"You’re talking nonsense!"

A middle-aged man snapped his head up and roared, "Second Young Master, you can’t just make baseless accusations!"

"Let him speak!"

Yu Xinru, who had been screaming just a moment before, shrieked again, "Zhong Tianbao! You tell me, where did you see it? When did you see it? And who else saw it!"

"It was just a few days ago, on the night of the seventh. I was eating at the Rongfang Inn and saw it on my way back."

Zhong Tianbao wasn’t flustered in the slightest. He answered with perfect composure, "Besides me, the First Young Master’s men, Lin Feilai and Wang Bao, saw it too."

"Where are Lin Feilai and Wang Bao?" Zhong Zhengtang turned and scanned the surroundings.

A round-faced, middle-aged man standing outside the doors suddenly trembled. He lowered his head and stammered, "H-Here... Wang Bao is here!"

WHOOSH!

A sudden gust of wind erupted.

Yu Xinru thrust her hand out and, with a remote grasp, yanked Wang Bao into the hall, throwing him to the floor.

"Speak! What did you see!"

Yu Xinru shrieked, "Is what Zhong Tianbao said true? Did that bitch Liu Ying hire people from the Jia Family to kill my son? To kill your master!?"

"I... I..." Wang Bao knelt on the ground, sweat pouring down like rain.

"Wang Bao, think carefully before you speak!"

The middle-aged man who had been glaring at Zhong Tianbao said with a grim face, "False accusations will cost you your life."

"You shut up!"

Yu Xinru pointed at him and shrieked, "Say one more word, and I’ll kill you first!"

The middle-aged man pursed his lips and ignored her.

"Wang Bao, just tell the truth."

Zhong Tianbao said calmly, "When Lin Feilai gets back, he’ll say the same thing."

"That’s right. Just say what you know and what you saw." Zhong Zhengtang glanced at Zhong Tianbao and said in a deep voice, "Just tell the truth. There’s nothing to be afraid of."

"Yes... yes."

Wang Bao wiped his sweat and answered, trembling, "The... the Second Young Master... is telling the truth. Princess Consort Ying’s subordinate, Xie Ben, has been in contact with people from the Jia and Xiang Families for some time now. We... we were following the First Young Master’s orders to tail them in secret."

"Impossible!"

The middle-aged man who had fallen silent shouted again, "That’s impossible! Don’t you dare spout non—"

"I’m not spouting nonsense! Lin Feilai knows too."

Wang Bao quickly cut in, "Whether it’s true or not, just summon Xie Ben. We’ll know once we question him."

"Go get Xie Ben at once."

Zhong Zhengtang ordered coldly.

"Yes!"

A Golden Armor Guard in the corner acknowledged the order and vanished.

"You people... are truly interesting."

The old woman, who had been silent until now, glanced at the middle-aged man, then at Zhong Zhengtang. Her gaze finally landed on Zhong Tianbao, lingering for a few extra moments with profound depth.

Then, with a flick of her sleeve, she turned and left.

The others also began to sneak glances at Zhong Tianbao.

Zhong Tianbao stood tall and straight, his calm gaze fixed forward.

But inside, he was overjoyed, ecstatic, so excited he could barely keep from laughing out loud.

Zhong Tianlang was bedridden, with no telling when he would wake.

Zhong Tianhu was killed in the street by the Fu family.

The King of Lie Mountain had three legitimate sons: Tianhu, Tianbao, and Tianlang.

Now, two of them were out of the picture, leaving only him, Zhong Tianbao.

’When it comes to the title of Crown Prince, who else could they possibly choose!?’

Zhong Tianbao was so happy, he could hardly contain his excitement.

Zhong Tianlang and his mother, Zhong Tianhu and his mother—they had fought for so many years.

And now, they had both suffered devastating losses, with him reaping all the benefits!

’Hahahahaha...’

...

"Tianhu!"

A grief-stricken cry came from outside. Wiping away tears, Liu Ying rushed into the hall.

