169: Chapter 169 A Stormy Night, Turbulent Undercurrents

In the Eastern Palace, inside the Crown Prince's bedchamber.

The once high-spirited Great Qian Dynasty Crown Prince, who believed he could control everything, was now like a Puppet drained of all vitality, slumped ashen-faced on the dragon bed crafted from gold.

Beside him stood the Imperial Tutor—Grand Tutor Lin—who was known for his superior intellect and unerring calculations.

However, at this moment, Grand Tutor Lin's face, usually filled with wisdom and composure, was covered in malice and resentment.

"Your Highness, have you heard?" Grand Tutor Lin's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other. "That rebellious subject from the northern border, that ungrateful wolf we raised with our own hands, now dares to openly host this 'World Heroes Assembly,' attempting to lay claim to the title of 'Number One in the World'! What is he trying to do? He is slapping our imperial Family in the face in front of the entire world!"

"So... so what?" The Crown Prince's voice was filled with endless despondency and despair. "Now that the Divine Capital has fallen and Father Emperor has died a miserable death, we are already fish on the chopping block of that Blood Wolf King, waiting to be slaughtered... What... what else can we do?"

"Foolish!" Hearing this, a fierce look of disappointment flashed in Grand Tutor Lin's eyes!

He stepped forward abruptly, lowered his voice, and whispered into the Crown Prince's ear with a tone filled with seduction and madness:

"Your Highness! We have not lost yet! As long as we can eliminate that major threat, Gao Feng! As long as we can make the Blood Wolf King and those five hundred thousand fierce troops of the northern border fight until both sides suffer! We will have a chance! We will have a chance to take back everything that belongs to us!"

"Gao Feng's actions, while appearing arrogant, are actually extremely foolish! He is exposing himself completely to the sight of all his enemies! This is a heaven-sent opportunity for us!"

A cold, snake-like light flickered in Grand Tutor Lin's eyes.

"Pass on my order! Notify the Hall of Worship immediately! Have them send out the last and strongest trump card in our imperial Family's hands—the 'Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum' Four Masters!"

"Have the four of them depart immediately, disguise themselves as Jianghu wanderers, and head to the northern border! They must infiltrate the finals of the 'World Heroes Assembly'!"

"Then, when that rebellious subject Gao Feng is at his most triumphant and relaxed, in front of the entire world, use thunderous force to decapitate him on the spot!"

"This seat wants the whole world to see who is the only unshakable orthodoxy on this land!"

...

Jinzhou, King of Wei's Mansion.

The most powerful vassal king in the Central Plains, King of Wei, Cao Meng, was playing chess leisurely under a huge locust tree with his chief strategist, Zhang Guan.

Cao Meng had a burly figure and an imposing face, his tiger eyes filled with supreme majesty that commanded awe without anger.

Although he was titled a vassal king, he commanded a million armored troops and had countless fierce generals under his command; he was already the de facto uncrowned king of this Central Plains region.

"Mr. Guan, what is your view on the affairs of the northern border?" Cao Meng slowly placed a black piece and asked in a deep voice.

Zhang Guan, who was addressed as "Mr. Guan," was a middle-aged scholar who looked to be in his early thirties, with a thin face and an elegant temperament.

Hearing this, he just smiled faintly, unhurriedly placed a white piece, and instantly cut off Cao Meng's seemingly unbreakable Dragon from the middle.

"My Lord, Gao Feng's actions, while appearing arrogant, are actually killing two birds with one stone, and the intent is far-reaching."

Zhang Guan's voice was as warm as jade, filled with the light of wisdom.

"First, to build a reputation. Through this grand World Heroes Assembly, he wants to declare his supreme majesty as the king of the northern border to the whole world, laying the foundation of public support and public opinion for his future southward expansion to compete for hegemony."

"Second, to recruit talent. The world is in chaos, which is exactly when heroes emerge. He wants to use this empty title of 'Number One in the World' and rewards sufficient to drive any Martial Artist crazy to attract all the hidden dragons and frustrated fierce tigers in the world to his command, to be used by him."

"This young man has grand strategies in his heart and aims for the world; he is the greatest enemy to my Lord's future unification of the world! We must be on guard!"

Hearing this, a hint of gravity flashed in Cao Meng's tiger eyes.

"Then, in your opinion, what should we do?"

"Hehe..." Zhang Guan smiled again, and a fox-like cunning flashed in his Wisdom Eye, which seemed able to see through people's hearts.

"My Lord, since he wants to put on a show, why don't we send someone to support him? By the way, we can also probe the reality of his northern border."

"I have heard that your general, Chen Yuan, has reached the Transcendent level in his spear technique and has long broken through to the Peak of the sixth rank, just one step away from the legendary seventh rank. Why not send him?"

