Chapter 272 - 247: Meeting Acquaintances in Xuanhuo City (Requesting Monthly Tickets)_1

A few days passed, Lu Yan checked his meritorious points and found an extra five hundred points.

These five hundred were the reward for recommending Wen Yuan to join the Hidden Dragon Camp.

Adding the monthly thirty merit points from the Hidden Dragon List, Lu Yan’s merit points had exceeded six hundred.

Before long, Lu Yan received a notification that Chu Long wanted to meet him.

In a study room at the King Ming’s Guard Mansion, Lu Yan met Chu Long.

"Lu Yan, in a few days, you are about to go on a mission, you should know, right?"

Chu Long said.

"I know."

Lu Yan nodded and said, "Commander, may I know what the mission is this time?"

"Go to Xuanhuo City, watch the Yan Clan, and find evidence of their betrayal to the Mansion of King Ming."

Chu Long spoke succinctly.

Lu Yan, however, was taken aback: "The Yan Clan wants to betray the Mansion of King Ming? How dare they?"

"Isn’t it because of the Shengxuan Sect?"

A trace of gloom flashed in Chu Long’s eyes.

"The Shengxuan Sect? Isn’t it also subservient to the Mansion of King Ming?"

Lu Yan said.

The Mansion of King Ming ruled over the Ming, Xuan, and Yun Provinces, while the Shengxuan Sect was located within the Xuan Province. The sect was granted the only Fourth Level Blood Land Vein, and it had always been subservient to the Mansion of King Ming.

"Lu Yan, you still do not understand the situation in the three provinces clearly. Allow me to explain in detail, so that you can have an idea during the mission."

"The Shengxuan Sect is one of the seven founding sects of the kingdom. It made significant contributions during the founding of the dynasty, and was thus able to survive as one of the few remaining sects. This was also why the Great Ancestor awarded them the Mountain Suppressing Order."

"Moreover, they occupy the Fourth Level Blood Land Vein. Their inheritance for thousands of years has given them profound strength, making them powerful, with several Primordial Spirit Realm masters at their helm. Although they appear to be subservient to the Mansion of King Ming, in reality, they have never paid tribute and do not obey the command of the Mansion of King Ming. They act independently and can be considered a country within a country."

"Especially in recent years, not only have they stopped obeying the orders of the Mansion of King Ming, they have gradually opposed it, their ambitions swelling. They want to conquer the entire Xuan Province, and become one of the top feudal princes."

"Hence, the situation in Xuan Province has been increasingly chaotic in recent years."

"Besides, let me explain the situation in Xuan Province to you. Xuan Province has twenty-eight prefectures, but the six prefectures in Lingdong are barren lands with limited resources. The only Third Level Blood Land Vein is the worst of its kind. The Moling Mountain Range is a barrier, so military strategists do not bother to fight over this place."

"The other twenty-two prefectured in Xuan Province have ten Third Level Blood Land Veins. Two of them are occupied by the Shengxuan Sect, and the other two are each controlled by respectrable feudal lords who are subservient to the Shengxuan Sect."

"The remaining six belong to the Mansion of King Ming. Three of them are directly occupied by the Mansion of King Ming. The other three each have their own respected feudal lords who are subservient to the Mansion of King Ming. Yan Clan of Xuanhuo City is one of them."

"However, in recent years, the Yan Clan has shown signs of leaning toward the Shengxuan Sect. The aim of sending you there is to find evidence of the Yan Clan siding with the Shengxuan Sect."

Chu Long explained in detail to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan finally understood and had a clear concept in his mind.

"Why doesn’t the Mansion of King Ming dispatch troops directly to level the Yan Clan in Xuanhuo City?" Lu Yan asked.

With the power of the Mansion of King Ming, it should be easy to wipe out a mere honorable level feudal lord, right?

"Why would it be that simple? This brings me to talk about a powerful faction under the Mansion of King Ming, that is the Honorable Level Feudal Lords Faction."

"Hundreds of years ago, when my father was just rising in power and his strength wasn’t strong, he needed to borrow the power of the Honorable Level Feudal Lords in the Three Provinces. These lords became the backbone when the Mansion of King Ming was just rising."

"Later, these honored feudal lords naturally formed a faction and moved together. So, if troops were dispatched to destroy a feudal lord without evidence, how would the other Feudal Lords feel? I’m afraid they would have doubts."

"Therefore, if the Yan Clan is to be destroyed, evidence of their betrayal to the Mansion of King Ming must be found first, so that the other Honorable Level Lords can’t say anything."

Chu Long said.

"Yanhuo City originally had guards from King Ming’s Mansion stationed there. However, to avoid suspicion and alert the Yan Clan, we shouldn’t send more people openly. Therefore, you must go there in disguise and infiltrate them secretly."

Chu Long continued.

"How long will this trip take?" Lu Yan asked.

"At least a year, or longer. Of course, this mission comes with rewards. There will be ten merit points each month. This is a good mission that many people would want but can’t get. I specifically applied for you."

Chu Long answered.

"Sir, can I not go?"

"No."

After finishing, Chu Long presented a token in his hand, "Your comprehension ability is extraordinary, not inferior to Wang Tianyu’s. Although you don’t have the potential of a King’s True Body now, you’ll eventually have it. This has made you a target of strong feudal princes, so you need to change your appearance, identity, and name. Take this."

Lu Yan took the token, which was the Guard token of King Ming, but the name on it was changed to ’Zhang Wei’.

A...very ordinary name.

"The more ordinary the name, the less likely people will notice you. Remember, even to other Hidden Dragon Camp or King Ming’s guards, you cannot reveal your real identity. This is for your own safety."

Chu Long warned.

