As time passed, the identity of Bi Changsheng as Ximen Xue spread throughout Great Gan alongside news of the Ningyun City Grandmaster's death, and it continued spreading at an ever-faster pace.
In the imperial capital of Great Gan, inside the palace study.
A dignified, middle-aged man sat on the dragon throne, listening to a man in black report below.
This dignified man was Great Gan's emperor, Gan Tianyu—the ruler of all Great Gan and a peak martial artist in the late Condensing Gang Realm.
The person reporting to him below was Ying Yi, the commander of his personal Shadow Guard.
"The final matter is that, in Ningyun Prefecture, a martial artist named Ximen Xue killed Yang Chaoxing, the Grandmaster of Dan Cao Hall in the Condensing Gang Realm, five days ago."
Ying Yi reported all the major events that had recently occurred in Great Gan to Gan Tianyu, including the matter of Bi Changsheng killing Yang Chaoxing.
This was not strange. A Grandmaster in the Condensing Gang Realm was a figure of immense importance throughout Great Gan, so it was only natural that the emperor of Great Gan would take notice of this matter.
"Ningyun Prefecture? Isn't that where that old fellow Fang Yaoyang is? He ignored My advice back then and joined forces with Ying Tianqing to attack Jin'an City. I haven't settled that score with him yet."
Upon hearing this news, Emperor Gan's first thought was of Fang Yaoyang.
Ying Yi remained silent below. He knew that his master was merely venting.
Their scheme in Jin'an Prefecture had already succeeded. Moreover, it was the Yellow Heaven Cult that had made the first move against Ningyun Prefecture, so Emperor Gan would not start a major conflict with the Divine Fist Sect over this matter.
"To kill Yang Chaoxing while only in the late True Qi Realm—this Ximen Xue is certainly someone."
"Although Dan Cao Hall's cultivation methods are unsuited to combat, crossing realms to kill someone in the Condensing Gang Realm while in the True Qi Realm is still exceedingly difficult. Even I failed to accomplish that back then."
"However, Ximen Xue's cultivation is still too low. He poses no great threat for now, so there's no need to pay him too much attention."
Only after finishing with Fang Yaoyang did Emperor Gan bring up Ximen Xue. Clearly, in his heart, the Divine Fist Sect and Fang Yaoyang were more important than Ximen Xue.
"Yes."
Ying Yi acknowledged the emperor's decision.
"How are things with the Demon God Army lately?"
After dealing with Ying Yi's report, Emperor Gan took the initiative to ask him.
"With the batch of Blood Qi Great Pills sent over by the Yellow Heaven Cult, the success rate of the experimental subjects' bloodline fusions has risen considerably. I believe we'll have some results very soon."
Ying Yi answered Emperor Gan without hesitation.
"Good. My exchange of half the Blood Qi Great Pills obtained by the Yellow Heaven Cult, in return for not allowing the other forces to interfere with their operation in Jin'an Prefecture, was not in vain. Tell them to speed things up. Several Grandmasters in the Condensing Gang Realm have died in succession recently. Great Gan is likely to fall into chaos again..."
Hearing that progress was going well, Emperor Gan offered a word of praise before continuing to give orders.
"Yes."
After acknowledging the order once more, Ying Yi vanished from the spot.
"It's almost time! Once I fuse the bloodline and break through to the realm beyond the Condensing Gang Realm, all of Great Gan will truly be My Great Gan."
After Ying Yi disappeared, Emperor Gan muttered to himself.
Pingliang Prefecture of Great Gan was a land of fierce folk and frequent chaos, making it the prefecture where the Yellow Heaven Cult's activities were most vigorous.
"Master, a major event recently occurred in Ningyun Prefecture. The person responsible for it is, in a sense, connected to our Yellow Heaven Cult."
Inside a grand residence in Pingliang City, a refined, middle-aged man stood before an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man seated in a chair.
Although the two men seemed utterly unremarkable, few people who knew their identities could remain calm before them. The refined, middle-aged man was Wen Chengzhou, the Yellow Heaven Cult's Left Protector, while the ordinary-looking, middle-aged man was none other than Li Tianhua, the Yellow Heaven Cult's master—a peak martial artist in the late Condensing Gang Realm.
"Oh? Tell me about it."
Hearing that the matter was connected to his Yellow Heaven Cult, Li Tianhua raised his brows.
