Not long ago…

  East District. Tower 44. Lounge.

  Sitting on the once-upon-a-time sisterly mat, Wei Er finished whispering to the scarab-like bug cupped in her hand and released it into the air.

  Seated at the dining table across the room, Wei Yi watched the Echo bug take flight, every flutter of its iridescent wings seemingly deepening the simmering tension between the sisters.

  Seeing it finally disappear into an air vent near the lounge’s ceiling, Wei Yi seized the opportunity to offer a pointed reminder.

  "Think more carefully about what you report. Remember who your true master is."

  As... gone was the little sister who used to listen to her.

  Wei Er grumpily turned away, her face twisting into a scowl. "Who are you to care?"

  The grumpy retort seemed to drop the room's temperature as the cold war between the sisters reignited...

  The spiritual sense capturing this scene receded from the lounge, flowing back down the spiral stairs into the corridor below and returning back into the guard meditating by the tower’s entrance.

  Like always, there was no change in the iceberg beauty’s expression, even when knowing about the enemies right at her doorstep.

  After mentally marking down the details of the espionage upstairs without batting an eye, Xiao Lan’s concentration was once again arrested by the sword resting across her p.

  Absorbing the roaming Qi in the tower, channeling it into the sword, letting it flow back into her heart…

  Emanating the serenity of still water, Xiao Lan bonded with the heartless steel that can cut off all emotions while resting her mind to let her spiritual power recover.

  As… her tranquility was short-lived.

  The sound of the tower door grinding open pulled her from her meditation.

  Xiao Lan's eyelids lifted open, her gssy blue eyes turning towards the entrance. She expected to see the man who now brought her a sense of security, but-

  An unfamiliar, snobbish male voice cut through the air.

  "Kekeke, look what we have here, a lonely flower begging for warmth."

  Xiao Lan’s eyes sharpened instantly, her hand instinctively finding the hilt of her sword, her thumb pushing against hushou guard- click. Shing!

  The fshing afterimages of her sword painted the air, only to collide with the dagger of the man who had abruptly appeared beside her – Cng!

  Borrowing the momentum from the csh, Xiao Lan gracefully glided backwards along the corridor, her body almost leaning parallel to the ground.

  Once she floated away from the man’s reach, a burst of Qi pushed her upright!

  With a flourish of her sword, Xiao Lan held her ground at the center of the corridor, the tip of her bde pointed coldly at the enemies blocking the only way out.

  At her previous spot, by the entrance, stood a man in his prime, primly cd in a white robe.

  With an arched nose and a smug face that screamed pretentious, it reminded Xiao Lan of the orthodox disciples from the Cloud Sword Sect.

  Yet, the way he toyed with the ornate dagger in his hand and the eyes unscrupulous ogling at her truly exemplified the traits of the Sun Furnace demonic sect.

  "Not bad, not bad at all,” the man licked his lips and appraised, “I didn’t expect you to be hiding such deep cultivation! I just knew you were special the first time I id eyes on you."

  A rebuttal quickly came from behind him. "Tch. I'm afraid that’s not what you found special.”

  Xiao Lan's sharp gaze shifted to the crimson-haired woman in a sleek bck qipao strutting through the entrance.

  It only took moments for Xiao Lan to match her with the face in her memory: Xiao Hong!

  With an air of arrogance and interest, Xiao Hong’s eyes raked over the sword maiden. "Really unexpected. Her cultivation has recovered to her former level."

  "Keke..." A self-satisfied grin appeared on the man’s face, clearly unfazed by her warning. "Isn’t it more interesting this way?”

  Blocking off the shutting entrance, Xiao Hong blew aside the loose, crimson lock dangling over face, casually offering, “Need my help?”

  “Ke!” A smug grin dripping with confidence kicked aside the offer. “No, this one is mine.”

  “Tsk.” Having her good intentions kicked aside, Xiao Hong’s face twisted into one of condescension, and she crossed her arms over her plump chest, prepared to watch the show rather than intervene.

