Tianhai City, Liu family.
Liu Dongjian sat on the sofa with a sombre face. At this year’s business alliance gathering, among the four great families, only the Liu family had suffered devastating losses. Not only did they lose a peak ninth-layer Acquired Realm ancient martial artist, he had also lost two sons.
Even after so many days, Liu Dongjian still could not fully accept it. The three great tragedies of life are losing one’s father young, losing one’s wife in middle age, and losing one’s children in old age. Yet he, still only middle-aged, had already lost two sons. The crushing blow had aged him twenty years overnight.
Moreover, after the complete failure of the operation at the business alliance banquet, he now had to face questioning from within the family. The elders believed he, Liu Dongjian, was unfit to remain patriarch because he could not lead the Liu family to greater glory.
Although he had suppressed them with ruthless methods, Liu Dongjian knew that suppression alone could not solve the problem. To truly resolve it, he had to make the Liu family prosper.
Liu Dongjian understood full well that the person responsible for all of this was Li Feng, the man he now hated to the bone. Back at the Imperial Hotel, the Lord had warned them to be wary of Li Feng. At the time he had been cautious, but he had not truly taken it to heart. If he had been a little more careful then, things would never have reached this point.
“Li Feng, I will surely kill you.”
Murderous intent flashed coldly in Liu Dongjian’s eyes. As long as Li Feng lived, his heart would never find peace. Yet an Innate Realm expert stood beside Li Feng, causing every plan to kill him to die in the womb.
Liu Dongjian felt unwilling, yet helpless.
Tap, tap, tap…
At that moment, the sound of footsteps approached. Soon an elder appeared in the hall and came to Liu Dongjian’s side. “Patriarch, Patriarch Zhao requests an audience.”
“Zhao Xiu?”
A cold glint flashed through Liu Dongjian’s eyes. Zhao Xiu had been the only one at the Imperial Hotel who knew in advance that an Innate Realm expert protected Li Feng, yet he had pretended to be deaf and mute, causing Liu Dongjian’s losses to be so severe.
One could say that, apart from Li Feng, the person Liu Dongjian hated second most was Zhao Xiu. Hate him or not, Zhao Xiu was the patriarch of the Zhao family and a peak ninth-layer Acquired Realm expert himself. Liu Dongjian had no way to touch him.
Open and covert struggles among the four great families had existed since their founding, yet no one had ever suffered a loss quite like Liu Dongjian.
Hearing that Zhao Xiu wished to see him now, Liu Dongjian’s first thought was: what does Zhao Xiu want?
“Let him in.” After thinking for a moment and still unable to guess Zhao Xiu’s purpose, Liu Dongjian decided to let him enter first.
“Yes.” The elder left the hall.
Moments later, Zhao Xiu arrived, led by the elder.
“Haha, Brother Liu, it has only been a few days, yet I scarcely recognise you.” When Zhao Xiu saw Liu Dongjian sitting on the sofa, a sharp light flickered in his eyes. He had known the Imperial Hotel incident would deal Liu Dongjian a heavy blow, but he had never imagined it would be this severe. If they had not known each other for decades, he truly would not have recognised the man now.
“Zhao Xiu, have you come to mock me?” Liu Dongjian’s face darkened as he spoke coldly.
“No, no, how could I come to mock you? I have come to help you.” Zhao Xiu hurriedly shook his head.
“Help me? Would you really be so kind?” Liu Dongjian gave a cold laugh, his face full of disbelief.
“Brother Liu, do not mistake my good intentions for malice. Among the four great families, only I, Zhao Xiu, can help you.” Zhao Xiu sat down opposite Liu Dongjian and spoke gravely.
“Hmph, say what you have to say. I have no time to exchange pleasantries with you.” Liu Dongjian snorted coldly. If he did not have to consider Zhao Xiu’s status, he might have thrown him out already.
“Helping you surround and kill Li Feng, does that count as important?” Zhao Xiu said calmly.
“Surround and kill Li Feng? Easier said than done.” Liu Dongjian snorted with disdain and glanced at Zhao Xiu. “You know perfectly well there is an Innate Realm expert at Li Feng’s side. If not for that, Li Feng would have died long ago. What, have you broken through to the Innate Realm, Zhao Xiu?”
“Of course I have not broken through to the Innate Realm. Yet even with an Innate Realm expert beside Li Feng, I can still kill him now.” As Zhao Xiu spoke, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. Liu Dongjian hated Li Feng to the marrow, but so did he. Li Feng’s oath at the Imperial Hotel still rang in his ears. If he did not eliminate Li Feng, he would never sleep soundly again.
“What do you mean?” Liu Dongjian was taken aback. He knew Zhao Xiu was not one to speak idly. If he said this, he must have good reason.
“Because I have this.” Zhao Xiu took something from his breast pocket and showed it to Liu Dongjian. “It cannot kill an Innate Realm expert, but it can trap one for five minutes. Five minutes is more than enough for us to kill Li Feng.”
Seeing what Zhao Xiu held, Liu Dongjian’s expression changed drastically. “How is this possible? How do you have such a thing?”
