Chapter 146: Retaliation
[A/N: Changes were made to the previous Chapter]
The streets of Blackstone were still stained with last night’s blood when the first squad of city guards arrived at dawn.
Their boots pounded down the cobblestones as they rushed toward the scene, led by a captain whose face was pale with fury.
The sight that greeted them made their jaws clench. Broken halberds lay shattered in pieces. Stone walls were cracked where bodies had slammed into them.
And on the street itself, corpses sprawled in grotesque heaps — Fang Xiu, the City Lord’s son, his silken robes soaked in crimson; the Xuan heirs, their throats pierced through by jagged steel shards; and nearly a dozen guards, their armor dented and torn apart like toys.
For a long moment, there was a stifling silence between them. The new guards stood frozen, the hairs on their neck rising at the sheer brutality of the scene in front of them.
Then the captain let out a guttural roar, his face twisted with rage.
"Take the bodies back to the estate! Immediately!" he barked an order.
The men scrambled to obey, as they started placing the bodies in the carriage the wagon they brought. Their movements stiff with a mix of anger and dread. Blood trailed across the cobbles as they lifted Fang Xiu’s body, his face swollen and unrecognizable, the air thick with the coppery stench of death.
But the captain himself turned on his heel, his eyes glinting with grim purpose. He stormed into the Crimson Pavilion, Blackstone’s most infamous information house. And within a few short moments, the man emerged with a rolled-up parchment in hand.
The portrait was exact, so clear it seemed almost alive. The face of the killer — sharp eyes, calm features, expressionless yet chilling. Liam’s.
The captain’s boots hammered against the ground as he carried the image straight to the City Lord’s estate.
***
Inside the estate, the air itself seemed to tremble with suppressed violence.
Feng Chen, Blackstone’s City Lord, stood in his chambers, his handsome face twisted with fury. The faint morning sunlight streaming through the carved windows did nothing to soften the storm in his eyes.
Someone had dared. Someone had actually dared.
His son — his only blood heir — slaughtered in broad daylight on the streets of Blackstone. His guards butchered. The Xuan heirs, allies of his house, slain without hesitation.
It wasn’t just a personal insult. It was humiliation. And it had happened inside his city, under his reign, in front of his citizens.
That made it unforgivable.
Feng Chen’s chest heaved as his voice lashed out like thunder at the guards kneeling before him.
"I will flay him alive. Strip him of his skin, inch by inch, until he begs for death. That bastard dares to humiliate me, to shame my house in front of Blackstone itself? I will tear his soul to shreds!"
The guards bowed even lower, trembling beneath the waves of killing intent rolling off him.
One man stood calmly at his side — tall, broad, his presence steady but sharp as a drawn blade. This was Fang Cheng, Feng Chen’s right hand and most loyal guard.
The captain rushed into the room and knelt, holding up the portrait with both hands. "My Lord, the culprit has been identified."
Feng Chen seized the parchment and unrolled it in one motion. His eyes burned as they studied the face and read the information next to it.
Ordinary features, no sign of cultivation, no clan insignia. A mortal.
The fury in Feng Chen’s expression only deepened when he saw this.
"A mortal," he spat, his voice dripped venom. "My son, slaughtered by a mere mortal."
"Fang Cheng."
"Yes, My Lord."
"Find him. Drag him here alive. I don’t care how many guards you take. I want him breathing when he kneels before me."
Fang Cheng bowed deeply, then turned with military precision. "As you command."
A dozen elite guards armed with spears and halberds fell in behind him as he strode out of the chamber. Their footsteps thundered as they left the estate, the air charged with murderous intent.
Behind them, Feng Chen clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug blood into his palms. He whispered to himself like a vow: "You dared kill my son in my city. I’ll show this world what happens when a dog bares its fangs at a tiger."
***
By mid-morning, the sun burned high above the tiled rooftops of Blackstone. But instead of warmth, the city was gripped by cold tension.
