Chapter 361: (1): Brewing Unrest


    It didn''t take long before Chen Ping''an and the others tracked down the Fan n''s people at the Osmanthus Ind ferry station. Last time, the Golden Core Tier swordsman, Ma Zhi, had served as his coach driver, while Fan Er had apanied him on the trip, so he hadn''te into contact with any other people from the Fan n.


    However, as soon as Chen Ping''an dered his own identity, the Fan n administrator was immediately delighted, as if he had just heard a piece of fantastic news, and he asked Chen Ping''an to wait for a moment while he sent a message back to Osmanthus Ind.


    On top of that, he also called for several horse-drawn carriages before personally ushering Chen Ping''an and the others into the carriages, putting on an enthusiastic and respectful disy that left Chen Ping''an feeling rather perplexed.


    As the connection point between Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and Parasol Leaf Continent, Old Dragon City was even more opulent than the capitals of many major empires, possessing two immortal ferry stations on an ind that was close to twenty kilometers away from Old Dragon City, designated for the intercontinental ships of the city''s five major ns.


    Back when Chen Ping''an first arrived at Old Dragon City, he was at the western ferry station, and he had to travel over a road that was around a hundred and fifty kilometers in length to enter the city. The road was owned by the Sun n, and even to this day, what had happened between himself and Sun Jiashu still left a rather sour taste in Chen Ping''an''s mouth.


    Chen Ping''an and Pei Qian were traveling in the same carriage. After drifting around in the sky for so long on an intercontinental ship, they had finally reached solid ground and arrived in Chen Ping''an''s hometown, so she was very excited, and she was eagerly looking outside with a curious expression.


    Lu Baixiang and Sui Youbian were ying a game of go together in another carriage, while Wei Xian and Zhu Lian were in a third carriage, with the former taking a nap, while thetter was reading his book.


    The inexplicably hospitable reception from the Fan n''s administrator struck Chen Ping''an as rather strange, and so, he began to think. He was definitely not an important figure. Back when he left Old Dragon City, he had only just broken through his fourth tier bottleneck back at the Sun n''s ancestral residence.


    He knew very few people from Old Dragon City, the most prominent of which were Fan Er, Sun Jiashu, who he had parted ways with on rather unfavorable terms, Zheng Dafeng, and Fu Nanhua, who was a sworn enemy of his but had decided not to make a move against him.At the time, the entire city had been basked in a joyful and festive atmosphere as a girl who was a descendant of the Jiang n was marrying into the Fu n. To put it more urately, a marriage alliance was being forged between the two ns, and the male half of that marriage alliance was none other than Fu Nanhua.


    It was a widely acknowledged fact that the Jiang n was "marrying down" in this case, and that was a notion that even the Fu n agreed with.


    The Cloud Forest Jiang n was the first prominent n of Middle Earth Divine Continent to move to Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and its manor was situated on the shore of the southeastern sea, facing out into the ocean. It stretched close to twenty kilometers into the ocean before concluding with a pair of gates in the form of two giant natural rocks, and it was said to be a manor that epassed the East Sea.


    Back when the orthodoxy of Confucianism was first established, the Etiquette Sage created a set ofplex etiquette and rules for Majestic World.


    In the history of the Jiang n, there had been several grand priests that enjoyed a transcendent status, serving as one of the six heavenly officials, and they were responsible for carrying out all types of rituals and ceremonies to attract the blessings of the heavens.


    At the time, the entirety of Old Dragon City had been specting about whether the dowry from the Jiang n was going to be a pseudo-celestial tool.


    However, for Chen Ping''an, a topic that was so distant from himself was something that he would only discuss in passing with the likes of Zheng Dafeng and Fan Er over some wine. He wasn''t from Old Dragon City, nor was he allied with any of the continent''s major powers, so this was an event that he hardly cared about at all.


    So what if Fu Nanhua were to marry someone from the Jiang n? Even if he were to somehow be the city lord of Old Dragon City over Fu Donghai and Fu Chunhua, both of whom were far superior to him in cultivation base...


    In that case, Chen Ping''an would actually be feeling rather concerned as this meant that there was a very good chance that Fan Er or even the entire Fan n could be condemned due to their ties with him.


