In an inconspicuous little shop in the black market sat a man with a shifty look and a goatee.

Anyone who operates in the black market respectfully calls him Master Rat; he is also the most powerful information broker in the entire Kyoto underground.

It can be said that as long as you can afford the price that Master Rat asks for, he can find out any information.

From the future development trends of Kyoto to the color of panties a certain goddess wore today, Rat Lord knows almost everything.

This also made Rat Lord a thorn in the side of many people. After all, everyone has some secrets that they want to hide, and many important figures want to get rid of him as soon as possible.

However, Rat Lord wasn't greedy and stayed hidden in the black market, which made it impossible for those who wanted to harm him to do so.

Even if someone were capable of directly attacking Rat Lord in the black market, Rat Lord, having received prior warning, would simply slip away, prioritizing tact and diplomacy.

More importantly, once Rat Lord successfully escapes, he will reveal all the secrets of those who were targeting him.

This made many people who wanted to take action against Lord Rat extremely wary.

"War breaks out...the search for love is like waves washing away sand...meeting her...is like spring water reflecting pear blossoms..."

The old man hummed a little tune, with a dish of peanuts and a pot of liquor beside him, looking completely at ease, unaware that danger was about to befall him.

Li Xingchen and his men had silently surrounded Rat Master's shop. They were well hidden and chose the right time; no one in the entire black market noticed their movements.

The person Qiao Chuting sent to help Li Xingchen was none other than Qiao Shan, the strongest genius in the Qiao family at present.

Qiao Shan was only a few years older than Qiao Suiyue, but his appearance was much more weathered.

After Qiao Yueyue and Qiao Chuyang both died, only Qiao Shan remained in the entire Qiao family, capable of shouldering great responsibilities.

Qiao Luan, who had previously withdrawn from worldly affairs, was forced to take over the Qiao family again. After all, the Qiao family was currently facing a generational gap. With Qiao Chuyang's death, the remaining Qiao Chuyun, Qiao Chuting, and Qiao Chuxu were all unfit for the position, as none of them possessed Qiao Chuyang's strong sense of the big picture.

Although Qiao Shan cannot compare to a super genius like Ji Kun of the Ji family, he has a strong sense of the big picture. With proper training, he can be considered a promising talent who can take over Qiao Chuyang's position.

"Did you do everything I said?" Qiao Shan asked coldly, his features somewhat resembling Qiao Chuyang's.

"Don't worry, it's completely surrounded, not even a fly can get out!" Li Xingchen said.

"Alright, let's get started!" Qiao Shan said in a deep voice.

As soon as they finished speaking, the men they brought immediately surrounded Rat Master's shop.

"Um?"

Rat Lord's hand suddenly stopped moving, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes, which were the size of mung beans.

"No wonder several of my rats and their offspring haven't come back. Turns out someone's been watching me."

Rat Lord's expression turned serious. The person who could kill the rats he had raised without a sound was clearly no ordinary person.

Soon, Rat Master's shop was surrounded by layers of people.

When Rat Lord saw the two leaders, he immediately called out their names.

"Qiao Shan? Li Xingchen?" His expression turned somewhat amused. "What? You can't get me to surrender, so you're going to kill me? I'm not some beauty, why would you ruin this whole thing just because you can't have me?"

Combining this with the fact that Li Xingchen had asked him to join Yuntiange a few days ago, which he had refused, Rat Master immediately understood what was going on.

"I'll give you one last chance. If you're willing to serve my Cloud Sky Pavilion, you can live. Otherwise... you probably won't see the sun rise tomorrow!" A fierce glint flashed in Li Xingchen's eyes.

"Hehe, even though I'm a rat in the gutter, I have no intention of being anyone's dog."

Grandpa Rat was on high alert. He knew very well that if he didn't reveal all his cards today, it would be like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden—a dangerous situation with little chance of survival.

"If you're still so stubborn, then you might as well die!"

Without further ado, Li Xingchen drew his Tang sword and slashed at Rat Lord's head.

Rat casually tossed the peanuts beside him to Li Xingchen, and with a whistle, the sandalwood cabinet behind him suddenly began to tremble.

Then all the cabinets were opened, and a swarm of black rats poured out like a tide. These rats had shiny fur, big heads and ears, and it was clear that they were well fed.

The rats directly confronted Li Xingchen, but these rats were just ordinary rats whose main purpose was to gather intelligence for Master Rat. Obviously, they were no match for Li Xingchen.

Li Xingchen's Tang sword slid in a beautiful arc, cleaving more than a dozen large rats in half at the waist.

But those rats were like madmen, fearless and with red eyes, they kept rushing towards Li Xingchen, determined to bite off a piece of flesh from him even if it meant their own death.

Because there were too many rats, Li Xingchen was in a bit of a mess. At the same time, a large number of rats kept pouring in from outside and getting entangled with the people Li Xingchen brought.

In the sewers of a city, the most common creatures besides cockroaches are rats. If we look at the entire planet, there are at least 10 billion rats, more than the human population. These creatures have an extremely high reproductive capacity; they can start giving birth at three months old, and a female rat can give birth to more than a dozen baby rats in an average of more than 40 days.

A single mouse can produce over a hundred offspring in a year, and these offspring can reproduce again after three months, which is why the mice are so difficult to eradicate.

As the Rat Lord who can control rats, in some ways, his abilities are unmatched.

"Don't panic, Li Xingchen. Didn't you bring a fire mage among your men? Let them make their move!" Qiao Shan shouted.

"Alright!" Li Xingchen finally reacted, and several fire mages among the people he brought immediately took action, forming a barrier with endless flames.

Rats that entered the fire wall were instantly burned to death, emitting screams and the crackling sound of burning flesh, emitting a burnt smell.

For these ordinary rats, swords and knives are far less deadly than flames.

As soon as the fire mages made their move, large numbers of rats were roasted to a crisp, and the entire black market began to reek of a foul odor.

Rat Lord frowned. Although he could control rats, he was not actually good at fighting; gathering information was what he excelled at.

After all, no matter how many rats there are, they are unlikely to pose any threat to the strong.

"Strange, why didn't we receive any prior notice this time?"

Rat was completely baffled. In the past, when someone was about to attack him, his rats would always find out in advance and tell him. Why was there no news at all this time?

"Could it be that there are other experts in the Cloud Heaven Pavilion?"

This is the only explanation that Rat Lord can think of. With the Qiao family as its backer, it's not surprising that Yuntian Pavilion could find a master who can restrain him.

The only option now is to escape!