Chapter 25. Sudden Gust (5)

"Prince, are you alright?"

"......"

"Prince?!"

"Hmm? Ah, did you call me?"

"Yes. I was worried if you were alright..."

"I'm fine. I haven't even properly stretched my body yet, what's the problem?"

"Y-Yes, that's true."

Xin Mo's face showed a look of perplexity.

Lian Huozheng said apologetically,

"I caused trouble for no reason, making things difficult for you. I'm sorry."

"Oh, no! How can you say such a thing."

"Today, I have a lot to think about. I'll buy you a cup of apple wine tomorrow."

"Apple wine? That's an inappropriate suggestion."

Xin Mo bowed his head.

"I'm glad you're alright. Get some rest."

"You should rest too."

"Just in case, I'll station some Changying members near your quarters."

Lian Huozheng, who was about to say it wasn't necessary, nodded. He realized that if he didn't set up some guards, Xin Mo would be even more anxious.

He didn't want to cause any more trouble for others.

"Thank you."

"That's all, then."

As Xin Mo left the room, Lian Huozheng turned his gaze to the window.

The banquet that started shortly after noon was canceled in less than half an hour. It was still daylight.

Lian Huozheng's eyes, which had been looking out the window, turned cold and dark.

'The Ming family?'

He had put on a calm facade to resolve the incident, but his senses were still focused on Ming Hulin.

'It's the same. I can't be certain yet, like with Zhuge or Pang, but...'

It was a bit premature, but Lian Huozheng trusted his intuition. He relied on his instincts.

He felt a strong sense of hostility from Ming Hulin's inner strength.

To be precise, it was different from the inner strength emitted by the family's killers. If you only considered the similarity in temperament, it could be seen as a completely different martial art.

However, Ming Hulin's inner strength was different from that of the Central Plains. It was like a wolf wearing a sheep's skin and introducing itself as a sheep.

It was as if he had refined a rough and violent aura to fit the Central Plains' sensibilities. While inner strength can vary in color depending on the practitioner's personality, Lian Huozheng felt that Ming Hulin's inner strength was fundamentally not of the Central Plains.

'What a pity. If I had pressed harder, I could have seen his true abilities.'

Sighing, Lian Huozheng suddenly tilted his head.

"By the way, how did the Ming family decline?"

After learning martial arts from his master and descending the mountain, when he turned his eyes to the world and pacified the black path, the Ming family was already gone. It wasn't destroyed by someone like the Lian family, but rather declined rapidly and disintegrated within three years.

Lian Huozheng stroked his chin with a troubled look.

"How exactly did it happen?"

If a family of the Nine Great Families had declined, he, who had started to shake the history of the black path, would have certainly paid attention. He should have heard information about the Ming family.

However, he had received no information about the Ming family. He had been extremely busy laying the foundation for the Black Tyrant City, but even so, this was a bit too much.

"Was the information controlled by someone?"

The black path's information network was sharper and faster than that of the white path.

In the early days of the Black Tyrant City, Lian Huozheng had also been in charge of information. At least, no one in the black path could hide information from him.

'Could it be from the white path martial world?'

A chain of thoughts that he couldn't shake off.

Even though he tried to shake them off, he couldn't. The important thing was whether the Ming family was the killer or not, but his thoughts kept drifting in that direction.

Lian Huozheng was deep in thought about this when he heard Xin Mo's voice from outside the door.

"Prince."

"Hmm?"

"Zhuge Family's eldest daughter has come to see you. What should I do?"

Xin Mo, who maintained a clear boundary even with personal connections, asked. Lian Huozheng nodded.

"Let her in."

Creak.

As if she had been waiting, Zhuge Ayan entered.

She had changed from her bright green, elegant attire into more comfortable clothing, looking more lively.

"Are you just sitting here by the window?"

"Why are you here?"

Zhuge Ayan grumbled.

"At least say 'please sit down' when a guest comes, right?"

"Sit down."

"Tea?"

"Make it yourself and drink it."

"Such a grumpy person."

Zhuge Ayan made a sound of exasperation as she sat down. She seemed a bit tired.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. You look so fine that I feel embarrassed for worrying. I didn't even think you had the skills to play with that troublemaker from the Tang family."

No matter how naive he might be, Tang Yangxian was the eldest son of the Tang family. The Tang family wouldn't have taught their future representative lightly.

Zhuge Ayan observed Lian Huozheng's face.

Lian Huozheng was still looking out the window with a look that suggested he was deep in thought.

She had many questions for him.

How did he become so strong? Why was he so fixated on Ming Hulin? What was he thinking?

'Sigh.'

She sighed inwardly and smiled brightly.

"If anything happens, I can hide behind you."

"So, what's the matter?"

"You're as stiff as the cane my father used to carry around when I was a kid. I just came to see you."

Lian Huozheng frowned.

Just as Zhuge Ayan was preparing to grind her teeth, expecting another curt response,

"Thank you."

"......Huh?"

"Thank you."

Zhuge Ayan blinked.

"Thank you? For what?"

"For defending me in time. Thanks to you, the incident was resolved. It's all thanks to you."

"......Why are you suddenly so out of character? It's cold, you know."

"Your skill in nitpicking is top-notch. Zhuge is Zhuge, after all."

"Nitpicking? I prefer to call it eloquence."

"You could try to make a name for yourself with your silver tongue."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Gratitude."

"Ugh, forget it! Tsk! I wish you hadn't said 'thank you' at all!"

"Then I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

"I don't like that."

Lian Huozheng turned away, clearly showing he didn't want to talk.

Zhuge Ayan's face flushed slightly.

She had blurted it out in surprise, but in fact, she was pleased. She knew he wasn't someone who easily said 'thank you' to others, which made it even more meaningful.