    While it was important to consider these matters carefully, Chen Ping''an knew that overthinking things would only result in unwarranted panic and stress.


    After traveling for close to an hour, the horse-drawn carriage slowly drew to a halt, even though it still hadn''t entered the city yet. Chen Ping''an lifted the curtain of the carriage, and he was immediately greeted by the sight of a familiar figure, who was running toward the carriage while waving vigorously.


    He was still just as bright and vibrant as ever, and Chen Ping''an heaved an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this, then got out of his carriage. It was Fan Er who had arrived to see him. He had grown from a boy into a handsome young man, but his unique aura of exuberance hadn''t changed at all.


    Fan Er gave Chen Ping''an a firm high five, then smiled as he asked, "Chen Ping''an, did you feel my power through my hand just now? I don''t want to scare you, but I''m also a fourth tier martial artist now! From now on, you''ll be the strongest fourth tier martial artist under the heavens, while I''ll be the second-strongest!"


    <em>Also a fourth tier martial artist?</em>


    Pei Qian and the others were all rather perplexed to hear this.


    "That''s very impressive," Chen Ping''an replied with a smile.


    Fan Er walked a quickp around Chen Ping''an, then asked, "Why aren''t you wearing straw sandals anymore? I almost didn''t recognize you."


    He then looked up at the top of Chen Ping''an''s head before heaving a deted sigh.


    "Looks like you''ve grown a lot taller than me."


    After that, he pulled a bulging money pouch out of his sleeve in a sneaky fashion, then offered it to Chen Ping''an while squinting incessantly.


    ording to their agreement fromst time, Chen Ping''an had to fire a piece of chinaware to give to him as a present. Fan Er didn''t care if it was ugly, as long as it was personally made by Chen Ping''an, and he would show it off to his friends.


    Chen Ping''an hurriedly gestured for Fan Er to put the money pouch away, then said in a quiet voice, "I still haven''t made the piece of chinaware that I promised you yet. Once we get to Old Dragon City, I have to buy some pottery firing tools, then find some good y to work with. The process isn''t as simple as you think."


    Fan Er wasn''t disappointed to hear this, and he replied, "Alright, in that case, let''s go to Old Dragon City. I can help you look for y."


    He carefully tucked his pouch of pocket money back up his sleeve—a pouch filled with golden ingots that were used only in the mortal world. The rules of the Fan n were very strictly enforced, and even though Fan Er was very much spoiled by the seniors of his n, they refused to give him even a single piece of immortal currency.


    Over the past two years, Fan Er had been regrly ttering his seniors, and during the spring festival the previous year, he had visited almost all of the Fan n''s households, and only then was he able to save up this much pocket money.


    "Come to my carriage, we''ll talk inside," Fan Er suddenly said.


    Chen Ping''an nodded in response, and he instructed Pei Qian to return to their carriage before he followed Fan Er onto his.


    After sitting down in the carriage, Chen Ping''an asked, "Has there been some trouble?"


    Only in this carriage could they keep out certain sets of prying eyes in the city.


    Fan Er nodded in response.


    "Some massive changes swept through Old Dragon City not long after you left."


    Chen Ping''an removed his wine gourd from his waist, then handed it to Fan Er as he said, "Tell me about it."


    Fan Er was ecstatic to see this, and he epted the gourd from Chen Ping''an, then swished its contents around as he said, "I''ll only take a small sip... Oh, this is some good wine. It tastes different from the osmanthus wine that my n brews, but both are really nice. That sip just now only counts as half a sip, lemme take another one..."


    Chen Ping''an sat with his legs crossed as he looked at Fan Er with an amused smile.


    No matter what terrible news he was going to hear next, Fan Er was still the same Fan Er as before, and that was the best-possible news that he could ask for.


    Only after taking three "half-sips" of wine from the Sword Nurturing Gourd did he return it to Chen Ping''an, following which he said, "You already know about the five major ns of Osmanthus Ind. Ranked by power in descending order, it goes Fu, Sun, Fang, Hou, Ding.


    “Our Fan n has always been content to serve as a subsidiary to the Fu n, and the Fu n has the city lord of Old Dragon City, who can dominate the other four ns all on his own. On top of that, our Fan n has an Osmanthus Ind, so there are many people who would like to rece one of the Fang, Hou, and Ding ns on the hierarchy with our Fan n.


