The commotion on the first floor of the Bloodcloud Pavilion in Great Yan couldn't be hidden from those on the upper floors.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three figures suddenly appeared in the first-floor hall.
Although these three were all dressed in the black assassin garb of the Bloodcloud Pavilion, they were noticeably different from the other assassins.
Two of them wore robes with silver-threaded cloud patterns.
The man in the center, however, had gold-threaded cloud patterns on his robe, and his aura was a notch higher.
"Silver-edged assassins, gold-edged assassins, why would the Bloodcloud Pavilion send such assassins to a branch in Great Yan?" Zhong Ling's breath quickened upon seeing the three.
The Bloodcloud Pavilion was an assassin organization with a clear internal hierarchy.
Silver-edged assassins had to be at the Seventh Tier of the Awakening Realm to qualify.
As for gold-edged assassins?
Though their realm requirement was the same as the silver-edged, they had a special condition.
Their mission success rate had to be one hundred percent!
Regardless, both silver-edged and gold-edged assassins were the elite of the Bloodcloud Pavilion.
"Zhong Ling? The legitimate daughter of Zhong Lishuang, and a prince of the Great Yan Dynasty?" The gold-edged assassin glanced at the two, then around the room, quickly grasping the situation.
"Daring to kill in the Bloodcloud Pavilion, you have quite the nerve.
To have found the branch and made your way up here, your skills are impressive."
The gold-edged assassin then looked at Xiao Tian: "A prince of the Great Yan Dynasty, it seems our intel underestimated you. Since you're here, it means Liang Shou and the others failed? What a surprise."
"It seems I'll have to personally step in." The gold-edged assassin twisted his neck and instructed the two silver-edged assassins beside him, "Stay out of this, let me have some fun."
The two silver-edged assassins stepped aside slightly, speaking to each other.
"Don't play too rough, the prince still has some value.
Keep the one named Zhong Ling around for a bit; sending her head to the northern front might drive Zhong Lishuang mad, which would be beneficial to our plans."
The three of them seemed to have already decided the fates of Xiao Tian and Zhong Ling.
Zhong Ling gritted her teeth, her body trembling slightly, eager to draw her sword and charge forward.
But reason told her that stepping forward now would be a death sentence.
"Your intel is quite detailed; you must have an insider in the Great Yan Dynasty." Xiao Tian spoke slowly, surveying the three before him.
"Even though this is just a branch, deploying such a flying spiritual artifact and being so concerned with the affairs of the court, your ambitions are not small.
This is truly troublesome; it seems the situation is more complicated than I imagined.
Is your Bloodcloud Pavilion Headquarters also keeping an eye on the Great Yan Dynasty?"
The gold-edged assassin snorted coldly, drawing a dagger from his waist: "The Great Yan Dynasty holds great secrets; the headquarters has been watching for a long time.
Come, let me see the true strength of a prince who was reported as an ordinary wastrel..."
Boom!
A terrifying aura surged from Xiao Tian, enveloping the surroundings.
The killing intent was so tangible it seemed like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, distorting the space around it, manifesting in this world.
The entire flying spiritual artifact of the Bloodcloud Pavilion branch creaked and groaned, its structure collapsing under the pressure.
The absolute oppressive force stunned everyone.
Even Zhong Ling, who wasn't directly facing Xiao Tian's aura, collapsed to the ground, trembling.
As for the three assassins opposite, they were frozen in place, unable to move.
Clang...
The gold-edged assassin couldn't even hold onto his dagger, which clattered to the ground.
The three felt as if their hearts were being gripped by Xiao Tian.
They wanted to speak, but not a word could escape their lips.
Even when facing the Pavilion Master, they had never felt such pressure.
The gold-edged assassin bit his lip, blood oozing from his mouth as he forced himself to speak: "Sir... there might be some misunderstanding, please... please forgive us."
"Misunderstanding?" Xiao Tian shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Initially, I just wanted to be a carefree prince, live a peaceful life, and be a good person.
