May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

After the Blood Lotus Sect leader was exposed on the spot, he quickly withdrew from the battle and turned his attention to the Grandmaster-level martial artist.

"Hehe, Old Monster Yan, it's not as serious as you make it out to be. I just wanted to test the juniors' martial arts skills. Why are you so agitated? I have no intention of breaking the unspoken rules. Don't overthink it."

"Hmph, do you think I'd believe your nonsense?"

"Heh, Old Monster Yan, believe it or not, since we can't see eye to eye, then I'll take my leave!"

"Finally, please give my regards to Night Emperor and Li Xiao. You're very, very good!"

After speaking, the leader of the Blood Lotus Sect used his lightness skill and disappeared from Cloud City in just a few breaths.

……

Li Heng witnessed the entire scene.

"Li Xiao? So the Blood Lotus Sect leader mistook me for Li Xiao. Well, that makes sense. After all, who would have thought that someone who isn't a high-ranking member of the Blood Lotus Sect would have learned so many of its core secret techniques and become the most authentic Blood Lotus Sect demon? Even the Blood Lotus Sect leader probably wouldn't believe it." Li Heng touched his nose and said with a wry smile.

Li Heng quietly left, and this little incident did not affect the battle between the two martial artists.

In the following days, Li Heng did not lie in ambush on the city wall again. He had achieved his goal. The leader of the Blood Lotus Sect did not appear again, nor did any other grandmaster-level martial artists come to impersonate him.

This matter seemed to have come to an end.

However, the matter did not end there. Just as Li Heng had guessed, Chen Tianwang's camp indeed negotiated with the Third Prince's side, demanding that the Third Prince hand over Li Heng.

In exchange, Chen Tianwang's camp would refrain from sending Blood Lotus Cult warriors who could cast the Blood Lotus Curse during the battles between the two sides.

The Blood Lotus Curse is truly vicious and incurable, so martial artists who can cast it have become the most hated targets of the Cloud City martial artists. Once discovered, they must be immediately surrounded and eliminated, and their harm must not be allowed to continue.

However, casting the Blood Lotus Curse is not without its price. The Blood Lotus Curse requires the caster's own blood essence as a catalyst to be cast, and casting it multiple times in a short period of time will deplete a significant portion of one's lifespan.

This spell can only be cast by high-ranking warriors of the Blood Lotus Sect, and its popularity is not high. Therefore, it has not broken the balance between the warriors of both sides.

Moreover, the Third Prince's side was not without countermeasures.

There is a sect that has joined the Third Prince's side, called the Yin Yang Sect.

This sect also has a unique secret technique called the Yin-Yang Talisman, which is similar in effect to the Blood Lotus Spell of the Blood Lotus Sect.

If a person afflicted by the Yin-Yang Talisman does not have the Yin-Yang Sect's unique method of counteracting it, each activation of the talisman will directly deplete one-fifth of their lifespan. After five activations, their lifespan will be completely exhausted, and even a Great Immortal would find it difficult to save them.

However, the Yin-Yang Sect also faces a price to pay for using this technique. Although the price is far less than that for casting the Blood Lotus Curse, the barrier to entry for learning this secret technique is very high, requiring profound internal energy cultivation within the Yin-Yang Sect.

Moreover, it is a closely guarded secret, known only to the highest levels of the sect, and cannot be deployed in large numbers on the battlefield. Therefore, both sides are hesitant to use it, treating it as a strategic weapon.

Li Heng was unaware of the specific details of the negotiations, but the entire city knew the outcome: the Third Prince had explicitly rejected the other party.

He personally stated that Ye Tianzi was a renowned top martial artist in Yuncheng, and he could not do something that would cause pain to his loved ones and joy to his enemies. From now on, anything that might harm Ye Tianzi would be off the table.

But Li Heng knew that the Third Prince was spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones, giving all the martial artists who joined the Third Prince's side a promise: that he, the Third Prince, would never betray his own people, and that everyone could follow him with peace of mind!

