Chapter 1 The Blood Rain World, Imperial Capital

On a massive pleasure boat in the Blood Rain World's Imperial Capital, there was only one distinguished guest tonight.

On the top floor of the multi-storied boat, a thin, goateed man wearing a silken robe sat cross-legged in the main seat, leisurely drinking wine. Beside him was an old man with white hair, sitting cross-legged, his presence completely subdued.

"Judging by the time, tonight, the Black Lotus Sect should encounter the family of our Lord Fei," the thin man said, stroking his beard, his eyes full of anticipation. "I'm really looking forward to seeing the expression on Lord Fei's face when he learns that his only two relatives in the world are dead. That expression will definitely be wonderful, very interesting!"

The old man remained silent, not uttering a word.

"Master Liu, do you think I'm going too far?" the thin man asked, looking at the white-haired old man.

"The strong prey on the weak. If the Black Lotus Sect sends people strong enough to devour Lord Fei's family, it's only natural," the white-haired old man said. "There's nothing excessive about it."

The thin man laughed heartily. "I really envy Master Liu's state of mind. No matter when, no matter where, no matter what happens, you can remain as calm as a mountain."

"Your Highness needs to cultivate his mind. If you want to achieve great accomplishments in martial arts, you must first have a strong heart," the white-haired old man said. "If your heart isn't strong enough, how can you perfectly control your physical body?"

"I can't do it."

The thin man shook his head. "After practicing for so many years, with so many famous teachers, and with you, Master Liu, teaching me, I'm still only third-rate."

"And in this world, there's more than just martial arts. There are even more interesting things. Life is only a hundred years long, so naturally, one has to find more interesting things to do," the thin man said, a strange glint in his eyes, as he drained his cup of wine.

To charter a pleasure boat but dismiss all the beauties was just the ‘Prince Qi’ being capricious.

...

"Giddy up, giddy up."

In the dark night, many Blood Rain Guards were escorting their leader, riding horses in the darkness. The leader was a grim-faced young man in black robes, whose invisible chill made his subordinates tremble with fear.

They all knew that their lord was in a very bad mood at the moment.

"My Lord, Lord Wang and the others have each taken three horses and will definitely catch up," said an old man with white hair beside him.

"Lord Wang and the others have chosen the best horses, traveling light. They're probably two hundred *li* ahead of us by now and will definitely meet Master Fei and the others," another muscular man said.

The black-robed youth rode his horse, not saying a word, but the chill emanating from his body grew even stronger.

If…

If his father and sister were dead…

The Imperial Capital would definitely see many deaths! Those he suspected would all have to die!

"The Black Lotus Sect, these madmen, aren't afraid of me!" the black-robed youth muttered to himself. "Someone must be behind them, using these madmen of the Black Lotus Sect."

"Once I find out who's behind this, I, Fei Qing, will definitely let you know the consequences of offending me!" The black-robed youth's anger was burning. He had indeed arranged enough guards and experts to protect his father's and sister's party.

In the Eastern Region of the empire, he was very confident, as that was where his power held sway, and his father and sister would be safe.

But outside the Eastern Region, he wasn't sure. So, he arranged a second wave of people in Iron Bell City, believing that such a protective escort would be enough to protect the old and the young.

Although there were conflicts within the upper echelons of the empire, there were also unwritten rules: the feud should not extend to family members!

After defeating the opposing side, the opponent's family would naturally decline and become miserable. There was no need to sneakily assassinate their family members early on. Such tactics were too low-class and would make many people feel unsafe.

The principle of not harming family members was generally followed by all parties.

But in this world, there were always some people who didn't abide by the unwritten rules! Fei Qing had too many enemies, and this time, an enemy had made a move.

******

At night, the Fei family's group arrived at an isolated inn called "Fragrant River Inn."

"We'll spend the night at the inn tonight, and tomorrow we'll go straight to the Imperial Capital," the steward, Uncle Zhang, said to the guards.

"Alright."

The guards dismounted and began to enter the inn.

