Qinghe County.

Huwei Arts Hall. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"The new Divine Mansion Army Commander?"

Chu Yuan frowned slightly upon receiving the intelligence report.

Given the current situation in Qinghe County, the arrival of another Divine Mansion Army Commander with unknown intentions would only make a chaotic situation worse.

That’s right, he was now the Deputy Hall Master of Huwei Arts Hall.

Although his martial arts were once nearly crippled, he had now returned to the Yijin Pass. He was undeniably talented, but his swift recovery was inextricably linked to that Junior Brother Bai, who had already left for the Divine Mansion Sect.

If not for the Spirit Soup sent by Bai Yuan, his martial arts progress would never have advanced by leaps and bounds like this.

At the current Huwei Arts Hall, Hall Master Xue Gui had completely taken on the role of a hands-off manager.

Chu Yuan was now single-handedly managing all the affairs of the Martial Arts Hall, both large and small.

Old Xue now spent his days leisurely sunbathing in the courtyard, just waiting for the right moment to wash his hands of it all, let Chu Yuan become the next Martial Arts Hall Master, and then retire to a life of leisure.

For people of the Jianghu, being able to die a peaceful death was already a great blessing.

"Could it be our junior brother?"

Cheng Li, standing to the side, asked curiously.

At these words, the eyes of Xiao Qiaoniang, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Cheng Li, lit up.

Today, Xiao Qiaoniang had become Qinghe County’s only Female Muscle Strengthening Martial Artist, a master in her own right.

Aside from the Flying Eagle Castle Lord and the Gang Leader of the Iron Saber Gang, not even Chu Yuan was her match. Her spear techniques were flawless, the best in all of Qinghe.

Chu Yuan shook his head.

"I don’t know."

Just knowing that the Divine Mansion Sect was sending a new Commander was the limit of his intelligence network.

What kind of existence was the Divine Mansion Sect?

How could it allow a small county Martial Arts Hall to spy on it at will? If even he could obtain such classified information, the Soul-Chasing Tower would have long ago riddled the Divine Mansion Sect with spies until it was like a sieve.

The light that had appeared in Xiao Qiaoniang’s eyes dimmed once more.

Although she shared a symbiotic link with Xiaoqing, it wasn’t powerful enough to transmit her voice over a thousand li.

’Brother Yuan...’

A wary look appeared on Chu Yuan’s face.

"The Divine Mansion Sect is vast. The new Commander might have some grudge against Junior Brother Bai. It’s best we remain cautious."

Although he didn’t know the specifics of the Divine Mansion Sect, he knew it was rife with complex factions.

Bai Yuan belonged to just one of those factions, and the chances of him happening to be assigned to Qinghe were slim.

If the new Commander really held a grudge against Bai Yuan, then Huwei Arts Hall would be facing annihilation.

Any single person from the Divine Mansion Sect could wipe out the entire Huwei Arts Hall.

They had to be on guard.

As the Deputy Hall Master, Chu Yuan naturally had to consider the worst-case scenario first.

Just as the three of them fell into silence—

Ma Dingjun and Zhang Yang walked in.

"Senior Brother Chu, the people from Flying Eagle Castle injured our Martial Arts Hall’s disciples again."

Ma Dingjun said viciously.

A cold glint flashed in Chu Yuan’s eyes.

Lately, friction between Huwei Arts Hall and Flying Eagle Castle had been constant. The two sides were one step away from tearing off all pretense of civility.

Strangely enough, the Flying Eagle Castle Lord, Ji Chang, had suddenly announced he was entering seclusion to break through to the Blood Refining Pass. However, the one who took charge of Flying Eagle Castle in his stead was not the Young Master, Ji Jiutian, but his sixth son, Ji Hanming.

After Ji Hanming took control of Flying Eagle Castle, it was as if he had become enlightened.

Not only did he become decisive and ruthless in his actions, but his cultivation breakthroughs were also frighteningly fast.

Not long ago, he had just broken through to the Strong Organ Pass.

The moment he broke through, Ji Hanming eliminated all voices of opposition within Flying Eagle Castle one by one.

He even beat his own half-brother, Ji Jiutian, to death, cementing his supreme authority in Flying Eagle Castle in a single stroke.

Ever since Ji Hanming took over Flying Eagle Castle, he began to expand his territory like a madman.

Previously, Flying Eagle Castle’s influence was entirely outside Qinghe County Town. Now, they controlled fifty percent of the business within the town walls.

Even the Iron Saber Gang was being thoroughly suppressed by Flying Eagle Castle, to say nothing of Huwei Arts Hall.

"Endure."

Chu Yuan took a deep breath and spoke a single word.

