The second year of Jinyuan in Jin dynasty.
This year, as throughout previous years, Jianghu was thick with disturbances. Compared with the earth-shattering battle in the first year of Jinyuan, the second year incurred several huge events as the war to overthrow Northern Yuan drew to an end.
Unmistakably, the most famous one among those events was the World Hero Competition, during which, following the debut of Zhou Bao from Yunzhou, three more teen experts emerged splendidly. Li Xiu from Pingzhou, Ji Yeyue and Yan Fei all demonstrated strength over Level Seven at the World Hero Competition. This Li Xiu from Pingzhou was the first legitimate son of Li Family in Pingzhou, a true prodigy. Ji Yeyue's background was more mysterious. She was said to be a disciple of a secret school that was barely known in the general martial circle. However, this secret school had close relationships with today's Three Great Sects, namely Tian Long Taoism, Mingyi School and The Sect of Flame. It was also connected with some millennium families, for the masters and disciples of the said sects and families had received command before coming to the World Hero Competition, demanding them not to mess with Ji Yeyue. Therefore, as mysterious as this Ji Yeyue was, she leveraged her excellent cultivation and nailed down all her competitors without encountering any serious trouble. When it came to Yan Fei, it was even more amazing because he hid his true strength and fighting ability, which were both up to Level Seven, until the last three days of the event when he achieved a sweeping victory. Moreover, after Yan Fei's real identity was unveiled, another wave of upheaval began.
Yan Fei was Xining King's Eldest Son, a junior Roral Uncle!
Although this Yan Fei was pretty young, merely 18 years old, his seniority in the family was extremely high due to him being the Roral Uncle of the present emperor Yan Yuntian and son of Emperor of Xining Yan Zidan.
In this world, it had to be the emperors who had the largest number of wives, and in this world, most of them practiced this feat, making them fit and healthy. They could start having children from 15 years old, continuing until they reached their seventies. Accordingly, the ages of their offspring varied across a wide range. It was common to see a junior son born when a senior son already had grandchildren or even great-grandchildren. As such, the population of the Royalty became very large and the seniority also became quite complex, meaning that it was not rare for Yan Fei to rank as a Roral Uncle at the age of 18.
What's rare was the strength he possessed!
A young expert of Level Seven, at the age of 18, nailing down all others at the World Hero Competition and breaking into the semi-final was not a huge piece of news if he was nurtured by the Royalty, considering the great power and strength the Royalty had. However, this junior expert, Yan Fei, was not from the imperial palace, but the mansion of the vassal king, which rendered all this relatively novel.
Nowadays, the Emperor had many sons, but none of them had achieved a cultivation above Level Four. They were all far from this Xining King's Eldest Son, their Great Roral Uncle.
Due to this, the subject of what role this Great Roral Uncle would play in the future battle for the throne was a sensitive subject. Especially as the battle for the throne was already budding forcefully.
Of course, these were things that might happen at a later time, only worrying and concerning the bigwigs. For the nobodies in the martial arts world, the greatest point of focus at the moment was the result of the World Hero Competition where three young experts had entered the semi-finals along with an Elder from a millennial family, but no one believed him to be the winner in light of the strength displayed by the previous three young experts.
The World Hero Competition had roused an enormous racket for some time, but now, what people discussed most frequently was two other issues, both related to the Wang family in Cenzhou. The first was that Zhou Bao from Yunzhou had heavily injured Wang Yuebai, the First Elder of the Wang family, and knocked their prized wizard weapon Pero Purple Striped Saber into the air. Rumors had it that the Wang family were yet to find their Pero Purple Striped Saber yet. Of course, that was just hearsay. The second was that Luo Haiyun, the Family Head of Luo Family in Minshan Commandery, which was said to be wiped out, had reappeared in Jianghu, and the mystery of his family's genocide was also unraveled, it was the Wang family that carried out the slaughter. Hence, Luo Haishan initiated a vendetta against the Wang family, causing the latter great headache.
