From the fake emperor to the concubine

"I hope you are reborn into a good family and live a happy life."

After the ceremony, Zheng Yi took one last look at Xiaoyue's grave.

"Don't worry, I will avenge you," he said in a low voice. "The Ning family owes you, and I will make them repay a hundredfold."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

It's not that I don't want to turn back, but I'm afraid I won't be able to bear leaving.

The group resumed their journey. But this time, the atmosphere was unusually heavy. No one spoke; they simply continued on their way in silence.

They were leaving these ruins and returning to the Xuan Tian Domain.

Because a major battle is inevitable.

Three days later, Zheng Yi and his group arrived outside Yunxiao City.

From afar, they could see a large number of cultivators gathered in the sky above Cloud City. Countless streaks of light intertwined in the air, clearly indicating that something significant was about to happen.

"Patriarch, something's wrong." Xiao Tianxing's expression was grave. "Cloud Sky City seems to be under lockdown."

Zheng Yi's divine sense swept over them, and his expression changed slightly: "They are from the Ning family. And there are many of them, at least a hundred."

"It seems the Ning family has already received the news," Liu Ruyan said. "Ning Xiaotian should already know his son is dead."

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful divine sense swept across Cloud City and precisely locked onto Zheng Yi.

That divine consciousness was filled with anger and killing intent, sending chills down one's spine.

Immediately afterwards, an old and furious voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth:

"Zheng Yi! You beast, get out here right now!"

The sound contained powerful spiritual energy, and could be heard clearly for miles around. The cultivators in Cloud City all looked up in the direction from which the sound came.

"It's Ning Xiaotian, the head of the Ning family!"

"Ning Xiaotian personally took action? What happened?"

"I heard that Ning Zhiyuan, the young master of the Ning family, is dead! He died in the ruins!"

"What? Ning Zhiyuan is dead? Who killed him?"

"It seems to be that extraterrestrial cultivator named Zheng Yi!"

The entire Cloud City erupted in uproar. Ning Zhiyuan, the fifth-ranked expert on the Prodigy Ranking and the future heir of the Ning family, had actually been murdered? This was an earth-shattering event!

Zheng Yi looked up in the direction of Yunxiao City, his eyes showing no fear, only indifference.

"Since we're here, let's go see him," Zheng Yi said calmly. "It's time to settle the debt the Ning family owes Xiaoyue."

"Patriarch, Ning Xiaotian is a mid-stage Integration Realm expert, and the Ning family is incredibly powerful," Zheng Bowen said worriedly. "Wouldn't it be too dangerous for us to go directly there like this?"

"Danger?" Zheng Yi sneered. "They're the ones who should be worried about danger."

After he finished speaking, he leaped into the air and flew towards Cloud City.

Zheng Bowen and the others quickly followed. Although Liu Ruyan was also worried, she knew that saying anything now was useless. Zheng Yi had already made up his mind to settle accounts with the Ning family.

Above Cloud City.

An elderly man dressed in a purple brocade robe hovered in mid-air, emanating a terrifying aura. His hair and beard were all white, but his face was unusually young, appearing to be only around fifty years old. However, at this moment, his face was filled with anger and grief, his eyes bloodshot, almost spitting fire.

He is Ning Xiaotian, the head of the Ning family.

Behind him stood dozens of experts from the Ning family. Each of them possessed a cultivation level of at least the Nascent Soul stage, and among them were several elders at the early stage of the Body Integration stage. Such a lineup was enough to sweep away any mid-tier family.

In addition, there were hundreds of Ning family cultivators surrounding Yunxiao City, completely encircling the city and preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

Ning Xiaotian stared intently at the figure flying from afar, the killing intent in his eyes almost tangible.

"Zhiyuan, my son," he murmured sorrowfully, "Rest assured, your father will avenge you. Those who killed you, their families, their friends—they will all die!"

Three days ago, he received news that his son had been killed in the ruins. At the time, he didn't believe it at all, thinking it was a joke.

Zhiyuan is ranked fifth on the list of geniuses, and he also has a life-saving magic weapon bestowed upon him. Who can kill him?
But when he arrived at the ruins and saw his son's body, his world collapsed.

That was his only son, the heir he had poured all his heart and soul into raising. He had always thought that Zhiyuan would inherit the Ning family and carry on its legacy.

But now, everything has vanished.

His son died; he was stabbed through the throat and was beyond dead.

At that moment, Ning Xiaotian almost went mad. He vowed to make the murderer pay a thousandfold price. Not only would he kill the murderer, but he would also exterminate his entire clan, making him taste the pain of losing loved ones.

Through his investigation, he quickly discovered the murderer's identity—Zheng Yi, a cultivator from another region.

Ning Xiaotian immediately mobilized all the resources of the Ning family to seal off Yunxiao City, vowing to tear Zheng Yi to pieces.

