Chapter 155: Young Master of a Prominent Family

Liu Junhuai stood suspended in mid-air, his primordial spirit manifesting before him the repetitive execution of the first form of the Three-Phase Thunder Control Technique.

Having just immersed himself in it, he had truly perceived a trace of the law's opportunity brought by this peculiar technique, yet he was perpetually unable to find the breakthrough point to achieve a genuine comprehension.

Liu Junhuai firmly believed that if cultivated to the extreme, the effects achieved through the power of thunder and lightning by this Three-Phase Thunder Control Technique would be no less than his own power of comprehension regarding a trace of the Daoist patterns.

Failing to attain an enlightenment was entirely within his expectations, so he immediately set aside his entanglements and restored his usual calm state of mind.

With Liu Junhuai's release of tension, his sea of consciousness became clear and bright, and all distracting thoughts dissipated completely.

Flying back down to the ground, he playfully frolicked for a moment with Ah Jiu, who had been waiting by the side, before turning back to enter the Myriad phenomena Tower.

Mo Sitong, who had gone to cultivate in the Divine Consciousness Tower, had not yet returned. Lacking the time to see her once more as Changjing Island bustled with activity, Liu Junhuai bade farewell to the elderly steward and returned to Changjing Island.

As the hour approached noon, Che Shangguan's manor was already humming with noise and excitement as guests arriving to offer their congratulations gradually poured in.

Having hastily met with Fang Yexu and offered his apologies, Fang Yexu smiled and said, "You have been cultivating for so long that I thought you had broken through once again. Very well, let me brief you on the current progress. Last night, after methods were applied to him, Che Shangguan finally broke his silence. He admitted his identity as an elder of the Blood-Slaying Alliance and voluntarily named several of its members, including Guan Shaoqing, the second elder of the King of Hell Palace.

"Among the remaining individuals are Shao Quedi, the grand elder of the Vast Sword Sect; Tu Shouyan, the second elder of the Blood Spear Gate; Huan Jingrao, the second steward of the city lord's mansion in the Eastern Corner City of the Mengze Kingdom; and finally, seven disciples whom he personally trained on Changjing Island. Four of those disciples have already been detained, and the remaining three will arrive at Changjing Island today."

Liu Junhuai looked at Fang Yexu with joy. "Haha, just a brief parting, and yet such a bountiful harvest! Excellent. We simply wait for those individuals to arrive, and following the vine to unearth the roots will expose even more people. I wonder how Hall Master Guan is faring on his end?"

Fang Yexu replied, "He has already succeeded. There was no time for interrogation; they are already halfway here. Junhuai, although this is my first time participating in a Sect Alliance operation against the Blood-Slaying Alliance, I can deeply appreciate the arduousness you faced back then when you had to untangle clues like pulling silk from a cocoon with very little to go on, fighting countless battles, large and small, to forge this advantageous situation. Unlike me this time, simply sitting inside a shelter from wind and rain, quietly waiting for the enemy to take the bait. Junhuai, I truly thank you meritorious officials of the Western Region!"

As he spoke these words, he was clearly somewhat moved. There was no grandstanding or singing of praises; there was only a profound understanding of that hardship, which left Liu Junhuai filled with deep emotion...

Finding himself somewhat unaccustomed to Fang Yexu's sentimental gaze, Liu Junhuai was fortunately relieved when someone came to report that Huan Jingrao, the second steward of the city lord's mansion in the Eastern Corner City of the Mengze Kingdom, had arrived.

In front of the reception hall, Xiao She and Gong Hemao stood waiting. Upon seeing Huan Jingrao, both of them revealed pleasantly surprised smiles. "Steward Huan, you have arrived! Please, step inside quickly!"

"Haha, why are you all standing outside the door? Where is your Island Master Che?" With a haughty demeanor, Huan Jingrao surveyed his surroundings like a master of the house before stepping into the hall.

Huan Jingrao was followed by two young men, both direct scions of prominent families in the Eastern Corner City of the Mengze Kingdom. The yellow-robed man was named Fang Weifeng, and the cyan-robed man was named Liao Qifan. At merely thirty years of age, they had already attained the late Golden Core stage, making them quite talented indeed.

