---
The moon hung high above Green Mountain City, casting an ethereal silver light over the streets. The citizens, unaware of the coming storm, slept peacefully in their homes. But the silence of night carried weight, as if the city itself held its breath.
11 shadows moved through the city like whispers in the wind.
Clad in black armor and veiled masks, Tianzun's elite squad had arrived. Ten high-level Dou Shi and one Da Dou Shi commander, each hand-picked by Yoru, melted into the alleys and rooftops with predator-like precision.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Company—a group notorious for their brutality and oppression—was their target.
---
**Operation Commences**
The first assault struck the outer patrols. Silent strikes—throats slit, windpipes crushed—each mercenary fell without a sound. The masked team moved in coordinated units of two, covering blind spots and traps with practiced ease.
Within twenty minutes, all exterior defenses were neutralized.
The commander, code-named "Black Viper," gave a hand signal.
They converged on the mercenary headquarters, a three-story estate reinforced with stone walls and steel-forged doors.
Two Dou Shi placed specialized seals on the front gates.
*Boom!*
A muted explosion tore through the entrance, and the team swarmed in like shadows given form.
The mercenary guards barely had time to react.
---
**The Battle Within**
Dozens of mercenaries—ranging from basic Dou Zhe to mid-level Dou Shi—rushed into the main hall.
Black Viper raised his hand.
"No survivors."
Flames, lightning, and wind exploded through the compound. The clash of Dou Qi techniques lit the night in bursts of destruction. Yet the masked squad held overwhelming advantage in precision, discipline, and sheer force.
One Dou Shi from Tianzun's unit used a chain-whip technique to bind and execute five mercenaries in a single, whirling strike. Another projected icy spears that impaled defenders through armor and bone.
Within an hour, the Wolf Head Mercenary Company was no more.
3 heads were killed.
---
**The Spoils of Power**
Inside the treasury vault, the team uncovered a vast hoard: over 800,000 gold coins, crates of refined weapons, low-grade elemental crystals, scrolls, and rare herbs.
More surprising was a hidden room in the back.
There, they found sealed boxes containing secret ledgers, blackmail material, and trade routes linked to underground human trafficking networks.
Black Viper's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "Burn these records. Send a copy to Master Tianzun."
The next hour was methodical. Survivors were executed. Witnesses silenced. And the estate burned to ash.
In the heart of Green Mountain City, a void of fear was replaced by a greater, colder presence.
---
**Morning Whispers**
By sunrise, the rumors had spread like wildfire.
The infamous Wolf Head Mercenary Company was annihilated overnight.
And a new force—masked, merciless, and meticulously efficient—had seized control.
A large plaque appeared on the scorched remains of the mercenary estate:
> **"Under the Order of Tian Shuan Sect. Interfere, and perish."**
Carpenters arrived, escorted by black-masked warriors.
Construction began on the new auction house.
City officials, shopkeepers, and common folk—though shaken—complied instantly.
Because power speaks.
And Tianzun had spoken.
---
**Back at the Clinic**
Yian stirred the morning herbs when a messenger boy breathlessly arrived.
"Miss Fairy Doctor! The mercenary company... they're gone! A new force is here. They're building an auction house. It happened overnight!"
Her hands paused. Her heart skipped.
She turned slowly.
> *"Only one person could've pulled this off."*
When she saw Tianzun enter moments later, calm and collected, she stared at him for a long time.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Nothing... just trying to guess how many people it took you to erase a criminal empire overnight."
Tianzun smirked. "Guessing's dangerous, Yi Xian. You might uncover things better left unknown."
"Like your cooking?" she teased.
He laughed. "Exactly."
But behind the banter, their eyes met.
And she knew—without a single word—that the storm had moved through Green Mountain City because of him.
And the skies were clear again.
---
End of Chapter 48