Of all the cities in the Darkness Dominion, the City of Gorging Clouds was undoubtedly the strongest. The city had a large number of powerful experts and a large number of Highgods.
City of Gorging Cloud was much stronger than Hushveil City and City of Shadow combined. Compared to the family clans in the City of City of Gorging Clouds, Wallace's House of Sainte would be at the top of the list, but it would pale in comparison to Yarus' House of Broadhurst.
There had been rumours circulating in Elysium that Yarus, the City Lord of the City of Gorging Clouds, had risen beyond Highgodhood. Yarus was a rather reserved character. Having delegated much of his work to his family members, it was rare for people to come into contact with him. Moreover, the few who had the opportunity to meet him could not tell the difference between a Highgod and an Overgod from his aura. For these reasons, the hearsays always remained nothing more than hearsays.
But that might change soon. Standing near the Broadhurst Residence, Han Shuo immediately realised that Yarus had indeed reached the realm of the Overgod through the power of the boundless darkness that enveloped the Residence.
The elements of darkness that lingered over the Broadhurst Residence were the work of Yarus. Energy towers were erected throughout the Residence to act as Dark Element collectors. Yarus and other Dark Energy cultivators would benefit from the increased concentration of the Dark Element.
Han Shuo's original plan was to sneak into the Broadhurst Residence immediately and kill Larikson. However, after sensing the powerful aura of darkness, he stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brows slightly.
If it weren't for this Overgod expert called Yarus, Han Shuo would be able to enter the Broadhurst Residence with complete stealth, assassinate Larikson, and retreat with ease. But Yarus turned out to be stronger than Han Shuo had expected. With the Overgod barrier erected around the residence, it was virtually impossible for Han Shuo to enter silently.
If he was caught entering the Broadhurst Residence, he would most likely be attacked by Yarus. It wasn't that Han Shuo was afraid of Yarus, but alerting Yarus could completely ruin Han Shuo's plan. With Yarus, an Overgod, and many other Broadhurst Highgods, not to mention the environmental advantage, Han Shuo's chances of killing Larikson were slim.
Worst of all, his trail would be exposed and everyone would know that he had returned to the Darkness Dominion. Wallace and Hofs might go into hiding. In short, it would really mess up Han Shuo's plan.
Therefore, after a moment's thought, Han Shuo decided not to invade the Broadhurst Residence, but to wait for Larikson to leave his house before striking.
Although Yarus was the City Lord, he was very focused on his cultivation. He had delegated almost all of his duties to his family members. Larikson, as Yarus' younger brother, had been delegated much of his work. It was inevitable and it will only be a matter of time before he leaves the residence.
Han Shuo retreated and went to a local information broker to buy the news about Larikson. He learned that Larikson was indeed in the Broadhurst Residence and had been in the city for some time.
Having obtained the information, Han Shuo returned to the outside of the Broadhurst Residence and waited patiently for his prey to emerge from the rabbit hole.
Three days later, in the evening, Larikson and some of the divine guards of the House of Broadhurst finally left the house. They headed straight for the nearest city gate, as if on some sort of mission.
Halfway through their journey, Larikson suddenly felt a sense of danger.
"Hello, Larikson! Hehe, good to see you again!" Han Shuo's voice sounded as he suddenly appeared in front of Larikson.
"Ah shit," Larikson exclaimed. Before his voice had even faded, one of his space rings emitted a powerful burst of light, tearing through the space-time in front of him. Larikson immediately shot into the space-time rift.
Han Shuo had not expected Larikson to be such a coward that he would immediately escape by tearing space-time before they had even exchanged a sentence.
Han Shuo knew it was too late to attack now. He let out a cold groan and shot into the space-time rift after Larikson.
He entered a strange dimension filled with blinding lights. And as Han Shuo warped to the other side, he found himself under layers upon layers of barriers. He saw a large number of Highgods with mocking faces - Larikson, Hofs and Wallace were among them!
His consciousness pulsed and he felt the boundless darkness above him. He realised instantly that he had fallen into an elaborate trap set by his enemy.
