Immortal of the Nine Realms

The empress coldly glared at Noble Consort Hua and questioned, “Why should Chen’er apologize to the superior state? It’s doubtful whether you’d still be standing there if Chen’er had not slain Marquess Xianyu on the Great Xia River.”

Noble Consort Hua chuckled softly and calmly reasoned, “Your Majesty, there’s a cause and effect behind everything. If not for Fang Chen killing Viscount Zhou Xiu, Longdu wouldn’t have sent its army to attack us. The superior state also wouldn’t have to send an envoy down.”

“Zhou Xiu killed our people. He reaped what he sowed,” the empress replied.

“But that’s not for Fang Chen to decide,” Noble Consort Hua replied. “Great Xia belongs to His Majesty, not Fang Chen. Your Majesty, you should be more prudent in drawing that distinction.”

Their argument vexed the emperor, and he impatiently bellowed, “Have you argued enough yet? If so, let’s focus on how we should resolve this matter!”

There was a short pause before he added, “Follow me to welcome Chillwater’s envoy.”

…

The purple-robed man looked at the kneeling Tao Mingsheng and chuckled. “Despite offering fewer tribute to us with each passing year, your Great Xia killed so many Longdu cavalrymen. Even Marquess Xianyu lost his life in your capital. If you ask me, I don’t think you have fallen into decline at all; if anything, you’re growing stronger. Are you intending to eliminate Longdu, Guhe, and Yizhou first before challenging us?”

Those words sent a shudder down the officials’ spine.

Challenge Chillwater? That is impossible. Even the combined prowess of Great Xia, Longdu, Guhe, and Yizhou won’t match the tip of Chillwater’s iceberg.

They had seen how powerful Chillwater was back in their younger days. Just the Nightmare Knights could crush all four countries in a month!

“Milord, our Great Xia has no such intention!” Tao Mingsheng exclaimed with a lowered head.

“Empty words. I’m here to demand an explanation,” the purple-robed youth scoffed. “Speaking of which, I ought to introduce myself. I am Ji Lengyue. Zhou Xiu, who died in the hands of your Great Xia, is my distant cousin.”

“What?!”

“Zhou Xiu is related to a superior state?!”

“Surely not…”

The crowd was stunned. Tao Mingsheng and the others were flabbergasted. They finally understood why Longdu had reacted so strongly to Zhou Xiu’s death.

Who could have thought that Viscount Zhou Xiu would have ties with a superior state?

“Ji Clan… Could it be…” Tao Mingsheng froze up, and his face turned pale.

He suddenly recalled that Chillwater Country had a powerful clan known as the Ji Clan, and they controlled nearly half the country. Even the infamous Nightmare Knights were nurtured by them!

There were rumors that the Ji Clan captured the Nightmare Knights’ steeds from a mysterious place, and each steed was comparable to a Ki Explosion martial artist. When they were paired with pinnacle Ki Control soldiers, the Nightmare Knights wielded the power to dominate any battlefield.

Thus far, the Nightmare Knights had been unstoppable wherever they appeared.

Several figures amidst the crowd discreetly retreated into the shadows before rushing toward the Fang Clan.

“Let’s go. Let’s not keep your emperor waiting for long,” Ji Lengyue said.

He signaled for his horse to gallop forth, and the Nightmare Knights behind him quickly followed him in an orderly fashion.

Tao Mingsheng and the others hurriedly took their positions behind Ji Lengyue and followed them to the imperial palace.

As soon as the Nightmare Knights were gone, the civilians panicked.

“Our Great Xia is in danger!”

“Zhou Xiu actually has the bloodline of a superior state. I wonder how they will deal with this.”

“We’ll probably have to hand over War God Fang to resolve this matter…”

“War God Fang might be famous in Great Xia, but the superior state likely sees him as an ant they can crush whenever they want. Our Great Xia won’t be able to protect him…”

Long Huixin and the others smiled upon hearing the surrounding discussions.

“Miss Long, you’ll finally get what you want,” someone said in delight.

Long Huixin chuckled. “I knew this day would come. Given how arrogant Fang Chen was acting, it was only a matter of time before someone curbed him.”

Long Huixin looked at Ji Lengyue’s departing figure with greedy eyes. He’s already an envoy despite his young age, and he’s from the Ji Clan on top of that. If I could win his fancy and bear his child, there would be no greater protection for Guhe!

She could guess Zhou Xiu’s origin, and she wanted to have offspring like that…

Not far away, Li Daoye sneered in disdain, “A mere Earth Profound martial artist acting as if he owns the world. He thinks too highly of himself!”

“Earth Profound?” Tie Ma was taken aback. “Are you able to defeat him, Daoye? What stage of Earth Profound is he at?”

The two of them had just returned from Dragonback Lane when they stumbled upon this sight. Tie Ma was also surprised to learn that Zhou Xiu had the blood of the Ji Clan running through his veins.

Fang Chen had been wondering that there might be more to Zhou Xiu’s identity, but this was bigger than they had expected.

Back when he was still a Hidden Dragon in Greenpine, he had seen Greenpine’s superior state. Chillwater’s military prowess was likely comparable to that.

“Judging from his aura, he should be at the first stage of Earth Profound. As for whether we’d be able to defeat him…” Li Daoye sneered. “You’re underestimating me. I’d hesitate to fight you with the talismans you have, but I have a hundred ways to curb a mere first stage Earth Profound martial artist!”

That was the gap between a cultivator and a martial artist; both were not at the same level.

“Let’s head back first to consult the young master. They seem to harbor hostile intentions; there’ll likely be a conflict,” Tie Ma said.

The two of them returned to the Fang Manor and saw Fang Cangyou, Xu Ge, and Huang Sihai gathered together. Clearly, they had received news about Ji Lengyue’s arrival at the capital.

“You came on time. The young master isn’t here, so we should discuss how we should deal with Chillwater,” Xu Ge said.

“The young master isn’t here?” Tie Ma was taken aback.

“Where’s he? Where’s Abbess Clearlotus? Did he kidnap my Little Abbess?! I knew something was off! He sent me off so that he could monopolize Little Abbess!” Li Daoye exclaimed in sheer regret.

“Daoye, our young master headed to the southern region to resolve some matters. What in the world is going through your mind?” Xu Ge rolled his eyes.

“What’s there to fear? Chillwater is just a grade-8 state, right?” Li Daoye scoffed. “He’d be scared out of his mind if either Abbess Clearlotus or I confront him. What’s more important right now is for us to find my Little Abbess!”

Hm?

The crowd exchanged looks. Fang Cangyou turned to Li Daoye and asked, “Daoye, what does that mean? Are you and Abbess Clearlotus powerful figures in Chillwater Country?”

“Of course not! Abbess Clearlotus and I are from Infernoblaze Country. That’s a grade-6 state, far stronger than the likes of Chillwater Country,” Li Daoye sneered.

Grade-6 state?!

The crowd was taken aback. Fang Cangyou burst into laughter. Who could have known that there were two powerhouses hiding in their Fang Manor. Chillwater’s envoy had messed with the wrong people this time around!