Seeing Zhong Tianhu’s body, she was overcome with sorrow. "Tianhu," she wept, "how could you have been so careless, to have been harmed as well? I will get revenge for..."

WHOOSH!

A gust of wind tore through the air.

Yu Xinru shot forward like an arrow, lunging at Liu Ying. Her fingers, like sharp claws glinting with a cold light, aimed straight for Liu Ying’s face.

"You’re the murderer, you bitch! You son of a bitch, how dare you shed crocodile tears? I’ll kill you!"

SHING SHING SHING~

The sharp claws tore through the air, closing in on Liu Ying.

"Yu Xinru, what are you doing? Have you gone mad!"

Liu Ying roared as she retreated, "Your son died, what does that have to do with me? My son was harmed too—"

"You dare say that!"

Yu Xinru refused to listen to any explanation, screaming as she attacked madly.

"How dare you!"

Liu Ying was enraged now too. With a flick of her wrist, two short daggers appeared in her hands, and she met Yu Xinru’s attack.

"CLANG CLANG CLANG~"

BAM! BAM! BAM~

Thuds, clashes, and screams erupted as the fight moved from the hall entrance out into the courtyard.

The curses of Liu Ying and Yu Xinru echoed throughout the Prince’s Mansion.

"Bitch, bitch! Die!"

"You whore, you die! Hiring an assassin to kill my son! Die, just die!"

"Get them! Everyone, on my order, kill that woman named Yu!"

"The one named Liu is the one who’ll die! Everyone, on my order, kill them!"

"..."

Yu Xinru and Liu Ying shrieked and roared, ordering their subordinates to attack the other side.

The two factions immediately broke into a chaotic brawl within the Prince’s Mansion.

Shouts, roars, and agonizing screams filled the air.

"Stop!"

"All of you, stop this at once!"

Zhong Zhengtang roared repeatedly, trying to stop the fighting in a furious rage.

But it was no use.

Yu Xinru and Liu Ying were fighting to kill.

Their respective subordinates paid no attention to Zhong Zhengtang’s orders.

The vast Prince’s Mansion instantly descended into chaos.

Seeing this, Zhong Zhengtang had no choice but to charge into the battle between Yu Xinru and Liu Ying to stop them himself.

"Both of you, stop! I said stop—"

PFFT~

SMACK!

Zhong Zhengtang, who hadn’t used much force, was slapped aside, stumbling back until he hit a wall.

In the next moment, Zhong Zhengtang finally snapped.

"I said, STOP!"

BZZZZ~~

The might of the Heroic Body Realm erupted, sweeping over everything.

The two brawling factions instantly froze.

However, their eyes still burned with murderous intent and blazing fury.

In the corner, Zhong Tianbao smirked to himself.

’Go on, fight. Kill each other. It’d be best if both sides were wiped out!’

’Hahahahaha...’

...

...

「Outer City.」

In a remote, dilapidated courtyard.

’Sounds of fighting from the Prince’s Mansion? Liu Ying and Zhong Tianlang’s mother are leading their people to kill each other?’ Gu Zheng processed the mental message from Jia Shisan, and the corners of his mouth turned up.

It was all working out perfectly!

After Fu Changying succeeded, he left the city directly, taking the fastest route back to Kang Country.

Jia Shisan remained in the city to monitor the situation at the Prince’s Mansion.

Now that news had arrived, he could rest easy.

The two Princess Consorts were at each other’s throats. It was too late for any reconciliation.

Thinking of this, Gu Zheng turned with satisfaction to look at Blind Chen on the floor.

The latter was prostrate on the ground, his face a mixture of bewilderment and shock.

"What, you can’t accept that you’ve become my Seal Slave?" Gu Zheng asked calmly.

After suppressing Blind Chen with his might, Gu Zheng hadn’t killed him. Instead, he had implanted a Nether Heart Slave Seal in him.

He had even placed a Slave Seal on a Demon Fiend, so what was a mere Blind Chen?

"No... no, this subordinate wouldn’t dare."

