Li Xiao entered the training ground. Upon seeing him, all the disciples present stopped their movements and bowed in unison.
"Greetings, Sect Leader!"
Li Xiao nodded without saying anything, walked straight across the area, left the hall, and got into the carriage that had been prepared outside.
Ever since he was defeated by Lin Qian that day, all sorts of rumors have been circulating in the martial arts world of Shu Province. Some say that he, the number one expert in Shu Province, is just a fraud and doesn't live up to his reputation; others say that he was seriously injured by Lin Qian and won't live much longer...
During this period, the Mount Shu Sect's businesses in various aspects were affected to varying degrees; there were also more and more overt and covert attempts to probe and obstruct them.
Li Xiao understood why. His title as the number one expert in Shu Province no longer belonged to him alone; it concerned the entire Shu Province Sect!
The interests of the Mount Shu Sect affect the interests of the Observer, and the issues involved are beyond the control of Li Xiao, the sect leader.
When you're in the world of martial arts, you're not always in control of your own destiny.
Having reached this point, Li Xiao knew he could only move forward, not backward.
After losing to Lin Qian, he reflected on every detail of that battle every day. The more he reflected, the more he realized the gap between himself and Lin Qian.
If Lin Qian is like this, what level must Great Grandmaster be at?
Before losing to Lin Qian, Li Xiao still harbored a sliver of hope for reaching the Grandmaster realm. After losing to Lin Qian, however, he became completely sober.
"Grandmaster..."
Inside the carriage, Li Xiao sighed softly.
Rather than pursuing personal martial prowess, he decided to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to developing the Mount Shu Sect.
Being the number one sect in Shu Province is not enough. If one day I become the leader of the number one sect in Jiannan Circuit, I will have the confidence to stand in front of Great Grandmaster!
A moment later, Li Xiao's carriage stopped in front of the back gate of the government office.
He alighted from the carriage and walked alone into the government office.
"Sect Leader Li, this way please."
A clerk led him into the main hall, where he met Su Jinfan.
"Greetings, Your Excellency."
Li Xiao bowed respectfully.
Su Jinfan looked somewhat solemn. He nodded and gestured for Li Xiao to sit down.
"I wonder what business you have with me, sir?"
Li Xiao asked.
Su Jinfan stated bluntly, "The confrontation between Zhang Da and Xu Cheng has come to a conclusion."
"Oh?"
Li Xiao leaned forward slightly. "Who won and who lost?"
The recent clash between Zhang Da and Xu Cheng has been a major event that has been attracting attention throughout Shu Province.
Regardless of who wins or loses, it will affect the future landscape of Shu Province.
"Zhang Da gathered more than 4,000 men in Zhou Family Village, using the pretext of suppressing a rebellion to ambush Xu Cheng."
Su Jinfan said, "During the battle, Great Grandmaster Lu Yulin suddenly led his men to attack."
"What?!"
Li Xiao was startled and horrified.
The news of Lu Yulin becoming a newly Great Grandmaster has now spread throughout the world!
What definitively confirmed this was the battle between Li Xiao and Lin Qian.
"Great Grandmaster Lu Yulin has made a move? He's teamed up with Zhang Da?"
"Right."
"Then, is Xu Cheng dead?"
Li Xiao asked in a deep voice.
In his view, since Lu Yulin chose to help Zhang Da, the outcome was already predetermined.
With the help of a Great Grandmaster, Zhang Da's future situation in Shu Province will undergo tremendous changes!
Even with Su Jinfan, the observer, backing them up, their own Mount Shu Sect would find it difficult to contend with them.
"No."
Su Jinfan shook his head, and what he said next made Li Xiao doubt his ears:
Wu Shuangren single-handedly stopped Lu Yulin and defeated him. Lu Yulin retreated, Zhang Da died.
"..."
Li Xiao's eyes widened, a rare display of disbelief. "My lord, is this true?"
Su Jinfan was not surprised by Li Xiao's reaction; when he first received the news, he was just as flustered as Li Xiao.
"This is the information I have at the moment, and I have sent more people to confirm this matter."
The battle outside Zhou Family Village was being watched closely by all factions in Shu Province, and they all sent spies there.
Therefore, Su Jinfan obtained firsthand information, not hearsay.
Li Xiao found himself inexplicably nervous. "That Wu Shuangren... isn't even twenty yet?"
"Right."
"..."
Li Xiao was at a loss for words.
Reason told him that this was simply impossible!
Lu Yulin's actions were undeniable; his defeat by Wu Shuangren was something many people witnessed.
"Perhaps Lu Yulin has never even reached the Grandmaster level?"
Su Jinfan looked at Li Xiao and offered his conjecture.
"Grown ups..."
Li Xiao opened his mouth.
Others might doubt this, but he lost to Lin Qian, and he knew Lin Qian's strength better than anyone else.
If Lin Qian were a powerhouse, would Lu Yulin have readily admitted to being inferior to him if Lu Yulin hadn't reached the Grandmaster level?
Seeing Li Xiao's reaction, Su Jinfan shook his head and stopped pursuing the matter. "Xu Cheng claims he captured several Mount Liang rebels who colluded with Zhang Da, and the evidence is conclusive. Now, he has both evidence of Zhang Da's Zhang Da and collusion with rebels, and since Zhang Da is dead, this matter is considered settled."
"... Does Your Excellency intend to help Xu Cheng?"
