"Lu Ren!" Wang Yue's shout came from behind.
Lu Changfeng stopped in his tracks. "Lu Ren is actually an alias. My name is Lu Changfeng."
"See? I wasn't sincere with you at all, and you only found out my real name now."
After saying that, Lu Changfeng strode away. It wasn't that he felt nothing for Wang Yue.
It was just that Lu Changfeng didn't even have the thought of marrying and having children with Chun Zhu right now. How could he possibly be together with Wang Yue, who carried the heavy burden of her Lineage?
Marriage and children meant responsibility and burdens to Lu Changfeng.
All he wanted now was to go farther in martial arts. He didn't want to be dragged down by those responsibilities and burdens.
Since he couldn't give her anything, it was better not to begin.
A man without ties or worries was the most terrifying of all.
"You bastard!" Wang Yue's tears fell silently. She tried to chase after him, but Wang Shou grabbed her by the arm, leaving her to watch Lu Changfeng slowly disappear into the distance with reddened eyes.
"Where are we going?" Zhao Xingtian asked lazily, his hands clasped behind his head.
"To pick someone up. Then we're going to Jiangnan Prefecture," Lu Changfeng replied.
Jiangnan Prefecture had the greatest overall strength. Throughout every dynastic change, its central regions had remained largely unaffected.
If he stayed there, Lu Changfeng should be able to cultivate in peace.
As for Fengcheng, Lu Changfeng would return there in the future.
For nothing else, there was still the matter of his karma with the 'Giant Elephant Woman' in the crystal coffin beneath Fengtian Lake. Sooner or later, he had to come back and get to the bottom of it.
Lu Changfeng didn't go to say goodbye to Uncle Wen, lest he bring trouble to him.
Zhao Xingtian's eyes lit up. "Jiangnan Prefecture? Great!"
Jiangnan Prefecture was not only wealthy, but also had a rich martial-arts atmosphere. Across its thirty-six cities, there were the Eight Great Martial Lineages of Jiangnan, the Top Ten Sects of Jiangnan, and the Four Great Escort Agencies of Jiangnan.
There were also all kinds of world-famous martial-arts rankings, as well as the Misty Rain Tower of Jiangnan, which every man under heaven dreamed of visiting. This trip suited Zhao Xingtian perfectly.
Lu Changfeng first returned to the Small Courtyard in the Outer City.
Together with Chun Zhu, he settled the two Silkworm Seeds and packed them up to take along.
The two Silkworm Seeds still had at least seven or eight years of life left. They could continue supplying Lu Changfeng's cultivation for a long time and were extraordinarily valuable.
Afterward, the four of them mounted their horses and left Fengcheng overnight, heading southeast.
Jiangnan Prefecture not only had a rich martial-arts atmosphere, but also a strong scholarly atmosphere. Its people had a high level of education.
This led to one consequence.
The martial artists of Jiangnan loved giving people nicknames.
Martial Masters in the Muscle Tendon Realm, or martial artists with outstanding talent, basically all had a resounding title.
There were the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan, the Old Immortal of Dongting Lake, the Saint of Thieves, the Thief God, the Blade Maniac, the Blade Supremacy, and countless others.
To outsiders, Jiangnan Prefecture's martial-arts atmosphere seemed extremely strange, chaotic, and bizarre. But once one became part of it, one could experience what made Jiangnan's martial-arts atmosphere so appealing.
For example, after traveling all night, the four of them were just about to reach the county town on Jiangnan Prefecture's borders.
Suddenly, a bald blade-wielder led a dozen or so underlings out to block their path, declaring himself to be "Bandit King Mad Axe Wang Liu."
Following the customary rules, he came out to rob them. The price was ten taels of silver per person. If they handed over forty taels in total, the four of them could leave.
If this had happened around Fengcheng, encountering bandits on the road would probably have ended with the bandits charging straight in with their blades.
Even bandits here observed morality and rules, wanting only money and not lives. From this, it was easy to see how strictly the martial artists of Jiangnan followed Jiangnan's martial-arts rules.
However, although this so-called Bandit King Mad Axe Wang Liu observed the rules, it didn't change the fact that he was a bandit.
Lu Changfeng wasn't going to discuss rules with them.
They had already been exhausted from traveling all night.
Too tired to waste words, Lu Changfeng drew the Autumn Water Sword. He didn't even need to activate his sword intent; with several slashes, he killed the bandits standing closest to him.
Seeing that he had encountered a ruthless man who didn't play by the rules, Wang Liu turned and ran.
