"May I ask why the three of you are invading my Maple City?"
Xiao Tian's words left all three utterly dumbfounded. How had this suddenly become their fault?
Tie Wu was the first to lose patience, staring hard at Xiao Tian. "Palace Master Xiao, what exactly do you mean by this?"
"Palace Master Xiao, you must be mistaken. This Maple City was occupied by our three factions long ago. You've only just arrived. By that logic, it should be you who are invading us." Old Yin Bone's gloomy gaze settled on Xiao Tian, his voice hoarse. The beautiful woman beside him kept her eyes flickering but chose to stay silent.
"Han Feng's forces—and Han Feng himself—were all killed by our Heaven Punishing Divine Palace. Maple City is, therefore, our Heaven Punishing Divine Palace's spoils of war. You three are essentially trying to snatch what belongs to us."
Xiao Tian's aura erupted, crashing down on them.
"Dou… Zong…"
The three were instantly crushed by the pressure. They couldn't even stand straight, cold sweat beading endlessly on their foreheads.
When Xiao Tian finally withdrew his aura, they slumped to the ground, gasping for air.
"Do the three of you still think my words are wrong?" Xiao Tian looked at them with a slight smile. To their eyes, that smile belonged to the devil himself.
"A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding! Maple City naturally belongs to your Heaven Punishing Divine Palace. We simply saw that you hadn't come to take over for so long, so we helped manage it on your behalf—temporarily—to prevent it from falling into chaos." Old Yin Bone scrambled to his feet, his body slightly hunched, speaking with a dry, nervous laugh.
"Hehe, yes!" The beautiful woman also hurriedly stood, covering her mouth with a delicate laugh as she bowed toward Xiao Tian. "Exactly, Palace Master Xiao. This is nothing but a misunderstanding. I will definitely come to your door to apologize properly, and then… you can do as you please with me~"
"Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, and we've helped manage Maple City for you—no merit, perhaps, but certainly effort—could you perhaps let us leave? Don't worry, we won't take so much as a single blade of grass that belongs to Maple City."
Though Tie Wu looked like a hot-tempered brute, he was not without brains. He spoke quickly. As for taking anything—impossible. His storage ring had already been confiscated. He had nothing left but the clothes on his back.
"Yes, yes, yes! Palace Master Xiao, you are handsome and magnificent, overwhelmingly powerful, awe-inspiring in all directions. A great man like you surely won't hold a grudge against insignificant ants like us. Please, just let us go—like a fart, yes? Just release us."
The beautiful woman kept babbling, not forgetting to flash a slippery shoulder during the process.
"There's no rush. I came here to discuss something with all of you." Xiao Tian watched the three of them spout flattery without pause.
"Palace Master Xiao, please speak. We are all listening." The voluptuous beauty kept closing the distance between herself and Xiao Tian, her voice dripping with seduction.
But just as she was about to get close, a shockwave sent her flying backward. A bewitching figure materialized beside Xiao Tian, her eyes fixed coldly on Su Mei.
Su Mei's body went rigid under that gaze. All three felt their hair practically stand on end. What kind of nightmare had they stumbled into? Four Dou Zongs—beings rarely seen across the entire Black-Corner Region—had appeared in such a short span of time.
Xiao Tian looked at Medusa, took her hand, and had her sit beside him. She glanced at him and sat down obediently. With outsiders present, she would give him a full face.
"Good. Let's continue. I came to you this time to ask you to join my Heaven Punishing Divine Palace. I wonder if you are willing. Of course, it's fine if you don't join. I won't lay a hand on you either."
Xiao Tian spoke with a light chuckle, heavily emphasizing that last "I."
Medusa, who knew Xiao Tian well, understood his words immediately. Murderous intent flickered in her eyes. These three were indeed talented, and they spoke so sweetly. She wasn't a bad person either.
All three felt the terrifying aura emanating continuously from Xiao Tian, like a blade poised above their heads. They stared at his smiling face, felt the crushing pressure in the air, and secretly cursed him as a smiling tiger. They swallowed hard and exchanged glances. Only Tie Wu, who hadn't grasped Xiao Tian's deeper meaning, spoke up.
"If we don't join… will you really let us go—?"
Before he could finish, two respectful voices rang out beside him.
"Greetings, Palace Master!" ×2
Tie Wu turned his head in a daze. His two teammates were already kneeling on one knee. The two respectful voices had clearly come from their mouths.
He stared at them, his head full of question marks. They completely ignored his gaze, looking only at Xiao Tian with awe.
"Greetings, Palace Master!" Seeing his teammates surrender without a fight, Tie Wu immediately performed a sliding kneel, even adding a kowtow for good measure.
Xiao Tian looked at the three clown-like figures with some surprise. As expected, they were the same three who had made the final investment in the Black-Corner Region in the original story.
"From now on, you will be a subordinate force of the Palace. The palace will send designated personnel to coordinate with you. You are now the elders of my Palace. As for benefits, someone will explain them to you later."
Xiao Tian looked at the three who had already submitted. He didn't care whether their allegiance was genuine or superficial—it wasn't important. Once they experienced the power and rewards of the Heaven Punishing Divine Palace firsthand, they would pledge true loyalty sooner or later.
"Here. A small reward."
Xiao Tian flicked his hand. Four jade bottles flew out. Two landed in front of Tie Wu.
Then he led Medusa out.
The three watched Xiao Tian leave, their bodies finally going slack. They collapsed to the ground, gasping.
"Didn't he say if we didn't want to, he'd let us go? Why did you two…?" Tie Wu asked Old Yin Bone and Su Mei.
"Are you genuinely stupid or just pretending? You were even more dramatic than we were just now." Su Mei picked up the jade bottle before her, looking at Tie Wu in disbelief.
"I saw you two doing that. If I'd stayed standing, wouldn't I have been asking for death?" Tie Wu felt no shame about his earlier actions. In the Black-Corner Region, face was the cheapest thing next to one's life.
"The Palace Master did say he would let us go—but he only said *he* would let us go. He didn't say *others* would. If we'd dared refuse, the moment we stepped out of Maple City would have been the moment of our deaths. Didn't you see the Dou Zong beside him? She was practically ready to slaughter us like chickens." Old Yin Bone held his jade bottle, speaking slowly.
Tie Wu recalled the scene and instantly understood. His throat bobbed. *Thank goodness I knelt quickly.* And it didn't even seem like a loss. He'd knelt and kowtowed once, and he'd even gotten two jade bottles while they only got one. He just didn't know what was inside.
He weighed the items in his hand. They felt like pills. He looked at the other two.
"What do you think is inside? It's not something to control us, is it?"