Chapter 614: Intimidation

When that voice, brimming with murderous aura and overwhelming might, rang out from the butcher's cleaver, the entire rooftop fell deathly silent. Apart from Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge, everyone's gaze was fixed in abject terror on the cleaver that had torn through the air and, in a single slash, severed half of Xu Xu Tianling's palm—this Da Tian Xiang Jing powerhouse.

No one had expected that a Marquis-level powerhouse would suddenly intervene in the matter here.

And this Marquis-level powerhouse clearly belonged to Li Luo's side!

When did the House Luolan Mansion gain another mysterious Marquis-level powerhouse standing guard?!

Yuan Qing, Lu Qing, and Lü Guan—these House Luolan Mansion's honored guests and pavilion masters—all stared in utter shock, because even they had not known that, apart from the two Mansion Lords, there existed another Marquis-level powerhouse within House Luolan Mansion.

But why had this Marquis-level powerhouse never shown himself to intimidate enemies both within and without during House Luolan Mansion's most precarious times? If a Marquis-level powerhouse had been holding things down back then, none of the upheavals and chaos could possibly have occurred.

The three of them were filled with doubt and incomprehension.

But for Yuan Qing, surprise outweighed the rest. Although he did not know this Marquis-level powerhouse's origins, since the man had stepped in to protect the Young Mansion Lord, he naturally belonged to the House Luolan Mansion headquarters faction. This was absolutely tremendous news.

Unlike his pleasant surprise, Manager Pei Hao, Elder Mo Chen, and the other three pavilion masters now wore exceedingly ugly expressions. The latter three in particular had panicked looks in their eyes; they had already scrambled to their feet, retreating step after step, their very heels trembling.

That was a Marquis-level powerhouse!

With but a single thought, the three of them would likely drop dead on the spot.

Damn it—how could House Luolan Mansion still have a Marquis-level powerhouse?!

The three of them now felt very much like stray dogs chased from home.

Xu Xu Tianling clutched the stump of his severed palm. Icy phase force surged as he tried to stanch the bleeding, but he quickly realized it was futile—a terrifying power lingered at the wound, corroding flesh and blood, making it impossible for his phase force to dispel it swiftly. He could only endure the searing agony head-on.

He understood that this power was the dual-phase force of a Marquis-level powerhouse. Although he had now advanced into the Da Tian Xiang Jing, the gap between him and a Marquis-level powerhouse remained as vast as a chasm.

Tomato

Xu Xu Tianling raised his head, gazing at the butcher's cleaver hovering above Li Luo. His voice was hoarse as he said, "So House Luolan Mansion truly has been hiding a Marquis-level powerhouse."

Although the other pavilion masters knew nothing of House Luolan Mansion's mysterious Marquis-level powerhouse, he had learned of it through other channels. Even so, he had always harbored some doubts about it—after all, he had spent years in House Luolan Mansion and had never seen a third Marquis-level powerhouse apart from the two Mansion Lords.

And now, after personally experiencing it firsthand, he understood the truth of that intelligence.

Li Luo glanced at the cleaver circling overhead, reached out a hand, and the blade slowly descended into his palm. He stared at Xu Xu Tianling with a smile and said, "Teach me a lesson? You're worthy?"

Xu Xu Tianling's expression darkened. "So this is the Young Mansion Lord's trump card. But I've also heard that that mysterious Marquis-level powerhouse cannot step outside House Luolan Mansion headquarters—otherwise, we wouldn't only be seeing the blade and not the man right now."

"Then would you like to try again?" Li Luo raised the butcher's cleaver. Some dark-red stains lingered on the blade, and a faintly heart-stopping murderous aura emanated from it, as if this butcher's cleaver had been pulled out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

With the butcher's cleaver pointed at him, Xu Xu Tianling's eyelid twitched involuntarily. The searing pain from his severed palm ultimately forced him into silence.

"It seems the Young Mansion Lord has still chosen to raise a great battle within House Luolan Mansion on the day of the Mansion Sacrifice," Xu Xu Tianling said coldly.

"The thief crying 'stop thief'..."