Luo Haiyun was an expert of Level Seven that had lost everything and cared about nothing but sparing no effort to destroy the Wang clan after his return. He struck with unparalleled insidiousness and ruthlessness. He never went head to head with the experts in the Wang family, but started with peripheral organizations of the Wang family, such as the Four Seas Trading Company and the Dragon Escort Agency. The men he killed were all elites in these peripheral organizations. They might be highly talented in a certain field, but they were lacking in terms of fighting. For example, the shopkeeper of the Four Seas Trading Company, Wang Datong, a sharp businessman who had brought immense fortune to the Wang family for decades, who was also a key figure in terms of the protection the family, was killed by Luo Haiyun with a single blade move.
There were many similar examples.
Normally, all these kinds of talents of the Wang family were under very tight protection. It was very hard for ordinary people to approach them, not to mention killing them. Unfortunately, Luo Haiyun was an expert of Level Seven, while the bodyguards of these people were only up to Level Five. Though the Wang family possessed a large fortune, it was not so large that they could afford experts as bodyguards. In fact, even if they had such wealth, experts of Level Seven still would not lower themselves to be the bodyguards of ordinary people.
Therefore, these bodyguards stood no chance under the onslaught of Luo Haiyun. Besides, since Luo Haiyun had lost everything and turned himself into a sworn enemy of the Wang family, he had no fear for the potential revenge of them. Moreover, Wang Yuebai, the only fighter in the Wang family who could have fully subdued and killed him, was seriously injured in the battle against Junior Leopard. He was not only unable to hunt Luo Haiyun down, but he actually required of a large portion of protection from the Wang family. Thus, there was even less force the Wang family could employ to take on Luo Haiyun.
Then, resigned to the harsh situation, the Wang family adopted a downsizing defense strategy and announced a bounty in Jianghu, offering a wizard weapon for the head of Luo Haiyun.
However, this brought little effect. Most experts had been exclusively working for those well-known families and schools, which were all in collaboration as well as competition, so no one would risk being vindictively attacked by Luo Haiyun, a lunatic that had nothing to lose, just for a wizard weapon. Meanwhile, as a result of his revenge against the Wang family, martial arts practitioners all got a better understanding of how terrifying an expert could be when he was cornered into a dead end.
Revenge from an expert who cared about nothing was absolutely more powerful than a wizard weapon. Therefore, everyone was waiting to have a good laugh at the Wang family, to see them being forced into resorting to their long concealed strength.
For every ordinary man in the martial arts world, recently, Jianghu was really noisy, but also fantastic to observe. This drama in Jianghu reached one climax after another, dizzying all the audiences and incurring lots of exclamations. Even Zhou Bao, a maker of a certain climax, had now been completely reduced to a minimal role as one of the many onlookers.
"This time, the Wang family is in really big trouble, but you also have to be careful, because the main reason why they have suffered such a great loss is that you injured Wang Yuebai so badly. The Wang family will never let you off the hook!" In an ordinary restaurant, Junior Leopard and Wang She were sitting in the middle of the lobby, eating as well as chatting, without tending to any obscure looks cast by diners around them at all.
"I've heard that the Pero Purple Striped Saber was lost?" asked Junior Leopard, who merely gave a gentle smile and took a sip of his wine at Wang She's advice.
His voice was not loud, but there were more than enough people with sharp senses in this restaurant straining their ears to hear snatches of their dialogue, for they were trying to figure out what kind of relationship it was between these two men, the young expert and the Chief of Tian Long Taoism.
"Right, it's lost. Hee-hee, the Wang family had lived a comfortable life for too long. Relying on their awe-inspiring reputation, they thought it would be compelling enough to send another expert of Level Seven there, but they never expected that there would be so many people refusing to acknowledge their superiority. It is actually several Elders from the Dark Sect Ninemoon Sea who took that Pero Purple Striped Saber away!"
"Dark Sect Ninemoon Sea?!"
Talking about the Dark Sect, Junior Leopard thought of Xue Wuya, an eccentric feeling involuntarily arose in his stomach.