When this plan failed, the opponent quickly made another move.

Chen Tianwang's camp mobilized all the openly recognized Grandmaster-level martial artists to force the Third Prince's side to agree that they would not allow Ye Tianzi to kill any of the opposing martial artists, otherwise, a Grandmaster War would be launched.

This time, the Third Prince's side did not respond quickly.

They were also weighing the pros and cons, and besides, only they knew that the Night Emperor was not under their control at all, so they had no right to make the Night Emperor stop taking action.

However, if the Night Emperor were to continue his actions, it could easily escalate into a battle between Grandmasters, which is not a situation that the Third Prince's side wants to see.

Chen Tianwang's camp did not immediately pressure the Third Prince's side to make a decision, but instead gave them three days.

If a satisfactory response is not received within three days, then a full-scale Grandmaster battle will begin. This time, Chen Tianwang's camp is taking a very tough stance, indicating they are serious.

Upon hearing the news, the people and martial artists of Yuncheng all expressed their indignation on behalf of the Night Emperor.

"Night Emperor is a great hero who protected our Cloud City! The bandits couldn't defeat us with a first-rank martial artist, so they used a grandmaster martial artist to force us. It's utterly shameless!"

"Night Emperor has earned a great reputation for the warriors of Cloud City; we must protect him!"

"Your Majesty, though we have never met, I am deeply indebted to you. Please accept my bow!"

"It's a pity that Night Emperor is only at the first rank. If he were at the grandmaster level, he wouldn't have to be threatened by these bandits; he could have wiped them out without leaving a single survivor!"

"Our higher-ups are still hesitant and may be forced to compromise. After all, the number of Grandmaster-level martial artists in Yun City is not too large, so they don't want to fight a lose-lose situation and prefer to preserve their strategic strength. This strategy is not wrong, but it's a pity for Ye Tianzi, who will have to lie low for the time being."

These past few days, Li Heng has been secretly going to the largest teahouse in Yuncheng after disguising himself, listening to the common people and martial artists discussing topics related to him.

He also learned that many ordinary people and martial artists were supporting him, which made him feel quite heartened.

"The people of Chu are still capable of winning hearts and minds!" Li Heng exclaimed.

……

On the night of the third day, Li Heng, dressed in black and masked, quietly appeared outside the city and used his five-stone bow to shoot a letter into Chen Tianwang's camp.

At the same time, he used telepathy to inform the entire city: I, Li Heng, will not make things difficult for the higher-ups of Yun City. As long as they agree not to start the Grandmaster battle and I, Li Heng, have not yet advanced to the Grandmaster level, I will absolutely not make a move!

In an instant, Yuncheng was in an uproar once again.

"The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people. Night Emperor, you truly deserve to be called a great hero! From now on, I will follow your lead without question!"

"The Night Emperor is truly righteous, proving the old saying, 'The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen,' and he has lived up to it!"

This action further deepened the Third Prince's goodwill towards the Night Emperor.

Yuncheng, the residence of the Third Prince.

"Your Majesty, though we have never met, you understand my profound wisdom and righteousness. On behalf of Cloud City and all the people of the world, I raise a toast to you from afar!"

The third prince picked up his wine cup, raised it to the air, and then drank the entire cup of wine in one gulp.

Then, he lamented, "If Chu had a few more Night Emperors, why would there be unrest and turmoil? If everyone in Chu were a Night Emperor, why would my Great Chu not prosper?"

At this moment, he seemed to have finally figured something out, and said to his trusted confidant Lu Maode standing behind him:

"Maode, issue my decree, ordering the entire city to enthusiastically donate Grandmaster-level cultivation techniques and breakthrough insights from Grandmaster-level martial artists. All donors will not only be richly rewarded, but their names will also be engraved on a monument for eternal remembrance! This will help the Night Emperor and all our top-tier first-rank martial artists advance to the Grandmaster realm!"