Lu Yan nodded; he would keep this absolutely secret even without Chu Long’s order.

"Alright, I’ve said what needs to be said. Come back here to gather in three days, and someone will lead you away."

Chu Long said.

Lu Yan bowed and excused himself.

After returning, he explained to Wen Yuan and then used merit points to exchange for three hundred third-level Martial Pills, leaving a little more than three hundred merit points.

Too many would be hard to carry.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Lu Yan used the Shape-shifting Technique to disguise himself as an ordinary-looking man in his forties and went to King Ming’s Guard Mansion.

With the help of Zhang Wei’s token, he successfully gained entry.

In a grand hall, Chu Long sat on the high seat.

Beneath him stood over a dozen people, all in plain attire, presumably all set to take on the mission in Xuanhuo City.

Lu Yan quietly approached, handed over his token for inspection, and then stood to the side.

Soon enough, a few more people arrived.

In total, there were fifteen of them.

"Alright, everyone is present. Chu Feng will lead this mission and will now introduce you to the mission plan,"

Once Chu Long had finished speaking, a burly man with long hair stepped forward.

This was Chu Feng, his aura strong as a dragon’s, evoking an unfathomable feeling. Without doubt, he was a strong practitioner at the True Body Realm.

"This mission is secretive in nature and should be undetected by the Yan Clan. Therefore, we will first disguise ourselves as a merchant guard, infiltrate Xuanhuo City, and then act as bodyguards for a prominent family, placing us in a position to covertly investigate the Yan Clan’s affairs."

"The mission is as simple as that. So long as there are no major incidents in Xuanhuo City, you will have free time to cultivate,"

With a quick overview of the plan, Chu Feng led the group to embark on the mission.

...

Xuanhuo City, the main city of the Honorable Level feudal lords, sat on the edge of a third-level Blood Land Vein. Its huge and magnificent, and had been continuously expanded and fortified over the years by the Yan Clan, surpassing Lingwang City in scale several times over.

The permanent population exceeded five million.

This was a population size hard to reach in an ordinary ancient kingdom where, disregarding all other needs, the food consumption alone would be enormous every day.

However, in the Martial World, this was quite normal.

One city gate relied on the Blood Land Vein and was closed to ordinary people, while the remaining three sides were open and teeming with people.

A merchant troop of hundreds transported their goods, entering through the western gate of Yanhuo City.

"So, this is the power of a noble lord. It’s not quite on par with Mingwang City, but it certainly dwarfs any other city in Lingdong."

Lu Yan surveyed the spectacle from within the merchant troop of bodyguards.

At the city gate, following an inspection, they successfully entered Xuanhuo City and began moving through the main street.

"Make way!"

From the front came a formidable shout, as several blood-red, scaly horses galloped towards them.

The merchant guards quickly stepped aside.

The horses whipped past them.

"Is that him?"

Lu Yan’s eyes flitted.

Among them was a man Lu Yan recognized clearly.

During Lu Yan’s journey to visit the Mansion of King Ming for the first time, he was chased for murder by the Yan Clan because of a man with a Bat Martial Spirit. He had then had a fierce battle with an Innate Martial Body from the Yan Clan.

That Innate Martial Body had controlled five Inner Strengths and was the man whose fist Lu Yan had smashed apart.

It was this man.

As the saying goes, enemies are bound to cross paths. Right upon entering Xuanhuo City, he ran into this person.

The horses disappeared swiftly in the distance. They continue to march on and soon arrived at the entrance of a large residence, where they helped transport the goods.

The grand residence was the Gao Residence. The master of the house, Gao Yuan, ran a trading house and was a prominent figure in Yanhuo City, himself being a martial arts expert.

However, unbeknownst to others, he was a pawn placed in Yanhuo City by the Mansion of King Ming decades prior.

Lu Yan and his fellows settled down in the Gao Residence, acting as bodyguards for the home.

Looking for evidence of the Yan Clan’s betrayal required good timing and wasn’t going to be achieved overnight.

Thus, in the following days, things were relatively calm.

On occasion, they would venture out to gather information. For the most part, they cultivated individually.

The task of liaising with the original guards of King Ming stationed in Yanhuo City fell to Chu Feng.

Time passed, and before they knew it, two months had gone by.

"Zhang Wei, I heard that the ’World Bank’ is holding an auction in Shengxuan City. A lot of people from the three states under King Ming are flocking there. Do you want to go take a look?"

A man in his thirties asked Lu Yan.

The man’s name was Zhao Qingcang, and he, like Lu Yan, was tasked to carry out a mission from the Hidden Dragon Camp.

"An auction held by the World Bank? Anything special about it?"

Lu Yan was curious.

"Of course, it is."

Zhao Qingcang seemed excited as he started to explain enthusiastically, "The World Bank holds immense wealth and is mysterious beyond comprehension. They possess countless treasures and occasionally hold auctions in major cities, bringing out large amounts of treasures for auction. For the cities selected, this is a grand opportunity as it draws a mass of martial cultivators and brings about major business opportunities."

"Of course, the selected city must ensure the safety of those who participate in the auction. In actuality, no one dares to cause trouble at the World Bank’s auction."

"I heard that this time they will be auctioning off some top-tier martial arts skills which even the master-level and honorable feudal lords find irresistible. Now many martial cultivators from the three states under King Ming are heading there."

This caused a stir in Lu Yan’s heart, "Can anyone bring their treasures to the auction?"

"Of course. As long as the items are valuable enough, the World Bank will auction them on your behalf."

Zhao Qingcang said.

PS, It’s the end of the month, so please vote for next month’s tickets. Brothers with monthly tickets, please throw them here, don’t waste them.