Xiao Qiaoniang had already sent a letter to Bai Yuan yesterday, explaining the situation with Flying Eagle Castle in detail.

For Huwei Arts Hall to face Flying Eagle Castle with their current strength was like an egg hitting a rock; only Bai Yuan had the power to confront this behemoth.

The only thing they could do now was endure.

Endure until Bai Yuan returned.

If even Bai Yuan couldn’t handle it, their only option would be to move out of Qinghe.

Leaving their home was a desolate prospect, but it was better than being annihilated by Flying Eagle Castle.

The small courtyard suddenly fell silent, and a shadow of gloom fell over everyone’s heart.

...

Qinghe County Town.

Star-Picking Tower. It stood an imposing thirty stories high, the tallest structure in all of Qinghe.

Flying Eagle Castle, which occupied half the city, had spent a fortune to have this magnificent, imposing tower erected.

On the highest floor of Star-Picking Tower.

"Bai Yuan..."

Ji Hanming took a deep breath as he stared at the intelligence report in his hand.

He had already learned that the Divine Mansion Army Commander sent to oversee Qinghe County was none other than Bai Yuan.

Ji Hanming’s eyes filled with venomous hatred.

Because that position should have been his.

That’s right. He was Ji Hanming, but he was also Long Ao!

Long Ao had possessed a corpse to resurrect his soul...

This was a contingency he had been planning for over a decade. He had only intended it as a last resort, never thinking he would actually have to use it one day.

The Ji Hanming of today was merely an empty shell; his soul had long been devoured by Long Ao.

The Flying Eagle Castle Lord, Ji Chang, was not in seclusion as the outside world believed; he had been imprisoned by him.

If he hadn’t been worried about causing internal strife in Flying Eagle Castle, he would have long ago sent the Ji Family father and son to keep each other company in the Underworld.

He didn’t give a damn about a mere Strong Internal Martial Artist.

With the resources of Flying Eagle Castle and the Iron Saber Gang, even though they had men inside the Divine Mansion Sect, it was impossible for them to learn such a secret.

The reason Long Ao had been able to obtain this information was, of course, because he was far too familiar with the inner workings of the Divine Mansion Sect.

As a former True Disciple, he knew far too much...

Still, in his current identity as Ji Hanming, it should have been incredibly difficult to obtain this information; at best, the intelligence he could gather would be no better than Chu Yuan’s.

So, he chose to raid a courier station!

The report in his hand was not intelligence gathered by Flying Eagle Castle, but a confidential letter from the Divine Mansion Army.

If the Divine Mansion Sect or the Xuan Yang Court were to find out about this, the extermination of nine generations of his family would be a light punishment.

But Long Ao didn’t care. It was the Ji Family that would be exterminated, after all. What did that have to do with him?

Killing intent raged in his eyes.

He had been killed by Bai Yuan; the enmity between them ran deep. However, with his current strength, dealing with Bai Yuan was almost impossible.

Therefore, he had to borrow external strength.

...

「The next day.」

East of Qinghe County, in front of a magnificent mansion.

Ji Hanming, or rather, Long Ao, appeared here alone.

He pushed open the vermilion-lacquered main gate with extreme familiarity.

This residence had no record in Flying Eagle Castle’s ledgers; it did not belong to the castle at all.

The gate was unlocked, so Long Ao entered the courtyard without any hindrance.

Many beautiful young women were playing in the courtyard. When they saw Long Ao appear, their movements paused only for a moment, showing no surprise.

Long Ao, for his part, was long accustomed to such scenes.

He walked straight into the largest hall in the residence.

Before he even crossed the threshold, he heard waves of seductive moans from within.

He saw a corpulent fatty, blindfolded, playing with seven or eight delicate women, looking just like some debauched emperor from a fallen dynasty.

Long Ao cleared his throat. "Master Zhou."

Hearing Long Ao’s voice, the fat man with the surname Zhou didn’t pause his actions in the slightest.

He grabbed the woman closest to him and groped her thoroughly before finally pulling off his black blindfold and speaking impatiently.

"What is it?"

"Bai Yuan of the Divine Mansion Sect will arrive in Qinghe in three days."

As soon as these words were spoken, the lecherous expression on the big fatty’s face vanished, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Bai Yuan..."

He murmured the name under his breath.

He had, of course, heard this name before. Not just because Bai Yuan had killed Long Ao, but because this man was one of the sixteen True Disciples of the Divine Mansion Sect. That status alone was enough to warrant his attention.

Long Ao took a deep breath. "We absolutely cannot let him ruin our sect’s plans."

Killing intent flashed in the big fatty’s eyes.

Once Bai Yuan arrived in Qinghe County, the Celestial Heart Sect’s secrets would be impossible to keep.

