Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 817: Turmoil at the City Lord Estate

Ye City, City Lord Estate.

City Lord Duan Xiu emerged from his meditation chamber, his brows tightly furrowed as he looked toward the direction of the prison.

“Who is so audacious as to come here and break prisoners out?!”

He was once a military general before being transferred to Ye City as the city lord. His experience in the military had tempered him to remain unflustered in crisis. He calmly analyzed the situation and summoned his subordinates. “Someone who dares to attempt a jailbreak in the city must be at least at the Basic Fusion Stage. Quickly seek aid from the four neighboring cities and have them notify the army stationed nearby!”

“Roger!”

Duan Xiu donned his old black battle armor from the days of his campaigns and put on his helmet, feeling like he had returned to his time in the military over a hundred years ago.

“Hubby, what exactly is this...”

“Dad, what happened?”

Duan Xiu’s wife and son noticed the commotion and emerged from their rooms. Seeing Duan Xiu in armor, their visages were plagued with worry.

Duan Xiu’s steadfast gaze softened. He took his wife’s hand and said earnestly, “It’s just a bunch of vermin thieves. Don’t you know my strength? Nothing will happen. Besides, Ye City still has an unused secret weapon.”

“Then you must be careful.”

His wife and son were deeply concerned for Duan Xiu.

Without looking back, Duan Xiu waved and shouted, “Alright, go back and rest.”

After bidding goodbye to his wife and son, he headed to the estate’s underground secret chamber.

Hardly anyone was aware of the Fusion-level city defense great array that lay beneath Ye City. Once activated, even if it couldn’t defeat the invaders, stalling them until reinforcements arrived was not a problem.

He rotated a book on the bookshelf. With a clatter, the shelf moved aside, revealing a stone door. He infused spirit energy into the door, which opened, revealing a long tunnel.

As he passed through the tunnel, oil lamps nailed to the stone walls lit up one by one, all the way to the deepest part of the secret chamber.

“What?!”

When he reached the secret chamber, he was stunned. The city defense array’s core, which was originally engraved on the walls, had been thoroughly destroyed, with no possibility of repair!

“How is this possible?”

Without my spirit energy as the key, no one could have breached this place!

“City Lord Duan, are you very startled?” A ghostly voice came from behind Duan Xiu.

“Who’s there?!” City Lord Duan whirled around. He had been channeling spirit energy outwardly the entire time, yet he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching. This person’s strength surpasses mine!

The other party stated a name City Lord Duan hadn’t heard before. “Wu Lei, Heartless Creed.”

“So it really is the Heartless Creed!” City Lord Duan stared at Wu Lei warily, secretly touching his storage ring and retrieving a red-tasseled spear. “It appears that you’ve split your forces two ways—one side goes to rescue the prisoners, while the other side comes to stall me!”

Wu Lei shook his head lightly, saying insipidly, “Rescuing the prisoners is merely a cover. Our goal this time is to kill you!”

“Bold indeed!”

The red-tasseled spear soared like a dragon ascending to the nine heavens. Its tip gleamed with blazing light, flames surging skyward. Although City Lord Duan Xiu was at the Void Refinement Stage, he currently possessed combat power at the Fusion Stage. I don’t fear this Wu Lei from the Heartless Creed!

Wu Lei’s hands opened slightly. Sparks of lightning danced at his fingertips, stirring a violent thunderstorm within the narrow chamber.

City Lord Duan was at the center of the thunderstorm, where lightning raged. Before the red-tasseled spear could reach Wu Lei, City Lord Duan was electrocuted until he lost control, and the spear fell to the ground with a clang.

“City Lord Duan, didn’t you know that among Fusion cultivators, there are still gradations of strength?” Wu Lei said this without a trace of mockery in his tone, but with the current situation as a backdrop, the sarcasm felt stronger.

“How is this possible?!” City Lord Duan’s body was numb from the electrocution; he couldn’t even curl his fingers into a fist. He stared at Wu Lei incredulously. Even if there are gradations of strength among Fusion cultivators, a single move shouldn’t be able to decide the outcome. The thunderstorm just now had targeted all my weak points!

“What’s impossible about it?” A familiar voice sounded behind Wu Lei.

“Wenwu?!” City Lord Duan’s eyes widened as he watched his son Duan Wenwu step out from behind Wu Lei.

“You’re a Heartless Creed spy?!”

The secret chamber’s existence, my weak points—if my son had leaked all of this, everything makes sense!

Duan Wenwu looked at his immobilized father and smiled. “I haven’t truly joined the Heartless Creed yet. Only after killing you will I be officially counted as a member.”

To join the Heartless Creed, one must kill the people closest to them.

