86: Using Heping Town as the boundary

Great Elder stood rooted to the spot, watching Old Wu and Old Qian, those two Old Foxes, slip away like grease on their heels, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

He was so angry his beard bristled, and his old face flushed crimson.

"You two old fools! Weren't you quite formidable when you were Great Elders back then? Now you run faster than rabbits!"

Great Elder roared at the empty doorway.

His roar echoed through the council hall, but there was no reply.

Great Elder slumped onto a chair, rubbing his throbbing temples, muttering incessantly.

"A bunch of scoundrels, all dumping their mess on me!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and he slammed his hand on the table.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have taken this hot potato! Old Wu said something about 'young people needing more experience,' and Old Qian hypocritically said, 'the more capable should do more'!"

"Nonsense! They clearly saw that I was easy to bully!"

Great Elder gritted his teeth.

He angrily pulled out the flask he carried with him and took a big swig.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat, but it couldn't extinguish the anger in his heart.

"The Dean ran the fastest, and the two former Great Elders weren't slow either."

Great Elder ticked them off on his fingers.

"That kid Iron Punishment just knows how to practice his broken saber techniques all day, and the other Inner Academy Elders hide in the library pretending to be dead."

The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded, like a bullied daughter-in-law.

"So, in the entire Jia Nan Academy, I'm the only one worrying about these troublesome matters, right?"

Just then, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door.

Great Elder immediately straightened his back, putting on a dignified appearance.

"Great Elder! This is bad! Peace Town is fighting again!"

A young deacon rushed in, flustered.

Great Elder's face instantly fell, and he sighed with an expression of utter despair.

"What sin have I committed!"

He slowly stood up, muttering as he walked out.

"When I find a successor, I'll definitely dump this wretched position."

But as soon as he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped, looked back at the empty council hall, and a cunning smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, right, doesn't that kid Iron Punishment always want to be the Great Elder? Hehe..."

As he was thinking, the sounds of fighting from afar grew louder.

Great Elder frowned and quickened his pace towards Peace Town.

When he arrived at the scene, the sight before him made him not know whether to laugh or cry.

Iron Punishment was seen holding his nine-ringed great saber, sitting calmly in a grand armchair, while the leaders of various Black-Corner Region forces around him were arguing, their faces red with anger.

"Nonsense! Your Mysterious Yin Cult was just cozying up with the Blood Demon Sect last time!"

Li Tianxiong, the leader of the Crimson Fiend Gate, slammed the table and pointed at Nine Yin Old Woman's nose, cursing loudly.

"Heh! How much better is your Crimson Fiend Gate? This old woman personally saw your people deliver gifts to the Blood Demon Sect!"

Nine Yin Old Woman sneered sinisterly.

Iron Punishment slowly took a sip of tea and interjected at the opportune moment.

"If you ask me, which of you Black-Corner Region forces isn't a master of duplicity?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene instantly erupted into chaos.

"Nonsense! Our Mad Blade Alliance has always been open and aboveboard!"

Chu Kuang thumped his chest, assuring them, but secretly kicked the blood-stained saber at his feet behind him.

"Oh, please!"

A mercenary group leader next to him scoffed.

"Last month, you even teamed up with the Blood Demon Sect to rob a caravan!"

"You're talking —"

Before he could finish, Chu Kuang's great saber was already unsheathed.

The person opposite him was not to be outdone, grabbing his weapon and charging forward.

In a flash, the entire Peace Town square became a battlefield for a massive melee.

These Black-Corner Region bigwigs, who usually called each other brothers, were now fighting fiercely to show their loyalty in front of Iron Punishment!

Iron Punishment leaned back comfortably in his grand armchair and smiled at the arriving Great Elder.

"Great Elder, look, aren't they quite self-aware? We don't even need to lift a finger; they're cleaning up their own house."

Great Elder's mouth twitched, looking at the absurd scene before him.

Nine Yin Old Woman's bone staff was chasing Li Tianxiong, striking him fiercely; Chu Kuang's great saber and the mercenary group's axe clanged loudly. Further away, the leaders of several smaller forces, to show their loyalty, had already begun exposing each other's secrets...

"These idiots, to save their lives, have thrown away their last shred of dignity."

Great Elder rubbed his forehead helplessly.

Iron Punishment smiled meaningfully.

"Isn't this just right? Let them fight among themselves; it saves us the trouble."

Saying that, he patted the nine-ringed great saber at his waist, which had been stained with countless blood.

"When they're tired of fighting, it'll be our turn to 'uphold justice'."

When the melee in the square gradually subsided, the ground was littered with fallen weapons and torn clothes, and the Black-Corner Region bigwigs were all bruised, swollen, and ragged, slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.

Great Elder then slowly cleared his throat, coughing twice.

"Gentlemen..."

These two light words, however, made everyone present instantly straighten their backs, even holding their breath.

"Jia Nan Academy is not interested in your past troubles with the Blood Demon Sect."

Great Elder stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over every fearful face.

"We just want to let you know!"

He deliberately drew out his tone, watching these usually arrogant experts nervously swallow their saliva.

"Behind our Jia Nan Academy, there is a Five-Star Dou Zun Expert overseeing things! In the future, anyone who wants to lay a hand on Jia Nan Academy had better weigh their own capabilities first!"

Great Elder suddenly raised his voice.

These words were like a heavy hammer, making everyone present dizzy.

Five-Star Dou Zun!

That was an existence that could walk sideways in the Black-Corner Region!

A casual move could crush these guys, who were at most Dou Zong level, like ants!

"From now on, this Peace Town will be the dividing line between Jia Nan Academy and the Black-Corner Region. Those who cross the line..."

Great Elder pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

He didn't finish, but everyone understood the unspoken meaning.

Surprisingly, after hearing this, these Black-Corner Region bigwigs all, without prior agreement, showed expressions of relief.

"That's great!"

Li Tianxiong almost cried tears of joy.

"So it's just drawing a territorial boundary!"

"I thought we were going to be completely wiped out!"

Nine Yin Old Woman patted her chest, and her bone staff even dropped to the ground.

Chu Kuang even knelt down directly.

"Thank you, Great Elder, for your mercy! Our Mad Blade Alliance guarantees we will never cross the line!"

These reactions made Great Elder not know whether to laugh or cry.

It seemed Mang Tianchi's deterrent power was indeed astonishing; these usually lawless fellows were now as docile as house cats.

"Alright, now get out of here."

Great Elder waved his hand.

"Remember what was said today."

As soon as his voice fell, these Black-Corner Region experts immediately scrambled and crawled away, fearing that if they were a step too slow, they would be casually crushed by the Dou Zun Expert hidden in the dark.

Iron Punishment walked up to Great Elder, looked at the fleeing, embarrassed figures, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Great Elder, do you think they are now celebrating that they can still return alive?"

Great Elder snorted.

"If it weren't for the Dean's orders, this old man would really want to ~"

He made a throat-slitting gesture, a hint of cold light flashing in his eyes.

In the distance, those frantically fleeing Black-Corner Region experts all shivered in unison and ran even faster.

From today onwards, the three words "Peace Town" will become the deepest fear in the hearts of all forces in the Black-Corner Region.