195: Are you waiting for someone? Sorry, I'm waiting for your person too.

Perhaps to kill Zhi He, Ye Xiao's Fireball had a temporary gap.

It was this momentary gap that allowed the legion guards who had just rushed out of the city to witness Zhi He exploding into pieces.

In an instant, everyone's footsteps stopped in unison.

"Commander!"

"Commander!"

"Oh my God! Commander, the Commander is actually dead!!!"

"How is this possible? The Commander is a Level 180 Assassin; in the past, no one could even get close to him. How could he die?"

"No, how could the opponent be only one person? That Fireball just now clearly wasn't something one person could do!"

"I know! He is Night Shadow!"

"Hiss! That's right, that explains it. Night Shadow's signature skill is the Sea of Fireballs!"

...As someone recognized Ye Xiao's identity, gasps of surprise came from all over the City Lord's Mansion gate.

Although these people were not Zhi Family disciples, as legion guards under the Zhi Family, their understanding of Night Shadow was greater than that of the outside world.

They had clearly heard of his terrifying strength.

Coupled with Night Shadow's seemingly light blow that shattered Zhi He, the fear in these people's hearts instantly magnified.

At this moment, although Ye Xiao could not hear what these people were saying, he generally knew the situation from their expressions.

Ye Xiao didn't care about this.

Before, perhaps Ye Xiao would have slightly considered the opponent's high-level combat power, and thus would not easily expose his whereabouts.

But ever since he gained a lot of benefits in the Xiling Ruins, his combat power had soared dramatically.

Continuing to deliberately hide his whereabouts, wouldn't that be an insult to his current combat power?

Anyway, Ye Xiao had no intention of hiding his identity when he came today.

From the first day he entered the Eternal World until today, as long as he showed even a little amazing performance, the Eight Great Families would rely on their power, always presumptuously wanting to decide and arrange his life.

He merely refused their recruitment, and in return, he faced their exclusion and revenge.

Not only did they let a group of juniors conspire to ambush him on the Path of Exile.

They even used power in reality to force him to show up.

If it weren't for Ye Xiao's quick wit and rapid increase in combat power, he might have truly suffered a setback in reality.

Afterward, the Zhao Family, upon discovering his extraordinary potential, did not hesitate to send thirteen Eight-Turn Professionals to encircle and intercept him.

And these days, he deliberately kept a low profile, only wanting to level up and strengthen his combat power in peace.

Even so, conflicts with the Zhi Family still arose one after another.

But these conflicts could have been avoided.

Ye Xiao had also come to understand that whether he hid his identity or not, as long as he was in the Eternal World, he could not avoid conflicts with the Eight Great Families.

Or rather, not just the Eight Great Families.

As long as it involved interests, these forces that had existed for nearly a hundred years would not let go; they could abandon their shame and bottom line for profit.

This was the way of survival for these forces.

Although Ye Xiao understood, it didn't mean he would accept it.

Especially when the hands of these forces reached out to him, he could not possibly not resist.

He had endured the Eight Great Families for a long time.

Today was a good opportunity to vent the frustration in his heart.

Thinking of this, Ye Xiao raised his hand again.

Fireball!

In an instant, thousands of Fireballs transformed into fierce beasts, raining down overwhelmingly.

The entire area outside the City Lord's Mansion turned into a sea of fire in the blink of an eye.

Scorching heat waves spread outwards.

Soon, the air within a hundred meters radius carried a trace of heat.

This heat greatly startled a group of onlookers who had just arrived.

"What terrifying Fireballs! The entire outer perimeter has become a sea of fire. It seems the Zhi Family is truly angry."

"This is normal. Although the outcome is obvious, after all these years, this is the first time someone has dared to attack the City Lord's Mansion. It's a loss of face, so it would be strange if the Zhi Family wasn't angry."

"Haha! The Zhi Family probably didn't expect such a foolish force."

"Huh? Look, it seems there's only one person left outside the city wall. This battle is too fast, isn't it?"

"Tsk tsk! I rushed here at the first opportunity, but I still didn't make it in time to see who was so brave."

"However, speaking of which, that person looks quite young, but unexpectedly strong. He's the only one left and can still hold on for so long. No wonder he dared to charge the City Lord's Mansion."

"Hey! What's the use of having strength without a brain?"

...An endless stream of Professionals rushed towards the City Lord's Mansion. Upon seeing the swirling Fireballs, they couldn't help but gloat.

Of course, some Professionals among them were somewhat disappointed, but since this was Liyue City, they dared not show such emotions.