"First, he can go and meet the heroes of the northern border to see what the so-called 'Number One in the World' is really worth."

"Second, we can take this opportunity to secretly contact other forces who also harbor ill intentions toward Gao Feng. If there is a chance to join forces with other families to eliminate Gao Feng, this fierce tiger whose wings have not yet fully grown, at the World Heroes Assembly, wouldn't that be a great thing for you, my Lord?"

"Excellent! Excellent!" Hearing this, Cao Meng clapped his hands and laughed!

"We shall follow your advice! Order Chen Yuan immediately to take my 'Army-Breaking Spear' and depart for the northern border at once!"

...

Jiangnan, Wusheng Holy Cult headquarters.

Inside a huge underground sacred hall, shrouded in dark and damp mist all year round, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

In the deepest part of the sacred hall, beneath a huge statue of the Holy Mother, ten zhang high and carved from unknown black sacred wood, a mysterious figure wrapped in a white sacred robe, wearing a pure gold mask on their face, and whose gender could not be distinguished, was sitting cross-legged in silence.

It was the supreme ruler of the mysterious and unfathomable Wusheng Holy Cult, whose influence spread throughout the entire Dynasty—the Holy Mother of Sacred Heart.

"Gao Feng... Panshi Army's new policies..."

A strange voice, drifting and uncertain, as if devoid of any human emotion, echoed slowly in the empty sacred hall.

"Everything he promotes, whether it is the ideology of equality for all or the education that opens the people's minds, is incompatible with the fundamental doctrine of our Holy Cult: 'Vacuum Hometown, Wusheng Holy Mother'."

"If this young man is not eliminated, he will surely become the greatest obstacle to our Holy Cult's salvation of all living beings and the establishment of a Buddhist kingdom on earth."

"Pass on my decree."

"Order the Blood Hand Dharma King to lead a team personally to the northern border."

"Remember, the purpose of our trip is not to seize that ridiculous empty title of 'Number One in the World'."

"We are going to create the biggest and bloodiest chaos at the most critical and highly anticipated moment of that grand event!"

"This seat wants to use the blood of those innocents to defile his so-called grand event!"

"This seat wants to use the wails of those in despair to shake his seemingly unbreakable public support!"

"This seat wants the whole world to see that he, Gao Feng, cannot even protect the people under his rule, so how can he talk about protecting the common people of this world?!"

The strange voice was filled with undisguised coldness and malice.

...

Meanwhile, in a long-dilapidated Mountain God Temple in the northern border, a more direct and bloody revenge plot was quietly unfolding.

Dozens of Men in Black, dressed in night-traveling clothes and with faces filled with endless hatred, were kneeling on one knee, shouting with endless resentment toward the statue already stained red with blood!

They were the remnants of the Cangyun Sword Sect, the branch members of the Longxi Li Clan, and survivors of dozens of other large and small aristocratic families who had been ruthlessly purged and ruined under Gao Feng's iron-fisted consolidation!

They gathered together because of their shared hatred and formed an assassination organization called the "Revenge Alliance"!

Their leader was the former number one Genius of the Cangyun Sword Sect, a peerless swordsman who had stepped into the Peak of the sixth rank at the age of only thirty—Li Xun!

At this moment, Li Xun no longer had his former elegant and immortal-like appearance.

His face was covered in hideous scars, and one eye had long been blinded by a stray arrow during his escape; only the other intact eye remained, burning with a blazing fire of hatred that could incinerate the entire world!

"Gao Feng, you brat! You destroyed my Sect! You killed my mentor! This hatred is irreconcilable!"

"You destroyed my Family! You slaughtered my kin! This hatred is irreconcilable!"

"This 'World Heroes Assembly' is the best opportunity for revenge that heaven has bestowed upon us! That will also be his burial place!"

Li Xun stood up slowly. His single eye, like the fiercest lone wolf, swept across the dozens of allies below, who were also filled with endless hatred, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

"We will all disguise ourselves as Jianghu wanderers and infiltrate the Heroes Assembly!"

"We don't need to compete for any ranking; we just need to wait! Wait for the best opportunity!"

"Wait for the moment when that brat Gao Feng steps onto the high platform to present the award for the so-called 'Number One in the World'!"

"That will be the signal for us to launch a thunderous strike!"

"I, Li Xun, swear here!"

"In this battle, if we do not succeed, we will die!"

"We will use our last lives and blood to let out our loudest roar of revenge toward that high and mighty tyrant!"

"Blood debt! Paid in blood!"

"Blood debt! Paid in blood!"

Inside the Mountain God Temple, those roars filled with endless resentment and determination echoed for a long time in the silent night sky.

Just when the whole world was rising with winds and surging with clouds, and undercurrents were stirring because of this upcoming "World Heroes Assembly".

