Great Xia

Yun Long sat in the main seat and gestured, "Commander Ning, Young Master Ning, please be seated."

"You are too kind, Patriarch Yun." Ning Yongrui cupped his hands, a polite smile on his face. "I have long heard of Patriarch Yun's great name. Meeting you today, you are indeed a young talent with an extraordinary demeanor."

Yun Long picked up his teacup and took a sip, his gaze falling on Ning Yongrui with a hint of inquiry.

He believed he had acted discreetly, never revealing his true cultivation or strength in front of others.

Ning Yongrui, as the commander of Wanfang Lake and a cultivator, suddenly visiting today with his son, was clearly not just a simple courtesy call.

"Commander Ning, you're not just here to praise me a little today, are you?" Yun Long put down his teacup, his voice still calm, but he directly pierced through the other's politeness. "I don't believe I have any deep connection with Commander Ning. May I ask the reason for your visit today, Commander?"

A subtle, unreadable curve formed at the corner of Ning Yongrui's lips. He didn't directly answer Yun Long's question.

He reached into his robes and calmly took out a well-crafted envelope. With a flick of his finger, he pushed it onto the coffee table in front of Yun Long.

"Patriarch Yun might as well take a look at this first."

The edges of the envelope were embossed with dark gold cloud patterns. It felt smooth to the touch, yet exuded a strange chill.

Yun Long's eyes narrowed slightly as he picked up the envelope.

His fingertips tore open the seal, and he pulled out a thin sheet of paper.

As he unfolded it, several lines of ink met his eyes. Each character felt like a red-hot brand, searing his heart.

"Fellow Daoist, is the Qingxuan Gengjin Qi useful? You owe me, Long Feiyu, a favor."

These short two lines struck Yun Long's mind like a thunderclap!

The hand holding the paper tightened, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

Qingxuan Gengjin Qi!

Long Feiyu!

These two names, like sharp blades, instantly pierced through all his disguises and lucky chances of escaping detection.

All this way, he had believed his actions were hidden, never expecting to have already fallen into someone else's sight.

He didn't even know who this "Long Feiyu" was, yet the person clearly knew his greatest secret.

A chill surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and Yun Long felt his breath catch.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and slowly raised his eyes to look at Ning Yongrui.

The other still wore that polite smile, but his eyes were as deep as an ancient well, as if he could see through everything.

This was clearly not the demeanor of someone coming to accuse him.

If they truly wanted to pursue this, it wouldn't be Ning Yongrui who came, but enforcement cultivators from the Imperial Dynasty.

Thoughts raced through Yun Long's mind as he tried to make sense of this sudden turn of events.

Before he could speak, he saw Ning Yongrui reach out again and take out two scroll-like documents, placing them side-by-side next to the letter.

"Patriarch Yun, take a look at these as well."

Ning Yongrui's voice was calm and unruffled, yet carried an undeniable weight.

Yun Long took a deep breath, suppressing the churning Blood Essence, and reached for the document on the left.

Opening it, he saw that it was densely packed with records of the properties he had "borrowed" along his journey after entering the Great Xia Dynasty.

Gold, silver, jewels, land deeds... every item was recorded, with slight discrepancies in quantity, but the general amounts were accurate.

What shocked him most was that at the end of the document, there were no words of condemnation, merely objective statements.

This was more like a silent warning, a display of power.

Yun Long put down the document, his fingertips feeling a little cold.

He picked up the one on the right.

This document was even more peculiar.

The first page bore the bold characters "Yun Family Household Registration."

Below it were the names of his Yun family group: Yun Long, Yun Hu, Yun He, Yun Ji, Li Lingyue, Shi Tie, Shi Chen...

Each name was followed by a general indication of their strength and cultivation stage, some accurate, some vague.

For example, next to his own name, Yun Long, it was marked as "Mid Qi Refining Stage (Suspected)."

More importantly, the section regarding their origins on this household registration was completely blank.

It was as if they were a group of people who had appeared out of thin air in Wanfang Lake.

Yun Long understood instantly.

This was an official identification provided by the Great Xia Dynasty.

And those blank spaces clearly needed him to fill them in himself.

This was both an acknowledgment and an invisible form of control.

Only then did Yun Long truly realize how terrifying an existence the Great Xia Dynasty was.

His Yun family had gone through great lengths and twists and turns to get here, believing they had done so without anyone knowing.

In the end, they were nothing more than ants beneath the imperial dynasty's massive palm, ants with a slight bit of utility, worthy of being incidentally taken in.

He was no longer the same naive kid from back then, all brawn and no brain, who only knew how to charge headfirst into trouble.

He raised his eyes, his gaze returning to Ning Yongrui's face, which held a hint of an inscrutable smile.

Since the other party wasn't here to demand an explanation, his actions today must have another motive.

This Ning Yongrui was merely borrowing the Great Xia Dynasty's prestige to bolster his own influence.

He definitely had other things to say, things he would only say after being certain the Yun Family would take root and develop here.

As expected, when Yun Long remained silent, Ning Yongrui began to speak on his own.

"Patriarch Yun, the court has already smoothed over the 'borrowings' you made along the way."

Ning Yongrui's tone was casual, as if he were discussing a trivial matter.

"This is merely a small convenience that Qi Refining Stage cultivators can enjoy."

He picked up his teacup and gently blew on the foam.

"Throughout Wanfang Lake, besides my Ning Family, none of the other cultivation families know the true background of Patriarch Yun."

"Nor does anyone know that you, Patriarch Yun, are a Qi Refining Stage cultivator."

Ning Yongrui put down his teacup.

He had found out shortly after the Yun Family arrived three years ago, and he had quietly suppressed all news about them.

According to regulations, he could have registered the Yun Family two years ago when their development here was confirmed. He had been secretly observing whether the Yun Family was worth cooperating with.

Long Feiyu's letter was merely a convenient excuse for his visit to the Yun Family.

Yun Long listened quietly, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table.

From the moment Ning Yongrui produced that letter, the initiative in the conversation had firmly fallen into the other party's hands.

Of course, he could have stormed out and ignored Ning Yongrui's every word.

But the consequence of doing so would be that the Yun Family's future days could no longer be as peaceful as the past three years.

What the Yun Family lacked most right now was time for stable development.

The Yun Family, this tender sapling, was far from the stage of branching out, let alone growing into a towering tree that could shelter a region.

This Ning Yongrui was truly calculating, using the Yun Family as his backup plan.

By suppressing news of the Yun Family and making them his hidden support, he would have an extra layer of security when stirring up trouble and seeking benefits in Wanfang Lake.

The Yun Family was new here and unfamiliar with the area. In such a situation, cooperating with the Ning Family, which had official backing, was a good choice.

After all, the Yun Family still had to survive within the Great Xia Dynasty.