    “The Sun n''s position as the second most powerful n in the city is undisputed due to the presence of a Nascent Tier ancestor and its exceptional business reputation."


    Chen Ping''an nodded in response.


    Fan Er ced his hands onto his knees, then began giving Chen Ping''an a recount of the significant events that had unfolded in Old Dragon City over the past two years.


    "In any case, whether you consider that there are five or six major ns in Old Dragon City, as long as the Fu n doesn''t try to eliminate the other ns so that it can be the sole dominant force, everyone coexists in harmony, more or less. There have been some conflicts here and there, but beforest year, none of those conflicts really escted into anything significant.


    "Not only is City Lord Fu Qi a Nascent Tier earth immortal, he also possesses four pseudo-celestial tools. On top of that, the Fu n is very strange in that even the Golden Core Tier cultivators from the n are able to wield these pseudo-celestial tools, and that''s not even to mention the ancestors lurking behind the scenes.


    "Sun Jiashu''s cultivation base is nothing exceptional, but the Sun n has one Nascent Tier ancestor and three Golden Core Tier guest elders at just its ancestral residence alone, and one of those Golden Core Tier cultivators recently signed another century-long contract with the Sun n.


    “Alongside Chu Yang, the Fu n''s premier guest elder who''s cultivating on the Dragon Scaling tform, those two Golden Core Tier cultivators are considered to be the two cultivators in the city that are most likely to reach the Nascent Tier. The Fang n has no Nascent Tier Qi refiner, but it does have two seventh-tier martial artists and a Golden Core swordsman.


    “On top of that, it has very deep and established roots in the mortal empires and martial arts world of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent''s southern region, so it''s not to be looked down on. The Hou n has only managed to establish a foothold in Old Dragon City thanks to that branch descendant who became a virtuous schr Lake View Academy.


    “In the past, it was the weakest of the major ns, but that virtuous schr suddenly became a noble schrst spring, so the Hou n''s status has been significantly elevated over the previous half-year. The Hou n''s ship route through the dragon channel had been taken over by the Fang n, but they''ve since returned it, and with a great deal of additionalpensation.


    “As for the immortal sects that have been raised by the Hou n, most of them are fence sitters. The Ding n''s situation is simr to the Hou n''s in that its sess is built on the foundation of an ''outsider.''


    “For the Hou n, it''s a virtuous schr who''s bepletely disillusioned with his own nsmen, while the Ding n relies on a woman who no one had paid any attention to, but had somehow managed to marry into Parasol Leaf Sect.


    “On top of that, she''s a direct lineal descendant of the Ding n who''s still very much connected to her n, unlike the Hou n''s virtuous schr. Last year, she returned to Old Dragon City with her husband, and they were apanied by several Golden Core Tier cultivators acting as their servants."


    Fan Er paused here momentarily as he reached out to Chen Ping''an and dered, "I''m thirsty."


    Chen Ping''an tossed him the Sword Nurturing Gourd and said, "Just keep the gourd so you don''t have to constantly ask me for it."


    Fan Er dly epted this proposal, and after taking a small sip of wine, he continued, "Recently, two events have taken ce that havepletely turned Old Dragon City on its head. You already know about one of the two events, but I''m certain that you won''t be able to guess what the other one is."


    "The first event is the marriage alliance between the Jiang n and the Fu n, right?" Chen Ping''an asked.


    Fu n nodded as he replied, "The dowry that the woman from the Jiang n brought with her was tremendous. She has a personal maidservant who''s a Nascent Tier swordswoman, so essentially, the Fu n has gained a Nascent Tier swordswoman through her. On top of that..."


    Fan Er heaved a faint sigh here, then took another sip of wine as he continued, "Her dowry also included a young flood dragon that traveled all the way from the Jiang n''s manor to Old Dragon City along the seabed. Even though it''s only at the Golden Core Tier, given its ancient bloodline, it''s no less powerful than a Nascent Tier cultivator."


    "So that means that the Fu n now has the makings to be the sole dominant force to rule over Old Dragon City," Chen Ping''an summarized.


