Ban Bingbai drooped his head. How could he have the courage to fight when each of the two thousand troops around him was a warrior, and their murderous air was so strong and brutal that it could only be produced after going through countless battles of life and death? If he were to fight this army, it was no different from digging his own grave. Not to mention that there was a Martial Lord who alone could kill all his City Guards.

　　Just as he was at his wit’s end, there was a sudden commotion outside. The City Lord had finally arrived.

　　The commander of the City Guards breathed a long sigh of relief. ‘No matter how serious this will become, at least His Lordship himself is here to deal with it. After all, the trouble was created by his son. Luckily, I haven’t offended any of these people…’

　　“Let me through, I’m the City Lord of Yangpu, Wu Liantian.” Escorted by a few guards, a man with a big belly walked into the circle.

　　He had prepared to say a few words of courtesy, but when he saw it was four youths being surrounded in the center, he froze in place, for he did not know which of them was the leader and whom should he target his greetings at.

　　“Dad! You’re finally here!”

　　Wu Guang fell off his horse and scrambled over to Wu Liantian, then hugged his legs and burst into tears. Now that his father had arrived, he felt everything could be solved, and he no longer had to stay in this damn place and be surrounded by these damn people. It was just too frightening!

　　“Dad, they bullied me!” Pointing at Yunxiao and others, he said, “Look how they have beaten me! And they even called upon so many soldiers to surround us! Dad, you have to put them in jail and beat their guts out!”

　　All the City Guards around them broke out in cold sweats while Zhong Tai had an incredulous look in his eyes. ‘Why is this profligate son so idiotic? Can’t he tell the situation he is facing right now? Heaven, how can we have a bright future if we keep following such an idiot?’

　　“Beat them? This will beat some senses into you!”

　　Wu Liantian was also rendered speechless by his son, so he quickly put on a fierce look and knocked Wu Guang on the head as he scolded, “All you know is how to create trouble everywhere! I’ll teach you a lesson when we return home!”

　　As he had no idea who the leader was, he cupped his fist at the four of them and said, “Greetings! I’m Wu Liantian, the City Lord of Yangpu. I’ve done a poor job of teaching my son. I hope you can forgive him for what he had done!”

　　“Well, we are not unreasonable people,” Yunxiao said. “But, I think it’s not appropriate for us to stand here and talk. Why don’t we move to some other place and have a good chat?”

　　Jia Rong and others stared at Yunxiao in astonishment, wondering what he was up to. They could not understand why he would want to have a chat somewhere else, when it was clear that they had the upper hand here with the student army.

　　Wu Liantian, on the other hand, was taken aback. He did not expect that this teenager was the leader. ‘He seems quite accommodating, and since he’s still a boy, he should be easy to coax with some sweets.’ Face beaming with joy, he said, “Good, good! Please come with me to my mansion!”

　　Soon, the few of them had become the distinguished guests of the City Lord Mansion. But, Wu Liantian’s heart was filled with fear and confusion because the two thousand student troops were not sent away, but had fully surrounded his mansion.

　　Between sips of the tea in his cup, Yunxiao smiled and said, “Friends are often made after a fight. I think that best describes the relationship between brother Wu Guang and me.”

　　Wu Liantian said hurriedly, “Oh, I couldn’t agree more! Guang’er, quickly pour some wine for our little brother here.” He still had no idea about Yunxiao’s identity, so he tried to find out by asking some simple questions, “Little brother, may I know your name? And what is your post in the court?”

　　Looking at Wu Guang, who wore a grumpy face, Yunxiao chuckled and said, “I’m just a nobody. It is just that I heard the situation at the front line is getting critical, so I’ve decided to bring my brothers to support them. We need to protect our home and our state!”

　　Wu Liantian was struck dumb, and then he almost burst out laughing. ‘A sorry lot like you also want to go to the front line? Are you kidding me?’ He did not know the strength of these people, and all he saw was their young faces. Still, he put on a passionate look and cried out, “Excellent! Little brother, your heroic and chivalrous spirit should be the example for all the young people out there! Guang’er, you need to learn from him!”

　　“Hah, I’m not really a good example to learn from,” Yunxiao laughed. “I just happened to pass by your city and had a fight with brother Wu Guang. Well, I think that’s what we call fate. In any case, as I can see my lord does care about the safety of our state, I have a rather presumptuous request.”

　　‘Here he comes…Let’s see what he’s up to,’ thought Wu Liantian. “Oh? Tell me what it is. Our duty is to serve the people and the state, so don’t stand on ceremony with me.”

　　While smiling, Yunxiao said, “Oh, I won’t. I believe my lord has seen that all two thousand of us came with empty hands, so I wish to borrow some provisions and fodder.”

　　“Provisions and fodder?” The City Lord pondered a moment, then said, “Yangpu’s grain and fodder reserves are at a very low level…I’m afraid we don’t have extras to lend.”

　　Yunxiao narrowed his eyes. “If that’s the case, we don’t mind being aided with money. We can always visit other nearby cities and see if we can purchase provisions and fodder from them.”

　　‘Now he’s showing his true color…’ Wu Liantian sneered in his mind, but he put on a troubled look and said, “I know I should aid you with all I have, little brother, as you are heading to the front line to defend our state. However, although Yangpu is a prosperous city, as the City Lord who cares for his people, I don’t have too much in terms of personal savings. Well, I can still cut most of my expenses and donate ten thousand gold coins to you. What do you think?”

