The atmosphere between the two parties became tense in an instant. In Heiyan City, Lin Ya was nowhere to be found, and the Black Dam Army had suffered considerable casualties. However, they still had Hei Qing who possesses upper-tier combat power within the First Layer of the tower.

On Zhu Bufan's side, Wang Hui's combat strength was basically able to completely suppress Hei Qing. It is now obvious to even the most foolish that relying solely on a formation of three hundred soldiers from the Black Dam Army to stop Zhu Bufan and Huo Ling was wishful thinking. The main issue is that if Huo Ling and Zhu Bufan were both ordinary Martial Cultivators, then there wouldn't be much of a problem. However, the fact is Huo Ling is a Bone Forging Realm Magic Cultivator, and Zhu Bufan is an even more powerful Body Refining aberration whose strength far exceeds those in the Body Tempering Realm. Any one of them possesses the ability to break through the formation alone, let alone the two of them together.

Now, although the people inside Heiyan City are numerous, they find themselves at a disadvantage, causing Hei Qing, who is usually proud, to have an extremely ugly expression on his face. He has begun to regret not bringing the other three Grand Stewards with him when he came. Even if he had brought just one along, the situation would have drastically changed!

While Hei Qing was unsure whether he should start a confrontation to save face or retreat now and come back for revenge later with more forces, a familiar sensation rapidly approached from the direction of Heiyan City, causing Hei Qing's face to suddenly turn ashen. Wang Hui, who felt the same presence, revealed a schadenfreude expression.

"Hei Qing, the City Lord, you might want to start thinking about how you'll explain and answer for this," said Wang Hui with a cold smile, staring intently at Hei Qing whose face had turned to iron.

"Master Wang Hui, Hei Qing, the City Lord, what exactly is going on? To cause such a commotion, although my Lanyue Pavilion is merely a commercial guild, I still hope both of you can restrain yourselves for the better," said a voice approaching from the distance. Soon after, a shadow clad in a cyan-grey long robe arrived at the scene of the confrontation—it was the Grand Steward from Lanyue Pavilion who had initially received Zhu Bufan and the others, also known as Uncle Liu to Yue Lan.

"Oh? So this young brother is here too, accompanying Master Wang Hui. It looks like Master Wang Hui must have already persuaded the young brother. And what exactly happened here? Why such an intense fight? It's better to restrain oneself in such matters, as harmony is most valuable," the Grand Steward suddenly noticed Zhu Bufan with a friendly smile on his face. Seeing the Grand Steward's smiling face, Hei Qing immediately knew things were looking bad.

"Hehe, Grand Steward Liu, it's not that I, Wang Hui, don't want to restrain myself, it's just that Hei Qing, the City Lord, is being unreasonable, insisting not only on having his subordinates and Grand Stewards block our way but also on detaining young brother Zhu Bufan..."

"Wait!" As Wang Hui continued, Hei Qing immediately interrupted him: "Hehe, so this young brother is indeed a distinguished guest of Lanyue Pavilion. How detestable, Lin Ya actually deceived me, telling me that this young brother was a wanted fugitive on the run, and that's why I hurried over here in the first place." Hei Qing quickly rebutted, his forehead breaking out into a fine sweat.

"Oh? Is that so? Then it's a complete misunderstanding. Indeed, this young brother is someone we at Lanyue Pavilion hope to recruit. It seems Hei Qing, the City Lord, has made a mistake," seeing Hei Qing's reaction, the Grand Steward's eyes narrowed slightly, letting out a glint that sent a chill down Hei Qing's spine, while Wang Hui's words further whitened Hei Qing's already pale face.

"Hei Qing, you must be mistaken. I remember clearly telling the City Lord that this young brother is a guest invited by Lanyue Pavilion. Yet, not only did Hei Qing, the City Lord, not offer the slightest courtesy, but he also insisted on detaining both parties to take them away. What's the reasoning behind this? Just until a moment ago, Hei Qing, the City Lord, was even going to deal with this young brother personally, wasn't he? So many witnesses here can testify to this, surely Hei Qing, the City Lord, won't deny these facts?" A sneer escaped as Wang Hui casually spoke, regardless of the killing intent in Hei Qing's gaze.

"Master Wang! At that time, I was deceived by Lin Ya!!! Now that Lin Ya knows the situation has been exposed, he has gone into hiding!!! Therefore, please consider your words carefully, Master Wang!!!" Hei Qing glared at Wang Hui, his voice filled with angry low shouts, and as the experienced Grand Steward on the side clearly understood the nature of this conflict, the corners of his mouth began to turn downward, and his narrowed eyes started to look dangerous.

"Enough. Master Wang Hui, Hei Qing, the City Lord, both of you are extremely influential individuals within the First Layer of the tower. When two tigers fight, one is bound to get hurt, and all the more so since this incident is merely a misunderstanding. So, please, on account of this old man's face, let both parties take a step back?" After flashing eyes that glimmered with sharpness, the Grand Steward's gaze softened once again to a friendly, smiling look, his lips curling back into a smile as he spoke to Wang Hui and Hei Qing.

