Volume Two: The Life of an Outlaw Chapter Nineteen: Fifth Master

Tiehua City is one of the five cities situated near the Demon-Refining Cavern. Unlike the cities in the Linmeng God Realm, this city was built by the practitioners themselves, and its scale is somewhat smaller than that of Misty City.

Fifteen epochs ago, Tiehua City was established, and it has since changed hands five times. The last time was two epochs ago, when the city's master was destroyed by Linmeng. The city suffered severe damage in that battle and never again caught the eye of any major power.

Later, sixty-four bandit factions in the vicinity joined forces to occupy Tiehua City. Today, the city is governed by these sixty-four factions in rotation. Most of these groups are similar to the Underworld Palace, though their combined strength is far greater. Smaller factions are unwilling to offend so many bandit groups at once, and since Tiehua City is essentially a dilapidated and ruined place, no one pays it much attention.

The four neighboring cities are in a similar situation; after that same battle, they were all occupied by various bandit coalitions.

The Underworld Palace was initially invited to join in the occupation of Tiehua City, but their two Godkings were cautious, fearing that seizing the city would invite disaster, and thus declined. They later regretted this decision, but they soon realized that their initial choice had been wise, for Tiehua City would soon have a new master.

At this moment, two young men walked through the ruined streets of Tiehua City. One walked with a steady, composed gait, while the other shook his head incessantly.

"Xiaoshuang, don't you think that kid Pingtian's perspective needs to change? Why are you still fixated on this broken city?" Qin Si said to Qin Shuang, sighing and shaking his head as he spoke.

"Big Brother, given our current strength, being able to occupy a city like this is already quite good. If we can capture this broken city, then take the other four, and finally integrate the surrounding bandit factions, the reputation of our Zixuan Alliance will be officially established in the Hongmeng God Realm!"

Qin Shuang smiled. Qin Si was restless by nature and lacked patience; he was always hasty in everything he did. Qin Shuang had originally opposed the move to subdue the Underworld Palace, as rapid expansion offered no benefit to those like them who lacked a foundation here. Currently, the only people truly under their control were the High-Level Heavenly Deities held captive by the God-Locking Tower.

"True. If we occupy these five cities, our reputation will be no less than those of the top ten bandit factions. Only then will the entire God Realm take us seriously!"

Qin Si nodded. He was not unaware of his own shortcomings, but they were deeply rooted in his personality—he couldn't change them even if he wanted to.

Tianhua Restaurant is a long-established venue in Tiehua City. The manager is only a High-Level Heavenly Deity, but his employer is the 'Mysterious Valley,' the most powerful among the sixty-four bandit factions. In Tiehua City, no one dares to cause trouble here.

After touring the city, Qin Si and Qin Shuang stopped here to rest. This was the most prosperous part of the city, the only area that had not been damaged in the previous great war.

"Do you know? I heard a new bandit faction called the Zixuan Alliance has emerged in the north. Their leaders are only two High-Level Heavenly Deities, but they are incredibly wealthy!"

At a table next to Qin Si and Qin Shuang sat four people. One of them, a Low-Level Heavenly Deity, spoke with an air of feigned mystery to the other three, yet he spoke loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

The two brothers, who had just raised their wine cups, froze. They had not expected that people would be discussing them in this place.

"Wealthy? Which bandit faction isn't wealthy these days? It's only those of us without backing who suffer. Isn't the bandits' money just taken from our pockets?" A nearby Low-Level Heavenly Deity gave a bitter smile and downed his wine. In the Linmeng God Realm, a Heavenly Deity was already considered quite powerful, but in the Hongmeng God Realm, Heavenly Deities were, like the common God-people, at the bottom of the hierarchy; only at the level of High-Level Heavenly Deity did life become slightly better.

"That's where you're wrong. You know the six factions under the Demon-Refining Cavern, right? In just a few years, they were wiped out by them. I hear they still claim to be under the Demon-Refining Cavern, but I suspect it won't be long before they take down the Demon-Refining Cavern itself!" The first speaker said with a deliberate, knowing grin.

"Stop bragging. I've heard of this Zixuan Alliance. Both leaders are only High-Level Heavenly Deities. The Demon-Refining Cavern has the Godking Pingtian; no matter how strong they are, they can't surpass a Godking!" A Mid-Level Heavenly Deity at another table interjected loudly, clearly dismissive of the attention-seeking speaker.