　　He spoke with great righteousness, and he thought ten thousand gold coins should be enough to send a boy away. But, he did not see the wry smile on Ban Bingbai’s face. ‘How could that be enough? Just the Cloud Piercing Arrow alone is worth tens of thousands of gold coins…His lordship has oversimplified this matter…’

　　Yunxiao burst into laughter, and then Jia Rong followed. They laughed so hard that it made Wu Liantian, who had the full confidence in his offer, feel uncertain suddenly.

　　“You’re too generous, my lord!” said Yunxiao. “There are only two thousand of us, and we don’t need so many gold coins. I’ll just let my men take some for themselves.”

　　He whispered a few words into Jia Rong’s ears, and then the latter strode away with a cold grin on his face.

　　Wu Liantian suddenly panicked. “What do you mean by that, little brother?”

　　Yunxiao gave him a faint smile as he lifted his teacup and said, “Nothing. Come, my lord and Commander Ban, let’s drink some tea. Ahh, this is such good tea!”

　　Meanwhile, some noises were heard from outside—the cries of men and the clanging noises of weapons. Soon the cries turned into shrieks, filling Wu Liantian’s heart with fear. Hastily, he gave Ban Bingbai a look. With a wry smile, the commander shook his head as he leaned over and whispered into the City Lord’s ear, “There is a Martial Lord among the men who serve this youth!”

　　His words exploded in Wu Liantian’s head like a sudden thunderbolt, making his ears buzz!

　　There was a Martial Lord among the men who served this youth!

　　In Tianshui, all Martial Lords were either great lords, powerful generals in the military, or commanders of the State Guardians, and each of them held sway over the entire state. Even though Wu Liantian was a City Lord, he would have to bow his head when he met one of them!

　　And yet, an expert so mighty was just one of the men who served this youth!

　　Wu Liantian suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem, and he hurriedly said, “Take it easy, little brother! What you are doing now is no different from robbing!”

　　“Robbing?” Yunxiao’s face grew dark while his eyes turned cold, flashing with killing intent. “Be careful of what you say, as you will be held responsible for that. A false accusation will get you killed!”

　　Wu Liantian shivered. As the noises continued to be heard from outside, he put on a long face and said, “I’ve told you, little brother, I don’t have much personal savings. You know what, I’ll get someone to prepare a hundred thousand gold coins for you.”

　　Pa!

　　Yunxiao broke the table with a slap as he stood up and said angrily, “Wu Liantian, who do you think I am? I just want to find some funding for the army, and yet you take me for a robber? Well, you asked for this!”

　　He shouted loudly, “Somebody!”

　　At his voice, Chen Zhen and Han Bai, who had been waiting outside, rushed into the hall and tied both Wu Liantian and Wu Guang up with some ropes. That scared Wu Guang out of his wits and sent him screaming and crying, while Wu Liantian, utterly terrified, shouted, “Save us, Commander Ban!”

　　Ban Bingbai was about to move when a killing intent suddenly targeted him. “Anyone who moves without permission will be killed instantly!” Yunxiao said in a cold voice.

　　What shocked Ban Bingbai was that the killing intent, which made his heart skip a beat, did not come from the Martial Lord, but this young man who was only about fifteen years old! And, he had an instinctive feeling that if he moved, the young man would kill him without hesitation. ‘But…he’s only an eight-stars warrior! How could I have such an absurd feeling?’

　　Soon, the City Lord and his son were bound and hung from the ceiling. Meanwhile, Ban Bingbai watched from the side and did not dare to move.

　　The student troops kept running in and piled boxes of loot on the ground, which soon occupied half of the hall. In addition to a great amount of gold and silver coins were numerous rare and precious treasures, Primordial Stones and medicinal pills, mystic weapons, and all kinds of alchemy materials. Even Yunxiao was shocked by the findings.

　　It was not that he had never seen so many valuable things, but he could not believe that the wealth accumulated in the mansion of a small city lord was more than his family!

　　Han Bai was shocked as well, and he said in horror, “Look, Young Master Yun, he’s only a little city lord and yet he’s got so much wealth! There are at least hundreds of millions of gold coins alone! I wonder how much life-blood of common people has he sucked to accumulate so much money? If we report him, the crimes he committed should be enough to get his whole family executed!”

　　“Report? Why do we need to report him?” Yunxiao played dumb and said, “Lord Wu cares for his people and doesn’t have too many personal savings. He is a poor man. Do any of you see anything valuable in his mansion?”

　　“No,” Chen Zhen said quickly, “I saw nothing. Do you see anything?”

　　Meng Bai shook his head. “Neither do I. The treasure vault in the mansion is empty. If you don’t believe me, you can go and have a look yourself.”

　　“Oh, I believe that! I truly do!” Chen Zhen laughed joyously.

　　Although Wu Liantian was hung in midair and gagged, he still roared at the top of his lungs, “You can’t touch those things or you will be dead meat! Those are Prince Qin Yang’s resources! Your whole family will be executed if you lay a finger on them!”

　　“Oh, no wonder!” said Yunxiao in an enlightened tone. “So, those things belong to Qin Yang. Then, I’ll not stand on ceremony with him.” He lightly pointed out a finger and put away all the Primordial Stones and alchemy materials, leaving only coins, treasures, medicinal pills, and mystic weapons. Then, he turned to Meng Wu and said, “Distribute these things to everyone as reward!”