Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 45: Shangguan Clan

Luo River.

The Imperial City of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Two thousand three hundred and sixty-nine years ago, Emperor Qian Shihuang of the Great Qian fought across the north and south, and eventually unified Great Qian, establishing his capital at Luo River.

Less than ten miles from the sprawling Imperial Palace was the residence of the Prime Minister.

At this time, within the Prime Minister’s residence.

"Bang!"

The imposing figure of Prime Minister Shangguan Yong, hit the circular table made of blue and white jade stone in front of him with a palm. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Instantly, the table made of blue and white jade stone exploded, shattering into countless uneven pieces.

The others standing in the pavilion all hurriedly lowered their heads, showing a look of terror.

"Damn it..."

"Damn it all!"

Shangguan Yong trembled with rage, veins bulging on his forehead, his face twisting into a fearsome and ferocious expression.

The people around him shivered uncontrollably, not daring to utter a word, not even daring to make a sound.

The man before them was the current Prime Minister, one who stood below only one man and above tens of thousands!

In the past, this Prime Minister always held an air of authority, with rarely a smile seen on his face.

Similarly, it was rare to see anger on his face.

It seemed as if he always carried an air of commanding respect without showing anger.

But today, this always-stoic Prime Minister was consumed by towering rage.

Not for any other reason, but because his only son—Shangguan Xuan, had perished in Tianjue Forest.

Before the age of thirty, Shangguan Yong devoted himself to practicing martial arts, quickly making a name for himself due to his exceptional talent.

No one expected that, after turning thirty, Shangguan Yong would suddenly begin to study the literary arts.

Just as in martial arts, he also demonstrated astonishing talent in the literary realm.

At the age of thirty-five, he emerged as the top scholar in the Imperial Examination, becoming the Great Qian Dynasty’s top literati, and was taken into the Imperial Court by the current Emperor of Great Qian.

With his deep understanding in martial arts, he became the Imperial Tutor to the Crown Prince and also an Imperial Bodyguard.

Shangguan Yong was extremely adept at reading people and employing strategies, not an ordinary individual by any means. Seizing several opportunities and displaying his loyalty and bravery, he rose from an Imperial Bodyguard to the commander of the Imperial City’s Forbidden Army, later was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and after gaining the Empress Dowager’s favor, at the age of forty-eight, he was helped onto the position of Prime Minister.

It was only after becoming Prime Minister that Shangguan Yong married and took concubines, whereupon Shangguan Xuan was then born.

It can absolutely be said that Shangguan Yong was blessed with a son in his later years.

Therefore, Shangguan Yong was extremely doting on this only son of his.

The Shangguan Clan was originally a large family in the Imperial City, a millennium-old noble house.

The old ancestor of the Shangguan Clan had followed Emperor Qian Shihuang in expanding the territory, meriting great contributions.

However, along the way, the Shangguan Clan experienced several declines, and it was not until Shangguan Yong’s generation that they could be said to have regained the glory of their ancestors.

Naturally, Shangguan Yong was the key figure allowing the Shangguan Clan to return to glory.

Although Shangguan Yong had never served as the head of the Shangguan Clan, his status and authority within the clan far exceeded that of the current head.

For this reason, Shangguan Xuan was designated as the Young Master of the Shangguan Clan.

But today, Shangguan Xuan had faced a piece of tragic news that almost caused him to collapse!

His son, blessed in his later years, Shangguan Xuan, had been killed in Tianjue City!

And the person who killed his son, was merely a youth from a minor family in Tianjue City?

"What on earth happened?"

"Shangguan Hai, you are the Lord of Tianjue City, and my son died in Tianjue Forest, why don’t you go and die?"

Shangguan Yong looked at Shangguan Hai with seething anger.

Shangguan Hai hung his head low and hunched over, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Although he was the Lord of Tianjue City, his position was only because his elder brother Shangguan Yong had absolute influence within the Imperial Court, which had allowed him to take on this post.

