A sound like beans popping in a pan first erupted from Xu Luo's Dantian. CRACKLE! POP!
The sound was crisp and loud. It then grew louder and louder until, finally, it became a series of thunderous booms!
Within, the faint glint of flashing lightning could be seen!
Streaks of lightning, like countless Electric Dragons, rose and fell within Xu Luo's Dantian. As he pushed through his bottleneck, they continuously flashed into existence only to be annihilated...
It was as if the complex and mysterious process of life itself was unfolding!
If any elders from the great sects were to witness this scene, they would be so shocked their eyes would pop out of their heads, and their legs would barely hold them upright!
Someone who could commune with the Great Dao of heaven and earth during a breakthrough in the Sword Venerable Realm, forming a celestial phenomenon within their own Dantian, was something that had only ever existed in legends. No one had ever actually seen it!
For a young man from the Mortal World to manifest such an impossible phenomenon while merely breaking through a minor realm... it was simply unbelievable.
...
In a quiet courtyard within the National Guardian General's Mansion, several miles from Xu Luo's own, Su Qianqian was gleefully counting the spoils from her day of shopping. Suddenly, she felt a dreadful throb deep in her heart, as if something terrible had just happened, and she froze on the spot.
Su Qianqian gently lifted her head, her delicate brows knitting together. The unsettling throb in her heart had lasted only a brief moment. If she weren't so perceptive, she might have even dismissed it as a hallucination.
"Did something happen?" Su Qianqian mumbled softly, then stood up, pushed the door open, and looked outside.
The sweet fragrance of flowers wafted from the small courtyard, which was so quiet there wasn't a single sound.
Su Qianqian looked up at the starry sky and was surprised to find that the Big Dipper seemed a little brighter than usual tonight.
"It's probably nothing..." Su Qianqian murmured to herself, then glanced in the direction of Xu Luo's residence. It was quiet, with no sign of any disturbance.
Although Su Qianqian had said she wouldn't help Xu Luo, she already considered him a good friend. How could she possibly turn a blind eye?
If Xu Luo were bullying others, she might not get involved, wanting to uphold her status. But if someone were to bully Xu Luo, she would definitely not stand by and do nothing.
'That boy isn't the best, and he doesn't like shopping with me, but he's not bad either. And he gave me a lot of silver!' Su Qianqian chuckled, her eyes curving into adorable crescents.
...
In another quiet residence in the Imperial Capital, a man dressed in white, appearing to be around thirty years old with features that were close to perfection, stood in a courtyard with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the starry sky.
He then glanced in the direction of Vermilion Bird Avenue and said softly, "Have you finally awakened?"
As he spoke, the man in white looked toward the distant north and muttered to himself, "Old devil, I've done what I promised you. Although I didn't protect him until he was eighteen, he awakened ahead of schedule... So, I suppose I can leave the Imperial Capital now."
If any of the Imperial Capital's long-time residents had seen this man, whose handsomeness was near-perfect, they would have immediately cried out in recognition and bowed respectfully to him.
"Young Master Feng!"
Only this man, as devilishly handsome as a fiend and whose appearance had not changed in decades, could captivate people so completely.
Over the years, who knows how many of the Imperial Capital's lovestruck maidens this impossibly handsome man had charmed, or how many enchanting women he had caused to spend sleepless nights.
Yet, through all these years, he had remained alone, accompanied only by two peerlessly beautiful Maids who served him in silence.
His identity was a great mystery.
Over the years, it wasn't that no one had tried to get close to him to solve this mystery, but no one had ever succeeded.
Even more people had tried to probe his strength or make a name for themselves by defeating him. They, too, had all failed.
Young Master Feng had never killed anyone. In fact, in all these decades, no one had even seen him make a move.
This was because anyone who tried to challenge or assassinate Young Master Feng was stopped by those two stunningly beautiful Maids.
No one could have imagined that two such delicate and devastatingly beautiful women could also possess such unfathomable strength.
Even a Sword Venerable couldn't get close to them!
Some people had even joked that Young Master Feng might be an Immortal from the heavens who had come down to the Mortal World for fun after getting bored.
This showed just how lofty the image of Young Master Feng was in the hearts of the Imperial City People.
But now, this god-like Young Master Feng, in the eyes of the Imperial City People, was acting like a common man from the streets, saying something to the sky as if he'd gone mad.
Such a shocking scene would likely only fail to surprise the two taciturn, peerlessly beautiful Maids who were always by his side.
After speaking, Young Master Feng gave a faint smile and muttered, "It was just a flippant remark back then, but you, you old devil, latched onto it and never let go. Well, you can rest easy now, and I can finally leave."
As he said this, Young Master Feng glanced at his two Maids, a flash of joy appearing in their eyes, and smiled. "Let's go."
The two peerless beauties nodded slightly and, following beside Young Master Feng, walked step by step into the depths of the night sky.
As if climbing an invisible staircase, they ascended step by step, gradually vanishing into the deep night.
From beginning to end, not one of the three looked back even once!
It was as if the Cangqiong Imperial Capital, a paradise in the eyes of mortals, was utterly insignificant to them!
...
