Chapter 230: First Internal Energy Fusion

The rain poured down, and the world was a blur of chaos.

As purple lightning cleaved through the leaden clouds, Mr. Dongjing could be seen suspended above the town entrance, twelve water spouts, like silver snakes coiled around pillars, holding him at the center of a swirling vortex.

With a flick of his fingers, he conjured a spell. From the rock fissures of the surrounding mountains, wisps of yellow energy suddenly emerged, as if the mountains themselves were breathing. Even more bizarrely, scarlet flames shot out from the gash in his chest. The flames wrapped around the water spouts, eerily creating a situation where fire and water coexisted. Simultaneously, the wound scabbed over at a visible rate, and the Yin and Yang energies, like the ethereal image of a Tai Chi diagram, slowly rotated around his abdomen, harmonizing the water and fire. A fierce gale picked up, sweeping the torrential rain across the land.

Pei Yuanzhen lay sprawled on a broken wall at the street corner. His clothes had long been torn to shreds by the gale, and he was completely soaked, having narrowly avoided being swept out of the town by a massive wave.

"Seven Killings Unified! The true Seven Killings Unified!"

He gazed at the figure of fire and water intertwined in the sky, muttering, "Grandmaster, didn't you say the Head Manager was a 'half-bucket of water' [incompetent]? Is *this* what you call a half-bucket of water? I..."

Before he could finish, another wave crashed over the broken wall, sending him tumbling into a muddy ditch, clutching fragmented bricks. The scent of sweet, metallic rain filled his nostrils.

At this moment, Gu Mo stomped his foot on a flying eave, shattering the green tiles into dust. Leveraging the momentum, he shot seven zhang into the air. The Demonic Blade spun in his palm, and countless crescent-shaped blade energies, imbued with wind and thunder, slammed towards Mr. Dongjing.

Blade energies filled the sky like surging waves crashing against a shore. Wherever they passed, the rain curtain was torn open. Raindrops exploded into fine mist upon impact with the blade energies, glowing with an eerie purple light under the reflection of lightning.

Each blade energy that swept past a raindrop shattered it into gold-foil-like mist, which, under the electric light, formed a dazzling net of blades. The air within a ten-zhang radius was churned into a furious vortex.

Mr. Dongjing flicked his fingertips, and three water spouts separated from the main vortex, accelerating abruptly. Raindrops rapidly solidified into ice cones as they spun, colliding with Gu Mo's blade energies with deafening roars. Even more ferocious was the thunder from the sky — nine bolts of purple lightning, each as thick as a bowl, struck almost simultaneously. Thunder exploded in the sky, and bowl-thick lightning, like silver serpents dancing wildly, struck directly at Gu Mo's crown.

Gu Mo stepped through the void as if on stone steps, each stride generating ripple-like energy shields. He narrowly dodged the lightning flashes, but his clothes were scorched with charred holes by the thunderfire, revealing crisscrossing burn marks underneath.

Gu Mo's hair stood on end in the gale and torrential rain, his blade pointed directly at Mr. Dongjing. Each swing of his blade erupted in fierce, fiery blade energy. Wherever the blade energy struck, the water spouts were torn open, only to be instantly refilled by the newly formed rain curtain. Mr. Dongjing's figure flickered in and out of sight within the water spouts, like a reflection in water, causing Gu Mo's every strike to miss its mark.

Suddenly, all the raindrops hung suspended in mid-air.

Gu Mo's hand, mid-swing with his blade, suddenly froze. He felt the nearest raindrop suspended an inch from his eyebrow, and within the water droplet, lightning seemed to flash. The sound of his heartbeat in his chest suddenly magnified, roaring like war drums in his ears.

"Crack—"

The sound of the first raindrop bursting was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet it froze the very essence of the world. Immediately after, millions of raindrops exploded simultaneously. Water waves coalesced in the void, forming a gigantic transparent hand with splayed fingers, pressing down.

Gu Mo's expression darkened. He swept his Demonic Blade horizontally, and the moment the blade energy collided with the water waves, rain within a ten-zhang radius was instantly atomized into mist. Yet, the wall of water, like an inverted celestial river, pressed down layer upon layer.