His horsemanship was decent, and the horse beneath him was a fine steed. It ran quite fast.
Unfortunately, his brothers were cut down by Lu Changfeng until not one remained standing.
"Let's go. We'll enter Xingcheng and rest for a day, then switch to the waterways and head to Jiangnan Prefecture's capital, Jiangzhou."
The other three had no objections.
Following the county road,
the four of them soon arrived at the city closest to Fengcheng in Jiangnan Prefecture—Xingcheng.
Xingcheng had once produced a Great General named Wu Xing, and thus received its name.
Among Jiangnan Prefecture's thirty-six cities, Xingcheng ranked at the bottom in prosperity.
However, placed in any other prefecture, its prosperity would definitely be among the best.
It was even more prosperous than Fengcheng.
Early in the morning, the common people entering the city streamed back and forth.
The four of them obediently lined up, paid the entrance fee, and entered the city.
Fortunately, it was still early, and the inns were quiet. After entering the city, they found an inn and immediately checked in.
After washing up,
Lu Changfeng went down to the main hall and ordered some wine and dishes.
"Waiter, how has the fighting in Jiangnan Prefecture been lately?"
Lu Changfeng placed a few coins on the table as a tip and asked. This was one of the matters he was most concerned about at present.
The waiter quickly pocketed the money, paused briefly as he recalled something, then said indifferently, "You mean the war with the Xuanming Cult of Qingshan Prefecture?"
"Ha, that hardly counts as anything."
"You're from out of town, so you don't know the details."
"Actually, those three cities seized by the Xuanming Cult originally belonged to Qingshan Prefecture, according to their geographical location."
"It was only because those three cities coveted Jiangnan's wealth that, several decades ago, they forcibly broke away from Qingshan Prefecture on their own and joined Jiangnan Prefecture."
This was the first time Lu Changfeng had heard of the matter, and he looked rather surprised.
Seeing this, the waiter continued, "Look at the situation now. The Xuanming Cult Master has taken those three cities, but does he dare continue south?"
"He doesn't, does he? If he dared to continue south, our Jiangnan martial-arts world would teach the Xuanming Cult a lesson even without our Jiangnan Prefecture Lord giving the order!"
"Ha, what chaos across the realm? Every time the world falls into disorder, doesn't Jiangnan remain just fine?"
"We Jiangnan people have no desire to compete for all under heaven. Once a true enlightened ruler appears, we'll simply pledge ourselves to him. With fewer conflicts, wouldn't that be delightful?"
The waiter's understanding and views represented the innermost thoughts of most Jiangnan people.
That was why, when the Jiangnan Prefecture Lord held the Jiangnan Martial Arts Conference last year, hardly anyone with true strength participated.
The Jiangnan Prefecture Lord wanted to recover the lost territories for two reasons.
First, the Jiangnan Prefecture Lord wasn't a local!
Second, the Jiangnan Prefecture Lord's surname was Hong. He was of Song Kingdom blood and a genuine prince!
Unfortunately, the Song Kingdom's momentum had already collapsed. Never mind that he was the Emperor's own brother—even if the Emperor himself arrived with an imperial edict, whether he could make the people of Jiangnan take action was still uncertain.
However, although not many factions responded, Hong Zai, the Jiangnan Prefecture Lord, had governed Jiangnan Prefecture for more than twenty years, and his personal virtue and charisma were still exceptional.
The people of Jiangnan did not support him in joining the conflicts, but after Hong Zai was injured in his battle with Xuanming Cult Master Li Tianxing last year, martial artists from every corner of Jiangnan sent him many miraculous pills and precious medicines.
There was also Lu Qingshan, the number-one swordsman of Jiangnan, who declared that he would make Li Tianxing pay. Whichever hand had injured the Prefecture Lord, he would cut off that hand.
The waiter spoke on and on like an experienced martial artist, allowing Lu Changfeng to gain a great deal.
However, Lu Changfeng examined him and found that the waiter's bone structure was only Grade E, his talent was nonexistent, and his Qi and Blood were ordinary. He was merely a commoner.
How could an ordinary person know the affairs of the martial-arts world so clearly?
It wasn't until a child entered carrying a stack of various newspapers that Lu Changfeng first felt the rich and colorful nature of Jiangnan Prefecture's martial-arts world.
Unlike the scattered martial-arts factions in the cities of Yunyang Prefecture, Jiangnan Prefecture's martial-arts factions used all kinds of methods to cross-connect and exchange information. No wonder martial arts flourished in Jiangnan Prefecture.
Before you continue