at noon in the elegant bamboo residence, ye feng had arrived early and had taken a private room, ordering a selection of exquisite dishes.

    xiao chuanqi and sima zhantian stood behind him like two vajra warriors of formidable presence, while seventeen stood guard at the door, fulfilling the duty of an attendant guard.

    as for hong qingyan, she had been busy setting up a foundation and did not have the time to come over.

    hong qingyan was kind-hearted. the foundation was the first major task ye feng had entrusted to her, so she took it very seriously. moreover, it was a charity cause she was passionate about, which made her all the more enthusiastic.

    ye feng didn''t say much about this and let her handle it on her own.

    the dishes were few, but all were delicate, looking incredibly tasty. however, just as ye feng was about to start eating, a noisy and boisterous shouting suddenly came from outside the private room.

    "may i ask if the frenzied son-in-law of the hong family named ye feng is inside!" three people arrived in the corridor of the private rooms, unmistakably commander xia and his two followers.

    commander xia was tall and thin, his horse-like face bearing a smile that was not quite a smile, which seemed a bit eerie. coupled with what seemed to be his focus on training his legs, his limbs appeared unusually slender and long, making him seem even more bizarre.

    seventeen said coldly, "the master is having lunch, please wait a moment." with that, he turned around to push the door open to report.

    however, at that moment, commander xia became furiously angry, grinding his teeth as he shouted, "such grandeur indeed! i, your father, have graced this place with my presence, and yet i am asked to wait outside. in the southern territory, no one has ever had the audacity to do this!"

    before he could finish speaking, commander xia kicked the door with such force that it was left in shambles, and then he swaggered in.

    "are you that ye fellow?" commander xia walked in, and sat down directly opposite ye feng with great pomp.

    "impudence!" sima zhantian burst into fury, ready to pounce right then and there.

    ye feng waved his hand and said, "no rush to make a move and spoil my lunchtime pleasure."

    sima zhantian managed to suppress his anger, but his eyes glared furiously at the other man.

    commander xia''s rat-like eyes were narrow yet filled with viciousness, quickly scanning sima zhantian and xiao chuanqi. he could sense that among those present, only these two men had imposing auras that posed the greatest threat to him.

    as for the young man sitting in the wheelchair, he did not take him seriously at all. in commander xia''s view, had it not been for the presence of powerful protectors, such a handicapped cripple could be crushed to death with a mere flick of his finger.

    ye feng looked up for the first time, fixing his gaze upon him, and merely asked indifferently, "is the king of the southern territory really in secluded cultivation right now, or has he encountered some mishap?"

    originally prepared to strike, commander xia was taken aback by these words, and replied almost reflexively, "someone of your stature has no right to inquire about the likes of the king of the southern territory. no, wait, you''re aware of the existence of the king of the southern territory—who exactly are you?"

    ye feng shook his head and heaved a slight sigh, saying, "well, it''s only right that you, as a commander of the southern territory, should be begrudgingly qualified to know my identity!"

    having said that, ye feng slightly nodded at xiao chuanqi.

    xiao chuanqi stared at commander xia and snorted coldly. then he pulled a token from inside his garment and threw it over, "open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

    commander xia caught it, and was immediately dumbstruck. he observed the dazzling gold token engraved with a domineering five-clawed golden dragon on the front and then inspected the back, where three ancient seal script characters were inscribed.

    "northern border king"!

    the sight of those three characters frightened commander xia to the point of wetting himself, collapsing onto the ground.

    "you are... you''re actually the southern... northern border king, how... how is this possible!" commander xia was sweating profusely, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

    although he uttered words of disbelief, his heart already accepted that the man before him was indeed the ruler of the northern border, the one who commanded the winds and looked down upon the world, whose prestige even overshadowed that of the king of the southern territory, outshining the other kings of the three realms.

    because that token could not possibly be a fake. he had previously seen the token of the king of the southern territory with his own eyes, and it was made of exactly the same material.

    only now did commander xia have a sudden realization, no wonder the man before him had three grandmasters as his retinue, two of them huajin grandmasters. it seemed that only a king of his stature would travel with such grandeur.

    at this point, commander xia was filled with regret. it was his arrogance and the blinding desire for the jiang family''s assets that made him so presumptuous.

    in fact, being in the southern river region jiangnan province, which is the stronghold of the southern territory, there was a subconscious belief in commander xia that he, as the third commander of the southern territory, could do as he pleased within the earth region of the southern territory.

    but he never imagined that the northern border king would come all the way to the southern river region jiangnan!

    "your highness... your highness, i realize my mistake, i had no idea you were the northern border king, it was just... just an impulsive offense, please have the magnanimity not to take offense!" commander xia, almost kneeling by now, pleaded at the end.

    to offend a sovereign, especially when he had even contemplated killing the northern border king, was a capital offense of treason. by law, there was no forgiveness; execution was the only punishment!