Cloud Margin Pavilion.
This place was much more desolate compared to the past; the traffic had reduced by more than half. An organization that originally seemed so powerful and mighty now seemed so bleak. They didn't look like an organization trying to advance into a tier-4 organization, but rather a declining tier-3 organization.
Why?
The answer was obvious: Linggu Haonan's group.
Back then, Linggu Haonan's group had appeared and beaten up Lightning Emperor who had just broken through, giving the Cloud Margin Pavilion a hard slap on the face. They had also forced many Cloud Margin Pavilion Emperors to show themselves, yet a large number of their outer disciples had still ended up killed.
If Du Xuanhao the Saber Emperor and Chen Jiayan had not arrived, the Cloud Margin Pavilion would have suffered even more. As a result, fear enveloped the entirety of Cloud Margin Pavilion, and many elders were looking for excuses to receive a mission away from the pavilion.
A lot of overseers and disciples had also quietly withdrawn from the pavilion, returning to where they had come from. They were all terrified that those dreadful experts would suddenly return and eliminate all of them. One could say that the incident had harmed the Cloud Margin Pavilion's very foundation.
If Murong Qing, the previous generation pavilion master, had not subsequently declared that all who had attacked them had been dealt with, they would have lost even more members. As for those who had some sort of relationship with Xiang Shaoyun, different fates had befallen each of them.
Xia Liuhui had previously been accepted as the last disciple of an elder who had been in seclusion for a long time. But after that incident, the elder had expelled him. If Zi Changhe, who had just broken through into the King Realm and was experiencing a growth of status in the pavilion, hadn't given him shelter, he would have been forced to leave the pavilion as well.
As for Lu Xiaoqing, who had been accepted by a previous generation vice pavilion master as a personal disciple, her master had brought her away after the incident, and both of them had been missing ever since then.
Even Gong Qinyin only found out about that after they were gone. She wanted to seek her master's help to look for Lu Xiaoqing, but since Hua Cheng was recuperating in seclusion, she was left helpless.
Recently, there was news that Lightning Emperor was slowly recovering. Those close to his faction were all busy thinking of ways to flatter him. One of them was an elder called Nan Huai, and he had just arrived at Zi Changhe's estate with more than 10 people looking for trouble.
This was an elder who had always been affiliated with the Lightning Emperor. With a cultivation level of fourth-stage Skysoar Realm, he wasn't anything special among the various elders. But after the Linggu Haonan incident, the situation within the pavilion had changed, and his status had grown considerably.
Zi Changhe went outside his estate and asked, "Elder Nan Huai, what are you doing?"
"Hmph. Three days have passed. Why are all of you still here? Leave the pavilion! Are you staying here to await your death?" said Nan Huai with a sneer.
"Why should we leave? Is this the command of the pavilion master?" Zi Changhe asked.
"It is not the pavilion master's command, but it is Lord Lightning Emperor's. The people in your estate are all related to Xiang Shaoyun. If you don't leave by today, all of you will be executed as traitors!" Elder Nan Huai threatened.
Zi Changhe's face turned unsightly. Although he was already a King, he was still too weak to resist a veteran King like Elder Nan Huai. More importantly, the elder was backed by Lightning Emperor. Even though Zi Changhe was part of the vice pavilion master's, Tian Xu's, faction, he still couldn't contend against him.
"Fine, we'll leave," said Zi Changhe after some hesitation.
After all, there was no longer a place for them in the Cloud Margin Pavilion.
"That's a smart choice," said Elder Nan Huai smugly.
Zi Changhe then returned to the estate and called Wang Zhenchuan and Xia Liuhui over before telling them, "Pack up. We will be leaving the Cloud Margin Pavilion."
Both Wang Zhenchuan and Xia Liuhui were now Transformation Realm cultivators, and the bearing about them had changed considerably compared to the past. Both of them seemed to have seen it coming. Looks of disappointment appeared on their faces as they nodded silently before going off to pack up in preparation to leave with Zi Changhe.
They had just left the estate when someone suddenly appeared up in the sky. A loud roar rang out in the air, "If all three of you commit suicide here, you will be allowed to die with your corpse intact."
A person then shot down from the sky like a bolt of lightning. This person was the disciple of Lightning Emperor, Young Lightning King Zi Poli. With a weapon in hand and a murderous intent surging out of him, he emanated an oppressive aura as he gazed sharply at them.
"Greetings, Young Lightning King," Nan Huai and the others quickly greeted him respectfully.
Young Lightning King did not even bother sparing them a glance. Rather, he shouted at Zi Changhe, Wang Zhenchuan, and Xia Liuhui, "Are you deaf?"
"Young Lightning King, are you really going to do this?" asked Zi Changhe as he tightened his grip on his spear.
"Hmph, all three of you are related to Xiang Shaoyun. He is the reason my master suffered such disgrace. All of you need to die to vent my master's anger. If you are smart, kill yourself. If I have to do it myself, you won't even have your corpses intact when I'm done," demanded Young Lightning King.
Looking at the people before him, despair filled Zi Changhe's heart. He couldn't even rely on his master's help, and in truth, his master had gone missing as well. Even if his master was present, he still wouldn't have been able to do anything. Young Lightning King was an influential person, and apart from the pavilion master, nobody could suppress him.
"Spare the two children. I will kill myself," said Zi Changhe resolutely after some hesitation.
"Master (Elder Zi), no!" both Wang Zhenchuan and Xia Liuhui called out in alarm.
"You are not qualified to talk terms with me. All three of you need to die. Alright, I'm a busy man, and I don’t have the time for this. On the count of three, if you are still standing, I will have to do it myself," said Young Lightning King coldly.
"Fine, you leave me with no choice. Let me see just how strong the Young Lightning King is," said Zi Changhe as his spear shot out and sent a howling elder wolf flying toward Young Lightning King.
After cultivating the cultivation method Xiang Shaoyun had given him, Zi Changhe's combat prowess had increased considerably. That stab of his was equivalent to the attack of a late first-stage Skysoar Realm expert.
But it was far from enough to face Young Lightning King. Young Lightning King dodged to the side before sending a palm attack at Zi Changhe's chest. The attack sent Zi Changhe flying several dozen meters away and coughing up blood.
"Master (Elder Zi)!" both Wang Zhenchuan and Xia Liuhui cried out in alarm.
They immediately ran toward Zi Changhe when Young Lightning King attacked again, shouting, "I'll send you two dogs on your way to the afterlife!"
Right this moment, a bright figure appeared in the sky above them. A furious voice rang out, "If they are dogs, then you are lower than a dog!"