I Can See Your Combat Power

North City – Feng’s Family

Ever since Feng Wendong and the elite forces of the Feng family were all killed in the battle at the Fox Spirit Temple, the clan’s strength, which was originally on the brink of a medium-sized family, plummeted dramatically.

Not only did many strong fighters in charge of their businesses die, but even four patriarchs were killed. This might be one of the rare occurrences of patriarchal demise in Xiling over the past century.

The severe loss to the four families – Feng, Wu, Fong, and Lu, left them no choice but to bring back the older generation of patriarchs to take control. If not for that, those prestigious clans in the West City might have plummeted as well.

However, why the elite fighters of the four families had a conflict with Tang Luo, the Sect Head of Tang Clan, still remains somewhat blurry. With the death of Tong Ming in the battlefield, Fong Dezheng was the only witness left from the Fox Spirit Temple battle.

But he insisted that he only asked the Righteous Gang to retrieve the runaway scribe, which led Tang Luo and a young swordsman to their doorstep. They wiped out not only the upper echelons of the Righteous Gang but also the martial artists of the Feng family he had brought along. If it was not for Tong Ming escorting him back, he might have met the same fate.

The older substitute patriarchs didn’t doubt him as they couldn’t think of a reason why Fong Dezheng would dare to provoke them. According to the report from the manager of the Qingfeng Bank in West City, the scribe named Mi Bai did escape overnight, which showed Fong Dezheng wasn’t lying.

With facts corroborating his testimony, the four families took Fong Dezheng s words for the truth.

It seemed reasonable to assume then that the young swordsman was perhaps a visiting son of a noble family from the external town, who carried a precious artifact and had a conflict with Tang Sen. He and Tang Luo interfered in the family matters and began slaughtering their warriors after rescuing someone. Tong Ming fled with Fong Dezheng to the city for reinforcements, followed by Feng Wendong and his elite forces.

What happened later was obvious, Tang Luo went home and brought back reinforcements, and Sect Head Tang Sen exterminated the patriarchs of the four families, displaying the overbearing nature of Tang Clan.

Even though Tang Clan was clearly the guilty party in this matter, they could not right this wrong, and thus, the families buried their rage within themselves.

That was until a scholar named Li Shaoyuan gathered the four of them and showed them the insignia of Mi Hou.

“Young Master Mi is willing to seek justice for you from the Tang Clan,” said Li Shaoyuan respectfully to the four men.

The four acting patriarchs present were all wily old foxes well past their hundredth birthday. If the one standing before them now was Mi Hu, the Clan Head of the Mi family, they would certainly spill the beans about the incident.

But Mi Hou’s rank was clearly not high enough. Although he was respectfully addressed as ‘Young Lord’, it was not due to his skills, but because he was the younger brother of Mi Shi and the second son of Mi Hu. Even if Mi Hu personally intervened, it would still seem insufficient. Their hearts were full of rage, why would they tolerate Mi Hou’s counselor?

The fully white-haired Feng Lianggong looked old and frail. He thanked Li Shaoyuan, “Thank you for your good intentions, Young Master, but the warriors of our four families were at fault for colliding with Sect Head Tang’s carriage. Even though they were killed, we can only blame their lack of skills. The fact that Sect Head Tang has not held our families accountable speaks volumes about his magnanimity. Mr. Li, do what you believe is right.

Feng Lianggong was Feng Wendong’s father. The death of his most exceptional son could not have left him as calm as he appeared. Ever since he handed over the family affairs to his son, the Feng family had been growing stronger day by day, especially his strategy of forming an alliance with the four families, which had made them the most influential force in West City. His brilliant and strategic son was murdered, how could he remain calm?

Unfortunately, those who hold power no permanent patience. Even if Feng Lianggong had great dissatisfaction, he had no choice but to swallow his words. Clearly Li Shaoyuan was here to take advantage of the four families hatred to stir up a conflict, aiming to boost Mi Hou’s reputation. He would never allow himself to be used as a stepping stone by others.