Now, the enemy has finally appeared.

Zheng Yi flew to the sky above Cloud City, standing a hundred feet away from Ning Xiaotian, facing each other from afar.

"You're Zheng Yi?" Ning Xiaotian's voice was icy cold, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

“Exactly,” Zheng Yi said calmly.

"Fine, very well," Ning Xiaotian sneered. "You actually dare to come to Cloud City? Looks like you're tired of living."

“It’s not that I’m tired of living, it’s that your son deserved to die,” Zheng Yi said coldly.

"What did you say?!" Ning Xiaotian roared in fury. "You killed my son, and you dare say he deserved to die?"

"Isn't that so?" A cold glint flashed in Zheng Yi's eyes. "Your son is wicked and treacherous. He sent men to ambush me, but I defeated them. I could have killed him, but I spared his life because he's a top expert on the Heavenly Pride Ranking. However, he shows no remorse and has once again led a group to attack me, even using a five-year-old girl to threaten me."

"Finally, his men accidentally beat the little girl so badly that she died on the spot." Zheng Yi's voice grew colder and colder. "Why keep someone like that around for the New Year?"

"Nonsense!" Ning Xiaotian roared. "Zhiyuan may be arrogant, but he would never do such a despicable thing! You are slandering him!"

"Slander?" Zheng Yi sneered. "You can ask Bai Changkong of the Bai family; he was there at the time."

Ning Xiaotian was taken aback and turned to look at Bai Changkong not far away.

Bai Changkong stood in the crowd, his expression complex. He hadn't wanted to get involved, but now that he'd been singled out, he had no choice but to step forward.

“Patriarch Ning,” Bai Changkong sighed, “What Fellow Daoist Zheng said is true. I was there at the time and saw it with my own eyes. Your son did indeed threaten Fellow Daoist Zheng with that little girl, and that child was indeed killed by the Ning family cultivators.”

"What?" Ning Xiaotian's expression changed repeatedly.

He had thought that his son had been killed by Zheng Yi without cause, but now, hearing what Bai Changkong said, it seemed that there was more to the story.
But he quickly put those thoughts out of his mind.

"Even if Zhiyuan did something wrong, it's not your place to deal with him!" Ning Xiaotian gritted his teeth. "What right do you, a wild brat from another region, have to kill my son?"

"On what grounds?" Zheng Yi said coldly, "On the grounds that he deserves to die."

"Fine, very well!" Ning Xiaotian was utterly enraged. "Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, don't blame me for being impolite. Today, not only will you die, but your friends and your family will all die!"

With a wave of his hand, the Ning family experts behind him stepped forward and surrounded Zheng Yi and the others.

"Attack! Kill them all! Leave no one alive!" Ning Xiaotian commanded.

"Yes!"

Dozens of Ning family experts attacked simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of spells and supernatural powers upon Zheng Yi and his companions.

Zheng Bowen and Zheng Hongzhi's expressions changed, and they hurriedly set up a defensive formation. However, the enemy had too many people and were too powerful, and the defensive formation quickly began to crumble.

Liu Ruyan unleashed her Xuanbing Sword, its chilling aura dispelling several attacks. But soon, even more attacks came crashing down.

"Master, we can't hold them off!" Zheng Bowen cried anxiously. "No need to," Zheng Yi said calmly. "Everyone, step back behind me."

Zheng Bowen and the others quickly did as instructed.

Zheng Yi stood at the forefront, facing the attacks of dozens of Ning family experts, his expression calm. He raised his right hand and waved it lightly.

"A spacetime barrier."

A transparent barrier appeared before everyone. All the attacks that struck the barrier were deflected; not a single one could break through.

The experts of the Ning family were shocked.

"What kind of supernatural power is this?"

"Such strong defense!"

Ning Xiaotian narrowed his eyes: "No wonder you dared to kill my son; you do have some skill. However, this is far from enough!"

He took matters into his own hands.

"Piercing Palm!"

Ning Xiaotian unleashed a palm strike, its force as vast as a mountain and as deep as the sea, containing the full power of his mid-stage Integration Realm cultivation. The space beneath the palm strike trembled violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

The power of this palm strike is enough to level a mountain.

But Zheng Yi simply raised his hand to block.

The spacetime barrier reappeared, blocking the attack.

boom--

A massive shockwave swept out, and the cultivators around Cloud City retreated hastily, fearing they would be caught in the blast.

When the smoke cleared, everyone saw that Zheng Yi was still standing in the same spot, motionless.

"How is this possible?" Ning Xiaotian exclaimed in disbelief. "You actually managed to block my full-force attack?"

"Ning Xiaotian, you've gotten old," Zheng Yi said calmly. "A mere mid-stage Integration Realm cultivator, yet you dare to be so insolent in front of me?"