"Bryan of Han, welcome to the Broadhurst residence. We have been expecting you," a thin man greeted him with a calm, faint smile. This man, surrounded by an aura of darkness, was none other than Yarus.
As the City Lord and the most powerful being in the City of Gorging Clouds, Yarus naturally exuded a noble, royal demeanour. As an expert in the Overgod realm, he also possessed a unique, inexplicable quality.
Outside the layers of barriers that trapped Han Shuo, there were dozens of Highgods. Five of them, including Wallace and Larikson, were late-stage Highgods, while the rest were Mid-stage Highgods. Most of them cultivated the energy of darkness. They looked at Han Shuo with laughing eyes, as if he was a turtle in a jar.
"Well played, what an impressive trick. Well played indeed," Han Shuo took a deep breath, looked at Yarus and praised, "You are indeed a brilliant man. Not only are you extremely strong, but you're also a master of intrigue. No wonder Wallace and Hofs are no match for you, and no wonder your family clan is more powerful than an entire city!"
"Shut up!" shouted Hofs, feeling insulted. "You haughty piece of shit. With Lord Yarus here, you will not get away this time!"
"Bryan, I did not want to be your enemy, but you left me no choice," Wallace admitted with a disappointed sigh.
"HAHAHA YOU WOT M8???" Han Shuo laughed his head off. After a long time, he finally replied, "I leave you no choice? You mean the two times I saved Carmelita and the countless times I helped your House of Sainte? Damn it, you started oppressing my House of Han as soon as it was founded. I wanted to move my family clan out of the City of Shadows, but you colluded with Hofs and Larikson to wipe out my family clan. And now you tell me I leave you no choice? You must be joking!"
"The City of Shadows will always belong to the House of Sainte. As Patriarch, I must eliminate all those who could threaten the House of Sainte!" Wallace tried to bend logic.
"What a ridiculous guy," Han Shuo remarked with a scornful look as he shook his head. He did not say much, knowing that it was impossible to reason with an unreasonable man.
"Well, well. Larikson, Wallace, Hofs, Ralph, all here!" Han Shuo's eyes went through each of them before they finally stopped on Yarus and he asked smilingly, "You must have meticulously planned and prepared for this moment for a long time - here I am. So what are you waiting for?"
Yarus put on a charming smile before saying to Han Shuo, "I have heard a lot about you, Bryan, and I must say that you are more impressive than your reputation suggests. Let me be frank - Wallace may have no tolerance for competition, but I'm quite the opposite. In fact, I'm now formally inviting your House of Han to become part of my City of Gorging Clouds, on the condition that you set aside your grudge against Larikson. Not only will your presence be most welcome in my city, but I, Yarus, hereby pledge that what Wallace did to your House of Han in the City of Shadows will never happen in my City of Gorging Clouds!
The offer came as a complete surprise to Han Shuo. He could also tell that Yarus was sincere in his invitation.
"Brother! How can that be! He killed your nephew and many of our experts! How could you let him into the city?" Larikson hastily protested before Han Shuo could even answer.
"Silence!" ordered Yarus. The arrogant Larikson immediately shut his mouth tightly. It seemed as if Larikson was afraid of him.
Yarus, his eyebrows furrowed, turned to Larikson and scolded, "It was you and Felder who started this whole thing. Bryan did not kill your Highgods without provocation. And as for your son, he's nothing compared to a Highgod expert. In any case, your dick is still working fine and you can always make more kids!"
"Bro- brother… " Larikson was rather startled.
Yarus' face turned cold. He gestured and said, "I have decided, so shut up."
Although filled with grumbles, Larikson dared not make a voice and lowered his head. He continued to glare at Han Shuo.
Wallace and Hofs standing nearby seem astonished. It was obvious that Yarus had not revealed this intention of his to the two. They looked at Yarus with eyes that seemed to be shouting, Dude, what the hell? That was nowhere in what we have discussed!
Yarus' attention turned back to Han Shuo. He put on a faint smile and offered, "Bryan, if you will join my City of Gorging Clouds, all grievances are forgiven. Not only that, but I can also provide you much better treatment than what you had from the City of Shadows. Land, manpower, wealth, connections – anything that you need, you will have it. What say you?"