Though the Stone Blossomed, Its Heart Was Full of Impurities; a Lantern Passed Through the Woods, Its Chivalrous Affection Enduring

The roar of that battle, which raged from the ancient city ruins to the Dragon Head Plateau, has long since spread far and wide.

To the average person, it sounded like a muffled rumble of thunder in the night.

But to a true expert, it's immediately obvious that something's wrong.

Who is practicing boxing on Dragon Head Plateau?

A tall, imposing man was patrolling the city of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty when he suddenly heard a muffled sound outside the city and immediately jumped up.

His movements were so fast and his leaps so agile, he was like a bullet shot high into the sky.

With each leap, he shot out extremely far, stepping on the drum towers in various markets, and soon he reached the north city wall.

The area of the Drum Tower that he stepped on showed no damage, indicating that with each step, the force was dispersed throughout the entire building and transmitted to the foundation.

However, once he landed on the city wall, his left hand rested on the sword at his waist, and his demeanor immediately became profound and imposing, solemn and dignified.

The man appeared to be in his forties, with a square, bronze-colored face, slightly graying temples, a red turban wrapped around his head, and wearing black armor. His boots pounded the ground with a resounding thud.

It was none other than Yang Jungong, the Grand General of the Left Golden Wu Guard.

The Left and Right Golden Wu Guard were responsible for maintaining order in Chang'an.

As the Great Tang regained its prestige, the duties of the Left and Right Golden Wu Guard became increasingly important over the past sixty years.

Especially before and after the Martial Exhibition of All Nations, even the Grand General would take turns standing guard at night and patrolling the city.

The soldiers on the city wall, fully armored, did not perform the full salute, but simply clasped their hands in a fist salute and immediately reported to Yang Jungong.

"I just saw it; smoke and dust are rising high in that direction."

Yang Jungong looked in that direction and indeed there was still smoke and dust.

These soldiers lacked sharp eyesight, but with Yang Jungong's keen eye, the night was as bright as day. Gazing into the distance, he quickly locked onto the corpse of a giant on the wasteland.

"This is... a body three zhang tall?"

Yang Jungong was slightly startled. Among those who practiced the Strongman Secret Art, there were very few who could achieve such a physique of nearly three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in height.

He could tell from the sounds that there were experts fighting, possibly even a life-or-death battle.

But no one expected that such a master would be killed in the wilderness.

The giant was surrounded by pools of blood, devoid of any life, and had his back to them.

Yang Jungong couldn't see his face, but guessed at several identities in his mind. Just as he was about to go out to check, he suddenly sensed something and stopped in his tracks.

"So, you've come specifically to stop me, Mr. Yang, and prevent me from Chucheng?"

Three masked men dressed in black appeared silently on the city wall.

The soldiers were secretly alarmed and quickly reached for the small crossbows at their waists.

However, the three masked men were also looking out of the city with flickering eyes, somewhat surprised and uncertain.

"Is it him?" "Yes, it's him!"

"Of the four, he should be the least likely to die. If even he is... could it be that Hai Donglai has returned and joined forces with that old monster Chu?"

"Oh no, we've made a huge mistake."

"Retreat immediately!"

The three masked men spoke so fast it was like a handful of jade beads being sprinkled onto a silver plate.

Although the sounds were crisp and clear, they were too dense to be distinguished by the ear.

Before the soldiers could hear what they were saying, three figures vanished in a flash.

Yang Jungong was suspicious.

However, facing three opponents, he did not rashly make a move.

Just then, another lamp appeared on the other side of the wasteland, but it was too far away for its light to be seen clearly.

Yang Jungong looked closely, and his heart skipped a beat; he had already understood many things.

"Immediately send messages to the Left and Right Guard Offices of the Inner Guard and to Minister Tian's residence in the Ministry of War."

"Take my waist token again, mobilize the Left Golden Wu Guard, and head to the residence of the Li Clan of Zhao Commandery in Chang'an City."

Yang Jungong issued the orders one by one in an orderly manner.

One messenger after another left the city wall, leaping swiftly like the wind.

At this moment, the lights from the wasteland were getting closer to the city walls.

Nie Hongxian, carrying a lantern, jumped onto the city wall.