"Arrogant!" Ning Xiaotian roared. "I'll see just how capable you are!"

He launched another attack, this time even more ferocious. His palm strike transformed into a giant dragon, roaring as it charged towards Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi stopped defending and instead launched an attack.

"Time-Space Sword Technique - Slash!"

A dazzling sword light flew out and collided with the giant dragon of palm energy.

Keng——

The sword light severed the giant dragon, its momentum undiminished, and went straight for Ning Xiaotian.

Ning Xiaotian was shocked and quickly dodged. But the sword light was like a persistent leech, relentlessly pursuing him. He had to summon a defensive magic treasure to barely block it.

However, the magic weapon was also slashed with a deep crack and was almost shattered.

"You...you're in the late stage of the Integration Realm?" Ning Xiaotian exclaimed in shock.

Only a powerhouse at the late stage of the Integration Realm could shatter his magic weapon with a single sword strike.

"No, I'm not yet at the late stage of the Integration Realm," Zheng Yi said calmly, "but it's enough to deal with you."

His aura suddenly surged, and a terrifying pressure emanated from his body.

After Xiaoyue's death, the grief and anger in his heart instead stimulated his potential. With the help of the previous stream of light and the cultivation of the past few days, he was already infinitely close to the late stage of the Integration Realm.

Although he hasn't truly broken through yet, his strength is already enough to crush ordinary mid-stage Fusion Realm experts.

Ning Xiaotian's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected this cultivator from another region to possess such strength.

But now he was in a bind. He had to avenge his son; otherwise, what would become of the Ning family's authority?
"Elders, attack together!" Ning Xiaotian commanded.

Upon hearing this, several elders of the Ning family at the early stage of the Integration Realm immediately took action. Including Ning Xiaotian, a total of five Integration Realm experts simultaneously besieged Zheng Yi.

Such a lineup would force even a late-stage Nascent Soul Realm expert to temporarily avoid a direct confrontation.

"Patriarch, be careful!" Zheng Bowen and the others exclaimed.

But Zheng Yi smiled.

"Five Nascent Soul Realm cultivators?" he sneered. "So what? Today, I'll show your Ning family what true power disparity is."

He flashed forward and charged towards the five people.

"You're courting death!" Ning Xiaotian roared, and the five of them attacked simultaneously.

In an instant, the entire sky above Cloud City was illuminated by various magical spells and supernatural powers. Palm strikes, sword energy, and magical treasures—countless attacks intertwined, forming a death storm.

But in the eye of the storm, Zheng Yi strolled around as if he were taking a leisurely walk.

His movements were elusive, weaving through the attacks and always managing to avoid vital points perfectly. His counterattacks, however, were always deadly.

"Space-Time Sword Technique - Rift!"

With a single sword strike, an elder of the Ning family was unable to dodge in time and was struck on the shoulder by the sword light, causing blood to splatter.

"Time-Space Sword Technique - Seal!"

With another sword strike, the power of spacetime enveloped another elder, restricting his movements. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zheng Yi thrust his sword forward, aiming straight for the elder's heart.

The elder was terrified and struggled with all his might to break free of his restraints, but a bloody hole was still pierced in his chest, and he almost lost his life.

"Damn! This kid is too strong!"

"Master, we are no match for them!"

With two elders injured, the others were even more terrified. They had thought that the five of them working together could easily defeat Zheng Yi. But they hadn't expected that his strength far exceeded their expectations.

Ning Xiaotian also sensed something was wrong. This Zheng Yi's strength had probably reached the threshold of the late stage of the Integration Realm. Although he hadn't truly broken through, his special supernatural abilities were enough to contend with a late-stage Integration Realm expert.

"Retreat!" Ning Xiaotian decisively ordered.

But how could Zheng Yi let them leave just like that?

"Trying to leave? Too late."

A cold glint flashed in Zheng Yi's eyes, and he swung his longsword repeatedly.

"Time-Space Sword Technique - Deadly Strike!"

Several sword beams flew out, blocking the five people's retreat. One elder, who reacted a little slower, was directly pierced by the sword beam and died on the spot.

"what--"

A scream rang out as the elder's body plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the streets of Cloud City, lifeless.

"Third Elder!" Ning Xiaotian cried out in grief and indignation.

In a single day, first their son died, and now even the family elders have been killed. This is a devastating defeat that the Ning family has never experienced in hundreds of years.

"Zheng Yi! I will never forgive you!" Ning Xiaotian roared.

"An irreconcilable enemy?" Zheng Yi sneered. "When your son killed Xiaoyue, didn't you think of this day?"

"Xiaoyue? Just for some unrelated little girl, you're going to fight the Ning family to the death?" Ning Xiaotian asked incredulously. (End of Chapter)