I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Brother, what does 'two fists can't beat four hands' mean?"

Zhang Hu scratched his head, somewhat confused about Zhang Long's meaning.

Although their Dragon Tiger Sect has many disciples, numbering in the tens of thousands, their opponent is one of the three great grandmasters of the Great Three Kingdoms.

In terms of combat strength alone, Snake Elder is no match for Li Fuyao.

How many people from the Dragon Tiger Sect would have to die to deal with Li Fuyao?

If too many people die, it's a losing proposition.

Moreover, ordinary disciples are nothing but cannon fodder in front of Li Fuyao. After all, it is not an empty saying that a grandmaster can take the enemy's head in the midst of a vast army.

"stupid!"

Zhang Long couldn't help but curse, "Who sent ordinary disciples to their deaths? To deal with Li Fuyao, one needs at least an eighth-rank martial artist to have any chance of protecting themselves."

Zhang Hu frowned and said, "Brother, but our Dragon Tiger Sect doesn't have many martial artists above the eighth rank. If we use them all to deal with Li Fuyao, what if something goes wrong elsewhere?"

"Tomorrow is the snake-slaying ceremony. The Crown Prince will definitely take this opportunity to cause trouble. We need to keep some manpower to deal with any emergencies."

Zhang Long sighed and said, "Therefore, we cannot use our own people to deal with Li Fuyao; we must use our own people to deal with the Crown Prince."

"Then whose people should we use? Who is willing to offend a grandmaster to help us?" Zhang Hu couldn't think of anything.

Zhang Long said, "Others might not dare, but the six great families do. As long as we offer them a reward they can't refuse, they will definitely help us."

After saying that, Zhang Long added, "Let's go! Let's go and meet them."

Before they even reached the guest room area arranged for the guests at the mountain gate, the two brothers heard the sounds of cups being smashed, chairs being thrown, and arguing.

"Has it been like this all these days?"

Zhang Long asked.

Zhang Hu nodded and said, "Brother, you don't know this, but the six great families are no longer as outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds as before. Now they are not only outwardly friendly but also inwardly at odds. The six great families have been divided into two distinct factions. The Pei family and the Lu family are evenly matched, and neither is willing to submit to the other."

"Pei Yunhe and Lu Ruanxiong have been arguing every now and then these past few days, and they've even come to blows a few times. Our people who went to try to stop them were injured in the process."

"Why have they become like this?" Zhang Long asked, puzzled.

Zhang Hu scratched his head and explained, "It seems to be because of the matter of marrying off their daughters; they all want to form a marriage alliance with the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Long said with great confusion, "What's so good about marrying your daughter to the royal family? If I had a daughter, I would never marry her to the royal family. That would be nothing short of suffering and torture."

Royal rules are numerous; how can it compare to the freedom and ease of the outside world?

A perfectly healthy woman can become neither human nor ghost after just a few months.

Moreover, both emperors and princes had many wives and concubines, leading to fierce competition for favor and intense infighting within the harem.

Zhang Long didn't want his daughter to live a life filled with conspiracies and schemes.

Zhang Hu nodded in agreement.

Marrying into the royal family, how can one be as free and unrestrained as one would be in the martial world?

As they spoke, the two arrived at the guest room area.

Upon seeing the two men arrive, the crowd that had been watching the spectacle parted to make way for the two brothers.

Most of the people who came to participate in the Serpent Slaying Tournament were from various major sects in Jiangnan.

As one of the top sects in the Jiangnan region, the Dragon Tiger Sect and its leaders, Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, hold very high positions in the martial arts world!

The two brothers nodded in acknowledgment and then went inside.

The incident occurred in a prescription room, which was originally a place where everyone could drink tea and chat.

But ever since the six great families came up the mountain, this prescription hall has become their exclusive place.

It's not that we don't want to compete, but that we lack the strength.

The martial arts sects still can't compare to these aristocratic families that have been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years. Not to mention, most of them are still henchmen raised by these aristocratic families, so they dare not compete with these aristocratic families.

"You idiot, you've fallen for Qin Li's trick. He just wants us to fight amongst ourselves so he can reap the benefits."

"Be fooled? I, Lu Ruanxiong, will not be fooled so easily. Hmph, I saw it long ago. None of you Peis are good people. On one hand, you say you don't want us to fight among ourselves, but on the other hand, you only allow your own daughters to marry Qin Li! You won't let us marry him. How come you get to say all the nice things?"

"..."

Inside the main hall, Pei Yunhe and Lu Ruanxiong were arguing fiercely.

Pei Yunhe was so angry that his face turned red and his whole body trembled.

