Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 432: Phoenix City (2)

The sudden appearance of severed heads hung outside the estate didn’t cause commotion among the pedestrians alone; it even caught the eyes of the authorities.

Two horses carrying a man and a woman clad in uniform and sabers hanging on their waists stopped at the gates, deep in conversation.

"What is this old hag up to?" grunted the lady.

"Just follow the orders. She has stayed quiet for all this time and only now pulls a stunt like this; there must be something going on," the man replied, appearing more mature than his partner.

"Tch!" clicking her tongue in annoyance, the lady spoke in an arrogant tone and disregarded the burning stares of the beastkin on the streets, "These lowly scum always manage to foul my mood."

The tensions between the humans and the beastkin were obvious from their interaction and the varying reactions of the crowd at their arrival.

The beastkin on the streets had sour feelings, while the humans were snickering, waiting for a show of humiliation of whichever beastkin the estate belonged to.

While the gates of the estate took people to random parts of the continent, the estate itself remained in Phoenix City. To an outsider, it never moved from its place.

A long time had passed since Ember had made an official appearance after her cultivation was degraded. So, the people had already forgotten the owner of the estate. Gone was the reign of terror Ember had on her territory, replaced with mockery of all that wasn’t purely human.

"Call out the manager of this estate," the man in uniform spoke in a loud voice after getting off his horse.

The gatekeeper, the man responsible for previously managing the teleportation of the gate, merely snickered in response before standing up from his worn-out seat and walking out.

"Leave, humans. This is the territory of Ember. She decides the law here."

But his words caused the lady to flare her aura, "Arrogant beast!" she shouted as her hand went to the hilt of her sword.

The man beside her tried to stop her, but he was a little too late when an aura more oppressive than anything they had ever felt before fell on them like God’s wrath.

Both of them felt so much pressure that their bodies didn’t even stop at kneeling, but thrusted face-first on the ground.

Surprisingly, the pressure only extended to these two people. The gatekeeper remained unaffected.

The pedestrians, though spared as well, could still observe the small cracks on the ground where those two dropped.

"Insolent humans. Think twice before stepping into my territory again!"

The voice pervaded the air and was heard by everyone around the estate. It felt like a demon was speaking directly into their ears, giving them chills behind their back.

The two uniformed humans bled from their orifices, but after much struggle, managed to stand up after the pressure was lifted.

They were both at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, yet they could sense that the presence didn’t belong to someone who was merely stuck at the Origin Realm.

Both eyed each other with visible fear in their eyes and trembling bodies. It was their tacit understanding not to speak anything that might incur the wrath of the owner of that voice again.

And just like that, the two humans clad in official uniforms left the scene timidly and in defeat.

The humans threw fearful glances at the estate while the beastkin were snickering. No one expected such a thing to happen, but one thing was certain now: things would get chaotic in this territory.

...

Inside the estate, Ember was together with the trio when this incident took place.

"Who were they?" Raven asked. They were currently being taught by Ember.

"Some pests of the City Lord’s mansion," she replied dismissively, the title of City Lord didn’t evoke any respect in her voice.

Seeing them not convinced with just that bit of information, Ember explained further, "As you saw earlier, Phoenix City is one of the few where beastkin and humans coexist. And so the three great powers which used to rule over it consisted of humans and beastkin."

"Used to?" Zier inquired with interest.

"I used to be the City Lord of Phoenix City," Ember replied without a hint of emotion. "Among the remaining two powers, one of them consisted of humans called the Ryujin Family and they swiftly took hold of my position."

"And what about the third great power?" Raven asked.

"The Alliance that managed most of the financial structure of the city was never much interested in politics."

Currently, only the Alliance and the Ryujin Family co-existed in Phoenix City, a central hub of trade and a city of great opportunities for aspiring cultivators.

The reason Phoenix City was so attractive to cultivators was its abundance of resources and its connection to the Immortal Sect which was just to its north.

"Immortal Sect?" That was the first time Raven had heard about something like that.

