Within the slums, Wei Shen tensed. Around him, a dozen disciples of the Iron Flame Sect swarmed.

  "What's the meaning of this?" he roared, flaring his cultivation base in protest as he tried to ward off their entrapment.

  Seeing their disinterest, Wei Shen snarled, "Has the Iron Flame Sect gone mad? Explain yourself, Tie Huolong!"

  The Iron Flame Sect disciples ranged from the first to the sixth layer of body forging. They raised their fists, allowing qi to flow through their meridians as they glared at Wei Shen and his lackeys with killing intent.

  Wei Shen was stronger, being at the seventh layer, but against so many of them, even he felt apprehensive. "Answer me, you snake-like bastard!"

  Tie Huolong and the other Iron Flame Sect disciples broke out into laughter, seeing Wei Shen's reaction. "Oh, no. What's wrong, friend? We're just giving the Frozen Flame Sect our greetings. Aren't we, brothers?"

  "Yes, Senior Brother!"

  "See?" Tie Huolong smirked. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing to be so sensitive over."

  "Bastards," Wei Shen spat through gritted teeth. "You look desperate for a fight, not for greetings."

  "Heh," Tie Huolong sneered. "And? So what if we are? What will you do about it?"

  Tie Huolong's low voice hissed through the area as he erupted his qi. "You conceited ghosts have caused a lot of chaos. Did you think Eternal Flame City belongs to you and you alone?"

  "Dammit, Tie Huolong. Are you trying to protect the rat bastard thief? Do you want to attract Boss Han Lie's anger?"

  "Give it a rest, Wei Shen. Your acting is too exaggerated. Han Lie could be from the Imperial Family, let alone the Han Family, and we'd still make trouble for you."

  He continued, "Do you think the Iron Flame Sect is a joke?"

  Wei Shen stared silently, the implication of Tie Huolong's words clear. It was a blatant provocation of him and his entire sect. Worse, they were so adamant that they'd even thrown dirt at the Imperial Family's name. There was no going back after that.

  "Fine, you want to fight? Let's fight then. Get them!"

  Hearing his roar, the disciples around him rushed forward and attacked the weaker Iron Flame Sect disciples. Like a roaring tide, the brawl broke out, uncontrollable and messy. Fists were blind as they clashed.

  The Frozen Flame Sect's disciples moved the slowest of the two. They feared going all out; the attack was too sudden, and they didn't know what to expect, but seeing how unforgiving the other side was, they quickly abandoned their doubts and fought with their lives on the line.

  Tie Huolong smirked and unsheathed his blade as Wei Shen ran toward him. The two immediately clashed, sending sparks of qi rippling through the air. "You're nothing more than a loyal dog, Wei Shen. But even dogs need to know when to stop barking."

  "What?" Wei Shen said, gnashing his teeth as he punched out. "You're courting death, Huolong!"

  Tie Huolong laughed and stabbed toward Wei Shen's waist, his speed immense as it forced the man to defend. Wei Shen dodged to the side and punched out, his fury bristling violently as he fought back.

  "You have to do better than that," Tie Huolong chuckled. Even if he was a level weaker, his speed was sufficient to pressure Wei Shen.

  Wei Shen roared and pushed off his back leg. "Yinfire Blade!"

  From his fingertips, a small qi-blade formed, and he chopped down with his hand, but Tie Huolong slithered to the side and dodged it before spinning his leg and striking Wei Shen in the ribs. "Ironforged Kick!"

  "Bastard," Wei Shen spat, blood trickling from his lips.

  The two battered one another back and forth, their qi surging around them, like a tempestuous force that kept the other disciples at bay. Not that the disciples minded. To them, a sixth and seventh layer cultivator was too strong a foe to get involved with. Instead, they fought the other side like bandits, kicking, punching, and stabbing without mercy.

  However, a few of the Iron Flame Sect disciples took advantage of the messy brawl to pelt several concealed knives at Wei Shen's back, disrupting his rhythm.

  Wei Shan gnashed his teeth as a blade pierced into his back. "You damned... fiends."

  "Senior Brother!"

  "Don't get distracted!" Wei Shen barked, pain assaulting him as he leaped backward, dodging a strike from Tie Huolong. His scream sent the Frozen Flame Sect disciples scrambling, their killing intent stoked like a flame.

  Tie Huolong watched with a broad grin. The moment Wei Shen got struck by the disciples' throwing knives and became distracted, he seized his blade and shifted his weight, jolting forward like a bolt of lightning.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Everyone thought he was stuck in the sixth layer of body forging, but he had long since broken through to the seventh layer. He truly was a snake-like bastard, as Wei Shen put it, but that made hiding his advancement so much easier.

  "It's time to die, Wei Shen!"

  Tie Huolong thrust the tip of his sword forward, piercing straight into Wei Shen's solar plexus. The force of the attack sent Wei Shen reeling backward, flat on his ass with the blade's tip jutting from his back.

  Wei Shen stared, mouth agape. "W-what, i-impossible—" His abdomen stung with a chilling pain that made him wish to the stars to run away. However, seeing Tie Huolong's sinister grin, he knew it was too late. "—Huolong! I surrender! Don't make a mistake... My Frozen Flame Sect is still here."

  He clenched his hand tightly against the wound, fingers splayed around the blade lest he bleed out. His gaze was begging, a stark contrast to his previous bravado as he propped himself up to his feet.

  Tie Huolong snickered, his grin twisted with malice as he pulled the blade, sending Wei Shen's blood splattering across the slums' dirt road. "Sorry, brother. They won't even notice you're gone for a while."

