Provocation

Enraged and ashamed, Murong Fu attacked Feng Bo'e Bao Butong injured and on the verge of death.

Looking at the two men on the verge of death, he couldn't help but feel some regret, after all, they had always been loyal.

But seeing that the two of them were already on the verge of death, and were still saying such disgraceful things to Deng Baichuan and the others, Murong Fu couldn't help but feel very dissatisfied.

Why do they underestimate themselves like that?

Why do they refuse to take my martial arts skills seriously?

Then she thought back to when she was at Shaolin Temple, A'Zhu, A'Bi, Wang Yuyan and the others blocked her way, Duan Yu even that silly boy Duan Yu advised her not to show herself, for fear that she would be beaten to death by Qiao Feng.

Nobody respects me.

Xiao Feng, that bastard, only considered his father as an opponent and didn't take him seriously at all.

Now look what's happened. These few people only went to Apricot Forest once, and even his loyal retainers look down on him like this.

Murong Fu's actions were observed by hundreds of martial arts practitioners from the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands.

Although these people didn't get along with Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e, they disliked this guy who loved to fight and who loved to curse.

But their loyalty to Murong Fu has been unquestionable throughout their journey.

Seeing that Murong Fu had almost beaten the two to death over such a trivial matter, he naturally felt a sense of contempt.

Although they were all heroes who didn't care about gratitude or loyalty, that didn't stop them from looking down on other unjust people.

However, it was precisely because Murong Fu killed these two and revealed his skills that he reminded them.

The cave lords and island lords exchanged glances, clearly understanding each other's meaning.

"Young Master Murong, your martial arts are unparalleled, and we admire you wholeheartedly. How can we tolerate being insulted by these two scoundrels? They constantly boost the morale of others while diminishing their own. I think they are traitors!"

An island owner whose name I don't even know started spouting nonsense.

Deng Baichuan glared angrily at him.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you looking to die?"

Deng Baichuan also vented his nameless anger on this person.

The two good brothers were beaten to death by the young master.

Brotherly love or loyalty between ruler and subject? Deng Baichuan didn't know what to do.

Those cave lords and island lords were all in cahoots. No one paid any attention to Deng Baichuan. Instead, a few people were whispering behind his back in a voice that everyone could hear.

"What Southern Murong? He wants to subdue us? How shameful! He can't even control his own men."

"No, it was just so embarrassing. Didn't you see how he almost cried when he fell down?"

"Look how scared his men are. I don't know if he's really capable or just bragging. We brothers shouldn't follow the wrong person."

A few sarcastic remarks stirred things up, and Murong Fu's face flushed red again.

He started yelling at the crowd.

"Who? Who's talking nonsense here? If you've got the guts, step forward!"

Naturally, nobody paid him any attention.

Although no one continued to provoke him with words, the gazes directed at him felt like sharp Sharp Sword, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Although Murong Fu came from a prestigious family, he was illiterate and had a relatively smooth life since childhood, except for the loss of his parents.

In terms of cultural level, most of these island lords could read martial arts manuals on their own, so they weren't much worse than Murong Fu. There might even be a few who had only passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations, making their cultural level surpass Murong Fu's.

And how much torment did these island lords and cave masters suffer under the control of Misty Peak? And how many hardships did they endure, mingling and deceiving each other among these unorthodox sects?

In terms of intelligence and cunning, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a small portion of them surpassed Murong Fu.

Murong Fu, who had hoped to recruit these people to his own cause, was instead manipulated by them.

They were especially delighted to see Murong Fu unleash his full inner strength and roar angrily at them, making their ears ring.

At this moment, the two dying men looked on with sorrow and barely raised their blood-stained hands to grasp Murong Fu.

It emitted an extremely faint sound.

"Run..."

But that one sound caused an uproar among Murong Fu.

He turned back with bloodshot eyes, too angry to speak, and pointed at his two loyal brothers who were about to die.

"Young Master Murong, take this sword!"

The Island Master Yun handed over an iron sword.

Murong Fu was taken aback for a moment, then caught the sword in time.

Blinded by rage, before he could even react, Deng Baichuan had already stepped in front of him.

"Young master, what are you doing?"

Deng Baichuan questioned him angrily.

"Fine! You dare to talk back to me?"

Murong Fu angrily swung his sword, and Deng Baichuan, caught off guard, desperately raised his left hand to defend himself.

