After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 162 Baili
Hearing this, the old man in the red robe nodded slightly, and said with a hint of solemnity in his voice:
"This person actually hides his true strength. His true martial arts cultivation should not be underestimated."

Murong Feng's eyes moved slightly as he looked at the dead Baili Wei and the old woman. Suddenly, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. He said:
"The Baili family has shot themselves in the foot this time. The loss is devastating. One celestial being and two half-step celestial beings are gone just like that."

"Bai Lixu, Bai Li Changfeng's beloved second son, is also dead. I really want to see the Bai Li family's reaction after learning about this."

……

Since Hu Ruian and his group dealt with Baili Wei and others who were blocking the road and left, they have had a smooth journey and have not been blocked again.

About an incense stick of time passed, and with Murong Xiaoya's guidance, they finally arrived at Murong Mansion in the provincial capital.

The Murong family is worthy of being the number one martial arts family in Shengzhou. Its gate is as tall as a mountain and its main gate is more than three meters high.

The bronze door was wide open, and in front of it stood two auspicious beasts carved from black iron, their eyes inlaid with pearls, and the guard walls on both sides extended like wings.

After Wu Shang announced his identity, the housekeeper and a young man in a gorgeous robe with a proud figure and outstanding temperament came to greet him in person.

When Murong Xiaoya saw the young man in the gorgeous robe, she was obviously surprised. She trotted forward a few steps and said:
"Second brother, you are back too?"

Hearing this, the young man in a gorgeous robe, with white clothes as white as snow and a warm face, nodded slightly. He looked at Murong Xiaoya with a doting look on his face for a while, nodded and smiled:

"I haven't seen you for more than a year. You're getting more and more beautiful."

After hearing these words, Murong Xiaoya blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Seeing this, Murong Zhen laughed a few times, then gently patted Murong Xiaoya's head and said:
"I won't tease you anymore. Father and Mother are so happy to know you're back. Come in and see them."

Murong Xiaoya nodded and was about to run towards the mansion.

However, when she was halfway there, she seemed to remember something and quickly turned to look at Hu Ruian and others behind her.

Murong Zhen obviously saw what she was thinking, waved his hand and said:

"Don't worry, little sister. I will take good care of Master Hu and the others."

After hearing this, Murong Xiaoya turned around again and hurried towards the mansion.

At this time, Murong Zhen turned around and went to greet Hu Ruian and others with the housekeeper. He still had a smile on his face, but he was not as close as he was to Murong Xiaoya.

Then, Murong Zhen greeted Hu Ruian, exchanged compliments and chatted with him in a proper manner, and then asked the housekeeper to take a few people to the courtyard arranged in the mansion to stay.

He said goodbye in a hurry and left. It was obvious that he was not very enthusiastic about the arrival of Hu Ruian and others.

Hu Ruian, who had seen everything, looked thoughtful. He turned to look at Li Musheng, who seemed to be indifferent to it, and frowned.
"Your Highness, the head of the Murong family hasn't expressed any interest in seeing me. It seems he doesn't care much about what the commander-in-chief said."

Hearing this, Li Musheng took a look at the courtyard arranged by the Murong family. The flower walls were overlapping, and the lotus pond reflected the trees. The environment was quite quiet and comfortable.

Then he glanced at Hu Ruian and shook his head.
"Master Hu, please don't tell me about this trivial matter. It's useless to tell me. The journey these past few days has been very boring. I think it would be nice to rest here for a few days."

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruian's face immediately turned bitter.

He had guessed long ago that this prince would not be in charge of things, but he still held a glimmer of hope. But obviously, his expectations were now dashed.

Thinking of this, Hu Ruian had no choice but to agree, while silently planning in his heart how to deal with the matters of Commander Mei Yan and others.

At this time, Li Musheng thought about it, then reached out and patted Hu Ruian on the shoulder, saying:

"Don't worry, Master Hu. I promised Master Fu that I would help you a little, so you can act under my name in Shengzhou."

"Also, if you encounter a problem that you really can't solve, you can tell me. Of course, whether I can help or not depends on the situation."

After hearing this, Hu Ruian was slightly stunned, but he immediately felt relieved and said quickly:
"Thank you, Your Highness. I will do my best to properly handle the affairs of Shengzhou."

Although Li Musheng did not say that he would definitely help him, Hu Ruian felt much more at ease after hearing his words.