Their families had always maintained close ties with the city lord's mansion of Eastern Corner City, and this time they had accompanied Second Steward Huan out on a leisurely trip. In their eyes, the tiny Changjing Island was unworthy of their notice, so their expressions of arrogance were even more pronounced than Huan Jingrao's. Upon entering the hall and catching sight of a female disciple of the Sect Alliance whose appearance was quite pretty and charming, Liao Qifan let out a clicking sound with his tongue and stepped forward to flirt with her.

Liu Junhuai, watching from the side, could not help but burst into a chuckle.

This laughter was unmasked, causing Liao Qifan to slant his gaze toward Liu Junhuai and cold-snort. "The disciples of this Changjing Island are utterly devoid of manners! Distinguished guests arrive at the door, and instead of hurrying to serve tea, you have the leisure to stand here watching the spectacle. Ill-bred things!"

That Fang Weifeng possessed delicate features and lightly tapped a folding fan against his leg, a confident smile perpetually lingering at the corners of his mouth. "He is merely expressing slight dissatisfaction with Brother Qifan's frivolous behavior, never dreaming he has poked a tiger's backside! Little brother, hurry and kneel to kowtow; my dear brother here doesn't have the gentlest of tempers!"

Hearing this, Liu Junhuai wore an expression of astonishment. He had not expected these two young masters to be such rare commodities, truly displaying their arrogance without the slightest concealment, so obnoxious as to be pathetic.

Fang Yexu behind him also wore a helpless expression, waving his hand at Liu Junhuai who turned back to look at him. "Handle it as you see fit!"

With a terrified expression, Liu Junhuai walked toward Liao Qifan, nervously rubbing his hands together. Seeing this, Fang Weifeng chuckled and said, "That's right, little brother. Knowing one's mistakes and correcting them makes one timber worth shaping! Brother Qifan, just let him kowtow a couple of times and be done with it; it's not easy for a kid!" As he spoke, he winked mischievously at Liao Qifan.

By this time, Liu Junhuai had already reached Liao Qifan. His mutually rubbing hands abruptly lashed upward, and he landed a fierce slap across Liao Qifan's face.

With a loud bang, the unfortunate young master Liao flew backward, slamming heavily against the rear wall, where he remained embedded head-down and feet-up.

Fang Weifeng, who had been waiting to watch a good show, instantly changed countenance. The high-grade steel folding fan in his hand snapped open violently, and his body sprang up, darting toward Liu Junhuai as swift as lightning.

Liu Junhuai stood immovably rooted to the spot. Just as the steel folding fan reached the tip of his nose, his figure vanished in place, reappearing right behind Fang Weifeng.

Feeling a sharp pain in his back while still in shock, Fang Weifeng was already struck down to the ground.

Immediately afterward, a foot pressed down upon his face. "Young Master Fang is truly righteous, willing to stand up for your brother. Then go accompany your brother!"

With that, he grabbed Fang Weifeng, flung him into the air, and struck out with a palm. Fang Weifeng's body shot forth like a meteor, slamming head-first into the wall and ending up embedded upside down just like his good brother.

Huan Jingrao, who had already taken his seat in the hall, had his facial features severely twisted and deformed, yet his body remained utterly dare-not-move. The intimidating might of Liu Junhuai's nascent soul stage had already been fully displayed.

"Elder Gong, what is the meaning of this?" Huan Jingrao cast a sideways glance at Gong Hemao, who stood off to the side.

Gong Hemao looked expressionlessly toward Fang Yexu.

Fang Yexu slowly walked toward Huan Jingrao and asked in a deep voice, "Are you Huan Jingrao, the second steward of the city lord's mansion in the Eastern Corner City of the Mengze Kingdom?"

Suddenly realizing something, Huan Jingrao violently rose from his seat. Unexpectedly, the massive late-Integration-stage pressure emanating from Fang Yexu surged upward, crushing Huan Jingrao with such immense weight that he crashed heavily back into his chair. With a cracking sound, the wooden seat shattered into pieces, and Huan Jingrao crashed violently to the floor.

