As soon as the magic staff appeared, Demon Thirteen held it and gently swiped his right hand.
Fierce winds stirred, and raging flames swept through the entire courtyard, setting it ablaze.
The three opponents were shocked. The old man stabbed a dry piece of wood into the ground, which immediately grew into a towering tree, rich with spiritforce, shielding him completely.
The burly middle-aged man was surrounded by golden light, with the sound of lion roars echoing faintly. His muscles bulged, exuding a powerful aura.
As for the child, a red mark appeared on his forehead. He now had two heads, laughing eerily, surrounded by countless ghostly faces, chilling to behold.
As the firestorm swept in, the three of them roared.
“Heaven-Burning Demonic Fire,” Demon Thirteen snorted.
In an instant, the sea of fire turned pitch-black, like dark ink covering half the sky.
Crackling sounds came from the flames.
Before the three could even scream, they were completely consumed.
The surrounding courtyard was burned to ashes. After killing them, Demon Thirteen pointed his staff at the queen, intending to strike her down too.
Just as she was about to die, a massive hand reached out from the void and clashed with the magic staff.
With a loud boom, the surrounding space shattered.
Demon Thirteen was forced back half a step, while a muffled grunt came from the void, and that space collapsed entirely.
With just one move, the difference in strength was obvious.
“Enough!” A cold shout echoed out.
At the courtyard entrance, a man in a green robe walked in, flanked by two guards. His stride was confident and powerful.
The man’s gaze was stern, his face slightly sunken, his eyes like a hawk's, piercing and intense.
He had a long black beard and radiated the natural aura of someone used to commanding others.
“What’s going on here?” the man asked with a frown.
Then, from the cracked void, the person who had blocked Demon Thirteen emerged, an old man in a wide green robe, standing quietly behind him.
“Husband!” The shocked queen finally regained her senses and cried out. She pointed at Xu Zimo in fear and said, “He tried to kill me.”
“So you can try to kill me, but I’m not allowed to fight back?” Xu Zimo chuckled.
“Who are you?” the High King of Supreme Tower asked, eyes narrowing.
“You should ask your wife,” Xu Zimo replied.
This man was the ruler of Tower City. But to clarify, though Supreme Tower had risen through Tower City, it also governed Tower City in return.
So while the High King of Supreme Tower managed the city, he was only a part of the Supreme Tower Faction, not its ruler.
The queen whispered a few words into the king’s ear.
“Ridiculous,” the High King of Supreme Tower snorted and scolded her. “Since when do you make decisions in my royal household? If Hong’er had a problem, let him deal with it. Why are you interfering?”
“I was just worried his mental state might be affected,” the queen said nervously, lowering her head.
“Mr. Xu, I apologize on her behalf,” the High King of Supreme Tower said sincerely. “She’s just a mother worried for her child. I hope you won’t hold it against her. Why not join me for a banquet as a form of apology?”
“No need for a banquet. I just hope this doesn’t happen again,” Xu Zimo waved his hand and said calmly.
“If it does, she dies. Anyone who gets in my way dies too.”
With that, he turned and left with Demon Thirteen.
The High King of Supreme Tower watched his back, eyes narrowing slightly but saying nothing.
“Husband, I didn’t mean to cause trouble,” the queen said cautiously.
“I know. But those enforcers were summoned by me,” the king replied calmly. “You think they’d obey you without my orders?”
“Then earlier...?” she asked, surprised.
“Hong’er is our best hope to compete for Heaven's Will in this generation,” the king said. “He was suddenly defeated, and I wanted to see who this young man really was. I couldn’t step in personally, things would’ve escalated. So I used you as a cover. I just didn’t expect to lose three of our top enforcers for nothing.”
“Then why not keep him here?” she asked.
The king smiled faintly and shook his head. “Go back now.”
Once the queen left, he turned to the old man and asked, “What happened?”
“He’s very strong,” the elder replied, lifting his blackened right hand, which was corroded with faint demonic energy.
“Unless our patriarch steps in, no one in Tower City can stop him.”
“Find out who he is. For now, leave it be,” the king said. “I’ll report this to Supreme Tower.”
After leaving the royal mansion, Xu Zimo went to the center of Tower City to get a travel pass.
The registration area was a large hall with three long lines.
Many were heading to Void Valley. Unlike other forbidden lands, where survival was uncertain, this one still drew risk-takers.
By afternoon, Xu Zimo had his pass.
It didn’t require much, but the annoying part was that the pass was single-use. If you wanted to go again, you had to apply all over.
“You’ll stay in Tower City,” Xu Zimo told Demon Thirteen. “Tonight, take care of the queen, then come join me in Void Valley.”
“Why not kill her earlier?” Demon Thirteen asked.
“Killing her would make me an enemy of Supreme Tower. I don’t fear them, but I don’t want to waste time before reaching the valley,” Xu Zimo replied. “Besides, wiping out Supreme Tower brings me no gain. Killing the queen is just a warning to the king.”
“I understand,” Demon Thirteen nodded.
After saying goodbye, Xu Zimo didn’t linger. He began heading toward Void Valley.
Night Terror, the beast pulling the carriage, could navigate there on its own once given directions.
Tower City was far from Void Valley, but Xu Zimo wasn’t in a rush. He sat quietly in the carriage, cultivating and reflecting.
As the sun set, casting its golden glow, Xu Zimo’s silhouette gradually disappeared into the distant horizon.