Chapter 9: The City Lord's Mansion steps in

Though the other party seemed young, in his twenties, Yan Tianshan, who was in his fifties, greeted him with an eager smile and called him "little friend."

It was no surprise; the young man held an impressive background that made it clear he was not someone a minor city lord like Yan could afford to offend. Even the Emperor of the Yunxiao Dynasty was known to treat him with deference.

Had it not been for his son's connection to the young man, he would likely not have graced this place with his presence.

"The experience was decent. There are quite a number of monsters in the Feihua Mountains, but unfortunately, they are not very formidable!" Ji Kun remarked with a cold, haughty demeanor.

"Hahaha, that's because, little friend, you are extremely powerful! To you, those monsters are nothing, but to us they are terrifically big!" Yan Tianshan responded with a hearty laugh.

At the praise of Yan Tianshan, Ji Kun waved his hand dismissively, a flicker of curiosity showing in his eyes. "I noticed you seemed in such a hurry just now. Did something happen?"

"Yes, father, what's going on?" chimed in Yan Zheng from where he was standing behind Ji Kun.

"It is nothing serious—only some kind of petty conflict among one or two small families that I had to take care of," said Yan Tianshan.

"Alright, then well go over there too, if there is nothing else to do. Uncle won't mind, will he?" Ji Kun suggested.

"Ha! What are you saying, little friend? It's just a minor affair! Those wretches should be content if only to catch a glimpse of my little friend," Yan Tianshan laughed, though his eyes told of not being able to think of himself as the elder. The trio dashed off toward the Xiao residence.

The Cao family had been completely overthrown with no survivors, and all of their riches were confiscated. These were the actions of the clan members. Xian Yue merely cared about none of that.

"Let's go to Ma's house!" Xian Yue exclaimed, and in a snap of one's fingers, they vanished and reappeared before Ma's place.

The Cao family estate proved to be an inspiring setting for curious onlookers, however, after the long silence when Xiao entered, some worried ones decided to step inside for a peek.

Those who went inside were frozen in horror and couldn't even move their legs as they saw the dreadful view- the Cao family estate was full of corpses. There were splashes of blood across the floors and the walls. They even saw the dead body of the Cao elder.

"Something major has happened—the Cao family has been exterminated!" A scream rang out through the crowd.

Just as the Xian family members came out to face the Ma family, Yan Tianshan and the others, too, arrived at the Xian family. When they saw the bunch of corpses, Yan Tianshan's pupils contracted in shock.

"These are all victims from the three families?, Have all three families been wiped out?

This was something Yan Tianshan could not have expected. He had considered that even though the Xian family was destroyed, the three families would be spared, but Now.

"What a ruthless approach! I never thought such a ruthless force could exist in such a small Feihua City. It's really surprising!" Ji Kun exclaimed in disbelief.

Although he was the scion of the mighty, and had witnessed this kind of view so many times before, he hadn't really expected that this infighting between these minor clansmen would turn so deadly.

"Where is Xian Wu?"

Yan Tianshan's eyes gleamed as he suddenly grabbed Xian Yuanshan, the second elder of the Xiao family, who was overseeing the disposal of the bodies nearby.

"City Lord? Do you need something?"

"What's the situation with those bodies?" Yan Tianshan yelled furiously, with his eyes wide open.

"Reporting to the City Lord, these three families allied to ravage our Xian family. But they didn't have strength, and we beat them at last. They deserved it, and I believe that the City Lord will understand that we, the Xian family, are victims!"

Well, though Xian Yuanshan's cultivation was low, only qi gathering realm, he stood firm against Yan Tianshan's wrath because he knew that now the balance of power had altered since Xian Chen entered the Soul formation Realm.

"Hmph, you worry not about what the city lord will do. Where is Xian Wu? I want to see him!" Yan Tianshan ordered furiously.

"They have gone to the Cao family!"

"Why had they gone there?"

"Those who dare to assault our Xian family must be exterminated!, that is what our clan leader said."

"You want to annihilate those three families?" Yan Tianshan was stunned... Was the Xian family always that ruthless?

"What's that supposed to mean, City Lord? They formed an alliance to eradicate us; isn't it only proper that we do the same?"

Yan Tianshan turned sharply and speeded toward Cao estate. For him, it was important that no single family dominated the rest. That might disrupt his governance.

If the Xian family absorbed the three families and had sufficient strength, could Xian Wu go higher? Then his strength would be over that of the city lord, provoking the question whether he could attack Yan Tianshan's position?

He couldn't let it be.

"Why all this to-do, father? It's just the Xian clan. Suppose they ingratiate themselves with those other three clans as well? That wouldn't cause much of a scuffle," Yan Zheng chuckled to himself over his father's theatrics.

With a few contacts, though, Yan Tianshan wasn't likely to be appointed overlord of a larger city. The city was their clan's ancestral home, and he didn't want to move anywhere.

But the actual problem was that Yan Tianshan's power was relatively weak. Even his son helped him out, he was still stuck in the gold core Realm and not even touching Soul formation Realm.

He was content with his present condition.

Yan Tianshan would chuckle as his chest popped out upon the mention of his son.

Being acknowledged and admitted into one of the Overlord Sect in the Southern Domain is no little fortune for the Yan family; it was a blessing in life.

However, he said, "Haha, even with a supporter like you, I cannot burden you if I can resolve it myself. These trivial matters shouldn't take up your valuable time!"

In no time, they reached the Cao family estate; however, the three got the grave news of the family's elimination.

"What the Xian family has done is really startling!" Yan Tianshan was seething with frustration, and his teeth were clenched.

"They are indeed a ruthless clan!" Ji Kun commented. Though their ways were bloody, eradicating threats was often the only way to remove any chance of future problems from arising.

Still, Yan Tianshan could not fathom how the Xian family acted with such speed.

He hastened into the Xian family without pause and then moved on to the Cao family, but still he arrived too late!

Impossible for them to move so fast, especially when there are so many sect levels represented!" he thought, bewildered.