However, as more and more people poured in and approached.

A gasp of surprise suddenly erupted from the crowd.

"No! Look quickly, these Fireballs are being released by that person."

"Hmm? What the hell! Am I seeing things?"

"You're not seeing things, I saw it too. What's going on with the Zhi Family? No one came out, letting an unknown enemy provoke them outside?"

"No, didn't you notice that the number of that person's Fireballs is ridiculously high?"

"Hiss! This is..."

...The crowd was stunned.

However, compared to the Eight Great Families, most people here did not know Ye Xiao.

After all, Ye Xiao's previous performances all occurred in the Novice Area.

The Novice Area was of no concern to ordinary people, so naturally, they didn't recognize Ye Xiao's identity immediately.

---

Ye Xiao also noticed the Professionals gathering around.

He didn't care, but focused on continuously bombarding the city wall in front of him.

The moment Zhi He died, those legion members were already scared out of their wits, and one by one they all hid back inside.

As a result, Ye Xiao hadn't gained any experience for several minutes.

This made him very unhappy.

Looking at the city wall in front of him, he found it increasingly an eyesore.

He didn't believe this city wall could block his Fireballs for long.

And just as Ye Xiao thought, as thousands of Fireballs smashed against the city wall, in less than a moment, the city wall in front had already begun to crack.

Seeing this, Ye Xiao immediately perked up, ready to smash the city wall in one go.

The sky full of Fireballs instantly increased.

However, just then.

"Defense Array! Activate!"

The next second, a visible yellow energy shield enveloped the entire City Lord's Mansion.

Ye Xiao's Fireballs were completely blocked just as they were about to hit the city wall.

The yellow energy shield instantly rippled, but it still firmly blocked all of Ye Xiao's Fireballs.

Ye Xiao hadn't yet figured out the origin of this Defense Array.

Not far away, gasps of surprise had already risen one after another.

"Defense Array! The Zhi Family actually activated the Defense Array! Oh my God! Since the Zhi Family took control of Liyue City, this is the first time the Defense Array has been activated, isn't it?"

"This, this, this is too exaggerated. The Zhi Family actually activated the Defense Array because of one person. Today is an eye-opener."

"No, what's going on! Is the Zhi Family not planning to save any face at all? There's only one enemy, so why activate the Defense Array? The Zhi Family's Howling Tiger Legion has at least 1000 people in the City Lord's Mansion, don't they? So many people can't defeat one?"

"Not just these 1000 people, the Commander of the Howling Tiger Legion, Zhi He, also returned recently. He is a Level 180 Assassin, and his assassination record is still 100%. He alone is enough to protect the City Lord's Mansion, so why haven't we seen him?"

"Even if Zhi He left again, what about the other Zhi Family members in the City Lord's Mansion? Aren't there still the Elder Council and the Deacon Hall? They are all top experts of the Zhi Family, so why can't we see any of them?"

...It's unclear if they heard the voices in the crowd.

The moment the Defense Array was activated, several figures suddenly leaped above the city wall.

One of them, upon seeing the lone figure outside the city, shouted furiously: "Night Shadow! You are wanted by the Alliance, instead of hiding, you dare to attack my Zhi Family without reason, killing my Zhi Family disciples. You are seeking death!"

Ye Xiao heard the voice and looked up.

"Finally appeared? You're really slow."

From the other party's tone, Ye Xiao could also tell that these people should be true Zhi Family members, and they had clearly learned of his identity from their subordinate guards.

This Defense Array should have been activated by them.

Ye Xiao, still unwilling to give up, activated Fireball again, but found that he still couldn't break through this strange Defense Array, so he stopped and slowly said:

"You just said 'without reason'? That may not be the case."

The people on the city wall, perhaps knowing of Zhi He's death, did not attack immediately but angrily said: "What do you mean? You are wanted by the Alliance, so it's normal for my Zhi Family to want to capture you. Are you going to go against all of humanity?"

Ye Xiao couldn't help but laugh.

"Alliance wanted? Didn't your Eight Great Families decide that yourselves?"

"Hmph! My Eight Great Families represent the Alliance in discussions. Our decisions represent both the Alliance and the will of all humanity."

Ye Xiao was not surprised by such rhetoric, but he didn't continue to act.

He found that the Zhi Family people must have encountered something.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived so late after he had been fighting at their doorstep for so long.

Since not many people had arrived, and this Defense Array was a bit troublesome, Ye Xiao simply decided to wait longer and, incidentally, consume some of the Defense Array's energy.

With a decision made in his heart, Ye Xiao then curiously asked.