A young man, who looked cynical on the surface but hid a depth and wisdom beyond his years deep in his eyes, was bringing a few top-tier guards with steady Auras and bulging temples, stepping silently into Yan King City, which had already become the center of the world's storm.

He was the youngest son of the King of Yunzhou—Yun Zheng.

The purpose of his trip was simple: to see for himself, on behalf of his father, who had been wavering on this big chessboard of the northern border, who exactly this legendary king of the northern border was.

To personally evaluate whether being an enemy of this person or cooperating with him was the best choice for the future of Yunzhou.

However, when he truly stepped into the legendary Yan King City, he was completely stunned by the sight before him!

On the wide, clean bluestone streets, wide enough to accommodate eight carriages side-by-side, strange-looking 'rail carriages'—which required no horses to pull and billowed with white steam from their roofs—were moving smoothly and quickly along the black iron rails laid in the center of the street.

On both sides of the street, shops stood in rows, and merchants gathered.

Inside the exquisite display windows, crafted from crystal-clear, spotless giant glass, were displayed all kinds of strange goods he had never heard of or seen before.

There were mechanical fruit knives that could peel automatically, music boxes that could play music by themselves, and monocular telescopes that could magnify dozens of times, allowing one to see the feathers of birds in the distance...

And among the coming and going commoners, whether they were wealthy merchants dressed in magnificent silk or commoners in simple cloth clothing, their faces were filled with an inner confidence, composure, and hope!

It was a spirit that could only be seen on land where people truly lived and worked in peace and were full of infinite longing for the future!

What shocked him even more were the Panshi Army soldiers patrolling the streets!

Every one of them was impeccably uniformed, their footsteps resounding with strength and power!

Although their armor was of a uniform style, it flashed with the grim, cold light unique to tempered steel!

From every one of them emanated a ruggedness and composure that only true veteran soldiers who had experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood could possess!

That soaring power of Qi and blood even made Yun Zheng, a martial arts expert himself, feel a sense of palpitation!

This... how could this still be the barren, backward, bitter Northern Border that he remembered, shrouded in war and famine all year round?

This was clearly a heavenly kingdom on earth, full of vitality and endless energy!

"Good heavens..."

Standing on the bustling street filled with people, Yun Zheng looked at the surreal scene before him, which was full of futuristic and sci-fi vibes. He stood there stunned, as if struck by lightning, muttering to himself.

"Is... is this really the Northern Border? This is simply ten times more prosperous than the legendary God Capital! No! A hundred times!"

His heart, which had always been self-important and cynical, was completely filled at this moment with unprecedented shock and indescribable fear!

"Father... Father actually wants to cooperate with this person? He even thinks about getting a slice of the pie in this Northern Border?"

"I think if we really become enemies with this person, I'm afraid that within three years, my entire Yunzhou will be swallowed by him in one bite! Not even the bone fragments will be left!"

"This Gao Feng... this Yan King... he... he is simply too terrifying!"

As the date of the World Heroes Assembly drew closer, the entire Yan King City fell into an unprecedented carnival.

Heroes from all over the world, like sharks smelling blood, poured madly from all directions into this legendary city that had long since become the focus of the entire world.

For a time, all the major inns in the city were full, and it was hard to find a room. Even the most remote little inns had their prices driven up to an astonishing sky-high price.

And the restaurants and teahouses, large and small, were bustling with noise and excitement from morning till night, with not a single empty seat.

Jianghu heroes speaking in various accents gathered in groups of three or five, drinking large gulps of the 'Panshi Burning Knife' that could intoxicate anyone, while talking loudly and spitting everywhere, boasting about their past battle achievements, and looking forward to the bright future of becoming famous and winning the heart of a beauty at the upcoming World Heroes Assembly.

The entire Yan King City seemed to have turned into a huge Jianghu, filled with blood, passion, and undisguised ambition.

For the past few days, Yun Zheng had completely immersed himself in this fiery atmosphere full of Jianghu flavor.

He was in no hurry to visit the legendary Yan King. Instead, like a true Jianghu wanderer, he spent his days lingering in the city's largest restaurant—the 'World's Number One Restaurant'.

He wanted to see here, with his own eyes, what kind of powerful figures this Jianghu feast, single-handedly initiated by Gao Feng, had attracted.

The 'World's Number One Restaurant' lived up to its name; its scale was magnificent and its decoration luxurious, comparable to an imperial palace.

The entire restaurant was nine stories high, with carved beams and painted pillars, flying eaves and brackets, and an extraordinary Aura.

Inside the building, guests were as numerous as clouds, and there were no empty seats.

Yun Zheng ordered a private seat by the window on the second floor, ordered a pot of the top-grade 'Panshi Burning Knife' and a few exquisite side dishes, and while pouring and drinking by himself, he observed the various Jianghu heroes in the building with great interest.

