Wait a minute, where is my master?

Seeing Xia Yunzhao suddenly appear here,

Prince Mu was instantly at a loss for words.

The old butler hadn't told him that it was the Seventh Princess, who was about to succeed to the throne, who had come.

If it had been just the night watchman, let alone a Fourth Grade, even if it had been a Third or Second Grade, or even the commander of the night watchmen himself, he wouldn't have been afraid.

But the appearance of Xia Yunzhao here meant something entirely different; behind her stood her father, Xia Xuanmin.

Xia Huangmu's narrow eyes swept over the group. He saw the little Taoist carrying Xu Qian, but now was not the time to hold him accountable.

Instead, he looked at the Seventh Princess with a sinister and resentful expression.

"My dear niece, the future Empress of Great Xia, just this morning your father, the King, announced that he would pass the throne to you. And now you want to arrest your own uncle! Aren't you afraid that this will chill the hearts of all the civil and military officials in court, aren't you afraid that the people of Great Xia will poke at your spine?"

His words seemed to be directed at Xia Yunzhao, but in reality, he was speaking to his own father.

At the same time, he was buying time.

No one understood Xia Xuanmin's decisiveness better than he did. If Xia Xuanmin hadn't taken action against him before, it meant he hadn't decided to. But since Xia Yunzhao had shown up here today, the situation clearly couldn't end well.

So while he was ostensibly conversing with the Seventh Princess, he was frantically urging the butler to send word to the retainers who lived outside the mansion.

He also told Old Man Shi to quickly contact the long-faced man and bring in the military people.

Although it was currently rumored that Xia Xuanmin was on his deathbed, Prince Mu knew very well that even if he staked everything he had, he might not find a way out.

Otherwise, why would everyone be quietly waiting, not daring to jump out on their own initiative?

They were all waiting for Xia Xuanmin to die on his own, or to be killed by the Demon Sect, weren't they?

But today, with Xia Yunzhao taking the initiative to come after him, he had no choice but to respond to the challenge.

Having heard what her royal uncle had said, Xia Yunzhao scoffed in disdain and coldly replied, "Uncle, you have violated Great Xia's laws, disregarding the lives of both Cultivators and mortals, causing harm at will—by law you should be beheaded! My father, out of fraternal love, could not bring himself to do it. So today, let your niece play the villain!"

Prince Mu was taken aback by her words, then pointed at Jin Xu and laughed loudly, "So you've come here today to stand up for this pretty boy?"

"Uncle, you needn't worry about others. Better to just surrender quietly, lest the citizens of Shangjing City have a laugh at your expense," Xia Yunzhao said earnestly, though her pointed ears turned slightly red.

Xia Huangmu glanced at the little Taoist and then back at the Seventh Princess.

The words he had just spoken were nonsense meant to buy time, but looking at Xia Yunzhao's expression, could her sudden attack today actually be related to this little Taoist?

"Could such a serious matter actually involve a romantic entanglement?"

While Prince Mu was lost in his wild thoughts, suddenly several sounds of tearing through the air were heard, and soon after, four Cultivators landed in the back garden—it was the Divinity Transformation followers from his mansion who had arrived.

"Prince, the four of us happened to be dining nearby at a tavern, and we hurried over as soon as we received the message from the butler. I hope we haven't missed anything crucial!"

The leading black-robed elder said respectfully to Xia Huangmu.

There were five Divinity Transformation followers in total at Mu Royal Mansion. The weakest was Master Li who had died on Longevity Mountain, while the strongest was the black-robed elder in front of him, who had reached the level of eighth in the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Alone, he could take on the other four, which was one of Xia Huangmu's sources of confidence.

In the realm of Divinity Transformation, such gaps in combat power were not unusual.

The difference between each minor stage of Divinity Transformation could even be greater than the difference between a human and a dog.

Now that the top four retainers of his mansion had arrived, Prince Mu felt more confident. He smiled and said, "Not at all, not at all, your timing is perfect."

Afterward, he secretly instructed the four Divinity Transformation Cultivators to assume their practiced positions, then his gaze turned back to Xia Yunzhao.

"If you leave now, Seventh Princess, your uncle will consider it child's play due to your youth. But if you persist in your foolishness, don't blame me for putting aside our familial affection."

Prince Mu wanted to stall for more time, waiting for the masters from the military to arrive and increase his chances.

But someone didn't want to give him that time.

"Was it you who kidnapped my friend and hurt him?"

Jin Xu's voice was not loud, but it was steady and reached the ears of everyone present.

Xia Huangmu glanced at the little Taoist who had taken the initiative to speak and was about to respond,

when Manager Shi, standing in the heavy rain, admitted to the deed first.

"Yes, it was I who tied up that Golden Core ant on your shoulder, and the wounds on his body were inflicted by me!"

Manager Shi had never fought such an assured battle in his life; with six Divinity Transformation Cultivators on their side, including four followers, the royal majordomo, and himself. Whereas on the other side, the highest openly displayed cultivation was that of a Fourth Grade night watchman. Although this little Taoist had killed a Divinity Transformation follower, it was only the weakest among them.

So if he didn't show off now, when would he?

Upon hearing Old Man Shi's words, Jin Xu calmly looked at him.

The little Taoist had already recognized him as the manager from the auction, where there had been two people standing on the stage, and now it turned out that neither was a good person.

