In the dark confines of the Demon Summoning Sect's Imperial Capital branch, the faint sound of wooden blocks clattering echoed from above.
The Blood Refining Hall's leader, his face half-hidden behind a mask, sat alongside representatives from other halls and high-ranking members of the main sect. Each had a porcelain cup at hand, steaming with hot water bobbing with goji berries.
The Blood Refining Hall leader tapped his notes, cleared his throat, and began:
"Esteemed colleagues and leaders, today's meeting will focus on the operational status of our branch. Your guidance and suggestions are most welcome."
"First, sales of the Heavenly Sovereign brand instant noodles have surged, but its reputation in the Imperial Capital has taken a hit. Additionally, one of our production workshops was destroyed by Qian Gong of the Seventh Realm from Great Yu, resulting in significant losses..."
"So the imperial court is cracking down on Heavenly Sovereign noodles now?"
A burly figure crossed his arms, though his voice was surprisingly delicate—a woman's.
"I warned against mixing Divine Power Powder into the noodles. Now we’re under investigation, and who’s going to make up for the lost Faith Energy?"
The Blood Refining Hall leader snorted. "Yin-Yang Hall Leader, spare us the sarcasm. The slump in Heavenly Sovereign sales isn’t because of the Divine Power Powder."
"Then what is it?""Some merchant guild copied our product and flooded the market with counterfeit garbage. Half the people buying it aren’t even getting the real thing!"
The moment his words landed, the demonic cultivators erupted.
"The unscrupulous merchants of the Imperial Capital have no manners at all!"
"In broad daylight, no less! This is lawlessness! Is the imperial court just sitting on its hands?"
"Disgusting! According to Article 130 of Great Yu’s Commerce Law, this is severe infringement—punishable by up to ten years in prison!"
"What kind of lowlifes dare to compete with our Demon Summoning Sect?!"
The demonic cultivators seethed with rage. After much deliberation, they resolved to investigate the matter in secret and wipe out the counterfeiters.
Next, the Blood Refining Hall leader moved on to other matters.
"Due to the noodle sales slump, our hall’s finances are in dire straits. To boost revenue, I placed a heavy bet at the Thousand Gold Gambling Den."
"Bad news—I lost."
"Good news—the gambling den has since gone bankrupt. No need to repay the debt."
"As for infiltrating the Hidden Dragon Tournament, progress is steady. The Yin-Yang Hall’s special envoy, Qu Songyun, has successfully assumed her identity and entered the competition..."
At this, the demonic cultivators straightened in their seats.
No one cared much about the Blood Refining Hall’s troubles, but the Hidden Dragon Tournament involved the Blood God.
Every Ancestral God was the foundation of the Demon Summoning Sect.
The Blood Refining Hall leader took a sip of his goji tea, cleared his throat, and was about to continue when—
BANG!
The door burst open with violent force.
The arriving sect member blinked. "Where is everyone?"
"Do none of you Blood Refining Hall people know how to knock?!" The Yin-Yang Hall Leader’s form flickered back into visibility.
"Scared me half to death—I thought imperial troops were raiding us!"
Luo Yexian crawled out from under the table.
"Making such a fuss over nothing!"
The Blood Refining Hall leader wiped spilled tea off his lap and snapped, "This better be important, or I’ll refine you into pills!"
"The Hidden Dragon Tournament results are out!" the sect member panted.
"What’s so shocking about that?!"
"Doesn’t Jiang Yu win every year? With his True Dragon Body and Imperial Sword Bone—plus the home-field advantage in the Imperial Capital—even a Fifth Realm cultivator would struggle against him."
"Jiang Yu lost!"
"Exactly, as I was saying—"
The demonic cultivators froze. They hadn’t misheard. Jiang Yu hadn’t won—he’d lost. The room fell dead silent.
Tan Zhuyin clenched his fists. "Who beat him? Ying Bing?"
"It was Bing—er, the Frost Fairy’s..."
"If it’s her, that’s not entirely impossible..."
"...beloved, Li Mo."
"Can’t you finish a damn sentence in one go?!"
The Blood Refining Hall leader felt his face burning with embarrassment. He was tempted to slap the messenger into oblivion.
"Li Mo? How?!"
"He uses a sword!"
The demonic cultivators didn’t despise Li Mo himself—after all, the "Divine Hammer Little Tyrant’s" prowess was undeniable. Even Han Zhen got hammered into silence.
They just despised his swordsmanship.
"It’s true! I have a Mirage Crystal as proof!"
The sect member pulled out a crystal slab and channeled spiritual energy into it. A scene materialized.
"I yielded first. I lost."
The image showed Li Mo lying in Ying Bing’s arms, lovey-dovey atmosphere thick enough to choke on. The crowd had fallen silent.
Now, so did the Demon Summoning Sect branch.
"That’s the guy who beat Jiang Yu? Did he stuff him to death?"
"I swear I’ll refine you!"
"Forgive me, Sect Leader! Wrong clip—"
After some fumbling, the correct scene finally played.
Swords filled the sky, shaking the Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies Seal. The demonic cultivators stared, speechless.
The Blood Refining Hall leader and Yin-Yang Hall Leader both gazed intently at Li Mo’s figure.
When the meeting ended, the two leaders rose slowly.
Before long...
Their figures appeared in a teahouse on the same street as the Step Cloud Tower.
A woman had already poured three cups of tea and was waiting there—none other than Qu Songyun, who had lost to Jiang Yu earlier that day.
Despite participating in the entire Hidden Dragon Tournament, she showed no signs of exhaustion.
"Greetings to the two Hall Masters."
"Did you witness Li Mo's sword technique today?" the Bloodforge Hall Master asked directly.
"The Blood God has informed me that it was neither a technique nor a sword art," Qu Songyun shook her head.
"What martial art could possibly harness the power of all living beings...?" the Yin-Yang Hall Master murmured.
The Bloodforge Hall Master frowned. "Though it was called a sword technique, I caught glimpses of other martial arts within it—yet it was unmistakably executed with the Celestial Divine Sword."
"Even the 'Observing Oneself as Divinity' method left behind by the Ancestral Gods can only absorb the power of the masses, never wield it as effortlessly as one's own limbs."
"If what he's practicing is a divine art, it's still far too..."
Before Qu Songyun could speak, an abrupt voice interrupted:
"The anomaly lies not in the martial art, but in the man himself."
"When the Hidden Dragon crosses the Dragon Gate, the Celestial City's realm will manifest. Prepare yourselves."
The two Hall Masters jolted in realization—this was the Blood God speaking directly to them, not merely delivering an edict as in the past.
Did this mean the Blood God no longer intended to merely send emissaries into the Celestial City... but planned to descend in person?