Four-Square City appeared exactly how its name suggested, a very square-shaped city.
Due to its close proximity to a forest where many magic beasts lived, no one really cared to govern the city, so it was a very lawless place.
But Four-Square City did have someone in charge, and that was the City Lord, who was from the strongest power in the city, the He Clan.
Of those living in the city, there had virtually been no one who hadn’t been oppressed by the He Clan before.
Truthfully, Shi Sheng hadn’t planned on making this place her own when she’d first arrived.
But of course, there just had to be a member of the He Clan just begging to die; he actually attempted to snatch her Sword of Righteousness.
‘Like that’s ever gonna happen! This is what I use to mince people, dammit!’
Of course, the little bastard didn’t manage to steal her sword but instead, got his arm crippled by her in the process. But he actually went and called his old man for back-up.
Her temper having been thoroughly stoked by that point, Shi Sheng went to deal with the He Clan in a burst of fiery anger.
However, since she was still injured, she was now just like everyone else and therefore unable to take another bout of lightning strikes, so she could only employ more exhausting means to take care of the He clan.
Had she not had many items in her space to assist her, she really might have not been their match.
The inhabitants of Four-Square City lived on a knife’s edge nearly every day, so there was no compassion left in them, only endless plundering.
This type of place was Shi Sheng’s favourite.
Here, she didn’t have to care about humanity, conscience, morals, or goodwill.
Here, the winner was king, while the loser was the thief.
Four-Square City had a rule: Whoever killed the City Lord would become the new City Lord.
After Shi Sheng crushed the He Clan, she instantly became the City Lord. But there were always those looking for an easy win. Some reckless people took the opportunity to try and assassinate Shi Sheng, in an attempt to snatch the position of City Lord effortlessly.
“*cough cough*…” Shi Sheng used her sword to support her weight as she coughed, her face pale. Blood leaked out from the corner of her lips.
In front of her stood two men. They were surrounded by fresh blood and piles of corpses that made the place seem like a sura’s battlefield1.
“Lil’ lady, don’t try to act tough. You’re strong, sure, but you’re out of energy right now, aren’t you?” Man No.1 stared at Shi Sheng with a gaze full of ill intent. “You’re actually rather pretty… Be good and call us big bro. Make us happy, and we might just let you live.”
Ever since she’d started doing these missions, she’d never been in such a sorry state.
‘I knew there was a reason I hate marathon battles…’
“Pei!” Shi Sheng swallowed a mouthful of blood and casually wiped away the blood that had trickled out before speaking, “Do you two think yourselves strong or beautiful2 enough to dominate the world? At your current states, you still dared to talk big in front of me!”
Man No.1’s expression twisted in rage and he was about to snarl back at her when Man No.2 suddenly pulled him back. “Lil’ lady, there’s no point in being all talk but no walk.”
“Oh.” Shi Sheng’s lips curled into a smile and ripples started appearing in those usually calm eyes; a sight both sinister and terrifying. “Then I’ll just… teach you to start anew3.”
Shi Sheng’s figure flashed as she charged over and swung her sword at them.
The two hadn’t expected Shi Sheng to still have strength left, but after they got over their surprise, they immediately made a move to counter her attack.
In their hearts, they were thinking, ‘Even if she still has some strength left, it has to be the last vestiges!’
But they soon discovered just how wrong they were.
Other than her face being pale, she didn’t display any signs of weakening or overuse of spirit energy.
The two men started slowly losing strength. ‘Something’s very off about this woman!’
Man No.2 was already having thoughts of retreat. ‘If this continues, I’ll surely die sooner or later!’
Shi Sheng’s sword was just about to reach him when he suddenly grabbed Man No.1 and quickly shoved him onto Shi Sheng’s sword while he himself ran away.
Shi Sheng’s sword pierced straight through Man No. 1. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that he would die due to a friend.
The expression of ridicule and faint ruthlessness on the girl’s exquisite visage was the last thing he saw before everything faded to black.