She had come to offer comfort, but received an unexpected greeting. Although she hadn't intended to mention it, in this atmosphere, she felt she could say something.

"Be more careful in the future."

"I understand."

"......Hehe."

"What's with that sly smile?"

"Sly?!"

The indignant Zhuge Ayan soon let out a tired sigh.

"Tch, you're stronger than me, so I can't even give you a good punch... Ah!"

Zhuge Ayan's face became a bit more serious.

"I have one question."

"What is it?"

"Remember the Choucheng Tower incident? That guy, the leader of the Thunderfire Gang."

"What about him?"

"I've been wanting to ask for a while, how did you injure him?"

Lian Huozheng tilted his head.

"Is there a special way to injure someone? I just hit him with all my might."

"But... "

Woom.

Strong inner strength surged from Zhuge Ayan's hand. At the same time, the scent of pagoda tree filled Lian Huozheng's room.

"The Xianyuan Zhandanshen Gong of the main family is one of the few secret techniques. And my attack hit his abdomen properly."

Even without loading inner strength, the abdomen is a dangerous area. With so many internal organs, a misstep could render one unable to move, or even lead to death.

"But he didn't even flinch or show any sign of pain. And his inner strength wasn't several times stronger than mine."

"It's a difference in the nature of the energy."

"Huh? Nature?"

Lian Huozheng said nonchalantly.

"The Heat Yang Gong that guy cultivated is at a very high level. In other words, his inner strength itself contains fire energy. But your inner strength is centered around wood energy."

"......?!"

"Does throwing a piece of firewood into a blazing bonfire extinguish it? It only burns more fiercely."

Zhuge Ayan was speechless.

"Even if the fundamental nature of inner strength is different, the difference in martial arts is clear..."

"That guy's martial art isn't a simple technique. It's a martial art that once competed for the title of the best in the world."

"What?"

"It's the Yin Huo Hong Liu, one of the two major techniques of the Yin Shen, alongside the Yin Han Bai Liu."

Yin Shen? Yin Huo Hong Liu?

Zhuge Ayan frowned.

"I've never heard of such a martial art."

It was understandable. Lian Huozheng himself only learned about the existence of the Yin Shen after becoming the Black Tyrant City Lord.

The Yin Shen was the king of assassins.

The Yin Shen of the Black Tyrant City Lord era was a successor after a generational change, so his record was ambiguous. However, the previous Yin Shen had a legendary record of successfully assassinating ninety-nine out of a hundred targets.

After the one failed assassination, he disappeared until he could train a successor.

"Even so, not being affected at all is... "

"That's because your achievements are low."

"Huh?"

"Even at the extreme level, it's hard to ignore the principle of mutual overcoming. The reason there can be the best in the world but not an invincible one is that the heavens do not tolerate a sole supreme being."

"......"

"Anyway, it seems that guy hasn't even learned a third of the Yin Huo Hong Liu, let alone the Yin Han Bai Liu."

"A third... "

Zhuge Ayan's face turned serious.

"Only a third and he's that strong."

"Whether it's a third or a full, what matters is how deeply you cultivate within the limits of what you've learned. Both you and that guy have only scratched the surface of the divine techniques."

"I don't like being lumped in the same category as him."

"That's not my concern."

"Tch."

Zhuge Ayan sighed deeply. She had come to offer comfort and concern, but now she felt uneasy.

"There can be the best in the world, but not an invincible one. That's true."

"If you're done, then..."

"But isn't there one person?"

"What?"

"Someone in martial history called the Invincible One."

Lian Huozheng tilted his head.

"If you're talking about the founder of Shaolin, Dharma..."

"No, not Dharma. Three hundred years ago, during the peak of the martial world, there was a legendary martial artist who quelled the Blood Sect Rebellion."

"Three hundred years ago? Who?"

"Don't you know?"

"Don't know. I'm busy enough just trying to survive. What's from three hundred years ago?"

"Really, you're amazing. I thought you could see through the workings of the world like a ghost, but you don't know such a famous person?"

"I hate studying history."

"You should know."

"So, who is this great person?"

The tone was the same as before, but to Zhuge Ayan, it sounded like a taunt.

She snorted and said,

"You'll be surprised when you hear it."

"Who is it, then?"

"Si Fang Wu Di."

"Si Fang Wu Di?"

"Really didn't know? Impressive, you are."

"Such a childish nickname."

"Don't say that. To us in the white path martial world, he is even more highly regarded than Dharma. If he hadn't quelled the Blood Sect Rebellion, the world would have become a hell by now."

Lian Huozheng shook his head.

"The world is already hell enough."

"Wow, you're so dark. You're really a dark person."

"Shut up."

"Anyway, if the Si Fang Wu Di's skills were as described in history, he certainly could be called invincible. He mastered four martial arts to their limits."

"Four martial arts?"

"Yes. It's said that no martial art in the world could match his offensive and defensive skills. And he even mastered Yin and Yang energies."

Lian Huozheng's eyes sparkled.

"Offensive and defensive skills, and Yin and Yang energies?"

"Yes. Well, since he's so deified, there might be some exaggeration. They even say he controlled a golden dragon, so he was also called the Yellow Dragon Emperor. I think that's a bit much."

"......"

"Anyway! Don't live such a gloomy life. There are many interesting things in life..."

"......"

"Zheng?"

Zhuge Ayan was taken aback.

She had never seen Lian Huozheng with such a dazed expression.

'Si Fang Wu Di? Controlling a golden dragon?'

Perfect offensive and defensive skills. And Yin and Yang energies.

And a golden dragon?

"Hmm... I don't know why, but I feel like I said something I shouldn't have..."

"Tell me more."

"U-Uh?"

Lightning flashed in Lian Huozheng's eyes.

"Tell me more about this Si Fang Wu Di."