"They are the true overlords of the Realm of Abezan. It’s them who deal with other Realms beyond the confines of space and it was them who even summoned you in this Realm."

The revelation interested the trio more than anything. Zier jumped to question, "So those who came to this Realm with us would be inside this Immortal Sect?"

Though Ember refused to answer any more than that. She didn’t have enough time to entertain every little question.

"Focus on cultivation," she said.

Those who knew her would already consider it a miracle that she, once acclaimed as the Embers of War, was teaching such disrespectful humans.

Since they were the reason she had regained her powers, however, she was more than lenient with them. Seeing their potential first-hand also helped soften her attitude toward them.

Unfortunately, others didn’t receive the same treatment as them.

"I will be busy for the coming days," she left these words while smiling menacingly to herself and left the room.

While Ozul rested in his comfortable room and the trio cultivated, Ember left the estate to deal with her personal grudges.

. . .

In a random tavern filled with drunkards both human and beastkin, a fight had broken out among them.

Bottles were being thrown, chairs used to hit and plates used as shields.

Meanwhile, the tavern’s owner who stood behind his bar watched the show with bored eyes. He slowly cleaned the glass in his hand with a cloth.

Suddenly, a bottle was lunged at him as well. Instead of ducking in a hurry, he let the bottle hit his face, drenching him in the process. But surprisingly, none of the shards cut his skin as he looked just as bored as before and continued cleaning the glass.

Anyone who hadn’t been to this tavern before would be startled at how indifferent the owner was, but the regulars were used to it. Customers came and left despite the battle, utterly disregarding the uproar.

It was then that the creaking batwing doors of the tavern opened again and someone walked in with a long gait.

As always, the owner ignored the new customer. He only entertained those who addressed him first. Otherwise, there was a barmaid who would pass over the food or alcohol to everyone who sat down.

But currently, there was no place to sit down but at the bar. Even the barmaid was hiding behind the counter, taking a break.

The customer who entered had a long coat and a hood covering their features. They sat directly in front of the owner and tapped lightly on the table.

"Hm? Do you want anything?" the owner asked, his voice lacking any spirit.

"I want you back," the customer said in a voice Raven would’ve recognized to be Ember’s.

The owner raised his eyebrows, finding the voice familiar. His eyes instinctively went to that person’s head, but not finding the bump made him deflate again.

But Ember snapped her fingers and the horns protruding out of her head made themselves visible again.

The owner’s eyes went wide as he dropped the glass he was cleaning on the ground. The barmaid resting behind the counter was hit with a shard of broken glass.

"Ow! Hey! Watch your glass, it hurts!"

But the owner ignored her and a smile appeared on his face, "Lord Ember...And I can’t sense your powers again..." he muttered with a long pause.

"It is time, Rai. This time, it will be the humans and the beastkin."

The owner’s smile didn’t falter in the slightest as he laughed, "Fufu! Wouldn’t it be too much if we go after both sides?"

Hearing the owner laugh made the whole tavern pause as everyone stared at him in varying degrees of surprise. They had never seen him smile much less laugh out loud before. It was comical how it was even able to stop the fighting.

Ember ignored the crowd judging them as she replied, "Drop the act, you know as well as I do how much you like blood."

Rai only smiled in response, but the smile was menacing for anyone to look at. There were dark bags under his eyes and he showed his teeth, especially his long canine which seemed almost inhumane.

"Gather the rest in a week. I want everyone there dead or alive," Ember ordered as she stood up and left.

Meanwhile, Rai performed a respectful bow with his one hand resting on his chest, the smile not leaving his face even for a moment.

No one knew the chaos that was going to spread in Phoenix City.

...

The City Lord’s mansion received the news and it was quickly delivered to the highest-ranking authorities.

Whispers gathered other whispers and it wasn’t long before the City Lord received the word that Ember had attacked the city guards.

Though he attributed it simply to the fact that Ember was finally losing it.

"Send an invitation. Summon her to the City Lord’s Hall."