"At this point, even if I wanted to help Zhang Da, would it still make any sense?"
"... What are your orders, sir?"
Li Xiao already looked quite uneasy.
Su Jinfan looked at him. "I previously thought that the Yi Province Militia was being secretly led by the Xu Family, but if that Wu Shuangren... truly possesses the strength of Great Grandmaster, then this matter is different. Looking at it from the beginning, Wu Shuangren first chose to form an alliance with the Xu Family through marriage, and now he has helped the Xu Family overthrow Zhang Da. I'm afraid his next step will be to expand into Shu Province. You need to make some preparations."
The Mount Shu Sect has always been Su Jinfan's most useful sword. As the observer, he does not have military power, but there is nothing in Shu Province Prefecture that requires direct military action.
With the Mount Shu Sect as his sword, the power of the martial world, and the forces of local heroes, Su Jinfan's martial prowess was not weak.
"Yes."
Li Xiao bowed respectfully.
Seeing that he was distracted, Su Jinfan didn't say anything more and told him to leave.
Li Xiao walked out of the back gate of the government office and stood there in a daze.
He looked up at the sky; it was a clear blue, with clouds swirling in the wind.
Everything seemed somewhat unreal.
Nineteen years old, Great Grandmaster?!
The fifth day after defeating Great Grandmaster Lu.
Xu Cheng led his men back to the garrison first, and then he escorted a group of people closely associated with Zhang Da back to Shu Province City.
The Pu Lineage father and son went with him to the government office and met Su Jinfan, the military governor of Jiannan Circuit. They recounted the tragedy of the Forged Edge Workshop and what Pu Ding'an had discovered during his travels in Tubo.
Then, they found the account book that the head of the Pu Lineage had secretly hidden away.
The sixth day after defeating Great Grandmaster Lu.
The captured former Mount Liang masters have all confessed, admitting that they secretly colluded with Zhang Da to kill them to silence them.
On the same day, Zhang Da's Adviser Wang also confessed in prison.
Besides Zhang Da's collusion with the rebels to kill him and silence him, Adviser Wang also confessed to a series of crimes Zhang Da had committed over the years!
The tenth day after defeating Great Grandmaster Lu.
The private mine located at the border of Shu Province and Yi Province was seized by government troops.
The people who worked at the mine had all fled long ago after hearing rumors, but the countless skeletons that had been buried there were still there, and they had all been dug up, a truly horrifying sight!
At this point, Zhang Da's guilt is beyond doubt.
Su Jinfan, the military governor of Jiannan Circuit, immediately submitted a memorial to the court, detailing Zhang Da's crimes.
When a local general commits a crime, he must "report to the emperor for questioning," and even a regional inspector cannot make a decision on his own and has no right to directly handle the matter.
This is the ironclad rule of the Wu Dynasty.
Only after the central government receives the news will it decide whether to punish the offending general in the local area or to send him to the capital.
When determining a sentence, the central government also considers the general's importance and past military achievements, and may reduce the sentence accordingly.
However, Zhang Da's crimes were too heinous, the evidence was conclusive, and Su Jinfan Jiannan Circuit Intendant, had clearly stated his position in his memorial to the throne, so the matter was basically settled.
The twentieth day after defeating Great Grandmaster Lu.
Su Jinfan's memorial reached the capital, Chang'an, and was first reviewed by the Ministry of War.
This matter is of great importance, Ministry of War dares not make a decision on its own; it must immediately submit a memorial to the emperor.
Soon, the matter alarmed the three provinces and six ministries, and the entire imperial court!
It wasn't just because a provincial military commander had colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country, but also because this matter involved a newly promoted Great Grandmaster!
In his memorial, Su Jinfan explicitly stated that Zhang Da colluded with the rebel Lu Yulin and others, and that news of Lu Yulin becoming a newly Great Grandmaster had recently reached the capital.
Zhang Da, despite joining forces with this newly crowned Great Grandmaster, ultimately lost. Who defeated Lu Yulin?
Su Jinfan did not mention this matter in his memorial, but the court was very curious about it.
Soon, further news arrived—
Xu Family's son-in-law, Wu Shuangren, the commander of the Yi Province Militia, defeated Lu Yulin!
Chang'an City is the most virtuous place in the world, and there is more than one Great Grandmaster who is stationed here.
Therefore, this place is also the place where all martial arts practitioners in the world most yearn to make a name for themselves.
The news of Wu Shuangren defeating the newly Great Grandmaster Lu Yulin was the first topic of heated discussion among the martial arts practitioners in Chang'an City.
The first reaction of most people in the martial arts world upon learning of this was that Lu Yulin had not truly reached the level of Grandmaster.
Otherwise, a nineteen-year-old Great Grandmaster would be utterly absurd!
Compared to the other Great Grandmaster, Lu Yulin, despite previously being known as the number one martial artist in Hebei Circuit, did not have any notable achievements after becoming Great Grandmaster.
His first battle after emerging from seclusion ended in defeat against a nineteen-year-old junior, making it hard to believe he had truly become Great Grandmaster.
The martial arts world often connects the common people with the powerful and wealthy, so the heated discussions in the martial arts world quickly spread throughout the capital.
For a time, the entire Chang'an City was talking about the name Wu Shuangren.
Some questioned it, some were curious, some admired it...
In any case, when the entire Chang'an City is talking about one person, it won't be long before that name spreads throughout the Wu Dynasty and the entire world!