Chapter 40: Ironwood Estate

Ao arrived at the Ironwood Estate before sunrise.

Standing on the mountain road, he looked over the clan’s territory. Taking up a large portion of the valley below, the estate was littered with stone buildings at its center, encircled by walls on its outskirts, with spiritual lights still burning on either side of the main road.

His body was exhausted.

The battle with the Ironwood Clan Head had drained all of his spiritual energy, and that was after using the Heaven-Severing Nail! Not to mention returning to the Lin residence and killing those cultivators that had remained there.

Ao could feel the weakness in his limbs, how the wounds across his shoulder and side had stopped bleeding, but not healed.

He had already decided to come.

Ao stepped down the mountain, and by the time he arrived at the main gate, two guards had taken notice of him. One of them came forward and raised a hand in Ao’s direction.

"Stop. This is the Ironwood Clan Estate. State your identity and business."

Ao continued his march forward.

The guard frowned.

"Did you hear me?"

Ao stopped a few paces away, and said,

"Ao Kuiba."

The two guards froze.

One of them reached to the alarm bell on his waist, his hands shaking.

"You’re the one who fought the Clan Head."

Ao glanced at him. "Where is he?"

The two guards said nothing, and Ao did not need to read their expressions to understand their meaning.

Ao stepped inside the courtyard.

The alarm bell rang out, and doors were opening as Ironwood cultivators poured into the yard. Several elders soon arrived on the scene as well before settling their gazes on Ao.

An elder in gray robes looked him up and down, before saying,

"Where is our Clan Head?"

Ao looked at him. "Dead."

The courtyard went silent, and the elder’s face darkened. "You’re lying."

"He challenged me." Ao’s voice remained even as he said this. "He lost."

Another elder stepped forward. "You killed our Clan Head and come here?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Ao looked around the courtyard. "Because I do not intend to leave behind people who will come after the Lin family."

The elders exchanged glances. One of them grabbed his weapon.

"You think killing our Clan Head gives you the right to walk into our home and threaten us?"

Ao reached into his storage space. A black talisman appeared between his fingers.

"No."

He let it go, and the talisman shot into the air, a spiritual pressure descending over the courtyard. Several Ironwood cultivators fell to one knee, and the elders reacted immediately.

"Attack!"

Ao moved, and the first elder to arrive in front of him nearly had his sword buried in his chest. Ao raised his arm, and the blade stopped against the dark scales that had appeared along his forearm.

The elder’s eyes widened, and Ao grabbed the sword. With a twist of his fingers, it broke, and with a simultaneous strike to the elder’s chest sent him flying backwards.

Another elder tried attacking from behind, but Ao turned. His pupils had elongated vertically, and two small horns had grown from his hair.

The elder barely had time to realize what was happening before his palm slammed into Ao’s shoulder. Ao staggered, and the elder’s spiritual energy had been enough to break bones.

Ao gritted his teeth, his spiritual energy nearly depleted. He could not continue like this.

Ao opened his hand, and a crimson bead appeared in his palm.

The elder realized what kind of artifact it was too late to stop.

"Wait—"

Ao crushed it in his palm, fire erupting across the courtyard to throw the elder back. Ao ran through the flames as his claws grew from his fingers, raking across the chest of another elder. Blood spurted from the man’s body as Ao sent him stumbling back, but the elder had raised a barrier in time to stopAo’s next blow.

Ao slammed his fist into it, cracking it, and then again, shattering it entirely. The elder barely had time to raise his arms beforeAo sent him flying through the courtyard wall.

The remaining elders attacked Ao together, but he could hear their footsteps with his dragon senses, and felt their spiritual energy. Ducking under a blade, Ao caught the shaft of a spear with one hand. The cultivator holding it was yanked forward, face to face with Ao, who smashed his forehead into the man’s. The elder staggered back, and Ao grabbed his robes, throwing him across the courtyard.

Golden chains shot up from the ground, binding Ao’s legs. His expression changed, and the chains around his arms followed suit, locking his limbs in place.

"Hold him!"

Ao pulled against the chains, and his muscles strained. Dark scales spread across his arms, and his legs, and Ao’s dragon blood surged through his veins. The chains snapped, and the elder controlling the formation stared in disbelief.

"How can his physical strength be this strong?"

Ao pulled again, and the formation shattered, sending the elder flying backwards. Ao panted, his chest rising and falling. Blood ran down his side, and he was reaching his limit.

Then, a powerful spiritual pressure came down from above.

Everyone stopped. A group of cultivators landed outside the ruined courtyard, and from the middle of them stepped a man Ao had never seen before. Tall, and middle-aged, he wore simple, but well-made robes of dark blue and silver thread. The man’s cultivation was at the peak of Nascent Soul, barely breaking through into the next realm. His spiritual pressure did not just feel overwhelming, it held authority.