He felt his shoulder sink as he was engulfed by the water vortex and slammed towards the ground. The Demonic Blade almost slipped from his grasp. He forcefully swung the blade, its light splitting the water vortex, creating a half-formed crack. Behind the water curtain, Mr. Dongjing's figure shimmered into view, his fingertips forming a spell as he slowly pressed down.

"Boom!"

The water wave, like Mount Tai descending, slammed Gu Mo heavily into the ground. With a deafening crash, a massive crater appeared in the earth, and spiderweb cracks spread across the surrounding bluestone pavement. Gu Mo lay on his back at the bottom of the pit, the Demonic Blade deeply embedded in the brickwork, its hilt still vibrating.

Rainwater flowed down from the wound on his forehead, mixing with the blood from the corner of his mouth as it dripped.

Gu Mo sprang out of the deep pit with a powerful leap.

From the void, Mr. Dongjing's calm voice echoed: "Gu Mo, this is only the second time I've used the Seven Killings Unified technique since I created it. The first time was in a fight with Ye Nantian, the leader of the Moon Worship Cult, where I narrowly lost. However, he didn't dare to fight to the death with me, nor was I interested in doing so with him, so I'm unsure if I have the power to drag him down with me.

Therefore, you are the true first person to face the genuine Seven Killings Unified. This will be the most powerful offensive technique in the world, and I wish to test it again against your formidable energy shield technique, which combines both offense and defense."

At this moment, everyone in the small town was in a state of panic.

Because Mr. Dongjing, floating in the void, looked less like a human and more like a god.

Single-handedly, he unleashed the legendary "Seven Killings Hymn of Heavenly Abyss and Silence," a technique rumored to require seven people to perform.

At this moment,

Beneath the torrential downpour, Mr. Dongjing's energy shield shimmered with a ghostly, glazed glow, the scene within distorted like an illusion in a mirror. Deep within, an enigmatic mountain shimmered into existence, its body split down the middle: half ablaze with surging flames, half frozen with stagnant cold water. Fiery serpents and towering waves intertwined and climbed, unleashing myriad purple lightning bolts at their intersection. A fierce gale, carrying thunder, howled and swirled among the mountain ridges, while the Yin and Yang energies, like two colossal pythons, throttled each other, tearing the entire airspace to shreds.

The moment he plunged towards the ground, the half-fire, half-water mountain abruptly broke free from the energy shield's restraint, plummeting with a devastating, world-ending pressure.

The mountain's trajectory as it fell seemed to carve a deep, black fissure between heaven and earth. Lightning, ocean waves, lava, and hurricanes wildly entangled, continuously merging and twisting as they descended, ultimately coalescing into a colossal sphere of chaos.

Wherever it passed, the air shrieked under the immense pressure.

At this moment, everyone felt an absolute pressure. The ground began to crack, and many people were even forced to their knees. Some struggled to look up, but their features distorted under the terrifying air pressure.

Gu Mo threw his blade aside.

Activating his Innate Energy Shield to full power, he manifested a formidable energy barrier with circulating true qi. But he didn't wait passively. Instead, he roared, "Everyone, get down!"

He didn't know if his Innate Energy Shield could withstand the ultimate move of Seven Killings Unified, perhaps it could, perhaps it couldn't, but it didn't matter. He never had the habit of taking hits passively.

"You're not the only one who can merge!"

He snorted coldly.

Then, he shot into the sky, his Innate Energy transforming into an energy shield that dispersed layers of water waves. He directly confronted the descending sphere of chaos, which seemed capable of destroying the world.

The moment he was in mid-air,

Streams of true qi surged from within his body. His entire being became enveloped in true qi, like a river of stars flowing backward. The ethereal image of a Tai Chi diagram slowly unfolded behind him. Yin and Yang energies emerged first, forming a millstone-sized vortex in his palms, and black and white streams of light crawled up his arms, covering his entire body. The essence of the Four Luminaries Divine Art then overflowed from his seven orifices, as if plating his skeleton with starlight. Heavenly Silkworm true qi wrapped around his dantian like spider silk, while the attributeless true qi of the Taixuan Scripture disregarded all restraints, directly breaking through the Ren and Du meridians, stirring the hot and cold energies of Nine Yang and Ming Yu into a boiling cauldron.

The Tai Chi Harmonizer, Four Luminaries Stabilizer, Heavenly Silkworm Protector, Taixuan Dimension Ascender, Nine Yang Ming Yu Power Generator.

Instantly, a sphere of light condensed between Gu Mo's hands, continuously spinning and expanding. Moreover, true qi continued to surge from within Gu Mo's body: Fiery Sun true qi, Ice Cold true qi…

In an instant, a colossal sphere of light burst forth, continuously hissing as it expanded. The outlines of distant mountains blurred amidst the phenomenon, as if the entire world were making way for this power.

As the vortex spun faster and faster, Gu Mo violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He still lacked the Xiao Wuxiang skill as a converter. Forcibly using the Limitless Return to Origin energy caused the various true qis to lack compatible pathways, resulting in violent clashes that continuously tore at his meridians and dantian…

He hadn't even unleashed all of these internal energies, only less than fifty percent, and he hadn't dared to touch the most powerful Innate Energy at all, yet it had already exceeded his body's endurance limit!

"Limitless Return to Origin Energy!"

As Gu Mo pushed with both hands, the void energy sphere rapidly burst forth. In the void, a floating black and white platform appeared. On this platform, the Yin and Yang fish spun frantically, exhaling thousands of streams of energy.

With each rotation, the Yin and Yang fish exhaled thousands of energy streams. These streams varied in element: some were red like fire, some blue like a cold abyss, others white like ice and snow. Carrying murderous intent and immense pressure, they entangled and collided in the air, forming enormous vortices.

In the blink of an eye, countless vortices converged and merged, transforming into millions of roaring tornadoes that rampaged across the heavens and earth. Wherever they passed, space twisted and distorted, as if the entire world trembled under this terrifying power. The weather changed drastically, and spiritual energy surged wildly between heaven and earth.

The Limitless Return to Origin energy instantly met Mr. Dongjing's Seven Killings Unified.

The moment the two forces collided, space was torn open as if by an invisible giant hand, revealing a light brighter than lightning.

That light was neither white nor red; it was the gray of primordial chaos, containing myriad golden glints, as if stars had been crushed and scattered across the sky. This was followed by a silence, a silence more terrifying than deafness.

The silence lasted only three breaths.

Only when the shockwave ripped off rooftops did people hear the thunderous roar.

"Boom!"

It was as if heaven and earth had exploded!

All the green tiles of the entire small town shattered simultaneously, fragments shooting in all directions like sharp blades. The buzzing, trembling sound was eerily similar to a funeral bell heard in childhood.

Accumulated water condensed into a wall in mid-air, but it was churned into millions of water arrows by the shockwave. When they struck the broken walls, they left bowl-sized holes.

Soldiers huddled at the street corner, clutching their blades, their armor torn into shredded metal by the shockwave. A weaker soldier, thrown by the blast, crashed into a millstone, and the blood mist he spat out was blown into a diagonal line.

At this moment, streams of energy emerged around Gu Mo, who floated in the void, transforming into an energy shield that protected him, allowing the massive shockwaves to impact him.

But in the very next instant, a tearing, excruciating pain erupted through his five internal organs, eight extraordinary meridians, and dantian.

This was the price of his forced use of the Limitless Return to Origin energy; the various true qis surged backward and clashed within his meridians and dantian, now completely uncontrollable.

At that moment, Gu Mo's body swayed slightly, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his energy shield thinned, leaving him feeling as helpless as a small boat adrift in a vast, abyssal sea.

Struck by a residual shockwave, he plummeted like a meteor, his back plowing a trail of blood several zhang long across the ground, shattering every flagstone in his path.

He finally crashed into the stone monument at the town entrance, the blood he spat out forming a scarlet arc in the air, mixing with the spraying fragments.

At this moment, a system notification sounded in his mind:

You have slain a six-star wanted criminal.

You have received a six-star reward—the Heavenly Demonic Guqin, with max-level Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon included.

Claim reward?

Meanwhile, in the void, the remnants of Mr. Dongjing's sphere of chaos and Gu Mo's Limitless Return to Origin energy continued to violently tear at each other, dyeing the entire sky a hellish blend of crimson and black. Still, a powerful aftershock transformed into a terrifying water spout, surging towards Gu Mo.

And in that very instant,

Amidst the torrential downpour, Gu Chudong swiftly rushed forward, leaping into the air and shouting, "Blade, come!"

The Gouchen Demonic Blade, lodged in a rock fissure, seemed to sense her call. It instantly disintegrated into countless fragments that flew into the air, then the hilt landed in Gu Chudong's hand, and the blade fragments instantly coalesced.

Gu Chudong gripped the Gouchen Demonic Blade, and with a single downward slash, a mighty blade energy cleaved through the massive wave surging towards Gu Mo.

She quickly landed beside Gu Mo, forcefully plunging the Gouchen Demonic Blade into the ground. A majestic wave of fiery blade energy spread outwards, splitting the water spout in two, sending its surging halves dispersing in opposite directions.

"Brother!"

Gu Chudong hastily retrieved a Creation Pill from the large book box on her back, intending to feed it to Gu Mo.

Gu Mo pushed her hand away, saying, "No need, Chudong. The rest is up to you... I won't play around like this next time!"

He then took out several healing pills he had obtained from Song Danyang of the Pure Yang Temple from the book box and consumed them.

Then, to Gu Chudong's alarm and astonishment,

Fine silver threads suddenly appeared beneath Gu Mo's skin. These threads emerged from his pores, initially as thin as hair, but tautened in the wind like harp strings. Immediately after, silkworm threads began to dance wildly, emitting sharp, metallic clangs as they burst forth.

The silkworm threads grew denser and denser, and the moment the torrential rain abruptly stopped, they wrapped him into a half-zhang-tall jade-colored cocoon, which shimmered with delicate silver light.

Simultaneously,

The rain in the sky gradually ceased, and the chaotic water mist dissipated.

Mr. Dongjing fell like a kite with a broken string, creating a deep scarlet crater in the pile of debris.

At that very instant, four dark figures darted out like specters from the town's ruins. These were Mr. Dongjing's four disciples: two who had accompanied him from Linhai City, and the other two, Lin Jing's former deputies. All were martial arts masters, and they charged directly at Gu Mo.

Pei Yuanzhen and the others were greatly alarmed and rushed over, but they were a step too late; the four individuals had already reached Gu Mo.

However, Gu Chudong stood in their way.

The man leading the charge paid no mind to Gu Chudong. He slapped out a palm, roaring, "Get out of my way..."

The scattered stones, carried by his palm wind, had just flown into the air.

Gu Chudong's fingertips lightly tapped the hilt of the Gouchen Demonic Blade. The blade suddenly vibrated, and several streams of blade energy seeped from the scabbard's seams, like cracks in melting spring ice, yet sharper than lightning. The man's palm hung in mid-air, his fingers still in a gripping posture, but a hair-thin line of blood appeared at his wrist. The next moment, his severed hand fell with a wet thud, and only then did blood well from the wound, staining the broken bricks beneath his feet. The blade light did not pause, immediately slicing through the man's neck.

Immediately after, the water mist condensed on the Gouchen Demonic Blade's edge was dispersed by blade energy. Dozens, even hundreds, of cross-shaped blade energies surged forth like a reverse-flowing galaxy, each carrying the power to cleave mountains and shatter stones. These blade energies did not cut in a straight line; instead, they coalesced into spinning blades. Wherever they passed, the air was churned into a vacuum, and hundreds of spiderweb-like cracks instantly appeared on the ground.

The remaining three men stiffened at that instant, then bloodstains appeared on their throats, wrists, knees, and other areas. Their bodies disintegrated into seven or eight pieces, like disassembled puppets, without even a scream. Their internal organs mixed with rainwater, forming a pool of blood at the base of the wall.

"Who else wants to die?!"

Her voice was like iron dipped in ice.

Seeing the murderous Gu Chudong, Pei Yuanzhen, Chen You, and others who had intended to help were startled and retreated several steps, fearing that the easily agitated Gu Chudong might misunderstand and cut them down as well.

At this point,

They suddenly realized,

Gu Chudong was a top-tier master who, back at the Qingfeng Inn, could overpower Madam Liu, a premier assassin of the martial world.

She had simply been following Gu Mo as his small attendant, often making people overlook her abilities and subconsciously assume she was a young girl who couldn't do anything without Gu Mo.

Mr. Dongjing was dead, his body retrieved by Pei Yuanzhen's men.

Afterwards, Pei Yuanzhen and Chen You immediately began to make arrangements, leaving a small contingent of soldiers to clear the battlefield and tend to the wounded. It was somewhat fortunate that, despite the terrifying battle, there weren't many casualties because Gu Mo had shifted the fight to the air.

With the aftermath handled,

Pei Yuanzhen and Chen You led their army to reinforce Yanluo County.

Gu Chudong had commandeered the carriage Mr. Dongjing had been riding. She removed the carriage roof and placed Gu Mo, who had transformed into an enormous silkworm cocoon, inside the carriage, resembling a colossal egg.

She then drove the carriage away.

Gu Chudong took a detour with Gu Mo to a small mountain outside Yanluo County town and stayed there for a night, only going to the town the next day.

By the time she arrived, Yanluo County had calmed down.

The soldiers of the Seven Absolutes Pavilion, facing the Linhai Commandery garrison, became a disorganized rabble. Lacking unified command, they were easily dispersed. Afterwards, County Lieutenant Chen You went to the coastal defense camp to stabilize the situation.

The major incident caused by the Seven Absolutes Pavilion thus subsided.

However, Pei Yuanzhen felt no joy at all.

The situation had far exceeded his expectations and was completely out of control. He could never have imagined that the Head Manager of the Seven Absolutes Pavilion would be Mr. Dongjing. This matter was no longer merely Lin Jing colluding with the Seven Absolutes Pavilion to embezzle funds and illicitly sell weapons; it could now be classified as a major rebellion case.

Early the next morning,

Pei Yuanzhen traveled light, taking a portion of his men to escort Lin Jing and Mr. Dongjing's body back to Linhai City. At the same time, he sent urgent messages to the Grand Commandery of Tianzhou.

Of course, his first priority was to dispatch messengers to inform his backers: the Pei family and the Imperial Advisor, Zhang Daoyi. Whether this incident would be considered a great merit, a balance of merit and demerit, or a greater demerit than merit, had little to do with the actual facts; it depended on how those behind the scenes would maneuver.

Gu Chudong was uninterested in these matters and had no desire to understand them. Her sole concern was Gu Mo's safety, so she also followed Pei Yuanzhen back to Linhai City, as it was relatively safer and they could even reside directly within the yamen.

When Gu Chudong and Pei Yuanzhen returned to Linhai City,

The capital, hundreds of miles away, was already in an uproar because of the events in Linhai Commandery.

The matter was simply too significant.

If it had merely been Lin Jing colluding with the Seven Absolutes Pavilion, it would have been a simple case of corruption. But now, it involved a renowned great scholar of his generation, Mr. Dongjing, who had recently become famous and was about to be appointed Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

The imperial decree appointing Mr. Dongjing as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince had already been issued.

On the very night the news reached the capital, undercurrents stirred among the various factions.

Pei Buqi, the head of the Pei family and serving as a Vice Minister of Rites, rushed to the Imperial Advisor's residence.

The Imperial Advisor's residence was a famously eccentric anomaly within the Qian Dynasty court. This was because Zhang Daoyi, the Imperial Advisor and a first-rank minister who oversaw the Imperial Observatory, was a Daoist deeply superstitious about feng shui. When he entered official service, he refused the emperor's gift of a prime mansion near the imperial city, opting instead for a small hill in the suburbs, where he built a Daoist temple to serve as his residence.

When Pei Buqi, the head of the Pei family, arrived at the Imperial Advisor's residence, before he could even speak, a young Daoist acolyte directly led him to a large hall. There, he met Zhang Daoyi, the contemporary Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain, famously known as the "Third Under Heaven" but in reality the "Second Under Heaven." He was a short, plump Daoist, currently devouring a bowl of meat all by himself.

"Grandmaster, Grandmaster, disaster has struck!"

Pei Buqi rushed to Zhang Daoyi, saying, "Grandmaster, our seventh one [Pei Yuanzhen] has gotten into serious trouble this time..."

Zhang Daoyi looked up, his mouth glistening with oil, and waved with a smile, "Come, come, sit down quickly." He held up a chicken drumstick, offering it to Pei Buqi, and said, "You're short on money, come eat a chicken drumstick..."

Pei Buqi said helplessly, "Grandmaster, my name is Pei Buqi!"

"I know," Zhang Daoyi said, "Can't afford to lose [Pei Buqi means 'can't afford'] means you're short on money, right? You're over fifty, don't be so flustered. Come, come, eat a drumstick to calm your nerves first. This is a dragon-fed chicken!"

Pei Buqi asked, puzzled, "What's a dragon-fed chicken?"

Zhang Daoyi chuckled, "A chicken fed by a dragon, of course!"

"Where are there dragons? And raising chickens? Grandmaster, you..." Pei Buqi's words trailed off as something suddenly dawned on him. He shivered and stammered, "G-Grandmaster... did... did you steal the emperor's chickens?"

"Heh heh," Zhang Daoyi said, "This is the best-fed chicken under heaven. The meat is excellent, so tender!"

Frightened, Pei Buqi quickly threw the drumstick back into the bowl, saying awkwardly, "I... I wouldn't dare eat it... This chicken is more precious than life itself!"

Zhang Daoyi smiled and said, "Don't worry, the emperor has many chickens in his imperial garden; he won't know if one or two are missing. Besides, even if he did, what's the big deal? A chicken is just a chicken, no matter how well-fed it is!"

Pei Buqi said, "Grandmaster, a chicken will always be a chicken, but not all people can truly be called people. Most lives in this world aren't even worth a feather from this chicken!"

Zhang Daoyi curled his lip and said, "I find people like you most annoying, always spouting inconvenient truths."

Pei Buqi sighed, "Grandmaster, please stop joking around. You must know about the Linhai Commandery incident, right? My seventh [Pei Yuanzhen], your other disciple's grandson, he's in trouble!"

Zhang Daoyi waved his hand and said, "What trouble? The mission is complete, isn't it? The Seven Absolutes Pavilion has been severely damaged, the official who colluded with them has been caught, and finding their main hideout is just around the corner!"

Pei Buqi said, "Grandmaster, let's not pretend to be confused. The problem is Mr. Dongjing. The fact that Mr. Dongjing is the Head Manager of the Seven Absolutes Pavilion is the biggest issue here! He was appointed Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince by His Majesty. Isn't this tantamount to slapping His Majesty's face directly? And he was even killed!"

Zhang Daoyi chuckled, "Appointing the Head Manager as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, isn't that His Majesty's own problem? What does it have to do with your seventh one? The one who killed Mr. Dongjing was Gu Mo, the Great Hero of Yunzhou, which also has nothing to do with your seventh one. What are you so afraid of?!"

Pei Buqi said, "This isn't about whose fault it is, but rather that the person was chosen by His Majesty. Even if he were a ghost or a demon, we couldn't expose him; only His Majesty could. Now, it's like our seventh one slapped His Majesty in the face! If the man hadn't died and was left for His Majesty to deal with, it would be better, but now it's truly problematic!"

Zhang Daoyi waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. Someone will be more anxious than you. They'll not only take the blame themselves but will also go to great lengths to ensure your seventh one's protection. Just watch, it won't be long before your seventh one gets promoted!"

Pei Buqi asked, puzzled, "Grandmaster, who are you talking about?"

"The Fifth Prince, Prince Ji, Li Zhongde," Zhang Daoyi said. "As everyone knows, Lin Jing is a distant maternal uncle of Li Zhongde and a loyal confidant. If Li Zhongde colluded with the Seven Absolutes Pavilion to embezzle funds and illicitly sell weapons, who ultimately bears the responsibility?"

Pei Buqi said, "It won't be traced back to Prince Ji; Lin Jing will definitely take the fall."

Zhang Daoyi waved his hand and said, "Whether it can be traced back to Prince Ji isn't important. What matters is Lin Jing's identity; the Emperor already knows. If this matter is exposed, Prince Ji can pretend ignorance and disassociate himself, avoiding all responsibility. However, he will lose the Emperor's favor.

Prince Ji isn't smart, but he has clever people around him who will certainly advise him to confess his mistakes to the Emperor. But what mistake will he confess? Naturally, he can't admit to secretly manipulating Lin Jing to cooperate with the Seven Absolutes Pavilion. Instead, he will confess to failing his supervisory duties regarding his maternal relatives. Then comes the main act: admitting his poor judgment in recommending Mr. Dongjing without proper verification. He must bear the blame for this error of poor judgment on behalf of His Majesty to offset the impact of Lin Jing's actions on him."

After speaking, Zhang Daoyi took a bite of meat and said, "Now do you understand why I said he would go to great lengths to protect your seventh one?"

Pei Buqi nodded and said, "Because he lost this battle, he has to pay a price. His strong protection and promotion of my seventh one are the concessions for admitting defeat. Otherwise, our faction would seize this opportunity, using Lin Jing to relentlessly pursue him. While it might not completely ruin him, it would certainly cause him endless trouble."

Zhang Daoyi placed a chicken drumstick in the bowl in front of Pei Buqi and said, "So, relax and eat your drumstick. Your seventh one will be perfectly fine. However, this incident has also served as a reminder for me. While neutrality is good and avoids offending people, it also has a drawback: when other factions need a scapegoat, neutral parties are often the first to be considered."

Pei Buqi asked, "Grandmaster, have you set your sights on a particular prince and decided to place your bets?"

"Not at all," Zhang Daoyi said. "Our Longhu Mountain sect's policy has always been consistent: we do not get involved."

Pei Buqi asked, puzzled, "Then why did you just say it served as a reminder for you?"

"It *was* a reminder for me," Zhang Daoyi said. "A reminder that it's been too long since I've taught anyone a lesson, and now everyone dares to casually cross my people. The Fifth Prince, he has explanations to give to His Majesty, but my explanation here won't be so easy to accept!"

Pei Buqi panicked, "Grandmaster, please don't act recklessly! That's Prince Ji, he cannot be killed..."

Zhang Daoyi rolled his eyes and said, "What are you thinking? This is the capital, right under the Emperor's nose. Could I commit murder here, let alone against a prominent prince...?"

Pei Buqi breathed a sigh of relief. However, before he could fully relax, he heard Zhang Daoyi continue, "After he finishes court tomorrow, I'll just go and break his legs!"

Pei Buqi: "..."

Meanwhile, in the capital, at Prince Ji's mansion.

Prince Ji, Li Zhongde, was in a furious rage, smashing everything he could find in the room. Four or five maids had been beaten to death. It wasn't until his uncle, Lin Guoyu, the head of the Lin family, arrived that Li Zhongde finally calmed down.

Li Zhongde clenched his fists and said fiercely, "Uncle, I want to kill! I want to kill that Pei Yuanzhen, I want to kill that Gu Mo, kill Chen You..."

Lin Guoyu looked at his nephew, then at the bodies of the maids lying on the ground, almost beaten into pulp, and felt a wave of helplessness. If they hadn't constantly found ways to cover it up, his nephew's short-tempered and bloodthirsty nature would have long since ruined his reputation among the common people.

"You cannot kill anyone now!" Lin Guoyu stated.

Li Zhongde suppressed his fury and asked, "Why?"

"Not only can you not kill anyone, but you must also take responsibility for this matter. Furthermore, you must praise Pei Yuanzhen and strongly advocate for his promotion."

Lin Guoyu then explained their current predicament, saying, "The Pei clan follows Longhu Mountain. You've already offended the Longhu Mountain faction this time. If they relentlessly pursue you, you'll be in serious trouble. If you still dare to kill people, then you..."

"Do they dare to kill me?" Li Zhongde roared.

"Not that far," Lin Guoyu said, "However, you will forever be denied the position of Crown Prince."

