Descendant of the Qi Kingdom's Royal Family

Luo Xianshan returned to his room to rest, while Rong Yulu, feeling frustrated, left the inn alone and wandered through the City God Temple Fair.

Suddenly, someone blocked his path.

Rong Yulu said with a dark expression, "Get lost."

The newcomer smiled. "Young Friend Rong has quite the temper. Were you humiliated but unable to take revenge, leaving you in a foul mood?"

Rong Yulu frowned deeply. "Who are you?"

The newcomer stood with his hands behind his back. "Cai Tanggu."

Rong Yulu performed a cultivator's greeting, clasping his hands with his thumbs crossed and bending slightly at the waist. Forcing a smile, he said, "So it is Instructor Cai of Fish Abyss Academy. I have long heard of your great name."

Cai Tanggu spoke bluntly. "Young Friend Rong, did you suffer a setback at Jiang Wang's hands?"

Rong Yulu asked, "Does Mister Cai know Jiang Wang as well?"

Cai Tanggu's expression turned grave. "To tell you the truth, I too was repeatedly humiliated by that little thief Jiang Wang. I only arrived in Hun City at the beginning of the hour of the Rooster, and I was just planning to reclaim my dignity."

Rong Yulu said in surprise, "Jiang Wang actually dared to behave so outrageously before Mister Cai?"

Cai Tanggu fell silent for a moment.

After returning to Fish Abyss Academy, he had naturally investigated the Xunyang Marquis's circumstances. Just as Luo Xianshan had said at the Half-Day Leisure Inn, no wonder Jiang Wang had been so arrogant.

But a background was ultimately a thing of the past. If not for the Black Flame Army, the current marquis manor was virtually no different from an ordinary wealthy merchant household.

For a prince or lord like this, even if he came to exact revenge, it would not cause much trouble.

"Relying on his status as a Descendant of the Qi Kingdom's Royal Family, he has grown rather arrogant and overbearing. This time, I have returned to teach him how to behave. He should not think that, merely by leaning on the lingering shade cast by his forebears, he is still some Imperial Grandson. Now there is only the Sui Kingdom—there is no Qi Kingdom anymore."

Rong Yulu truly beamed with delight. "Mister Cai speaks most aptly. This junior is willing to lend Mister Cai a hand and properly teach Jiang Wang how to behave."

Cai Tanggu narrowed his eyes. "The Lupu Rong Family is loyal to His Majesty and serves as the Martial God Temple's right-hand man. How could you lose face here and simply let the matter rest? If Young Friend Rong helps me, then I am also helping you. We can head to the marquis manor together right now."

Remembering what Venerable Luo had said, Rong Yulu looked around and asked, "Just the two of us?"

Cai Tanggu pointed somewhere and smiled. "Of course, there is another expert to assist us."

Beneath the lantern outside a tavern stood a middle-aged man, his arms folded around a saber, his eyes closed in meditation.

About a hundred li south of Hun City.

A bonfire burned amid a sparse bamboo grove.

A young man sat on a rock before the fire.

A sword was strapped to his back, its style more akin to a woman's sword, with a blue tassel swaying in the breeze.

His skin was slightly dark, yet his features were extraordinary. He silently ate a flatbread when, at the faintest rustle of wind through grass, the sword on his back shot straight from its sheath. By the time it returned, it was stained with dark green blood.

His sword-like brows lifted slightly. In the instant the bonfire swayed violently, the man had vanished from the spot.

Fifty zhang away lay the enormous corpse of a Monster Luo Yong.

The man stopped. Hearing movement all around him, he sent the sword in his hand tearing through the air again the next moment.

A beastlike roar thundered loud enough to deafen the ears. Bamboo and trees snapped one after another, and a huge black shadow fell from high above. The man remained where he was without the slightest reaction. Then came the cry of the sword, which pierced straight through the shadow's body, and a Monster Luo Yong crashed down before him.