The Fragrant River Inn was quite large and had a lot of manpower. In this world, being able to run an inn in the wilderness meant that they had some ability. But when the Fei family's group took out a Blood Rain Guard Black Blood Token, the inn immediately cooperated very well, even helping to coordinate, asking other guests to give up their rooms to ensure that the Fei family's group got the rooms they wanted.

Many rooms were close together, protecting Master Fei and Miss Fei.

Xu Jingming shared a room with two other guards. After all, he was one of the few first-rate experts in the group, so he slept on the bed. The other two Blood Rain Guards were both second-rate experts, so they simply made a makeshift bed on the floor.

"Once we get to the Imperial Capital, we can relax."

"Let's just make do tonight."

Xu Jingming and the two Blood Rain Guards ate some simple food, washed up, and went to bed early. The long journey was indeed tiring, so Xu Jingming chose "smart auto-training," and his consciousness left the Blood Rain World.

In the blink of an eye, it was the second half of the night, and the night wind was even colder.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

A group of people quietly appeared, looking at the inn in the distance.

"Protector," a scout knelt beside him, respectfully reporting, "It's confirmed that the Fei family's group has checked into the 'Fragrant River Inn' ahead. In addition to the Fei family's group, there are about thirty other guests at the Fragrant River Inn, as well as more than ten people working at the inn itself."

"Fragrant River Inn? Is this inn run by the Fragrant River Gang?" the black-haired man asked curiously.

"It's an inn built by the Fragrant River Gang," the scout replied respectfully.

"The Fragrant River Gang cooperated with our Black Lotus Sect last time," the black-haired man shook his head. "But today, we need to capture the Fei family. There's no other way! I believe the Fragrant River Gang Leader will understand us. Just set fire to it. Burn the inn and capture the Fei family."

Attacking the inn by force would result in greater losses. Although everyone said that the Black Lotus Sect was a bunch of madmen, only madmen with brains could inspire fear.

The Black Lotus Sect obviously wanted to capture the Fei family with minimal losses.

"Yes," the crowd obeyed.

The Black Lotus Sect disciples very skillfully surrounded the inn, carefully lurking, and then each lit a fire arrow. The arrowheads were soaked in flammable liquid, and now, after being lit, they immediately released the arrows on command.

Many fire arrows soared into the sky, *bang, bang, bang!*

Some shot into the wooden planks, some shot into the haystacks outside the inn, and some shot into the stables and kitchens behind the inn.

Many flammable materials inside the inn, such as fodder, wood, and cotton cloth, quickly burst into flames. The inn's buildings were mainly made of wood, so once the fire grew, it would naturally engulf the entire inn.

The Protector's eyes reflected the huge flames in the night, but his expression was as calm as a cold pond. He ordered, "Kill anyone who comes out. Leave no one alive except the Fei family!"

...

After Xu Jingming activated the smart auto-training...

The personal space's training field simulated a planetary scene. Only Xu Jingming existed on this planet. At this moment, Xu Jingming sat cross-legged on the top of a mountain, performing the Heart Refinement Technique, naturally feeling the flow of blood in his body, feeling the subtle changes in his body's metabolism.

Cultivating the five volumes of spearmanship in the upper part of the *Hua Guang* (Transformation of Light) was progressing smoothly. But the cultivation of the mind could not be relaxed in the slightest. Xu Jingming had read in the classics that… the mind determined how far one could go on the path of evolution.

"Buzz." Suddenly, a reminder came from the Blood Rain World.

Xu Jingming suddenly opened his eyes, breaking away from the state of the Heart Refinement Technique.

"What's going on? Something's wrong?" Xu Jingming felt vaguely uneasy. When his body in the Blood Rain World was sleeping, it was on smart auto-training. Once he woke up, he would immediately receive a reminder, so he could enter the Blood Rain World as soon as possible.

According to Xu Jingming's estimation, there should have been about five more hours before it was time to get up and leave.

Waking up so early meant that something unexpected had happened.

"Whoosh."

Xu Jingming did not hesitate. With a single thought, he immediately entered the Blood Rain World.

As soon as he entered, Xu Jingming found that he was already standing in the corridor on the second floor of the inn.

——

I was busy all day today, so this chapter is a bit shorter. I'll definitely write more in tomorrow's chapter.