Settling Old Grudges

Almost simultaneously, Yue Qianchou and his group had just vanished when the three arrived, quickly surveying the area from the air. The three old men scanned the scene from above; clearly, the fighting had ended before their arrival. The entire Prime Minister's Mansion's Prime Minister's Mansion was a charred mess, and a lingering mist of steam still hung over it.

Inside the mansion, soldiers were still fighting the fire. Outside, in front of the main gate, the street was littered with corpses, blood flowing like a river—a truly horrifying sight. The three elders exchanged bewildered glances. A cultivator was actually attacking mortals? But upon reflection, it made sense. The Prime Minister was no ordinary man; once his guards made a move, those who came looking for trouble would naturally show no mercy in order to achieve their goals.

The three elders' gazes finally fell on the two corpses inside the mansion. They flashed down together and saw that the two people lying on the ground had been pierced by countless sword holes, and their faces showed that they died with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

"It was caused by flying swords, so many sword eyes. It's obvious we were attacked by a group of people. This is troublesome. So many treacherous cultivators have appeared in Dayang City, and we didn't even know. I'm afraid Yin Baikang will hold us accountable." One of them said with a bitter face.

The three were all cultivators at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage Transcending Realm, Mi Rushan, Mi Ruhai, and Mi Ruquan. They were three brothers from the same family, disciples of Huo Zongming, a Nascent Spirit Transformation stage expert from the Great Yang Kingdom. Their duty was to guard the Great Yang Kingdom's imperial palace, maintain the stability of the imperial power, and facilitate Huo Zongming's control over the entire Great Yang Kingdom.

The one who spoke was the youngest of the three brothers Mi Ruquan. Normally, this matter shouldn't concern them, but since it involves Yin Baikang, a master at the late Spirit Transformation stage, if they can't come up with a good explanation, it might be difficult to resolve this peacefully.

"No trouble! Someone has revealed their identity and openly provoked Yin Baikang. The trouble won't be on our end." Mi Rushan pointed to the high wall, and the two looked over. A Squad Commander was stuck on the top of the wall, fluttering slightly in the night breeze.

Mi Ruhai reached out and took the Squad Commander from the top of the wall, gently unfolding it. The three men examined it; the word "Hero" was embroidered in gold. A look of confusion crossed their faces. Mi Ruhai asked, "Hero? Has anyone heard of him?" The other two shook their heads slightly, indicating they hadn't.

Mi Rushan looked around and said, "Whoever he is, we'll use him to get rid of him. Besides, we didn't find Yin Wufeng's body here; he might have just been captured. We just need to report this to our master. Let Yin Baikang investigate the rest; it's none of our business. Let's go!"

Without further ado, the three quickly soared into the sky and disappeared. A short while later, a large number of City Guards arrived...

In a cave in a remote valley in Utopia, all the captured people were thrown into the cave. Yue Qianchou pointed to the unconscious Lu Wanqian, and a masked team member picked him up and followed Yue Qianchou out of the cave.

As the sun rose, Yue Qianchou on the mountaintop returned to his original appearance, spreading his arms to welcome the warm sunlight, stretching lazily, and saying without turning his head, "Wake him up."

The masked team member pulled Lu Wanqian up from the ground and slapped him awake. When Lu Wanqian woke up, he found himself standing on a mountaintop. A masked man in black was letting go of him, and a few meters away, another unmasked man in black had his back to him.

"Who are you? I have no grudge against you, why are you arresting me?" These were the first words Lu Wanqian uttered. He discovered that his Dantian was still sealed and had not been unsealed, so he had no chance to escape.

"How could we be without any grudges? Lu Wanqian, your memory isn't so good! I'm really happy to see you again." Yue Qianchou still had his back to him, gazing at the thriving Utopia in the distance, and said calmly.

"You know me? Who are you?" Lu Wanqian asked in surprise. He also felt that the other person's voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was.

Yue Qianchou slowly turned around, looked at Lu Wanqian's mouth which was gradually opening, and said with a faint smile, "Elder Lu Wanqian of the Qingguang Sect, it's been a long time since we last met. I've been looking for you everywhere. Alas! It's really difficult to see you. I had to travel thousands of miles abroad to find you."

"Yue Qianchou?" Lu Wanqian asked in astonishment. He himself could hardly believe that he would actually meet this guy in the Great Yang Kingdom.

"What? You finally remembered?" Yue Qianchou smiled like he was meeting an old friend.

Lu Wanqian was stunned for a long time, then suddenly asked with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "You actually came all the way to the Great Yang Kingdom to capture me just to find me? This... you... I almost forgot about the grudges between us, but I didn't expect you to still remember them."

The subtext of his words was nothing more than, "I've been hiding so far away, and you still managed to find me. That's really something!"

"Oh dear! I only discovered you by accident." Yue Qianchou found it somewhat amusing and sighed, "Now that things have come to this, tell me! Why did you come to the Great Yang Kingdom?"

"What else is there to say? Now that I'm in your hands, do you think you can let me go?" Lu Wanqian said with a wry smile, appearing indifferent.

"Let's talk about it! After all, so much time has passed since our affair. If we talk about it, maybe I'll be in a good mood and let you off the hook," Yue Qianchou said with a smile.

Lu Wanqian appeared relaxed, showing no fear of being captured. Clearly, he knew Yue Qianchou well and had no expectation that Yue would let him go. However, after a moment's hesitation, he recounted how he had come to the Great Yang Kingdom. Perhaps he still harbored a sliver of hope for survival.