Li Luo shook his head. "No need for more nonsense. On the day of the Mansion Sacrifice, I'll be waiting for you. Bring out whatever tricks you have then. Whether House Luolan Mansion can be kept or not, I don't care—but I can guarantee that even if House Luolan Mansion is smashed to pieces, I won't let you lot take a single advantage."

With those words, he said no more, turning to leave directly with Jiang Jiang Qinge.

Yuan Qing and the others hurried to follow upon seeing this.

Lu Qing and Lü Guan exchanged a glance. They didn't dare linger here any longer. The strength House Luolan Mansion had displayed today filled their hearts with terror, so how could they still dare to exchange glances with Manager Pei Hao? Better to think about what they should do if the Young Mansion Lord truly survived the Mansion Sacrifice.

Manager Pei Hao watched the two departing figures with a gloomy gaze, fury surging within him. Today's objective had utterly failed.

He had originally been counting on Xu Xu Tianling—who had broken through to the Da Tian Xiang Jing—to act, weakening Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge's momentum while intimidating the two neutral pavilion masters, Lu Qing and Lü Guan, and pulling them to his side. But no one had expected that House Luolan Mansion's mysterious Marquis-level powerhouse would step in at this moment.

This time, it was their side that ended up being intimidated instead.

Manager Pei Hao glanced at the three terrified pavilion masters and said flatly, "There's no need to panic. Because of certain reasons, that Marquis-level powerhouse of House Luolan Mansion simply cannot leave the bounds of headquarters, so he's not as terrifying as you imagine. Furthermore, when the day of the Mansion Sacrifice comes, there will naturally be someone to hold him back."

"However, that Marquis-level powerhouse's intervention was somewhat unexpected. I thought that since he couldn't leave headquarters, he couldn't act—but it seems I underestimated the methods of a Marquis-level powerhouse."

Xu Xu Tianling said darkly, "Although his attack pierced out from headquarters, it was still heavily weakened. Otherwise, that slash just now wouldn't have merely severed half my hand."

That slash just now had been terrifying, but Xu Xu Tianling understood that if a Marquis-level powerhouse had truly struck in earnest, he would have been doomed beyond doubt.

Manager Pei Hao nodded silently, his gloomy gaze fixed on the staircase. Still, this trip hadn't been entirely fruitless—at the very least, they had probed out the true existence of House Luolan Mansion's mysterious Marquis-level powerhouse and his current state.

"Li Luo..."

"Although you keep saying you don't care about House Luolan Mansion, I truly want to see—when it truly falls apart—whether you can still be this arrogant!"

"Young Mansion Lord, why didn't that Marquis-level powerhouse simply slay Manager Pei Hao and Xu Xu Tianling? That would have spared us the trouble of the Mansion Sacrifice." After leaving Spring Lake Tower, Yuan Qing could not help but ask.

Li Luo glanced at the butcher's cleaver at his waist and shrugged helplessly. Of course he wanted that, but Uncle Biao was under some kind of restriction—his strength would sharply decline if he stepped outside House Luolan Mansion headquarters. This time, driving the butcher's cleaver here was already a kind of clever workaround, but even so, the power on the cleaver had been severely weakened.

So it wasn't that he didn't want to cut down Manager Pei Hao and Xu Xu Tianling directly—he simply couldn't.

Coming to this banquet, Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge had both guessed that Manager Pei Hao likely had some contingency, so they had discussed it with Seeing Niu Niu Biaobiao. Only after confirming that his attack could cover the range of Spring Lake Tower did they come—after all, a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall; there was no need to recklessly take risks.

Their lives were far more precious than that ungrateful wretch Manager Pei Hao.

"No rush. On the day of the Mansion Sacrifice, all grievances will be settled."

Li Luo waved his hand. He exchanged a glance with Jiang Jiang Qinge, and then, as if by unspoken agreement, both turned their gaze toward House Luolan Mansion headquarters across the street.

One more month, and the great storm they had awaited for a year would descend upon House Luolan Mansion.

All grievances would meet their conclusion on that day.