Don’t be fooled by Chu Yin’s current domineering presence—forty percent of it is forced.
He must maintain this momentum to ensure the smooth execution of his subsequent plans.
His strength has made a remarkable leap after these days of cultivation, but it still remains within the realm of an Inner Disciple, far from reaching the level of an Elder.
However, Chu Yin found a different path—one that allowed him to take advantage of shortcuts in actual combat: divination.
Fate divination was his true talent.
Even though he had invested much effort into cultivating the Yunshui Scripture, his understanding of the Great Liuren divination technique continued to deepen day by day without stagnation.
He discovered that before every move in battle, he could quickly cast a hexagram to identify his opponent’s weaknesses and the optimal moment to strike.
This made every attack of his perfectly aligned with “the right timing, favorable terrain, and harmonious conditions.”
[The man to Zhang Wei’s left intended to make a move, drawing his sword, heading toward the Gouchen direction.]
Gouchen is an ominous sign of entanglement and hesitation.
Encountering it is like sinking into a quagmire—you have strength but cannot exert it.
If others intervene, they too become entangled and sink deeper.
Chu Yin’s gaze shifted to Zhang Wei’s left—that was Senior Brother Jin Liang, once a direct disciple of Luoshui City.
Jin Liang’s flying sword had just been launched, attempting a sneak attack on Chu Yin, but Chu Yin’s flying sword struck first, coming from a tricky angle.
Jin Liang’s expression changed drastically as he cursed internally:
“Damn luck! My flying sword just left, and this brat happens to strike first.”
It was too late to retreat and defend with his sword.
Jin Liang grabbed a fellow disciple’s sword beside him to block.
Clang—
The two swords collided.
Chu Yin’s flying sword was deflected, flying aside.
The traitorous disciple’s sword was seized by Jin Liang. Attempting to catch the sword barehanded, he still got slashed across the neck by the flying sword!
“Junior Brother!” Jin Liang’s eyes blazed with fury.
A familiar, strange feeling welled up in the hearts of the Elders of Tianxing City.
Just like that—
The palm strike that had just struck Zhang Wei was similarly ordinary, yet impossible to stop. Every coincidence aligned perfectly in Chu Yin’s favor.
Why was this happening?!
“Zhang Wei, you traitorous disciple colluding in rebellion, disturbing Luoshui City again! As an Outer Disciple, I will clean house on behalf of Mistress!”
Chu Yin’s spearhead directly targeted Jin Liang and his group, launching another assault.
“Attack without holding back, end this quickly!” The Elders of Tianxing City wore grave expressions.
No longer watching passively, they simultaneously activated their cultivation to confront Chu Yin.
At this moment, Elders and disciples from Luoshui City, who had been secretly stationed in various positions, surged forward.
They had already received Chu Yin’s prior orders: abandon the city gates and main streets, concentrating all forces near the wedding banquet immediately.
The guests attending the banquet witnessed Chu Yin’s overwhelming presence throughout.
Though they did not understand how the bride had turned rebel, this was clearly a purge banquet—an opportunity to lend support and strengthen bonds!
“Young Master Chu, I’m here to assist you!”
“Hypocrites of Tianxing City, once old friends and allies of the former City Lord, who claimed neutrality, now hiding behind the lady’s name to sow chaos in Luoshui City, disgracing us all!”
“What rebellion? Miss Zhang Wei is the rightful heir of the late City Lord.
Tianxing City is merely helping the daughter of an old friend reclaim her family’s legacy!”
The Elders on both sides began to clash.
Tianxing City brought many reinforcements, but this was Luoshui City’s stronghold, still holding the upper hand.
Though neither side gained a clear advantage in the short term, the longer the battle dragged on, the more inevitable the collapse of Tianxing City’s forces became.
The leading Elder of Tianxing City secretly instructed Jin Liang:
“You all quickly go and deal with that brat, or kidnap Madam Chunhan. Otherwise, this situation cannot be resolved!”
They also planned to use Zhang Wei—the bride and focal point of the wedding banquet—to confront and disrupt Luoshui City’s morale, then smoothly push back Madam Chunhan and support Zhang Wei’s rise.
Though there were many guests, the wedding banquet had erupted into infighting between the bride and groom.
An impartial judge couldn’t settle family matters.
Most simply watched, unwilling to act rashly and risk offending someone amid confusion.
Unexpectedly, the situation unfolded entirely contrary to expectations.
Zhang Wei, Luoshui City’s young lady and bride, was utterly powerless!
Chu Yin had become the sole authority, even slapping Zhang Wei’s face until it swelled, leaving her no chance to speak…
Madam Chunhan hadn’t even appeared yet—how could Chu Yin, an Outer Disciple, wield such influence and prestige?!
Something was wrong! Something was very wrong!
At this moment, Madam Chunhan, having just changed back into her everyday clothes, sensed the commotion outside and hurried back.
From her maid’s report, Madam Chunhan roughly understood the situation, her expression darkening:
“So Zhang Wei brought Tianxing City’s people and Jin Liang’s few rebel disciples back to cause trouble?!”
Madam Chunhan quickly pieced together the cause and effect.
Zhang Wei likely heard the wedding banquet was proceeding as planned and rushed back to expose the scene.
If Chu Yin hadn’t urged her to return backstage in time, the wedding ceremony might have been further delayed, and Zhang Wei could have arrived to expose the bride as her own daughter-in-law in front of all the guests…
Just imagining that made Madam Chunhan break out in a cold sweat.
“What’s the current situation?” Madam Chunhan asked as she hurried.
“Master-in-law has settled the scene. Things are going quite smoothly!” the maid answered happily.
