One of the Four Great Noble Marquis, Hong Residence, has stood unyielding since the establishment of Daxia, unlike other noble families that have begun to wane in influence. Instead, Hong Residence has flourished even more and rose from the ranks to stand at the top of the Four Great Noble Marquis, even subtly contending for a status on par with the Founding Marquis Qinghai.

The continued prosperity of Hong Residence is partly due to its impressive roster of talents.

In contrast to the children of other noble families, every son and daughter of Hong Residence is required to train in Martial Arts.

The males begin their official careers at the age of fourteen, while the females are arranged to marry into other noble families or become allied with important officials from Daxia.

Hong Residence also secretly controls the underworld forces of Xia Capital, ensuring that at any moment, they are the first to be informed of any movements in the city.

From this, it can be seen that the successive lords of the Hong Residence have always had far-sighted visions, accurately positioning themselves in the struggles for the imperial throne throughout the generations.

This current lord of the Hong Residence is unanimously recognized. When Emperor Xia was still a Prince, Old Marquis Hong strongly supported his accession to the throne. However, this time, Hong Residence has made a misjudgment.

This was an oversight unforeseen by Old Marquis Hong.

Hong Fang hurried to the courtyard where Old Marquis Hong was in seclusion.

Since moving there ten years ago, Old Marquis Hong had not set foot outside of the courtyard.

The courtyard was modest but very tidy.

Within it stood just a single, solitary bungalow.

Outside the bungalow were several tall and straight Lao Mountain pines, as well as a cobblestone path winding towards the side rooms.

After breaking through to the Fifth Level of Reincarnation, Old Marquis Hong was just a step away from reaching the legendary Divine Power Realm. He only needed to eat one meal a day, with just one old servant from within Hong Residence coming in and out to deliver meals.

By the time Hong Shuifang arrived, Heir Hong was already waiting in the courtyard.

Seeing Hong Fang, Heir Hong sneered secretly, delighted that Hong Fang had been stripped of his position as the Crown Prince's Grand Protector.

He wondered how Hong Fang would continue to oppress him, the Heir of Hong Mansion.

"Third brother, your complexion does not look good. Couldn't be that you had a poor night's sleep?" inquired Heir Hong knowingly.

"Eldest brother's complexion isn't looking much better. I heard that this morning, the Sha Sect Master was found dead in the streets. Do you have any clues?" Hong Fang retorted, the brothers locking horns.

Heir Hong was still kept in the dark about the collusion between Liu Qing and Hong Fang. He had always thought Liu Qing was his man.

"It's just the death of a lackey. That Liu Qing, never quite successful but always good at failure, I had intended to discard him long ago," Heir Hong persisted stubbornly.

"What time is it now, and you two brothers are still squabbling."

A heavy grunt came from within the house. The voice of Old Marquis Hong made both brothers fall silent as if stricken by frost.

As long as Old Marquis Hong was present, neither brother dared to genuinely come to blows.

"Father." Both Heir Hong and Hong Fang knelt in unison.

"I've only been in seclusion for three months, the Crown Prince has been deposed, the Sha Sect has been destroyed. What exactly have you two been doing?" The fury of Old Marquis Hong made the entire courtyard feel as if it had been through a minor earthquake.

Old Marquis Hong might not leave his residence, but the major events of Xia Capital unfolded as if they happened right under his watch.

"Father, I've already got some leads on the Sha Sect matter. Liu Qing was assassinated by a scheme set up by the Sect Leader of the Ghost Sect," said Heir Hong, as if to make up for past failures.

"Who is this Ghost Sect Leader?" Old Marquis Hong asked.

"I haven't found anything as of yet," Heir Hong said, as droplets of sweat popped out on his forehead.

"What origin does the Ghost Sect have, and how many disciples does it require?" Old Master Hong's voice got even colder.

"I do not know either," Heir Hong was already drenched in sweat.

It's fair to say that it wasn't his fault; the Ghost Sect was elusive, and even after mobilizing the resources of the Marquis Mansion, nothing substantive had been unearthed.

"Then get out and continue the investigation!" Marquis Hong was furious, frightening Heir Hong, who quickly scrambled up and hurried off to investigate.

Hong Fang watched from the side, his heart also secretly trembling.

No matter that Heir Hong and Hong Fang were already men in their thirties or forties, in front of Marquis Hong, they were no different from children.

Even Hong Fang had never really seen through his own father.

After Heir Hong left, the courtyard fell eerily silent. Without hearing a word from Marquis Hong, Hong Fang did not dare to leave.

For a time, Marquis Hong seemed to be in a meditative trance.

The wind blew, scattering winter-yellowed pine needles from the Lao Mountain pines.

Midway through their fall, the needles suddenly changed direction, as if injected with an invisible Primordial Power, the frail yellowed pine needles shot towards Hong Fang, hard as steel needles.

Hong Fang was shocked. He summoned a gust of Reincarnation Wind Power beneath his feet, using the wind to forcefully push himself back several meters.

The next moment, with a flick of his palm, he launched a blast of Primordial Power toward the pine needles.

The pine needles were sliced into two by the Primordial Power.

Dozens of pine needles split in half, not losing momentum, and pierced through Hong Fang's Primordial Power.

"Father!" Hong Fang cried out in dismay as a pine needle struck his shoulder well acupoint, causing his face to pale and a suppressed groan to escape him; his armor now had a gash.

"Hong Fang, you've concealed it quite well, almost fooling me. When did you break through to the Reincarnation Second Realm?" When Marquis Hong spoke again, he was already standing in the center of the courtyard.

By his side, the pine needles rustled as they hit the ground.

If he didn't test today, he might have always assumed that Hong Fang was still at the Reincarnation First Path.

Hong Fang cradled his left shoulder, kneeling on the ground, his heart also shocked beyond measure.

He had originally thought that after breaking through to the Reincarnation Second Realm, he could at least block ten moves in front of Marquis Hong, but now it seems he couldn't even block one.

It is said that martial artists in the Reincarnation Realm gain a bit more divine insight into the universe with each breakthrough. Marquis Hong, who had broken through the Reincarnation Martial Way, was apparently at the terrifying stage where he could kill with a leaf and cross rivers with one.

"Child dares not hide it from you, I've just recently broken through with the help of the Reincarnation Elixir that Ming Yue brought back from the Sansheng Valley. Ming Yue's cultivation has broken through to the Reincarnation Realm, and she has become a core disciple of Sansheng Valley." Hong Fang said with a face full of panic, cautiously observing Marquis Hong's expression as he spoke.

Upon hearing about his granddaughter Hong Mingyue, Marquis Hong's expression softened slightly.

In the entire Hong Mansion, only Hong Mingyue was Marquis Hong's greatest concern.

Hong Fang had precisely grasped this point about his father.

"Ming Yue, that child, truly did not let this old man down. Hmph, it's only a pity that she has a pathetic father," Marquis Hong said with a grim face.

"Father, your son..." Before Hong Fang could finish speaking, pain pricked at his shoulder.

He felt discontent in his heart. Both he and his brother Hong Mu had erred, yet Hong Mu was simply scolded, while he himself was injured. What's more, had he reacted a moment later earlier, Marquis Hong's pine needles would have claimed his life.