"My friend, you don't know the full story. As I just said, this Zixuan Alliance is wealthy—you have no idea how wealthy. If they weren't refusing to take in outsiders, I'd have joined them already!" The Low-Level Heavenly Deity ignored the sarcasm, revealing a look of longing that drew even more attention. Now, everyone in the restaurant hall was waiting for him to continue.

"Big Brother, should we stop him?" Qin Shuang transmitted his voice to Qin Si. It was clear this man knew something about the Zixuan Alliance; if he kept talking, it would do them no good.

"No need. Let's hear what he has to say. If he knows this much, then people outside already know it, too." Qin Si gave a faint, bitter smile. It seemed the secrets of the Zixuan Alliance had already partially leaked; he just didn't know how much outsiders had discovered. It appeared a reorganization would be necessary upon their return.

"I'll tell you this!" The Low-Level Heavenly Deity raised his voice. "The Zixuan Alliance, besides the two leaders and a steward, is actually composed of people from those six original factions. Even that steward reportedly only became one after following the two leaders!"

"Get on with it! How wealthy are they? Stop the nonsense!" A sudden, sharp shout erupted in the restaurant. A High-Level Heavenly Deity was drinking alone at a table. Upon seeing him, the Low-Level Heavenly Deity trembled slightly and immediately spoke up.

"Yes, Fifth Master, right away. I heard that both leaders of the Zixuan Alliance possess Superior Heavenly Artifacts..."

When he mentioned Superior Heavenly Artifacts, the atmosphere in the hall shifted. To them, such artifacts were distant dreams. Even the 'Fifth Master' who had scolded him showed a distinct gleam in his eyes.

"Actually, that's not the most important part. I heard they gave every High-Level Heavenly Deity a Superior Heavenly Artifact, every Mid-Level Heavenly Deity a Mid-Level Heavenly Artifact, and even the Low-Level Heavenly Deities have a Low-Level Heavenly Artifact each!"

"Boom!"

Once the words were out, the hall erupted. One Heavenly Artifact for everyone, corresponding to their cultivation level—it sounded like a fable.

"Impossible! You're bragging, aren't you? Where would they get so many Heavenly Artifacts? Even those six factions only had a few High-Level Heavenly Deities!" The Mid-Level Heavenly Deity from before shouted again. Others wore the same expressions of disbelief; even the Eight Great Families couldn't afford to equip every Heavenly Deity with an artifact.

"Where did you get this information?" The 'Fifth Master' looked coldly at the Low-Level Heavenly Deity. As soon as he spoke, the room went silent.

"I won't hide it from you, Fifth Master. My brother was a Low-Level Heavenly Deity in the Thousand-Insect Valley. We met recently, and he told me. He even showed me his Low-Level Heavenly Artifact. It's real, absolutely true!" The man stood up and bowed to the Fifth Master, who clearly held significant authority here.

"Fine, I understand. This matter is impossible and certainly not true. Your brother must have stumbled upon some stroke of luck to get one artifact and was just showing off to you. Do not mention this again, understand?" The Fifth Master said calmly, though he glared sharply at the man, who immediately nodded in agreement.

"And all of you, the same applies. I don't want this rumor spreading. Do you understand?" The Fifth Master scanned the hall. When his gaze landed on Qin Si and Qin Shuang, he frowned, but said nothing.

"Understood, Fifth Master. Don't worry, we won't say a word!" Everyone in the restaurant nodded. They understood that the Zixuan Alliance was now on the Fifth Master's radar.

"You two, I am Zhao Wu of the Mysterious Valley. You look unfamiliar—not locals, are you?" The High-Level Heavenly Deity known as Fifth Master walked directly to Qin Si and Qin Shuang, cupping his hands with a smile.

"That's right. It's our first time here. Is there a problem?" Qin Si smiled, ignoring Zhao Wu as he poured himself a drink and sipped it slowly.

The smile on Zhao Wu's face froze instantly. Those watching the brothers looked on with a mix of pity and schadenfreude.

"May I ask your names? Perhaps we could be friends. In Tiehua City, my word carries some weight!" To everyone's surprise, Zhao Wu didn't get angry; instead, he continued to engage them, seemingly genuinely interested in making their acquaintance.