Xu Xiaoshou took the time while Xin Gugu was gone to embark on another journey Yuan Mansion.

The alchemy cauldron bubbled beside him while his surroundings remained quiet.

Xu Xiaoshou came to a sudden realization that he could use the space as a private avenue for deep thoughts and analysis.

The biggest current threat for him at the moment was Zhang Taiying.

Although the two had not met in person, he was the first enemy that Xu Xiaoshou was determined to eliminate.

In the past, he was used to taking a passive stance and accepting the various attacks made by the enemy.

His traveling schedule was packed, and it was hard for him to squeeze out any time to stir trouble in the waters of the enemies.

The only exceptions were attempts of assassination. However, Xu Xiaoshou knew he would not be slain easily, so his sense of fight or flight was not too intense.

However, Zhang Taiyin was different.

The man was a walking nightmare.

The grief of losing his child had motivated him to make the first strike. He did it by sending Red Dog.

Red Dog was able to drive Xu Xiaoshou to the edge of his mortality, even when Xu Xiaoshou was in his strongest battle state.

For Xu Xiaoshou, who had marginally tasted what it felt to cross over the threshold of the gates of hell, he did not wish to go any closer to that taste ever again.

He was terrified.

Therefore, Zhang Taiyin had to be eliminated.

Xu Xiaoshou had to actively attack him this time.

However, there was a question of how he would execute this attack. His target was the head of the battle force of the Four Big Families and the head of the Zhang family. Additionally, he was a big name who had an undefeatable status in Tiansang Prefecture. He had to ensure his attack would eliminate Zhang Taiyin in one shot.

This was truly a problem that required deep thought.

If an outsider were to know that a small fry of Origin Court was in the midst of planning an assassination of a Sovereign, they would have a good laugh about it.

However, Xu Xiaoshou was serious and dedicated to coming up with the perfect plan.

First, he was not an ordinary individual of the Innate Stage.

He knew that with the combination of his body in a state of full combat power and the support from various powerful Passive Skills, he would be unstoppable to an ordinary individual of the Master Stage. He did not even have to activate the Double Awakening Skill.

Li Seven had tested this hypothesis for him.

‘In other words, in the fundamental state, my combat powers were on par with an ordinary individual of the Master Stage.’

‘Judging from the state of Red Dog after I’ve activated Berserk Giant and Exploding Posture, I doubt an ordinary individual of the Master Stage could withstand an attack like that.’

Nevertheless, these thoughts remained assumptions.

When he met Li Seven, he was only a Heavenly Image State of the Master Stage.

The Master Stage consisted of three states: Heavenly Image, Ying Yang, and Star Worship.

The states increase ascendingly in power.

The potential arrival of strongmen of the Ying Yang State, as well as various attacks that Xu Xiaoshou was not familiar with—such as those that remained unused array wheels in Li Seven’s spatial ring—all posed a threat.

Although, Xu Xiaoshou could clinch an underdog victory if he maneuvered and used his abilities well.

Regardless, he would be backed into a corner.

‘Hence, Zhang Taiying must be eliminated!’

Xu Xiaoshou returned to his thoughts.

He figured he did not stand much of a chance if the head of the Zhang family remained within his heavily guarded place of residence.

Unfortunately, the banquet at the City Lord Mansion would take place the next night.

Per the agreements within Tiansang Prefecture, Zhang Taiying would be attending the banquet.

‘How many men will he bring with him?’

‘Will he be accompanied by any Sovereigns?’

Xu Xiaoshou did not have any confidence in his guesses. No matter how detailed his assumptions were, they remained assumptions.

If there were any possibility of the worst-case scenario, he would have placed himself in mortal danger.

‘The most important part is how to make Zhang Taiying attend the banquet alone.’

Xu Xiaoshou’s lips curled up.

His idea and a plan were born at the moment when Xin Gugu decided to stay by his side.

What if there was an attack by a group of small fries on the Zhang family while the head of the household was away for the banquet in the City Lord Mansion?

