke, no one stood out to reject his suggestion.

Waiting for a moment or two, Li Tianshou chuckled to break the silence. “Alright. Since there’s no objection, let’s do it my way. Many thanks for giving me the honor of making the decision.”

Since the matter was concluded, the banquet quickly returned to its original high.

After some drinks, the relationship between the few young masters became better and they started to chat casually.

“Brother Yang, all of us know that the Eighteen Horsemen are backed by the Tongyou City. Even if City Lord Yang Hu is an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm, he isn’t worth mentioning in front of the Tongyou City. How do you plan to convince the Eighteen Horsemen? Not to mention the fact that we’re going to kill the stronger ones.” Zhang Yushu asked suddenly.

Yang Zhenbiao chuckled softly, but he didn’t explain their actions. However, a cackle quickly tore through the air. “It’s easy! Once the Tongyou City gets run over, the Eighteen Horsemen won’t be able to rely on them anymore! They will have to change a backer.”