"Hum, interested in the Dark Sect?!" Wang She couldn't help but tease him at his weird look. "For thousands of years, the Dark Sects have been weak in power, shunning from public sight and remaining mysterious. But they are actually great places, especially the Ninemoon Sea. Lots of beauties there. Do you want me to introduce one or two to you?"
"Come off it. You'll still enjoy yourself!" Junior Leopard snapped with a smile. "As long as that sissy doesn't mind, it's fine!"
"Boy, don't talk nonsense. I have no close relationship with her!" Wang She put on a rarely stupefied look and shot Junior Leopard a nasty glare.
"Right, right, right, no close relationship. But I am going to have some relationship with her!" Still beaming, Junior Leopard changed the subject. "I'd better settle that matter I promised her last time as soon as possible. When will she arrive?"
"In two days!" Wang She said, "Just about when you finish enjoying this World Hero Competition!"
"Forget it, I'm not interested in all the fighting and killing stuff. Anyway, that Pure Yang Celestial Device will have no chance of ending up in my hands!"
"You have no interest in fighting and killing?!" Wang She almost sprayed a gulp of wine on Junior Leopard. "If you're not interested in fighting and killing, no one else in this world could claim to be interested in that stuff!"
"I do mean it. I'm a pacifist. It's only because the Wang family screwed with me first that I was forced to give them a bit of a lesson. If it was you, Chief Wang, who came to provoke me, I would certainly run for my life!" Junior Leopard laughed.
"Stop joking around. You always call her a 'sissy'. Be careful in case you bump into her and get killed under her palm!"
"Yeah, that's true..."
"..."
"..."
The two just continued chatting as if no one was around, and the topics they discussed seemed to be merely trivial issues. However, soon after their small talk, the content of their dialogue was converged into pieces of information and passed down via various channels to different people, ready to be dissected and consulted.
"Seems that the rumor is true. This Zhou Bao is really not simple. The relationship between him and Wang She is surely not as simple as it looks!"
Western Capital, the imperial palace.
Looking at all the copies of information, Jin Emperor Yan Yuntian gently furrowed his brows. "Look, who could that sissy be that they referred to?"
"That neither Wang She nor Zhou Bao dares to offend them easily, at the very least, they're bound to be an expert!" Ming Yuesheng smiled, but this smile was mingled with a hint of concern. "Your Majesty, this Zhou Bao is apparently more surreptitious than we'd expected. The wizard weapon in his hand is something we've never heard of, which could occur in only two possible situations. One is that this weapon has never shown up since antiquity times and he was lucky enough to discover it. The other is that this weapon was made recently. If it is the second one, Your Majesty, this situation would be completely out of our control!"
"Exactly. If it's truly a recently-made weapon, then, there must be a powerful force behind Zhou Bao. Just because of this force, he has been able to operate in such a ferocious and domineering manner. It's not his stupidity, but his sufficient confidence that makes him unafraid of this millennium family of Wang at all!"
"Based on his usual style, it's quite possible!" Ming Yuesheng signed softly. "A solid background is nothing intimidating. What shall be intimidating is whether or not all the troubles he has stirred up were done so out of his own will, or someone else's command. This is the key issue here! Your Majesty, it seems that we must pay more attention to this Zhou Bao!"
"Yeah, he is very young. Look, if I recruit him as the emperor's son-in-law, do you reckon it's proper or not?"
"Downright improper!" Ming Yuesheng shook his head hastily. "This bloke is just a rough fellow. It will be unharmed if he accepts this. But what if he's foolish and turns us down? It's not going to look good. If not taken carefully, the dignity of our Royalty will be stained. Plus, he has just humiliated the Wang family, if Your Majesty recruits him as a son-in-law at once, wouldn't it equate to slapping the Wang Family in the face?"
"That's right!" Yan Yuntian nodded, beaming. "Although the Wang family has embarrassed themselves so deeply, they are, after all, one of the millennium influences in our Great Jin, and looking good is very important for them!"
