From absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to achieving divine mastery in martial arts

As night falls, the lights are on.

Deep within the Cang Mansion, in a detached building that blends Chinese and Western architectural styles, the lights are on.

Inside, flames leap in the Western-style fireplace, reflecting off the Eastern landscape paintings hanging on the wall, creating a strange harmony between Eastern and Western cultures.

"Master, you must have heard. The new army officially entered Shenghai Zhongjie this afternoon."

Shen Peiyu spoke slowly, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.

"I've heard about it." Cang Hong looked at the newspaper expressionlessly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

"This new army is really gaining momentum!" Shen Peiyu's tone carried a chilling undertone. "They not only defeated the Lan faction, but also took the opportunity to incorporate several warlords from the Tie and Jing factions. They've really ruined our grand plan!"

"Those damned warlords are utterly useless. They've wasted so much of our Cang family's money, supplies, and weapons, yet they haven't been able to effectively weaken the new army. Instead, they've become their stepping stones, making them even stronger! The situation is getting worse and worse."

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes: "A chaotic world filled with warlords fighting each other is precisely the fishing ground our Cang family needs most. Now that the new army has disrupted things, they truly deserve to die!"

"It's alright."

Cang Hong spoke slowly, his voice calm yet carrying an air of absolute confidence, "My plan goes far beyond this. I never expected those warlords to be of much use from the beginning; they were merely pawns to test the strength of the new army and buy time."

He put down the newspaper, his gaze deep: "However, the speed at which the new army has risen has indeed exceeded my expectations. But compared to the foreigners, the new army is still insignificant! The real terror has not yet arrived, and the new army's advantage is only temporary."

"Yes, it's good that Master is prepared!" Upon hearing this, Shen Peiyu felt a little relieved, and her face regained its usual composure.

Just then, a servant's respectful voice came from outside the door: "Master, Madam, the tea and coffee are here!"

The door was pushed open, and a maid carrying a tray walked in.

With her head bowed and her steps light, she placed a steaming cup of coffee and a freshly brewed cup of Longjing tea in front of Cang Hong and Shen Peiyu respectively, and then quietly withdrew.

Shen Peiyu picked up the teacup, blew on the rising steam, and was about to bring it to her lips.

"Don't drink it!"

A low shout, like a thunderclap from a clear sky!

Cang Hong, who was holding a cup of coffee, suddenly became sharp as a knife, staring intently at the teacup in Shen Peiyu's hand, and then glanced at the coffee in his own hand.

"It contains snowflake-like sand!"

Shen Peiyu's hand froze in mid-air, and her expression changed instantly.

Cang Hong moved quickly. He didn't even get up. He just flicked his right index finger lightly at Shen Peiyu's teacup from a distance!

"Buzz!"

With a barely perceptible tremor, the tea in the teacup suddenly gushed upwards, but then mysteriously froze for a moment in mid-air. Immediately afterwards, countless tiny, shimmering particles, as if sifted out by an invisible force, separated from the tea and scattered onto the smooth mahogany table.

"Jingle bells..."

The sound was crisp yet eerie.

That's not snowflake sand at all, it's clearly glass powder that's even finer than grains of salt!

"Who did this?" Shen Peiyu's face was so dark it could drip water, and her voice was filled with murderous intent.

To poison her tea at the Cang Mansion, right in front of her, was the most blatant provocation against the entire Cang family and against Shen Peiyu herself!

"It seems someone is quite dissatisfied with our Cang family."

Cang Hong slowly stood up, walked to the table, picked up a bit of glass powder with his fingers, and his eyes became colder than ever before.

"To be able to enter the core area of ​​our Cang family and poison without being detected by any guards, this person is definitely not an ordinary martial artist, but... a sorcerer."

"Moreover, this person's mental strength is extremely powerful, so much so that even I didn't notice it at first!"

"Even the master didn't notice..." Shen Peiyu's expression changed again. "Could it be the legendary..."

Cang Hong did not answer. He merely glanced at the teacup, his face revealing an unfathomable calm, like a dark abyss, its depths completely unfathomable.

"The new army... seems to be no ordinary warlord force. Interesting!"

……

The next day, in the morning.

The sky was slightly overcast, and the chill of deep winter, carrying a damp cold, quietly seeped into every corner of the Cang Mansion.

In the hall, a Western-style grandfather clock ticked softly, rhythmically and dullly.

"Master of the family."

A servant in a suit walked quickly in, his voice very low. He stood bowing at the door of the study, not daring to look directly at the person inside.

"There's a phone call. It's from the Central Frontier Army. They said... they said a military vehicle has arrived and will be at the gate soon."

"The new army?" Cang Hong, sitting behind a rosewood desk and holding an ancient book, slowly raised his head.

His eyes flickered slightly, and it was unclear what he was thinking at that moment.

Nearby, the eldest wife, Shen Peiyu, who was picking out bird's nest with a silver skewer, paused slightly.

"What are they doing here?" Her phoenix-shaped brows furrowed slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes. "They just poisoned us last night, and now they're showing up at our door? Are they trying to give the Cang family a hard time?"

"Invite them in," Cang Hong said in a deep voice, then changed his mind, "No, we'll go greet them ourselves."

