Xiao Yi and his group quietly blended in after breaking up into individuals.
Although the inspections at the city gates had become more strict and careful, for Xiao Yi and the others, disguising themselves and slipping in was a piece of cake. The only difficulty was that hundreds of people had to enter in batches, which took up most of the day.
Liu Yi had already scouted the situation inside the city; the city lord's mansion was located in the north of the city.
City Lord Bo Pu was a seventh-layer expert of the Dharma Manifestation Realm.
He positioned the vast majority of his military forces to the south, guarding against the armies of the Great Qian Dynasty attacking from the direction of the Southern Ice City.
Under the cover of night.
Xiao Yi and the others regrouped outside the city lord's mansion and said in a low voice, "Out of fifty thousand guards, thirty thousand are in the south, eight thousand each in the east and west, and only four thousand in the north. Once we break into the city lord's mansion, we'll have only half an incense stick of time to loot the spoils before we must break through to the north.
"Liu Yi, take four hundred brothers and lie in ambush to the north to assist us; Little Lin, go to the south and block the southern guards from reinforcing, try your best to buy us time," Xiao Yi instructed as he drew routes and several ambush points on the ground.
All nodded their heads, indicating their understanding.
They were the elite of the military.
Such simple tactics were naturally no challenge for them.
Xiao Yi glanced at the time and said, "Action at the stroke of midnight!"
The people dispersed to their respective tasks.
Xiao Yi led over a hundred people lying in ambush outside the city lord's mansion.
As the night deepened and peace prevailed.
A black cloud loomed over the sky, concealing Ming Yue and rendering the night exceptionally quiet and dark, where one couldn't see their own hand in front of them—a perfect moment for murdering and plundering, for robbing the rich to aid the poor.
Xiao Yi led the charge with his men, storming into the city lord's mansion.
They encountered the mansion's guards and fierce fighting broke out.
With the strength of Xiao Yi and his team, these guards didn't stand a chance, falling to a single blow each. However, their numbers were great, and as a signal arrow whistled through the air, a fiery red orb hovered above the city lord's mansion.
The entire garrison of Fengyue City was alerted, converging towards the city lord's mansion.
Little Lin and Liu Yi had already lain in ambush, and fierce fighting erupted in an instant.
Little Lin, on its own, reverted to its true form, a gigantic body rampaging through, facing twenty thousand of the reinforcing southern guards. Yet with invincible might, it swept aside everything in its path. Liu Yi in the north too led his men sniping at the reinforcing troops.
Xiao Yi had already emptied the city lord's mansion treasury, and looking at the long-dead Bo Pu kneeling on the ground, Xiao Yi's face was devoid of emotion. With a sweep of his hand, he lifted a huge stone from the front courtyard.
Using his finger as a brush, he began inscribing on the stone.
At the front of the city lord's mansion.
City Lord Bo Pu knelt lifelessly on the ground, and beside him lay a blood-stained stele with seven bold characters wildly inscribed on it—"Murderer, Great Qian Xiao Yi!"
With a shout from Xiao Yi, he led his men in a mad dash towards the distance.
Little Lin received the signal, opening its mouth to spit out two thunderous orbs of lightning, blowing away hundreds of people amid thunderous roars. A flap of its wings turned it into a golden streak of light, heading towards the north.
Little Lin joined up with Xiao Yi and the others, as they mounted its back and sped away into the sky.
The Fengyue City guards tried to pursue but quickly lost track of Little Lin, retreating begrudgingly. And other strong figures in the city failed to react in time, the fray already over.
When they learned that the stele outside the city lord's mansion bore the words "Murderer, Great Qian Xiao Yi," they beat their chests and stamped their feet, having missed out on the trillion bounty by a hair's breadth.
In a valley located two hundred li north of Fengyue City.
Xiao Yi and his companions were dividing the spoils: "This time, we've looted a total of five hundred million Silver Taels worth of silver, not to mention various Spiritual Medicines, finished elixirs, and Yuan weapons, all totaling more than one billion Silver Taels. These medicinal ingredients are mine, and the silver and Yuan weapons are for the brothers to share!"
Xiao Yi selected some Spiritual Medicines and elixirs for his cultivation, and distributed the rest among his companions.
With the help of the Elixir Cauldron, he once again refined the elixirs.
Xiao Yi's cultivation was now a step closer to the fifth layer of the Dharma Manifestation Realm. Looking up at Liu Yi and the others, he found them staring at him with eager eyes and couldn't help but laugh and cry: "What are you all doing?"
Liu Yi rubbed his hands together and smiled: "The brothers are all wondering, which city are we going to hit next?"
Xiao Yi rolled his eyes.
Indeed, this pillaging was addictive!
The corners of Xiao Yi's mouth subtly curved upward, and pointing northwards, he said, "Our next target is that..."
In the following days.
The southern parts of the Sword Dynasty were plunged into misery. In just three days, Xiao Yi and his group had plundered eight cities. Each city was left with the city lord's mansion looted clean, and after each pillaging, Xiao Yi would leave a stele next to the corpse of the city lord.
The stele still bore those seven words—Murderer, Great Qian Xiao Yi!
All the city lords in the Sword Dynasty were living in fear, hiding in secret rooms even during the night, or having heavy guards stationed outside their bedrooms. Some city lords even abandoned their city defenses, redeploying all soldiers to protect their personal safety in the city lord's mansion.
Once this news spread, it shocked all directions.
The Sword Emperor was so furious that he beat several high-ranking officials who pleaded for those city lords to death right in the Golden Throne Hall.
The name Xiao Yi became known across four nations.
"Dean, up ahead is Beifeng City. This city is the wealthiest in the southern part of the Sword Dynasty. Shall we make it our next target?" Liu Yi's face was full of excitement, bolstered by the elixirs and treasures looted in these past few days.
His cultivation had become more stable, and had it not been for the fear of precipitating a heavenly tribulation and causing calamity during the breakthrough, he would have already stepped into the Dharma Manifestation Realm.
The cultivation of the others had also improved significantly.
After each city was cleaned out, he would take the Spiritual Medicines and elixirs suitable for himself. Now, his cultivation had risen to the fifth layer of the Dharma Manifestation Realm, with the number of God Sealing Seeds increased to two hundred and forty million.
His combat power had increased by more than several times!
Xiao Yi glanced at the city looming ahead, and said indifferently, "Turn around, on to the next city!"
"Dean, why is that? Even if we rob five more ordinary cities, they might not be as profitable as a single Beifeng City…" Everyone looked at him in bewilderment.
Xiao Yi said coldly, "It's an order!"
Everyone opened their mouths but didn't dare to speak further.
Xiao Yi immediately led his people in a change of direction, bypassing Beifeng City and darting towards the next city. As news of their plundering the next city spread, Wang Yanzhao, who had been lying in wait within Beifeng City, suddenly sighed, "Great Qian Xiao Yi, you're truly terrifying!"
"General, what should we do?"
"Should we pursue them?"
Wang Yanzhao narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, "Pursue to the north, we must capture Xiao Yi and his group!"
Wang Yanzhao, leading an imposing army out of Beifeng City, was unaware that their every move had been observed by Xiao Yi and his companions, who were lying in ambush.
His lips curling up slightly, he revealed a sly, cold smile: "Beifeng City, I've got you in the bag!"