"Your Majesty, do you still intend to let Princess Changhui marry Zhou Bao?"
Yan Yuntian's expression initially froze, before he forced a smile and said, "Yes. Yan-er is already at the age suitable for marriage. This kid has been unusually smart since little, as though she was born to be so intelligent. She is also haughty enough to make light of any ordinary man. There are few men in this world she will think much of, but this Zhou Bao may be the one who can bring her some surprise!"
"Princess Changhui is indeed super talented, maybe too talented, unfortunately. Your Majesty, pardon me for speaking frankly, this may not be good for the Princess, nor for the Royalty!"
"Yes, I see. Well, look at that junior Roral Uncle of mine. The look on his face every time he meets Yan-er worries me a lot!"
With this topic being brought out, a trace of a bitter smile flashed across Ming Yuesheng's face. He didn't speak another word, as it was only sensible for him to stay out of the topic on roral secrets if he could.
"Your Majesty, the result of the World Hero Competition is about to get underway. Do you reckon Xining King's Eldest Son will be the winner?"
"He will. Not for anything else, but for putting a smile on my daughter's face!" Yan Yuntian said. "Ji Yeyue comes from Jade Pool. For her, attending this Competition is just an opportunity for experience, so she won't truly battle to win. As to Li Xiu from Pingzhou, he has already had a glorious exposure. I've notified the Li family through Li Yuan that in the next round, his opponent will be Yan Wenguang from Shuo Province. Regarding the seniority, this Yan Wenguang is Li Xiu's uncle, which means he will back off when facing this difficulty. Additionally, this Yan Wenguang is not a match for this junior Roral Uncle of mine."
"Your Majesty has calculated everything. Seems that all of this is well-arranged. I've worried for nothing!"
"Not exactly. This time, I seem to have miscalculated a bit. The strength of those well-known families is even above our estimation. Though we've used a Pure Yang Celestial Device as bait, we've still failed to measure their true strength!"
"All is what it is meant to be. Precious as the Pure Yang Celestial Device is, it's not bound to cause those Old Masters of a powerful family to fight hard for it. If we use a Taihao Fairy Weapon..."
"Hang on, hang on. If we had a Taihao Fairy Weapon, you reckon I would still care about their strength?"
"Right, right!" Ming Yuesheng nodded consecutively and continued, "What's more, Your Majesty still got something in return this time!"
"Yes. For a period, the empire will enjoy a stable and peaceful time after this event. By loosening the human trafficking ban, those aristocratic families will have to think twice before stirring up any more troubles!"
"Wise as always, Your Majesty. For now, we need some stability to digest the fruits of the victory we've gained, particularly the three provinces in the north, and then proceed to the next step. In this way, our foundation will be thoroughly stabilized."
"Yeah. To accomplish a lot, we'd better go ahead steadily and surely rather than going in a hurry!" Yan Yuntian exclaimed, nodding. "Though this Ma Tianchang is a bastard, he does act more steadily and prudently than I do!"
"Your Majesty, Ma Tianchang has accepted his fief, but judging by the situation, he doesn't want to move from there for the moment!"
"Don't bother, whatever this bastard wants to do, leave him alone. After all, we've let him owe us a huge favor this time. According to his temper, he won't settle down until he returns us that favor!"
"Yes!"
"Finally! If you hadn't come now, I would have left!"
Looking at the ice-faced Prince Xiaoming, Junior Leopard felt an involuntary jolt and subconsciously straightened up his body.
"You're a world-famous celebrity now. Want to go? To where?" Prince Xiaoming gave a sneer and glanced at Wang She who was next to Junior Leopard, a trace of warmth fleeting across her ice-cold eyes. "Why did you come here, are you also interested in the Earth Fire Yuan Essence?"
"Not necessarily. I'm here to prevent you two from getting into a fight and hurting your friendship for some slight disagreement!"
"You're afraid of us hurting the friendship between ourselves?" Prince Xiaoming scowled gently. "Why would such a thing concern you?"
