Chapter 7: The Four Young Lords of Dragon’s Lair City

“Wah, wah, Grandma, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have stolen the dog’s food, boohoo.” In just a few breaths, Xia Jiuxuan had already found Xia Ran on a street several dozen meters away. At that moment, she was covered in dirt, her small face bearing a red handprint, sitting before a beast resembling a dog but far larger in size, crying loudly.

“You little wretch, you dare steal even my Bei Bei’s food? No manners at all! If you don’t bring your elders here today, I’ll throw you down the well.” An elderly woman glared viciously at five-year-old Xia Ran.

“Still crying? If your elders won’t teach you, I will! Bei Bei, bite her! Bite her hard!” The massive beast was no ordinary stray dog, but a domesticated demon beast. If it bit down, Xia Ran’s little head would be gone.

“You damned old hag!” A figure rushed over from nearby. The demon beast, lunging forward with its jaws wide open, was suddenly kicked aside, smashing heavily against a wall, its body bursting into a bloody mess.

“Ah!” The elderly woman shrieked in terror.

“You—you killed my Bei Bei…” Seeing the beast’s corpse, the old woman’s face turned pale. This was the young master’s prized treasure, even the master didn’t dare touch it, and now, it had been killed in the street. What was she to do? Her old life would surely be forfeit.

Terrified, she collapsed to the ground, wailing, “Young master, forgive me! Someone’s killed your precious Bei Bei!”

Within moments, a man leaped down from the nearby tavern.

“Nanny, what happened?” Seeing the shattered corpse on the ground, the young man’s eyes bloodshot with rage, he grabbed the elderly woman, who was rolling and crying.

“It was him, he killed Bei Bei,” the old woman pointed at Xia Jiuxuan, who was holding Xia Ran.

Smack! The young man slapped the old woman, splitting open her left cheek.

“I told you to watch Bei Bei closely, and you let a little thief kill it? You deserve to die!” he growled.

“Young master, it’s not my fault! That little wretch took the pill you prepared for Bei Bei and ate it like candy while I wasn’t looking. I barely scolded her, and that man suddenly came and killed Bei Bei, even threatened to kill me. Please, young master, grant me justice!” the old woman wailed, feigning grievance.

“You old shrew, you’re asking for death.” Xia Jiuxuan despised nothing more than such vicious old women. For a bit of dog food, she’d have let the demon beast kill his niece, and now pretended innocence.

Xia Jiuxuan had no intention of reasoning with such people, nor debating right and wrong. Anyone who harmed Xia Ran must die!

Whoosh! Xia Jiuxuan moved, lifting his hand and landing a palm squarely on the old woman’s forehead, killing her instantly.

Everyone who witnessed this on the street was stunned. Did this young man even know who that noble was? Not only had he killed his beloved pet, he’d slain his nanny right before his eyes. He must have a death wish.

“You!” The young man finally came to his senses, recognizing Xia Jiuxuan. “You’re that waste from the Xia family.”

Xia Jiuxuan glanced at him and recognized him as well—Zhou Wenyang, young master of the Zhou family.

Had he encountered a stranger today, Zhou Wenyang might have restrained his urge to kill and argued first. But this was a Xia family waste, a soon-to-be destroyed clan’s useless scion, daring to act so wildly. How could he not kill him to vent his anger?

“Xia Jiuxuan, you’ve gone too far! You dare kill my pet and my nanny!”

“So what if I did? You can ask the bystanders about the cause yourself. You should be grateful my niece wasn’t bitten, or I’d have killed you too,” Xia Jiuxuan replied coldly.

“You dare answer back! That little wretch’s ten lives, a hundred lives, can’t compare to my Bei Bei! Since you killed it, I’ll make you watch as I tear her apart!” Zhou Wenyang, facing a supposed waste, had no intention of reasoning.

“Brother Zhou, what’s got you so furious?” Just then, three others leapt down from the upper floor, their eyes fixed on Xia Jiuxuan.

“For that little wretch, this waste killed my Bei Bei,” Zhou Wenyang growled.

“What! How dare he—how could that little girl be worth more than Bei Bei? No matter how you look at it, you’re in the right. Go ahead and kill, we’ll back you up.”

“A Xia family waste isn’t worth your trouble. Today, I’ll make him suffer forever, regret ever coming into this world.” With that, Zhou Wenyang drew the battle blade at his waist.

The crowd swelled, and even though they stood several yards away, they dared not make a sound, the silence uncanny. After all, with the four young masters of Dragonblood City present and ready to kill, who would dare interfere?

“Sister, look, that young man is doomed, hehe.” Liu Weiyu and A Yao, drawn by the commotion, walked onto a nearby pavilion, quietly watching the scene.

“Zhou Wenyang’s gone overboard. That little girl is so young, she doesn’t know any better. If he’s got guts, he should face the adults. Bullying a child is just despicable,” Liu Weiyu overheard some whispered discussions below, piecing together the story.

“Exactly, exactly! Sister, why don’t you help him? Otherwise, he’ll be hacked to death.” A Yao said casually.

“Help? I’d rather not. I don’t want trouble.” Liu Weiyu’s expression was indifferent.

With her strength, dealing with these young nobles would be easy, but why bother? To get involved for someone irrelevant, she thought that was foolish.

“Then maybe I’ll help him. Who knows, maybe he’ll be so grateful he’ll devote himself to me, hehe,” A Yao laughed.

“Oh, please. You’d stoop to such a useless man? Shame on you,” Liu Weiyu made a face of disdain.

“Is he really that bad? I don’t think so. Tell me honestly, Sister, do you despise him because he bullied you before?” A Yao raised a mysterious brow.

“Bullied? How did he bully me?”

“Like this,” A Yao poked Liu Weiyu’s chest with her slender jade finger, “and here, and here too… this place got bullied as well…”

“You brat! Shameless!” Liu Weiyu’s cheeks flushed red as A Yao poked her with her finger.

Suddenly, thunderous noises erupted from the street below the pavilion.

“He’s doomed. Are you sure you won’t help?” Seeing Zhou Wenyang’s battle blade strike, A Yao’s expression turned playful.

“No,” Liu Weiyu replied coldly.

Bang!

Dust billowed below as Zhou Wenyang’s frenzied blade strike was blocked by a black iron spear.

A surge of immense force knocked Zhou Wenyang back, while Xia Jiuxuan stood unmoving.

“Black Dragon Spear Intent! He’s actually mastered spear intent!”

“So, you waste, you’ve learned your Xia family’s secret art. No wonder you’re so arrogant today.”

“So what if you’ve mastered spear intent? You’re only at the fourth innate stage—how dare you challenge us seventh innate stage cultivators? You’re asking for death!”

During this period, the four cultivation puppets had trained tirelessly, raising Xia Jiuxuan’s realm by another stage—now at the fourth innate stage.

His opponents were all at the seventh innate stage.

If Xia Jiuxuan disregarded the risk of backlash, he could withstand even a ninth innate stage attack, let alone seventh. But now, having reached the fourth stage, his normal Black Dragon Spear technique was more than enough; there was no need to injure himself for a few underlings.

Moreover, in the path of cultivation, exposing one’s true strength was the greatest taboo. Xia Jiuxuan would never reveal his full abilities so easily.