Blind Chen remained kneeling and shook his head, explaining, "This subordinate is just shocked that Master’s Spiritual Contract Seal is so powerful. It was able to ignore the restriction in my Divine Soul and succeed on the first try."

"A Divine Soul restriction?" Gu Zheng heard this and asked curiously, "Your soul has been tampered with?"

"Replying to Master, yes, it has been tampered with. We did it ourselves."

Blind Chen explained, "After formally joining, every one of us in the ’Medicine God’ has a restriction placed on our Divine Soul. This not only increases longevity and boosts Soul Power, but also prevents others from using Soul Search to interrogate us, which would expose our identities and the organization’s strongholds."

"Of course, this restriction is also a blade at our throats. If triggered, it’s a fatal blow that will claim our lives!"

"I see," Gu Zheng said, realization dawning on him.

A Divine Soul restriction was indeed formidable.

Unfortunately for him, the level and subtlety of the Nether Heart Slave Seal were not something an ordinary restriction could defend against.

"Get up."

Gu Zheng raised a hand and continued to ask, "Is your real name actually Blind Chen?"

"Thank you, Master."

Blind Chen stood up and replied respectfully, "This subordinate’s real name is Chen Beihan. My current physical age is two hundred and thirty-five."

"Physical age?" Gu Zheng’s interest was piqued. ’Does your organization also have an Ancestral Land? A ’Pupa Pool’?’

Chen Beihan wasn’t even at the Super Body Realm, yet he had lived for 235 years.

Moreover, based on his aura, there wasn’t the slightest sign of decline.

Although the maximum lifespan for the Super Body Realm was one hundred and eighty years, it wasn’t a problem to live for two hundred with the help of other methods.

The maximum lifespan for a Heroic Body was three hundred and sixty years. With other methods, living to four hundred wasn’t an issue either.

But the members of the Medicine God Organization were even more exceptional than other Super Bodies.

"Yes."

Chen Beihan answered respectfully, "This subordinate’s actual age is over two thousand years. The great millennial change... this subordinate has already experienced it twice."

"Our ’Medicine God’ organization has existed for five thousand years. We have our own Spirit Realm, which is the same as the Noble Families’ Ancestral Lands."

"We also have our own ’Pupa Pool’. Before the millennial change arrives, we all slumber in the ’Pupa Pool’."

Passing a thousand years with the help of a "Pupa Pool" was something an ordinary person could hardly imagine.

But it was like cryosleep-chamber technology, an essential technique for interstellar travel.

Spanning distances of light-years that would take decades, or even centuries, to traverse.

The "Pupa Pool" was truly miraculous.

One could be frozen for a thousand years without any effect on their consciousness, thoughts, or power.

Gu Zheng had never seen one himself.

And the fact that the "Medicine God" organization had a five-thousand-year legacy was just as astonishing!

They emerged once every thousand years, just like the Noble Families.

The organizations that Jin Yanzi and He Zheng belonged to, as well as the other two, were clearly the same.

Before the Celestial Change, they would hide in their Spirit Realms, sleeping in the "Pupa Pools."

Only when the Celestial Change arrived would they emerge to seek opportunities and gain benefits!

...

...

「Nanyun Prefecture.」

In a mountain forest.

BZZZ~

Lin Feilai, who was rushing along, suddenly raised a hand. "Stop!"

SHH!

The group of black-clad figures hurrying through the forest came to an instant halt.

Lin Feilai took out a vibrating Communication Token. After reading the message, his expression became incredibly complicated.

"What is it, Chief?" a subordinate asked quietly upon seeing his expression.

Lin Feilai was silent.

His hands clenched into fists, his teeth grinding together.

After a long moment, he sighed. "We don’t need to go to Qingshi County anymore."

"Huh?"

The subordinate was surprised. "Is that an order from the First Young Master? Are there other instructions...?"

"The First Young Master is dead."

Lin Feilai cut him off, his face devoid of expression. "The First Young Master was killed in the streets by an assassin hired by Liu Ying, working with a spy from Kang Country!"