Volume Two, Travels Through the Kingdom of Qi Chapter Ninety-Five, Battle with the City Lord

The master of the Blissful City flashed into view and, in an instant, stood before them all, staring coldly at the three of them.

With the support of a powerful backer in the Heavenly Origin Realm, Han Xuan naturally had no fear. He met the man’s gaze with open provocation.

After a brief silence, the city lord spoke first. “Han Xuan, it seems I have been too merciful to you, which is why you have become so lawless.” His voice was thick with anger.

“Qi Buyi, you are the lord of the Blissful City, yet you have joined hands with the people of the Dark Spirit Sect to harm its citizens. You are utterly devoid of conscience—are you not afraid of divine punishment?” Han Xuan now had confidence, and began trading barbs with him.

“Qi Buyi?” Zhang Heng, who had intended to remain inconspicuous on the sidelines, could not help but laugh.

When Zhang Heng drew everyone’s attention to himself, he adjusted his expression and began to curse with relish.

“When others commit wicked deeds, they think of every possible way to hide them. But your very name is 'unjust'—and indeed, you are true to it. I suppose your parents, after giving birth to a son so unfilial that he would do things worse than beasts, must have named you so on purpose.” After finishing his tirade, Zhang Heng suddenly remembered that today he was not the protagonist.

“Ah, it’s all this wretch’s fault for being so deserving of abuse. I couldn’t help myself, I couldn’t help myself. My apologies.” Smiling broadly, he retreated behind Han Xuan.

Qi Buyi burned with fury. “Han Xuan, you have taken all the common people of my city into your Han family, obstructed the development of my Blissful City, and repeatedly challenged me. I have shown you mercy again and again. And now you have even damaged the gates of my city lord’s manor and brought people here to insult me. How could I possibly spare you?”

Majestic spiritual power roared forth from his sixth-tier Core Formation realm. After all, he was the strongest in this little city and possessed some real ability. As his rage surged, everyone felt a trace of pressure.

“Qi Buyi, I did not come here today to quarrel with you. You have committed so many evil acts; since Heaven will not take you, then I, Han Xuan, will act in its place.” With a heavy sweep of his robe, Han Xuan scattered the surrounding spiritual energy and declared with domineering force.

Everyone thought he was about to fight the city lord to the death, and they hurriedly backed away. A battle between the first and second strongest experts in the Blissful City would be no small matter; none of them wanted to be drawn into it.

Yet to their surprise, after finishing his grand display, Han Xuan flashed aside and hid behind Zhang Heng.

In a low voice, he said, “Senior, I’ve already been very satisfied after cursing him out. I’ll leave the rest to you two.”

In the city lord’s manor, everyone present could not help but laugh. Only Qi Buyi himself wore a grim expression.

He had assumed that the two men who had come with Han Xuan were merely ordinary people. But seeing Han Xuan’s behavior now, he changed his mind.

Since they were not ordinary, and their cultivation could not be seen through, then there was only one other possibility.

These two were probably outrageously powerful.

Seeing that it was his turn to take the stage, the old man of the Heavenly Origin Realm straightened his clothes and was about to go out and put on a show.

At that moment, Zhang Heng came before Han Xuan, tapped him lightly, and gave a profound smile.

“Clan Head Han, this beast has oppressed you for so long. Don’t you want to teach him a lesson yourself?”

At once, Han Xuan’s attitude took a complete one-hundred-eighty-degree turn. He flashed forward, met Qi Buyi’s gaze, and said fiercely, “Those who do evil too much will surely destroy themselves. Qi Buyi, today I will kill you here.”

The city lord did not answer, only staring coldly at Han Xuan. What he feared was not Han Xuan, but the two who had come with him.

While locking eyes with Han Xuan, he secretly reached one hand behind his back, formed a hand seal, and then a small wisp of black mist seeped out from his palm and drifted away.

Zhang Heng and the old man saw this but made no move to stop him.

Calling for help? The more people you summon, the more excited we become.

With their hidden support, Han Xuan and Qi Buyi’s auras instantly soared. Spiritual power clashed head-on, and battle was about to erupt.

