The blood-scented room was not silent.
Listening to the footsteps outside, Xu Mu unconsciously tightened the hunting knife in his hand, his expression solemn.
Creak—
The door opened.
Standing at the doorway was a short, middle-aged man in a dark green long robe. His face was expressionless, his aura solid. Just standing there, he made Xu Mu feel a suffocating pressure.
This man was much stronger than Nan Feng.
Xu Mu's eyes flickered as he struggled to resist the pressure, not retreating but ready to knock on the Heavenly Palace's door to summon his final trump card.
Yet, facing such an opponent, even if Gray-White Eyes emerged, the outcome might still be death.
The middle-aged man stood quietly at the door. He glanced at Nan Feng's corpse on the ground, a flicker of almost imperceptible surprise and anger in his eyes.
Then, he looked at Xu Mu again.
This time, his eyes held only coldness and a hint of hesitation.
Should he kill?
This was the Hidden Dragon Inn, and the spatial sealing artifact had malfunctioned. If he acted forcibly, he would surely be detected by the inn's staff.
Or rather, the moment he opened the door and the smell of blood wafted out, the hidden powerhouses within the Hidden Dragon Inn would have already noticed. It was just that, perhaps out of respect for his status, they hadn't acted immediately, choosing silence instead.
Silence did not mean compromise.
The middle-aged man was also silent.
If he made a move, those people would definitely act, or they would report this matter to the Xuanyuan clan, leading to the most severe punishment for him.
But if he took a step back, no one could say this had anything to do with him.
What to choose?
The man in the dark green robe stared at Xu Mu, pondered for a moment, then the killing intent in his eyes grew increasingly intense. Just as he was about to lose control, a crimson figure instantly appeared beside Xu Mu.
It was Qiong Qi.
The latter revealed half of its true form, its eyes flowing with Samadhi True Fire, its presence menacing.
But Xu Mu felt a strange sense of amusement because Qiong Qi still had half a piece of vegetable leaf hanging from its mouth – proof of its feast in the dining hall downstairs.
Seeing Qiong Qi, the man raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by its appearance.
Then, as if a thought struck him, he understood immediately. His gaze towards Xu Mu became even more intense.
This time, he did not hesitate. He mobilized the power within him and raised his hand to attack. Just then, an extremely powerful aura drifted down from above the Hidden Dragon Inn.
The owner of that aura, disregarding the other Domain Lords in the inn, brazenly expanded their domain, encompassing the entire Hidden Dragon Inn.
The most discernible divine sense then landed between Xu Mu and the man.
The man in the deep green robe frowned. The people from the Hidden Dragon Inn hadn't made a sound. Could this newcomer be a protector from the Xuanyuan clan?
Xu Mu and the other party remained in a standoff. Soon, heavy and rapid footsteps echoed from the stairwell, approaching with incredible speed, reaching them almost instantaneously.
It was an elder, well into his twilight years.
Seeing the newcomer, Xu Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's Elder Jiang Tiao."
Jiang Tiao's face was grim. He met the gaze of the man at the door. The latter's expression was calm, then he slowly stepped aside, allowing Jiang Tiao to enter the room.
He looked at Nan Feng's corpse on the ground and then at the messy traces of battle around them. He immediately understood what had happened. His suppressed anger erupted as he shouted:
"Hidden Dragon Inn, is this how you conduct business?"
"If you don't want to continue, my Jiang family will use all our power to have the Xuanyuan clan investigate this matter thoroughly!"
As he spoke, several fluctuations shimmered in the space, and then several powerful spectral figures appeared.
Their faces were unclear, but each of them was a Domain Lord, seven or eight in total, clearly the behind-the-scenes figures of the Hidden Dragon Inn.
Normally, they were responsible for ensuring the safety of this place, yet they had not intervened when Xu Mu's life was in danger.
In the Holy City, this would be a grave offense without power on the level of the Wine Immortal.
The spectral figures of the Domain Lords exchanged glances, then simultaneously apologized to Jiang Tiao, saying, "Please rest assured, Elder Jiang, we will thoroughly investigate this matter."
Then, they turned to the middle-aged man beside them, their gazes threatening.
The latter's face contorted. He said with a flick of his sleeve, "Who dares say this has anything to do with me? I'm just passing through!"
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Jiang Tiao again.
Jiang Tiao stared at the middle-aged man, gritting his teeth, and said, "Ye Xiao, you're fortunate you didn't make a move today, or I would have spent this life of mine to keep you in this inn forever!"
Ye Xiao heard this and gave a dismissive sneer, "If there's an opportunity, I can try it with you."
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
No one stopped him.
Jiang Tiao's eyes blazed with anger, but in the end, he could only sigh.
There was nothing he could do. Ye Xiao had not made a move. Even though it was obvious he was behind this, they could not act without concrete evidence.
If they acted, they would violate the Holy City's rules, and the protectors would target them.