At the very least, with the support of Li Musheng, the eighth prince, his next actions will undoubtedly be much easier.

After settling down in Murong Mansion, Hu Ruian hurried away with Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong, and began to deal with the affairs of Shengzhou according to the previous plan.

The attitude of the Murong family is now a little uncertain, and Hu Ruian is not in a hurry to meet them right away, but first went to the Tianjin Guard branch office in Shengzhou City.

He planned to first meet the queen's brother, Mei Yan, the commander of Shengzhou. First of all, he had to find out why, since Tianjin issued an order on behalf of the headquarters to send Tianjin guards to all states secretly to Lanzhou, only the Tianjin guards of Shengzhou did not reply from beginning to end?

……

At the same time, in a study room in Murong Mansion, the doors and windows were closed tightly, and the windows were covered with black cloth, preventing any light from coming in from outside.

There was only one lamp on in the dark room. The black iron lamp body was cast in the shape of a human figurine kneeling on the ground offering treasures, and the tray with arms raised high was filled with a layer of red lamp oil.

The wick was a bloody spine, the flame core was also a bright red color, and the outer flame of the lamp was like the gentle beating of the atrium, dyeing the air in the room scarlet.

Murong Feng was standing on one side of the lamp at this time. Opposite him stood a red pear wood desk, and behind the desk sat a figure on the armchair.

The figure had his back to the lamp, his entire face hidden in the darkness, and his true appearance could not be seen at all.

"Second Uncle, just now when I was bringing my younger sister back to the city, I encountered the siege of the Baili family..."

Murong Feng bowed slightly and saluted the figure in the dark, then told the whole story that had just happened.

After listening to Murong Feng's words, the figure in the dark was silent for a moment, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Being able to kill Baili Xue with a single finger, Hu Ruian's martial arts skills are obviously inconsistent with what we know. Either he is deliberately hiding his skills, or there are other masters hidden among them or behind them."

As he spoke, the figure in the darkness suddenly asked:
"Have you told your father about this?"

Hearing this, Murong Feng shook his head and said:

"After I separated from Elder Shi, I immediately went to see my second uncle. As for father, I'm sure my younger sister will tell him about this."

Having said this, Murong Feng paused for a moment and continued:

"The Baili family has already chosen to be the first to take the initiative and stand in opposition to the Murong family. I'm afraid the other families in the city will take similar actions next."

"However, Hu Ruian and his group unexpectedly dealt a heavy blow to the Baili family, even killing Baili Xue and Baili Wei. I'm sure the other forces in the city might be wary of this."

The figure in the dark did not speak. After a while, he spoke:

"Having lost his beloved son, Baili Changfeng will likely instigate other families to take action in revenge against the Murong family. The situation for the Murong family won't improve." "Furthermore, Hu Ruian's purpose in coming here is to protect Mei Yan and Zhu Ziming. If this matter isn't handled properly, it could even create more enemies for the Murong family."

Hearing this, Murong Feng frowned slightly, but soon, he suddenly sneered and said:
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, soon my Murong family will swallow up all the families in the state capital and become the only martial arts family in Shengzhou. This is the trend of the times, and not even Mei Yan and Zhu Ziming can stop it!"

The figure in the darkness sighed softly and shook his head:
"This matter is not up to you. Without your father's approval, all this is just wishful thinking."

As soon as these words were spoken, the blood-red lights flickered, making Murong Feng's face look as red as if it were covered in blood, and his pupils also flashed with blood-red light under the light.

After a while, Murong Feng suddenly said calmly:
"Don't worry, uncle. Father will agree."

As he said this, he bowed, prepared to say goodbye and leave.

At this moment, the figure behind the desk waved his hand, and a red wooden box wrapped in martial arts energy flew in front of Murong Feng, saying:

"Feng'er, don't forget to take the Queyan Pill."

Murong Feng hesitated for a moment, but still reached out to take the wooden box in front of him and put it into his sleeve.

After doing all this, he turned around and glanced at the figure in the darkness behind him and said:
"Uncle, the Que Yan Dan is enough for the rest of us. You don't need to let my younger sister eat it."

Hearing this, the figure in the dark was silent for a while, then nodded and said in a hoarse voice:
"I promise you."

Hearing this, Murong Feng turned around and walked out of the study covered with black cloth without looking back.

……

Shengzhou City, Baili Mansion.

Inside the hall, there is a painting of mountains and rivers hanging and an octagonal table made of bronze.

