"Regarding that fellow cultivator Zi Ling, I have thoroughly investigated in Profound City, as well as the other three cities, and have not found the slightest clue." Chen Yang glanced at Han Li and said with a sigh.

"Didn't find her?" Han Li frowned slightly.

"If that fellow cultivator Zi Ling were in my Profound City, even if there were no definite news, there should still be rumors. However, according to my investigation, there isn't even a trace of rumor about Zi Ling. I speculate that this person is probably in Puppet City, or unfortunately perished in the jaws of a scaled beast after entering the Scaled Void Realm," Chen Yang said quickly.

Han Li's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he remained silent.

"Although Zi Ling has not been found, I have inquired about the situation of Shi Kong. He is currently in the City Lord's Mansion of Profound City, but he has been imprisoned in the dungeon," Chen Yang said again.

"Imprisoned in the dungeon? Have you found out why?" Han Li asked.

"The people in the City Lord's Mansion are very strict about this information. I inquired in many ways, but I didn't find out any useful clues. However, Fellow Daoist Li, you don't need to worry. Although Shi Kong has been imprisoned, his life is not in danger," Chen Yang shook his head, saying somewhat helplessly.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen. Although I was unable to find Zi Ling's whereabouts, it is considered fulfilling my request to be able to find out Shi Kong's whereabouts," Han Li lowered his head in silence for a moment, then said as he looked up.

Chen Yang secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"Then I will take my leave first," Han Li nodded and bid farewell.

Chen Yang watched Han Li's back, a strange light seemed to flash in his eyes, and he turned around and returned to the inner room.

Crab Daoren was standing in the corner of the room, hanging his head. After seeing Chen Yang come in, he slowly raised his head.

"With the Martial Arts Assembly imminent, you don't seem to be in a good mood," Crab Daoren said expressionlessly.

"If you were the City Lord, and your subordinates were blindly confident, I'm afraid you wouldn't be in a good mood either," Chen Yang said with a wry smile.

Crab Daoren remained silent upon hearing this.

"Yi Liya has strength, but he is too conceited. Compared with the top experts from the other cities, there is still some gap. Perhaps only Gu Qianxun has some hope. As for your Fellow Daoist Li, I can't quite see through him, but compared to Gu Qianxun, I'm afraid he is still somewhat inferior," Chen Yang muttered to himself, ignoring Crab Daoren.

...

Han Li left Chen Yang's residence and quickly returned to his room, his mind racing.

Shi Chuan Kong is currently imprisoned in the Profound City dungeon, and it will not be easy to rescue him. Having been in Profound City for so long, he has already felt that Profound City is much stronger than Green Ram City, and it will not be easy to rescue someone from the dungeon.

And Zi Ling, it is unknown whether she is safe or in danger.

Han Li sat quietly for a long time, then suddenly shook his head, calmed his mind, and his expression returned to calm.

Now is not the time to consider Zi Ling and Shi Chuan Kong. He should first do well in the Five Cities Martial Arts Assembly, obtain the Heavenly Scale Meteorite Crystal, and eliminate the hidden danger of the Black Tribulation Insects before considering other things.

Thinking like this, Han Li slowly closed his eyes.

...

In the Sand Autumn Courtyard of the City Lord's Other Residence, inside a stone hall.

A middle-aged man wrapped in a beast-skin cloak was leaning on a wide stone chair, his dark nose shining in the firelight. He was none other than Fu Jian, the City Lord of Tongyu City.

On both sides of him, six Tongyu City cultivators were seated, separated on the left and right.

"City Lord E Kuai clearly attaches great importance to this Five Cities Martial Arts Assembly. The rewards he has brought out this time are all quite extraordinary. You must all do your best to strive for the top ranks. Especially you, Duan Tong," Fu Jian said with a gleam in his eyes.

The burly man wrapped in bandages sat in the lower position. After Fu Jian finished speaking, he only grunted a muffled "hmm" after a long while, and then had no other reaction.

Fu Jian seemed to have long been accustomed to this and did not care, continuing to say, "Let's not talk about Zhu Ziyuan of Profound City for now. Are you confident that you can defeat Fang Chan of White Rock City and Feng Wuchen of Profound Rest City?"

"Although Feng Wuchen occupies a speed advantage, as long as he can't break through my defense, it won't be a big problem. Once he fights me in close combat, it will be as I wish," Duan Tong said after a moment of silence.

"What about Fang Chan?" Fu Jian asked.

"I haven't fought him before, so I'm not very clear. However, the fact that this person was able to defeat Gu Qianxun last time shows that his strength is not bad. After so many years, I believe his combat power should also have increased," Duan Tong said again after a while of silence.

"Well, it's a good thing that you can be so cautious..." Fu Jian nodded and said.

...

At the entrance of another stone hall in the Other Residence, people were leaving the hall one after another.

Soon, only a tall, thin, pale-faced middle-aged man and a handsome young man in white were left in the hall. They were Qin Yuan and Feng Wuchen.

"Wuchen, I've seen you in seclusion these days. Have you made any breakthroughs?" Qin Yuan asked with a smile.