"Very well." A cold glint rose in Shen Peiyu's eyes. "I want to see what kind of trash these new soldiers are, worthy of even daring to patronize my Cang family."

Cang Mansion, in front of that heavy, carved iron gate.

Cang Hong and his first wife, Shen Peiyu, along with a group of core family members, stood solemnly on either side of the entrance.

Such a grand display was extremely rare in the history of the Cang Mansion.

At that moment, Canglian, who was sunbathing by the rockery in the front yard, saw this scene from afar.

This was the first time he had seen Cang Hong, the number one martial artist in the Cang family, up close since he transmigrated here.

Although it was just standing there quietly, it seemed like an unshakable mountain. The aura rising from its very core seemed to solidify, making the surrounding air thick and sticky.

That was the majesty cultivated through years of holding a high position, wielding the power of life and death, and practicing superior martial arts. It was as deep as a bottomless abyss and as imposing as a mountain, making people dare not look directly at it.

His first wife, Shen Peiyu, was no ordinary noblewoman; she was like a thorny plum blossom, both elegant and sharp.

She wore a dark green cheongsam and had sharp eyes. Although she didn't deliberately show it, Cang Lian's enhanced senses could clearly feel the power within her body, like a taut bowstring.

She is definitely a martial arts practitioner!

The two of them standing together exuded an aura that was so powerful and gentle, like a mountain and the sea, that it was almost impossible to look directly at them.

"Quite a spectacle." Cang Lian frowned slightly, turned to Gu Guolong, who was watching him from a distance, and asked, "What are they doing?"

Gu Guolong's face showed a rare hint of doubt, and he shook his head, clearly unaware of the answer.

Just as Cang Lian finished speaking.

A deep, distinctive engine roar broke the silence as it approached from afar.

The sound was completely different from that of ordinary Western cars; it was full of the ruthlessness and power of steel.

Soon, a military vehicle rolled over the cobblestone road and came to a steady stop in front of the mansion.

The vehicle was painted with military insignia and a prominent "New" character.

The car door creaked open, and a young woman in a crisp military uniform stepped out first.

She wore tall black riding boots, a wide military belt around her waist, and a holster slung across her shoulder, looking dashing and heroic.

Her beautiful hair was neatly pressed down by her military cap, revealing a face of exquisite beauty, especially her eyes, which were strikingly bright, as if they held a deep, cold pool, exuding confidence and aloofness.

Her aura was extremely unique, possessing both the iron-blooded ruthlessness of a soldier and an innate nobility. She stood in direct confrontation with Cang Hong and Shen Peiyu, holding her own in the slightest.

This person caught Cang Lian's eye a few more times.

He could sense that this woman was extraordinary.

"This must be Miss Chu Zhaoxue, whom I mentioned on the phone?" Shen Peiyu spoke first, a polite smile on her face, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Miss Chu truly lives up to her reputation as a daughter of a military family; she has an extraordinary bearing."

Chu Zhaoxue's gaze swept over the crowd and landed precisely on Cang Hong and Shen Peiyu. She nodded slightly and gave a standard military salute, neither humble nor arrogant: "Chu Zhaoxue greets Patriarch Cang and Madam Cang."

"Miss Chu, you're too kind." Shen Peiyu smiled faintly, but then abruptly changed the subject, "However, this is a foreign concession, foreign territory. How did your military vehicle manage to drive all the way here from the mainland without any hindrance?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhaoxue's lips curled into a slight smile, and she declared loudly, "When I drive my car over, those foreigners won't dare to stop me. Besides, every inch of land in this great nation of China belongs to us. We are the true masters here, and those foreigners are nothing but parasites temporarily residing on our land. Sooner or later, we will kill them with our own hands and throw them out!"

His words were resounding and filled with an undeniable air of authority.

The first wife's expression instantly turned somewhat unpleasant.

Chu Zhaoxue ignored the change in her expression. She turned around, respectfully walked to the back of the military vehicle, personally opened the door, and bowed slightly: "Teacher, please get out!"

As she moved, everyone's eyes were drawn to her.

An elderly man, supported by Chu Zhaoxue, slowly stepped out of the car.

He was dressed in a simple gray long gown and ordinary cloth shoes. He had a full head of silver hair and a thin face, looking like a rural schoolteacher.

But as soon as he got out of the car, an invisible aura spread out. It was neither the oppressive power of Cang Hong nor the sharpness of Shen Peiyu, but a gentle and profound aura, like a spring breeze and rain, silently nourishing all things.

Cang Hong's deep, pool-like eyes instantly focused, all his attention locked onto the old man.

He could sense that the power contained within the other party was like a dormant volcano, calm on the surface but a vast and unfathomable ocean within.

However, the old man seemed unaware of Cang Hong's almost tangible gaze. He merely turned his cloudy eyes slightly to look at Cang Hong, a gentle and kind smile appearing on his face, like a kind old neighbor.

In a battle between masters, the outcome can be decided in a single thought.

The scrutiny and pressure in Cang Hong's eyes quietly dissipated. He raised his hand, making a "please" gesture, his voice as steady as a mountain:

"please."

No one said anything more, and they filed in.