Yunwu Town

  Yunlai Jianzong is the first of the seven towns under its jurisdiction, and it is the economic center of 21 villages within a radius of ten to twenty kilometers.

  The entire Yunwu Town has nearly 50,000 people. The town is lined with shops and restaurants, and outside the town there are stone walls over three meters high. The stone wall is separated by a distance, and there are five-meter-high watchtowers that surround Yunwu Town, making it look like a small city.

  At this moment, in the best three-story wine building in Yunwu Town, five middle-aged men who looked quite dignified were drinking with some women and Yangshan of the Xuanling Sect.

  The three in the middle are Xu Juechen, the head of the Xu family, Ren Yuanbo, the head of the Ren family, and Fan Kaiyang, the master of Longxing Martial Arts Hall, all from Yunwu Town. The other two are Cheng Li from Lvyu Town and Li Qiushi from Yinxia Town.

  These few people gathered together, basically already possess all the discourse power of Yunlai Jianzong under the jurisdiction of the seven towns.

  "Haha, you guys didn't see yesterday, Yunlai Sword Sect's disciple named Jiang Caiyun, didn't even dare to reveal his identity, sneaking around our Yunwu Town to gather information, looks like it's really relieving."

  "Isn't that right, normally they come to our town and all they want is money, still it's just about the money. Our family business, did it fall from the sky? Why should we hand it over to Yunlai Sword Sect?"

  "It's not bad, although Yunlai Sword Sect only took 20% of the income, which is much lower than the national tax. However, we didn't earn this money easily, and since it's our hard-earned income, it should all belong to us. Does Yunlai Sword Sect have the responsibility to defend against the ferocious beasts in the Dayun Mountain Range? They can barely protect themselves now, even if ferocious beasts really ran out of the mountain range and attacked the surrounding towns, they wouldn't have the power to eliminate those beasts."

  "All this is also thanks to Lord Yangshan. If it weren't for the lord, our several towns would not have had such a carefree life no matter what."

  "Right, right, thanks to Lord Yangshan! Come on, Lord Yangshan, let's give you a toast."

  The atmosphere in the room was very warm and lively, with everyone surrounding Yang Shan, who sat in the first seat, trying to curry favor with him.

  As a disciple of Xuanling Sect, he was already stronger than any family head in this small town, let alone Yang Shan being a high-level swordsman himself.

  This identity is an absolutely supreme existence among the seven major towns that even a sixth-level swordsman does not have.

  "You're all too polite, next, it still depends on everyone's cooperation. Don't worry, as long as everyone is united and resists the Yunlai Sword Sect together, we can definitely drive away the Yunlai Sword Sect that has been oppressing you. If the Yunlai Sword Sect really dares to be unreasonable, at that time, our Xuanling Sect will certainly come to uphold justice for you."

  Yang Shan smiled and responded to the few people in front of him.

  While paying, he was recalling what happened yesterday in his mind.

  "I'm just short of revealing my identity now. If Yunlai Sword Sect still doesn't understand what happened in Yunwu Town, the people responsible for information should all be put to death. Next, I'll wait for Yunlai Sword Sect's reaction..."

  "Hmmph! Qi Lingyun? A 9th-level swordsman? You'd better not disappoint me, Cloud Ridge Sword Sect. Send someone to Yunwu Town to keep me company and have a good time with me. Don't be a turtle hiding in its shell, or how can you justify the efforts I've put in for over a month in this poor and remote place?"

  "Clan leader! Something's wrong, people from Yunlai Sword Sect have arrived!"

  Just then a voice with a hint of panic quickly came from outside.

  "What's the hurry!"

  The one who picked up the phone was Xu Juechen of the Xu family.

  "Has it arrived? Everyone can see today, I am Yang Shan here, I guarantee that you will not be harmed in any way. After today, Yunwu Town, Lvyu Town, Yanxia Town and other seven towns will be truly autonomous territories. The Yunlai Sword Sect will never dare to ride on your heads again!"

  Yang Shan stood up, with an air of having waited for a long time.

  "With Lord Yangshan here, what's there to worry about?"

  "Mr. Yangshan, it's all up to you from now on."

  "Mr. Yangshan, if there's anything we need to do, just give us orders."

  Xu Juechen and Ren Yuanbo quickly stood up and bowed their hands in response.

  Yang Shan swept his gaze over the heads of several small forces, waved his hand slightly, and said confidently: "Don't worry about this matter..."

  His words had not finished, a loud noise came from below: "Who is it that dares to stir up trouble in Yunwu Town and interfere with the affairs of our Yunlai Sword Sect? You don't even put our Yunlai Sword Sect in your eyes!"

  In the blink of an eye, the sound quickly spread up, and immediately afterwards, the door of the private room was pushed open by someone. Qi Lingyun, Qin Tianyi, Qin Yuyan, and Jiang Caiyun arrived simultaneously.

  "As expected! The Xu family, the Ren family, the Longxing Martial Arts Hall, the Cheng family of Lvyu Town, and the Li family of Yinxia Town, you must have been deceived by this person. Hurry up and retreat now!"

  Qī Língyún sternly shouted at Xú Juédì, Rén Yuǎnbó, Lǐ Qiūshí, Chéng Lì and others, not giving them any time to respond. He immediately turned to Yáng Shān: "Are you the one who disrupted the stability of our Cloud Ridge Sword Sect's subordinate towns within our territory? I don't care what sect or identity you are from, if you dare to do this, be prepared to pay the price!"