Only an inch separated them.

The man casually kicked the Monster Luo Yong's massive body aside, then listened closely once more to the movements around him.

The Flying Sword swept through the air.

The roars of Monster Luo Yongs rang out without end in the bamboo grove. Before long, they fell silent.

The man sheathed the returning sword and was about to turn away when he stopped again. The fallen leaves piled on the ground some distance away trembled faintly, and a hand suddenly stretched out.

Beside the bonfire, the man stared at the person lying before him.

It was an old man.

He was badly injured.

Fortunately, the man had studied medicine. Had he not happened to pass by, and had the Monster Luo Yongs not caught the old man's scent and gathered here, the old man would surely have died if matters had been delayed any longer.

Before much time had passed, the old man opened his eyes.

The image of that monster still lingered in his mind, startling him into a cold sweat.

Glancing sideways and seeing the man seated beside him, the old man froze slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Did you save me?"

The man nodded.

The old man struggled to sit up, his back bent as he stared at the bonfire before him. "Where is this?"

The man said nothing. He merely raised the bamboo branch in his hand and pointed toward a milestone.

The old man said in shock, "I actually flew more than a hundred li!"

He looked at the man, seemingly only now realizing something. Taking a guarded stance, he cautiously asked, "Are you heading to Hun City?"

The man nodded.

The old man frowned, then said, "It seems you are also one who seeks immortality. But a great demon has appeared in Hun City. That demon's body is immensely huge, unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. It merely blew out a breath, and I was sent flying to a place more than a hundred li outside Hun City. Hun City has likely already met with disaster."

The old man was none other than Feng Linghuai.

Earlier, he had not truly recovered his wits. Maintaining vigilance toward others was the instinct of a Jianli.

The man, who had not spoken from beginning to end and whose expression had not changed in the slightest, had his eyes brighten faintly upon hearing the words "great demon." He looked at Feng Linghuai. Though he still said nothing, his meaning was clear: he wanted the other man to elaborate.

Feng Linghuai strongly suspected that the man was mute.

After all, he was his savior. Repaying kindness was also a Jianli's rule.

Though he remained wary, Feng Linghuai still explained the situation from beginning to end in meticulous detail.

The man abruptly rose to his feet and headed straight for Hun City.

But then he seemed to recall something. Turning back to look at Feng Linghuai, he said calmly, "Your injuries are severe, but after my treatment, as long as you do not circulate your Qi for a short time, you will be no different from an ordinary person."

Feng Linghuai was greatly surprised.

So he was not mute?

But then he was even more shocked.

Without a Golden Elixir cultivator or the Old Master's divine talismans, what physician could possess such skill?!

He was a martial artist and could sense Qi. He had even condensed a mouthful of true Qi. If he had been treated by a Golden Elixir cultivator or a divine talisman, his body would have felt it. The facts proved that the man had truly healed him through medicine alone.

Hun City, Qixia Street, Xunyang Marquis Manor.

Cai Tanggu looked at the middle-aged man holding the saber and said, "That Jiang Wang does have some ability, and he is also trying to save Su Lingyi. We must end this quickly and absolutely cannot give him any chance to turn the tables."

The saber-holding man said nothing. Rong Yulu was rather surprised. "That Jiang Wang is clearly a good-for-nothing. What do you mean by that, Mister Cai?"

Cai Tanggu did not wish to bring up that embarrassing incident, but he still spoke truthfully. "I fought Jiang Wang once. His realm is at least at the peak of the Cave Nether Realm. Perhaps he used some method to conceal his aura, but do not be deceived by his outward appearance."

Rong Yulu did not understand, but he was thoroughly shaken.

This marquis manor truly was not simple.

The saber-holding man finally spoke. "Since he is a Descendant of the Qi Kingdom's Royal Family, it is only natural that some secret arts were left behind. If Jiang Wang truly has not joined some great sect, then the treasures left by the Qi Kingdom must be extraordinary."

