The night had just begun, and in the courtyards not far from the New Tiger Palace, torchlight blazed everywhere. Squads of guards carrying torches, swords, and spears moved back and forth in the nearby streets and courtyards.

"Heavenly Blade" Tan Zheng entered the courtyard, somewhat surprised to see Wang Nantuo already there, and greeted him. Then, with even greater respect, he bowed to the figure emerging from the courtyard within: "Holy Master, you've arrived."

"Oh, Tan Zheng." The massive Lin Zongwu stepped out. "You're not slow. It seems the rumors of you taking care of this nephew are true."

Tan Zheng bowed slightly. "My discussions on the fist with Li Ruoque back then were greatly beneficial to my blade techniques. But how did the Holy Master..."

"I happened to encounter this fight and came over from that direction." Lin Zongwu smiled. "When I arrived, the assassin had already fled. But observing his movements, and after asking Yanfeng about their encounter, it seemed very much like the Cloud Swallowing Monk from back then. Haha, without the burden of that iron armor, Zhou Tong couldn't catch up, and neither could I."

Speaking to this point, Lin Zongwu paused before continuing, "Oh, Yanfeng is alright. Cloud Swallowing made a surprise attack with malicious intent, but he only suffered minor injuries; he's lucky to be alive... Go in and see him. A little setback is a good thing for young people. I think he has a bright future ahead of him."

Receiving Lin Zongwu's appraisal, Tan Zheng bowed and took his leave, heading inside. Here, there were two more courtyards. The innermost courtyard contained bamboo groves and rockeries. Many bamboo trees were now lying on the ground, some cut down by blades, others snapped by sticks, clearly indicating a fierce fight. Li Yanfeng, stripped to the waist, sat by the pond with artificial mountains. His upper body was bandaged, suggesting injuries to his shoulders or back.

A little setback is a good thing for young people, but recently, the Monkey King had experienced a few too many setbacks in Jiangning.

The series of events began with the slaughter in Gold Street. Cloud Swallowing Monk killed Liu Guangshi's envoy, Gu Anhe, leading to chaos on the long street. Li Yanfeng initially displayed great skill on the street but later discovered some suspicious figures, pursuing them. After a fight, he sustained minor injuries but was quite disheveled.

He then took advantage of the Gold Street incident to lash out at Meng Zhutao. Xu Zhaonan had no choice but to step in as a peacemaker, promising Li Yanfeng substantial compensation. And after Gu Anhe's death, he became the de facto deputy envoy of Liu Guangshi's delegation, reaping the greatest benefits.

However, just a few days later, Meng Zhutao proactively challenged Li Yanfeng to a fight at a gathering. Li Yanfeng was only in his early thirties, and his monkey fist skills were said to surpass his predecessors. Facing Meng Zhutao, who still had shoulder injuries, he naturally didn't intend to back down. As a result, under the condition that both sides only used fists and feet, he was beaten to the point of spitting blood and admitting defeat on the spot. This was the second injury.

A few days later, he was involved in the assassination attempt on Shi Baofeng's second son, Shi Weiyang. He reportedly encountered a master from the Southwest, and the two exchanged blows. As a result, he was left with a bruised and swollen face. Although he supposedly forced the opponent to retreat, more information suggested that the person was skilled in the Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training Golden Bell Cover. It was hard to say whether he gained any advantage in the exchange. This was the third injury.

After that came the evening of September 16th. It seemed that Cloud Swallowing Monk suddenly attacked, but Li Yanfeng reacted quickly, retaliating with his staff. Then Lin Zongwu, who was nearby, rushed over, and Cloud Swallowing fled. Thus, another assassination ended with Li Yanfeng suffering minor injuries.

For Green Forest people, licking blood from the knife’s edge and getting injured in martial arts contests were common occurrences. However, Li Yanfeng was different from ordinary Green Forest martial artists. His family had a rich background, and he possessed great talent. He was also a warlord with some achievements in this chaotic world. Both in terms of martial arts and intelligence, he could be considered a prominent figure in this era. Therefore, Tan Zheng, among the younger generation of the Manichean sect who came to Jiangning, valued him the most.

But who knew if he had offended some deity? He had been beaten four times in just twenty days. In the current Jiangning city, the Green Forest masters who could defeat Li Yanfeng were already among the top tier in this game. People like Tan Zheng wouldn't easily take action. However, each time he was injured, it was so inexplicable, making Tan Zheng feel somewhat complicated at this moment.

