Chapter 4

Today, Lady Lanyang only heard that Zhou Ze had slapped Zhou Mie at the city gate and killed a quasi-prince. This made her, who was in a good mood, suddenly furious. The Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion had long been feared by the royal family. When Zhou Ze committed such a heinous act, that Chu Emperor would surely be furious.

Sure enough, Prince Anhe came to the door.

Seeing the enraged Lady Lanyang, Zhou Ze seemed unaware of the implications, and he laughed, saying to the guards, "Prince Anhe dares to step into the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion, beat him out with sticks!"

"Shut up!" Lady Lanyang glared at Zhou Ze, who still showed no concern, and sighed. She then said to the guards, "Take me to see Prince Anhe!"

At the mansion gate, dozens of people surrounded the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion. Leading them was Prince Anhe, dressed in a dragon robe, who was now in a rage. Seeing Lady Lanyang and the others come out, his anger intensified, and he stepped forward, shouting, "Lady Lanyang, you came just in time! Hand over your rebellious son!"

Lady Lanyang frowned at the outrageous Prince Anhe, thinking that he must have brought the wrath of the Chu Emperor. As Lady Lanyang hesitated for a moment, Zhou Ze stepped forward with a smile and said, "A prince being driven by Zhou Mie, don't you feel ashamed?"

This statement made Prince Anhe's expression stiffen, and his momentum wavered, causing Lady Lanyang, who was about to pull Zhou Ze back, to stop.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Prince Anhe shouted, "You insulted and killed a prince of the Great Chu, and you deserve the death penalty!"

"Death penalty?" Zhou Ze laughed, "Is it you who sentenced me to death, or Zhou Mie? Besides, I was in the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion all day yesterday. When did I insult and kill a quasi-prince? Don't defame a good person!"

Such a bold denial made Prince Anhe and the others slightly stunned. With so many witnesses, he could still deny it so shamelessly.

"The events of yesterday were witnessed by many. Do you want to deny it?" Prince Anhe huffed.

"Are you sure that person was me? I was practicing swordsmanship at home all day yesterday! Prince, you must have mistaken me!" Zhou Ze squinted and smiled, "If you don't believe me, ask my mother!"

Many people almost spat out at Zhou Ze's words: Can't you find a better excuse? When did the second son of the Demon Suppression Prince ever think about practicing?

Prince Anhe sneered and turned to Lady Lanyang, saying, "As a noble and respected princess, your character is a model for countless women in the Great Song. I believe in your integrity!"

"Of course, although Zhou Ze is my son, the glory of the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion means I will not lie for him! My son was indeed practicing swordsmanship all day yesterday!"

The blatant lie made Prince Anhe and the others stunned. Lin Xi, seeing Lady Lanyang's righteous face, felt her cheeks flush involuntarily.

"Hmph!" Prince Anhe shouted, "So many people witnessed it, are you saying they are all blind?"

"What does it matter if they are blind or not? As long as the Chu Emperor didn't see it, or he thinks he didn't see it, that's fine, isn't it, Prince Anhe?" Zhou Ze smiled at Prince Anhe.

Prince Anhe's heart raced. As Zhou Ze said, someone wanted to stir up trouble yesterday, but it was suppressed by a powerful force. He knew exactly where that force came from—it was the power of the Chu Emperor. This meant the Chu Emperor did not want anyone to make a fuss over this matter.

Everyone knew how much the Demon Suppression Prince was feared by the Chu Emperor. The Great Chu Empire spanned more than a million miles, vast enough that many people could not cross it in their entire lives. The ruler of this vast territory feared the Demon Suppression Prince to such an extent—how terrifying must the Demon Suppression Prince be? They could not even imagine it.

The countless nobles in the imperial city could not help but think of a rumor: the Demon Suppression Prince had the power to overthrow the imperial authority. Although it was just a rumor, it also represented power.

No one expected that the power of the Demon Suppression Prince had reached the point where his son could kill a quasi-prince, and the Chu Emperor would not dare to act. Last night, when Zhou Mie came to his mansion to inform him of this news, he was in a daze for a long time.

Prince Anhe looked at this most frivolous son of the capital, not believing that he could predict the attitude of the Chu Emperor. In their view, the Chu Emperor would not really kill Zhou Ze, but he would certainly make him suffer. How could it end like this, with no resolution? What face would the royal family have left? The dignity of the royal family would be completely lost. Countless people in the empire would say that the royal family was not as powerful as the Demon Suppression Prince.

Zhou Mie set up this situation yesterday. He felt a bit more at ease: let me restore the lost dignity of the royal family! He had confidence in Zhou Mie, the first among the young generation of the empire, who was determined to surpass the Demon Suppression Prince. At a young age, he had already made a name for himself in the empire, with exceptional cultivation and unparalleled strategy. Such a person should not even exist in the world.

For the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion to have such an enemy was a tragedy.

"You may not know, but the person you killed yesterday was my guard," Prince Anhe huffed, "My people cannot be killed so easily. If you don't give me an explanation today, I will tear down your Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion."

Lady Lanyang's face turned cold. From the conversation, she could tell that the Chu Emperor would not intervene. As long as the Chu Emperor did not care about yesterday's incident, the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion had nothing to fear. However, Prince Anhe was clearly prepared to cause trouble. She had many ways to deal with official matters, but facing a troublemaker, especially a man of the same rank as her husband, was a problem.