Lu Ruanxiong, on the other hand, held a clear advantage, being aggressive and unwilling to back down an inch.

The tables in the hall had been replaced several times, the chairs were all smashed, and broken teacups and porcelain shards were scattered everywhere on the floor, making it impossible to step on anything.

The other four great families watched the show from the sidelines, showing no intention of intervening to offer any advice.

After all, the conflict between the Pei and Lu families only brings them benefits, not harm; perhaps they can even become the beneficiaries.

It wasn't until the arrival of the Zhang brothers, Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, that Pei Yunhe and Lu Ruanxiong stopped arguing and looked at the two.

Unlike other minor sects that are henchmen of powerful families, the two from the Dragon Tiger Sect still have to give them some face.

They would dream of recruiting just Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, who are only half-step Grandmasters.

"Patriarch Pei, Patriarch Lu, please calm down. I wonder what our Dragon Tiger Sect has done to offend you two so much?"

Zhang Long cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile.

Pei Yunhe and Lu Ruanxiong exchanged a glance, then both cupped their hands in return to Zhang Long.

Lu Ruanxiong said first, "No, nothing at all. It was just a small disagreement between him and me. Who knew it would alarm the sect leader? I'm really sorry..."

Pei Yunhe also said, "Yes, yes, it really shouldn't have happened."

Zhang Long nodded, ordered the hall to be cleaned again, and then invited the two to sit down.

After serving tea, Zhang Long asked Zhang Hu to go outside and disperse the crowd of onlookers, because what was about to be said was not something they could hear.

After Zhang Hu and his men dispersed the onlookers from various sects, Zhang Long learned the whole story from Pei and Lu. He said, "Patriarch Pei, this is wrong of you. To put it bluntly, how can you allow officials to set fires while forbidding ordinary people to light lamps? Why is it that only the Pei family's daughter can marry the Crown Prince, but the Lu family's daughter cannot?"

Pei Yunhe's expression was not good, but he still explained, "Sect Leader, you are unaware that it is not that I, the head of the family, want to marry her, but Pei Qingluan of my Pei family is not someone I can decide."

"I am not his father at all. His father is my elder brother, whom the sect leader should also know. He is the sword immortal Li Fuyao who founded the Sword Sect."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Long suddenly realized what was going on.

It wasn't that they realized Pei Qingluan's father was Li Fuyao, but rather that they understood why Li Fuyao would suddenly go up the mountain to oppose the two brothers.

It turns out that Li Fuyao is the Crown Prince's father-in-law!

Pei Yunhe continued, "It's not that I don't want the Lu family's daughter to marry, but once the Lu family gets involved with the Crown Prince, Jiangnan will no longer be a fortified place. Everyone sitting here is a smart person and should know what I mean."

But it was such a simple and obvious truth that Lu Ruanxiong had been pretending to be stupid with him all this time, which was the reason for Pei Yunhe's anger.

"Master Lu, what do you mean?"

Zhang Long asked.

To be honest, he didn't want the Jiangnan region to fight amongst themselves. The fierce battle between the Pei and Lu families wouldn't benefit the Dragon Tiger Gate.

Lu Ruanxiong waved his hand and said, "I didn't mean anything. My point is simple: if the Pei family can marry their daughter to the Crown Prince, so can our Lu family. I don't care if Pei Qingluan is your daughter Pei Yunhe or your elder brother's daughter. In short, she has the surname Pei, so she is your Pei family's daughter."

"Are you out of your mind?"

Pei Yunhe couldn't help but retort, "What good does it do for your Lu family to marry your daughter to the Crown Prince?"

"You're the one who got kicked in the head by a donkey!"

Lu Ruanxiong retorted, "What benefit would that bring to our Lu family? That's none of Patriarch Pei's concern. In short, our Lu family's daughter is destined to marry him."

Pei Yunhe snorted coldly: "It takes two to tango. You want to marry him, but the Crown Prince doesn't want to."

Unable to tolerate being looked down upon by Pei Yunhe, Lu Ruanxiong slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily, "Say that again if you dare!"

Pei Yunhe wasn't one to back down either, and he slammed his fist on the table, standing up. "I'll say it again! If you're not convinced, let's go outside and fight!"

Neither of them were simply heads of households; both were skilled in martial arts, and ordinary martial artists would find it difficult to defeat them.

Seeing that the two were about to go outside to fight after a disagreement, Zhang Long quickly stood up and stretched out his arm to stop them:

"Please calm down, esteemed heads of the family, and give me some face!"

He finally understood the crux of their animosity, and so Zhang Long began to act as a peacemaker...