A middle-aged man in black sat at the head of the table, and an old man and a woman sat on both sides of the octagonal table.

The middle-aged man was in his early fifties. His face was as red as cast iron, his cheeks were sunken, and his square face looked as if it had been chopped by an axe or a knife. He had a neatly trimmed short gray beard and exuded a sense of majesty.

The old man was about seventy years old, wearing a navy blue robe, with a boxwood pipe on his waist. His white hair was combed neatly like snow, and his wrinkles were like the growth rings of an old pine tree.

The woman was about the same age as the middle-aged man, with a round face, brown-red cheeks, wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, slightly loose earlobes, and gray hair tied into a bun with a peach wood hairpin inserted diagonally.

"Uncle Zhu, Sister Cen, I've already sent my son to guard the city gate. We'll just have to wait for that Murong kid to return to the city. Then we can capture him in one fell swoop and use him as leverage against that old thief Murong."

The middle-aged man Baili Changfeng glanced at the two people at the table and spoke in a deep voice.

Hearing this, the seventy-year-old man and the round-faced woman looked at each other and nodded slightly.

The old man Zhu Wu bowed to Baili Changfeng and said with a smile:
"Patriarch Baili was wise and decisive. He set an example by refusing to yield to the tyranny of the Murong family. He is truly a role model for all of us to emulate."

The round-faced woman nodded slightly and said:

"After this incident, my Cen family, led by the Baili family, will do our utmost to eradicate the Murong family's influence in Shengzhou and restore peace to Shengzhou."

At this time, Baili Changfeng narrowed his eyes slightly, waved his hand, and said:

"Since you two are already at home, why are you still so reserved? We all know what's going on, so there's no need to come up with some high-sounding excuses."

Zhu Wu and the round-faced woman Cen Luohua's expressions changed, while Baili Changfeng continued calmly:

"General Han has already said that my Baili family will lead the charge. As for your Zhu and Cen families, they have been friends for generations. I can promise that as long as you stand by our side, you will definitely benefit from the division of the Murong family in the future."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Wu and Cen Luohua were both excited. They were about to speak when a soldier rushed in from outside.

"Master, something terrible has happened to the Second Young Master and his men!"

The soldier's breathing was unstable and he reported with a serious expression.

Hearing this, Baili Changfeng, who was sitting on the main seat, frowned. He glanced at the soldiers and had a bad feeling in his heart. He asked in a deep voice:

"What happened?"

"The Second Young Master and Senior Baili Xue went to capture Murong Feng, but on the way they were attacked by a group of people..."

The soldier lowered his head, but when he said this he looked up at Baili Changfeng in panic, as if he didn't dare to continue.

Baili Changfeng suddenly stood up from his seat, staring at the soldier in front of him. He couldn't help but release a terrifying martial arts aura that oppressed the other person so much that his body trembled like a sieve. He said:
"What happened to Wei'er and the others? Keep talking!"

The soldier's throat trembled, but he still replied:

"The Second Young Master and his men were all killed, and... their bodies were even hung on the city gates by the Murong family for public display!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Baili Changfeng's face froze, and his standing body couldn't help but sway.

Zhu Wu and the other man who were sitting at the octagonal table also changed their expressions at this moment, and were obviously shocked by the news from the soldier's mouth.

As far as they knew, Baili Wei not only led a thousand soldiers and a group of martial arts masters on this trip, but also clearly set an ambush.

Logically speaking, even if Murong Feng could not be captured, he would not be killed in a short period of time.

Thinking of this, both of them looked at Baili Changfeng, and at this time, Baili Changfeng finally came back to his senses from the words of the soldier.

For a moment, he was filled with grief and anger, and murderous intent filled his whole body.

Baili Changfeng looked at the soldier in front of him with a cold gaze, making him feel as if he was falling into an ice cellar:

"Wei'er was protected by Baili Xue, so how did Murong Feng kill them?"

Upon hearing this, the soldier did not dare to hide anything and immediately told the other party all the information he had learned from the people on the street.

"As far as we know, Murong Feng wasn't the one who did it. We don't know where that group of people came from, but they seem to be traveling with the Murong family's youngest daughter. There are extremely powerful masters among them. After they killed someone... they should have headed to the Murong Mansion."

The soldier spoke with a trembling voice, and Baili Changfeng's face became more and more ugly.

(End of this chapter)