Of course, these feelings couldn't be voiced at the moment. Some people were just unlucky. He had rich life experience and had seen it before. For example, among the Undead Guards, there was a former deputy captain who used to follow him. He recently heard that his nose had been broken twice, and he was applying medicine every day, looking very miserable. But what could you do? If your nose was injured the first time, and you encountered an enemy again, they would treat it as a weakness and target it. It sounded terrible, but it was actually human nature in a fight.

Pushing aside these pointless thoughts, he approached the edge of the bamboo forest and saw the damage caused by a third type of weapon besides the sword and staff.

"Flowing Cloud Iron Sleeves... This does indeed look like the Cloud Swallowing Monk's skill. Does he hide knives in his sleeves?"

Tan Zheng turned around, and Li Yanfeng had already gotten up and walked over. He was handsome and tall, and his body, honed by years of martial arts practice, was as hard as if carved by knives and axes. Even though he had been beaten four times recently, there was no sign of frustration on his face.

"Short knives hidden in the sleeves, like the same person from that day at the Gold Tower... His movements are truly formidable."

Tan Zheng nodded. "Only a few people in the world can escape from the Holy Master."

"I heard that Uncle Zheng had some dealings with him back then?"

"He's a wandering ghost, an evil sect master running around everywhere. I encountered him a few times in the Central Plains, but I wouldn't call us familiar. He was also at the scene when Zhu Xianzhen killed Qin Si Yuan, and he managed to escape with his life. He has a bad reputation, and the Holy Master doesn't like him..." Tan Zheng shook his head, simply explained the matter, and then frowned slightly. "It's strange. People outside say that Cloud Swallowing was instructed by Wu Qimei and others to assassinate Gu Anhe in order to disrupt the alliance between Liu Guangshi and the others, which makes sense. But Gu Anhe is already dead. Why doesn't he go after other delegation members and come here to kill you? Is it possible that General Liu has a private feud with someone?"

When the Gold Tower incident occurred, everyone said that Wu Qimei had hired a master to cause trouble, hoping to prevent the Fair Governance Party Congress from proceeding smoothly, which was a reasonable guess. But now, the envoys sent by Wu Qimei and Tie Yan have all disappeared. Rumors are circulating that they have been secretly eliminated. Could this incident have turned out to be a misunderstanding?

Tan Zheng frowned, while Li Yanfeng, who was even more quick-witted, had probably already thought of these things. He simply shook his head. "In this Jiangning city today, there are more than just this one incomprehensible thing."

Tan Zheng turned his head. "What does Nephew mean?"

Li Yanfeng raised his eyebrows. "Can Uncle Zheng see clearly how the situation in this city will end?"

In the nearby courtyards, because it involved the Monkey King's assassination, squads of soldiers and guards were searching and investigating in all directions. But at the same time, in the direction Li Yanfeng indicated, the traces of large and small disturbances and brawls had become increasingly clear even in the night.

Since September 13th, after the assassination of Fair Governance King He Wen, the situation in the entire Jiangning city had become turbulent again, even returning to, or even exceeding, the most chaotic situation of a month or two ago in just three days.

A spark ignited by the small incident of the Reading Club began to turn into a raging fire in a short period of time.

After nearly two years of wild development, this five-party gathering in Jiangning was originally intended to discuss matters and form alliances.

However, the five kings who were the leaders of the Fair Governance Party – led by He Wen – suddenly seemed to have lost their minds and refused to compromise on this matter, and then no one intended to compromise, escalating the conflict. If Shi Baofeng and the other four kings publicly issued orders to arrest members of the Reading Club, it could be considered handling their own "internal affairs." He Wen's disregard for the others and issuing a Fair Governance King's decree on September 12th, prohibiting indiscriminate killing on the territories of the other four, was directly tearing face and shitting on the heads of the others, a declaration of war.

At this time, if someone could mediate and compromise, things could still be discussed, and everything would remain within the scope of political probing. However, the assassination on the street on September 13th seemed to mean that the fuse had been lit on the powder keg.

In that assassination, He Wen, who was prepared, was not injured, but mobilized his already arranged manpower to carry out a large-scale siege of dozens of assassins. The fighting that broke out on the long street was tragic. And after that, on September 14th, Wei Xuwen, the "Heavenly Slaughter" under the madman Zhou Shang, was the first to send people to invade a street with the banner of the Fair Governance King. When Fu Pingbo, who was in charge of security, led people there, Wei Xuwen used the reason that he "hadn't liked you for a long time" to engage in fierce fighting with the other side.

Shi Baofeng and Xu Zhaonan then launched an attack.

