Chapter 9: Presenting Facts and Reasoning

The commotion on the first floor of the Blood Cloud Tower's Great Yan Branch was significant, naturally, it couldn't be hidden from the floors above.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three figures abruptly appeared in the grand hall on the first floor.

Although all three were clad in the Blood Cloud Assassin's black attire, they were distinctly different from the other assassins.

Two of them had robes clearly embroidered with silver cloud patterns.

The man leading them in the center, however, had robes embroidered with golden cloud patterns, and his aura was noticeably stronger.

"Silver-Rim Assassins, Gold-Rim Assassin, how could the Blood Cloud Tower's Great Yan Branch dispatch such assassins?" Zhong Ling's breathing quickened as she saw the three figures appear.

The Blood Cloud Tower was an assassin organization, and to deal with clients, its internal strength hierarchy was very clear.

Silver-Rim Assassins had to be at the Seventh-tier Awakening Realm to qualify.

As for Gold-Rim Assassins?

Although the cultivation realm requirement was the same as Silver-Rim Assassins, there was a special condition:

A 100% mission success rate!

But whether Silver-Rim Assassins or Gold-Rim Assassins, they were the elite of the elite within the Blood Cloud Tower.

"Zhong Ling? Zhong Lishuang's direct daughter, and a Prince of the Great Yan Dynasty?" The Gold-Rim Assassin saw the two, then glanced around, quickly understanding the situation.

"To dare kill people in the Blood Cloud Tower, your guts are quite big.

To actually find the branch's location and even manage to get up here, your abilities are truly impressive."

As he spoke, the Gold-Rim Assassin looked at Xiao Tian: "Prince of the Great Yan Dynasty, it seems our intelligence underestimated you.

Since you're here, does that mean Liang Shou and the others failed?

How truly surprising.

It seems I'll have to take action personally," the Gold-Rim Assassin twisted his neck and said to the two Silver-Rim Assassins beside him, "Don't interfere, let me have some fun."

The two Silver-Rim Assassins stepped aside slightly and spoke to each other.

"Don't kill him, this Prince still has value."

"Keep Zhong Ling alive to play with. Later, we'll send her head to the northern front line; Zhong Lishuang will surely go mad, which will benefit our plan."

The three of them, one after another, seemed to have already decided the fates of Xiao Tian and Zhong Ling.

Zhong Ling gritted her teeth, her body trembling slightly, wishing she could draw her sword and charge forward.

But reason told her that going forward now would be suicide.

"Your intelligence is very detailed; I'm afraid the Great Yan Dynasty has your insiders," Xiao Tian slowly spoke, scanning the three people before him.

"Although this is just a branch, to deploy such a Flying Spirit Artifact and be so concerned with the court's affairs, you must be plotting something significant.

This is truly troublesome; it feels much more headache-inducing than I imagined.

Does your Blood Cloud Tower Headquarters even pay attention to the Great Yan Dynasty?"

The Gold-Rim Assassin snorted coldly and gently drew the dagger from his waist: "The Great Yan Dynasty holds a great secret; the headquarters has been watching it for a long time.

Come, let me see the true strength of this Prince, who was merely an ordinary good-for-nothing according to our intelligence..."

Boom!

A terrifying pressure surged from Xiao Tian's body, spreading in all directions.

The killing intent, as substantial as a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, distorted the surrounding space, manifesting into this world.

The entire Blood Cloud Tower branch, a Flying Spirit Artifact, creaked and groaned, its structure constantly collapsing, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure.

An absolute sense of oppression intimidated everyone.

Even Zhong Ling, who wasn't directly facing Xiao Tian's aura, slumped to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

As for the three assassins opposite him, their bodies were stiff, not daring to move an inch.

Clang...

The Gold-Rim Assassin couldn't even hold his dagger steady, and it clattered to the ground.

The three felt as if their hearts had been seized by Xiao Tian.

They wanted to speak, but not a single word could escape their lips.

Even when facing their Tower Master, they had never felt such immense pressure.

The Gold-Rim Assassin gritted his teeth, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, and forced himself to speak: "This... this lord, there might be some misunderstanding, please... please forgive us."

"Misunderstanding?" Xiao Tian chuckled bitterly, shaking his head.

"At first, I just wanted to be a carefree Prince, live a peaceful life, and be a kind person.

