The carriage had already left Nanyao City.
Chongxuan Sheng lowered the curtain and looked at the old man across from him, grinning. "Being more handsome than Chongxuan Zun goes without saying. A real man doesn't judge victory by looks, does he?"
The short, plump old man smiled kindly. "It's about the skin."
He turned to look at Jiang Wang and repeated, "It's about the skin."
Jiang Wang nodded in agreement.
Chongxuan Sheng was completely unfazed. He took the opportunity to introduce the old man to Jiang Wang. "This is my own grand-uncle. He's always doted on me since I was little because of my handsome looks. Don't let his kind appearance fool you—back in the day, he was called the Fierce Butcher! His fearsome name alone was enough to stop children from crying at night!"
The Fierce Butcher, Chongxuan Chuliang, was the youngest brother of the current head of the Chongxuan clan.
If you mentioned Chongxuan Chuliang today, most people might not remember him.
But bring up the great war between Qi and Xia thirty years ago, and there was no one who hadn't heard of the name "Fierce Butcher."
That battle was what cemented Qi's dominance in the Eastern Domain.
As Qi's most formidable challenger in the Eastern Domain, the Xia army had extraordinary fighting strength.
The two nations clashed, and the war dragged on for four months.
In the end, it was Chongxuan Chuliang who led a flanking force deep behind enemy lines, slaughtering and razing cities, cutting off supplies and conquering territory, throwing the Xia rear into utter chaos.
That battle shattered the once-mighty Xia, which had spanned both the Eastern and Southern Domains, reducing it to a crippled shadow. Xia was forced to cede vast tracts of land, abandon numerous vassal states, and retreat completely into the Southern Domain.
Had the Central Domain's Jing not intervened to maintain the balance, Xia would have ceased to exist.
And because of his brutal command style in that war, Chongxuan Chuliang earned the title "Fierce Butcher" ever since.
Perhaps it was because they were both a bit plump with squinty eyes, but among the younger generation, Chongxuan Sheng—who had lost his father young—had always been the old man's favorite.
Chongxuan Sheng and Chongxuan Zun were both grandsons of the current patriarch, Chongxuan Yunbo. By blood, they were cousins.
However, Chongxuan Sheng's father had died early, putting him at a先天 disadvantage compared to Chongxuan Zun.
But in Chongxuan Sheng's father's generation, there had been almost no outstanding talents. Otherwise, the right of succession wouldn't have fallen to the generation of Chongxuan Zun and Chongxuan Sheng to compete over.
Chongxuan Zun's father was no exception. He still held power and status within the clan, but further advancement was impossible. Still, he had long since made his peace with it and was now fully focused on pushing his son to the top.
Most of the clan elders remained ambiguous in their stance. The only one who openly and unequivocally supported Chongxuan Sheng was this very Chongxuan Chuliang.
Back in Nanyao City, a single word from him had forced the Inner Palace realm eunuch at Jiang Wuyong's side to retreat. It showed that even though time had passed, the Fierce Butcher's authority had not been entirely forgotten.
"Senior, greetings." Jiang Wang addressed him respectfully. He didn't have a direct impression of the old man's fearsome reputation— he just found him rather amiable and approachable.
Chongxuan Chuliang smiled warmly, seemingly quite appreciative of Jiang Wang. "Sheng'er's eye for people isn't bad. You're decent. Your swordwork has some flavor."
For a powerhouse of his caliber, "some flavor" was already a generous compliment.
Jiang Wang accepted it gracefully.
Sharing a carriage with a master of this level was a rare opportunity, so he took the chance to ask about difficulties in his cultivation.
Chongxuan Chuliang answered each one with patience, greatly benefiting Jiang Wang.
After their discussion on cultivation, the carriage had already traveled quite a distance.
Chongxuan Sheng was heading straight to Handan, the Qi capital, to continue unfinished business.
Jiang Wang thought about it and felt that after his battle with Jiang Wuyong, appearing in Handan right now wouldn't be ideal.
Even if Jiang Wuyong didn't want to settle old scores, seeing him around every day might be hard to resist.
So he took the initiative to ask Chongxuan Sheng, "Now that my sword is forged and I need time to hone my techniques, breaking through in cultivation won't happen anytime soon. Sitting around doing nothing is useless—is there anything I can help with?"
His relationship with Chongxuan Sheng wasn't a simple retainer arrangement. With the partnership through Lian Que, they were bound even tighter—shared in fortune and disgrace.
Chongxuan Sheng didn't stand on ceremony with him. Taking Jiang Wang to Handan now would cause more trouble than help.
He thought carefully and said, "There actually is something. My Chongxuan clan has an azure stone mine in the Yang Kingdom. Occasionally, it produces some precious azure cloud stone. When we first acquired the mine, we estimated there was enough for thirty years of mining. But for some reason, after only five years, it seems to have been depleted—the output has dropped sharply. This is one of the matters I'm currently handling. If you're interested, you could represent me and make a trip to the Yang Kingdom to look into it."
As one of the world's great powers, Qi not only possessed vast territory but also had numerous vassal states across the land.
These vassal states paid tribute to Qi each year. When Qi went to war, they were obligated to send troops as well.
In return, Qi was obligated to protect these nations from foreign aggression.
The Yang Kingdom was one of Qi's vassal states.
It was only natural for a prominent clan like the Chongxuan to have business interests in neighboring countries, especially vassal states like Yang.
A mine with a thirty-year supply suddenly dropping in output—there was definitely something fishy going on.
Azure cloud stone was certainly excellent material for forging magical artifacts, but it was merely a byproduct of azure stone, and its yield wasn't high. In terms of value among the assets Chongxuan Sheng was managing, it might not have been significant before. But now, with the Lian Que connection, its value was entirely different.
In Chongxuan Sheng's eyes, that wasn't just ore anymore—it was already standardized magical artifacts ready to be made!
That was why he took this matter so seriously and sent Jiang Wang to handle it.
Of course, from another perspective, while Jiang Wang's strength was already respectable, his role in Qi's internal power struggles was limited. His true value lay in his qualification as a Divine Art Inner Palace cultivator—in his future potential.
Building a reputation and then leaving to accumulate strength elsewhere, then returning once his potential was realized—that was the winning strategy.
Jiang Wang agreed without much hesitation. To him, both Qi and Yang were foreign lands—there was no difference where he went.
He had promised to help Chongxuan Sheng fight his battle, so there was nothing more to say. He would do his utmost.
"Oh, right." Chongxuan Sheng suddenly remembered something. "On your way to the Yang Kingdom, you'll pass through Fengxian Commandery. I've received word that Zhang Yong of the Fengxian Zhang clan was recently wiped out—his entire family slaughtered. You two got along pretty well, didn't you? You could drop by to offer your condolences."
The implication was for Jiang Wang to help recruit Zhang Yong, but this didn't need to be spelled out. Jiang Wang understood.
"Wiped out?" Jiang Wang recalled the shy, reserved young man and frowned. "Have they figured out who did it?"
Chongxuan Sheng shook his head. "Not yet."
"Alright, I understand." Jiang Wang fell into thought.
The Fengxian Zhang clan was already in decline—who would harbor such deep hatred against them?
And to commit such an atrocity right when a talent emerged from Fengxian Zhang, when there was a chance for their revival?
Right there on the main road, a carriage split off from the Chongxuan convoy.
Wheels rolling, it carried Jiang Wang straight toward Fengxian Commandery.