But you had to send people to trouble me, force me to retaliate, and compel me to kill you.
I don't understand why you have so much to say.
Why did you have to let me know that your Bloodcloud Pavilion Headquarters has designs on the Great Yan?
Aren't you just forcing me to act and destroy your headquarters?
Why force me?"
In his anger, Xiao Tian suddenly punched forward.
Bang!!!
The gold-edged assassin in front of him didn't even have time to speak before he was evaporated by Xiao Tian's punch.
Behind him, in the distant sky, the fist force tore through the clouds, as if ripping the sky apart.
The two silver-edged assassins nearby were also caught in the fist force, their bodies disintegrating.
In their final moments, only one thought crossed their minds.
"Damn those idiots in the intelligence department, how could they call this monster a wastrel?"
Unfortunately, their roars went unheard by the intelligence department.
Because the head of the intelligence department, that alluring beauty, had already been obliterated by Xiao Tian's punch.
The Bloodcloud Pavilion, Great Yan branch.
Destroyed!
Xiao Tian retracted his aura, exhaling in frustration.
He turned to see Zhong Ling, sitting weakly on the ground, and frowned as he helped her up: "Little girl, at your age, why is your body so frail?"
"..." With Xiao Tian's help, Zhong Ling stood up, her expression odd.
It wasn't that her body was weak; it was the terrifying pressure Xiao Tian exerted when angry that was unbearable.
What concerned Zhong Ling more was what Xiao Tian had said to the gold-edged assassin.
"Your Highness, are you planning to go... to the Bloodcloud Pavilion Headquarters?"
Xiao Tian nodded: "I have no choice; this branch was just an outpost, and the headquarters has its sights set on the Great Yan Dynasty.
Might as well see it through to the end, deliver the Buddha to the west.
Destroying this branch only ensures the safety of our Great Yan Dynasty, but the entire Southern Wastelands still suffers under the Bloodcloud Pavilion.
So, we might as well take this opportunity to remove this biggest tumor.
If we act quickly, we might even make it back in time for dinner."
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Xiao Tian spoke as he ascended the stairs.
He wanted to check if anyone was hiding in the building to avoid any escapees.
Unknowingly, he reached the top floor.
Xiao Tian tore the door open with his bare hands, and the treasure inside nearly blinded him.
Neatly cut spirit stones, rich with spiritual qi, were piled like a small mountain before him.
In addition, there were numerous spiritual artifacts emitting a treasure glow, and elixir jade bottles displayed on the shelves.
"Robbing and killing brings a golden belt, truly..." Zhong Ling was dazzled by the wealth before her and couldn't help but sigh.
"Nonsense!" Xiao Tian's reprimand echoed, "We came to destroy the Bloodcloud Pavilion branch to eliminate evil for the people, uphold justice, and relieve the Emperor's worries.
What is this, stolen goods?
You see a golden belt, but I see filth and blood."
Xiao Tian shook his head as he instructed the system to store everything in the system space.
"Your Highness, what are you doing?" Zhong Ling's mouth twitched as she watched Xiao Tian seemingly store the wealth in a storage space, unable to help but ask.
"Think about it, they kidnapped me, poisoned me, and insulted me. As a victim, taking some compensation isn't excessive, right?" Xiao Tian collected another pile of items and looked at Zhong Ling, questioning.
"Not... not excessive." Zhong Ling stiffly shook her head.
"They plotted against the Great Yan Dynasty, committing treason and disrupting the court. As the Emperor's consort, collecting some fines isn't a problem, right?" Xiao Tian collected another batch of items and asked again.
"No... no problem."
Xiao Tian stored the last of the items, looked at Zhong Ling, and laid out the facts: "Their Bloodcloud Pavilion assassins forced me to destroy their branch.
Now, they are forcing me to destroy their headquarters, wasting my rest time, and yours too. Taking some compensation for the trouble isn't an issue, right?"
"..." Zhong Ling swallowed hard, who would dare have an issue?
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan