Why do I have so many masters?

Wang Anfeng dragged the martial artist in white to a distant place, threw him on the ground, and interrogated him for a moment before dragging him back near the Green-Maned Horse and sealed his Inner Strength, leaving him under the hooves of the splendid horse.

With the brute strength of this exotic beast, a martial artist devoid of Inner Strength was no match for it.

He then took the severely injured martial artist in black and departed. Following the original line of questioning, or perhaps due to a craving for a glimmer of hope, the originally arrogant martial artist in black was now exceedingly tame, almost eager to tell Wang Anfeng everything he knew.

After the last question was asked, the martial artist in black swallowed, the taste of blood spreading throughout his mouth.

He looked up at the young man.

Standing against the light, only a vague outline and a wooden sword could be seen, instilling fear in his heart. He subconsciously propped himself up with his hands and moved backward, stammering unclearly:

"You said, telling the truth, you would let us go."

Wang Anfeng looked up at him, nodded slightly, and placed the wooden sword behind his back.

The martial artist in black relaxed slightly, then a resentful expression emerged on his face. At that moment, the young man lightly flicked his toe, a tree branch sprung up, and the martial artist in black subconsciously followed it with his eyes; he suddenly felt a halt in his breath. Stay connected with empire

Against the sunlight, it seemed as though a ghostly light flashed past, then a pain struck his throat, followed by a loss of consciousness.

The young man held the tree branch at an angle and stepped forward slowly.

Blood slowly gathered on the branch and dripped to the ground.

The martial artist in white, anxiously waiting outside, saw Wang Anfeng emerge, his expression initially eager to please, and then he saw the blood-stained branch, his expression dramatically changed, and instinctively he wanted to flee. However, severely injured, he was unable to move, and could only watch the young man with a resentful gaze, hoarsely saying:

"You said, you wouldn't kill us!"

Wang Anfeng's body moved as swift as a migrating swan, his right hand holding the branch, his left pressing on the end. He appeared instantaneously in front of the man, a thunderous force shooting from the branch, the move so intense it made the man's breath catch. Suddenly, a name flashed through his mind, his eyes showing a look of terror.

The branch like a sword, pierced directly into his throat, seemingly unable to withstand the infusion of Inner Strength, broke midway.

The man in white, grievously injured but not yet dead, stared at the young man, his eyes wide.

"Intent... hard..."

The wooden sword struck again, slashing through his throat, severing his last shred of life.

From the beginning to the end, Wang Anfeng had not offered them a single explanation.

Sheathing his sword, the young man leaped onto his horse, lightly shouted, the spirited horse turned around, heading toward the north, towards Fufeng Guan City, his expression solemn, without a hint of relaxation.

These two were merely the swords in the hands of someone behind the scenes, miserably ignorant. They didn't even know who was manipulating them, nor did they understand much about their own organization, only following their leader.

Murder or plunder.

Whom to kill, whom to rob?

All by the leader's command.

This time, their target was the convoy from Fufeng Academy to Qingfeng for the birthday celebration; they would have left a survivor if not for the presence of Gong Yu in the team. If not for him, they probably would have struck earlier.

Even with Gong Yu present, the leader of Seventh Rank, along with two of Eighth Rank and the remaining Ninth Rank martial artists followed far behind the convoy, their thievish intentions undying. Deciding on a strategic move, they deemed Wang Anfeng, described in the documents as below Ninth Rank, worthy of dispatching two Ninth Rank martial artists, considering it a cautious approach.

The young man's face was as still as a deep lake, and he had already started to guess why this matter had arisen.

Anger and killing intent surged in his heart but were subdued.

For now, the best move was to notify Senior Gong Yu in advance, just in case.

"Drive!"

With a shout, the Green-Maned Horse increased its speed, leaving a trail of dust on the official road.

............

Fufeng Guan City.

A silver-feathered Flying Eagle circled for several rounds, tucked its wings, and plummeted straight down into a courtyard like an arrow. Flapping its wings at a low altitude, a thin middle-aged man showed a smile, whistled through his mouth, and the eagle landed affectionately on the leather sheath on his right arm, nuzzling his chin and eliciting a light chuckle.

The middle-aged man adjusted the Flying Eagle with his left hand, emitting sharp and brief sounds. The eagle responded as trained. Moments later, the man's expression turned solemn. He pulled a piece of fresh meat from a pouch on his waist, threw it into the air for the eagle to peck at, and then he turned and entered the house

In the room sat a man clad in black, his features archaic, a swath of indigo across his forehead, making him look less than human.

The middle-aged man hurried to his side, bowed his head, averted his eyes, and whispered,

"Older brother, we failed."

His voice paused slightly, then continued,

"The two of them, they didn't survive."

The archaic man's eyes slightly stirred as he looked at the respectful subordinate beside him.

Although the latter's martial arts skills were barely at the Ninth Rank, he had had a fortuitous encounter in his youth - he saved a pair of Silver Feather Flying Eagles, grew up with them, and as the exotic beasts understood human nature, they used the eagles to pinpoint and monitor their target's location and general actions.

Since he mentioned they failed, there must be no mistake.

With not a ripple in his heart, his lips moved slightly, and he hoarsely said,

"They didn't survive... it seems the intelligence was incorrect."

"Has the other eagle caught up yet?"

The middle-aged man respectfully bowed and replied,

"One went, one returned, but the boy's whereabouts are still under control."

"Heading straight for Guan City."

The archaic man nodded and said,

"The group from Fufeng is still in this Guan City, surely waiting for this guardian of the books."

"They don't need monitoring by the eagle for the time being."

"Release the other one as well."

The middle-aged man was slightly taken aback.

Lately, they had been using the Flying Eagles to monitor the movements of Gong Yu's party.

Since Wang Anfeng left, splitting off one eagle had already been inconvenient as every transition period left them temporarily unable to observe. Now, with this one coming back, it should be flying over Guan City to scout Gong Yu and others' movements. To release it again seemed like giving up on other targets completely.

As his mind wandered, he suddenly heard the boss speak,

"Third, fourth."

The voice was not loud but enough to make it audible to everyone in the room, demonstrating his profound Inner Strength skills. Moments later, two figures emerged from the inner room. One had dark skin and a large build, with five golden rings on each arm; his footsteps made a loud thud as if his body was made not of flesh but of metal and stone.

The other was scholar-like, clad in a blue robe, often smiling at people; his left hand was behind his back, while his right held a Jade Bone Folding Fan. He moved like a ghost, making no sound at all.

The two approached the archaic man, bowed respectfully to him, and he casually waved his hand and said,

"You two follow the trail of the eagle and find that boy."

"Gong Yu, a Fifth Rank expert, is flawless, so don't place too much hope. I'll watch from here."

"Both of you are almost entering the Seventh Rank and shouldn't fail to capture a boy at most at the Ninth Rank..."

A sly smile appeared on the scholar's face as he slightly nodded and said,

"To us, a Ninth Rank is but a child; easily captured."

"The question is, once captured... how to deal with him."

The archaic man closed his eyes, fell silent for a moment, and then said,

"The employer did not say he needs to be kept intact..."

"Leave him breathing."

"The rest is up to you."