Chapter 236 - 173: Breaking Evil

Chapter 236: Chapter 173: Breaking Evil

"Pardon me. May I ask for your name, Commander? And what is your relationship to Baili Xiong?" Lu Changfeng asked, cupping his fists.

"Hmph! I am Baili Xiong’s older brother, Baili Feng!"

"Brother Baili, what do you intend to do? I’m taking the Long Family Siblings with me today," Lu Changfeng said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the Long Family Siblings gazed gratefully at Lu Changfeng’s back, their admiration for him soaring.

"You and what army? Unless the Saint Master of the Saint Demon Sect himself shows up, how dare a mere member of the Demon Sect like you be so arrogant and brazen within the borders of Daliang Country?!" Baili Feng had yet to make a move, but his tone made it clear he wasn’t about to back down.

Just as Baili Feng finished speaking, Bai Yimeng stepped forward. "This is Sword City, not the territory of your Daliang Country. You seem to be confused, Commander."

"Is there a difference?" Baili Feng sneered.

Bai Yimeng’s expression changed, and she was just about to retort.

A terrifying aura enveloped everyone present, and Baili Feng’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Sword City belongs to the Divine Sword Sect. It is *my* Sword City, Jiang Changge’s Sword City! You are a mere Commander of the Blue-clothed Guard. Who gave you the audacity to come to my city and run your mouth?!"

The long-running conflict had finally alerted the Divine Sword Sect Master, Jiang Changge.

At this moment, Jiang Changge was slowly approaching. With every step he took, his dense aura hammered against Baili Feng’s body.

Baili Feng’s face was now deathly pale and he was trembling all over. It seemed possible that Jiang Changge could fell him with his aura alone.

"Sword God, we have no intention of offending you."

At that moment, another man wearing the uniform of a Blue-clothed Guard Commander leaped into the scene. He stood in front of Baili Feng, blocking Jiang Changge’s aura.

He struggled to do so, but he did succeed, for he too was an expert in the Primordial Spirit Body Realm.

There were dozens of Blue-clothed Guard Commanders, their ranks including those in the Bone Refining Realm and the Rebirth Realm, so such a thing was not unusual.

Wei He’s gaze sharpened; he recognized the man. It was the very same Blue-clothed Guard Commander he had encountered on the mission concerning Li Rongrong’s younger brother.

’His name seems to be Nalan Hongjie.’

"If you meant no harm, then take your leave," Jiang Changge said, offering the two Commanders from Daliang an out.

Jiang Changge could tolerate Daliang dispatching all manner of spies to watch every nook and cranny of Sword City.

But there was one condition: they had to show him and the Divine Sword Sect sufficient respect, even if it was only superficial.

Baili Feng, today, had crossed a line.

"Understood. We’ll withdraw immediately," Nalan Hongjie said with a nod.

"No—" Baili Feng, glaring at Lu Changfeng with hatred, started to say something more but was cut off by Nalan Hongjie.

"Let’s go."

Nalan Hongjie forcefully dragged Baili Feng away.

The other Blue-clothed Guards naturally followed, quickly dispersing.

Only after they had gone a fair distance did Nalan Hongjie let go of Baili Feng. "If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have died for nothing today."

"Are you aware that Corpse Transformation, the Cruel Official from the Secret Domain, has already been killed by Lu Changfeng?"

Baili Feng was still defiant after the first sentence, but upon hearing the second, his eyes widened. "How is that possible? Corpse Transformation was a terrifying Cruel Official who could escape from a Rebirth Realm expert and had even severely injured one before!"

Evidently, in the minds of the Blue-clothed Guard, the Cruel Officials of the Daliang Secret Domain still held a very high status.

If the Blue-clothed Guard were the Emperor of Daliang’s eyes and ears for monitoring the world, then the Cruel Officials of the Daliang Secret Domain were the Emperor’s own hidden hand, used to personally manipulate the pieces on the board.

"Nothing is impossible. Lu Changfeng is a favored subordinate of the Saint Demon Sect’s Saint Master. He must have received many trump cards from him."

"You’d best wait for a later opportunity to avenge Baili Xiong."

"Besides, you angered Jiang Changge today. You and your squad should stay out of Sword City for the time being."

Baili Feng opened his mouth, but finally, he just nodded.

"Doesn’t His Majesty want to find a chance to get rid of this thorn in his side, Jiang Changge?"

"His Majesty has his own plans. It’s not your place to second-guess the imperial will. I’ll see you this far; get out of the city on your own." Nalan Hongjie came to a halt.

Baili Feng nodded and made his way out of Sword City.

He watched Baili Feng leave.

Only then did Nalan Hongjie turn around.

He raised a hand, summoning his aide.

"Keep a close watch on the Long Family Siblings. Be discreet. Lu Changfeng can’t possibly accompany them all the way back to the Desert North."

"Furthermore, with Corpse Transformation dead, the Secret Domain is bound to make a move. We’ll play it by ear."

The aide nodded, then asked in confusion, "Why can’t we team up with the Secret Domain? Their Cruel Officials are incredibly powerful. If we combined their strength with our Blue-clothed Guard’s intelligence network, wouldn’t we be able to handle anything with ease?"

Nalan Hongjie slapped his greenhorn aide. "Let me give you an example. His Majesty has a left hand and a right hand. They are extremely effective when used separately. But if the left and right hands were to clasp each other, would they be of any use at all?"

The aide pondered for a moment and then it dawned on him. So, the Blue-clothed Guard and the Daliang Secret Domain could never join forces. Not only could they not cooperate, they shouldn’t even meet in private or have any contact whatsoever.

The only day the two would ever need to combine their strength would be the day the Emperor of Daliang was no more.

...

「On the other side.」

After watching the Blue-clothed Guards depart in a hurry, Jiang Changge turned and smiled at Lu Changfeng and the others. "My apologies, you had to witness that."

Lu Changfeng cupped his fists and replied, "Not at all. On the contrary, I admire you all the more, Sword God. To hold your position as master of Sword City so firmly while surrounded by predators... I am certain our Saint Master would also greatly appreciate a hero like you. If you two were to ever meet, he would surely see you as a kindred spirit."