"Since it was you who hit him, it would be fair for me to return the favor on behalf of my friend," Jin Xu calmly replied, handing the shoulder-borne Xu Qian to the Zhang surname night watchman behind him, and without waiting for the old man to say anything,

he channeled the golden spiritual power into his five fingers and launched the Dry Land Onion Escape Skill, propelling himself forward!

Manager Shi first saw a blur, then felt pain in his Dantian, followed by extreme agony all over his body.

"Ahhh!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream rang out.

By the time Jin Xu had returned to his original position,

Manager Shi had become a bloody mess resembling a hornet's nest, falling into the mud.

In that instant, the little Taoist had deliberately controlled his power, striking the man over a hundred times with his fingers.

"How dare you, you impudent brat!"

Prince Mu was both shocked and angry at the scene before him. Shocked because he hadn't seen the assailant's move clearly, and enraged that someone had killed his subordinate right before his eyes, which was a direct slap to his face!

"Seize him for me!"

The order from Xia Huangmu launched the nightmare that was to be his own.

Upon hearing the prince's command, four cultivators at the Divinity Transformation Realm directed their flying swords toward the crowd and unleashed their signature magics.

However, all were blocked by the golden spiritual power light ball conjured by the little Taoist.

Afterward, Jin Xu let Xia Huangmu know what it meant to knock down a child with every punch.

With just four punches, no more, the Divinity Transformation experts that he had gathered over hundreds of years were turned into fertilizer for the garden!!!

What kind of monster was this little Taoist?

He hadn't even used the Combined Attack Formation specially prepared for the several Divinity Transformation cultivators, and they were already turned into blood mist by the little Taoist!

"You, you, you..."

Prince Mu watched Jin Xu advance towards him step by step, instinctively activating the Frost Ice Spiritual Power within his body. The rain falling from the sky kept condensing into various weapons in his hands, smashing violently against the little Taoist.

This time he did hit the mark, but no matter how Xia Huangmu attacked, not a single scratch appeared on Jin Xu.

The little Taoist reached the pavilion and looked at Prince Mu, who was still instinctively summoning spiritual power.

He extended his right hand, and the long-missed Golden Thunder Arc twined around his palm. The terrifying fluctuation of spiritual power appeared and instantly petrified Xia Huangmu in place.

"Just because you want something from me, you think you can brazenly kidnap us? Just because you're powerful, you think you can hurt my friends at will? If... never mind, you don't deserve to hear so much."

Jin Xu spoke, then raised his hand high. As he brought his arm down, a thick golden thunderbolt descended from the skies, pierced the roof of the pavilion, and landed heavily on Xia Huangmu.

The Great Xia Mu King, dead!

This was a new ability he had comprehended after sensing a change in his Hand Palm Thunder following his breakthrough at the Yanyu Building.

Then the little Taoist turned around, activating his Dry Land Onion Escape Skill to flash beside the butler who had been too afraid to move, and delivered another punch.

Eradicate evil at all costs!

Inside the golden spiritual power light ball.

Little White looked unimpressed by Jin Xu, for in her eyes, her temple master should naturally be this powerful.

Meanwhile, Yu Yaoer and Xia Yunzhao were completely starry-eyed. The little Taoist's strength was part of it, but his recent questioning and the way he avenged his friend were just too cool!

Finally, the Zhang family night watchman and others who visited the Yanyu Building felt a chill run down their spines on top of their shock, realizing they had imprisoned such a being in their prison.

Isn't this something to boast about for a lifetime?

No, this isn't something that can be shared at all!!!

...

In the Great Xia Imperial City, at the Observatory Tower.

At this moment, another person joined the Observatory platform, a smiling, pot-bellied monk.

He was the high monk from Wanbao Temple.

His presence was to ensure that when Xia Xuanmin made his move, he wouldn't be assassinated by someone from the Demon Sect.

But now it seemed unnecessary.

On the Observatory, Xia Xuanmin, who had been closely watching the events at Mu Royal Mansion, had already stood up when the four cultivators entered the mansion.

Worried about any harm coming to his beloved successor, he had been prepared to take action ahead of schedule.

But could someone tell him what had just happened?

Even if he had intervened, he wouldn't have been able to dispose of six Divinity Transformation cultivators that quickly!!!

"Father, is that the helper you found for Zhaoer?"

Xia Huantang couldn't help but swallow nervously after witnessing the entire event.

Xia Xuanmin silently shook his head.

The pot-bellied monk by his side knew the origin of the little Taoist, but he wasn't sharing.

"Isn't that little Taoist really Tianxing Taoist in disguise? No, judging by the power of that golden thunderbolt just now, it has surpassed Tianxing Taoist's strength. Hiss!"

The pot-bellied monk thought and took in a sharp breath.

...

At the Mu Royal Mansion, in front of the shattered gates.

The long-faced cultivator arrived with the army's experts, just in time to witness the golden thunderbolt descending from the sky. According to the long-faced cultivator's judgment, no one inside the Mu Royal Mansion could employ magic at such intensity.

Moreover, among the royal guards, none specialized in Thunder Skill.

Therefore, he silently led his men back the way they had come.

Meanwhile, in Shangjing City.

After Jin Xu summoned that bolt of golden thunder, the weather miraculously began to clear up.

ps: Will correct typos post-release.