Hearing this, Li Zhongde finally calmed down and said in a low voice, "Alright, I won't kill Pei Yuanzhen. And I won't kill Chen You, who has now openly used this opportunity to align with the Longhu Mountain faction. But that Gu Mo, I can kill him, right? He's just a common martial artist. He's the main culprit! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have suffered such great losses. Mr. Dongjing would have become Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and my influence would have greatly increased. It's all because of that Gu Mo, that damned blind man!"

Lin Guoyu looked at Li Zhongde, who was visibly struggling to suppress his murderous intent. Knowing that Li Zhongde had reached his limit and further suppression might lead to a backlash, he decided to temporarily pacify him and persuade him later. He nodded and said, "That Gu Mo is just a martial artist. While he has some reputation, he's still just a martial artist. Killing him wouldn't cause much trouble. However, this person is highly skilled in martial arts..."

Li Zhongde said grimly, "There is never a shortage of masters in this world, nor a shortage of ways to kill masters!"

Meanwhile, at Prince Qi's mansion on the other side of the city, the Third Prince, Li Zhongyi, was drinking with his strategist, laughing heartily.

"I suddenly find that Gu Mo isn't so annoying after all!" Li Zhongyi said. "Although he's thwarted my plans twice in a row, overall, he wasn't specifically targeting me. He truly acts randomly, hahahaha... Old Fifth... That fellow Old Fifth is in for it now. Not only has he lost a coastal defense camp, but he'll also be severely reprimanded by Father Emperor. He probably has no idea how much money he'll need to borrow to fill the hole!"

The strategist looked at Li Zhongyi, speechless, and desperately wanted to retort. He wondered who had been furiously seeking trouble with Gu Mo just a while ago, and now thought Gu Mo was a decent person.

"Your Highness," the strategist said, "Therefore, there's truly no need for us to make an enemy of this Gu Mo. Let's just consider the previous two incidents as if they never happened. This person is a simple, pure martial artist who just enjoys being a hired blade. In the future, if we encounter him, we should keep our distance. He will leave once his task is done and won't affect us. Given his personality, it's unlikely he would ever serve under anyone, so there's no question of him being our enemy!"

Li Zhongyi nodded and said, "I certainly won't take action against Gu Mo, but Old Fifth definitely will. That guy is unhinged. Although he puts on a good act in front of Father Emperor, in reality, he's a madman, prone to fits of rage and bloodlust. I even suspect the Seven Absolutes Pavilion cooperated with him because they thought he was problematic and easy to manipulate."

The strategist smiled slightly, not taking the bait.

Li Zhongyi took a sip of wine and said, "Sir, at tomorrow's morning court, candidates will surely be nominated to investigate the details of this case in Linhai Commandery. This is a good opportunity. The coastal defense camps in the four Huaihai commanderies are now vacant, and there's also a chance to show goodwill to the Longhu Mountain faction. Can we seize this opportunity?"

The strategist shook his head slightly and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult. The Ministry of War had already planned to send officials to the four Huaihai commanderies a while ago to investigate military discipline, and the inspection candidate had also been decided: Ye Jinglan, the newly appointed Director of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau last year. Now that this incident has occurred, there will certainly be an additional appointment, but the matter of Mr. Dongjing being the Head Manager of the Seven Absolutes Pavilion is too significant. The primary officials will definitely be the Vice Ministers, so we don't need to recommend anyone. As for Ye Jinglan as a deputy, there's no further discussion. Regarding the Ministry of War's arrangements, we dare not make arbitrary recommendations."

Li Zhongyi sighed, "I've met that Ye Jinglan a few times; he's a very capable person. It's a pity, I don't know what he was thinking, to actually join Old Second's faction, just for Old Second's empty title? It's been so long since he returned, and Father Emperor hasn't even mentioned his promise from back then!"

The strategist said, "Your Highness, everyone has their own aspirations. This Ye Jinglan is indeed capable, but he has too much of a 'jianghu' [martial world] disposition. If he were truly to serve under you, he might become a nuisance, clashing with other colleagues and easily inciting internal conflicts!"

"That's true!" Li Zhongyi chuckled and said, "Let's talk about Old Fifth instead. I hear Gu Mo was severely injured. Will Old Fifth take this opportunity to kill him?"