But you just had to send people to trouble me, had to force me to injure others, had to compel me to kill you.

I still don't understand, why do you talk so much nonsense?

Why did you have to let me know that your Blood Cloud Tower Headquarters covets Great Yan?

Aren't you just forcing me to act again, to have no choice but to annihilate your Blood Cloud Tower Headquarters?

Why force me??"

In his fury, Xiao Tian suddenly punched out.

Bang!!!

The Gold-Rim Assassin standing before him, before he could even speak further, was instantly vaporized by Xiao Tian's punch.

Behind him, in the distant sky, the Fist Force surged, tearing open the clouds and mist.

It was as if it had ripped apart the very sky.

The two Silver-Rim Assassins, who were close by, were also affected by the Fist Force and their bodies disintegrated.

Before dying, only one thought remained in their minds:

"You idiots in the intelligence department, damn you, you call this monster a good-for-nothing?"

Alas, their roars could no longer be heard by the intelligence department.

Because the head of the intelligence department, that seductive beauty, had already been utterly annihilated by Xiao Tian's punch.

The Blood Cloud Tower, Great Yan Branch.

Annihilated!

Xiao Tian retracted his aura and let out a frustrated sigh.

He turned his head and saw Zhong Ling, who was sitting limply on the ground. Frowning, he pulled her up again: "Little girl, at this age, why is your body so weak?"

"..." Zhong Ling stood up with Xiao Tian's help, her expression peculiar.

It wasn't that her body was weak; it was just that the oppressive force Xiao Tian exuded when he was angry was too terrifying, utterly unbearable.

What concerned Zhong Ling even more was what Xiao Tian had just said to the Gold-Rim Assassin.

"Your Highness, are you still going to... to the Blood Cloud Tower Headquarters?"

Xiao Tian nodded: "There's no other way. This branch is just an outpost, and the Blood Cloud Tower Headquarters has actually set its sights on the Great Yan Dynasty.

Since we're doing a good deed, we might as well see it through to the very end.

If we destroy this branch, we've only ensured the peace of our Great Yan Dynasty, but the entire Southern Wildlands is still suffering from the Blood Cloud Tower's poison.

Since that's the case, why not take advantage of the early hour and completely eradicate this biggest tumor?

If we move quickly, maybe we can even make it back for dinner."

Xiao Tian said this as he went upstairs.

He wanted to check if anyone was hiding in the building, to avoid any fish slipping through the net.

Unknowingly, he reached the top floor.

Xiao Tian tore open the door with his bare hands, and the treasure radiance inside almost blinded him.

Spirit Stones, neatly cut and brimming with rich Spiritual Qi, were piled up like small mountains before him.

Besides these, there were many Spirit Artifacts emitting treasure radiance, and Pill jade bottles displayed on the counters.

"Murder and arson bring golden belts, truly..." Zhong Ling was dazzled by the wealth before her and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Nonsense!" Xiao Tian's reprimand rang out, "We came to annihilate the Blood Cloud Tower branch to eliminate harm for the people, uphold justice, and share His Majesty's worries.

What are these, ill-gotten gains?

You see golden belts, but what this Prince sees is filth and blood."

Xiao Tian shook his head as he had the System collect all these items into the System Space.

"Your Highness, then what are you doing?" Zhong Ling's mouth twitched, watching Xiao Tian seemingly put all this wealth into his Storage Space, she couldn't help but ask.

"Think about it carefully. They kidnapped me, poisoned me, insulted me verbally. As a victim, taking some compensation isn't excessive, is it?" Xiao Tian collected another pile of items and looked at Zhong Ling, asking back.

"N-not excessive..." Zhong Ling stiffly shook her head.

"They harbored ill intentions towards the Great Yan Dynasty, constantly committing acts of rebellion and corrupting the court. As His Majesty's husband, taking some fines isn't a problem, is it?" Xiao Tian collected another batch of items and asked again.

"N-no problem..."

Xiao Tian collected the last bit of items, then looked at Zhong Ling, presenting facts and reasoning: "Their Blood Cloud Tower assassins first forced me to annihilate their branch.

Now, they're forcing me to destroy their headquarters, wasting my resting time and your time. Taking some hard-earned fees isn't an issue, is it?"

"..." Zhong Ling swallowed. Who would dare to have an issue?

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Proofreader & Editor: Fat Goose 🪶