A hundred miles from Liuyue City lies the Yang Family Fort. Its lord, Yang Dan, recently celebrated his fiftieth birthday. Rumor has it that he's already halfway to the celestial realm.
Now in the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty, the number of people who have entered the realm of heaven and man can be counted on one hand.
The Palace Master of Shangqing Palace Gong Qiruo, the leader of the martial arts world Xiao Tianhua, the owner of Liuyue Villa Sang Xuezhen, the Wuxiangjiao Kong Xuanji, and the Palace Master of the Shuangji Hall of the Demon Cult Fan Yixian.
The people of Shangqing Palace have always been indifferent to public affairs. Whether it's martial arts conferences or other trivial gatherings, they never show up, maintaining their style of being aloof and elegant. The owner of Liuyue Villa is more interested in the pleasures of life, having always loved to travel. It is said that he suffered an accident several years ago, and his martial arts skills have greatly declined. The monk Wuxiangjiao is already ninety-three years old. For the past ten years, rumors of his passing have been heard every year. Regardless of whether they are true or not, he is usually not seen.
Fan Yixian has always been quite active. A few years ago, he even wanted to seize the position of leader of the martial arts world, but he was no match for Xiao Tianhua.
Therefore, there are rumors that the others are unwilling to take the leadership of the martial arts world and leave the stall to Xiao Tianhua. If another person enters the realm of heaven and man at this time, the previous balance will be completely broken.
Yangjiabao.
Although Yang Dan was over fifty, he was well-maintained and had a well-proportioned figure. Apart from a few strands of gray hair at his temples, he didn't look old at all.
"Fort Master." A member of the Yang family entered the hall and said respectfully, "The Third Prince has arrived at Yang Family Fort. I have already sent people to accommodate him. I have come to ask for your instructions."
Yang Dan casually picked up a paperweight from the table and toyed with it. "He finally decided to come?"
"The Third Prince's attendant said that the Prince rarely left the capital. When he went to Yangjiabao, it happened to be the spring plowing season. He was in the mood and stayed at a farmer's house for a few days, insisting on watching the people plowing with his own eyes."
"Huh." Yang Dan's expression was gloomy. "What a coincidence that this mood has come up, and it just happened to be on my 50th birthday?"
Seeing this, the Yang family member knelt in the hall and dared not speak.
"What are you afraid of?" Yang Dan glanced at him.
"Get up." Smoothing the wrinkles between his brows with one hand, Yang Dan said, "I'll go see him in person."
"Yes, I'll prepare it right away." The Yang family members breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and then they dared to raise their heads.
The paperweight that Yang Dan was playing with had turned into ashes. A gust of wind blew through the hall, blinding his eyes.
Yangjiabao, the residence of the Third Prince.
Yang Dan went to visit the Third Prince and waited in the main hall for half an hour before the Third Prince finally arrived.
He was dressed in a cyan uniform and holding a paper fan, tapping it on his palm like a southern scholar. "Fort Master Yang, it's been a long time since we last met. How are you feeling?"
Yang Dan didn't stand up, but casually bowed. "Thanks to the Third Prince, although I just celebrated my fiftieth birthday the day before yesterday, I still feel very ambitious. However, I noticed that the Third Prince's spirits were not as good as before. I wonder if there are any inconveniences in the Yang Family Fort?"
The Third Prince sat casually at the top, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and frowned.
With a "bang", the teacup shattered at my feet.
The maid beside her immediately knelt on the fragments.
The man behind the Third Prince shouted, "What kind of thing are you doing? Treating guests with such tea?"
"Change the tea."
The maid kowtowed and retreated. A trace of red lingered on the broken pieces of the teacup.
Instantly, you could hear a pin drop.
The Third Prince straightened out the non-existent wrinkles on his clothes and said, "I find this house quite refreshing. Compared to the capital, it has a completely different feel."
He suddenly smiled and said, "When I came to Yangjiabao, I passed through Liuyue City. I heard that there was going to be a martial arts competition there. I wonder if Lord Yang would go?"
Yang Dan glanced at the new tea served by the maid and said: "Those are just children's games. At my age, why should I join in the fun?"
The Third Prince frowned and tried to find a comfortable position to lean back. The man waiting behind him replied, "In the past, every martial arts competition was announced by the leader of the martial arts world. However, this year's competition has been delayed. Does Lord Yang know why?"