With a swish, half of Deng Baichuan's arm was sliced off.

Murong Fu swung his sword twice more to help Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e, who were about to be reincarnated, to take a few more steps faster.

Blood splattered all over Gongye Qian's face.

"Young Master!"

Gongye Qian looked at Murong Fu with an incredulous, trembling gaze.

Murong Fu's anger subsided as he looked at the blood on the ground, the two men's mistakes, and one man's severed arm, and he was somewhat lost in thought.

I didn't intend to... I didn't want to do it.

Murong Fu stared blankly at the blood-stained iron sword in his hand.

After the anger subsides, one is naturally filled with regret.

"Young Master Murong did a good job killing him. People like him who have no backbone should be killed."

More island owners and cave dwellers started making a fuss.

The leaders also surrounded Murong Fu, flattering him.

"We people from these Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands are truly impressed by Young Master Murong."

"That's right, that's right. Look at the moves Young Master Murong made just now. Such profound internal strength. We are all a generation older than Young Master Murong, but we could never cultivate such internal strength even if we started from the womb."

"As expected, the Southern Murong are all convinced."

Murong Fu felt somewhat better after being flattered.

They were all secretly trying to comfort themselves.

Everything was for the sake of the Murong Family's restoration of their kingdom; a true man does not concern himself with trifles.

He originally intended to subdue the people of the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands, whose skills far surpassed those of Feng Bo'e and Bao Butong.

By submitting to themselves, they essentially expanded their power many times over.

Although it hurts to kill two brothers.

But it's still a worthwhile deal.

If anyone's to blame, it's those two for being so clueless and ruining their own reputation in front of everyone.

As emperor, one naturally needs to command both respect and fear from these people.

One's reputation is one's dignity, and it is something one must never lose.

Before we arrived, we had all agreed to recruit these people to our own cause. It was those two who suddenly made a mistake, and now that they're dead, it's not their fault.

At worst, we can just grant them additional titles later once things are settled.

After all, he had initially lured these people with the martial arts secrets of the Returning Waterside Pavilion, but he had only managed to win them over with benefits. Now that they were truly willing to submit to him, and he had helped them avenge their deaths and eliminate the great enemy of the Vulture Peak Palace, he had completely brought them under his control.

Murong Fu stood at the front of the group from the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands once again, and everyone followed his lead.

Seeing Murong Fu step forward, Island Master Yun and Wu Laoda exchanged a glance before letting out a sigh of relief.

They were under immense pressure.

Unable to ascertain the origins of this Central Divine before them, they were all filled with dread.

Firstly, there was their own fear and dread of the Vulture Peak Palace. Secondly, Zhuo Bufan was one of the best among their group. If they were to fight, and Zhuo Bufan used any unorthodox methods, hidden weapons, traps, or poisons, the outcome would be uncertain.

However, in a real contest, very few people can surpass Zhuo Bufan in terms of skill, and everyone is extremely wary of him.

Yet, this powerful Zhuo Bufan was so easily outmaneuvered by the Central Divine, who stood on the side of the Vulture Peak Palace.

Who knows what this person's true strength is? What other tricks does he have up his sleeve? Out of fear of the Vulture Peak Palace, the people of the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands also dared to speculate about this person with the greatest fear.

A single Life and Death Talisman is enough to make them wish they were dead; any other means would make it worse than going to hell.

They valued their lives and didn't want to suffer, so naturally no one dared to step forward and test them.

Just then, Murong Fu stepped forward.

Although Murong Fu lost face and looked like a clown, everyone could see from those few moves that the internal energy Murong Fu unleashed was indeed powerful.

Although everyone thinks Murong Fu is stupid and ridiculous, his strength is indeed not to be underestimated.

Among those present, many were a step above Feng Bo'e Bao Butong of strength, but very few could truly take on two opponents at once.

Most of them were at roughly the same level, either higher or lower, but Murong Fu's strength was clearly two levels higher than theirs.

However, faced with this unknown threat and the unfathomable power of the Central Divine, Murong Fu's strength was naturally the greater the better.

They were all in the same group from the beginning, and Murong Fu had promised them that they would be allowed to read books at the Returning Waterside Pavilion in the future, which was naturally a huge temptation for them.

In addition, Murong Fu was simple-minded, and everyone knew each other well and was confident in their abilities, so no one was afraid of Murong Fu, but everyone was afraid of Ji Boying.