A person who looked very young also floated onto the wall.

His hair was tied up with black silk, he had striking eyebrows and bright eyes, wore a blue robe and a white gown, and had a sword hanging at his waist.

"This must be Martial Uncle Chu, right?"

Yang Jungong first bowed to Chu Tianshu, then asked directly, "Hongxian, was it the Li Clan of Zhao Commandery who spearheaded the attack on my martial uncle?"

Nie Hongxian said, "It's hard to say who's leading it, but the giant's corpse on the wasteland is none other than Li Ju."

"Pei Dongcheng, Wu Chunlei, and Kong Tianrui have all died at the hands of their martial uncle."

Yang Jungong's tiger-like eyes glared, his mouth half-open.

However, those who have experienced life and death on the battlefield have long since developed the habit of being able to react even in shock.

"Oh, I see."

He stammered, "To simultaneously raid the properties of the Lineage, our manpower might not be enough to ensure nothing is missed."

Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "Then let's take over the most important residence first."

Nie Hongxian nodded. "The Kong Clan's martial arts are best known for their stealth and resourcefulness. If too many of them manage to escape, the potential danger will be even greater."

"Uncle-Master, let's go to the Kong Clan first!"

Chu Tianshu needed someone to show him the way, and upon hearing this, he reached out and supported Nie Hongxian's left elbow.

He helped Nie Hongxian take off steadily, soaring into the sky and overlooking the various markets and neighborhoods of the city.

"That's it!"

Giving directions from high altitudes is the most convenient method.

As soon as Nie Hongxian pointed in the direction, Chu Tianshu accelerated through the air, carrying everyone with him as they flew over.

The Kong family originated in Lingnan, but Chang'an was already a city of many nations. Without establishing a large estate there, they would not be worthy of the title of a prominent family.

The Kong Clan's residence here appears to be no less grand than that of a royal or noble household.

The complex consists of several courtyards running north to south, five entrances along the east and west sides, and also includes stables, a garden, a small lake, and a long corridor.

As Chu Tianshu slowly descended from mid-air, he opened his Heavenly Eye, and subtle ripples bloomed in layers, sweeping across the entire mansion.

Indeed, there are many highly skilled masters here, as well as many mechanical vehicles and traces of Weapon Soul.

However, there were no figures at the Plain King realm.

Once the battle outside the city ceased, and the heads of the Four Great Aristocratic Clans did not send any signal that they had successfully taken control.

Those in the city who know about the four families, or even those who participated in tonight's operation, should already know that something is wrong.

Chu Tianshu clicked his tongue. "They're really decisive. Not only did they abandon all their assets in Chang'an, but they didn't even inform their own young and middle-aged relatives. They just wanted to run away?"

Nie Hongxian said, "When necessary, they are more decisive than anyone else in abandoning their children and grandchildren. This is a quality that is commonly possessed by aristocratic families in the new era."

In old-fashioned families, it was common for elders to face death with composure, demonstrating their integrity in order to preserve the young and strong and pave the way for the future.

But these aristocratic masters of the new era.

Once one reaches the Plain King realm, even at 120 or 130 years old, one is still capable of having children.

They themselves are the most valuable legacy of aristocratic families.

"But these people are still too short-sighted."

Nie Hongxian said calmly, "Having lost the leader of the Lineage, and even their relatives can be abandoned at will, what is there left that can unite them again?"

Is it solely based on old grudges against Hai Donglai and new hatred towards Chu Tianshu?

However, these people are so selfish that all they care about is not losing their limbs or bodies to Chu Tianshu.

What hatred could possibly be worth persisting in for so long?

Therefore, Nie Hongxian didn't take the escaped people too seriously.

Without leaders like Li Ju and Pei Dongcheng who cared for the Lineage, they also lost a great deal of prestige, property, and young men.

Those who fled are no longer worthy of being called members of a distinguished family.

At most, it will just mean a few more loosely organized martial arts schools emerging in the martial arts world.

Those people are fundamentally only suited to be martial arts masters, not to be the leaders of powerful forces.

"Ah, so these below are the true skeletons of aristocratic families?"

Chu Tianshu landed on the main hall of the Kong family mansion, his body radiating bright, layered emerald ripples that spread throughout the entire residence.