It would be better to strike first and kill him, then withdraw as quickly as possible before the Divine Mansion Sect found out.

"Then kill him."

The big fatty’s words were ice-cold.

The beautiful woman in his arms couldn’t help but shudder.

The corners of Long Ao’s mouth curved up slightly. "My thoughts exactly."

This big fatty surnamed Zhou might act frivolously, but his strength was undeniable. The Altar Masters of the Celestial Heart Sect were almost all top-tier experts.

Fatty Zhou had just recently broken through to the Entering the Realm stage.

The reason he wasn’t well-known in Huanglong Prefecture was that the big fatty wasn’t from Huanglong Prefecture to begin with. He wasn’t even from Ling Province.

He had only come to Qinghe County on the Sect Leader’s orders.

The name "Ghost-Faced" Zhou Tao was extremely famous in the neighboring provinces; countless experts had died under his iron hammers.

With Zhou Tao taking action, a hundred Bai Yuans wouldn’t be enough for him to kill.

There were True Disciples in the Divine Mansion Sect who had reached the Entering the Realm Pass, but Bai Yuan was clearly not one of them.

Long Ao said, "I’ll lure him out. The rest will be up to you."

"Fine."

Zhou Tao stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked his lips.

The world thought he loved women, but in truth, what he loved most was the taste of blood—especially the blood of geniuses.

That taste... TSK, TSK.

...

Huwei Arts Hall.

"Who are you?"

A guard at the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall saw a menacing group approaching the hall and shouted at them to halt.

Someone sharp-eyed had already slipped back into the Martial Arts Hall to sound the alarm, because they recognized the flying eagle emblem on the men’s sleeves. These were men from Flying Eagle Castle.

Flying Eagle Castle was finally making a move on Huwei Arts Hall!

Qinghe County originally had three major powers. After the Liu Family was wiped out, Flying Eagle Castle and the Iron Saber Gang stood as equals.

But with Ji Hanming taking charge of Flying Eagle Castle, the Iron Saber Gang had been ruthlessly suppressed.

Puzzlingly, the Gang Leader of the Iron Saber Gang showed no intention of appearing, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

Aside from the Iron Saber Gang, the only power in Qinghe City that could pose a threat to Flying Eagle Castle was Huwei Arts Hall.

This was not only because Huwei Arts Hall had four Yijin Martial Masters, but also because the young man surnamed Bai from the Divine Mansion Sect had come from this very Martial Arts Hall.

Rumor had it that the young man was now a big shot in the Divine Mansion Sect.

Perhaps it was precisely out of fear of the Divine Mansion Sect that Flying Eagle Castle had hesitated to move against Huwei Arts Hall.

Today, they were finally making their big move.

"You..."

Seeing the Flying Eagle Castle disciples about to reach him, the Martial Arts Hall guard moved to block them.

But he was sent flying by a kick from the burly man at the front.

The guard was kicked more than ten meters away, and he lay on the ground, his condition unknown.

The other Martial Arts Hall disciples who had been about to step forward to help all froze, their eyes widening in shock.

An Yijin Martial Master!

The burly man in the lead had broken through to the Yijin Pass.

The strongest among them had only reached the Bone Forging Pass; how could they be a match for an Yijin Martial Master?

In all of Qinghe County, the number of Yijin Martial Masters was extremely small.

Coincidentally, Zhang Yang was on duty at the Martial Arts Hall’s main gate today. He, too, was shocked by the scene.

Due to his limited innate talent, he still hadn’t managed to break through to the Yijin Pass, even after taking Bai Yuan’s Spirit Soup.

He would surely be at a disadvantage if he confronted the burly man from Flying Eagle Castle.

His experience in the Jianghu was far greater than that of the younger disciples. Thus, he had no intention of being a hero and immediately prepared to retreat.

’Only Chu Yuan is qualified to deal with this man.’

But the burly man seemed to recognize him. Before Zhang Yang could pull back, the man lunged forward several steps, closing in on Zhang Yang’s back in an instant. His five fingers curved, ready to capture him.

Zhang Yang felt the rush of wind at his back, gritted his teeth, and threw himself forward.

The gap in their strength was too great. The only thing he could do now was avoid being killed in a single blow.

A disciple had already gone to the rear courtyard to report the news. As long as Chu Yuan and the others arrived in time, he wouldn’t lose his life.

Flying Eagle Castle had killed many Iron Saber Gang experts recently; killing a mere Martial Arts Hall instructor would be nothing to them.

The middle-aged, burly man’s five fingers were already descending on Zhang Yang’s back.

If this palm strike landed true, Zhang Yang would undoubtedly die!