Seeing this display, the others also hurriedly kept their distance.

Han Xuan struck first. The humiliation and repression of these past days needed release.

His figure flashed as he attacked Qi Buyi, and Qi Buyi also gathered his spiritual power. The two of them immediately became locked in combat. In an instant, fists and feet flew, and spiritual energy spilled everywhere.

At their level of cultivation, all things could serve as weapons. There was no longer any need for special arms. Unless they possessed spirit arms or spirit tools, nothing was as useful as their own bodies.

Of course, the Blissful City was only a small city. Naturally, they had no access to spiritual weapons.

So they could only fight with their hands.

Both men fought with all they had, spiritual energy pouring out as though it cost nothing. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged hundreds of blows.

Their strength was similar, so for the moment neither could prevail.

But Han Xuan was still only at the fourth tier of the Core Formation Realm. At last, a flaw appeared in his defense. Qi Buyi seized the opportunity and struck with a punch that landed squarely on Han Xuan’s chest, unleashing a torrent of overwhelming spiritual energy.

Han Xuan was hit and sent crashing from the air to the ground. The old man of the Heavenly Origin Realm quietly channeled spiritual energy to catch him, preventing him from falling badly.

“Han Xuan, you are no match for me. Take your people and go back. I will not make trouble for you,” said City Lord Qi Buyi, standing in midair and looking down with arrogant satisfaction.

He truly could not see through Zhang Heng and the old man’s strength, so he wanted to calm things down first and wait for his reinforcements to arrive before settling matters.

Han Xuan rose, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gave a cold smile, and then took a pill from his robe and swallowed it.

“Qi Buyi, this is not over yet.”

As he spoke, Han Xuan’s aura surged. His spiritual power actually rose by two levels, leaping directly to the sixth tier of the Core Formation Realm.

“Now we are both at the sixth tier. Come, let us try again.” Han Xuan shouted fiercely, then once more gathered spiritual power and flew toward Qi Buyi.

When Han Xuan had been only at the fourth tier of the Core Formation Realm, he had already been able to tangle with Qi Buyi, who was at the sixth tier, for so long. Now that he too had reached the sixth tier, he naturally had the upper hand.

Though Qi Buyi felt puzzled, he had no time to think further, for Han Xuan was already before him. He quickly gathered his spiritual power and hastily defended.

In a single blow, Han Xuan, now at the sixth tier of the Core Formation Realm, broke through his protective spiritual energy with nothing more than one punch.

“This is impossible!” Qi Buyi cried unwillingly after falling to the ground.

“You’re already at the sixth tier of the Core Formation Realm, and still this strong?”

“Qi Buyi, you only know pleasure and amusement, and never cultivate properly. Defeating you is as easy as turning over a hand.” Seeing that his strike had such devastating power, Han Xuan hovered in the air and began to put on a show.

Qi Buyi was just about to say something, but his blood and qi were in turmoil. He coughed up a mouthful of old blood.

Naturally, the pill had been given by Zhang Heng.

According to the system, it seemed to be called a Spirit Gathering Pill, able to raise one’s cultivation in a short period. Zhang Heng had already guessed it would be useful someday, so he had memorized it.

Han Xuan had done so much for the ordinary people that letting him show off once was hardly too much.

At that moment, Qi Buyi, still lying on the ground, began to laugh. “Hahaha. I don’t know what method you used to raise your spiritual power. But do you think you are the only one who can do it?”

Then Qi Buyi threw back his head and roared. Rolling black mist erupted from within him. His clothes were blasted into tatters, his hair was thrown into disarray, and he looked for all the world like a beggar.

But now his spiritual energy level was clearly at the Reversion Realm.

Zhang Heng fixed a sharp gaze on Qi Buyi.

This surging black mist was similar to the black mist that formed the consciousness of the Ghost Sage Daoist. As expected, there was some kind of connection between them.

“Hahahahaha! Han Xuan, weren’t you very good at putting on airs? Come and fight again!” Qi Buyi glared provocatively at Han Xuan and shouted fiercely.

Seeing this, Zhang Heng smiled. Sure enough, whoever had the strength could put on a grand show.