"Nangong Yu, I'm giving you too much leeway!" Qing Ti was furious. He had come to find trouble with Xiao Man, but instead, Xiao Man was finding fault with him.
"Why should the City Lord be so enraged?" Xiao Man was unfazed by Qing Ti's fury. "As the Lord of a city, you can neither protect your citizens nor provide them with stability. What difference does it make whether you are the City Lord or not?"
"Before you arrived, the inner city was always peaceful."
"If the peace you speak of is when the human race, bullied, can only swallow their grievances, then it is not peace. It is merely suppressing the conflict. When it erupts one day, it will be too late to mediate."
"Are you mocking me, the City Lord?"
"Oh, you've heard me, City Lord? My apologies, my apologies."
Qing Ti, unable to tolerate it any longer, left in a huff. Xiao Man stared at Qing Ti's retreating, furious back, a cold smile creeping onto her lips. Wait a little longer, just a little longer, and they would soon know the price of bullying the human race!
Qing Ti's visit made Jiang Lan's heart pound. He feared Qing Ti might see through Xiao Man's disguise and discover that the human race was plotting a rebellion, which would lead to their utter destruction!
When Xiao Man returned, Jiang Lan rushed to meet her.
"What did he come for?" Jiang Lan asked worriedly. "Could it be..."
"Don't worry unnecessarily. He was just feeling stifled and wanted to pick a fight," Xiao Man comforted him. "The Crimson and Azure tribes are at each other's throats. On the surface, it's calm, but beneath they are trying to kill each other. Both tribes have considerable power, and if they truly fight, it will be difficult for him to account for it."
"Junior Brother Nangong, will the Crimson and Azure tribes fight?"
Xiao Man gave Jiang Lan a mysterious smile. "It would be hard for them *not* to fight."
Jiang Lan understood that Xiao Man must have a plan. He stopped asking and returned to cultivating in the Tongtian Tower. Those remaining in Zhongzhou Street were also cultivating diligently, striving to enter the Tongtian Tower as soon as possible.
While the people of Zhongzhou Street were desperately attempting to break through to the Divine Transformation realm, the Crimson and Azure tribes once again clashed. The reason for this fight was that a disciple of the Azure tribe was wearing an item belonging to Chi Yuan. The item was very valuable, and Chi Yuan never took it off, keeping it close to his person.
The Azure tribe member, however, wore it ostentatiously in public. When discovered by members of the Crimson tribe, he adamantly denied it was Chi Yuan's, claiming he had found it. Chi Li, already suspicious that Chi Yuan's disappearance was related to the Azure tribe, finally found his evidence.
Chi Li led the elites of his tribe to demand an explanation. The Azure tribe leader, in turn, interrogated the tribesman wearing the spirit bead: "Where did the bead come from?"
"I... I really picked it up. When I woke up this morning, I found this item under the table in my room. I thought it was pretty, so I wore it. I didn't know it belonged to Chi Yuan."
"How did this item end up in your room?"
"I... I don't know."
Lan Guan's mind raced, trying to figure out how to cover this up. After all, Chi Li already harbored resentment towards him because of the human race's affairs. If the Azure tribe were also implicated in Chi Yuan's disappearance, the two tribes might truly be irreconcilable.
Lan Guan hadn't devised a solution when Chi Li, leading his people, stormed their gates!
"Patriarch, the Crimson tribe is attacking!"
"Don't panic. Please invite the Crimson tribe in."
"Patriarch, Chi Li has brought the tribe's elites, and they are clearly here with ill intentions!"
"Lord Qing Ti explicitly forbade us from internal strife. No matter how bold Chi Li is, he wouldn't dare disregard Lord Qing Ti's command," Lan Guan calmed himself. "Invite them in."
Chi Li entered with a murderous aura, his pressure unleashed without restraint. Many disciples with lower cultivation bases couldn't withstand it. Lan Guan had to order all disciples below the Nascent Soul realm to stay away from the main courtyard.
"Brother Chi Li, what is the matter?"
"Lan Guan, I am not here today to listen to your sophistry. Hand over my grandson."
"Brother Chi Li, it's a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding." Lan Guan invited Chi Li to sit. "The child from my tribe found that bead accidentally. He didn't know it belonged to your beloved grandson. If he had known, he would have sent it to your estate immediately. Why would he keep it to play with?"
"Chi Li, that spirit bead was something my grandson always carried. Now it has appeared in the hands of a disciple of your tribe, and you expect me to accept your excuse of having found it?" Chi Li did not believe Lan Guan's words. Lan Guan was insidious and cunning; three of his words were true and seven were lies. He was also adept at framing others, and Chi Li had already suffered from his schemes once.
"Brother Chi Li, I dare to swear on the rules of heaven and earth that Chi Yuan's disappearance truly has nothing to do with me."
"It has nothing to do with you, but it doesn't mean it has nothing to do with your tribesmen!" Chi Li's eyes reddened. "Tell me, what exactly did you do to my grandson? I just want a straight answer. Is he alive or dead?"
"Brother Chi Li, Chi Yuan is not with us, and we have not seen him. How would we know if he is alive or dead?" Lan Guan felt a headache coming on. Ever since Chi Li had lost an eye at the hands of the human race based on his advice last time, Chi Li had never trusted him again. Even when he spoke the truth, Chi Li thought he was lying.
"You truly won't say?"
"Brother Chi Li, it's not that I won't say, but that I don't know."
"Patriarch, Chi Yuan's soul tablet is reacting!" an elder suddenly exclaimed. Indeed, the soul tablet that Chi Li carried with him reacted, indicating Chi Yuan was nearby. However, it only lit up for a moment before the tablet shattered instantly!
Chi Li stared at the shattered soul tablet, completely stunned. Moments later, intense killing intent erupted from him. "Lan Guan, you dared to kill my grandson!"
"No, it wasn't me..."
"I will make you pay with blood!" Chi Li lunged forward, engaging Lan Guan in a fistfight. The Crimson tribe elites who had accompanied Chi Li immediately joined the battle. The Azure tribe mansion instantly became a battlefield.
Xiao Man glanced at the golden butterfly that landed on her shoulder and smiled. "Whether human or demon, everyone has a weakness. As long as you find the weakness, you can achieve twice the results with half the effort."
Several powerful cultivators in the Divine Transformation realm were fighting in the Azure mansion. The commotion was considerable and soon alerted Qing Ti. When Qing Ti arrived, the Azure tribe, in self-defense, activated their clan's protective formation, preventing outsiders from entering and those inside from leaving!
"Chi Li, Lan Guan, stop this instant!" Qing Ti roared. The Heavenly Demon race was already scarce in numbers. Instead of focusing on procreation, these individuals were engaging in acts that could lead to the extinction of their kind. It was truly an act of rebellion!
However, the two tribes, blinded by bloodlust, paid no heed to his admonitions. Moreover, Qing Ti's voice was completely cut off by the barrier. Coupled with Xiao Man's machinations, those who had retained some semblance of reason lost it at this moment, their hearts filled with boundless killing intent, vowing to annihilate their enemies!