"Are you alright? Are you injured? Will it affect the upcoming competition?" Jiang Tiao glared one last time at the spectral figures, then slammed the door shut with a bang. He turned to Xu Mu and asked with concern.
Xu Mu was their hope in the Jiang family this time, surpassing even Jiang Zheye and Jiang Taixu. If anything happened to affect his ranking, he, Jiang Tiao, would become a sinner of the Jiang family!
Xu Mu, supported by Qiong Qi, staggered back to his chair. His face was pale, but he smiled and shook his head, "It's fine. Just some minor flesh wounds. I should recover quickly."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Tiao was about to ask Xu Mu if he needed any medicinal pills, but then he remembered Xu Mu's situation with Gongsun Jingming and immediately closed his mouth.
Whatever medicine Xu Mu needed, he would surely have, and it would be a hundred times better than anything he could offer.
"It's good that you're alright," Jiang Tiao nodded. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, a sharp burst of energy transformed into wind, sweeping up all the mess on the floor, including the bloodstains that had seeped into the floorboards.
Then, Jiang Tiao waved his hand and directly threw the debris into the corridor of the Hidden Dragon Inn.
The room was clean.
"What about that assassin? Was he sent by the Ye family?"
Jiang Tiao frowned, looking at the corpse wrapped in his energy on the ground.
"Yes, and I recognize him. He recently surrendered to the Ye family and came to seek revenge against me," Xu Mu said slowly, looking at Nan Feng's corpse.
"And the reason I chose to join the Jiang family was to escape his pursuit. I didn't expect to still be unable to avoid it."
Jiang Tiao fell silent for a moment, then looked at Xu Mu and asked, "He was in the Fourth Realm. How did you manage to kill him?"
"Coincidence," Xu Mu waved his hand, still feeling a lingering fear. "He brought this bronze mirror. Once it's activated, the space is sealed, and abilities cannot be used.
"I relied on my physical strength to contend with him for a long time, and finally used a weapon I made earlier to kill him by chance. Otherwise, I would be the one dead today."
Jiang Tiao looked at Nan Feng's chest, which had been pierced through. He was about to ask what kind of weapon possessed such power, but he swallowed the words.
He knew Xu Mu had secrets.
Such matters could not be inquired about.
So, Jiang Tiao said, "Alas, this is also my fault. If I hadn't done those things, you wouldn't have had to go through this."
"But it's alright now. My matters are settled, and the Ten Thousand Races Assembly is about to begin. The main forces of the Jiang family will arrive tonight, and everyone will be staying at this Hidden Dragon Inn. By then, no one will dare to harm you."
"It's finally starting, then," Xu Mu's eyebrows rose. He nodded. He had almost forgotten that the Ten Thousand Races Assembly was less than ten days away.
The main forces of the various great families should have been arriving in the Divine Prefecture Holy City one after another.
He wondered if the Nangong family would come.
Xu Mu was about to ask Jiang Tiao if he knew anything about the Nangong family, but then he suddenly thought of something. Ignoring his pain, he stood up and rushed out of the room. He took out a key and quickly opened the door to another inn room.
This room was a single room he had rented specifically for Charles to research weapons, located next to his own.
Xu Mu's face was anxious. Since the Ye family could find his location, they could also know that he had rented another room. If anything happened to Charles…
Bang!
As soon as Xu Mu entered the room, he heard a burst of sparks. He walked in and saw Charles controlling his mechanical cicada-sized body, engaged in some research. Intricate instruments were laid out to the side, leaving Xu Mu speechless.
"How long has it been, and you've already developed a lithography machine?" Xu Mu asked, looking at the block-shaped device before him with shock.
Charles had previously explained the concept of this thing to him with drawings. Xu Mu's conclusion was that the difficulty of a lithography machine was comparable to that of a nuclear weapon.
If he were to learn it, it would take him an eternity.
But in just a few days, Charles, while developing other weapons, casually built a lithography machine?
"The blueprints are all in my mind. And with these four mechanical arms, I can achieve one hundred percent precision. As long as you provide me with materials, building this thing is a matter of minutes," Charles's mechanical voice sounded. Then, under Xu Mu's shocked gaze, he built a gun with a luxurious appearance.
"Battle Dragon Cannon, a weapon that only exists in virtual form on Blue Star, I have created it. The bullets use extraterrestrial cold iron, and the gunpowder has sufficient explosive force. Within a kilometer, it can penetrate steel."
Charles said, aiming the heavy firearm at Xu Mu. Xu Mu, looking at the dark muzzle, immediately shivered and took a step to the side.
"I'm relieved you're alright."
Xu Mu smacked his lips, looking at the surrounding instruments, and said no more. This was actually within his expectations.
"You continue your research, just don't let anyone find out."
Saying that, Xu Mu silently put the gun into his spatial ring and was about to leave the room, as if trying to escape something.
But to his surprise, Charles had already noticed him. He put down his work and shouted at Xu Mu, "Little Xu!"
"Buy me another twenty million taels of metal materials! I'm going to start building a real mechanical body!"
...