Why do I have so many masters?

"Having stormed out from Wen Family mountain and killed the Family Head, trampling Jiangnan and mercilessly slaughtering countless martial heroes of Jianghu..."

"Hahahaha, well killed! Well killed indeed!"

The old man laughed heartily, suddenly sat down on the ground, clutched his long blade against the wall as if he had drunk his fill from a whole jug of aged fine wine, and sighed contently, murmuring:

"Not a coward, indeed..."

"Divine Martial's old soldier, Wei Dao'er, today, has once again seen the boldness of a thousand cavalry sweeping across the plains."

......

"Can't find anyone..."

"The stronghold previously targeted has been completely engulfed by the Heavenly Fire's strange signs, making the trail thereafter elusive and hard to detect."

"And it's just a piece of intelligence, which holds no significant risk or benefit for my estate, so there's no need to send a spy to face certain death."

Sikou Tingfeng sat at the table, her expression calm, looking out at the view; she was in a seven-story tavern on Jiangnan Road that allowed one to see the scenery and human sentiment of the entire city, naturally, it was not cheap.

Opposite her was Xue Qinshuang, dressed in white, wearing a red cape, her expression quite calm, who upon hearing this said:

"Indeed, with mountains and rivers extending over thousands of miles in Jiangnan Road, even the intelligence capacity of The Number One Manor in the World has its limits—it isn't all-knowing after all."

"I had anticipated this outcome before coming here, yet it turned out exactly as expected."

Sikou Tingfeng frowned slightly, saying:

"If you knew you would gain nothing, why bother coming here?"

Xue Qinshuang smiled looking at her, saying:

"Hadn't I mentioned it before? When a friend is in trouble, I cannot just stand by; one should at least exert some effort."

"Watching the situation, although the Jiangdong hero is unwilling to let Anfeng go, Anfeng himself never lacked the intent to make his name in Jianghu from this battle. As long as they haven't left, I will stay here, biding my time, and there will always be a chance to see them."

Sikou Tingfeng's frown slightly eased, she said lightly:

"Although we have not found Wang Anfeng's trace, we have made another gain."

"That Jiangdong hero used a drastic strategy, using nearby Jianghu sects as scapegoats. Even if he could rise to fame this time, he would surely also attract infamy."

"And with such methods, it's likely he will soon find Wang Anfeng's location, and then you can also take the opportunity to see him."

Xue Qinshuang took a sip of wine, her brown eyes sparkling like stars.

"That would be most ideal."

......

Misty rain enveloped the entire city, the relentless fine rain washing the bluestone pavements, creating a sense of serene isolation, the Great Eunuch who had traveled non-stop from Heaven Capital City to Jiangnan Road, obeying the Saint's decree, finally stopped in his tracks.

Li Sheng, wearing a broad-sleeved scholar's robe, sat under the eaves, a redwood table beside him with fruit delicacies, and a jug of chilled wine with a finely cracked exquisite wine cup.

Li Sheng opened his pale eyes, took a sip of the wine, which mixed with the rainwater giving a sorrowful flavor upon swallowing, lifted his gaze to observe the persistent drizzling rain on Jiangnan Road, reflecting a profound sense of helplessness, murmuring:

"This matter, truly problematic... truly problematic..."

"Never thought that in just two months, such a grand spectacle could be stirred up, almost shaking the entire Jianghu of Jiangnan Road, bringing about such great trouble, truly worthy of someone surnamed Wang..."

With a helpless sigh, he then considered that this whole situation was ultimately spurred by the now deceased Wang Tiance, and what Wang Anfeng had done didn't really bear much relation to it, pondering this gave rise to subtle thoughts in his mind.

Could this be what they mean by 'good deeds don't last long, misdeeds linger for a thousand years'?

Li Sheng's gaze fell on a purple sandalwood box beside him, his pale eyes, pupil-less, filled with deep contemplation.

Rosewood was always a valuable material, and purple rosewood was the most prized among them, typically used to store rare treasures from across the world. What lay within this purple rosewood box was a bright yellow scroll.

The scroll was fashioned with jade axles wrapped by nine dragons, signifying a royal decree to appoint a Duke of the State.