Xu Luo hadn't chosen to go into seclusion, but this round of cultivation still took him a full three days.
During that time, Su Qianqian came looking for him twice. Seeing that he was cultivating, she didn't disturb him and just went out shopping by herself.
Xia Muyao also visited once. After hearing that both brothers were cultivating and couldn't receive guests, she took her leave.
Over these three days, however, several major events had shaken the Imperial Capital.
The first was that Young Master Feng, who hadn't left the Imperial Capital in decades, had disappeared.
The news came from the servants in Young Master Feng's residence.
Although Young Master Feng was mysterious and powerful, he was never arrogant and always treated his servants with kindness.
A dashing gentleman, as gentle and warm as jade!
This was how the servants of his household privately described their master.
Because he was so low-key, despite being mysterious, powerful, and highly respected in the Imperial Capital, he rarely attracted much attention in his daily life.
His sudden disappearance caused quite a stir in the Imperial Capital. Those who had always believed he was a Celestial God descended to earth felt they had found their proof.
Everyone was saying that Young Master Feng had finally grown tired of the dazzling mortal world and had gone home...
The second event was that Wei Ziting, the new Peace Officer of the Imperial Capital, had suddenly led a team to seize three businesses owned by the National Guardian General's Mansion. The reason given was suspected tax evasion. Not only were the shops sealed, but they were also issued three exorbitant fines!
In the imperial court, Prime Minister Wei Feng, who had been lying low for a long time, also made a sudden move. He arrested two Civil Servants who were close to the Xu Family. While raiding their homes, a large amount of evidence of corruption was discovered, along with some letters that faintly implicated the Grand General of National Guardian, Xu Ji!
The third event concerned the underground faction that Guo Ying had subdued. It suffered a sudden attack from a powerful expert, with over a hundred members killed or injured. Even Guo Ying, a Tier Five Sword Venerable, was severely wounded. It was said that if she hadn't realized something was wrong and retreated quickly enough, she would have been slain on the spot!
These few incidents instantly caused a huge uproar in the otherwise calm Imperial Capital.
If Young Master Feng's sudden departure merely gave people something new to gossip about, the subsequent events made many feel a sense of unease.
In particular, the families close to the Military Merit Faction and the Xu Family felt that a storm was about to break.
"Has Prime Minister Wei finally lost his patience and decided to move against the Xu Family?"
"Now that the wars have subsided, the Civil Servant Group, led by Prime Minister Wei, can't hold back any longer!"
"I heard Wei Ziting has suffered at Xu Luo's hands many times. He's clearly come looking for trouble this time!"
"Prime Minister Wei is being ruthless this time. The two Civil Servants he took down both had a reputation for being incorruptible, and now they've suddenly become massively corrupt. This kind of blow is simply devastating!"
"Well, what do you expect? Those two Civil Servants always spoke up for the Xu Family and the Military Merit Faction in court. This is most likely retaliation."
"Who can say for sure with these things? There are countless people who appear pure as water on the outside but are corrupt to the bone..."
The people of the Imperial Capital were abuzz with discussion, and all sorts of opinions could be heard.
Almost everyone believed that, on a smaller scale, this was the Wei Family retaliating against the Xu Family. On a larger scale, it was a signal that the Civil Servant Group was making its move against the Military Merit Faction!
"Guo Ying was injured?" Xu Luo's brow furrowed instantly. He looked at Xia Muyao, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
"What's with that look?" Xia Muyao couldn't help but roll her eyes, saying with a hint of annoyance, "I may not like her, but I don't need to resort to such methods to deal with a rival, do I? Besides, do you really think my strength... is enough to seriously injure her?"
Xu Luo grinned. "Sister-in-law, there are plenty of ways to frame someone in this world, and I'm sure you know a few. But, I trust you wouldn't do something like that. I was just kidding."
As Xu Luo spoke, his gaze gradually turned cold. When he first heard the news, he had indeed subconsciously suspected Xia Muyao.
After all, Xia Muyao had plenty of reasons to move against Guo Ying. Just because Xu Su was grateful to Guo Ying and even fond of her, it didn't mean his fiancée felt the same way.
But Xu Luo quickly realized he had wronged Xia Muyao. Leaving aside whether Xia Muyao would even do such a thing, even if she wanted to, Guo Ying was no fool. Moreover, with her formidable martial strength, she wasn't someone who could be easily schemed against.
"I have her recovering in a safe place right now. The one who attacked her was Huangfu Haoyue, who has recently made a name for himself in the Imperial Capital." Xia Muyao's bright eyes were fixed on Xu Luo as she said softly, "Besides that, Wei Ziting has seized three shops belonging to the National Guardian General's Mansion and issued exorbitant fines. Prime Minister Wei also struck ruthlessly in court, taking down two Civil Servants close to the Xu Family by framing them, and his methods were incredibly crude."
"Incredibly crude?" Xu Luo looked at Xia Muyao.
Xia Muyao nodded. "Those two Civil Servants were known throughout the entire court for their integrity. Yet Wei Feng publicly accused them of corruption. The two officials were so enraged that they demanded the court search their homes, declaring that if any evidence of corruption was found, they would plead guilty and accept death..."