"Reporting to Godfather, I have been accumulating cultivation for many years. Yesterday, everything came naturally and I opened another aperture," Feng Wuchen replied respectfully.

"Good, good... That's a good sign. It seems that entering the top three in this Five Cities Martial Arts Assembly should be a sure thing," Qin Yuan nodded and said with a smile.

Feng Wuchen frowned slightly upon hearing this and fell silent.

"What's wrong? Is there something on your mind?" Qin Yuan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know why, but I always feel that this Martial Arts Assembly feels strange. I feel a little uneasy," Feng Wuchen said hesitantly after a moment.

"Oh? Could it be because your visit to Madam Liu Hua was unsuccessful and you were unable to obtain a new weapon? You should know that no matter how good a weapon is, it is only an external object. In our Scaled Void Realm, our own physical body is the foundation," Qin Yuan frowned.

"What Godfather said is true. I was overthinking it," Feng Wuchen said quickly.

"However, the situation this time is indeed beyond my expectations. Not only was your visit to Madam Liu Hua unsuccessful, but even when I personally visited later, I was told that she was in seclusion to refine weapons and was turned away," Qin Yuan changed the subject and said.

"Could it be because of those two people from Green Ram City? They suddenly took out some kind of token, forcing the child to lose the opportunity to meet Madam Liu Hua. After that, the child was not allowed to visit again several times," Feng Wuchen raised his head and said with a flicker in his eyes.

"Two Green Ram City brats, where did they get so much energy? Most likely, we did something wrong that made Madam Liu Hua unhappy. After the Martial Arts Assembly, Godfather will try to visit again," Qin Yuan waved his hand and said.

"Regardless of whether it's because of those two people, if I encounter them in this Martial Arts Assembly, I will definitely not let them have a good time. I may have to spend some effort on Gu Qianxun, but as for that Human..." Feng Wuchen said halfway and did not continue, revealing a murderous intent in the sinister smile on his face.

...

At the same time, the people of White Rock City were also gathered in a great hall, with Sun Tu making pre-war mobilizations.

"The Five Cities Martial Arts Assembly is about to open. I don't expect everyone to be at the top, but I hope you all go all out. At least you can win the first battle. When you return to White Rock City, I will reward you according to your performance," Sun Tu said loudly.

"We will definitely go all out and live up to the City Lord's expectations," a gray-robed man immediately responded.

Following closely behind, everyone also shouted: "Go all out, live up to expectations..."

Amidst the inspiring cheers, there were also some intermittent, discordant snores.

The source of the sound was Fang Chan, who was sitting on the left side in the lower position of Sun Tu.

At this moment, he was leaning against the stone chair, half-lying on the chair, fast asleep.

It was not known what kind of sweet dream he was having, but his ugly pig face was full of satisfied smiles, saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, and he smacked his lips from time to time, uttering a mumble.

The more impassioned Sun Tu spoke, the louder his snoring became, but everyone present seemed to be accustomed to this and did not feel anything wrong.

Just then, Fang Chan's throat suddenly moved, and his underbite mouth opened slightly. The snoring from his mouth suddenly turned from rough to fine, the sound became smaller, but the tone became higher.

After these sounds sounded, a strange fluctuation spread from his mouth and nose.

At first, the tables and chairs in the stone hall began to shake slightly, and then everyone felt a numbness in their hands and feet, and their minds became a little dizzy.

"Here it comes again..." everyone lamented in unison.

Seeing this, Sun Tu smiled, bent a finger, and flicked it on Fang Chan's forehead with a "pa".

Fang Chan shook violently, his eyes suddenly opened, and he looked at everyone around him in a daze.

Sun Tu raised his sleeve and wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, smiling and saying, "It's okay, you go back to sleep..."

Fang Chan gave a silly smile, adjusted his posture, leaned his head back, and fell asleep again.

...

At night, the moonlight was as bright as frost.

In the City Lord's Mansion, on the roof of an independent great hall, two figures lay side by side, gazing at the stars.

One of them had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, with a dignified appearance, wearing white bone armor, with his hands behind his head, his face calm. It was Zhu Ziyuan, who had won the championship of the Five Cities Martial Arts Assembly several times in a row.

The other was a woman with a peerless face and a cold temperament, also wearing tight-fitting bone armor, with graceful curves.

"Brother, the City Lord is really something, leaving the pre-war mobilization to you instead of doing it himself..." the beautiful woman complained softly.

"Ziqing, this is the City Lord's Mansion. Even if your voice is small, the City Lord can still hear you," Zhu Ziyuan laughed.

"The City Lord is generous and won't care about these things," the beautiful woman said quickly, sticking out her tongue after hearing this, trying to remedy the situation.

"This is your first time participating in the Five Cities Martial Arts Assembly. You must keep in mind the combat strength of each city. Duan Tong of Tongyu City, his Tongxuan Arm Divine Power should not be underestimated. I observe that he..."

Before Zhu Ziyuan could finish speaking, he was interrupted by his sister Zhu Ziqing: "Okay, okay! Brother, including what you said at the mobilization meeting before, this is already the seventh time. My ears are about to develop calluses..."