"Give me your sword," Ling Xiao said calmly, his words leaving no room for negotiation.

"You... boy, don’t take it too far! Don’t forget, you’re a nobleman! Not a robber!" the Demon Sword Master roared. In his eyes, this sword was no less precious than his delicate junior sister. Of course, he’d never dare say that in front of his Sect Leader or his junior sister, but in his heart, he cherished this sword more than life itself!

"You won’t give it to me even if I kill her?"

Ling Xiao said expressionlessly, glancing sideways at the black-clad woman who stood there, trembling with rage.

"I... I..."

The Demon Sword Master pointed a finger at Ling Xiao, shaking with anger, but then he suddenly recalled everything he had witnessed over the past two days. ’Outside the city, the boy had cleanly captured the enemy commander and forced a surrender. After entering the city, he’d broken all the rules, charging straight into the City Lord’s Mansion. During the standoff, the other side’s Demon Sword Master had captured City Lord Li Houlin, forcing him to shamefully abandon the city that had been his family’s fief for generations. To top it off, most of the wealth they had secretly shipped out was stolen...’

’My loss wasn’t a disgraceful one...’ The thought suddenly surfaced in the Demon Sword Master’s mind as he resigned himself to his fate. ’I’ve underestimated this boy from the start! He may be young, but his actions are both surprising and, in hindsight, perfectly logical. He’s efficient, decisive, and utterly ruthless. In his hands, even the most complex problems would likely be resolved just as cleanly.’

At this, the Demon Sword Master couldn’t help but shoot a resentful glance at the composed old man standing nearby, cursing inwardly, ’Old bastard, you’re clearly injured but you’re still pretending everything is fine. Damn you! If it weren’t for this old geezer, the boy would never have escaped, no matter how skilled he is!’

Utterly helpless, the Demon Sword Master tossed the sword to Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao caught it. The moment it settled in his hand, he felt its unexpected weight. ’It really is made of that stuff!’ he thought, inwardly ecstatic at the discovery. He casually stored it in his ring, then produced a pill and tossed it to the woman in black. "Eat it!"

"I won’t—Ugh..." The woman in black had only managed to get two words out before a sharp pain lanced through her throat. Tears of humiliation finally streamed down her face. She sobbed, "If you disfigure me, I’ll fight you to the death!" With that, she picked up the pill, scrunched her brow, and ate it as if it were poison.

Unexpectedly, a delicate fragrance filled her mouth. Ling’Er swore she had never tasted anything so delicious. A languid sensation spread through her body, so comfortable that she almost moaned. But she quickly realized something was wrong. She couldn’t summon a single shred of strength! Horrified, she stared at Ling Xiao. "What did you give me? What did you give me?!"

Ling Xiao sheathed his steel sword and looked coolly at the woman in black. "It’s not poison. But if you want to recover, you’ll have to eat the elixir I give you. However, I think you’re better off this way. At least you won’t hurt anyone when you throw a fit."

"You’re shameless!" the woman in black shrieked at Ling Xiao, her voice thick with tears. Unfortunately for her, Ling Xiao didn’t spare her another glance. Instead, he turned to the remaining two men. "Take your people and go."

At this point, the Demon Sword Master didn’t even entertain the thought of a surprise attack on Ling Xiao. The boy’s methods were far too calculating for his age; this loss was not unjust. He glanced at Ling’Er, his voice full of apology. "Ling’Er, don’t worry. I’ll come back for you as soon as I can!" He and the Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman then picked up the bodies of their two sect-mates from the ground. Just as they were about to leave, they suddenly heard the sound of dense footsteps approaching from a distance—and from both ends of the long street!

Both sides froze, their gazes locking onto each other. Uncle Fu’s expression suddenly changed. "The carriage driver!" he said.

Ling Xiao’s eyes swept the area. Sure enough, the driver was gone. He must have slipped away during the fight. The Demon Sword Master on the other side said, "Quick, hide behind the trees!"

He and the Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman scurried behind the towering, ancient trees lining the road. He urged Ling Xiao frantically, "What are you waiting for? You’re the one they’re after!"

Ling Xiao said coldly, "Then I’ll give them the chance to kill me."

But his eyes betrayed a furious anger. ’He had been struggling with how to deal with the nobles and rich merchants of Penzes City. Ye Zi, Uncle Fu, even Chunlan and Qiuyue, had all advised him to employ a strategy of divide and conquer—win over some, suppress others, and never let them band together against him.’

’But he hadn’t expected them to be even more ruthless. It was true: the farther people were from the Imperial Capital, the more brazen their actions became! They would stop at nothing. First, they hired assassins. When the assassins failed, they sent out a large private army. Their sole aim was to leave him for dead here!’

Ling Xiao laughed, furious. In his heart, he had already sentenced these overreaching dregs to death.

A force of four to five hundred men arrived, with more than two hundred approaching from each direction. And they were all archers, uniformly armed with powerful crossbows designed for high penetration. A few men were even shouldering heavy crossbows, the bolts loaded onto them as thick as an infant’s arm!

’Heavy crossbows like these were typically weapons used by both attackers and defenders in siege warfare. They had brought two of them here today.’ Ling Xiao thought to himself, ’It seems there’s no need to keep this City Guard Army around anymore!’

Ling Xiao’s eyes flickered. He couldn’t help but look up through a small gap in the canopy above, seeing a sky full of stars. He wondered if Ling Wu and the others, who were off training the thousand cavalrymen, would hear the commotion and arrive in time.