Therefore, in front of Shangguan Yong, Shangguan Hai did not dare to show the slightest bit of arrogance.

"Big brother, I was wrong... I truly didn’t know things would turn out this way!"

Shangguan Hai also regretted deeply, "During this time, I have been condensing a False Elixir, and it was a critical moment. You knew about this, so, I didn’t take action myself..."

A Great Martial Master of the Divine Might Realm, one step further, would be the Martial Dao Master who condenses the Golden Core.

But!

Before condensing a true Golden Core, there is a vague Realm of the False Elixir.

And now, Shangguan Hai was in this realm.

He was not truly in the Golden Core Realm but was at the most crucial time, so during this period, he needed to conserve his Spiritual Origin and would not act rashly.

In Tianjue City, when Qin Qing assaulted Mansion Soldiers and fought his way out of the encirclement, it was only at the last moment, when he killed Lin Feng and was about to fly away with the help of the Wings of the Firmament, that Shangguan Hai made a move.

As for what followed, the ambush and pursuit of Qin Qing in Tianjue Forest, Shangguan Hai did not personally take the field.

"You tell me, what exactly happened!"

Shangguan Yong lowered his voice, trying his best to calm himself down.

"Why at all! My son Shangguan Xuan, why did he have a grudge against that Qin Qing! And how could that Qin Qing kill my Xuan!"

Shangguan Yong was trembling all over.

"It’s..."

Shangguan Hai quickly responded and then briefly recounted the entire incident.

To any bystander, it would be apparent that the fault lay with Shangguan Xuan.

Qin Qing had also been pushed to the limit, and even if he had killed Shangguan Xuan, it was only after being pushed to the brink.

But after Shangguan Yong listened to the account, he did not bother to distinguish between right and wrong at all.

"You’re saying that Qin Qing actually killed nearly ten of our Shangguan Clan’s Great Martial Masters from the Divine Might Realm? With his own power, killed hundreds of Mansion Soldiers?" Shangguan Yong’s eyes flickered.

"Yes! It’s my fault, I underestimated that Qin Qing’s strength. Otherwise..." Shangguan Hai said with guilt.

"Hehe... it turns out he’s a young talent," Shangguan Yong ridiculed with a cold laugh, "Talent or not, he must die for killing my Xuan!"

"Now, where is he? You didn’t let him get away, did you?"

"No!" Shangguan Hai said, "He killed my nephew Shangguan Xuan, naturally he has an irreconcilable blood feud with our Shangguan Clan. He will never escape within the lands of the Great Qian Dynasty!"

"Then where is he now?" Shangguan Yong lowered his voice, but it was icy and piercing.

"He...," Shangguan Hai’s brows trembled slightly, "He... entered the Great Qian Martial Institute!"

"The Great Qian Martial Institute? What of it?" Shangguan Yong’s thick brows rose.

Shangguan Hai continued, "That Qin Qing... has already been taken as a closed-door disciple by Bai Qiuhe of the Great Qian Martial Institute... so..."

"Bai Qiuhe?" Shangguan Yong frowned, "He took that boy named Qin Qing as his closed-door disciple?"

"Yes! And it was Jiang Ruorong, another disciple of Bai Qiuhe, who brought Qin Qing from Tianjue Forest to Luochuan," said Shangguan Hai.

"So it seems! Bai Qiuhe wants to protect that cursed child, Qin Qing?" Shangguan Yong’s expression became even colder, "Hehe... he wants to protect him, but can he manage it?"

"Big brother, if you want someone dead in Luochuan, could Bai Qiuhe possibly protect him?" Shangguan Hai said.

"Hmph!" Shangguan Yong snorted coldly, "I want him dead, what’s the difference between that and squishing a dirty bug or a rotten shrimp? I don’t want him to die too easily, I want you to capture him alive at all costs, immediately, and bring him to me. I want to use the most vicious methods to make him beg for life but unable to beg for death!"