Due to the land-grabbing activities in the past few months, the territories within the city were intertwined and full of private grievances. Under the several kings, the nominal territories had both direct and borrowed distinctions. At that time, due to He Wen's progress, the other four kings cooperated with his actions and restrained themselves. After many direct territories became quiet, the various small borrowed forces did not dare to move, so the previous half month was peaceful.

At this time, the five kings tore face, and the powder keg exploded again.

Within the city, Shi Baofeng, Zhou Shang, and Xu Zhaonan took the most action, sending waves of their subordinates to clash with He Wen's forces. But in fact, the balance of power in the city did not show a one-sided situation due to the three-on-one or four-on-one action. In the rounds of land-grabbing battles, the two sides seemed evenly matched.

This was because, compared to the situation in the entire Jiangnan, Jiangning was still just a sandbox for recreation. As the trend of the five kings' confrontation gradually became clear, the orders issued from Jiangning, in addition to the opposition to hunt down or not hunt down members of the Reading Club, also included rounds of continuous military orders. The confrontation involved in these military orders would only take effect in the next ten days or even more than half a month.

When verbal negotiations on the table could not be reached, local battles off the table were also a means of clarifying attitudes. At the same time, large-scale military deterrence was also an important bargaining chip.

These were subtle and peculiar days.

On September 15th, while the fighting in the city became fierce, the originally scheduled Fair Governance Party Congress was still held as usual. Except for the five kings who did not attend, senior members such as Chen Juefang, Tan Zheng, Fu Pingbo, Wei Xuwen, and Jin Yongsheng actually gathered together and engaged in nearly a day of discussion and mutual scolding.

The situation of secretly inquiring about news from each other after arguing on the surface was also the most frequent.

Li Yanfeng's confusion had its origin.

His assassination was just the most inconspicuous small thing in the chaotic situation in the city in recent days. And even Tan Zheng, a Great Brightness Religion Protector who had been following Xu Zhaonan for some time, was somewhat unsure of the direction of the situation.

The current situation looked at first glance, of course, was that Shi Baofeng and the other four were forcing He Wen to submit on the matter of the Reading Club, but He Wen launched a confrontation with such stubbornness. Did he really not have any bargaining chips in his hands?

According to the news circulating in private, the most vivid saying was that He Wen had joined forces with one or two of the four kings, preparing to clear two or three out of the game at once.

Master Xu seemed to be on the opposite side of He Wen, but in fact, would he suddenly defect when the time came? It was said that He Wen had extended an invitation to him, saying, "Let's do it together."

The assassination on the long street on September 13th was said to have been done by Gao Chang, which was consistent with his straightforward personality. But in another rumor, Gao Chang had always been the most likely person to walk with He Wen.

Shi Baofeng and He Wen had known each other for a long time. The Equality King was now strong and had abundant resources, but in fact, he had originally split from a branch of He Wen's faction that was in charge of materials. A few days ago, he used the Reading Club as an excuse to force He Wen to express his attitude. Would the matter then develop directly to this point? Would it be a game they set up in private?

Including Zhou Shang, no one liked this madman. People once thought that he would be the target of the four-on-one. Now, even if it had become He Wen, was he trustworthy? Even if he did not join forces with He Wen, it would not be surprising to betray his companions when the time came.

In the final analysis, the confusion in people's minds these days actually came down to one question: the five factions of the Fair Governance Party each had their own style. If He Wen did not unite the other factions, could the four factions' forces after setting aside He Wen really combine into one?

What kind of compromise would they make with each other? What kind of tacit understanding would they need to maintain? How many changes would occur in this process?

People would not naively think that the four families joining forces could smoothly defeat He Wen. The more likely situation was that halfway through the fight, everyone might start a mixed battle to guard against each other.

This congress suddenly turned into this, which was unexpected by everyone. At the same time, if they could really see the future direction clearly, this was also an opportunity for everyone to obtain the greatest benefit. This was true for Tan Zheng, and it was even more true for Li Yanfeng and others who came to represent other forces.

The two stood by the bamboo forest and chatted for a while. Li Yanfeng didn't mention the reason why Yun Tun came to assassinate him, and Tan Zheng didn't say much about it. After talking about Xu Zhaonan's matter, they brought up the Reading Club. Did He Wen really believe in the Reading Club's theory? Did the Southwest really intervene here? Tan Zheng and Li Yanfeng walked outwards, talking about their opponents that day.

