CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 360: THE HIDDEN TRUTHS OF THE PAST

"The Cui Family’s Cui Shan, nothing more."

An Shicheng’s voice carried a hint of frivolity as he glanced sidelong at the defeated Cui Family prodigy, his gaze filled with pride and contempt.

The people of Qinghe County all thought of him as a dandy, unaware that he had been arduously training day and night, eagerly awaiting this day.

The populace and cultivators of Qinghe County always believed that the prominent families like the Cui and Xie Families were the true rulers of Qinghe County, and that the Yu Kun Academy monopolized the cultivation talents, with resources and industries all controlled by these noble families, while the court-appointed Prince Manor seemed merely ceremonial.

Although everyone knew that the Prince Manor was the actual authority in Qinghe County, they only maintained a polite distance.

Now, the situation must change, as this was his father’s fiefdom; it was not just about being a ruler in name, but about seizing complete control of this land.

In Qinghe County, all eyes should be on the Prince Manor.

Cui Shan’s mana surged around him, and he moved forward, intending to continue fighting. Although he was repelled, he was not yet defeated, and in this clash, he genuinely reevaluated the dandy princely heir.

"Three days from now, the Prince Manor invites you all to witness the execution of demons. The demons that your Cui and Xie Families cannot kill, my Prince Manor shall." An Shicheng surveyed the crowd and said, "Everyone in Qinghe City is welcome to witness this; the demon we capture will be executed together, including the Old Demon of Divine Wood Mountain Villa."

The crowd erupted in astonishment as rumors had spread about the Old Demon of Divine Wood Mountain Villa being captured by the Prince Manor, but until now, nothing was confirmed. Now that An Shicheng had spoken, there was no more doubt; the Old Demon of Divine Wood Mountain Villa had been captured alive.

Earlier, people outside the city heard great disturbances from the wilderness; could this have been the battle to capture the Old Demon?

Who took action?

Was it the Qinghe County Prince Wang Anlu?

The crowd felt as if they were dreaming.

An Shicheng cast one last glance at Li Fan and Yue Qingqiu beside him, a frivolous smile crossing his face, and said, "This demon is pretty good. If you offer it to me, perhaps I won’t hold past grievances against you."

"I’m afraid you can’t handle it," Li Fan responded.

"Haha..." An Shicheng burst into laughter and said, "I’ll give you three more days; three days later, you too should come to witness the ceremony. Don’t think of leaving; this Qinghe City, you cannot escape from."

With that, he descended to his demonic beast mount, glanced at the crowd, turned his mount, and led them away.

In three days, the people of Qinghe County will know that this Qinghe County belongs to the An family.

Those noble families should bow and crawl.

As for the Yu Kun Academy, it should naturally be in their hands too.

Li Fan and that female demon, they were not of concern to him, easily dispelled with a snap of his fingers.

He did not come for them; they were not worth his personal visit.

He was here to establish his prestige, to let the people of Qinghe County see.

As for Li Fan and his group, they would not be able to leave.

After An Shicheng and his entourage left, the people of the Cui Family and Yu Kun Academy looked extremely uneasy.

Cui Shan landed on the ground, his heart unsettled. There are many strong people in the world, with prodigies as numerous as clouds; he realized that he couldn’t afford to be overconfident. He was reputed to be the number one prodigy in Qinghe County, yet in his clash with that dandy, he fell into a disadvantage.

"Sword Technique, Buddhist Sect Daoist Skill, Martial Arts." Xie Lingxuan murmured, "Behind this dandy An Shicheng must also be someone who has trained hard. If he is like this, then the Qinghe County Prince might not be as we imagined either."

"Yes." Cui Shan nodded. "This time, I’m afraid they’re targeting our family."

"We’ll see what tricks they’ll play in three days," Xie Lingxuan looked at Cui Shan. "With the combat prowess he displayed, if the fight continued, do you think you could win?"

"Difficult..." Cui Shan responded in a low voice.

Xie Lingxuan slightly nodded. "I feel the same."

An Shicheng’s attack power was extremely formidable. If she had faced him instead, she would have met the same outcome.

"Lu, would you like to stay with us? An Shicheng acts unpredictably and will certainly target you," Cui Shan looked at Li Fan.

"Thank you," Li Fan replied. "However, since he mentioned three days later, I suppose he won’t act within these few days. So, I won’t trouble you, Cui."

"Alright." Cui Shan nodded. "In that case, we’ll take our leave first. Lu, be careful."

With that, they hurriedly departed; he needed to go back and discuss this with his elders, as well as the possible events of three days hence.

Li Fan returned to the tavern, where discussions were rampant, centered around the event that had just occurred.

Many gazes fell on Li Fan, thinking to themselves, did this person really offend the Prince Manor?

At this moment, two figures stepped into the tavern.

Among these two individuals, one is dressed in white, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, exuding an impressive sharpness. The person next to him is dressed humbly, with a burly physique and a wide robe, radiating a sense of wildness and uninhibitedness, attracting the attention of the people around them.

