Stranger Danger

“Hold! Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Weilong Villa!”

“Hold! Hold, or we shall greet you with violence!”

In front of the Weilong Villa, a person covered in black robes was slowly walking toward the entrance. The Weilong Villa disciples posted at the main gate noticed this and immediately pointed their crossbows at them, yelling for them to stop.

“Loose!”

However, despite their repeated warnings, the black-robed person continued to march forward as if they couldn’t hear them. The leader of the group hesitated no longer and waved his arm.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

Crossbow bolts flew toward the black-robed person from every direction, and for a moment, it looked like the mysterious trespasser would be turned into a pincushion. Then, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief. Not only did the projectiles fail to deal any damage to black-robed person at all, they passed right through their body almost as if they didn’t exist.

“What are you—”

A Weilong Villa disciple was about to speak when his words suddenly died in his throat. His pupils contracted into pins, and his face slowly turned purple as if an invisible hand was choking his throat.

The black-robed person paid the disciples no heed. They walked past them and passed through the main gate.

The people inside the villa had heard of the commotion as they matter of course. When they saw the black-robed person pushing open their gate and stepping in, they immediately rushed over and attacked them with everything they got.

Strangely, their attacks failed to find purchase just like the crossbow bolts from earlier. Their weapons and their astral qi passed through the person’s body harmlessly almost as if they were striking air.

Even stranger, there seemed to be no air within a certain radius of the black-robed person. It was as if they were a black hole that devoured all the air in the area, leaving everyone with no air to breathe. That was why the surrounding disciples suddenly choked and turned purple at a rapid rate.

“Who dares to trespass into Weilong Villa?!”

It was at this moment an angry roar erupted. It was immediately followed by a draconic roar and an actual dragon descending toward the black-robed person at high speed.

For the first time, the black-robed person stopped in their tracks and looked up. The space around them shuddered for an instant before countless cold, sharp sword qi burst out of their body.

Boom!

There was a loud explosion as sword qi clashed against draconic force. When the dust settled, the ground was riddled with holes at least one or two meters deep, and several decorative hills in the vicinity crumbled into a pile of rubble.

“What an Innate Body Breaking Intangible Sword! You are a disciple of the Swordsgrave?” said a man as he dashed out of a building and stood in the way of the black-robed person.

The man looked to be in his thirties. He was wearing a purple robe, and his countenance was, for the most part, handsome and strong. Unfortunately, his eyes were cruel and mutinous like that of a wolf, giving him an evil aura.

The black-robed person replied in a low, raspy voice that made it impossible to distinguish even their gender, “Your Weilong Divine Palm well deserves its reputation as well, Head Xiang.”

“You know who I am, and you still trespass into my Weilong Villa? How far will you look down on me?”

Head Xiang—Xiang Weilong was his full name—crossed his arms and stared at the black-robed person with cruel, devilish eyes. He looked like he was one unsatisfactory reason away from annihilating the trespasser where he stood.

“I wouldn’t dare. I have come to negotiate a deal with you!” The black-robed person said coldly.

“Negotiate a deal?” Xiang Weilong sneered audibly. “You showed up unannounced, trespassed into my grounds, and wounded my men, and you’re telling me you’re here to negotiate a deal? Is this how Swordsgrave teaches their disciples, or are you just uncouth?”

“I am me. No one is accountable for my actions but myself,” the black-robed man replied unhurriedly. “Also, I am certain I would not be able to meet you if I did not make such an entrance.”

“Hahaha… interesting. It’s been a long time since anyone dared to speak to me this way.”

An evil smile spread across Xiang Weilong’s face. “Did you know? The last person who trespassed into my Weilong Villa and spoke to me this way was carved up bit by bit by yours truly. So tell me, how would you like to die?”

“Forget that you may not have the strength to kill me, even if you do, don’t you want to know the reason I came here? What kind of deal I’m planning to bring to your table?”

Xiang Weilong’s eyes grew just a little more dangerous. “If I say no, what are you gonna do about it?”