Once Wang Anfeng accepted this decree, he would be considered a Duke of the State of the Great Qin, ranking alongside princes of the Great Qin Empire, adorned with jade decorations and permitted five hundred private soldiers as guards. From then on, if any top martial artist in Jianghu dared disturb even a single hair on his head, it would be an act against the Great Qin itself.

Although the Iron Cavalry of Jiangnan Road was only the second-class military force of Great Qin, their charge in battle was no match for ordinary martial artists.

And the so-called heroes of Jiangdong, master of his sect, when faced with the thirteen Defending Generals of the Thirteen County of Jiangnan, was merely casting stones against rocks.

As long as he accepted this scroll of the decree...

But would he truly accept it?

Thinking of that Scholar from the past, who played a game of Heaven and Earth, left with a flick of his sleeves without taking anything, Li Sheng only smiled.

Then he leisurely sighed, withdrew his gaze, took a sip of his drink. Outside, the rain continued to patter down ceaselessly, while the whereabouts of Wang Anfeng remained elusive, just like a drop of water disappearing into the tide, leaving no trace behind.

......

When Hang Yong regained consciousness, he found himself in a valley, tightly wrapped up, his injuries likely already treated with medicine, his wounds still fiercely painful.

After a moment of bewilderment, he suddenly looked up in terror. When he saw that most of his fellow sect members were also here, a sense of relief mixed with indescribable pain and sadness overwhelmed him, and he couldn't help but burst into loud tears.

Once he calmed down, a young man dressed in black separated them to conduct individual questioning. He did not hide a thing and told everything he knew to the young master who habitually squinted and smiled.

Afterward, they were led away by those in black.

He had prepared for the worst, but these people did not kill them to silence them as he had feared; instead, they temporarily imprisoned them in this large valley.

They were not allowed to leave freely, and they were required to perform hard labor such as carpentry or assisting the Qing Taoqi with their cultivation.

Beyond that, the treatment was not too harsh; their daily meals were not luxurious but sufficient, and Hang Yong felt genuinely grateful from within.

Only by truly escaping death could one appreciate the tears of joy that mere survival could bring.

Even daily hard labor was infinitely better than being killed outright in the forest, for as long as one lives, there is hope; in death, all is but void.

Wang Anfeng had finally realized who had gone to such lengths to take his life. Contrary to his expectations, it was not one of the noble clans from the Six Kingdoms but a highly reputable hero from Jiangnan Road, a martial artist from Great Qin's Jiangdong.

Because he was from Jiangdong of Great Qin, he was called the "Hero of Jiangdong," a significant title far surpassing any of his known titles or the Mad Blade; it was rare for martial artists to adopt a geographic location as their honorific.

Martial artists were known for their bravery, and such a distinguished reputation could indeed attract fatal trouble. To achieve fame in such a manner spoke volumes of his martial arts skills and his cunning nature.

Like this Hero of Jiangdong, who could move in and out of noble houses as a lowly martial artist, his reputation widespread across the region of Jianghu, universally praised.

It was said he was generous and righteous, willing to travel thousands of miles to fight for those he had never met, afterwards taking nothing for himself but claiming he only desired the pure breeze of Guangling, earning high praise from Jianghu.

Yet this time, relying on his reputation and influence accumulated over twenty-three years, whether through seduction or coercion, he managed to draw almost an entire county's worth of Jianghu sects into these forests.

They spread out like a net searching for anyone from Divine Martial Mansion, treating the lives of ordinary people of Jianghu as worthless. This revealed that beneath his heroic reputation, he was perhaps not the sincere man of integrity praised by everyone in Jianghu.

The formation practiced by Qing Taoqi was not yet complete when Wang Anfeng brought the needed medicine to the valley that day, suddenly, an untimely roar erupted.

A stream of light, carrying a powerful Qi Force as vast as mountains and seas, shot towards the valley, targeting not the physically strong Qing Taoqi but the injured martial artists of Jianghu.

Vigorous Qi flowed like fire.

Amidst a long call, someone excitedly shouted:

"The remnants of Divine Martial Mansion are all here!"

PS: Today's update is a combined one... reaching a crucial chapter, there's less word count, hopefully will make it up tomorrow _(:з」∠)_