"Black Iron God" Qiu Shuyan, this was a disciple of Ning Yi's most skilled concubine, and was actually equivalent to the personally taught disciple of "Heart Demon" Ning Yi. If he really came, the nature of the whole thing would be completely different.

"I can't be completely sure either..." Tan Zheng said seriously, and Li Yanfeng became cautious. "After all, this is the first time I've fought against this person."

"Did the Holy Master ask about this just now?" Tan Zheng asked.

Li Yanfeng nodded. "Mr. Wang came to ask the first time, but just now, the Holy Master shook hands with me. He didn't say whether it was him specifically or not."

Tan Zheng nodded and remained silent for a moment. "The confrontation with the Heart Demon is a private knot in the Holy Master's heart."

Li Yanfeng looked at him. "I heard that the two of them have never fought."

"I haven't followed the Holy Master for long, so I haven't personally seen Ning Yi's skills." Tan Zheng said, "But back then in Mount Lüliang, there was a round of overt and covert struggle. Later, in the Zhu Xianzhen battle, the Heart Demon came with a large army. They should have fought then. In that battle... ultimately, the Great Brightness Religion's previous generation of masters were mostly lost."

Tan Zheng didn't say much about this. That was also the battle where the previous Monkey King Li Ruoque died. Li Yanfeng didn't need to mention it much here.

He whispered, "Actually, there have always been two views in the martial arts world. Some say that the Heart Demon Ning Yi actually doesn't know martial arts."

"This statement has been circulating for a long time, and it has become more and more vivid through misrepresentation." Tan Zheng smiled. "People say that the Heart Demon doesn't know martial arts because he started managing military affairs early and didn't take action often. But if you trace back to those years, you should know that Ning Yi had another nickname before 'Heart Demon,' which was 'Bloodhanded Human Butcher.' Think about it, how many people would you have to kill, how brutal would you have to be, to have such a nickname full of baleful aura? In the Green Forest world, you can take the wrong name, but you won't take the wrong nickname. What's more, over the years, when we mention the rumors about Ning Yi to the Holy Master, he always smiles without saying a word. Why? You need to know that the Holy Master rarely talks about Zhou Tong with others..."

After Tan Zheng said this, Li Yanfeng understood and nodded. "I heard that the Holy Master challenged Grandmaster Zhou back then, but Grandmaster Zhou never accepted the challenge. Later, Grandmaster Zhou assassinated Wan Yan Zonghan and died... the Holy Master respects him."

"It's the same with the Heart Demon. In the early years, the Great Brightness Religion had conflicts with the Heart Demon. We were at a disadvantage several times, but the two were both grandmasters of the time, so they may have had a sense of mutual appreciation. In recent years, the Holy Master has been resisting the Jin to the north, and he is on the same path as the Southwest... But if the people from the Black Banner really come to Jiangning this time, the Holy Master may have to consider confronting these young people. His thoughts are actually quite complicated."

Tan Zheng spoke about these private matters with Li Yanfeng. The smile on his slightly graying face made him seem more approachable. Li Yanfeng thought for a moment, and his eyes were firm. "But my father died at the hands of the Black Banner. If I have the opportunity, I will not let that Heart Demon go."

"There will be opportunities." Tan Zheng patted Li Yanfeng on the uninjured shoulder. "The Holy Master will not let him go either. I think that when the world is at peace, the several grandmasters will definitely have a battle."

The two chatted about these things from the Reading Club. Then Tan Zheng asked Li Yanfeng to go back to rest and turned to leave. Not far after leaving this courtyard, he saw Meng Zhutao, who was emerging from a nearby residence and preparing to get into his carriage. The two greeted each other, and after finding that they didn't have anything important to talk about, Tan Zheng said, "Walk together?"

Meng Zhutao nodded in agreement and started walking, letting the carriage follow behind. "Did Duke Tan come out from the Monkey King's place? I heard he got beaten up again?"

"The Holy Master was there earlier, but he couldn't keep the assassin. It seemed to be Yun Tun Monk who took action." Tan Zheng said, "If I didn't know Brother Meng's personality, I would have suspected that you hired the thugs who beat him up the last two times. In that case, it would make sense that Yun Tun was paid to do things."

Meng Zhutao smiled. He was a man of bold temperament. When he didn't like Li Yanfeng, he beat him up on the spot. He was too lazy to explain the rest. "...Why would Yun Tun want to kill him?"

"In my opinion, there are three possibilities. Either Yun Tun Monk wasn't hired by Wu Qimei and those people... but by Liu Guangshi's enemies. Of course, this matter is quite big, so it's best not to guess too much."