The two of them went straight to a corner and sat down. Luo Qingyan and the others looked up in their direction, their gaze lingered on the man in white for a moment before looking at Li Fan, somewhat puzzled, but they didn’t ask much, turning their gaze away.

The man in white who arrived was none other than Wen Ruyu.

Li Fan was surprised by the arrival of the person by Wen Ruyu’s side, realizing it was not Senior Brother Ji Hua.

"Martial Uncle, Junior Brother," Li Fan transmitted his voice.

Accompanying Wen Ruyu was none other than the Martial Intent Peak Master Xing Feng.

Xing Feng glanced at Li Fan’s side, his eyes pausing on Huang Xiong for a moment. Huang Xiong naturally recognized Wen Ruyu, and upon seeing Xing Feng’s gaze upon him, he seemed to realize something and looked at Li Fan.

"Brother Huang, that is my Martial Uncle Xing Feng, he is also your master, but since there are too many eyes around, there is no need for an official ceremony right now." Li Fan transmitted to Huang Xiong.

Huang Xiong felt somewhat excited inside but managed to control himself.

The master has descended the mountain.

This was his first meeting with the master.

Wen Ruyu ordered food and drinks, making Li Fan even more curious; the Junior Brother first asked him to come here, and now he arrived personally with Martial Uncle Xing Feng, surely not just for a simple training.

What could possibly be happening in Qinghe County?

Night fell.

At the inn, Li Fan and Huang Xiong left their courtyard and came to the neighboring courtyard, which had already been sealed off, preventing outsiders from spying.

Wen Ruyu and Xing Feng were waiting in the courtyard. Huang Xiong stepped forward and knelt on the ground: "Disciple Huang Xiong, pays respect to Master."

"Rise." Xing Feng’s gaze examined Huang Xiong. Back then, Zuo Canglan returned to Li Mountain and told him about this matter.

He walked forward, extending a hand to pat Huang Xiong’s shoulder vigorously, causing Huang Xiong’s body to tremble a bit, but he still stood upright.

"Good bone structure." Xing Feng glanced at Li Fan and said, "Your master had already told me that you accepted a disciple in my stead. It happens that I’m visiting down the mountain to see this excellent martial bone structure."

"It was my overreach, I hope Martial Uncle does not mind." Li Fan said.

"Xiao Fan, do not forget your status, any action you take is not considered overreaching." Xing Feng said to Li Fan, causing Li Fan to feel astonished and then smile wryly; he never thought of himself as the current Li Mountain Sword Master.

"By the way, Martial Uncle, why have you and Junior Brother come to Qinghe County, is there something important happening?" Li Fan asked, as the mere presence of the Prince Qinghe’s manor hardly seems worth the visit.

Xing Feng’s face sank, he glanced at Wen Ruyu beside him, only then did Li Fan notice Wen Ruyu’s expression was also extremely cold.

"Ruyu..." Xing Feng seemed hesitant.

"There is nothing I can’t say in front of Junior Brother." Wen Ruyu said, "Back then, he died here."

Li Fan was stunned, then suddenly became aware of something, his heart jolting.

Junior Brother’s father, the former Li Mountain Sword Leader, Wen Haoran.

"In those years, demons wreaked havoc upon the world, the sword of Haoran traversed the world, slaying eight directions of demons, even killing many great demons, suffering wounds all over his body. When he finally came to Qinghe County, he was already heavily injured. Back then, I was responsible for coming to assist, but when I arrived..." Xing Feng’s eyes were bloodshot at the thought of those past events.

"Li Mountain has always been investigating the events of that time, wondering what caused that demonic chaos, and concerned there might be other reasons behind Wen Senior Brother’s death."

"Later, we discovered that many of the court’s Great Cultivators appeared in Qinghe County to slay demons, one of whom was An Lu, who was later ennobled as Prince Qinghe."

Sword Intent surged from Li Fan, his aura cold, saying: "Was it An Lu’s doing?"

"An Lu didn’t have the ability." Xing Feng said, "Even with Haoran wounded, An Lu could never achieve it, but An Lu might have participated. All these years he has hidden his skills, which might be for this reason. Afterwards, we’ve secretly investigated Qinghe County further and made new discoveries."

"What discovery?" Li Fan asked.

"There are issues with the Daoist around An Lu, it’s the opportune moment to act against An Lu." Killing intent was evident in Xing Feng’s eyes, the death of Wen Haoran had always been a sore point for Li Mountain.

That was supposed to be the golden age of Li Mountain.

First with Zuo Canglan, then Wen Haoran, two generations of prodigies both with the chance to reach the realm of Sword Saint.

Yet, both fell, which was Li Mountain’s grief and directly led to its decline.

Fortunately, now with Li Fan and Wen Ruyu, they would inherit the Li Mountain Sword.

Li Fan looked at Wen Ruyu, only to see the latter gaze into the distance, as calm as water.

Li Fan knew Junior Brother harbored resentment towards his father but never forgot about him, thus he wished to kill all demons and slay all inner demons within humanity.