You killed my man? That's my man's fault, and I accept it!

Now I bring people to challenge you. If your family is not strong enough and my men tear down your mansion, don't cry!

It's like two children fighting. If you lose, you accept it. Would parents fight over a quarrel between two kids? That would be ridiculous. The Chu Emperor and the Demon Suppression Prince are the parents, and Zhou Ze and Prince Anhe are the children.

Lady Lanyang's face was dark. She knew who had planned this. Even she had to admit that Zhou Mie was the most outstanding young man she had ever seen. Thinking of the same origin from the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion, she sighed. Her two sons were far inferior to him. For so many years, she had never seen him fail. Even her husband in his youth was far behind him.

Prince Anhe knew he could not take the official route, so he started to act recklessly and shouted, "I worked hard to cultivate a talent, treating him like my own son. You, the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion, killed him so easily. If you want to kill, I have another adopted son, Wei Chi Yong. Come out and let Zhou Ze kill you! I want to see if he dares!"

As Prince Anhe shouted, a man stepped forward, his aura surging, his body faintly glowing, glaring at Zhou Ze with clenched fists and bulging veins.

"Middle Qi Gathering Realm!" A Zhou family guard whispered to Lady Lanyang and the others.

Bai Zhu and the others saw this man standing menacingly in front of Zhou Ze and turned pale. The empire valued martial arts, and almost everyone practiced. However, many people practiced their entire lives without successfully gathering qi, only making their strength a bit greater. Bai Zhu and the others had practiced for seven or eight years but had not yet succeeded in gathering qi.

Out of ten thousand people, only one could successfully gather qi. A person who could gather qi had the power to shatter stones and split gold, which was extremely terrifying. A middle Qi Gathering Realm was a revered existence in the eyes of many.

The path of cultivation was extremely difficult, involving the cultivation of the elemental energy of heaven and earth and one's own spirit. Those who could reach the Qi Gathering Realm had taken the most important step in cultivation and could look forward to the innate realm.

The innate realm was another extremely terrifying realm, with only one out of ten thousand Qi Gathering Realm cultivators reaching it. In the entire imperial city, the number of innate realm cultivators could be counted on one hand. As for the realms beyond, they were beyond the reach of ordinary people.

A middle Qi Gathering Realm standing there, his aura surging, seemed to shake the gate of the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion, making Lady Lanyang's face very grim.

Prince Anhe, taking advantage of the situation, said, "The general you killed yesterday was his elder brother. If you have the ability, Zhou Ze, kill him too."

Zhou Ze suddenly laughed, "You two brothers must be really stupid. Why do you always ask others to kill you?"

Wei Chi Yong's fists clenched with a cracking sound, "My elder brother was caught off guard by you and was killed. I don't want to live either. I will kill you today and then join my elder brother!"

"Assassin!" Lady Lanyang's eyelids twitched, and a chilling word came to mind. Assassins feared nothing, not even the might of the Demon Suppression Prince.

"The Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion is not a place for you to cause trouble!" Lady Lanyang shouted at Prince Anhe.

Prince Anhe said indifferently, "His elder brother was killed by Zhou Ze, and he wants to seek revenge. It's only natural. How is it causing trouble? If he really wants to die, let Zhou Ze kill him, and it will be quiet."

"Beat him out with sticks!" Lady Lanyang shouted at the guards.

Seeing the guards of the Demon Suppression Prince's Mansion surge out, Prince Anhe laughed. The many people behind him also stepped forward, their auras surging, clearly veterans from the battlefield.

"I am a prince, and so is the Demon Suppression Prince. He is not here, but I am. If it really comes to a fight, who do you think will win?" Prince Anhe laughed.

Zhou Ze looked at the smiling Prince Anhe and said, "So you mean to insist that I kill him?"

"Kill! You must kill him!" Prince Anhe said seriously, "He is so eager, you can't let him down!"

"Ah! I haven't been back to the imperial city for a long time, and I didn't know so many people were so stupid!" Zhou Ze turned to Lin Xi, who stood quietly there, beautiful like a painting, and asked, "What do you think we should do?"

Lin Xi did not speak. She held a sword in her hand, stepped forward, and stood in front of Zhou Ze, her clear eyes calmly and calmly looking at the formidable Wei Chi Yong.

Seeing Lin Xi step forward, Lady Lanyang also breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Xi was her pride, with a talent for cultivation and peak Qi Gathering Realm strength, sufficient to handle this situation.

Thinking of this, Lady Lanyang could not help but glare at Zhou Ze again. In the end, a woman had to protect him. How did the Demon Suppression Prince raise such a son?

"Get out of the way! When will you ever be as capable as her and reach the Qi Gathering Realm?" Lady Lanyang, despite her anger, had to protect this rascal.

Zhou Ze looked at Lin Xi, standing in front of him, with her long, straight legs, slender and graceful figure, and serene beauty, and smiled. He leaped forward and stood in front of Lin Xi, saying, "It's always the man who protects the woman. Let me handle it!"

As he spoke, Zhou Ze stood directly in front of Wei Chi Yong, his clothes fluttering, his body tall and slender.

This scene made the surroundings silent. No one expected Zhou Ze to do this, and both Lady Lanyang and Lin Xi were stunned, staring at Zhou Ze.

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