And the people closest to Duan Wenwu were his parents.

However, his cultivation was too low. Even if City Lord Duan stood there and let him attack, he wouldn’t be able to harm a hair on him. As the city lord, Duan Xiu had life-preserving magical treasures bestowed by the imperial court. This was why Duan Wenwu needed to request the Heartless Creed’s higher-ups to step in.

The Heartless Creed’s higher-ups wouldn’t assist him for nothing. As such, he promised to help open Ye City’s treasury, allowing Wu Lei to take whatever he wanted.

“Why?!” City Lord Duan’s eyes were bloodshot as he desperately resisted the rampaging lightning within.

“Why? How do you have the face to ask why?!” The question seemed to have struck a nerve in Duan Wenwu, and his expression distorted into that of a maniac.

“You neither used your special privileges to exchange benefits with sects to get me into S-class sects or first-class sects, nor did you let me use the treasures in the treasury to boost my cultivation. Because of this, I’m twenty-five this year, yet my cultivation is still stuck at the Golden Core Stage!

“I’m the city lord’s son! But you never used your special privileges for me even once!

“Mother simply comforted me, saying that I was inherently unsuited for cultivation and that I could pursue an official career.

“Official career, official career, official career! So that I can become as rigid as you?!

“Have you ever considered my feelings?! You gave me the name Wenwu—civil and martial—but where’s the ‘wu’ for martial?!”

Golden Core Stage at twenty-five years old wasn’t considered slow. However, this wasn’t the result of Duan Wenwu’s own cultivation—it was City Lord Duan using his own accumulation to help his son improve.

This was the limit. Duan Wenwu’s aptitude was too poor. Advancing further would require natural treasures beyond City Lord Duan’s means.

“Exchanging for benefits would harm the people of Ye City. The treasury belongs to the imperial court; it is not your father’s personal property. How could I give it to you—”

“Enough! Stop talking!” Duan Wu flared with anger. “Since you insist on keeping up your airs as a city lord, don’t blame me for being heartless!”

There was a method to enhance one’s aptitude in the Heartless Creed, and it required family members’ heart-blood as a medicinal primer. The higher the family member’s cultivation, the better the medicinal primer’s effect would be.

Since Father is a Void Refinement cultivator, it means I can transform into a genius with a Dual Spirit Root!

“Wenwu...” City Lord Duan’s eyes grew misty. Seeing this unfamiliar Duan Wenwu, scenes from his memories flashed through his mind: his son’s birth, his son babbling his first words, his son learning to walk, his son climbing trees to rob birds’ nests, his son getting his palms slapped by the teacher, his son crying while memorizing texts, his son getting his spirit root tested, his son drawing qi into his body... How did a good child become like this? 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Seeing his father like this, Duan Wenwu’s tone suddenly softened, and he sighed. “Dad, I love you and Mother. But I want to become even stronger. For that, I have no choice but to sacrifice you two. I hope you can understand me.

“True Lord, I’d have to trouble you to take action!” Duan Wenwu bowed to Wu Lei, a glint of killing intent in his eyes. “My parents and everyone in the City Lord Estate, please kill all of them!”

If the imperial court learned that he joined the Heartless Creed, they would surely use this as a lead for their investigation, causing endless trouble.

Hence, he reported the Heartless Creed’s Ye City Branch and had all its members arrested. After that, Wu Lei and another Heartless Creed higher-up used this as a reason to take action—breaking the prisoners out and killing his father and everyone in the City Lord Estate.

That way, he would appear on the casualty list. Duan Wenwu would cease to exist in this world. He could smoothly join the Heartless Creed without worrying about the imperial court’s investigations.

The Heartless Creed prioritized profits and self-interest. With all the benefits I’ve given True Lord Wu Lei, I’ll naturally receive his guidance once I join the Heartless Creed.

Wu Lei made no comments. Lightning erupted from his body, coalescing into a lightning bolt in his palm.

“City Lord Duan, farewell.”

Swish!

A ray of sword light descended from the sky, carving a bottomless gash between Wu Lei and City Lord Duan. The secret chamber, along with the study above, was similarly cleaved.

Wu Lei jerked his head up, glaring at the old Daoist priest holding a sword overhead. He squeezed out three words from between his teeth.

“Taciturn Daoist Priest!”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest scrutinized Wu Lei, gradually matching him to someone in his memory.

“You’re Wu Lei? It’s been over a thousand years since we last met, hasn’t it? I remember that when I joined the Heartless Creed back then, you were at the Advanced Fusion Stage. How come you’re still at the Advanced Fusion Stage now?

“Your Heartless Creed’s cultivation methods aren’t effective, huh?”