"Daoist Fellow Xia, to be honest, Thousand Mechanisms City needs your help right now."

Xue Ao looked at Xia Liu with a sincere expression.

"City Lord Xue, what has happened?"

There were still five days until the half-month agreement, and Xia Liu looked at Xue Ao with confusion.

He wasn't someone who would proactively ask for help.

This matter must be complicated.

"Liu Tianba is rebelling!"

As expected!

Upon hearing the name Liu Tianba, Xia Liu became enlightened.

Perhaps, it's not just himself who needs to deal with Liu Tianba, but even Xue Ao and others have to handle him.

"City Lord Xue, please explain slowly."

"The situation is like this: a few days ago, Liu Tianba visited the residences of various top factions, aiming to win them over. If Liu Tianba's plan succeeds, the peace in Thousand Mechanisms City will instantly disintegrate. When he went to the Mo Residence and met my friend, his plan was exposed..."

Xue Ao divulged the entirety of Liu Tianba's scheme.

If it weren't for that friend, Thousand Mechanisms City might already be engulfed in flames by this point.

"Does Liu Tianba want to unite Thousand Mechanisms City?"

Xia Liu generally understood that Liu Tianba wants to unify Thousand Mechanisms City, to wage war everywhere, intending to unify the Southern Region.

One can't help but admire someone having such an ambition.

"His ambition is not limited to just that; presumably, he wants the entire Southeast Region."

Xue Ao said coldly.

"Hehe, having ambition is good, but one should not harm the innocent."

Xia Liu did not oppose anyone vying for dominance, he just hoped that ordinary people could avoid the flames of war.

"Liu Tianba's actions will definitely provoke the counterattack of the surrounding factions, and by then, Thousand Mechanisms City will surely become a battlefield, and no one within a hundred miles will be spared."

The reason Xue Ao wanted to stop Liu Tianba is not out of concern for his identity as city lord, but out of concern for the people in the vicinity.

Without cultivation, their lives would be handed over to the Grim Reaper the moment the flame of war is ignited.

It's unbearable, truly unbearable.

"What is the current situation?"

"My friend ordered the thirteen senior members of his family to injure Liu Tianba. I arrived at the scene afterward, but he escaped!"

Bam!

As he spoke, Xue Ao tightly clenched his teeth and smashed his fist heavily on the stone table.

He loathed his own incompetence.

If he had been faster, perhaps his friend's family would not have suffered such a tragic loss.

In that confrontation, fifteen lives were lost in total, among them were thirteen senior members of the Mo Residence, along with two young girls in their bloom, who were the daughters of Xue Ao's friend.

Upon learning of these, Xia Liu was engulfed with boundless killing intent.

How could Liu Tianba be so cruel!

"Are there still any members of the Liu Family?"

"After the incident broke out, I went to the Liu Family to track them down, but found no one. Later, I heard that the southern city gate was breached, and a large number of cultivators surged out, including not only the Liu Family but also several other top factions, all of whom followed Liu Tianba out of the city."

Hearing this, Xue Ao felt a chill in his heart. The once peaceful Thousand Mechanisms City turned into chaos because of a single rat feces.

In the long future, there might continue to be warfare.

The people in the city were indeed struck by disaster.

Quite a few factions outside the city were the same.

Disaster, such disaster indeed!

"Currently, Liu Tianba has stationed several top factions fifty miles outside the city, forming a standoff against Thousand Mechanisms City."

"Hmm? What about the families or sects within the fifty-mile radius of Thousand Mechanisms City? They..."

Xia Liu immediately thought of the Du Family.

He once lived in the Du Family for some time.

And established a friendship with Du Yu.

He wondered if the Du Family could survive this chaos.

"Liu Tianba is indeed a reasonable strongman; he didn't use any coercive methods to threaten the factions outside the city but instead allowed them the choice to voluntarily join the team or not. Moreover, he openly stated that if they do not join now, they will be forced to submit once Thousand Mechanisms City is breached."

"Damn it!"

Xia Liu hadn't expected that only after a few days of seclusion in alchemy, such major events would unfold.

If he hadn't sealed his aura at that time, maybe he would have sensed some disturbances.

"By the way, the Du Family..."

"Hmm? What happened to the Du Family?"

Seeing Xue Ao hesitate, Xia Liu asked anxiously.

"Because the Du Family is an Alchemy Family, they are compelled to join Liu Tianba's team to refine pills for him."

"Very well! Liu Tianba is quite adept at handling matters."

Xia Liu coldly praised, his eyes flashing with endless killing intent.

"Besides the Mo Family, were there any other forces in the city harmed?"

Xia Liu became serious; initially, he only wanted to handle Liu Tianba alone, but now it seems he needs to deal with the entire team.

"Not for the time being; currently, all major factions in the city are united. Thousand Mechanisms City, for millennia, had a rule that whoever dares to make trouble in the city would face a united attack, and right now, the Liu Family is precisely such a case, so everyone is gathering together."

Xue Ao felt very proud and gratified because the people within Thousand Mechanisms City were very united.

He was even a bit thankful for this incident, as it made Thousand Mechanisms City more united.

The departure of those pests would make Thousand Mechanisms City more stable in the future.

With the elusive powerful figure Xia Liu in control, Xue Ao was not worried that Thousand Mechanisms City would fall.

After all, he had personally witnessed the Beast Taming Sect incident.

"Very well, since that's the case, I agree to contribute my strength to Thousand Mechanisms City, City Lord Xue!"

"Haha! With Daoist Fellow Xia's joining, I believe we'll be able to quell the rebels this time!"

Xue Ao burst into laughter.

He was too excited.

Although he knew before coming that Xia Liu would agree, he still couldn't suppress his excitement.

"What strategies does Liu Tianba currently have?"

"The team Liu Tianba formed is called the Heaven Domination Alliance, implying world domination. To celebrate the establishment of the Heaven Domination Alliance, Liu Tianba issued a post to challenge the strongest person in Thousand Mechanisms City."

"Oh? Interesting, who is the strongest cultivator in Thousand Mechanisms City?"

Hehe...

Xue Ao chuckled bitterly. Who dared to proclaim themselves the strongest in Thousand Mechanisms City now? This letter was indeed a deadly bet.

Whoever dared to accept it would be risking their life in battle.

This was just the beginning; no matter how united Thousand Mechanisms City is, losing its strongest cultivator at the beginning is impossible.

"So, the challenge letter is in your hands?"

Xia Liu understood upon seeing Xue Ao's expression.

In terms of number, Thousand Mechanisms City was sure to succeed, but the war was just starting, and the strongest person dared not or wanted not to stand out, seemingly worried about the Heaven Domination Alliance's strength.

"Yes, the war has just begun, perhaps it's a trap laid by the other side. The strongest cultivator in Thousand Mechanisms City must not sacrifice himself at this time, so I..."

"City Lord Xue, if you trust me, then entrust the post to me."

Without waiting for Xue Ao to finish speaking, Xia Liu said with a smile.

"This!"

"You should be aware of my abilities, City Lord Xue. Besides, with you maintaining the outside, nothing should go wrong in theory."

Xia Liu was determined that since Liu Tianba wanted to kill the strongest cultivator in Thousand Mechanisms City to intimidate all its cultivators, he would fulfill that wish!!

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.