  "Huh?"

  Yang Shan originally wanted to appreciate Qi Lingyun's reaction, but when he heard Qi Lingyun's words, he immediately felt something was off.

  How come the other party is following this trend... as if they didn't recognize him?

  He Yangshan, as an eighth-level swordsman, had made a name for himself in Wanxia County, but now...

  His mind had yet to turn around when Ziling Yun suddenly let out a loud roar: "You don't put our Cloudy Mountain Sword Sect in your eyes, now, bear the wrath of our Cloudy Mountain Sword Sect!"

  A thunderous roar shook the entire private room, making everyone's head buzz. The next moment, Qilingyun's sword was already out of its scabbard, shining brightly as it swiftly stabbed towards Yangshan.

  "Not good!"

  Feeling the terror of Qiling Yun's sword, Yang Shan's face changed in an instant: "How dare you make a move!? Doesn't Cloud Sword Sect fear the revenge of our Xuanling Sect?"

  In his astonishment, his sword also hastily left its scabbard and thrust out.

  Bang!

  Flames shooting in all directions.

  The gap between an eighth-level swordsman and a ninth-level swordsman caused him to feel a shock of true energy throughout his body, and he involuntarily retreated backwards, a wooden table behind him being smashed to smithereens in the process.

  "This old thing wants to be the death of me!"

  Sensing the cold killing intent in his opponent's swordsmanship, Yang Shan's eyes widened in shock, finding it rather hard to believe.

  "Kill!"

  Yang Shan's mind was shaken, but Qi Lingyun didn't show any mercy, and with one move, he launched the optimized Wind Cloud Twenty-Three Swords. It seemed like a whirlwind had risen, enveloping Yang Shan entirely, and the icy sword energy made this eighth-level swordsman's hairs stand on end.

  "Ah! Zilingyun, you dare!"

  Under the threat of life and death, Yang Shan shouted loudly: "Xuanling Jiujian! Break for me!"

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Two people clashed in an instant with seven swords in the void, their true energy shooting out in all directions, their powerful auras flying horizontally. However, there was ultimately a gap between a 9th-level swordsmaster and an 8th-level one that couldn't be made up for by a burst of fighting spirit alone.

  With a flash of blood, Qilingyun's sword pierced through Yangshan's neck, although it only scratched the outer layer of skin, but the unhesitating killing intent on the sword made Yangshan's heart filled with great terror!

  "This old thing, a fatal move! He's gone mad! He must be crazy! No good, he's a 9th-level swordsman, I'm completely no match for him! Let's go, let's go, let's go! Return to the Xuanling Sect, dare to take action against me, I'll report it to the elder and use this as an excuse to lead the sect's top experts to thoroughly destroy Yunlei Sword Sect, who will dare say anything? Qi Lingyun, this old thing, when the time comes, I'll personally behead you with my sword!"

  Yang Shan was furious in his heart, after dodging Qi Lingyun's attack, he sprang up and was about to rush out of the private room.

  "Want to leave!?"

  Qin Tianyi and Qin Yuyan, siblings who were preventing Yang Shan from escaping, exchanged a glance and simultaneously drew their swords.

  The Wind and Cloud Twenty-Three Swords, with a power rivaling that of the top-grade sword techniques, suddenly burst out in a fierce and swift manner, one after another.

  Qin Tianyi was the first to draw his sword, and its blade shook violently, directly shattering Yang Shan's defensive stance. Then Qin Yuyan's sharp sword followed closely behind, piercing through and striking true. Even though Yang Shan hastily dodged, he still left a bloody hole on his shoulder, and the power contained in the sword's blade also forced him to retreat.

  "A ninth-level swordsman and two seventh-level swordsmen, the entire upper echelon of Yunlai Sword Sect has taken action. This is to completely trap me here!"

  In an instant, Yang Shan understood the determination of Yunlai Sword Sect. His face changed drastically as he shouted loudly: "Yunlai Sword Sect, you have a big nerve! I am a disciple of Xuanling Sect. You dare to attack me? It's simply a crime punishable by death! Stop immediately and apologize to me. I can let bygones be bygones, otherwise, the masters of Xuanling Sect will arrive in no time and annihilate Yunlai Sword Sect, making your blood flow like rivers!"

  "Ridiculous! Who are you? A nobody who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, daring to impersonate a master of the Xuanling Sect!"

  "Old Master Qi is right, the Xuanling Sect is a well-known and respected sect in our Wanxia County. How could they possibly interfere with the internal affairs of other sects and disregard the friendship between the 36 major sects of Wanxia County? You clearly don't even know where you learned those few sword techniques from the Xuanling Sect, yet you're pretending to be a disciple of the Xuanling Sect here, trying to stir up trouble and destroy the friendship between our Yunlai Sword Sect and the Xuanling Sect!"

  Zi Lingyun and Qin Yuyan both took a big gulp at the same time.

  Among them, Qin Yuyan felt a great deal of joyful relief when she shouted out these words.

  Yang Shan's identity as a disciple of the Ling Sect, although not publicly acknowledged, was an open secret, only lacking concrete evidence. However, now these hidden pieces of evidence have become the excuse for Qin Yuyan and Qi Lingyun to ignore his identity and openly kill him.

  In this way, even if it is passed on, at most they can say that they did not know Yang Shan's true identity. Anyway, everyone knows what's going on.