“Speaking of which, I’m a little curious. Since you claim to represent the Alliance, I’d like to know why I’ve been put on a wanted list.”

The Zhi Family members heard Ye Xiao’s question and couldn’t help but sneer.

“Stop playing dumb. You killed dozens of exceptionally talented prodigies in Yun Province. This is a heinous crime against humanity, a consensus within the Alliance. Do you think you can play dumb and get away with it?”

At this moment, the large crowd that had gathered finally understood, through the conversation between the two, the identity of the young man who dared to challenge the Zhi Family’s City Lord’s Mansion alone.

No one had expected that the young man before them would be Night Shadow, the Rookie King of this year, who was also wanted by the Eight Great Families.

Immediately, the murmuring among the crowd grew louder.

This news was simply too explosive.

A wanted man actively seeking out the Alliance that had put him on a wanted list—there could be nothing more preposterous than this.

Ye Xiao felt the commotion around him, and his expression couldn't help but turn strange.

“Prodigies? A bunch of trash who couldn’t even block one of my moves when they ganged up on me, and you call them prodigies?”

“You’re twisting the facts, and that doesn’t explain your brutal nature and indiscriminate killing.”

To the Zhi Family members, Ye Xiao’s words were pure sophistry, yet for a moment, they couldn’t find a reason to refute him.

Yes, indeed! Dozens of people ganging up and still being easily killed by one person—anyone would think those dozens of people were utterly useless.

But in reality, were those people truly trash?

Clearly not; most of them had awakened Talents of A-grade or higher, with many S-grade and SS-grade, and even one SSS-grade Talent awakener among them.

Such a lineup would never be considered trash anywhere.

It could only be said that Night Shadow's strength was truly heaven-defying. They truly didn't know how he managed it.

According to the information, he had only awakened an F-grade Talent.

Upon hearing this response, Ye Xiao immediately sneered.

“If I’m not mistaken, many have been killed in the Path of Exile over the years. Not to mention distant examples, just two years ago, someone there massacred over a dozen rookies. How come your ‘Alliance’ didn’t put him on a wanted list?”

This time, before the other party could answer, Ye Xiao continued, “Oh? My apologies, I remember now. That person was Zhao Hao, from the Zhao Family. I understand.”

Ye Xiao’s sarcastic self-questioning and self-answering immediately left the Zhi Family members present speechless.

Just then, several other figures arrived late, appearing on the city wall.

One of them, hearing Ye Xiao’s words, merely let out a cold snort.

“I am Zhi Boqing, and I will answer your question.”

In fact, when Zhi Boqing first appeared, many in the crowd had already recognized him.

Zhi Boqing, the highest-ranking person in charge of the Zhi Family in Liyue City, responsible for all Zhi Family affairs in the Novice Area.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was the master of Liyue City.

Unexpectedly, he had personally appeared.

This startled quite a few people.

But after recovering, everyone felt relieved.

Someone had already come knocking on their door; at this point, Zhi Boqing’s appearance didn’t seem so surprising.

As the crowd discussed, Zhi Boqing had already continued speaking.

“Regarding what you just said about Zhao Hao killing people, that was because those dozen or so people killed by Zhao Hao had all made a life-and-death pact with him. They were simply not strong enough, so their deaths cannot be blamed on Zhao Hao.”

“As for you, you had no wager, no justifiable reason to kill, and tens of thousands of people witnessed you mercilessly slaughtering people at the slightest disagreement, even when many begged for mercy, you still showed no quarter.”

Pausing, Zhi Boqing’s voice grew even colder.

“The Alliance convicting you is perfectly reasonable and justified.”

Ye Xiao chuckled softly.

“Heh, ‘perfectly reasonable and justified,’ you say. Is it not enough reason that those few people ganged up to kill me down to level 0 and completely erase me?”

Zhi Boqing calmly retorted, “Who can testify for you? Zhao Hao had tens of thousands of people willing to testify for him at the time.”

Ye Xiao nodded, seemingly acknowledging Zhi Boqing’s words.

But the next moment, he said again:

“But weren’t there also many people who exposed the real reason, saying that those people were merely uncooperative with Zhao Hao, which is why they met their demise?”

Upon hearing this, Zhi Boqing remained unhurried.

“Those people were either jealous of Zhao Hao, or they had close ties with the dozen or so who died, or they had a grudge against Zhao Hao himself. Their words don’t count.”

Ye Xiao smiled.

He knew the Eight Great Families were shameless, but he never realized they had perfected shamelessness to such an art.

