The early morning sun did little to warm the chill that had settled over the Luo Clan compound. The air was thick with a tension that had nothing to do with the weather. Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was one of impending doom. The clansmen who had been cleaning the courtyard huddled near the walls, their faces ashen. The news had spread like wildfire: the Liu Patriarch, Liu Bang, a fierce expert at the ninth level of Pulse Condensation, was at their gates with the City Lord's magistrate. It was an official, and undoubtedly fatal, condemnation.
Steward Luo Bo looked like a man awaiting his own execution. "Young Master, perhaps... perhaps we should try to explain? To negotiate? The magistrate is here. There must be a way—"
"Negotiation is the recourse of the weak who still believe in fairness," Luo Zhen interrupted, his voice flat. He stood by the window, watching the scene outside without a trace of concern. "There is no fairness. There is only power. And today, they will learn the difference between their power and mine."
He turned from the window. The faint, almost invisible black smoke of the Nine Profound Heavens Demonic Art coiled around his boots like a loyal serpent. "Open the gates. Let the performance begin."
Trembling, Luo Bo gave the order. The main gates, which had been barred shut, were slowly swung open, revealing the hostile force assembled outside.
Liu Bang was a mountain of a man, his face a thundercloud of rage and grief. He stood at the forefront, his aura—a dense, aggressive pressure at the ninth level of Pulse Condensation—pushing against the Luo clansmen, making them gasp for air. Beside him, dressed in the official robes of the City Lord's office, was Magistrate Hong, a thin, severe-looking man with a carefully cultivated air of neutrality that masked a deep-seated corruption. Behind them, twenty Liu Family guards, their hands on their weapons, radiated bloodlust.
"Luo Bo!" Liu Bang's voice boomed, shaking the very gates. "Where is that demon spawn you call a young master?! Bring him out now, or I will tear this compound apart stone by stone and feed your entire clan to the dogs!"
Magistrate Hong held up a placating hand, though his eyes were cold. "Patriarch Liu, please, allow the law to take its course." He turned his gaze to Luo Bo. "Steward Luo, we are here concerning a most grievous matter. Last night, young master Liu Feng was returned to his family in a... catatonic state, his cultivation base completely eradicated. Two Liu guards were killed. The evidence and testimony point squarely to Luo Zhen. We are here to take him into custody for questioning and judgment."
Luo Bo opened his mouth to offer some feeble protest, but a calm voice spoke from behind him.
"You are looking for me?"
Luo Zhen stepped out of the main hall and into the courtyard. He moved with an unnerving grace, completely unaffected by Liu Bang's oppressive aura. He wore simple, clean robes, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes, those ancient, abyssal pools, swept over the assembled force as if they were a mildly interesting display of insects.
The courtyard fell silent. Even Liu Bang's rage was momentarily checked by the young man's demeanor. This was not the cowering, weak boy he knew. This was... something else.
"You!" Liu Bang finally found his voice, his finger shaking as he pointed at Luo Zhen. "You monster! What did you do to my son?!"
Luo Zhen's expression remained one of bored indifference. "I collected a debt. Your son and his friends attempted to rob and murder me. They failed. I merely took the interest owed for their transgression. Their lives were the collateral."
Magistrate Hong's eyebrows shot up. This was not a denial; it was a boast. "Young man, do you understand the severity of these accusations? To cripple a young master of the Liu Family, to kill their guards... this is an act of war against Floating Cloud City's peace!"
"Peace?" Luo Zhen let out a soft, chilling laugh. "There is no peace. There is only the temporary absence of conflict, maintained by the strong preying upon the weak. The Liu Family has preyed upon the Luo for years. The absence of conflict is over. The hunting season has simply changed hands."
Liu Bang could take no more. "Enough of this madness! I will tear you limb from limb myself!" He took a step forward, his ninth-level aura erupting in full force, intending to crush Luo Zhen where he stood.
The Luo clansmen cried out, shielding their faces from the expected blast.
Luo Zhen didn't move. He simply looked at Liu Bang.
The immense pressure meant to crush him hit an invisible wall a foot from his body and dissipated harmlessly. The tiles on the ground around Luo Zhen didn't even crack.
Liu Bang's eyes widened in shock. "What?! How?!"
Magistrate Hong's jaw went slack. He could feel it too. The boy was emitting no aura, yet he had nullified a full-force pressure attack from a ninth-level Pulse Condensation expert with no visible effort.
"You rely on the crude bludgeon of your cultivation level," Luo Zhen said, taking a step forward of his own. His voice was quiet, yet it carried to every ear in the terrifying silence. "You have no comprehension of true power. You are a child waving a sharp stick, believing himself a king."
He took another step. "You came here for justice? Very well. I will give you justice."
His hand moved. It was so fast it was barely a blur. A single finger pointed at Liu Bang.
A needle-thin strand of black demonic energy, invisible to everyone else, shot out and pierced Liu Bang's dantian.
Liu Bang's furious expression froze. His eyes bulged. A sensation of absolute, soul-rending cold spread from his core. He tried to speak, to roar, but only a choked gurgle emerged. He could feel it—his lifelong cultivation, his proud ninth-level power, was being unraveled at the source. It was being siphoned away, consumed by an endless, hungry void.
He collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently. His hair began to turn white at the roots, spreading like frost across his scalp. His skin lost its luster, sagging and wrinkling before everyone's horrified eyes.
"P-Patr—" one of the Liu guards started forward.
Luo Zhen flicked his gaze towards the guard. That was all it took. The guard screamed, clutching his head as if it were splitting open, and fell to the ground, unconscious from the sheer, concentrated killing intent directed at him.
The display of invisible, effortless power petrified everyone. The Liu guards stood frozen, their weapons forgotten in their hands. Magistrate Hong took several steps back, his face pale, his official composure shattered.
Luo Zhen stood over the kneeling, withering form of Liu Bang. "This is justice," he stated, his voice devoid of triumph, merely stating a fact. "The strong do as they will; the weak suffer what they must. You were strong. Now you are weak. Suffer."
With a final, almost imperceptible pull, he severed the connection. Liu Bang, Patriarch of the Liu Family, a man who had dominated Floating Cloud City for decades, slumped forward onto the dirt. He was alive, but utterly empty. A frail, ancient-looking mortal, his eyes vacant, drool dripping from his mouth. His cultivation was gone, completely and forever.
Luo Zhen then turned his gaze to Magistrate Hong. The man flinched as if struck.
"You," Luo Zhen said. "You are here to uphold the law. The law states that might makes right. I have demonstrated my might. Therefore, I am right. Are we in agreement?"
Magistrate Hong's mind raced. He had never seen such terrifying, unnatural power. This was not cultivation; this was sorcery of the darkest kind. To oppose this demon was instant death. To align with him... it was a path to power he had never dreamed of. His corrupt heart saw the opportunity instantly.
He fell to one knee, bowing his head. "The City Lord's office... recognizes the new reality, Lord Luo. The Liu Family provoked you. They... they got what they deserved. The case is closed."
A collective gasp went up from the Luo clansmen and the Liu guards. The official magistrate of Floating Cloud City was kneeling to their young master.
Luo Zhen gave a slight, approving nod. "Wise. You may rise. You will return to the City Lord. You will tell him what you saw here. You will tell him the Luo Clan is under my protection. Any who challenge us will share the Liu Patriarch's fate. And you..." he looked at the terrified Liu guards. "Take your trash and get out. Spread the word. The Luo Clan is open for business. And we are collecting all outstanding debts."
The guards didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled forward, grabbed the catatonic forms of Liu Bang and the unconscious guard, and fled as if the very gates of hell were opening behind them.
Magistrate Hong rose shakily. "It... it will be done, Lord Luo." He bowed again and almost ran from the courtyard, his mind already spinning the story he would tell the City Lord.
Silence returned to the Luo compound, heavier and more profound than before.
Luo Zhen turned to face his clansmen. They were all on their knees now, including Luo Bo. Their faces were no longer just terrified; they were filled with a awe that bordered on religious fervor. He had not just saved them; he had humiliated their greatest enemy and forced the city's authority to kneel. All without breaking a sweat.
"The world is a garden of suffering," Luo Zhen announced, his voice carrying across the courtyard. "We have been the trampled flowers. No longer. From this day forward, we are the thorns. We are the venom. We will be the nightmare that haunts this city, and then this world. Those who are loyal will be rewarded beyond their dreams. Those who are not..." He let the sentence hang in the air, the fate of the Liu family a fresh and potent example.
He pointed to Luo Cheng. "You. Gather a contingent. You are going to the Liu Family's main spirit stone mine. You will inform the foreman that ownership has been transferred to the Luo Clan. If they resist, kill them."
Luo Cheng, who had been ready to hand Luo Zhen over just hours before, kowtowed, his forehead touching the dirt. "At once, my Lord! It will be done!"
Luo Zhen then looked at Luo Bo. "Old man, with me. We have more planning to do."
As he walked back into the main hall, the clansmen remained on their knees. The fear was still there, but it was now mixed with something else: a terrifying, exhilarating hope. Their young master was a demon. But he was their demon. And he was going to lead them to glory on a river of blood.
Inside the hall, Luo Zhen stood before the map once more. The balance of power in Floating Cloud City had been shattered in a single morning. The Liu Family was headless and vulnerable. The Wang Family would be reeling from the robbery, now terrified of this new, unknown power. The Su Family would be cautious, watching.
"It is time to consolidate," Luo Zhen said to Luo Bo. "The Liu assets will be absorbed. Their businesses, their mines, their properties. We will take everything. Use the magistrate. His fear will make him pliable. Offer him a percentage. Greed will do the rest."
Luo Bo, his hands still shaking, nodded fervently. "Yes, my Lord. But... the Su Family? The engagement...?"
Luo Zhen's eyes glinted with a cold light. "The Su Family looked down upon us. They saw the engagement as a charity to be revoked at will. They allowed the Liu dogs to attack me to facilitate this. They believe themselves to be above the fray."
He placed a finger on the map, right over the Su Family compound.
"That will change. They will not be approached. They will be made to come to us. And when they do, they will not be offering an engagement."
He looked at Luo Bo, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
"They will be offering a tribute."