  Feeling the thorny rose’s eyes stabbing his back like needles to his pride, the man let out a horrendous ugh, closing in on his prey step by step...

  Step. Step. Step.

  Just when the man's foot touched the ground once more, he vanished from his spot!

  In a fsh, the man met the sword maiden right in the midpoint of the corridor- Dang! In a shower of sparks, dagger and sword faced off once more!

  Despite the narrow corridor limiting the range of motion of the sword and giving the dagger-wielding man the upper hand, his confident grin was quickly lost when he felt the overwhelming counteracting force from the opponent’s sword!

  Then, just as quickly as he had rushed over, the man was sent flying away!

  Crash! The shattered shards bit the man’s back as he smashed through the gss door and tumbled into the storage room.

  Stabilizing himself, he came to a stop, crouched and visibly shaken. Shaking off the numbness from his trembling hands, he growled through gritted teeth, “How is this woman so strong?!”

  At this level, let’s not talk about subduing the woman, but even his own life might be put at risk!

  In fact, had it been the typical sword cultivator known for their relentless chains of fierce sword combos, this opportunity to seal his fate would’ve never been missed!

  Fortunately, for one reason or another, his opponent chose not to press her advantage.

  Instead, her cold eyes pinned him in pce as she withdrew into the room behind her, sliding the gss door shut.

  The soft click of the door was like a sp to the man’s face.

  His face only darkened further upon seeing the crimson-haired peacock appear just outside the door, condescendingly clicking her tongue and regarding him with a look brimming with pure disdain.

  "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Those listed on the Earth Ranking are no joke. Even Mo Tianren struggled to subdue her alone. Even if she’s only in the early stage, do you really think you can handle a foundation establishment prodigy like her by yourself?"

  Enduring the "who do you think you are" look that he hated the most, the man clenched his teeth but still suppressed his anger.

  Fixing his image, the man got up and retorted, "Don’t forget. I’m the one paying. If I don’t get what I want..."

  “Tch.” Facing the man's menacing gre, Xiao Hong clicked her tongue with scorn. "Asking for help, but still so rude. Men like you, just a bunch of trash."

  Staring at her cherry red lips, the man fired back, "Don't force me to make you cough up what I paid."

  Xiao Hong rolled her eyes dismissively, but in the end, she took a step back.

  "Don’t worry. You’ll get what you paid for. The tower is sealed. Nobody can escape. With both of us here, it's only a matter of time. But…”

  Xiao Hong gnced at the pale twins that had frozen like statues on the stairs like deer facing headlights.

  Seeing her look over, both their heads lowered and their petite forms trembled, betraying their fear.

  Smelling the guilt in the air, Xiao Hong lips curled into a smile and continued, "We don’t have all day. If you're going to do it, quit wasting time. Unlike you, I've got other matters to attend to."

  Storming up to the doorway, the man briefly eyed the mortal twins on the stairs before throwing away all interest.

  Setting his sights on the arrogant peacock squeezing her own plump assets that were highlighted by her sleek bck qipao, the man’s eyes raked over the beckoning fruits and hoarsely growled, “I know.”

  Xiao Hong could almost smell the desire from his look.

  Not wanting to provoke the lowly scourge further, she stopped squeezing her innate charm, one hand politely gesturing toward the closed gss door to divert his attention. "You first."

  "Ke." The man scoffed and looked at the obscured gss door, noting the vague silhouette of his prey stationing herself somewhere deep into the room beyond.

  Wanting to vent his rising anger, the man impatiently stepped forward with Qi encasing his palms, and with a sp, the gss door shattered!

  Like a door being breached by a bomb, gss shards exploded outwards into the room to give its occupants a shock!

  Just when the man charged in under the cover of his distraction, his eyes narrowed into pinpricks. The counterattack of his opponent came faster than he imagined, almost as if preempted!

  Growing rger and rger in his eyes were crescents of water radiating biting cold sharpness!

  To make matters worse, there were enough sshes rending the air to weave a vast net encompassing his location, leaving no room to dodge!