Lord of the Desert

Chapter 588 Shadow
"Although Hong Sheng was once ranked among the prodigies, he only cultivated the third-grade 'Flame Flow Technique.' Why is my brother making such a fuss?"

Mo Shiqing frowned.

"You think getting those two wedding invitations is so easy?"

Leng Zhuoxi glanced at him.

"For us martial arts prodigies, there is no door in the world that is difficult to enter, is that not true?"

Mo Shiqing replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Leng Zhuoxi laughed again, but it was a sarcastic laugh.

The tram came to a steady stop, like a giant beast lying down, swallowing and spitting out passengers.

"As far as I know, the total number of attendees at this wedding will exceed twenty; even my ancestor carefully considered whether to attend in person, but decided against it because he did not have a deep relationship with Hong Fan."

Leng Zhuoxi watched the shuttle bus speed away into the distance.

Mo Shiqing was naturally shocked.

Born into a top-tier family, and being both a direct descendant and a prodigy, he thought he had seen it all, but even during the peak of the Mo family, the eldest son's marriage did not have such a lineup.

Martial artists who can reach the Celestial Realm are either extremely old or completely devoted to martial arts—as the saying goes, "Celestial beings are ruthless"—in most cases, even the Mo family patriarch would not attend the weddings of his own descendants.

"Are they all here for Hong Fan?"

Mo Shiqing murmured.

"What else? In theory, everyone is here for the marriage alliance between the Hong and Jiang families, but in reality, it's all for Hong Fan alone."

Leng Zhuoxi nodded heavily.

"Although it's only been a few years since he and you were listed on the Prodigy Ranking, don't think of him as just an ordinary prodigy. Here's what we'll do: just treat Hong Fan as a Grandmaster of the Earth Ranking. When you meet him today, treat him with the courtesy due to a junior, and I will do the same in the future."

Mo Shiqing looked away without replying immediately.

As a prodigy, he naturally had his pride. He admitted that there was a huge gap between him and Hong Fan in martial arts, but in any case, he was not a generation behind.

The two walked slowly onto Hamzun Bridge.

"Shiqing, times change and no one waits for anyone."

Leng Zhuoxi reached out and touched the bridge railing, stroking the slight wind erosion accumulated over hundreds of years.

“In the past, a master of martial arts, once he took up a sword and put on armor, was no longer someone that ordinary people could shake. But now, any commoner from Liangzhou can defeat a strong opponent with just a single shotgun and a fixed bullet.”

"That's just the Enlightenment Realm, indicating a lack of depth in martial arts and a distance from being a mortal."

Mo Shiqing said dismissively.

By the thirty-fifth year of the Zhenghe era, he had naturally heard of the firearms of the Kaiming Company.

"What about a martial artist who is completely skilled in martial arts? In our families, that would be considered a success, enough to earn two lines of ink on the family tree. But how many bullets could that withstand?"

Leng Zhuoxi's voice rang out, and immediately turned cold in the river wind.

"If one shot doesn't kill, you can use ten. If ordinary bullets don't kill, you can use bullets made of black iron or even jade marrow. You probably don't know, but compared to five years ago, the number of cases in Liangzhou where martial artists have died at the hands of ordinary people has increased tenfold."

"This is the most discussed change among the Liangzhou aristocratic families recently, but the changes are far more than this."

Standing atop Xianzun Bridge, the past and present of Xijing City overlap in the view.

Lanterns and lampposts, horse-drawn carriages and coal carts, porters and cranes, blacksmith shops and steel mills...

All of these things are memories for individuals, but history for civilizations.

"Shiqing, you haven't witnessed the changes in Liangzhou over the years."

Leng Zhuoxi spoke in a low voice.

"If you had seen it, you would know that his shadow is everywhere in this world."

The speaker was "Wind and Frost Swords," a talented individual who once ranked third on the list of prodigies.

Before this, Mo Shiqing could not have imagined that he would show such a high and mighty expression to someone his own age.

[Could one person's efforts have achieved such a feat?]

Mo Shiqing was somewhat dazed. [If Hong Fan were to replace me, would he be able to withstand the overwhelming power of the Martial Arts Academy after the passing of our ancestor?]

An hour later.

In the eastern part of Xijing City, in the newly built Hongfuqian Lane, servants guide carriages and horses and maintain order every hundred meters.

This residence follows the Liu family's design, covering an area of ​​200 mu, similar to the Shen family's, and together they are the largest in Xijing.

Given the Hong family's current strength and resources, this house is far too conspicuous; but as long as that blazing star shines upon them, everything will be fine.

Mo Shiqing stepped off the rented commuter carriage on a footstool, and thought of the old Mo family mansion in Qingheng, which held his childhood memories.