By the time Madam Chunhan reached the main hall, Chu Yin was already fighting Jin Liang and his group of traitorous brothers.
Half a year ago, he was still an Outer Disciple, but now he was evenly matched against Jin Liang and the others, who wore disbelief on their faces.
“Impossible. Your cultivation clearly isn’t as strong as mine, at best an Inner Disciple. How can this be?!” Jin Liang was suspicious.
Just then, his gaze caught sight of Madam Chunhan. Instantly, he controlled dozens of flying swords, the sword formation dense like a fierce storm, attacking the beautiful woman.
The sword lights flickered, illuminating the entire main hall in a blinding white glow!
Madam Chunhan’s combat ability wasn’t top-tier, but she was far from weak. Two exquisite flying swords shot from her sleeves, firmly blocking the sword rain assault.
At this moment, an Elder of Tianxing City shifted his focus and attacked with claw-like fists:
“I originally intended only to force Madam Chunhan to relinquish power, sparing your life, but now I’m sorry!”
At the critical moment, Chu Yin appeared, pulling his mistress’s curvaceous body into his arms, dodging the Elder’s strike.
Simultaneously, Chu Yin’s flying sword seized the opportunity, finding a gap in Jin Liang’s defenses, instantly piercing his skull.
The sword rain lost control. Dozens of flying swords fell like withered leaves.
Madam Chunhan’s two exquisite flying swords were freed and immediately changed targets, slashing down at the back of the Elder’s neck.
The Elder’s hair stood on end, but he had already reached Madam Chunhan’s side, too late to defend his back.
Squelch—
Blood mixed with brain matter splattered, painting the “Double Happiness” character on the hall’s wall a gruesome scarlet.
“Again like this… why does it keep happening…” The Tianxing City Elder’s eyes shrank rapidly as his vitality vanished.
With one less Elder’s strength, Zhang Wei’s rebellious forces quickly collapsed, dying one after another.
After the Tianxing City forces were crushed, Chu Yin dragged the corpses of the traitorous brothers and dumped them in front of Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei had thought everything was flawless, especially with Tianxing City’s Elders supporting her. She never imagined it would come to this.
Looking at her senior brothers’ bodies, she cried with tears and snot streaming, crawling to her knees before Madam Chunhan:
“Mother, I’m sorry… your daughter was momentarily bewitched, misled by Senior Brothers, and did something foolish today…”
For many years, Madam Chunhan had treated Zhang Wei with kindness, protecting her from pressure.
But today, she found it difficult to forgive. She turned away without looking at the daughter left behind by her late husband.
Zhang Wei tried to crawl forward to plead, but Chu Yin kicked her aside. Her body tumbled several times before coming to a stop.
Chu Yin said:
“Zhang Wei, you said Luoshui City shamed you and you couldn’t hold your head high in front of friends—that was also because Senior Brother Jin and the others misled you?”
“Even a prostitute knows who feeds her. Do you know what you are?”
“Today is my day of great joy. The further you stay away, the better. Don’t soil Luoshui City’s reputation with your bad luck!”
Nearby guards stepped forward and escorted Zhang Wei toward the city gate.
Just yesterday, she was still the bride-to-be of Luoshui City’s young lady. Today, such a drastic change left many sighing.
The guests vaguely understood the situation. They were about to offer congratulations and celebrate Chu Yin, the new city lord, for quelling a rebellion.
Though a great chaos had erupted during the banquet, and the attack targeted the groom, the outcomes were entirely different. Chu Yin had cleared Luoshui City’s shame!
Chu Yin raised his hand to stop them, cupped his hands in thanks, but regretfully said:
“I am grateful for everyone’s assistance just now and should properly thank you, but there’s still one more ordeal I don’t want to involve you in.”
What does he mean?
Isn’t the chaos over?
The Elders of Tianxing City and the previous traitors of Luoshui City have all been eliminated. Why say there’s still one more ordeal?
As everyone wondered, a man with half-white hair and beard appeared on the horizon, his eyes gleaming sharply. His deep and powerful voice rang out:
“Good! Good! You’ve slain several of my Tianxing City Elders and severely damaged my city’s vitality!”
This uninvited guest was the Lord of Tianxing City. To keep Tianxing City neutral, the Lord must be one of the top-tier powers of the era; otherwise, other forces would easily pressure and force them to take sides.
The moment he appeared, his immense pressure extinguished the joy in the hall. All fell silent, holding their breath.
Madam Chunhan’s expression turned grave.
This was a powerhouse Luoshui City could not deal with at present. If all the visitors combined forces today, they might have a chance to kill the Tianxing City Lord, but who would be willing to do that?
She said coldly, “Lord of Tianxing City, you claim neutrality but secretly plotted and failed. Can you not even accept defeat honorably?”
The Tianxing City Lord stroked his beard and shook his head regretfully:
“I can’t. If my people were safe, maybe this could be settled, but now that they’re dead… I have no choice but to come and cut losses!”
Neutrality was only a temporary pretense to conceal their intentions, to bide time until Tianxing City grew powerful enough to dominate all factions.
But today’s losses shattered their grand plan, and other forces would see through Tianxing City’s true colors.
If he did not act now, Tianxing City’s future would be bleak.
As the saying goes, once the bow is drawn, there’s no turning back. The moment he agreed to send Elders to assist Zhang Wei, Luoshui City had to be taken, with no retreat.
The Tianxing City Lord looked at Chu Yin, admiring his astonishing talent yet lamenting that such a youth was not his own disciple.
He said:
“Boy, your tactics against those Elders must be divination arts.”
“I didn’t expect you could bring them to this level. But the gap between our strengths is like heaven and earth. Can your tricks make up for such a disparity?”