Father and Son, Second Master Yin of Imperial Sword Manor

The Azure Dragon Society.

No one knew who led it or when it infiltrated the jianghu; it was as if the Azure Dragon Society had always existed since the jianghu began.

This organization was divided into twelve halls, corresponding to the twelve months of the year, and had three hundred and sixty-five branches, corresponding to the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year.

It was said that its leader was called the Dragon Head, and there were seven of them in total.

Its power was immense, appearing in multiple stories of ancient novels.

And it often appeared as the villainous organization!

What was even more terrifying was that it wasn't the entire organization that appeared, but often just one hall, one branch, or one person.

But even so, they had already become the great enemies of the protagonists in those novels.

One could imagine the terror of the entire Azure Dragon Society!

He never expected that such a vast and terrifying organization was actually under the command of Zhou Ming's adoptive father, Pei Ju.

But... why!

It's one thing for you, a villain from the Sui State, to come to the Ming State and become the Grand Secretary, but how do you have such a massive villainous force under your command?

Villainous character plus villainous force, isn't that just adding villainy upon villainy!

And to top it all off, he'd become the other party's adopted son!

How was he supposed to navigate the jianghu from now on?

He still wanted to spar with Guo Jing, drink with Qiao Feng, and make friends with Dog Brother!

If this identity got out, let alone the people above, even Linghu Chong would probably come up to him and spit, saying, "I, Linghu Chong, a great hero, would never associate with your filth!"

In the study.

Pei Ju said, "Now, do you understand?"

"I understand..." Zhou Ming said dejectedly, "My jianghu dream... is shattered..."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm talking about Bai Xiaosheng's matter! With Bai Xiaosheng dead, my Azure Dragon Society has undoubtedly gained a lot of trouble out of nowhere. This matter started because of you, so you have to solve it."

Zhou Ming mustered his spirits and said, "Does Father mean for me to become the Fourth Dragon Head?"

"Bah!"

Pei Ju spat, "Do you think my Azure Dragon Society is a child's play? The seven Dragon Heads, aren't they all heroes among men? You? You're not even qualified to be a hall master! And you want to be the Fourth Dragon Head?"

"Then what does Father mean?"

"I have a matter here, and you need to handle it for me."

"What matter?"

Pei Ju said, "It is said that Zhu Wushi's Dragon Guard Manor has four secret agents: 'Heaven, Earth, Black, Yellow.' They are his most capable subordinates, with mysterious identities. Go and find out the identities of these four people."

"Ah? Me?"

"Don't worry, I'll mobilize a group of people to be your subordinates."

"Alright..."

Zhou Ming said, "But, if Father wants me to do something, he just needs to say the word. Why involve Bai Xiaosheng?"

Pei Ju said earnestly, "You are my son, not my subordinate. If I give you an order and you are unwilling to do it, you can refuse. But this time, you made a mistake and caused trouble for me, so whether you agree or not, you must agree!"

Zhou Ming was stunned and cupped his fists, saying, "Understood, Father!"

For the past six months since he came down the mountain, Pei Ju had been busy with his work, handling state affairs day and night, so Zhou Ming had hardly seen him, let alone talked so much with him as he had today.

This had made Zhou Ming feel uneasy.

But today's conversation showed that Pei Ju had always treated him as a son.

Even their father-son relationship was very harmonious, far from that of other fathers and sons in this era.

One must know that the relationship between fathers and sons in ancient times was generally very stiff.

And the various emotions that Pei Ju had revealed during his conversation with Zhou Ming were out of place for this era.

This was also due to his personality.

The Evil King!

What is evil?

Neither righteous nor demonic, but both righteous and demonic!

He understood all those Confucian etiquettes, the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, but he simply disdained to follow them.

In this regard, the Eastern Heretic, Huang Yaoshi, of the Song State, was somewhat similar to him.

"Father, is that all... Your son will take his leave."

"Stop, who said that's all?"

"Uh, is there anything else?"

"Let's have dinner together tonight. A friend of mine is coming to visit me, and you can meet him too."

In the evening, before dinner began, Zhou Ming met the friend Pei Ju had mentioned.

He appeared to be in his mid-thirties or early forties, dressed in wealthy attire, with a face full of heroic spirit and a broad smile.

"Brother Yin, are you finally done with your business?"

"Hahaha, I'm just running some businesses. No matter how busy I am, I can't be busier than you, the Grand Secretary of the court."

Pei Ju pointed to Zhou Ming. "Come, this is my adopted son, Zhou Ming. He went out to sow his wild oats a few days ago and only returned today."

