Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The Mad Blade Sect collapsed overnight.

Lei Potian was covered in blood, and his golden-backed broadsword was broken in two.

He dragged his mangled body out of Pingyang County through a secret passage in the north of the city, looking back one last time.

Flames shot into the sky. The shouts of battle faded into the distance.

A twenty-year-old business. Destroyed overnight.

"Azure Dragon Society... Iron Sword Sect..." He gritted his teeth, squeezing out each word, "I will be back."

After saying that, even he himself didn't believe it.

Stumbling and falling, they disappeared into the night.

The Green Dragon Society, Yiyue Hall.

Han Tang pushed open the door and came in. His eyes were unusually filled with excitement.

"Master, the Mad Blade Sect has been defeated. The Iron Sword Sect is hunting down the remnants. Shouldn't we make our move?"

Meng Xinghun stood in front of the map and drew a circle around the north of the city with his finger.

"Issue the order. The entire Yiyue Hall will be mobilized. Occupy all of the Mad Saber Sect's territory. If the Iron Sword Sect tries to stop us—kill them on the spot."

"Yes."

That night, the Azure Dragon Society spread like a giant net, silently covering the entire northern part of the city.

When the Mad Saber Sect's headquarters fell, the routed soldiers scattered. Some died by the Iron Sword Sect's swords, while others escaped in the chaos. But many more, with nowhere else to turn, knelt down.

"We are willing to submit to the Azure Dragon Society!"

"Please, Master, take me in!"

"I'll do anything to survive!"

Meng Xinghun stood at the entrance of the Mad Saber Sect headquarters, looking at the kneeling remnants of his soldiers. His face was expressionless.

"Want to live?" He swept his gaze around, his voice as cold as iron. "Fine. From today onwards, you are no longer members of the Mad Blade Sect. You are soldiers of the Azure Dragon Society's First Moon Hall. Those who disobey orders will be killed. Those who defect will be killed. Those who collude with the enemy will be killed."

Three "kill" characters. Each character represents a knife.

The kneeling disciple trembled and repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "Yes, sir! Yes, sir!"

Han Tang walked to Meng Xinghun's side and lowered his voice: "Master, we have recruited 187 people. Forty-three are at the Innate Realm and one hundred and forty-four are at the Acquired Realm. Adding to the original twenty-three, the total number of people in the One Moon Hall is two hundred and ten."

"casualties?"

"Most of those we've recruited are wounded soldiers, none of them fatal. Lu Zhangke is arranging for their treatment."

"Where's the territory?"

"The Mad Saber Sect originally had seven strongholds. We occupy five. The Iron Sword Sect occupies two. They have also suffered heavy casualties and are temporarily unable to contest them."

Meng Xinghun nodded: "Seized?"

Han Tang grinned. This was the real big deal.

"The Mad Saber Sect's accumulated wealth over twenty years—870,000 taels of gold. Countless pills, weapons, and cultivation manuals. The Iron Sword Sect's stronghold in the north of the city was also raided, and over 300,000 taels were seized."

"In total, it exceeds one million taels."

A glint of light flashed in Meng Xinghun's eyes. One million taels of gold. That's enough.

"Furthermore," Han Tang continued, "a batch of high-grade pills was discovered at the Iron Sword Sect's stronghold, which are highly beneficial for cultivating at the Innate Realm. Lu Zhangke said that this batch of pills is enough to train a group of Profound Gang Realm experts."

"Very good." Meng Xinghun turned around. "Report to the hall master immediately."

Ichigetsu-do Hall. Inner hall.

Shangguan Jin Hong sat in the main seat. After listening to Meng Xing Hun's report, he nodded slightly.

"Well done." He slammed the copper coin on the table. "What were the Iron Sword Sect's losses?"

"Iron Hand Sword Elder is lightly wounded. Of the three elders, one is seriously wounded and two are lightly wounded. More than ten elite disciples have died or been injured." Meng Xinghun paused, "They have captured two strongholds of the Mad Blade Sect. Their morale is high."

"High morale?" Shangguan Jin Hong smirked. "Let them be. Now is not the time to deal with them."

"What the sect leader means is..."

"Let's consolidate our gains first." Shangguan Jin Hong stood up, hands behind his back, and walked to the window. "Two hundred and ten men. They need training, reorganization, and allocation. The newly recruited Mad Blade Sect disciples aren't very loyal. We need to use both incentives and fear to firmly bind them."

"Understood."

"Furthermore," Shangguan Jin Hong turned around, "send someone to find Lei Potian. If he's not dead, tell him I'm willing to see him."

He paused. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"The condition is no longer submission. It's annexation. The Mad Blade Sect no longer exists. Lei Potian only has two paths—death, or becoming a dog of the Azure Dragon Society."