"Not for any reason in particular, but, just in case!" Wang She gave a subtle shrug. "Besides, I also want to take this chance to consolidate my phase. The Earth Fire Yuan Essence is a real treasure!"
"In that case, let's set off now. We've been delayed for a long time!" Prince Xiaoming's look was restored back to its original coldness once again. "The underground fire vein in Zhonghe City has turned stagnant. I've been there to check. It's because the Earth Fire Yuan Essence has been extracted too excessively!" Speaking of this, she shot a significant look at Junior Leopard. "This time, the geocentric fire vein I'm taking you to is one of our Sect of Flame's, and I do not want the situation in Zhonghe City to happen again!"
"You can't ask the horse to run fast when you don't feed it, can you?" Before these words faded away, roars of complaint were already piled up from Junior Leopard. "My fist intent can surely induce the Earth Fire Yuan Essence out, but I can't control the quantity, so how can I promise you nothing would happen to the underground fire vein?"
"Is it?!" Prince Xiaoming's eyes flashed again. "You just need to withdraw your fist intent when the time comes!"
"My punching skill is indeed great, but hasn't reached the phase where I can roll it out and withdraw it at will!" Junior Leopard made no concession at all. "Besides, Earth Fire Yuan Essence is complementary to my fist intent. If I stop my fist intent at crucial moments, it may hurt me! If you want me to self-sacrifice and benefit others, that won't happen!"
"Do you mean you're going to destroy the geocentric fire vein of our Sect of Flame too?"
"Of course not. I'll try to control it, but I can't guarantee you anything. I've warned you in advance, in case this turns into a strenuous but thankless task later!"
Sensing the mounting tenseness between those two, Wang She hurried to smooth things over.
"We're all in the same boat. No need to get upset about such trivial things. Junior Leopard, just be careful when you do it, don't extract too hard. Concubine Ming, you shall also take a bit of care to caution him and that's all!"
"Fine!" At Wang She's words, Prince Xiaoming nodded, and her expression also softened.
"I know that these two must have some history! Otherwise, how could this Prince Xiaoming listen to his words!" Seeing Prince Xiaoming changing so fast, Junior Leopard jerked his lips a bit as an interest in gossip rose in his stomach. However, at the sight of the cold eyes of Prince Xiaoming, he hastily suppressed this fire of gossip.
"Let's go and get the job done first, I've got other things on my plates!"
"Hey, tomorrow is the semi-final. Shall we stay here a bit longer and have a look?"
"What's interesting about that? Do you still want those things or not?"
"Fine, fine, fine, let's go!" Hearing this, Junior Leopard revealed a trace of a bitter smile on his face. This Prince Xiaoming looked fragile, but her disposition was uncommonly impatient. Moreover, she had things that he needed urgently, so he really didn't want to upset her.
"Er, well, when will you give me that thing?"
"That thing is at the geocentric fire vein. I'll give it to you when we arrive there!"
"The Sect of Flame controls seven geocentric fire veins. Concubine Ming is not only one of the Great Venerables, but also an expert of Level Nine, so she is qualified to own one geocentric fire vein herself. This time, we're going to take advantage of her. Thus, Junior Leopard, you should be careful and don't ruin her geocentric fire vein!"
"Seven geocentric fire veins? " Junior Leopard's heart pounded at those words. He secretly exclaimed at the vast fortune the Sect of Flame possessed. "Remember, even the Wu Family, a smelting family with hundreds of years of history, had been longing for a geocentric fire vein, but could never get one. That this Sect of Flame should have seven, comparisons are odious!"
"Who told you that I'm heading for my geocentric fire vein!" Prince Xiaoming suddenly chimed in and cast a baleful look at Junior Leopard. "This guy just said that he might destroy my fire vein, how on earth will I allow him to do so!"
"Then, you mean..."
"Raging Fire Ancestor's geocentric fire vein is the nearest one to us, and I happen to know that this old bloke is out on business and won't return for half a month or so. We're going there, and then, you can do whatever you like with it!"