It turns out that after the Qingguang Sect was destroyed, Lu Wanqian, who was in the Hundred Flower Valley Cultivation Alliance, secretly led the remaining Qingguang Sect disciples and fled overnight upon hearing the news. There was no other reason than that the Qingguang Sect had been too arrogant before. Not only had they fought against the Blood Demon Palace of the Demonic Path, but they had also destroyed several minor sects of the Demonic Path, thus offending the entire Demonic Path.

Without the Qingguang Sect as their support, and given that the Righteous and Demonic paths hadn't yet united as they are now, Lu Wanqian knew the demonic forces wouldn't spare the remnants of the Qingguang Sect. To save their lives, they led the remaining Qingguang Sect disciples on a furtive westward escape, eventually arriving in the Great Yang Kingdom. After further trials and tribulations, they sought refuge in the residence of the Great Yang Kingdom's Prime Minister as guards. That's the whole story.

After listening, Yue Qianchou nodded and said, "You do have some self-awareness, knowing that the people of the demonic path will not let you go."

Lu Wanqian glanced at the masked man in black beside him and asked, "I want to know something: were those people who destroyed the Qingguang Sect sent by you?"

"No!" Yue Qianchou denied it directly. Seeing that he still didn't quite believe her, she smiled faintly and said, "Now that things have come to this, I have no reason to lie to you. Hero is indeed one of my men, but the hero who wiped out the Qingguang Sect Non-Self hero. It was someone who used Hero's name to do their own dirty deeds, reaping the benefits and then smearing Hero's name. This matter is no secret in the Huaxia Cultivation World now. You may not know, but it was the Yan family father and son, whom your Cultivation World supports, who did this good deed."

"The Yan family father and son!" A trace of resentment flashed across Lu Wanqian's face, then he shook his head and smiled bitterly. Even if he knew who his enemy was, so what? He simply didn't have the ability to take revenge.

"What is the background of the Prime Minister of the Great Yang Kingdom? How could he have so many cultivators protecting a mere mortal like him?" Yue Qianchou asked.

"Hehe! Yue Qianchou, you've gotten yourself into big trouble this time. This prime minister's background will shock you." Lu Wanqian said, word by word, "His name is Yin Wufeng, and he is the grandson of a master at the late Spirit Transformation stage. You can't believe it? Hmph! The Huaxia Cultivation World is closed off and thinks that the late Tribulation Transcendence stage Transcending realm is already a top master. Little do they know how big the outside world is."

However, Yue Qianchou's expression disappointed him somewhat. He was not frightened by his words and simply said "Oh" indifferently, "So you are a grandson of a late Spirit Transformation stage. No wonder."

Lu Wanqian asked curiously, "You don't seem surprised at all. Do you also know about the existence of the Spirit Transformation stage?"

Yue Qianchou, seemingly unrelated to the question, countered with, "Have you ever heard of a world's Number One Expert Under Heaven?"

Lu Wanqian's eyes flickered as he said, "Are you talking about the legendary Bi Changchun? I've only heard of such a person by chance."

Yue Qianchou nodded and said, "That's right, he is my master. Do you think I need to be afraid of that late Spirit Transformation stage you mentioned?"

"Uh..." Lu Wanqian opened his mouth wide, stunned for a long time, too shocked to speak.

"I'm new here and don't know much about the Cultivation World outside of China. Tell me everything you know! Also, I'm interested in that late Spirit Transformation stage expert you mentioned," Yue Qianchou said with a smile. The two were already at each other's mercy, so it was obvious they were both speaking frankly.

Lu Wanqian looked at him with a complicated expression, paused for a moment, then took off the Storage Bag from her waist and threw it to him, saying, "My Dantian is sealed, so I can't access anything. There's a jade tablet stored separately inside. After I came here, I recorded everything I saw and heard on it. I originally planned to tell the Huaxia Cultivation World everything when I had the chance to return to China someday, but it seems that the opportunity is gone now. Take it! There are things you want to know inside."

Yue Qianchou channeled his Divine Sense into the Storage Bag and quickly located the jade tablet. After scanning it, he discovered that it indeed contained a vast amount of information, presumably accumulated over the years. After putting the item away, Yue Qianchou took out the human skin mask, put it back on, and changed into the brocade robe, instantly transforming back into the handsome and dashing man.

Lu Wanqian pointed at him in surprise and said, "It's you! You're the one who nodded to me on the street that day."

"Not bad!" Yue Qianchou laughed. "Since you've been so frank, tell me what your last wishes are! If it's convenient, I'll help you fulfill them."

Lu Wanqian's face paled; he still wouldn't let him go after all. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "I have been a disciple of the Qingguang Sect since childhood and have received great kindness from them, which I truly cannot repay. If I have any last wish, Yue Qianchou, I hope you can help me kill the Yan family father and son to avenge the annihilation of the entire Qingguang Sect. I have no other request!" After saying this, he slowly closed his eyes with a desolate expression, two old tears falling down his cheeks, ready to die.

Yue Qianchou pondered for a moment and said, "It's a bit difficult, but like I said, if it's convenient, I'll help you complete it. Just go with peace of mind!" Then, with a wave of his sleeve, a fierce burst of azure flame engulfed Lu Wanqian, turning him to ashes in an instant without a sound, giving him a swift and painless end. The feud between the two was thus considered resolved...

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