As Zhou Ming stepped forward to pay his respects, the man spoke first. "I was close with your father. I'm the second eldest in my family, so you can just call me Second Uncle."

Zhou Ming said, "Yes, greetings, Second Uncle."

The man took out a book and handed it to Zhou Ming. "This address isn't for nothing. I heard you've already reached the Xiantian realm. This 'Sword Qi Finger' is a gift for you."

Pei Ju said, "Brother Yin, you're too kind."

"Why be polite? My Imperial Sword Manor has no shortage of all sorts of sword techniques."

The two men took their seats amidst their conversation, with Zhou Ming accompanying them. He occasionally chimed in but remained largely silent throughout.

He couldn't help but remain silent!

Zhou Ming truly hadn't expected that his adoptive father's friend would be such a terrifying existence!

Even his adoptive father, Pei Ju, was not even one-hundredth as formidable as this man!

Yin Zhong, the younger brother of the Manor Lord of Imperial Sword Manor in the Ancient Shu State, a Grandmaster expert!

But this was merely his superficial identity.

In reality, he was an immortal god and demon who had lived in this world for a thousand years, Tong Yin Zhong!

In ancient times, gods existed in the human realm.

Later, the gods gradually disappeared, but their descendants did not perish with them.

The Tong clan was a descendant of a god, possessing the ability to sense heaven and earth and wield mystical arts, assisting kings through generations.

There was also the Long clan, also descendants of gods, who had been close friends with the Tong clan for generations.

The two clans had a pact: disciples from either clan were strictly forbidden from coveting the other's heritage.

However, someone within the Tong clan violated this prohibition and stole the Long clan's inherited cultivation technique, the 'Dragon God Skill'.

This person was Tong Yin Zhong.

When his actions were discovered, he was stripped of all his abilities and banished from the Central Plains along with his only daughter.

His daughter, Yin Feng, was subsequently bitten and killed by a venomous snake in the wilderness.

Tong Yin Zhong was filled with immense rage. From that moment on, he decided to abandon the surname Tong and vowed revenge against the Tong clan.

He re-cultivated his techniques, regained his combat strength, returned to the Central Plains, and infiltrated the king's court. He sowed discord, causing the king to fall out with the Tong clan and order their extermination.

The one who carried out this order was none other than Yin Zhong!

The Tong clan received news of this and fled in advance. Yin Zhong led troops in pursuit. At a critical moment, the contemporary clan leader of the Long clan arrived. Wielding his family's heirloom sword and the Tong clan's supreme treasure, the 'Spirit Mirror', he engaged Yin Zhong in battle.

The two fought fiercely, causing rivers of blood to flow. Ultimately, Yin Zhong was killed by the supreme treasure, the Spirit Mirror.

The Tong clan, disheartened, went into seclusion from that point on, never to emerge again.

However, Yin Zhong, having died and come back to life, gained profound wisdom and immense fortune between life and death, breaking through to an unprecedented realm, comparable to gods and demons, immortal and indestructible.

But by the time he awoke, several hundred years had passed.

Moreover, the injuries inflicted by the supreme treasure, the Spirit Mirror, could never heal. Although he was immortal and indestructible, he was constantly tormented by these wounds, rendering him unable to unleash his full strength.

Consequently, Yin Zhong sought to find the Spirit Mirror to heal his injuries and become a true immortal god and demon.

He searched near the battlefield but could not find it. Resigned, he married, had children, and established a force, suppressing his injuries while simultaneously searching for other methods of healing.

The force established by his son was the Imperial Sword Manor within the Ancient Shu State!

To this day, it had been passed down for five hundred years!

For these five hundred years, Yin Zhong had been manipulating things from the shadows. When crises arose, he was the one who eliminated them.

To prevent his secret of immortality from being discovered, he would fake his death every few decades. After the people of his generation died, he would return, abduct someone from the manor, and take their place.

The identity he was currently using was, in fact, a replacement identity.

People believed him to be the younger brother of the Manor Lord of Imperial Sword Manor, but in reality, he was the ancestor of the Imperial Sword Manor.

Even the founder of the manor had to call him father!

Such a terrifying existence was right beside him, and Zhou Ming naturally dared not speak much, though he felt utterly speechless internally.

"Not only is my adoptive father a villain, and his subordinate forces are villains, but even his friends are villains?"

Zhou Ming sighed inwardly. His identity as a villain's offspring truly couldn't be washed away.