These people then staged this performance together, provoking Murong Fu to stand in front of them.

"Is Southern Murong going to stand up for these lackeys?"

With Xu Zhu and Ji Boying backing them up, the Four Swords of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum became even more resilient.

Murong Fu, with his elegant demeanor, gave a cold snort and flicked the blood off his sword.

"No matter what matters in the world, nothing is more important than reason. I, Murong Fu, will uphold justice today. You have oppressed the island lords for so many years, and now it is time to pay the price."

Murong Fu's arrogant words made Wang Yuyan want to vomit.

The bodies of Feng Bo'e and Bao Butong are still lying there.

Deng Baichuan, clutching his severed arm, sat in a pool of blood next to his two dead brothers, while Gongye Qian was also in a daze.

If Wang Yuyan had seen such a scene before, she would naturally have been saddened for a while.

But now he feels nothing for these Four Great Retainers.

The four of them were only loyal to Murong Fu and only cared about the Murong Family's great cause. What did they think she was, a mere cousin?

In their eyes, they are merely tools; there is no affection whatsoever.

In the past, because his family was wealthy and powerful, he could also help Murong Fu practice his skills, so they respected him.

Having failed to restore his kingdom through martial arts, Murong Fu decided to offer himself as a gift because of his beauty and mastery of various martial arts styles.

Not only did they not help stop it, they even helped arrest people.

Now that he's died at Murong Fu's hands, he deserves it.

"Let's talk this out, let's talk this out, let's not resort to violence anymore."

Xu Zhu quickly stepped forward because he sensed the murderous aura emanating from Ji Boying.

Although the young monk was somewhat pedantic and dull-witted, he still had a good eye for things.

Although the young monk did not want to practice the martial arts of the Xiaoyao School and was humble and did not think he was anything special, he also understood that his martial arts skills were truly terrifying.

Whether it's Tianshan Child Elder or Li Qiushui, both of their martial arts skills are unfathomable. This little monk dares not make a definitive judgment on Murong Fu's martial arts skills, but they certainly can't be much stronger than these two.

With the combined internal strength of these three individuals, Young Master Murong is likely no match for him.

That's what the little monk was thinking, and that's what he was feeling.

His internal energy, accumulated over two hundred years, fostered his extremely keen senses.

He felt no threat whatsoever from Murong Fu, while initially he sensed something ethereal about Ji Boying, only becoming truly perceptible upon closer inspection—like a lake, a rushing torrent, or a towering mountain.

When Murong Fu provoked Ji Boying, a murderous aura erupted from him.

That was an extremely terrifying feeling.

The young monk felt his internal energy tense up.

In this way, one can naturally understand that one is not as good as Ji Boying, Murong Fu is not as good as oneself.

If Murong Fu were to make another move, he would clearly be courting death.

Xu Zhu didn't want to see anyone else die.

Murong Fu killed Feng Bo'e and Bao Butong without even realizing it. Xu Zhu was so far away that he naturally didn't react either. The bag of pine cones he had brought with him was also thrown on the ground, so he couldn't come to the rescue.

Now, Xu Zhu really wanted to save his life.

Murong Fu killed two people, both of whom were his own brothers.

What's the big deal if he pays with his life?

But Xu Zhu always wanted to save people.

If there is any crime, we will judge it later.

Zhen Yi was instantly killed by Ji Boying, which was something he really didn't want to see. He had already bled enough, so let's stop here.

"Do you even think you're worthy to fight me?"

Murong Fu recognized Xu Zhu, the ugly monk.

It was nothing more than getting some benefits from Su Xinghe.

But judging from his stupid appearance, he was clearly no match for him.

"This humble monk will spar with Young Master Murong for a couple of rounds, so you can vent your anger."

Xu Zhu walked casually to Murong Fu, put his hands together, lowered his head, and showed no sign of being on guard.

Murong Fu's emotions were fluctuating a lot today, and seeing him like this made him very unhappy.

He didn't know if the little monk was truly stupid or pretending.

Is this a sign of looking down on oneself?

"Good! Good! Let me show you what the Murong Family is capable of!"

Murong Fu laughed angrily, flicked his wrist, and the iron sword turned into a series of sword flowers.

It was the Murong Family's inherited sword technique, a sword technique that flowed like clouds and water, exquisite and extraordinary.