Lu Yun walked out from the void and waved a hand, cushioning the defeated immortal to a soft landing. He then manifested a talisman out of midair that instantly healed the immortal’s moderate injuries.

Lu Feng’s delicate brows raised in surprise. The Lu youth who’d made a move looked awkwardly at Lu Yun. He was a void realm cultivator, alright, but he’d reached this level with the resources that Lu Yun had left for the clan.

“So you’re that convenient little brother of mine?” Lu Feng called back the Lu youths and stepped before them.

“Convenient little brother?” Lu Yun shrugged and spread out his hands. “I suppose so.”

On the way here, Qing Ruyan had told him everything Lu Feng had done since his arrival in Dusk Province.

Once known as Calamity Lu, the Lu Yun of old had been a subject broached with hushed whispers and utter dread across the land. Lu Feng seemed to have topped that, earning the nickname ‘Big Calamity Lu’ in just a mere month since his arrival in the province.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong? Terrorizing the kind and cowering from evil?

He did all that before his daily breakfast. Lu Feng wrought havoc and bestirred mayhem wherever he went, looting and beating at the drop of a hat. He’d come with several powerful Lu cultivators who added to their leader’s deeds by kidnapping whoever caught their eye.

The Chen and Qing Clans were no exceptions, let alone the immortals and cultivators who’d visited Dusk for the auction. No one was off-limits for him.

Unfortunately, since Qing Ruyan was merely a surrogate for Lu Yun, she hadn’t imposed rules on Lu Feng after he identified himself. The Lus ruled Dusk Province, and while Lu Feng hadn’t been born into the Lu Clan, he’d been adopted by Lu Yun’s parents and bore the clan’s surname nonetheless.

……

“State your business.” Lu Yun scanned the other immortals gathered to watch the show. Shuddering under his stare, they silently took their leave without hesitation. The Dusk governor had established his dominance in Dusk Province when he slaughtered invaders with the inheritance tower.

“My business?” Lu Feng’s lips curled into a strange smile before he suddenly shifted forward and threw a punch at Lu Yun.

The sky trembled as an enormous pale golden hand crackling with purple lightning struck at Lu Yun. Both the sky and earth shook from the momentum. The overwhelming power of the world had been channelled to attack Lu Yun, something only a void-ascended immortal could do. Lu Feng was an immortal!

Lu Yun narrowed his eyes and answered back with a black ripple blossoming from his body. Great demonic power surged and rippled, followed by the manifestation of the giant water jar. He wouldn’t be Lu Feng’s match without some help, since he hadn’t ascended to immortality himself, yet.

Bam!

He swung the water jar and shattered the golden hand. The recoil knocked him off balance, and he floundered several steps backward before steadying himself.

“Die!” Yuchi Hanxing sprang into action when Lu Feng attacked Lu Yun.

The lance in her hand glinted with light, and the Heavenly Formation of the Black Tortoise beneath her feet advanced upon waves in the air that were formed by enormous water energy.

Black Tortoise cries rang in all directions, activating all of the formations around the Sword Pavilion.

“Stand down!” Lu Yun snapped to stop her and activated the water jar again, shooting out a giant seal to stop the great Black Tortoise projection. “This is between the two of us. All of you, stay back.”

Lu Yun took a deep breath; his sharp instincts told him that he’d misjudged the situation. The water jar continued to shake in his hand and demonic energy blasted into the sky. The ‘Ge’ character etched into the water jar floated into the air and transformed into the character ‘mo’ for demon.

Lu Yun radiated roiling demonic energy, granting him a strength exceeding many immortals despite not having ascended himself. Resigned, Yuchi Hanxing retreated with the Dusk Phalanx.

“That’s the demon celestial master’s Demonic Sovereign Cauldron.” Lu Feng stared at the water jar in Lu Yun’s hand with a dark expression.

Swoosh!

He put away the gilded fan and balled both hands into fists, purple lightning crackling around them. Before Lu Yun made his move, Lu Feng seized the initiative. Drawing very close to Lu Yun, he threw a series of lightning-imbued punches.

Lu Yun huffed, completely unfazed. Hoisting the water jar with one hand and pointing with two fingers with the other, he met Lu Feng’s attacks head on.

By now, their battle was growing beyond the usual bounds of clashes between immortals. They’d opted out of immortal techniques and combat arts in favor of the simplest and most direct hand-to-hand combat.

Every move—every punch, kick, and swing of the water jar—contained enough might to fell the sky and split the earth.

Sword Lake exploded and the mountains in the area were razed to the ground. The feng shui layouts Lu Yun had set up here were blasted to pieces as well. They moved as they fought, slowly brawling out of Dusk and nearing the neighboring Outré Province.

Bam!

A tremendous explosion shook the land as a mushroom cloud rose in the air. Both hands clenched around the water jar, Lu Yun had blocked a deadly punch from his brother. A towering mountain was now a giant crater, and the two were at the center of a valley.

“Not bad.” Lu Feng pulled back suddenly and nodded. “Father told me to keep you safe and at least alive before he passed away. It looks like his worries were unfounded.”

Lu Yun frowned, worse for wear from the fight. He wasn’t as unaffected as Lu Feng. In fact, he’d been on the losing side just now.

“I removed some hidden threats in the province for you over the past month, which I’m sure you’ve noticed as well. No need to thank me,” he said in a narcissistic tone. “I have to take the woman with the dao constitution away. She’s trouble. Copulation between the past and the present is in itself a taboo. Moreover, a group of diiisgusting fur seals have tampered with her. Once activated, your little province will be blown sky high.”

There was no one present within the fifty kilometers due to their violent battle, so Lu Feng spoke candidly without concern for unwanted ears. Although he was able to conceal the true meaning behind his words with his unusual combat art, it didn't work on everyone—Lu Yun being a good example.

“You’re leaving?” Lu Yun fidgeted with discomfort. 

The earlier battle had done him a lot of good. It wasn’t so much a fight, as a sparring session to help Lu Yun acclimate to his current cultivation level and control his strength. He’d been wary of the coming heavenly tribulation, but now he was much more confident in himself.

“Leaving? Why would I?” Lu Feng shook his head. “Zhao Fengyang asked me to help protect Dusk Province. The woman with a dao constitution is trouble. So is the little fox, the ancestral vein, and the human demon in the ancient tomb. If I leave, they’ll get you killed sooner or later.

“You sure know how to pick them… Ah, I forgot about that little dragon. That’s an extraordinary piece of trouble as well.”