Just at this moment, a commotion and a woman's scream suddenly came from the street below.

Yun Zheng raised his eyebrows slightly and looked in the direction of the sound.

He saw several young Martial Artists wearing magnificent clothes and hanging long swords at their waists, who were obviously from some major power, cornering a pretty flower-selling girl against the wall, with lewd and malicious smiles on their faces, pawing at her.

"Little beauty, don't be shy! Come back with us for a drink, and we guarantee to make you feel as happy as an immortal!"

"Exactly! We are from Jinzhou! Our Young Master is the nephew of a great general under the command of the King of Wei, Cao Meng! If you serve us well, you will have a good life in the future!"

The girl was terrified, her face pale, tears streaming down her face, struggling desperately. But as a weak woman, how could she break free from those evil young men who had long been muddled by alcohol and desire?

Although the surrounding commoners were filled with righteous indignation, when they saw the tokens at the waists of those evil young men symbolizing the power of the King of Wei's Mansion in Jinzhou, they dared to be angry but dared not speak, and could only shake their heads helplessly.

However, just at the moment when the leading evil young man was about to stretch his dirty, salty pig hands toward the girl's chest,

"Stop!"

A clear, loud shout filled with endless majesty and cold killing intent exploded like a thunderclap on flat ground!

Immediately following, a silver lightning flash vanished from the extraordinarily spirited white warhorse not far away!

"Puchi!"

A muffled sound of a sharp blade entering flesh came!

The evil young man who was about to commit the crime felt a sudden chill on his wrist, and then a bone-piercing, heart-wrenching pain suddenly came!

He let out a shrill scream that didn't sound human. Looking down, he saw that his sinful right hand had been pierced through the wrist by a silver spear that had come from nowhere, and was nailed firmly to the wall behind him!

Blood gushed out wildly like a fountain!

"Who?! Who dares to meddle in the affairs of our Jinzhou Wang Family?!"

The remaining evil young men were furious at the sight! They drew their long swords one after another and roared in the direction from which the silver spear had been shot, looking fierce but cowardly.

"Da! Da! Da!"

A crisp sound of hoofbeats came.

A young general, wearing a suit of bright silver armor, riding a snow-white, extraordinarily spirited horse, and holding a silver spear that also flashed with a grim, cold light, slowly walked out from the crowd.

He looked to be only in his early twenties, with a face like jade, sword-like eyebrows, and star-like eyes. He was heroic and imposing, full of the vigorous spirit of a young general!

His eyes, like cold stars, swept coldly over the few evil young men who had long been scared out of their wits, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

"Xiliang, Ma Qianli."

"Seeing injustice on the road, I draw my spear to help."

"Are you going to roll away yourselves, or do you want me to send you on your way?"

Looking at the terrifying Evil Qi on Ma Qianli, which seemed to have been honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and that terrifying silver spear that was still dripping with blood, the few evil young men were in a state of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and they fled in panic!

How could they dare to say a word more? They scrambled and crawled away, leaving behind their companion who was still nailed to the wall, wailing in pain, and fled the scene like madmen.

Ma Qianli snorted coldly, withdrew his spear, then dismounted and walked to the flower-selling girl who had long been scared silly. He took a heavy ingot of silver from his arms and gently placed it in her flower basket.

"Young lady, go home quickly. Although Yan King City is prosperous, it is a mix of dragons and snakes. In the future, do not return so late."

His voice was gentle, a complete change from the cold and murderous appearance he had just displayed.

Looking at this heroic general who had descended from the sky like a Heavenly God and saved her from danger, the flower-selling girl felt two charming blushes rise on her pretty face, and her big, watery eyes were filled with endless gratitude and admiration.

She bowed gracefully to Ma Qianli, then hugged her flower basket and disappeared into the crowd, looking back every few steps.

Ma Qianli did not linger any longer. He led his precious horse and walked straight into the 'World's Number One Restaurant', which was already bustling with noise.

"What a White Horse and Silver Spear, Ma Qianli! Truly a young hero with a chivalrous heart!"

"Yes! The sharpness of this man's spear technique and the dominance of his Aura are probably already not inferior to those long-established older generation experts! This time at the World Heroes Assembly, he will definitely have a place!"

"When did such a figure emerge from the land of Xiliang? It really is a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons reside!"

Inside the restaurant, a wave of irrepressible exclamations and discussions erupted.

Yun Zheng watched that heroic figure, and in his usually cynical eyes, a trace of undetectable solemnity flashed.

He could clearly feel that this young man named Ma Qianli had definitely reached the Peak of the fifth-order 'Lian Sui' realm, and had even faintly touched the threshold of the sixth order!

At such an age, to have such cultivation!

This person is definitely a peerless Prodigy no less than himself!