Meng Xinghun's heart skipped a beat. He lowered his head and said, "Yes."

Before we could even digest the results, trouble struck.

The following evening, the newly captured stronghold in the north of the city was attacked.

The White Lotus Sect.

Granny Zhou, having recovered from her injuries, joined forces with Black Monster and Abbess Jingxu to launch a surprise attack on the newly occupied territory of the Azure Dragon Society amidst the chaos. The three Divine Vein Realm elders attacked simultaneously, their aura terrifying.

Granny Zhou held a black iron cane in each hand. With each strike, a deep trench cracked in the ground. The Black Monster moved like a ghost, his palm strikes carrying a corrosive chill. Abbess Jingxu brandished her whisk, the whisk threads shooting out like steel needles, and no one dared to approach within a ten-zhang radius.

"Hand over the Heavenly Yuan Medicine! Hand over Liu San Niang!" Granny Zhou's voice boomed.

The newly recruited disciples of the Azure Dragon Society had never seen such a sight before. They suffered heavy casualties and retreated steadily.

When Meng Xinghun arrived, more than twenty people had already been killed or wounded. Two strongholds had been breached.

"Master, all three are at the Divine Meridian Realm. We can't stop them." Han Tang stood with his sword in hand, his left arm slightly blackened after being struck by the Black Old Monster's palm strike.

Meng Xinghun's face darkened. He was about to order a retreat—

A voice came from behind.

"Step back."

The sound wasn't loud, but it exploded in everyone's ears like thunder.

Everyone turned around.

Shangguan Jin Hong walked in with his hands behind his back. His long blue robe fluttered in the wind. His steps were neither hurried nor slow. With each step, the ground trembled slightly, as if the entire city was shaking beneath his feet.

Meng Xinghun and Han Tang exchanged a glance. They both stepped back.

The three elders of the White Lotus Sect also stopped their attack, watching the suddenly appearing middle-aged man warily.

"Who are you?" Granny Zhou asked in a deep voice.

Shangguan Jin Hong didn't answer. She just stared at the three of them indifferently, as if they were three corpses.

"The Heavenly Origin Medicine is mine," he finally spoke. His voice was terrifyingly flat. "Liu Sanniang was also captured by me. Does your White Lotus Sect want to start a war with me?"

Granny Zhou's expression changed: "You're from the Green Dragon Society..."

"The head of the Yiyue Hall, Shangguan Jin Hong."

The three exchanged bewildered glances. They had assumed that Meng Xinghun was the highest-ranking member of the Azure Dragon Society. They hadn't expected there to be someone else behind him.

The ruthless old man spoke in a sinister tone: "No matter who you are, hand over Liu San Niang and the Heavenly Origin Medicine. Otherwise—"

"Otherwise what?" Shangguan Jin Hong interrupted him, her tone as if she were asking a fly.

The old monster was enraged by this tone. He was the White Lotus Sect's Punishment Elder, and for decades no one had dared speak to him like that. "Or I'll raze your Azure Dragon Society to the ground!"

"Push it flat?"

Shangguan Jin Hong smiled.

That smile was as cold as ice.

He raised his right hand, his fingers loosely clenched. Though his hand was clearly empty, Granny Zhou felt a terrifying pressure bearing down on her. It was as if he were holding not air, but an invisible blade capable of cleaving the heavens and earth.

"Grandmaster...Grandmaster?!" Granny Zhou's pupils shrank suddenly.

Before he could finish speaking, Shangguan Jin Hong made his move.

First move.

With a flick of his right hand, an invisible force slashed out like a blade, too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Granny Zhou raised her crutches to block. *Crack!* The black iron crutches snapped in two. The force of the blow still lingered, tearing a deep, bone-revealing wound in her chest. Blood gushed out. She was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a wall ten feet away. The wall collapsed.

The second move.

The old monster was terrified. He turned and fled.

Shangguan Jin Hong made a feint with his left hand. His finger pierced the air, striking the back of the head.

The old monster let out a bloodcurdling scream. His body felt as if struck by a heavy hammer, his spine snapping inch by inch. He collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from his seven orifices. He was dead.

The third move.

Master Jingxu trembled all over. She wildly danced with her whisk, hundreds of whisk strands shooting out like a torrential rain.

Shangguan Jin Hong didn't even glance at it. With a wave of his right hand, the needle-like whisk threads suddenly changed direction in mid-air, returning along their original path. They then shot into Abbess Jingxu's body at an even faster speed.

"ah--!"

Dozens of bloody holes exploded all over his body. He collapsed to the ground. Blood stained the ground red.

Three tricks.

Three elders at the Divine Vein Realm.

Two dead and one seriously injured.

The entire room fell silent.