“Guest, what would you like to eat?” The innkeeper behind the counter immediately beamed. Teng Qingshan chuckled, “Bring me a basket of steamed buns and a large bowl of soy milk.” With that, Teng Qingshan stepped through the back door into the inn's courtyard, which was a scene of bustling activity.

Some were steaming buns, others were washing vegetables, and a few were drawing water from the well. Teng Qingshan headed toward the stables and glanced at the Crimson Fire Horse.

“Guest, your horse is fine, rest assured. We’re all watching him,” said one stout young man who was vigorously cranking the iron wheel by the well, hoisting up a bucket of water with every turn. “Good,” Teng Qingshan nodded, satisfied. To neglect a Crimson Fire Horse valued at over a thousand taels of silver would be absurd for a merchant. After a quick inspection, Teng Qingshan returned to the inn’s main hall.

“Guest, the buns and soy milk are ready on the table,” the innkeeper called out enthusiastically. Teng Qingshan smiled and nodded, then walked to the inn entrance to stretch languidly, casually sweeping his gaze over the street. There were many pedestrians and vendors, but no shifty characters lurking about. Teng Qingshan remarked, “Innkeeper, it seems today will be a fine day.”

Back at his table, Teng Qingshan dispatched the buns two at a time, eating rapidly. “Hoo-hoo~~” He drained the large bowl of soy milk in one go, then rubbed his stomach contentedly. As he headed back upstairs, he spotted Uncle Wu descending the stairs. “Uncle Wu? Where is that brother Sun? I didn’t see him last night.”

“Young Master visited his esteemed uncle yesterday and was kept there overnight,” Uncle Wu chuckled. “But Young Master should be back today. There are still goods to sell. Plenty to do.” Teng Qingshan then returned to his room.

…… The morning sun rose, casting warm rays onto the street. Suddenly, two figures emerged within the crowd. One was clad in gold, the other in a blue robe with a single sleeve. As they walked, they clearly stood apart from the common folk. Those around them, possessing some perception, sensed these two were no ordinary individuals and instinctively made way for them.

“Brother Zhao, it’s up to you now,” the man in gold said with a smile. “You haven’t forgotten the location of Teng Qingshan’s guest room at the inn, have you?” Zhao Danchen retrieved a piece of paper from his robes. The paper displayed a layout of one floor of the inn, with one specific room marked. Zhao Danchen stated, “The second floor of the inn, up the stairs, the third room toward the north. I remember it perfectly.” He tucked the paper away and continued forward. Moments later, the pair arrived before the inn.

Just then— From the entrance of the tavern directly across the street emerged three figures, all wearing white leather robes: a gaunt, silver-haired elder, a burly man, and a beautiful young matron. These three stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the doorway, smiling towards Zhao Danchen. Zhao Danchen’s expression twitched slightly, and he gave a brief nod to the trio.

“Three Innate Golden Core masters! Even Du Xuan, ranked third on the Heavenly Ranking, is here…” Zhao Danchen sighed inwardly. In terms of the number of Innate Experts (Arhat level), the Mani Temple was undoubtedly first! However, among the Eight Great Sects of the world, lineages like Green Lake Island and Carefree Palace were only over a thousand years old. Since Emperor Yu unified the Nine Provinces, although paper was invented only in the last few centuries, much of the long history remained blank.

Yet, everyone knew that since the founding of the Yu Emperor Sect, numerous super sects had arisen on the lands of the Nine Provinces. For instance, in Yang Province, before Green Lake Island, the reigning superpower for eight hundred years was the ‘Sword Sect.’ But after it was destroyed by Green Lake Island, over the thousand years since, perhaps not even a single descendant of the Sword Sect remains. This is time! Over the relentless flow of time, even the most colossal sects cannot remain eternally powerful! Historical super sects have fallen one after another! Currently, those with histories exceeding two millennia are the Mani Temple, the Ying Clan, the Yu Emperor Sect, the Sun-Shooting Divine Mountain, and Hongtian City—five in total. And those whose histories surpass three thousand years are only the Ying Clan and the Yu Emperor Sect. As for the Yu Emperor Sect’s lineage, legend holds it transcends six thousand years. In the same era as the Yu Emperor Sect, or five thousand, four thousand, or three thousand years ago… countless sects vanished one by one. This is why forces like Green Lake Island and Carefree Palace hold such deep reservations regarding the ‘Yu Emperor Sect.’

An ancient sect! How much true power did it conceal? No one knew for sure! But at the very least, a long-standing sect, generation after generation of geniuses leaving behind their own cultivation manuals—these profound texts surely meant more masters were born. They could casually dispatch three Innate Golden Core experts! This was the Yu Emperor Sect!

“We are here. We await Brother Zhao’s lead,” the gaunt elder murmured, lowering his voice. Zhao Danchen nodded. The street was crowded and noisy; as long as no loud sounds were made, it would be difficult for Teng Qingshan to discern anything. “Teng Qingshan, you cannot escape today.” Zhao Danchen narrowed his eyes and, under the watchful gaze of one Yu Emperor Sect Innate Void Core master and three Innate Golden Core masters, entered the inn.

“Guest, dining or lodging?” the innkeeper called out. Zhao Danchen glanced at him coldly. The innkeeper’s heart jumped: Who is this person? Zhao Danchen’s gaze swept across the first floor lobby, then he directly ascended the stairs. Thud! Thud! Thud! Zhao Danchen moved upward, step by measured step.

…… Inside the room, Teng Qingshan sat cross-legged on the bed.

My mind feels strangely restless, what is happening? Teng Qingshan opened his eyes and glanced at the wardrobe beside the bed. The Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe and the Reincarnation Spear are locked securely inside the chest; absolutely no one knows about them. And this time, I didn’t just use charcoal for disguise, as I did in Great Yan Mountain. I procured the necessary materials within Huafeng City for a meticulous disguise.