The City Lord of Azure Cloud City.

The man’s eyes swept over the courtyard, the ruined walls, the wounded elders, and the dead cultivators. They landed on Ao, appraising him.

"Ao Kuiba."

It was not a question. Of course it wasn’t. Ao Kuiba had bought a Void Crystal at the Violet Cloud Summit. Ao Kuiba had humiliated the Celestial Frost Sect and the Verdant Lotus Clan in public, and Ao Kuiba had dueled three cultivators in the street and won, without using so much as one technique.

The City Lord had looked into him weeks ago.

Ao, however, had never met this man. He did not know his name. Only that he was wearing those robes, and held that presence and authority. This was a man of importance.

"I don’t know you," Ao said.

The City Lord gave a slow nod. "I know. We’ve never met."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because a battle just destroyed half the Ironwood Estate, and I am the one responsible for maintaining order in this city."

Ao said nothing.

The City Lord stepped forward slowly. He stopped several meters away, and said,

"I’ve heard about you. The dragon from nowhere. The one who outbid two major sects at the Violet Cloud Summit. The one who walks through this city like he owns it."

"I don’t walk like I own it."

"You do." The City Lord’s tone was calm, non-accusatory.

"But that isn’t why I’m here."

"Then why?"

"Because the Ironwood Clan is one of the established powers in my city. Whatever happened between you and them, ends here."

Ao looked at him. "They attacked the Lin family."

"I know."

"Their Clan Head came after me."

"I know that too."

"Then why are you protecting them?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

The City Lord shook his head. "I’m not protecting them."

He gestured at the courtyard.

"The Ironwood Clan made a mistake. Their Clan Head attacked someone he shouldn’t have, and he paid for it. If you continue, if you wipe out an entire established clan inside my territory, you will open up consequences that go far beyond this estate."

Ao’s eyes narrowed. "What consequences?"

"The Ironwood Clan has allies and trading partners. Family connections in other cities. If they disappear overnight, those connections will ask questions. They’ll send people. The first ones they’ll blame will be the Lin family."

Ao said nothing.

The City Lord continued.

"I’m not here to save the Ironwood Clan. I’m here to stop a larger conflict before it starts."

An elder suddenly shouted. "City Lord, you can’t just let him walk away after what he’s done!"

The City Lord turned towards him, and his expression did not change, but his spiritual pressure spiked slightly.

"I can, and I will."

The elder’s face reddened. "But—"

"Your Clan Head attacked a Core Formation cultivator without provocation. He lost. Your clan then sent people to the Lin residence to continue the conflict. You brought this on yourselves."

The elder opened his mouth, then closed it.

The City Lord looked to Ao.

"I know you don’t trust me. You have no reason to. But I’m offering you a deal."

Ao waited.

"Leave now. Stop the bloodshed. In return, I will personally guarantee that the Ironwood Clan will not retaliate against the Lin family. If they do, they will answer to me."

Ao studied him. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because my authority depends on keeping this city stable. If I lie to you and the Ironwood Clan attacks the Lin family anyway, you’ll come back. And next time, I won’t be able to stop you."

Ao considered it.

The City Lord’s reasoning was sound. He wasn’t protecting the Ironwood Clan out of kindness. He was protecting his own position.

"What about the elders?"

"They’ll be punished. Not by you. By me. Within the boundaries of city law."

Ao looked at the remaining Ironwood cultivators. Many were injured. Some were dead. A few stared at him with fear and hatred.

"If I leave, and they come after the Lin family—"

"Then I will deal with them personally."

Ao fell silent.

Ao was exhausted. His body was failing. His spiritual energy was nearly empty. He could still continue fighting. He could kill all of these elders right here. But then what? More enemies? More blood? More time spent on a clan that didn’t matter?

Ao had come here to end the threat. Not start a war.

"Fine," Ao said.

The City Lord nodded.

Ao turned towards the road.

One of the Ironwood elders stepped forward. "You’re just letting him leave?"

The City Lord did not look at him.

"Be quiet."

The elder raised his weapon. "He killed our Clan Head!"

"I said be quiet."

The elder ignored him, and charged at Ao.

Ao did not turn around.

The City Lord moved.

His palm slammed into the elder’s chest before he took three steps, and sent him flying backwards. The elder landed on his back, and did not get up.

The City Lord looked at the remaining Ironwood cultivators.

"Anyone else?"

Nobody moved.

"The rest of you," The City Lord looked at Ao. "Go."

Ao continued down the mountain road, his steps slowing. As soon as he left the Ironwood territory, his dragon features faded. His horns receded. The scales disappeared from his skin.

His breathing was heavy, his spiritual energy nearly depleted. He still had enough strength to walk. That was all he needed.