All four men – Wu Qizheng, Feng Kangping, and Lu Yongman, looked to Feng Lianggong for guidance, pretending to rest with their eyes closed, without even glancing at Li Shaoyuan.

Seeing their expressions, Li Shaoyuan realized their thoughts – they felt Mi Hou was not prestigious enough, if it was Mi Shi present, they would have behaved differently.

He snorted silently. He didn’t believe that they didn’t harbor any anger towards the loss of their clan’s elites.

“If you are at fault, there is indeed no need to seek justice. But it’s a pity Young Master Mi went as far as persuading the head of Xiao Family, and yet it turned out to be in vain!” Li Shaoyuan regretfully made to leave but was stopped by

Feng Lianggong.

The formerly calm elder now had a curious gleam in his eyes, he asked in a trembling voice, “Sir, which head of the Xiao family did Mi Hou persuade?” Li Shaoyuan, already at the door, didn’t turn back, but lightly replied, “Is there a second head of the Xiao family in Xiling?

His counter-question confirmed Feng Lianggong’s suspicion. The head of the Xiao Family indeed was old Mr. Xiao Jinlin.

“Sir please hold on!” Feng Lianggong stood up, completely abandoning his frail appearance, and moved instantaneously to Li Shaoyuan’s side, grabbing his arm.

The hidden force of the Fierce Realm was so strong that it could make bird stop singing and insects silent. Li Shaoyuan, merely a Mortal Realm cultivator, had to suppress his fear. He turned around and coldly said, “Mr. Feng asked for me to leave, what is the meaning of this?”

Despite the vast difference in their cultivation realms, his attitude was defiant. His sharp gaze was fixed onto Feng Lianggong’s eyes, questioning him.

Feng Lianggong had instinctively grabbed Li Shaoyuan’s arm, but now felt a surge of anger as the younger man questioned him. He was about to break the scholar’s bones, but remembering his deceased son and the elite forces of the clan, he suppressed his anger. With an apologetic face towards Li Shaoyuan, he said, “I misspoke, sir, please don’t take it to heart.” After speaking, he released Li Shaoyuan’s arm.

“No harm done. But Mr. Feng, is there something you wanted to discuss with me?” Li Shaoyuan asked, back facing the clan head, though he knew the answer.

Feng Lianggong’s face was filled with fury. A growl rose in his throat, he punched every word, “Our four clans… have been wronged!

Li Shaoyuan laughed, tightly clenching his right hand behind his back. He knew, the foundation for Mi Hou’s rise, was coming!

Elegant Mansion

“Gong Zheng said that it was Li Shaoyuan who approached Righteous Gang and provided lots of support, thus enabling the gang to unify the streets of West City within two years, right?” Tang Luo stood up, pointed to the map of Xiling on the table, and casually circled the West City region.

After turning down Xu Lao’s plan, he had stopped thinking and just sat on the stool looking at Tang Luo, putting on an act as if he would listen to anything Tang Luo said. As for Gong Zheng, despite having used sheer willpower and cultivation to establish the Righteous Gang, he was essentially still a warrior. Before coming to the Elegant Mansion, Tang Luo went back to the Martial Hall to take a bath, change his clothes and get some information about Mi Hou.

The most important part was about Li Shaoyuan, because the idea to operate the Lunjiang Martial Arts Arena as a secret weapon for Mi Hou originated from him.

He also managed all of Mi Hou’s affairs and was the de facto chief counselor, extremely loyal to Mi Hou.

After the Lunjiang Martial Arts Arena was discovered, the information about Li Shaoyuan was cut off. But based on Gong Zheng’s statement, that counselor was far from being harmless as the report suggested. Instead, he secretly controlled Gong Zheng to unify the streets of West City, even maximizing the profit from some flesh and blood businesses, all for the purpose of making more money for Mi Hou..