"That group of people sent by Wu Qimei was really unlucky... What's the second possibility?"

"Yun Tun was paid to do things. Someone who Li Nephew has offended hired him. That's another transaction. Then this matter is much simpler."

"It's not strange that young people offend many people." Meng Zhutao said calmly. "What's the third possibility?"

"It's similar to the second possibility. He offended Yun Tun in private, and for some reason, he refused to say it. Yun Tun had to kill him. It's also possible. Li Nephew is thoughtful and occasionally withholds something. We're just guessing, and there's no real evidence..."

If you carefully explore Yun Tun Monk's assassination of Li Yanfeng, there would actually be a lot of possibilities. Li Yanfeng talked about the situation in the city and casually diverted the topic. Tan Zheng followed him and talked about trivial matters. In fact, he was old and shrewd. How could he not understand Li Yanfeng's little thoughts? At this moment, he sighed slightly.

Meng Zhutao just smiled. "A young man in his early thirties, everything going smoothly, and taking the opportunity to open up a territory, likes to wear his cleverness on his face. It's not strange." He said, "It'll be good for him to suffer a little loss in the future."

Tan Zheng also smiled. The two walked along the street. In the night ahead, there was more fighting caused by fire. Meng Zhutao raised his eyebrows. "Wei Xuwen is taking advantage of the chaos to take revenge again."

Tan Zheng sighed. "Brother Meng, do you think we will really fight with He Wen?"

Meng Zhutao thought for a moment. He looked ahead. "Brother Tan... do you think He Wen really wants to take the path of the Reading Club?"

The long street under the night extended. The city ahead was full of smoke and fire, a dim and chaotic scene.

Using the slogan put forward by the Southwest, the Fair Governance Party arose because of He Wen, and therefore expanded rapidly. Regarding this fierce struggle, people would say that He Wen alone may not be able to defeat the other four. However, at this moment when the theory of the Southwest spread along with his unquestionable powerful record, after leaving He Wen and the banner of Fair Governance, after leaving the name of the Southwest, could this behemoth of the Fair Governance Party really continue smoothly?

At this moment, this was the doubt that many people in the night were facing.

...

At the same time, New Tiger Palace.

After dealing with Li Yanfeng's matter, Xu Zhaonan came to visit after returning here.

The two sat opposite each other and drank tea. After breaking with He Wen for three days, it seemed that he had thought carefully about the entire problem. This time, Xu Zhaonan, who came over, hid an extremely serious look in his seemingly casual words.

Lin Zongwu finished chatting with him easily about Li Yanfeng's matter. After Xu Zhaonan sat upright and started cupping his hands, Lin Zongwu smiled slightly. "Duke Xu, feel free to speak."

"Zhaonan is guilty." Xu Zhaonan bowed and prostrated, remaining silent for a long time. "This time... entrusting Mr. Wang to go north to invite the Holy Master to come out of the mountain was to use the Holy Master's teachings on the battlefield. Only because after the Southwest War, the soldiers of the Chinese Army, using the training methods of Grandmaster Zhou, conducted small-team operations. Each of them could be a scout. If this matter is not resolved, it will be difficult for us to fight against them in the future. And in fact, among the five factions of the Fair Governance Party, we have the most masters. They are unruly in nature and difficult to control on the battlefield. Therefore, one is to use the Holy Master's wisdom to train them, and the other is to use the Holy Master's prestige to suppress them..."

"This time, the Fair Governance Party Congress originally thought that the five parties would work together and proceed smoothly, and then we could focus on training our troops. Who knew that He Wen would be capricious and suddenly defect, going against the trend... If we fight outside, we are not actually afraid, but there is one thing. Now He Wen is using a tiger skin to make a big banner, claiming that the people of the Black Banner have arrived and are standing on their side... If this is really the case, we have to prepare early. And if a head-on confrontation really begins, the people here who can suppress the Black Banner with a grand force... are actually not many..."

Xu Zhaonan stated his thoughts slowly and cautiously. Lin Zongwu put down his teacup. His expression was calm and not surprised. What came to his mind were the confrontations with the Black Banner over the years—in fact, the confrontations had long stopped. Even that fleeting glance back then in Jin no longer counted as a confrontation...

He turned the teacup.

"Ning Yi is very good at battlefield confrontations and private operations."

He said.

"Duke Xu... have you really decided not to cooperate with He Wen?"

The autumn wind was bleak, and the stars outside the window were sparse. Many people would gradually reach the fork in the road of fate.