"Loyal, yes, but I’ve run out of patience!" Jin Xing glanced at the Heavenly Slaughter Sword. "Since you’re so stubborn, you’ve left me no choice. It’s time for you to disappear!"

With that, Jin Xing waved his hand.

The swordsman behind him moved!

A blurred shadow shot toward the Heavenly Slaughter Sword.

The Heavenly Slaughter Sword defended itself desperately, but its eyes revealed a deep-seated worry. "Young Prince, run!"

It prepared to fight to the death.

The opponent is too strong! His swordsmanship is too fast! Too ruthless! Too vicious! And he’s a Third Rank Perfection Overlord! This was an enemy the Heavenly Slaughter Sword could not contend with. It could only hold him off for a moment.

"Escape? No one is leaving today unless they surrender!" Jin Xing sneered. Now that they were here, there was no way he would let anyone from the Jingnan Royal Mansion escape.

SHINK!

At that moment, a sword pierced its chest, missing the heart by a hair’s breadth. It had dodged just fast enough; otherwise, that single strike would have been fatal.

Despair!

Ever since clashing with Yang Qi, this was the second time the Heavenly Slaughter Sword had felt such utter despair. The opponent was terrifying, leaving it with no way to fight back.

"Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I cannot protect the Young Prince!"

The Heavenly Slaughter Sword closed its eyes in despair.

Just then, a flash of sword light cut through the air, parrying the long-haired swordsman’s blade and saving the Heavenly Slaughter Sword’s life.

It was Kong Tianjian!

By now, his swordsmanship had improved significantly, and thanks to the Five Elements Spirit Array at White Mountain Estate, his Realm had advanced rapidly. He was now a Second Rank Perfection Overlord.

Arriving with Kong Tianjian were Lei Tingjun, Ye Feng, and a contingent of the garrison.

"The audacity! Daring to cause trouble in Thunder City without first asking who’s in charge now!" Lei Tingjun declared, striding forward with Ye Feng and Kong Tianjian by his side.

Of course, the King of Jingnan was there as well.

Jin Xing frowned. He had planned to crush the organizations under the Star Shining Society one by one tonight, never expecting them to gather together. This complicated things.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t afraid. The nineteen men he brought with him were, in his outdated opinion, more than enough to sweep through the entire Jingnan Prefecture.

However, his expression soured when he saw the garrison troops Lei Tingjun had brought. Any matter involving official forces was bound to be troublesome. These garrison soldiers weren’t strong, but he couldn’t afford to provoke them. If he killed them, the cleanup would create endless, unmanageable problems.

"The affairs of martial artists should be settled between martial artists. To actually call in the garrison... the Star Shining Society truly has no spine. We’re leaving."

Jin Xing was furious, but his hands were tied. Some lines could not be crossed, or else the person backing him would be dragged down too.

"Father, he killed several of our men!" the Young Prince cried out.

"Let them go!" the King of Jingnan ordered with a wave of his hand.

He had already guessed their identities. Setting aside whether they could even kill these people, doing so would bring immense trouble upon the Star Shining Society. He didn’t want that. Yang Qi had granted him consecutive breakthroughs in his Realm and given him tremendous benefits. He refused to drag Yang Qi down.

Lei Tingjun and the others seemed to reach the same conclusion. Though enraged, they could only watch as their enemies turned and walked away.

How humiliating.

Fortunately, not many had died tonight. This was a debt that would have to be repaid sooner or later, but the Star Shining Society needed to grow stronger first. The consequences of opposing those people now would be unthinkable.

"Father, who are they?" the Young Prince asked.

"They are people we can’t afford to provoke. Don’t cause trouble for Mr. Yang. Furthermore, make arrangements for our fallen and injured brothers. Give them a grand burial and take good care of their families." The King of Jingnan let out a long sigh.

He hadn’t expected trouble to find Thunder City again so soon after a period of peace. He feared the days to come would be anything but quiet.

After leaving Jingnan Prefecture, the more Jin Xing thought about it, the angrier he became. His first assault had been a failure. Although they had killed a few grunts, they had retreated with their tails between their legs, which was completely against his nature.

"I didn’t expect the Star Shining Society to be so united. This makes things difficult. It seems we’ll have to resort to covert methods."

Jin Xing gritted his teeth. He looked at the sixteen men in uniform and ordered coldly, "Yang Taining, I have a mission for you. Tomorrow, move quietly and kidnap members of the Jingnan Royal Mansion, the Zhao Family, and the Kong Family. I have plans for them. There must be someone masterminding this from behind the scenes!

"Lure that person out, and we’ll send them all to hell together."

Originally, he had no intention of being so secretive; it wasn’t their style. But he had no choice. A direct confrontation would be troublesome if they deployed the garrison again, so this was the only way. Kidnapping and threats were common tactics for them, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Yes, sir!" Yang Taining nodded and departed with his men.

They left the Lei Family untouched because of their connections to the officials, making them a risky target.

Jin Xing, along with Chen Guoyuan, Chen Xingye, and the three top experts, didn’t return either. Instead, they used the cover of night to vent their frustrations.

That night, the entire Martial Arts World of Thunder City—aside from the Star Shining Society—was purged. Some surrendered, some were annihilated, and others fled. For a time, the city’s Martial Artists were gripped by panic.

Having witnessed the power of the three experts, Chen Guoyuan had completely submitted. Men who could so easily defeat a master like the Heavenly Slaughter Sword could undoubtedly dominate Jingnan Prefecture. All that remained was to deal with the Star Shining Society. Once that was done, the Chen Family would be the greatest contributor, destined to call the shots in Jingnan Prefecture’s future.

When morning came, Yang Qi received the news and frowned.

Although those Martial Artists hadn’t joined the Star Shining Society, the Martial Arts World of Jingnan Prefecture was now under his control. For someone to dare pull a stunt like this right under his nose was a blatant show of disrespect.

"Boss, I still think we shouldn’t make them our enemy. As long as they leave us alone, we shouldn’t strike first," the King of Jingnan advised. "You must understand who that Jin Xing is. The organization he belongs to is far more terrifying than the Tang Family of Sea City! We can’t afford to provoke them!"

"Can’t afford to?"

Yang Qi knew the King of Jingnan meant well. When an enemy is too strong, one must know when to lie low. After all, Yang Qi was not invincible.

But he was a young man!

To be young and not be reckless is to waste one’s youth!

His men had been killed, and now he was expected to act like a coward? To hide in his shell like a turtle? He truly couldn’t do it. It went against his very character!

"King of Jingnan, I know you have my best interests, and the Star Shining Society’s, at heart. But our Star Shining Society isn’t in the habit of cowering when bullied!" Yang Qi declared. "Even if we can’t face them head-on, I’m going to show them a thing or two. I’ll make them think twice before acting so brazenly in Thunder City again!"