If the Zhang family was placed in some life-threatening danger, what would Zhang Taiying choose to do? Would he divert the majority of his energy to the low-risk City Lord Mansion?

Would he leave the excessive energy to protect the Zhang family while attending the banquet on his own?

This was a question that was not easy to answer. Hence, Xu Xiaoshou did not need to think much about it.

‘Now, the question is how will I retreat after an attack on the Zhang family?’

He was not entirely awake this morning. Fortunately, Xin Gugu’s words had enlightened him about the greatest power and benefit of Yuan Mansion

Xu Xiaoshou was filled with certainty and confidence about his plan.

He would throw tens of alchemy cauldron toward the mansion of the Zhang family and let them explore freely.

If he fled inside the Yuan Mansion after he had finished his part, he doubted anyone would be able to notice his presence.

In the event of an accident, he would immediately call for Xin Gugu and Aje before seeking shelter in the Yuan Mansion. No one would win against the two great Sovereigns.

He could always run away and avoid all the potential skirmishes and fights.

The power of the Sovereigns had enabled them to act recklessly and in an unbridled manner. This was clearly evident with Red Dog and his attacks.

In a city that was as big as Tiansang City, he still charged brazenly in and murdered others.

It was fair to say that Red Dog was executed in the end, but that was due to the sudden appearance of the scruffy-looking man.

If there had been no disruptions, there was a great possibility that Red Dog would have simply left Tiansang City after he had taken out Xu Xiaoshou.

‘Maybe escaping is not the best plan right now. This plan still poses many risks.’

Xu Xiaoshou could not afford to be careless.

His opponent was the Zhang family, which was known to be one of the four big names in Tiansang City. Therefore, there would be many elements of surprise when facing them.

Xu Xiaoshou’s identity was not hidden, and he did not have the charisma and power to take on Tiansang City on his own.

Thus, he had to consider every aspect of this cautiously and use any hidden loopholes that would be beneficial to him. The ideal result was to eliminate the Zhang family with one hit and escape immediately after.

‘So, this question has changed again. If I enter Yuan Mansion, could the Sovereigns track me down through checking the marks of the void I’ve left behind via the Great Path skill?’

Xu Xiaoshou thought about Ye Xiaotian.

He thought about that day when Lei Shuanxing brought Luo Leilei, broke the transmission jade, and disappeared from his line of sight.

The terrifying white-haired child disciple, for an unexplainable reason, was able to strike a final fatal blow through the fragments of the void onto the two.

If Xu Xiaoshou had not witnessed this scene, he would not have been able to imagine the power of an entity that had reached the Sovereign Stage.

Therefore, he had no choice but to put more effort into the execution of his plan.

‘Ye Xioatain had the nature of space attributes. Therefore, all of this is possible. Will this be the same for other more ordinary Sovereigns?’

‘Or rather, this assumption could be tested when Xin Gugu gets back!’

Xu Xiaoshou had made up his mind.

There was a fundamental difference between being active and being passive.

Xu Xiaoshou was slothful. If he was not able to sense that there was danger to his life, he would not flinch or be bothered. Even when he knew there were enemies around, he enjoyed going with the flow.

However, if he had to use his brain for problems…

It was like Feng Kong and Shao Yi from the Outer Yard Court, as well as the grey mist figure of the Tianxuan Gate. He would engage in a long-distance seesaw-like battle.

Even if he was leagues apart from his opponent, Xu Xiaoshou was determined to let them know that he was not a floormat that could be walked over.

It was exactly as Cen Qiaofu had shockingly remarked then.

The man was like a lazy porcupine.

He was calm and gentle when he was unbothered. However, at the slightest provocation, he would have left one with a face of blood if one did not have a body of steel.

‘No, this is not enough…’

Though Xu Xiaoshou was certain he had the winning cards in this battle, he was unable to relax since it was a Sovereign he was facing.

To ensure his plan was flawless, he sent his spiritual senses into Yuan Mansion and took a glance at the Red Interface he had not inspected in a while.

‘Come at me, Zhang Taiying.’

‘Let us test what is tougher—your life or my will.’