Nine Nether Heavenly Emperor

Moon City, though merely a small city within the boundaries of the Yunlai Empire, also boasted a population of over a hundred thousand. Shi Feng, leading his horse along the roads of Moon City, felt the cacophony of the city was incessant.

In his former life, dedicated to chasing the pinnacle of Martial Arts, he rarely had the chance to experience the life of ordinary people.

"Excuse me, how do I get to the Hai Family?" Shi Feng stopped a young man dressed like a commoner, asking amicably.

"Oh, the Hai Family, huh? Once you pass this road, turn left and cross another three roads, and you'll find it," the young man replied. He sized up Shi Feng, feeling that the youth seemed vaguely familiar.

"Got it," Shi Feng nodded and led his horse in the direction the young man had pointed.

As Shi Feng's figure grew more distant, the young man still thought the youth looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, especially the horse...

Horse! Young man! Hai Family! Second-stage Alchemy Master! Elder Bai!

Words flashed through the young man's mind, connecting together, and he suddenly realized with shock, wasn't this the kid who killed the Hai Family's stableman and a Second-stage Alchemy Master of the Skywind Sect yesterday?

What's he doing going to the Hai Family? Could it be that he doesn't want to involve the entire city of Moon City and is seeking death at the Hai Family?

"Hey, hey, did you see that young man just now? That's him, he killed a Second-stage Alchemy Master of the Skywind Sect yesterday. He just asked me for directions to the Hai Family," the young man gossiped to an acquaintance passing by.

"What! Isn't that courting death? Come on, let's go to the Hai Family and see."

"Did you see that young man just now? It seems like he's the one who killed the Second-stage Alchemy Master of the Skywind Sect yesterday. I heard him asking people for directions to the Hai Family."

"Are you serious? Let's go take a look. I do hope he turns himself in. That might be the only chance to extinguish the wrath of the Skywind Sect towards our Moon City."

"Let's hurry, I heard that the kid who killed the Second-stage Alchemy Master of the Skywind Sect has gone to the Hai Family..."

"Go! This is a matter of life and death for our Moon City, we must help the Hai Family catch that kid!"

"Pssh, with the Martial Spirit powerhouse Hai Batian at the Hai Family, do they need your help? Are you even qualified?"

...

For a moment, Moon City was thrown into turmoil as many who received the news rushed towards the Hai Family's residence. After all, the murder of a Second-stage Alchemy Master of the Skywind Sect in Moon City was a significant event.

Severely speaking, it concerned the very survival of everyone in the city. For a massive entity like the Skywind Sect, unleashing fury and slaughtering a small city like Moon City was an effortless task.

Shi Feng realized as he walked that more and more people surrounded him, everyone seemed to be staring at him, whispering among themselves.

Gradually, Shi Feng came to a realization, it seemed everyone was here to watch the excitement. He had planned to keep a low profile, but it appeared that was no longer an option.

Inside the great hall of the Hai Family, Family Head Hai Batian paced back and forth, racked with anxiety.

Getting up early this morning, he felt as if there was a stone pressing on his chest, making him extremely uneasy, sensing that something big was about to happen.

Later, he wanted to summon Steward Yue to inquire about the events of the previous night, but the returning servants reported that Steward Yue, Hai Ren, his son Hai Ming, and the other Martial Artists who had gone with them, had still not returned.

This made Hai Batian feel even more uneasy. Based on his years of understanding Steward Yue and Hai Ren, after they completed their assigned tasks, they would surely rush back at the first opportunity, and even if he hadn't woken up, they would be waiting—waiting for him to get up and then report to him.

"Why aren't they back yet? Why aren't they back? What time is it already? It's just a boy with the cultivation level of a Martial Disciple, right?"

The more Hai Batian waited, the more agitated he became. Could it be that there was some expert hidden behind that boy, capable of keeping Steward Yue and a group of Hai Family martial artists behind?

If that were the case, then in terms of Martial Arts, it must be at least his own realm.

If it really was someone of his own realm, then it was certain that Steward Yue and the others had met their end.

"Could it be that the kid realized the enormity of his crime yesterday and has already run away? If that's true, what should I do if the Skywind Sect comes asking for him? Could it be that my Hai Family's century-old foundation is going to be ruined in my hands, just like that?"

"Family… Family Head..." Suddenly, a figure rushed into the hall in a hurry, panting as he called out.

Hai Batian, already agitated, became even more irked to see the servant's panicky entrance and slapped him across the face, knocking him to the ground as he barked angrily, "What is so panic-inducing that you lose all composure?"

The man got up, covering his freshly slapped left cheek with his left hand, and carefully said, "Family Head, the young man who killed Lord Ming'an yesterday has appeared in Moon City."

"He has appeared!" Hai Batian's eyes suddenly snapped open, as though a bright light flashed across his pupils, and the irritability from a moment ago seemed to vanish completely as he murmured, "Good that he's appeared, good that he's appeared. I was afraid he didn't dare to show up again."

"Where is he now? Is there anyone with him?" Hai Batian asked.

"It's just him, headed straight for our Hai Family," the servant replied.

"Just himself?" Hai Batian slowly furrowed his brow. If it was only him showing up in Moon City and Steward Yue and the others had not appeared, it meant that indeed something had happened to them.

And with the servant saying it was just him, Hai Batian naturally did not believe it. It was certainly as he had guessed; there had to be an expert behind the young man, an expert not weaker than himself, lurking in the shadows.

"You go and gather all the Hai Family martial artists, quickly!" Hai Batian commanded the servant in front of him in a deep voice.

"Yes, yes, I'll go at once! Right away!" Upon hearing Hai Batian's order, the servant ran swiftly out of the hall, fearful of being struck again if he was too slow.

Watching the servant leave, Hai Batian inwardly sighed, "Presumably, last night Ming'er must have also encountered misfortune, alas!" Although losing a son hurt, in Hai Batian's heart, it was incomparable to the Hai Family's centuries-old foundation.

With a flip of his right hand, the Black Iron Xuan Spear stored in his storage ring appeared in his grasp. Holding the long spear, Hai Batian's whole demeanor seemed to undergo a dramatic change, becoming sharp and domineering as he then stepped outside.

At that moment, Shi Feng had also arrived at the gate of the Hai Family. The two crimson doors were tightly shut, and on either side of the gate stood commanding and domineering stone lions. Above the gate hung a plaque inscribed with the two black, powerful characters "Hai Family," glittering under the sunlight.

"Clearly, a wealthy household. Once I destroy this family, the wealth acquired should be enough to buy Ling'er a lifetime supply of chicken legs," Shi Feng murmured as he looked at the crimson doors before him.

Then, the crimson doors slowly opened. The space itself seemed to tremble slightly, emitting a series of ear-splitting noises.

As the doors opened, a domineering man gradually appeared in the eyes of the people of Moon City.

"It's Hai Batian—the Hai Family Patriarch! This is my third time seeing him in my life, yay, he's my idol! In my eyes, he's the strongest man in Moon City."

The crowd instantly became noisy, for the Family Heads of the Four Great Families of Moon City rarely appeared in public.

They were like legendary figures of Moon City, and many young people idolized them.