The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 292 Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader (3k words)

"Six powerful cultivators were all severely injured by one person?"

The elegantly dressed young man pressed on with a hint of disbelief.

"Yes!"

The dark-skinned man nodded emphatically, his tone resolute.

The elegantly dressed young man's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pressed for more information:

"What methods did he use? Did he divide and conquer, or did he attack them one by one?"

In his view, the former could at least be considered to have borrowed external forces such as magic weapons and favorable location, which did not necessarily prove that the person's cultivation was truly extraordinary.

While the latter is indeed stronger, it is not outrageous. After all, in a battle of attrition where life and death are at stake, as long as one takes advantage of the rest intervals and prepares enough healing medicine, one can always be in top condition each time.

Unexpectedly, a deep sense of apprehension flashed across the dark-skinned man's face, and he said in a deep voice:

"According to the eldest brother, that person first let the ancestor of the pharmacist family enter the palace, and then attacked the two great cultivators who sensed something was wrong, directly injuring them with lightning speed."

He paused, his tone becoming more wary, and even tinged with fear:
"The scariest thing is that later, my eldest brother joined forces with three other top cultivators to attack, but that person was able to beat all four of them so badly that they couldn't fight back at all!"

The richly dressed young man's face turned deathly pale instantly—this was not just a vague sense of familiarity, but a direct replica of the old stories from Qingzhou and the Southwest!

Back then, which of the cultivators from those two places didn't think they were invincible and join forces to attack? In the end, they all suffered a crushing defeat.

The Buddhist monk in Qingzhou and the Taoist priest in the southwest, which one of them didn't use ruthless methods to suppress anyone who dared to speak out?
What's even more deadly is that the strength of those two when they made their move was at a level that should absolutely not be possible at this stage!

Thinking of this, the richly dressed young man felt his legs tremble. He raised his hand to touch his forehead and found his hand covered in cold sweat.

No way, how come wherever I run, such an outrageously ruthless person just appears? My luck can't be that bad, can it?
Seeing his flustered expression, the dark-skinned man added:
"Don't overthink it. My eldest master also said that that person must have cultivated some kind of strange technique to have such boundless strength in the void; if it were a real face-to-face fight, he might not be much stronger than him."

"After all, even the eldest brother is seriously injured and unable to move. Someone who can beat the six of them to such a state shouldn't be out here."

Upon hearing the words "shouldn't have come out," the elegantly dressed young man instantly exploded:

"Come out! Come out! Come out! You keep saying 'we shouldn't have come out,' but let me ask you, have you forgotten that Taoist priest in the southwest? Have you forgotten that Buddhist monk in Qingzhou? Which of those two should have come out in the first place?"

"It's come to this point, and you're still saying 'we shouldn't have come out'? Do you really think you're destined for greatness and can get whatever you want?"

With that, he turned around and tried to make a quick getaway—it seemed that Kyoto was no longer a safe place to stay; it might not even be as safe as Qingzhou or the southwest!

Before he could take a step, the dark-skinned man raised his hand to stop him, his tone softening slightly:
"Don't worry, we considered these concerns from the beginning. That's why we specifically sought out a master of Yin-Yang divination to perform the calculations."

"Oh? What are the results of the deduction?"

The elegantly dressed young man felt a slight sense of relief. The Yin-Yang School had all made their move; it seemed that things should turn out well.

A slight smile appeared on the dark-skinned man's face as he replied:

"That senior of the Yin-Yang School said that the other party can only act so freely in the Great Void."

"Oh? That's good then. It seems it really is just a strange technique."

The elegantly dressed young man's heart finally settled, and his earlier thought of running away vanished.

But his brows quickly furrowed, and he said with a hint of confusion:
"Since you know it's not the person who 'shouldn't have come out' who has appeared in the world, then what do you want from me?"

The dark-skinned man said with a smile:

"Novelists originally came from the position of minor officials, who specialized in collecting street gossip and hearsay to compile stories. Therefore, they were excluded from the list of ten schools of thought and were not even considered among the nine classes."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious:
"But your lineage is different. After your ancestors learned from their painful experiences, they were no longer comparable to the mainstream. Now, there is almost nothing in the world that you do not know about, whether it is a big or small matter, any school of thought, or any secret supernatural power."

Before the dark-skinned man could finish speaking, the richly dressed young man scoffed and said self-deprecatingly:
"But there's nothing he's truly proficient in."

These words caused the dark-skinned man's face to darken slightly, revealing a hint of anger, but he ultimately did not lash out, only suppressing his tone as he said:
"No matter what, you still owe the Langya Wang family a debt of karma, and you have to repay it. So we would like to ask you to go to the other five families and inquire one by one to see if you can identify which group of people made the move."

"That way, all of us can go together and demand an explanation. We can't just be beaten up like this and then do nothing, losing face for no reason, can we?"

"I owe a debt of karma to the Langya Wang clan, not to you!"

The elegantly dressed young man's tone suddenly turned cold.

"After all these years, how much connection can the Langya Wang clan still have with you?"

