Chapter 47: Seeing Is Not Believing

Qian Zheng was naturally overjoyed upon hearing the emperor praise him so highly, yet he replied with humility, “It is all thanks to Your Majesty’s guidance.”

Tang Yu laughed heartily and said, “Assistant Qian, you are too modest.”

After complimenting Qian Zheng, Tang Yu shifted the topic, “How many people in the Capital Prefecture are now under your command?”

...

The ape spirit flew for nearly a whole day, and only after confirming that no pursuers remained did it search the area for a hidden spot. There, it dug a burrow, set up a simple alarm array at the entrance, and slipped inside.

“You—” Fu Jingyi glared in anger, but when her eyes met the icy coldness within the other’s gaze, her words caught in her throat.

Zi Zhao, drenched in sweat, struck the carcass of the dead ox with his palm. Carried forward by momentum, his body tumbled, but a hand suddenly yanked him aside. The mad bull behind him crashed heavily onto the corpse, and before it could struggle to rise, it stared wide-eyed at the blood gushing from its own neck.

Sadly, the same trick could not strike twice. When his fist was barely an inch from the golden man, the figure suddenly blurred, causing his punch to pass right through.

Murong Qingwan habitually squinted her eyes and, as expected, spotted a familiar graceful silhouette beside the handsome man.

The figure gradually revealed its face, and it was none other than Li You. That figure merely smiled, saying nothing, though one could faintly see the corners of his mouth move.

True to expectation, in the blink of an eye, the giant toad turned its bloodshot eyes toward the source of the sound, fixing them unwaveringly on Wang Mazzi.

The tremors intensified, and along the boundary where the light enveloped the land, fine cracks began to spread across the ground.

“Father, your child understands now. I will diligently practice martial arts and live up to your expectations,” Li Changfeng said, bowing his head.

Xiao Yan’s hands clenched tightly, but he felt utterly drained, his mind ringing in confusion. Waves of stabbing pain surged from his heart, as though even his soul trembled.

If one were to calculate using game attribute points, the explanation might be vague. But measured by the strength divisions of this world, as long as one’s strength, agility, or intellect reached ten points in any category, one would be considered an outstanding tier-one expert.

“All right,” Old Zhang the gatekeeper replied, opening a cabinet in the wall and taking out a ring of keys, which he handed to Liu Changshan.

At the time, it was Zhang Shaoqiu who handled the bond issuance. The excess amount never entered the accounts but was kept off the books. When the timing was checked, it didn’t match up with my own issuance or with their reported timeline. They had been issuing throughout that period, and that’s when the discrepancy was discovered.

Both their strength exceeded his own. Inoue Gantou even thought, if he were to exchange blows with either Yue Longtian or Zhao Feilong, his arm’s bones would likely be shattered and protrude right out of his shoulder.

Yue Longtian’s heart stirred as he listened. It seemed those martial arts figures of years past did not refuse to testify for the four great families out of fear of offending them, as Long Feixiang claimed, but rather because they dreaded offending Sun Daomin.

At the tail of the procession, Lu Qingyu shouted loudly, raising his hand to send several Phantom Blades toward the mountainside. Large boulders slid down, chaotically blocking the road and momentarily slowing the pursuit.

The clamor, the chaotic atmosphere, made Shaoshi Mountain—normally a tranquil Buddhist sanctuary—feel almost like a marketplace.

Chu Tianxiong’s flight was no surprise to Yang Guoan. He and Officers Li and Zhuang had carefully analyzed the situation.

The sphere shattered with a thunderous crash, sending forth countless streams of flame. A single one might not have been formidable, but together they overwhelmed Da Huang’s consciousness, pushing it to the brink of collapse.