A Sect Alliance disciple stepped forward immediately, slamming a palm into Huan Jingrao's Dantian, instantly stripping him of all cultivation.

That disciple bent down, grabbed his body, and turned to drag him away.

The two individuals still embedded in the wall tightly clamped their mouths shut to suppress curses they longed to spew, as the stench of urine had already surged up into their chests.

Xiao She and Gong Hemao still stood there blankly staring at Liu Junhuai. This young man's strength was terrifying; neither of the two late Golden Core cultivators had managed to dodge a single blow.

Although the cultivation he displayed was clearly at the early Nascent Soul stage, his continuous instantaneous slaughter of late Golden Core cultivators meant his actual strength far exceeded what his realm revealed.

Over the past dozen hours or so, the two of them had vaguely discerned that Liu Junhuai's group was investigating some sort of incident. When the two of them had met earlier to chat about this matter, linking it with the currently surging Sect Alliance, both had broken out in a cold sweat. Never had they imagined that Che Shangguan was actually connected to the Blood-Slaying Alliance, and since they had been cavorting with him, they thanked the heavens they hadn't been implicated.

Liu Junhuai walked toward the two men hanging from the wall. "Have the two young masters figured out how to introduce yourselves yet? Do you intend to drag out your family members to intimidate me? I happen to be timid and cannot withstand fright. Who knows, perhaps out of fear, I might just kill the two of you to silence you! Very well, which of you will speak first?"

Fang Weifeng spoke up, "Senior jests. We were young and ignorant, offending Senior, and hope Senior will forgive us! We are both from the Eastern Corner City of the Mengze Kingdom. My name is Fang Weifeng, young master of the Fang family of Eastern Corner City, and he is Liao Qifan, young master of the Liao family of Eastern Corner City."

Liu Junhuai nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad. That sounds somewhat more like having proper family upbringing. The two of you come from prominent households; what are you doing running off to this out-of-the-way corner of Changjing Island following that old codger? Speak the truth, for if there is even a sliver of falsity in your words, I truly will silence you!"

With that, Liu Junhuai waved a hand and knocked Fang Weifeng unconscious.

Liao Qifan's face turned ashen and lifeless as he stammered tremblingly, "Second Steward Huan is on good terms with the heads of our two families. Hearing that he was coming to Changjing Island to congratulate Island Master Che on his promotion, the two of us acted on a whim and tagged along for pleasure. We never imagined that due to my arrogance and self-conceit, I would implicate him!"

Liu Junhuai smiled. "It wasn't you who implicated him; it was he who implicated you! The person who was just here possesses late-Integration-stage cultivation; wiping out your clan would be a mere flick of the wrist. That Huan Jingrao holds a very mysterious identity. Is there anything you can tell me? Whichever of you speaks first will have nothing to do with this. Think carefully before you speak; this is my last question! From now on, even if you want to speak, I won't ask."

Liao Qifan was clearly terrified by the information conveyed by Liu Junhuai, the expression on his face stiffened to the extreme, and cold sweat had already drenched his clothes.

After pondering for a long while, Liao Qifan said in a low voice, "Fang Haiqing, the head of the Fang family, should have a secret relationship with Steward Huan, because Fang Weifeng and I once delivered a letter from Fang Haiqing to Steward Huan together. However, we were delayed drinking flower wine at a tavern and were severely beaten by Fang Haiqing, who tracked us down there. When Steward Huan arrived shortly afterward and looked very displeased, as Fang Haiqing bowed his head and apologized to him, I vaguely caught the word 'subordinate'."

Liu Junhuai contemplated for a moment before casually placing several restrictions upon Liao Qifan's body. "I am very pleased that you were willing to reveal this. If subsequent investigations show you are not involved in any wrongdoing, I will let you return. Remember to forget the contents of the conversation between you and me today!"

With that, he instructed a Sect Alliance disciple to pull him down and take him into a room.