Grand Elder Cangming slammed his heavy iron war-halberd onto the cobblestones.
The stone street cracked beneath the impact, sending spiderweb fractures racing across the plaza. One hundred Kunlun enforcers fanned out behind him in heavy armor, their dark halberds rattling with menacing spiritual pressure.
Beside him, Sect Master Xuanji of Mount Qingcheng brushed the soot from his ceremonial robes, glaring at the four hundred and eighty newly hired workers.
The outer disciples behind Lin Mo backed away in instinctive fear. For years, the mere sight of a Kunlun enforcer had meant broken ribs and weeks in solitary confinement.
“Stand firm,” Tie Niu’s deep voice boomed, steady as an iron anchor. “Nobody touches Taichu personnel.”
“Step aside, mortal guards!” Cangming bellowed.
Cangming reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a thick stack of yellowed, blood-stained parchment. He slammed the entire bundle down onto Su Wan’s desk with enough force to make the tea glasses rattle.
“Here are the four hundred and eighty Life-and-Death Indentured Deeds!” Cangming snarled, his voice carrying the icy chill of Mount Kunlun’s glaciers. “Every single one of these outer dogs signed their souls away to the thirty-six sects! They belong to us for three lifetimes!”