"Then I'll break their bones."

Many Kong Clan with profound skills awoke from their dreams, realizing something was wrong. But after taking only a few steps, they felt their limbs slip out of control, swaying and eventually becoming stiff and motionless.

Many more people, whether patrolling, boiling water, or making love in bed, were completely unaware of anything amiss before their bodies froze.

At first, their eyes could still move, revealing a look of terror, but soon even their gaze became dazed, as if they were half asleep.

Emerald ripples undulated repeatedly.

Chu Tianshu noticed that there was a courtyard with a rather unusual environment, so he flew over and landed in the courtyard.

Nie Hongxian followed, looking around. "Is there anything unusual here?"

There is a small pond and several artificial rocks in this courtyard.

The south side is the entrance to other courtyards, and the north side is a room with its doors and windows tightly closed.

"The atmosphere here is too clean."

Chu Tianshu raised his hand and pushed from a distance, and the doors and windows of the room opened with a creak.

The room was empty, but there was no dust either, so it was clear that it was a place where people lived regularly.

Throughout the Confucius Mansion, people practiced martial arts, fought, and lived in other parts of the mansion, their various auras mingling together.

However, there was hardly any sign of human presence in the room, indicating that few people came here.

Moreover, the people who originally lived here were able to control their aura at all times without any conscious effort, and not let it leak out.

The place that could be built to this extent must be where Kong Tianrui lived.

Chu Tianshu walked to the artificial rockery and cut off a piece of Shitou.

Nie Hongxian immediately noticed that the Shitou was only slightly damp on the outside, while the inside was quite dry.

Logically speaking, in Chang'an's climate, and with a pond in the courtyard, these Shitou should have been soaked in moisture long ago, completely damp inside and out.

Now it looks as if the Shitou was originally completely dry, and only tonight it was slightly moistened by the dew.

The textures inside the Shitou are even more bizarre.

On a cross-section the size of a palm, there are seven or eight small vortexes.

"Someone used this artificial rockery to practice martial arts. With a burst of energy, they squeezed all the moisture out of the Shitou, even altering its Shitou texture."

Chu Tianshu thought of Kong Tianrui's technique, where the force penetrated directly into the arm with a single touch, ignoring his surface defenses.

He became interested and went into the empty room.

Soon, he came out carrying a wooden box, which was full of papers with his insights on martial arts.

The densely packed small characters, with numerous corrections and erasures, show that Kong Tianrui frequently scrutinized and revised them.

"The Stone Flower Colorless Palm"?

After reading a few pages, Chu Tianshu smiled.

"So that's how you develop such subtle and refined strength—it's through this kind of foundational training."

The so-called "flower in the stone" doesn't mean cracking the Shitou, but rather squeezing all the moisture out of the Shitou with a single stroke of the palm, causing it to bloom into a water flower.

However, even if an ordinary person has enough strength to squeeze water out of Shitou, what they get is only murky water.

To reach the state of colorlessness, one must, at the same time as the force of a palm penetrates the Shitou, distinguish all the impurities in the water and trap them inside.

Only in this way can a flower bloom on a stone, crystal clear and colorless.

"Let's go, to the Li Clan again!"

Chu Tianshu was in high spirits and within half an hour, he had visited all the main residences of the Lineage in Chang'an.

South of Chang'an City.

Guo Lingwei felt warm all over, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

The tingling and itchy sensation that the silver needles inserted into his body had originally caused had disappeared.

The feeling of conflict between intention and action was completely erased.

Su Xian and Li Chenxiang sat on the carriage shaft, guarding him, but their eyes couldn't help but look northward.

They were too far away to know what had happened at the ancient city ruins.

Feng Bohu stood beside Guo Lingwei, also quite nervous, biting his nails.

"I..."

Guo Lingwei's lips moved slightly, and he tried to raise his hands and feet, exclaiming with delight, "I'm all better!"

Feng Bohu was overjoyed and wanted to hug him, but seeing the many silver needles stuck in his body, he dared not touch him lightly.

"Just hug me if you want; those needles can be removed anytime now."

Chu Tianshu's smiling voice came from the woods, and the lights gradually drew closer.

"I've brought back the lamps you wanted."

(End of this chapter)