The black-robed person replied indifferently, “Nothing. I will walk away, and you will miss a heaven-given opportunity. That is all.”

“A heaven-given opportunity, you say? Hahaha… now you’re starting to pique my curiosity.”

Xiang Weilong barked out a laugh before his tone suddenly turned cold and cruel. “But be warned: I have no patience for liars. If I so much as sniff a hint of lie from you, I swear on my name that I will skin you bit by bit, carve you slice by slice, and break you bone by bone. I will make you wish you were dead.”

Yet again, the black-robed person responded to Xiang Weilong’s threat with abject indifference, “Sure, but are you sure you want to hold our discussion here?”

“Hahaha… come in then.” Xiang Weilong barked out another laugh before turning back toward his house and stepping inside. The black-robed person followed closely behind him.

After the duo entered a room, Xiang Weilong took his seat and stared at the black-robed person. “Care to speak now? Be warned that my patience is very limited.”

“Something big recently happened in the jianghu. Have you heard about it?” the black-robed person asked.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific,” Xiang Weilong grunted impatiently.

“I am talking about Duanmu Longhua’s death and the destruction of Goddess City,” the black-robed person answered.

“Ah, that. Sure, I’ve heard about it. What gives?” Xiang Weilong asked lazily.

“In that case, do you know who’s the one who killed Duanmu Longhua and destroyed Goddess City?” the black-robed person asked.

“What does this have to do with your so-called heaven-given opportunity?” True to his word, Xiang Weilong was already starting to lose his patience. “For your own sake, I really hope you’re not toying with me.”

“Calm, Head Xiang. Give me the time necessary to sort things out for you.” The black-robed person said indifferently, “From what I heard, there were two main culprits behind the destruction of Goddess City. Specifically, they were a man and a woman.”

“After they took out Duanmu Longhua and eliminated Goddess City, their entire treasury had fallen into their hands. That’s centuries worth of accumulation by an entire city. Now, do you think you’re interested?”

“So that’s what you’re plotting!” Xiang Weilong exclaimed in realization. “Planning to rob the robbers, aren’t you? But why seek me out when you can claim the prize yourself?”

The black-robed person answered honestly, “That’s because he is quite powerful. I don’t think I can defeat him by myself.”

“I see! It’s because you’re important!” Xiang Weilong joked before turning deathly serious. “Is that why you’ve set your sights on me? I heard that one of the culprits behind the destruction of Goddess City is Wen Anran, the disciple of the True Lord of the World. That old man is famous for acting like a mother hen guarding her chicks, and you want me to rob his disciple? Are you toying with me, or are you plotting my downfall?”

Killing intent burst out of Xiang Weilong like a storm as soon as he finished, filling the room with terrifying, draconic roars.

“You’re quite well-informed, Head Xiang. However, it seems that you’ve only heard one side of the news.”

The black-robed person remained perfectly calm, however. The next moment, a sword rang, and both the killing intent and the draconic roars disappeared like it never was. At the same time, the chair Xiang Weilong just departed abruptly disintegrated into a pile of wood powder.

Xiang Weilong cast the pile of powder a look before asking, “Is that so? And what did I miss, pray tell?”

The black-robed person answered, “As I told you earlier, there are two main culprits behind the death of Duanmu Longhua and the destruction of Goddess City. One of them is, as you already know, the disciple of the True Lord of the World, Wen Anran. The second person is a man named Joyless Ye.”

“I am in agreement with you that Wen Anran is untouchable, but Joyless Ye? That is a different story.”

“In fact, Joyless Ye was my target from the beginning, not Wen Anran.”

“Who is this Joyless Ye? Why have I not heard of him before?” Xiang Weilong frowned.

The black-robed person replied, “That’s natural. Joyless Ye is an independent warrior with no sect or clan to call to his name. Besides that, he hails from Chu, not Yan. That is why you haven’t heard about him. He is a nobody who recently came to Yan probably to broaden his horizons.”