"I'd like to hear more about it."
"Martial Arts Alliance Leader Xiao Tianhua is nowhere to be found, and the one from Liuyue Villa hasn't appeared yet. It's even less likely that the others will come forward to preside over the event. Fort Master Yang, what do you think..."
"Xiao Tianhua's whereabouts are unknown, is that true?"
At this point, the Third Prince finally found a comfortable position. He took a sip of the newly served tea and cleared his throat, but did not answer Yang Dan's question: "I am somewhat interested in this martial arts tournament. Would Lord Yang be willing to accompany me?"
The two agreed to go to Liuyue City together three days later. Seeing that the Third Prince was not interested, Yang Dan left.
…
"Your Highness." The attendant supported the Third Prince. "This Lord Yang seems difficult to deal with. If we give him a hard time this time, will he..."
"It's precisely because he's so difficult to get along with that I'm doing this." The Third Prince took the medicine offered by the maid and drank it all in one gulp. "Let him think I missed the invitation because of my own whim. I must not let him know that I was attacked the day before yesterday and was poisoned."
"If Xiao Tianhua hadn't been on the move since a year ago, why would we have to settle for the next best thing and contact him?"
The knights used their martial arts to break the law, and Xiao Tianhua hadn't kept them in check for a moment, allowing the martial artists to frequently cause trouble. Furthermore, the emperor was aging, and the court was in turmoil. Someone was urgently needed to stabilize the martial arts world, and if necessary, to root it out completely.
A few days ago, the Third Prince was assassinated on his way to Yangjiabao. Fortunately, he had obtained a drug that could suppress the poison in Medicine King Valley, which saved his life. However, this drug is extremely precious and rare, so he should have gone to Medicine King Valley for treatment.
Unfortunately, someone in Liuyue City reported that Jiang Kang of Fenye Gate had discovered that the map of the Ming Dynasty had been leaked. He had no choice but to send someone to Yaowang Valley to seek medicine, while the Third Prince himself had to go to Liuyue City to investigate the matter.
There had been no foreign invasions at the border for three years. I had thought that after years of interaction with the Central Plains, these people had somewhat lost some of their wildness. Unexpectedly, they were actually recuperating, waiting for the right opportunity to devour the Ming Dynasty.
The Third Prince had many skilled warriors under his command, and on this trip he brought at least three innate warriors with him. However, the enemy had sent only death squads, desperate to injure him even a little bit, making it impossible to defend against them.
I originally thought that this assassination was a stupid thing done by some careless brother, but now it seems that it may not be the case.
So, let's take Fort Lord Yang with us first. After all, he's at least a half-step to the Heavenly Man realm. With him around, the assassin will be more restrained.
…
After a long wait, the martial arts competition was finally officially held.
Fort Lord Yang, who was eager to host the martial arts competition, ran into the martial arts leader Xiao Tianhua. They both chose the same day to enter the city.
"Didn't you see what happened when Alliance Leader Xiao and Castle Lord Yang met that day? Castle Lord Yang's eyes almost popped out of his head." Someone clicked his tongue.
"Alliance Leader Xiao is always kind and didn't say anything."
"So everyone is about the same age, but he, the Lord of Yang Castle, can't be the Lord of Yang Alliance."
"You young people don't know this, right?" At this time, an old man came over.
"Why, you know it again?"
"Thinking back then, they had a good relationship. Did Alliance Leader Xiao and Fort Leader Yang ever become sworn brothers?"
"Then why is it like this now?"
The old man hesitated for a moment, then slowly recalled, "Back then, Madam Xiao's reputation spread throughout the martial arts world. She was a renowned fairy. Back then, I was also fortunate enough to see her beauty. That was..."
"Why are you bragging about yourself? Let's get to the point." Someone interrupted his recollection.
"She and Alliance Leader Xiao are from the same sect. Fort Leader Yang once lived in Amaterasu for a while. The three of them had a very good relationship back then."
"And then?" everyone gossiped.
"Then Senior Sister became Madam, and that's how they were."
"So that's how it is," everyone suddenly realized. "This Lord Yang must have admired Madam Xiao back then."
…
Let's put aside the grudges between the martial artists for now. There's something new happening with Eryi:
[Alert host, 008 has detected an object with a large amount of energy value appearing near the treatment station.]
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