He paused, then added a word of advice:
"I advise you to leave the Langya Wang clan as soon as possible. Since you left behind a legacy back then, why are you rashly trying to reclaim it now? Aren't you cutting off your own escape route?"

The dark-skinned man frowned even more deeply, and after a long silence, he said in a deep voice:
"The officials of the Confucian Temple have not made a move so far. Although there are a few Confucian disciples here, they have all come on their own initiative, not by order of the Confucian Temple. Judging from this, the longer it drags on, the more dangerous it will be for the capital."

As long as the Confucian Temple remains unchanged, more and more people will be unable to resist coming over.

"At a time like this, do you really think you can stay out of it forever? Right now, it's good for everyone if our two families cooperate!"

"Whether I can stay out of this is my own business and none of your concern." The richly dressed young man glanced at him, his tone now completely cold, clearly not wanting to get any more involved.

The dark-skinned man gave him a deep look, then turned and left without saying another word.

The elegantly dressed young man stood there, a faint smile on his face, watching him leave.

After a long while, he composed himself, walked briskly back to his seat at the table, and laughed loudly:

"Come, come! We just received some great news. Hey, bring out that Thousand Days Spring tea and fill everyone's cups!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of all the scions of noble families in the room lit up instantly—the Thousand Days Spring of Shuiyue Tower was a world-renowned fine wine that ordinary people could never see.

If it weren't for the prestigious status of the Langya Wang clan, there would be no chance of obtaining it.

After all, each jar of Thousand Days Spring tea has a fixed quantity. It must first be supplied to the palace, as well as to the royal craftsmen and important officials in the court. After that, the amount that can be left in the hands of these young men is pitifully small.

"Brother Wang is so magnanimous!"

"Brother Wang really has connections!"

Everyone raised their glasses in flattery, and the richly dressed young man's smile deepened as he boasted, emboldened by the alcohol:

"Speaking of which, I've seen quite a few good wines along the way, but this Thousand Days Spring is just so-so. The truly good wines are at the level of Immortal Brew. And among Immortal Brews, there is one that still has no name and is the most amazing."

"That was brewed by the ancient god Xi Shen himself!" He paused deliberately, looking at the curious eyes of the crowd, before continuing, "Do you know how good this wine is? Even the Wine Immortal, after tasting it, found all other wines tasteless and couldn't swallow them anymore!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present looked on with longing, clicking their tongues in amazement and hoping that one day they would be fortunate enough to taste such a divine wine.

"Please rest assured, everyone, if I ever have the chance to find a jar of it in the future, I will definitely come back and share a sip with you all!"

Who doesn't like to talk big?

Besides, the three founders of religions went through so much trouble to obtain this thing, what chance could he possibly have of getting a jar of it?

He would be content just to smell it!
Unexpectedly, before the words were even out of his mouth, someone below started jeering:

"Brother Wang, that's not right! How can you only drink one sip? One sip of such divine wine is far from enough!"

Seeing this, the richly dressed young man chuckled:

"Okay, okay, I can get some later. I won't drink it, you can have it all!"

LOL, I'm so lucky to run into tough guys wherever I go, and I even managed to get my hands on that kind of divine wine.

Just you wait! Hahaha!

"Brother Wang, your righteousness is truly admirable!"

"A toast to my brother!"

For a moment, everyone was filled with joy and happiness.

For some reason, the elegantly dressed young man suddenly felt that something was not quite right.
-
On the other side, Cui Shilu had already led Du Yuan to the gate of the Cui family mansion in Boling. He said:
"Sir, this is the gate of the Cui family mansion in Qinghe. As for the Cui family of Boling you are looking for, they are just around the corner. Would you like to come inside with me to rest for a while, and then meet my parents?"

"After we finish our meal, I will take you to the Cui family in Boling. After all, it's time for lunch."

Du Yuan shook her head and smiled:
"Thank you for leading the way, young master. I'll go find Cui Yuancheng first."

Cui Shilu quickly said:
“Then I’ll take you there myself. We all know each other, and I can take you directly to see him.”

Knowing what he wanted, Du Yuan shook her head and smiled:

"Young master, I know what you want, but you probably won't get it from me. Besides, now that your elders have returned, you should spend more time with them. I'm just an outsider!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Shilu's expression changed instantly, and he became extremely anxious.

Oh no! My husband has realized that my approach to him is purely for personal gain, and he disapproves of me distancing myself from my family for such a utilitarian purpose!
Before he could speak, Du Yuan said another sentence to him:
"By the way, I heard that Wang Chengsi is getting engaged. A friend of mine asked me to send him a jar of fine wine as a gift."

“Since you are his cousin, young master, why not ask him for a few sips? This wine has been treasured by my friend for so long, so it must be quite good.”

After saying that, Du Yuan took out a jar from the kitten's watermark.

At first, Cui Shilu still wanted to try to salvage the situation. But when he saw the unusually luxurious wine jar, he suddenly realized the truth.

He's already got his chance!

Although reluctant, he ultimately chose to bow and say:

"I've got it!"

(End of this chapter)