Chapter 57

The Su family is one of the top families and great nobles in the Qianshan Empire, one of the few families that own their own territories, almost like a country within a country. Especially in this generation, the family has five Inner Strength Realm elders and six Inner Strength Realm younger members, making a total of eleven Inner Strength Realm members. This has almost caused a sensation throughout the entire Qianshan Empire, and even in the surrounding countries, they are hailed as the strongest family in the entire Qianshan Empire, even surpassing the imperial family of the Qianshan Empire.

For the entire Blue Sea region, the eastern part of the Blue Sea is the most peaceful and technologically advanced. Due to education, cultural openness, economic exchange, and suitable environment, the political system in the eastern part of the Blue Sea is actually the least imperial, with more republics, presidential systems, or governor systems. Of course, the imperial system still exists. Although civilization has progressed to the mid-20th century level of Hao Qi's previous life, the existence of individual power, i.e., Inner Strength, makes the imperial system and royal families a reasonable system. In contrast to the peace and stability of the eastern part of the Blue Sea, the northern and southern parts of the Blue Sea are mostly mountainous areas in the north, known for producing large amounts of minerals, and the southern part is almost entirely a vast forest, an endless primeval forest, known for producing natural treasures and the frequent appearance of fierce beasts and mad beasts. Most of the countries in these two regions are imperial or monarchic.

After all, survival is the primary need. Changes in the living environment naturally lead to changes in the political system. For example, the western part of the Blue Sea, the most inhospitable and cruel place in the entire Blue Sea, has almost no countries, which is clear evidence.

The imperial system, or the monarchic system, relies on strong rule. Whether it is politics, the military, or the system, there must be a powerful force to rule the country. Otherwise, the ruling royal family will only face internal rebellion or even a regime overthrow. In this world with Inner Strength, the situation has developed to the point where the royal family must have the most Inner Strength Realm experts or at least one Inner Qi Realm expert to suppress the country, to ensure the stability of the royal family's position.

The Qianshan Empire is a major and powerful country in the northern part of the Blue Sea. The ancestors of the imperial family once had an Inner Qi Realm expert, a true Inner Qi Realm expert, which laid the foundation for the Qianshan Empire's status as a major and powerful country. The imperial family of the Qianshan Empire has always been able to dominate the noble families of the entire Qianshan Empire. Even though this Inner Qi Realm expert has long since passed away, the Inner Qi Realm cultivation techniques left behind are naturally inherited by the Qianshan Empire's imperial family. Therefore, the Qianshan Empire's imperial family has a much higher chance of producing Inner Strength Realm experts than other noble families, and their Inner Strength Realm experts' combat power far exceeds that of ordinary Inner Strength Realm experts.

However, the Qianshan Empire's imperial family's superiority and the fact that they have the strongest combat power are now being challenged... The Su family, with eleven Inner Strength Realm experts, has sent a shockwave through the Qianshan Empire's imperial family. Although the Su family's Inner Strength Realm experts are known for their weak combat power, even compared to ordinary Inner Strength Realm experts, they are inferior. According to the estimates of many veteran martial artists, the combat power of the Qianshan Empire's imperial family's Inner Strength Realm experts is roughly equivalent to that of four Inner Strength Realm experts from the Su family. So the Su family couldn't really cause much trouble, until... the Su family had eleven Inner Strength Realm experts.

Although the Qianshan Empire's imperial family has Inner Qi Realm cultivation techniques, which greatly increase the chances of producing Inner Strength Realm experts, the imperial family itself only has so many direct and collateral relatives. It's impossible to have hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. In this generation, the Qianshan Empire's imperial family only has three Inner Strength Realm experts. If their overall strength is compared, it is at most equivalent to the strength of twelve Inner Strength Realm experts from the Su family. The Su family already has eleven Inner Strength Realm experts. If they continue to develop, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, the Qianshan Empire's imperial family dares not act rashly. This is a simple truth: the larger the family and the greater the business, the more cautious they must be. Inner Strength Realm is Inner Strength Realm, even the Su family's Inner Strength Realm experts, known for their weak combat power, are still Inner Strength Realm experts to non-Inner Strength Realm people. Once the Qianshan Empire's imperial family does something to the Su family, if even one Inner Strength Realm expert from the Su family escapes, it would be the beginning of a great disaster. Just look at the Blue Sea Shadow that exists in the Blue Sea, which has caused the Hai Tian Kingdom immense trouble and has not been resolved for over thirty years.

So, brute force is not an option, and other methods must be found, such as... finding the reason why the Su family can produce so many Inner Strength Realm experts, or... finding a way to eliminate some of the Su family's Inner Strength Realm experts to restore the balance of power...

Mingzhen, a genius of the new generation of the Qianshan Empire's imperial family, is already an Inner Strength Realm expert at less than thirty years old. He even reached the pinnacle of the pre-Inner Qi Realm cultivation techniques at the age of twenty-seven. He spent three years focusing on Inner Qi Realm cultivation techniques and, upon emerging from seclusion to complete the imperial family's mission, had already reached the initial stage of the Inner Qi Realm cultivation techniques. He can be considered the most talented genius in the Qianshan Empire in a hundred years. His combat power has been preliminarily estimated to be at least equivalent to that of five Inner Strength Realm experts from the Su family. He is truly the strongest Inner Strength Realm expert in the Qianshan Empire.

Mingzhen got off the ship, stretched his limbs, and there was a series of cracking sounds. After several dozen seconds, he slowly asked, "Sabei Xi... I heard that killing people here is not illegal, right?"

An old man immediately stood beside Mingzhen and respectfully said, "Yes, Your Highness, in the western part of the Blue Sea, killing people is not illegal, but it must be outside the port cities. The port cities have laws established by merchants from various countries."

Mingzhen snorted disdainfully and walked forward. Mingzhen was extremely tall, at least two heads taller than others. Just by looking, one could tell he was a towering figure, at least 2.23 meters tall, with a muscular build. His face was cold and sharp, like a marble statue, making him a standard handsome man.

However, Mingzhen's eyes were cold and piercing, looking at the people around him as if they were lifeless objects. His every move showed no regard for the people or things around him. For example, when he walked from the port to the city, the path was relatively narrow, but he still swung his arms widely, without any concern for whether he would bump into anything. After he passed, there were many marks on the walls on both sides of the road, as if they had been scratched by a sharp weapon.

After everyone reached the city, Mingzhen said without turning his head, "Whoever, answer me, where is the ancient sect's ruins?"

"Your Highness, my name is Su Xu. The location of the ancient sect is only roughly known by the Su family. It is said that it was unearthed in the western part of the Blue Sea a few years ago. I believe that if Your Highness makes some inquiries, the desert natives of the western Blue Sea will definitely know," a middle-aged man in the crowd behind Mingzhen said with a humble smile.

"Really troublesome."

Mingzhen looked ahead with empty eyes and said as he walked, "Whoever, go and inquire about the ancient sect's ruins, and also find out the Su family's movements and itinerary. Do it quickly. I want to enter the desert as soon as possible. By the way, is it really not illegal to kill people here?"

The old man immediately said, "Your Highness, this old servant is Yelü San. Yes, as Your Highness commands, this old servant will send people to gather information. Also, killing people is illegal in the port city, but it is fine in the desert."

"Really troublesome."

Mingzhen's eyes became even more empty, making people fear him. It was as if his empty eyes were filled with violence, deep, dark, and carrying the violence of death...