That mansion is even larger than this one, and it's currently being emptied out for sale—not because the Mo family is short of money, but as a ceremony to surrender to the Martial Arts Academy.

"What are you thinking about?"

Leng Zhuoxi asked.

"Think about how prosperous the Liu family of Liangzhou was in the past."

Mo Shiqing reached out to shield his eyes from the bright, shining sun.

Leng Zhuoxi gently patted his friend's shoulder, reminding him to be careful with his words.

The coachman helped carry the gifts the two had brought.

A precious sword, a beautiful piece of jade.

At this time, the main gate of the Hong residence was wide open, and a "guest reception area" was set up in front of it, where Hong Pan and Jiang Wenbo, along with several stewards, greeted the guests.

Behind the two, a blue four-wheeled carriage stopped ten feet away, and a middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy man in brocade robes got out of the carriage.

He walked briskly with short steps, exchanged greetings with Hong Pan and the others, and presented them with gift cards.

A moment later, the doorman called out the names in a loud and clear voice.

"The leader of the Xijing Bihai Gang, Chief Niu Dequan, has arrived, presenting three hundred taels of silver and a sandalwood carved 'A Hundred Years of Harmony' screen!"

The Bihai Gang is the largest gang in the Xijing section of the Yaohe River, with deep roots in the city's docks and shipping industry; however, its leader was bowing and clasping his hands, displaying a cautiousness that was completely inconsistent with the calluses on his hands and the scars on his face.

Leng Mo and the other person also stepped forward.

Hong Pan and the others were complete strangers to the young guests, but they had clearly done their homework and quickly broke the ice by mentioning the sparring match between Leng Zhuoxi and Hong Sheng two years ago.

"Lingbo City's 'Wind and Frost Sword' Young Master Leng Zhuoxi, and Yunlan City's 'Walking with the Wind and Stepping on the Moon' Young Master Mo Shiqing have arrived..."

His clear and resonant singing voice spread far and wide.

Despite his attempts to conceal it, Mo Shiqing couldn't help but tense up when he heard the words "Yunlan City".

The handsome servant who led the two inside, dressed entirely in red, led the way to the main hall; the servant who had led Niu Dequan earlier, dressed entirely in blue, led them to a side hall.

The corridors connect pavilions and towers, and banquets are set up in the courtyards along the way for ordinary guests; in open spaces, storytelling, acrobatics, and song and dance performances are held one after another, making it seem as if a vivid scroll is unfolding when passing through windows and doors.

Before he could sit down, Mo Shiqing heard a chorus of voices echoing from outside the blue-tiled roof.

"Head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Asura Sect, Yuan Lingxue, has arrived and, on behalf of the former sect leader of the Asura Sect, presents a handwritten copy of the 'Prajnaparamita Sutra'."

"The Asura Sect's 'Little Battle Emperor,' Young Master Qu Luoyi, has arrived and presents one hundred taels of silver..."

The main hall is spacious, with three main tables on the north side decorated with dragon, phoenix, and qilin figures, covered with red felt and adorned with precious stones and goldware.

The banquet tables were arranged in a row, with maids carrying wine jugs moving about, and musicians hidden behind screens on both sides.

Half an hour later, the auspicious time was approaching, and all the guests were assembled.

Mo Shiqing looked up and saw that among the ten chief figures were five celestial beings, namely Yin Lianfeng, Shen Moye, Zhu Zhanran, Ying Zhangjian, and Xu Guinian, as well as Song Hongchou, the governor of Liangzhou, and Zhu Zhixue, the provincial governor, accompanied by Hong Fan and Jiang Danhu.

During the two rounds of banquets, local Xijing locals gathered, including Shen Maoxun, Bai Rongyu, Lin Jianqing, Lu Zhiyuan, Shi Meng, Liu Hong (the Marquis of Disobedience), and fourteen others. In addition, there were guests from afar such as Wei Zhaoli, Zeng Yingqiong, Qin Hong, Leng Jindu, Gu Yixin, and Zhou Wenyang, bringing the total to over twenty.

At a glance, everyone present was a prominent figure from Liangzhou, with backgrounds including military camps, martial arts academies, weapon workshops, major martial arts sects, wealthy merchants, and local tycoons. As a result, Leng Mo and his companion, both considered the pride of the Nine Provinces, were seated far beyond the twenty-odd tables. Many others, including the smiling and humble "Chen Jiang Tie" who had entered, were seated in a side hall. They couldn't even see the wedding ceremony and could only hear the "Master Tongyan's" rambling monologue.

Mo Shiqing sat in the middle to back corner. This was the first time he had been treated so coldly since he passed the imperial examination three times, but he felt it was only natural.

This is because the number of high-ranking martial artists present today exceeds half of the total number in a state.

(End of this chapter)