"Hehe, if City Lord Hei Qing can 'graciously' spare us small 'nobodies,' we naturally wouldn't hold a grudge against your lordship." After the Grand Steward appeared, Zhu Bufan, whose full attention had been on controlling and retracting his killing intent, now replied in a slightly hoarse voice upon hearing the Grand Steward's words. Although the blood-red hue still lingered in Zhu Bufan's eyes, it was clearly much faded, and the soul shadow behind him had also vanished immediately after he executed the Chenjiang Duanliu Break of the Overwhelming Sky Formation. Thus, while Zhu Bufan's intent to kill was strong, it had not yet reached a level that would terrify the Grand Steward.

"Hehe, young brother is jesting. I, the City Lord, was merely misled. I assure you that upon my return, I will certainly capture Lin Ya and, once caught, will hand him over to you, young brother, for disposal. I also implore Master Wang not to take today's incident to heart. Hei Qing will definitely visit in person another day to offer an apology." The sarcasm in Zhu Bufan's words was evident even to a fool, but given the current situation, Hei Qing could not afford to lash out. He was well aware of the depth of Lanyue Pavilion's influence, something that he, a mere Soul Refining Practitioner, could not possibly contend with. Indeed, he had harbored a fleeting delusion, but as soon as the Grand Steward arrived, that delusion had been cast aside. The longstanding authority and dominance had made Hei Qing forego even the demeanor and dignity of a city lord.

The reaction of Hei Qing confirmed the judgment of Zhu Bufan and the others: never before had a city lord shown such wariness towards the steward of a merchant association. It is an unchanging truth that commoners do not fight with officials, let alone merchants. From the current situation, if Lanyue Pavilion were merely an ordinary merchant association, then ghosts must truly exist.

Observing Hei Qing's somewhat lost composure, the Grand Steward slightly frowned but quickly smoothed his expression and, with swift courtesy, said to Hei Qing, "If that is the case, I am most thankful to City Lord Hei Qing for granting this old man such regard. In the days to come, this old man will certainly visit the city lord's mansion to express my gratitude to City Lord Hei Qing."

Seeing the Grand Steward bowing to him, Hei Qing wanted to prevent it but then seemed to think of something and reluctantly accepted the Grand Steward's bow. Observing the pretense between the Grand Steward and Hei Qing, Zhu Bufan kept a neutral expression but inwardly sneered. Although the two hurriedly cleared up some covert connection between them, the scene had not escaped the watchful eyes of Zhu Bufan and his companions, who had been keenly observing their interactions. To the three of them, such pretense was merely for the soldiers of the Black Dam Army to see and had no effect on them.

"In that case, since the misunderstanding has been resolved, then Master Wang Hui, this young friend, and the young lady, let's gather at Lanyue Pavilion for a good visit. As for City Lord Hei Qing, I believe you must be busy with important matters, so we will not see you out." After glancing at Hei Qing, the Grand Steward finished speaking and discreetly conveyed to Hei Qing: "City Lord Hei Qing, this old man will report this matter to the higher-ups. This year's share for Heiyan City may likely be adjusted. Prepare yourself to bear the consequences, and don't say later that this old man did not inform you in advance."

Upon hearing the Grand Steward's words, Hei Qing's complexion turned from snow white to iron blue, and then to a deathly pale. He gave the Grand Steward a slight nod and quickly led the remaining over two hundred soldiers of the Black Dam Army in a swift retreat, clearly dealing with some urgent matter. Left in the area were only Zhu Bufan, his two companions, and the Grand Steward.

"Hehe, now then, Master Wang, my two young friends, shall we set off for Lanyue Pavilion? What do you say?" With Hei Qing's departure, the Grand Steward turned to Zhu Bufan and the others with a smile that was heart-warming, but Zhu Bufan understood that the owner of this smile was a sly and crafty individual. If they were to be swayed by his smile, they would not even know how they died. Wang Hui's experiences over the years served as an example, because if Lanyue Pavilion truly possessed the kind of power they imagined, then Wang Hui being effectively 'confined' to the First Layer was likely orchestrated by Lanyue Pavilion.

"Of course!" Upon hearing the Grand Steward's words, Zhu Bufan and Wang Hui exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. Their original plan was to visit Lanyue Pavilion, and the Grand Steward's invitation was a welcome opportunity.

Following the Grand Steward, the three quickly entered Heiyan City. Indeed, with the Grand Steward's presence, the three didn't even need to be questioned upon entry, because simply from observing the Grand Steward's attire, the guards clearly understood that they should make way immediately. Failure to do so would mean they wouldn't live to see tomorrow's sun, let alone today's sunset.

The four swiftly reached Central Street of Heiyan City. Compared to the first visit, the treatment Zhu Bufan received was obviously different now. An Artifact Refiner with Poison Fire, even if only a First Rank Artifact Refiner, still commanded respect. While the rank of an Artifact Refiner could improve, Poison Fire of this sort of Beast Fire was not something one would come across often. And with Poison Fire in his possession, Zhu Bufan had earned enough status to be respected.

"Hehe, young brother's visit today must mean you have made a decision, right? This old man is simply asking one more question: that Jade Talisman from before, did it originate from you, young brother? I believe that by now, you wouldn't jest with this old man anymore?" After greeting the three to take a seat, the Grand Steward looked at Zhu Bufan with a smile and got straight to the point.

"Before I answer, I have a request," Zhu Bufan replied with a slight smile to the Grand Steward's inquiry, "May I ask if I could meet Miss Yue Lan?"

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