"Master, do you still remember how, several months ago, one of Vermilion Bird's elders trespassed into Lin'an City of Ningyun Prefecture?"
Rather than directly explaining the matter, Wen Chengzhou asked Li Tianhua about it first.
"You mean that fool who trespassed into Ningyun Prefecture, not only getting himself killed there but ultimately causing Vermilion Bird's death as well?"
When Wen Chengzhou brought up the matter, Li Tianhua grew somewhat furious. The death of the Vermilion Bird Envoy had been the greatest loss the Yellow Heaven Cult had suffered in recent years.
In his view, however, the root of the matter still lay in the Vermilion Bird Envoy's failure to control his subordinates. If their scheme in Jin'an Prefecture had not already been completed, it might well have been ruined because of this incident.
As far as Li Tianhua was concerned, that elder was a complete fool. With the Yellow Heaven Cult's usual conduct, trespassing into Ningyun Prefecture was nothing unusual. But that fool's stupidity lay in failing to recognize his own strength. Not only had he gotten himself killed, he had also brought such enormous trouble upon the cult.
"That's right. That very fool."
"The person who caused the major stir in Ningyun Prefecture this time was the one who killed that fool."
"The person who killed that fool is named Ximen Xue. This time, in Ningyun City, he crossed realms and killed Yang Chaoxing, the second hall master of Dan Cao Hall, despite being only in the late True Qi Realm and Yang Chaoxing being in the early Condensing Gang Realm. It caused quite a sensation for a time."
Clearly, Wen Chengzhou's view was much the same as Li Tianhua's. He considered Chen Pengfei a complete fool—one who had not only caused Vermilion Bird's death but also gotten him injured in Jin'an City.
"To cross realms and kill someone in the Condensing Gang Realm while in the True Qi Realm—there have been only a handful of figures like that in all of Great Gan's history!"
"However, his cultivation is still low, so he's no threat."
Upon hearing that Ximen Xue had crossed realms to kill someone in the Condensing Gang Realm while in the True Qi Realm, Li Tianhua was somewhat shocked, but he still did not take Ximen Xue particularly seriously.
"Our cult's Four Symbols Envoys cannot remain short-handed for long. Do you have a suitable candidate to take Vermilion Bird's place?"
After some casual conversation, Li Tianhua asked Wen Chengzhou.
"Reporting to the master, none of the elders in the cult have broken through to the Condensing Gang Realm yet. No one is qualified to take the position of Vermilion Bird Envoy."
Wen Chengzhou answered respectfully when Li Tianhua questioned him.
"Make a list of those who have a chance of breaking through to the Condensing Gang Realm, and open up the supply of Blood Qi Great Pills to them. Whoever is the first to break through to the Condensing Gang Realm will become the cult's next Vermilion Bird Envoy."
Seeing the situation, Li Tianhua spoke directly. In any case, they had obtained enough Blood Qi Great Pills in Jin'an Prefecture this time.
"Yes."
"Also, tighten your operations recently. Don't make too much noise. Wait until I emerge from seclusion before doing anything else."
After Wen Chengzhou agreed, Li Tianhua continued giving orders.
"Master, could it be that you already have confidence in breaking through?"
Hearing that Li Tianhua was going into seclusion, Wen Chengzhou, knowing what it meant, was overjoyed and pressed him for an answer.
"That's right. I've comprehended the path ahead. With a sufficient supply of Blood Qi Great Pills as well, I will certainly break through to that unprecedented realm."
"Once I break through successfully, it will be the moment our Yellow Heaven Cult rules all of Great Gan."
Li Tianhua spoke with confident authority.
It was not only the Great Gan Court and the Yellow Heaven Cult that received news over the next few days that Ximen Xue had crossed realms and killed someone in the Condensing Gang Realm while in the True Qi Realm. The other major forces learned of it one after another as well. The people of Great Gan's ten major forces were shocked, but their assessment of Ximen Xue was that his current realm was still low and he posed no great threat to them. At most, some added that he might be worth befriending.
However, one force was an exception: the Divine Fist Sect. After personally witnessing the entire process, Fang Yaoyang returned to the Divine Fist Sect and immediately ordered that its disciples were not to provoke anyone from the Crimson Blood Pill Pavilion of their own accord. Anyone who violated this order would receive severe punishment.
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