Chapter 236: Black Cloud Tavern

Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Black Cloud Tavern

After killing Shao Jingyun, Yi Xiaoyao left, heading directly for the Chaotic Alliance Domain.

Yun Shang and Lu Jin had witnessed the entire event from a distance. Now, they stared at the scorched, smoking earth before them and the corpse lying silently upon it. They were frozen to the spot, their faces masks of utter shock.

’That finger attack... it had to be a Celestial Tier Spiritual Skill, at least!’

’A Nascent Soul Second Realm cultivator killing someone at the Seventh Realm... Is this guy even human?’

A wave of horror washed over Yun Shang and Lu Jin. They had assumed that even if Yi Xiaoyao could defeat them, he stood no chance against Shao Jingyun. This outcome was far beyond anything they could have imagined.

As Yun Shang watched Yi Xiaoyao’s retreating figure, she couldn’t help but recall the things she had said to him back in the Great Shang Dynasty. A flush of shame washed over her.

...

The southern half of the Great Xia Empire was a notoriously chaotic region.

Here, there were no rules or restraints. There was only one law: the law of the jungle.

In other words, the strong prey on the weak.

The weak had no right to survive in this region.

Thus, in order to survive, the weak sought refuge with the strong, and smaller factions attached themselves to larger ones, forming countless alliances.

These alliances varied in size and power, numbering in the hundreds, even thousands. Every day, countless conflicts erupted over resources and survival.

And that was how the Chaotic Alliance Domain got its name.

Within the Chaotic Alliance Domain, each alliance occupied a vast territory and controlled numerous cities.

Yi Xiaoyao set out from Yunzhou City, traveled south, and after several days arrived within the borders of the Chaotic Alliance Domain, reaching Black Cloud City.

Black Cloud City was the nexus between the Chaotic Alliance Domain and the outside world, serving as a hub for intelligence gathering.

As such, no single faction could occupy the city. Instead, it was filled with agents from every major power, all gathering information.

It was a microcosm of the Chaotic Alliance Domain itself, rife with slaughter and danger.

At that moment, a grim-faced young man in a black robe, a longsword slung across his back, was walking slowly through Black Cloud City.

"If you want to truly make it in the Chaotic Alliance Domain, you first have to make it out of Black Cloud City."

This young man was Yi Xiaoyao. He muttered the phrase he had heard on his journey, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The sky was growing dark. In the distance, he could feel the faint ripples of combat. Judging by those fluctuations, the weakest cultivators in the city were at the Golden Core Realm, while the majority were in the Nascent Soul Realm.

Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze sharpened. The entire Great Shang Dynasty only had a handful of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, yet here, in a single city of the Chaotic Alliance Domain, they were commonplace. The Golden Core Realm was the new bottom of the barrel.

He scanned his surroundings. The streets were desolate, and many of the buildings on either side lay in ruins, destroyed by constant fighting.

But one pavilion stood untouched, a beacon of light in the otherwise dim city. It appeared to be the only place that hadn’t suffered any damage.

’Black Cloud Tavern.’

Yi Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow. After a moment’s thought, he headed toward it.

Once he stepped inside, he finally understood why this place was so much more peaceful than the rest of the city.

It was filled with powerful experts, all exchanging information.

Yi Xiaoyao’s arrival immediately drew a barrage of icy stares.

"Hm? This kid can’t be more than eighteen or nineteen. It’s my first time seeing someone so young come to the Chaotic Alliance Domain. He’s got some nerve."

"I give him less than fifteen minutes before he’s dead."

"Heh heh, this is interesting. I wonder who’ll be the one to kill him."

The surrounding patrons sized up Yi Xiaoyao with amusement, their conversation laced with mockery.

Hearing their comments, Yi Xiaoyao remained impassive. He walked to an empty table and sat down. After traveling for so many days, he was indeed hungry and thirsty.

Besides, taverns were always hotspots for information. By sitting here for a while, he was bound to overhear something useful.

"Oi, what’ll it be?"

A voice called out. Yi Xiaoyao looked up to see a man dressed as a waiter leaning against the wall, watching him with a smirk.

The waiter’s smile was laced with disdain. He couldn’t even be bothered to walk over to the table. In his eyes, Yi Xiaoyao was a dead man walking, and he had no desire to serve a corpse.

Yi Xiaoyao had never encountered such a rude waiter before, and his brow furrowed in annoyance.

The other patrons in the tavern roared with laughter. "At his age, the kid’s cultivation is probably Early-stage Golden Core Realm at best. I wonder how he’ll feel when he realizes that in the Chaotic Alliance Domain, even a waiter is stronger than him."

Hearing this, the waiter sneered. Playing to the crowd, he released the aura of a Golden Core Realm Peak cultivator.

Before Yi Xiaoyao could react, a wine jug suddenly shot over from a nearby table.

"Kid, that waiter’s got no manners. Our boss is sending you a jug of wine."

The jug landed on Yi Xiaoyao’s table, radiating an intense chill. It was obvious the wine inside had been frozen solid by a powerful wave of Spiritual Power.

The crowd roared with laughter again. They could sense the aura of Nascent Soul Realm Spiritual Power emanating from the jug’s chill. As they saw it, this greenhorn Yi Xiaoyao would be completely unable to thaw the wine. Even if he somehow managed, the Spiritual Power hidden within would surely kill him.

The man who had thrown the jug chuckled. "Kid, if you don’t drink up, our boss is going to get angry."

Yi Xiaoyao gave a cold smile. ’What’s a little ice to my Heaven and Earth Fire Essence? And what can this hidden Spiritual Power do against my Devouring Spiritual Power?’

The next moment, he tilted the jug, and wine poured smoothly into his cup.

Then, Yi Xiaoyao passed the jug to Little Hei on his shoulder, and man and monkey began to drink with gusto.

A moment later, with a flick of his wrist, Yi Xiaoyao sent the jug flying back to the other table.

"Thanks."

His casual word of thanks left the onlookers stunned. They clearly hadn’t expected this outcome.

The man who had sent the jug over stared in astonishment at the now-empty container before looking toward a burly, dark-faced man at his table.

"Boss, this..."

The dark-faced man’s eyes narrowed. "This kid’s got some nerve," he sneered.

He then turned to Yi Xiaoyao. "Kid, you drank my wine. You think a simple ’thanks’ is enough?"

A look of amusement returned to the onlookers’ eyes. It seemed the show wasn’t over yet.

"You gave me the wine," Yi Xiaoyao sneered. "Are you going to go back on your word in front of all these people?"

"You’re saying I’m going back on my word?" The dark-faced man slammed his hand on the table and roared, "I sent the wine for *you* to drink, not for that monkey of yours! Since your monkey drank my wine without my permission, I’m going to eat the little bastard’s brains raw!"

...