  Wei Shen fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. Weakness overcame him, and blood spurted from his mouth. "You dogs, Boss Han Lie won't let you get away with this..."

  "Han Lie this, Han Lie that, you call us dogs, but you only know how to bark and lick your master's boot."

  Tie Huolong shook his head, his eyes glaringly cold as he looked down at Wei Shen. "Be careful, or Han Lie will be the first you meet in hell."

  Wei Shen gnashed his teeth before falling flat onto his face—limp and unconscious. Blood flowed profusely from his torso, dooming him to a slow, painful death if no one came to help. But with Tie Huolong and the frenzied Iron Flame Sect disciples there, who would come?

  Even if they had known of the attack and even if they had tried to help, it was too little, too late. Tie Huolong roared and drove his blade down, piercing Wei Shen's heart with one swift, unflinching strike.

  Seeing the resoluteness of Tie Huolong, the remaining Iron Flame Sect disciples roared with increased zeal and pushed forward, swallowing the terrified disciples of the Frozen Flame Sect whole beneath their might.

  It didn't take long before no witnesses remained alive.

  Tie Huolong spat on the ground as he eyed Wei Shen's corpse. "Be smarter in your next life, Brother Shen. Or, at least choose a better master."

  ...

  Wei Shen's demise remained an unknown buried in a sea of flames. Wooden shrapnel scattered across the Frozen Flame Sect grounds as the Golden Flame Sect barged in. Their numbers were immense as Qi-Burst Talismans went off, rattling the area with an unmistakable power that tore through the defenses with ease.

  The gate was no more, and even several disciples' lives vanished in the process.

  Han Kui roared furiously as he floated out, his long grey hair windswept as he tried to calm the killing intent in his heart. "What's the meaning of this, Zhenyu? Are you trying to start a war with my Frozen Flame Sect?" His hollow eyes burned with yinfire qi, radiating a chilling pressure on the surroundings.

  Jin Zhenyu walked across the air, his heavy-set form wobbling as he crossed his arms in front. "Why are you being so emotional, ol' Kui?"

  With a wave of his arm, his golden robes fluttered, and he laughed. "As someone with the potential to reach the Spirit Embryo stage, are you going to throw your life away wiping the Han Family's rear end?"

  "Swine, you dare?" Han Kui snarled, fury bubbling as his qi whipped around violently. "Why did you come here? Explain yourself, or else."

  "I wasn't planning on coming, but your kids are too reckless. If you're going to make a fuss over a treasure, do you think we'll remain rooted in place? The more painful it is to let go, the more valuable it is. You should know what I mean by now."

  Jin Zhenyu raised his hand, the golden rings on his thick fingers gleaming beneath the sun. He clenched his fist and grinned mockingly at Han Kui. "Sorry, old friend. The Han Family won't save you this time. It's time for the Golden Flame Sect to rise."

  "Zhenyu, you swine," Han Kui roared, his voice thundering as icy flames spread far and wide with him at the center. "Neither you nor anyone else is allowed to meddle in my sect's affairs. I'm warning you—"

  "You don't know when to give up, do you?" Jin Zhenyu mocked, his qi surging with golden flames that clashed against Han Kui's icy flames. "The time for warnings has passed. Surrender, or die."

  Han Kui's expression twisted into a gruesome display of seething fury. He spat through bared teeth, "The only one to die shall be you!"

  Before their clash could erupt into a veritable firestorm, the sound of drumming halted their momentum. From the Mayor's Pavilion, all across Eternal Flame City, it spread, disrupting their fury.

  "Fighting in Eternal Flame City—FORBIDDEN!"

  "Use of Qi-Burst Talismans within city grounds—FORBIDDEN!"

  "Causing chaos in my city—FORBIDDEN!"

  "Do you people take me for a statue? Have you gone insane? Tell me, am I crazy, or are you?"

  A large middle-aged man with a scholarly face and sharp brows rose into the air, his qi enveloping him in a graceful azure mist. He walked across the clouds leisurely with his hands behind his back. In his eyes, nothing could escape his gaze.

  He overlooked the entire city and the destruction that consumed it before narrowing his eyes on Han Kui and Jin Zhenyu.

  "Come now. Answer, both of you. Do you treat me as a mere spectator in my own city? Do you think the Royal Family are serfs that exist to do your bidding?"

  Zhao Tianqing's words were soft, but rife with meaning as he bridged the gap between himself and the two sect leaders.

  Han Kui immediately calmed his qi and quickly thought. His eyes flicked between the mayor and Jin Zhenyu before he roared, "Mayor Zhao! The Golden Flame Sect is rebelling. We seek your help!"

  "Rebellion?" Jin Zhenyu questioned with a scathing grin plastered across his face. "You want to play that game? Mayor Zhao! We've gathered evidence that the Frozen Flame Sect is scheming to overthrow the Royal Family. They're conspiring with the Han Family of the Central Province!"

  Zhao Tianqing's mouth dropped, the unexpectedness heavy. It was a serious accusation to make, but not one he could afford to take lightly.

  "Preposterous!" Han Kui screamed, his qi erupting in a savage display of strength that formed a crater around him for miles, pushing the others back. "You dare defame me? Defame the Han Family? You're courting death!"

  Jin Zhenyu laughed uproariously, his gut bouncing joyously as he turned to Han Kui and asked, "Are you feeling guilty? If you're so tense, nobody will believe you're innocent."

  "You damned old swine!" Han Kui howled. His qi turned into an uncontrollable wave of yinfire that spread across the city. "Hear me now, my disciples! The Golden Flame Sect has gone too far. WE GO TO WAR!"