Word had already spread like wildfire.
The City Lord’s son was dead. The heirs of the Xuan family were dead. And the killer was not a sect disciple, nor a rogue cultivator, nor even a hidden elder in disguise. No — he was a mortal. A nameless outsider with no cultivation base.
The absurdity of it was on everyone’s lips.
"Impossible! How could a mortal kill Fang Xiu?"
"I heard he shattered weapons just by raising his hand."
"No, no, the rumors are already growing wild. But it’s true he killed them. Their bodies were carried through the streets this morning..."
"What will the City Lord do?"
"What can he do? If this stranger defies him openly, won’t it shake the entire balance of Blackstone?"
Every force, major and minor, watched with bated breath. All of them sharpened their ears, waiting for the thunderclap that was bound to follow.
And the culprit?
He was strolling casually through the markets of Blackstone.
Liam walked between bustling stalls, his hands in his pockets, face calm as though the blood of nobles wasn’t still drying on the streets.
He was currently enjoying the view of the market and now alive it was with sound.
One would had expected him to return back to Earth after what he did but he didn’t. He knew that no matter how much he ran, they will still come after him. And so, it was better to just take care of business here, instead of running.
As for what he was doing in the market, he was getting ores and more herbs, and pills. He still needs more research materials.
He stopped at a stall piled high with rough ores. He reached out, lifted a piece, and studied it thoughtfully.
Liam decided not to bother himself with the unnecessary thoughts, as he handed the vendor several gold coins, and tucked the ore into his space.
One by one, he moved through the stalls, purchasing bundles of herbs, jars of pills, sacks of unrefined minerals, and he paid without haggling.
After almost half an hour, he was done with his purchases. He stepped out of the last store with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
These would keep Lucy busy for a bit.
He was still thinking to himself, when he saw dozens of armored guards standing in formation outside, halberds gleaming in the sun. Behind them stood a single man, towering, his aura rolling out like a storm tide.
He had already noticed them when they got into the range of his telekinetic sense, and he smiled internally to himself.
The crowd had already begun to retreat in waves, sensing the collision to come. Merchants shuttered their stalls, dragging their goods away.
Onlookers whispered furiously from a safe distance, eyes darting between the "mortal" and the City Lord’s right hand.
Liam’s eyes flicked over the scene once, then narrowed slightly. He didn’t need to think to guess why they were here.
Fang Cheng stepped forward, studying him. His brow furrowed faintly. He could see no trace of cultivation in this man. No Qi fluctuations, no any aura of power. Just a mortal’s body standing tall.
The captain’s reports weren’t lies, then. This was truly the man.
He scoffed loudly, his voice dripping with disdain. "So the rumors were true. You’re nothing but a mortal. I thought I’d be facing some hidden elder, a sect cultivator disguised to mock us. But no... my Lord’s son was killed by this?"
His lip curled up into a sneer, "Pathetic."
He turned his head to his men, waving lazily. "Break his arms and his legs, and drag him back to the estate. The City Lord wants him alive."
The guards roared in unison and charged at Liam.
But Liam didn’t flinch. His thoughts reached into the Dimensional Space, and with a thought, Silverleaf materialized in his grip.
The blade sang. A clear, resonant ring that echoed across the street. And in that instant, Liam let his aura surge free.
This was the supreme resonance of the Myriad Armament Constitution.
The air thickened. The guards’ halberds trembled violently, their blades vibrating as if bowing in submission. The crowd gasped as weapons across the market stalls shivered — swords, spears, even kitchen knives — all started quivering.
Fang Cheng’s eyes widened slightly, looking very surprised. His aura met resistance, an invisible tide that pressed back against him.
Liam raised Silverleaf, its edge glinting, and his calm voice carried across the stunned market:
"You want to drag me in chains?"
He grinned, "Then come try."
And without waiting for them to make the first move, Liam’s figured blurred as he made his move.