This time, even my parents would struggle to recognize me. Teng Qingshan did not believe anyone could discover him.

Someone is coming up the stairs? Teng Qingshan registered the sound. Probably just another lodger. Although he maintained a level of caution, he didn't suspect anything major.

…… In the corridor. The silver-haired, handsome youth ‘Zhao Danchen’ in the blue robe had an empty right sleeve, yet his footsteps naturally carried a sound, without any attempt at stealth.

“One, two, three!” Zhao Danchen’s gaze instantly locked onto Teng Qingshan’s room. A savage look flashed across his face as his left hand blurred into a phantom, reaching for the long sword strapped to his back.

Clang! The long sword transformed into a dazzling streak of light, the blade itself impossible to see with the naked eye.

Boom! The door to the room disintegrated instantly into splinters. The fragments shot out like dark projectiles, embedding themselves in the surrounding walls. The sounds of tables and chairs shattering echoed from within the room. Simultaneously with the door’s explosion, a blurred shadow instantly surged inside! Teng Qingshan, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed, watched his face change drastically.

“Teng Qingshan!!!” A savage roar erupted from the indistinct figure. Teng Qingshan’s body immediately erupted with fiery red light, making him appear like a God of Fire. These streams of crimson energy shot out like countless arrows, instantly reducing the solid wooden bed beneath Teng Qingshan, along with the floorboards below, to powder. Teng Qingshan himself snatched the wardrobe and plummeted downward at high speed.

First floor of the inn. Several guests were eating, and the innkeeper looked up toward the ceiling with a troubled feeling. But suddenly—

Boom! Fiery red light burst down from above, followed swiftly by a figure shrouded in flames. The man, engulfed in flame, slammed violently onto the inn’s wooden floor, causing the entire hall to shake violently, leaving behind a massive, deep crater and cracking the ground with ugly fissures. A golden silhouette descended quickly, his sharp sword resembling lightning split by a thunder god, aiming directly at the figure enveloped in flames.

“So fast!” Teng Qingshan had just retreated when he saw that blinding sword strike! The sword light produced no audible air disturbance! Yet, it was precisely this silence that horrified Teng Qingshan.

“Get lost!” Teng Qingshan roared. Inside the sleeve of his right arm, something writhed like a serpent, causing the fabric to swell outward. He used the wardrobe in his hand as a weapon, smashing it toward the sword light.

Swish! This fierce sword thrust struck the wardrobe. One side was an Innate Golden Core expert, whose raw Innate True Essence burst forth with nearly eighty thousand jin of force. The other, though only an Innate Void Core, possessed physical strength nearing seventy thousand jin, and augmented by his Innate Void Core True Essence, his explosive power was arguably even greater! And inside this wardrobe rested the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe! An axe refined over thousands of years using the unique world rules of Emperor Yu!

How could this Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe possibly be pierced by a single strike from an Innate Golden Core master? The two immense forces collided head-on—

Rumble~~ It was as if dozens of loud thunderclaps had detonated simultaneously inside the inn. The wardrobe instantly exploded into dust. Teng Qingshan even witnessed a spherical shockwave form before his eyes, followed by air violently oscillating and creating a terrifying spatial impact wave that spread outward in all directions like ripples on water.

Pfft, pfft~~ The surrounding tables, chairs, bowls, and dishes were instantly pulverized into fine powder. The stunned guests, servers, and the innkeeper were swept over by the shockwave and instantly reduced to mist.

Boom! The four walls of the inn disintegrated into debris. The shockwave even impacted adjacent buildings and struck countless pedestrians on the street. Furthermore, the three-story inn, deprived of its support, collapsed with a tremendous crash.

On the street. The four experts from the Yu Emperor Sect—one Innate Void Core and three Innate Golden Core masters—had been watching the scene with complacent smiles. But when they saw the terrifying impact generated by the initial exchange between the two combatants, their expressions changed drastically—to generate such a massive tremor, their offensive strengths must have been roughly equal.

Rumble, rumble~~~ The inn collapsed, surrounding structures tumbled down, and countless pedestrians on the street suffered casualties, eliciting cries of distress.

“Quickly! Seize Teng Qingshan!” the gaunt, silver-haired elder shouted, his face grim. Instantly, the three Innate Golden Core masters transformed into three streaks of phantom light, flashing toward the inn’s rear courtyard. The rear courtyard, caught in the blast radius, was now a mess of broken bricks and rubble.

At this moment, Teng Qingshan held the Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe in one hand and a section of the Reincarnation Spear in the other, the remaining piece bound to his body with Innate True Essence. “This Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe truly lives up to its name,” Teng Qingshan thought secretly with delight as he used it. “Incredibly tough; worthy of being the treasure that refined the ‘Spirit of the North Sea’ and sustained the Great Flood Palace for millennia. Zhao Danchen’s full-power strike didn't even leave a scratch.”

The Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe had a large blade surface. It could easily be used as a small shield, capable of completely protecting vital points.

“Teng Qingshan, surrender now!” Zhao Danchen rushed over. Teng Qingshan glanced into the distance, his pupils shrinking as he spotted the three figures closing in. Teng Qingshan executed a sharp, powerful leap, like an arrow, plunging directly into the deep well located in the rear courtyard. Simultaneously, with a boom!, the entire courtyard floor buckled upward, revealing deep ravines, and the well collapsed instantly.

“Hahahaha! Scum from Green Lake Island! You think you can capture me, Teng Qingshan?” A wildly arrogant laugh boomed forth from underground, like the wrathful laughter of a thunder god, echoing across the entirety of Wu City. The hundreds of thousands of residents within Wu City all looked up to the sky in astonishment.