Cai Tanggu raised his brows. "Brother Chongyang, do you mean Jiang Wang attained such a high realm at so young an age because of treasures left behind by the Qi Kingdom?"

The saber-holding man said, "Even if his aptitude is excellent, without genuine treasures to aid him, merely exploring the path of cultivation alone, it would already be fortunate if he could achieve Foundation Establishment, much less break into the Cave Nether Realm."

Cai Tanggu began to entertain some thoughts.

If such a treasure truly existed, then after being stuck at the peak of the Cave Nether Realm for so many years, he might have hope of breaking through the bottleneck.

The saber-holding man was even somewhat older than him, yet looked middle-aged. Cai Tanggu envied him terribly.

As long as he could advance into the Snow-Bathing Realm, he could improve his appearance. After Returning to Simplicity and becoming younger, he would no longer be as ugly as before.

A cultivator who had just broken through to the peak of the Cave Nether Realm could preserve their original essence and Return to Simplicity, but the opportunity came only once. Some chose to become young, some chose to become merely somewhat younger, while others chose to remain unchanged.

Advancing into the Snow-Bathing Realm would allow one to become more attractive. That was Cai Tanggu's lifelong wish.

At that moment, the gates of the marquis manor opened.

The Old Butler walked out, followed by the Green-robed Cultivator and the White-robed Cultivator.

Seeing Cai Tanggu, the Old Butler frowned deeply. "As expected, you still came back."

Cai Tanggu smiled. "Back then, you deliberately hid and refused to show yourself, did you not? After learning of the marquis manor's background, I wondered why I had not seen Tong Ji, who was as close as brothers with the Xunyang Marquis. Were you afraid I would recognize you on the spot?"

He had little interest in the princes and lords of the Sui Kingdom, but that did not mean he knew nothing of them. He simply had not deliberately paid attention to their affairs, which was why he had been unable to guess which household Hun City's Xunyang Marquis Manor belonged to.

Tong Ji, however, had once been somewhat renowned and had also stayed in the Divine Capital.

The records concerning Xunyang Marquis Manor traced back through successive emperors of the Qi Kingdom and included all manner of deeds. In the newest sections, Tong Ji's name stood out conspicuously.

"If the Old Marquis were still alive, the marquis manor could indeed be considered powerful and influential. But His Majesty has always greatly disliked the royal families of the former kingdoms. The power of princes and lords has grown ever weaker. You merely cling to life under the Imperial Edict bestowed by the Late Emperor. Even if I were truly to overturn your entire marquis manor, it would amount to no great matter."

Cai Tanggu took a step forward and threatened, "Jiang Wang insulted Fish Abyss Academy and privately imprisoned one of our academy's disciples. It is only right that I come seeking an explanation. I advise you to hand over Su Lingyi at once. Otherwise, I would not mind uprooting your entire marquis manor."

The Old Butler showed displeasure. "Instructor Cai, what an imposing tone you have."

The saber-holding man patted Cai Tanggu on the shoulder, signaling him to move aside. Then he threw a fierce punch, directly smashing through the gates of the marquis manor.

The Green-robed Cultivator and White-robed Cultivator drew their swords and attacked.

But as usual, they were effortlessly handled.

They spat blood and flew back.

The Green-robed Cultivator lay on the ground and said to the White-robed Cultivator with deep feeling, "Since coming to Hun City, I seem to have gotten used to it. I cannot beat anyone. Look at how I am lying here—someone who did not know better might think I was simply sleeping normally."

There was truly nothing he could do, so he began making fun of himself.

The White-robed Cultivator was speechless. This was far too humiliating.

"A martial artist? No, a cultivator!" The Old Butler stared gravely at the saber-holding man. The path of cultivation was already arduous. No one could cultivate both paths while ensuring achievements in each; in the end, one would only fail at both and waste an entire lifetime.

Yet the man before him seemed to be an exception.