They even made excuses so casually.

Ye Xiao didn't bother to argue, slowly narrowing his eyes and saying, “Since that’s the case, then couldn’t it also be said that those tens of thousands of people claiming I massacred people, and your Eight Great Families putting me on a wanted list, is because you’re jealous of my potential, worried that I might threaten your descendants in the future, or even threaten you old fogeys?”

“Is it because your families have intricate webs of interest with the families behind those who died?”

“Is it because I refused your recruitment before entering the Path of Exile, causing you to lose face, and you, driven by jealousy and hatred, are now trying to frame me?”

As these words spread, the surrounding commotion instantly fell silent.

No one had expected Ye Xiao to say such a thing.

Although everyone understood what was going on, no one dared to say it aloud.

Unexpectedly, Ye Xiao, in front of so many people, unceremoniously ripped off this fig leaf.

Was he truly intent on a fight to the death? This was simply too crazy.

However, everyone quickly realized that Ye Xiao seemed to have already been in a life-and-death struggle with the Zhao Family, so adding a Zhi Family now didn't seem particularly surprising.

Zhi Boqing, on the other hand, remained expressionless at this point, his voice still indifferent.

“You are merely a rookie with a bit of potential. My Eight Great Families have an abundance of Talent; why would we make such a fuss over an ordinary person like you? My Eight Great Families have produced many people with stronger Talents than yours every year. Your ridiculous claims, I’m afraid even you don’t believe them. Who do you expect to believe them?”

Ye Xiao didn’t immediately answer, but instead stared at the top of the city wall.

He also realized that Zhi Boqing was waiting for someone, waiting for the Zhi Family’s reinforcements to arrive.

However, Ye Xiao was also waiting for someone, and he was also waiting for the Zhi Family’s reinforcements to arrive.

So, the two of them, with a tacit understanding, exchanged a bunch of inane pleasantries.

However, just then, a slight commotion arose from all directions.

Ye Xiao looked up and saw countless figures suddenly emerging from all around.

Roughly, there were at least four or five thousand people.

And judging by the aura emanating from them, these people were all elite-level Professionals in Liyue City.

Their appearance immediately caused a stir.

However, these four or five thousand people did not approach Ye Xiao; instead, they stopped about a hundred meters away from him.

Immediately after, an incredibly synchronized and astonishing energy erupted from everyone simultaneously.

“Wild Lock Formation!”

Thousands of people shouted in unison, their erupting energy soaring straight into the sky.

The next moment, the air around the entire City Lord’s Mansion seemed to become viscous.

At the same time, Zhi Boqing’s face showed an expression for the first time; he burst into laughter.

“Night Shadow, why do you think I had the leisure to argue with you here? I know you have a very strange escape method. I dragged you on for so long precisely for this moment.”

Ye Xiao felt the Wild Lock Formation, and it seemed to have no significant impact on his combat power.

So, he also smiled.

“Then what do you think? Why was I willing to waste time arguing with you here? I was just waiting too.”

“Oh? Waiting for what? Waiting for the Zhou Family’s reinforcements?”

On the city wall, Zhi Boqing smiled faintly, “As expected, still young, too naive. Why do you think I appeared so late? It’s because you’re just an insignificant small fry, merely a puppet used by the Zhou Family as a pawn.”

“Before I even came, I had already led people to uproot the Zhou Family’s influence. The backup you relied on is gone.”

“And now, within this Wild Lock Formation I’ve set up, you have no wings to fly.”

Ye Xiao looked at the sudden appearance of so many people and couldn't help but grin at Zhi Boqing.

“Regarding what you said earlier, there’s one point I’m afraid I need to correct.”

“Oh? What is it?” Zhi Boqing asked nonchalantly.

Ye Xiao shook his head.

“Your misunderstanding of me runs quite deep.”

“Heh heh! With irrefutable evidence, what misunderstanding could there be?”

“No, I’m not referring to that aspect.” Ye Xiao’s smile gradually faded. “I’m referring to your profound misunderstanding of my Talent, my potential, and my current strength.”

Then, under Zhi Boqing’s puzzled gaze, purple light swirled in Ye Xiao’s eyes, his head tilted slightly upwards, and his mouth slowly opened, softly uttering a few subtle notes.

The next instant, the ground beneath Ye Xiao’s feet instantly cracked, and behind him, a colossal Black Dragon phantom emerged in response.

Immediately after, the proud roar unique to the Black Dragon spread out with Ye Xiao as its center, engulfing the area in an instant.

Black Dragon's Wrath!