“That is a secret.” Zhao Xiu put the item away, then looked at Liu Dongjian. “Brother Liu, do you now believe I can kill Li Feng?”
“Speak. What are your conditions?” Liu Dongjian took a deep breath. He knew Zhao Xiu would not reveal such a treasure simply to boast that he could kill Li Feng. An item capable of trapping an Innate Realm expert was far too precious. If it were him, he would never produce it without absolute benefit.
“I heard that five years ago in Hong Kong, Brother Liu obtained a certain item.” Zhao Xiu said with a cheerful smile.
Liu Dongjian’s expression changed. He stared coldly at Zhao Xiu. “How do you know that?”
“Brother Liu, how I know is not important. I want the item in your possession. In exchange, I will help you kill Li Feng.” Zhao Xiu smiled.
“You…” Liu Dongjian looked at Zhao Xiu, then suddenly spoke gravely. “You want to break through to the Innate Realm?”
“With the item in your hands, I may not necessarily reach the Innate Realm, but I can at least become the strongest beneath it.” A sharp light flashed in Zhao Xiu’s eyes.
Liu Dongjian hesitated. The item had cost him tremendous effort to obtain. Was he really going to hand it over to Zhao Xiu? Once Zhao Xiu broke through to the Innate Realm, would the Liu family not end up beneath the Zhao family?
“Brother Liu, you should understand. This is the only way to surround and kill Li Feng. Although Li Feng has offended many people, his days are growing ever more carefree. Add to that his background, if we do not kill him now, even if I become an Innate Realm expert later, I will no longer be able to touch him.” Zhao Xiu spoke gravely.
Among the four great families, he understood Li Feng’s talent best. Once a person like Li Feng matured, he would be an absolute calamity for the Zhao family. Even if he could not obtain Liu Dongjian’s item today, he would still move to kill Li Feng. Obtaining the item, however, would be even better.
Moreover, Zhao Xiu was certain Liu Dongjian would not refuse. After all, the deaths of both his sons were tied to Li Feng.
Liu Dongjian stared at Zhao Xiu, inwardly struggling for a long while before finally speaking. “Fine. I agree to give you the item. But when will you kill Li Feng?”
“Within three days, Li Feng will surely die.” A satisfied smile appeared on Zhao Xiu’s face.
“Three days? Are you certain? I hear Li Feng has killed the young master of the Hongmen. You are not planning to wait for the Hongmen to kill Li Feng, are you? If so, the item will not be yours.” Liu Dongjian narrowed his eyes at Zhao Xiu.
“The Hongmen?” Disdain flashed in Zhao Xiu’s eyes at the mention. The Hongmen was merely an underground organisation. Although it was a worldwide underworld power, China was not like other countries. The Hongmen headquarters and most of its strength were not in China. Even if the chief dragon head Chen Junyi wanted revenge for his son, he could not send a large number of experts after Li Feng. With Li Feng’s skill and the Innate Realm expert at his side, dealing with them would be easy.
Moreover, Li Feng was the eldest young master of the top-tier Li family. Zhao Xiu did not believe that when the Hongmen came for revenge, Li Feng’s parents would simply stand by and watch.
In short, Zhao Xiu did not believe the Hongmen could really kill Li Feng. On the contrary, he was slightly worried about their retaliation. If Li Feng left Tianhai City for Yanjing to avoid the Hongmen’s revenge, killing him would become even more impossible.
With Li Feng’s talent, he would probably reach the Innate Realm in just a few years. At that point, it would be a true disaster for him and the Zhao family.
Therefore, no matter what, he had to kill Li Feng while he was still in Tianhai City and eliminate the threat once and for all.
“Rest assured, Brother Liu. This time I will act personally.” A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Xiu’s eyes.
Night was falling. The sky glittered with brilliant stars.
A bright moon hung over the sea, dyeing the calm water in a dreamlike hue.
On the beach, Li Feng faced the moon, sitting cross-legged with eyes lightly closed, circulating the Nine Heavens Heart Scripture.
After his strength broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, clear changes had appeared within Li Feng’s body. His meridians were now several times tougher than before. Vast true qi surged through them like raging rivers, containing terrifying power.
Li Feng’s divine sense followed his meridians until it finally entered his dantian.
The cyclone in his dantian had grown countless times larger than before. True qi circulated endlessly within it. With every rotation, the cyclone seemed to expand slightly. At the same time, each turn released a strand of true qi that merged into his flesh and blood, strengthening him further.
A sharp light flashed in Li Feng’s eyes. This was the first time he realised the qi in his dantian possessed such effects.
“It seems the Nine Heavens Heart Scripture still holds secrets I do not yet know.”
Li Feng took a deep breath to calm himself. The Nine Heavens Heart Scripture was miraculous, and combined with the dragon jade he possessed, his cultivation progressed at divine speed. Yet Li Feng knew that cultivating too quickly could easily lead to an unstable foundation.
After completing one full circulation of the Nine Heavens Heart Scripture and restoring his spirit and qi to their peak, Li Feng stood up. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. “I have waited long enough. It is time they came.”