“See? I told you I’d teach you guys how to start anew. Don’t worry, your friend’s going to be joining you down there in a bit.” Shi Sheng tugged her sword out of his body and chased after the other man.
Just as Man No.2 was about to leave the premises of the City Lord’s mansion, he felt a coldness at his back. When he looked down, there was a hard object piercing through his chest.
His body suddenly toppled over, collapsing against the gates to the mansion. The blade cut up his insides, causing a grating noise whenever it scraped against bone.
That noise was like music heralding his impending death. Everything started fading to nothingness. Light footsteps could be heard coming from behind him; barely noticeable, yet they seemed to be stepping directly on his heart.
He heard the girl speak lightly, “Don’t be a human in your next life. It’s too tiring.”
Shi Sheng jerked her sword out from the man’s lifeless corpse before plopping down onto the ground, without caring for her image. She panted as a fiery pain burned her insides.
Her expression was very twisted and it took a while for it to ease back to normal. She lay back onto the ground.
‘If anyone else comes now, I’m(bbb) dead. Killing people is such an energy-consuming task… I wish I could kill people with just a thought.’
[Host, please do not let your imagination run too wild.] System suddenly spoke out of nowhere.
Shi Sheng simply ignored it. System didn’t continue speaking.
Shi Sheng laid down amidst the piles of corpses scattered on the bloodstained floor, appearing to be just another of their number at first glance.
Soon, night fell. Moonlight streamed past the canopy to illuminate the ground, giving the City Lord’s mansion a sinister atmosphere.
The night was peaceful.
Since she’d already dealt with all the trouble that came with killing the former City Lord, Shi Sheng figured she might as well take the position that came with it, else all her effort would go to waste.
Having survived the waves of people trying to kill her, Shi Sheng had undoubtedly proven her strength. Therefore, the inhabitants of Four-Square City had tacitly acknowledged her as their new City Lord.
Ever since Shi Sheng had taken over the position of City Lord, Four-Square City turned into an even more lawless place. She was the only person even living in the new City Lord’s mansion, and she didn’t give a shit about governing.
The only times the inhabitants got to see their City Lord was when she was on her occasional saunters through the streets. Without anyone to properly govern the place, was it any wonder that Four-Square City fell into chaos?
It was commonplace to see daylight robbery on major streets of the city now.
However, during these last few days, Four-Square City was even livelier than usual. The number of people streaming in had increased quite a bit, resulting in an increase in income for those lowlifes looking to make a quick coin.
……
Qin Langyue and Jiang Mu were stopped by some people before they could enter Four-Square City.
While Shi Sheng was gone, Qin Langyue hadn’t had it easy back at the Academy. People continued harassing her, and she was always followed by an ‘idiot’ who did nothing but cause even more trouble for her.
The reason she came to Four-Square City was for the rare treasure that was soon to appear.
Qin Langyue had learned about this from Zhong Shiyi. The Academy would soon send their people here, but Qin Langyue decided to arrive first.
“New here? You gotta pay a protection fee to enter the city. Hurry up and hand over all your valuables!” The slovenly dressed youths whistled and catcalled as they spoke those classic robber lines.
Although the number of people who arrived had increased, there were few they actually dared to act against. After all, most of the visitors travelled in groups and were from the great clans.
They didn’t dare to touch those kinds of people.
Yet standing in front of them now was only a young man and woman travelling together; was there any way they’d be willing to give up this opportunity?
“Move aside.” Qin Langyue snapped with a cold face.
“Yo, looks like the lil lass’ a feisty one!” The youths laughed. “This is Four-Square City, not those places on the outside. Don’t even think about entering without paying a protection fee!”
“Seeking death!” Jiang Mu’s aura immediately strengthened, but before he could make a move, someone ran over from afar and shouted.
“City Lord’s orders: shut the gates! From today onwards, no one is allowed into Four-Square City!”
“City Lord’s orders: shut the gates! From today onwards, no one is allowed into Four-Square City!”