    However, his brows then furrowed slightly as he asked, "But even with this dowry from the Cloud Forest Jiang n and its alliance with your Fan n, wouldn''t it still be far too costly for the Fu n to take over Old Dragon City? The Sun, Hou, Fang, and Ding ns will surely be forced to forge an alliance, and if a battle is to ensue, the city will be sure to suffer extensive damage."


    A wry smile appeared on Fan Er''s face as he sighed, "You''re right. Initially, things were very tense, but no one seemed to be willing to escte things into a true conflict. However, something unexpected has happenedtely."


    "What happened?" Chen Ping''an asked.


    "It has something to do with Mr. Zheng from the Dust Medicinal Shop, which means that by extension, it also has something to do with our Fan n," Fan Er sighed.


    Chen Ping''an remained silent, waiting for further boration.


    This time, Fan Er threw his head back and took arge swig of wine, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand.


    "Not long after you left, a woman from the shop was defiled by a direct lineal descendant of the Fang n, and she died."


    Chen Ping''an offered no response to this.


    "Upon hearing this news, a senior of our Fan n responsible for overseeing our ancestral hall immediately went to personally inform Mr. Zheng of the situation. After that senior returned, he appeared to be quite rxed and told my father that Mr. Zheng didn''t seem to think that this was a big deal, and my father believed him.


    “However, my sister''s mother cautioned him that there was more to this than meets the eye, and she told him to be on his guard and help Mr. Zheng peel back theyers to see if there was some foul y involved. If someone was actively trying to target the Fu n or Mr. Zheng, then action had to be taken right away to find out who the culprit was.


    “However, my father didn''t want to escte the matter any further, and he said right now, the other major ns outside of the Fu n are beginning to forge an alliance, so if our Fan n were to show our hand at a time like this, then we could easily be seen as the Fu n''spdog, and that could result in us being targeted by the other four major ns.


    “I went to speak to my father about this once, and I was relegated to the ancestral hall for an entire month as punishment. During that time, I even tasted some of the soil from the pouch that I kept under my bed. You really were lying to me! That stuff ispletely inedible!"


    Chen Ping''an could see that Fan Er was going to take another swig of wine, and he immediately grabbed the wine gourd back from him as he scolded, "That''s enough. Drowning your sorrows is a myth, don''t believe in that crap."


    Fan Er nodded in response, then rubbed a hand over his face as he sighed, "I tried to sneak out of the ancestral hall several times, but I was caught every time. After a month, I heard that nothing had happened over at the Dust Medicinal Shop. I naturally didn''t believe that, so I personally made a trip to the shop, and at the time, Mr. Zheng was sitting outside the shop, smoking his pipe.


    “When he saw me, he gave me a cheerful wave, and I was dumbstruck at the time. After chatting with Mr. Zheng for a while, I discovered that it really did seem like the woman''s death wasn''t weighing on his mind at all. Honestly, I was a little angry when I left."


    A frustrated look appeared on Fan Er''s face as he continued, "I know that in the eyes of many people, including even my father, this is nothing more than a trivial incident, and I suppose it is in the grand scheme of things.


    “In Old Dragon City, there aren''t any problems that can''t be resolved with money. Everyone''s telling me that this is nothing important, and that I shouldn''t worry about it, but I can''t help but feel like this isn''t just something that should be brushed off like nothing."


    "You''re right, Fan Er," Chen Ping''an said. "This is not a trivial incident at all."


    This was the first time that someone had agreed with his stance on the matter, and he exhaled deeply before shing Chen Ping''an a slightly forced smile.


    Even though Chen Ping''an had taken his gourd back from Fan Er, he didn''t drink from it. He had barely drunk at all ever since he boarded the ship on the Heavenly Pce Peak, only having an asional sip or two with Wei Xian and Lu Baixiang.


    "What happened after that?" Chen Ping''an asked.


    A smile finally appeared on Fan Er''s face as he replied, "Thankfully, Mr. Zheng didn''t disappoint me. Having him as my Dao mentor is the biggest honor of my life!"


    A dejected look then surfaced in his eyes as he continued, "It''s just that after Mr. Zheng stormed into the Fang n, I was forbidden from setting foot outside the our n''s manor, so I could only hear about what Mr. Zheng did through some tidbits of information fed to me."


    Fan Er''s eyes then lit up once again as he said, "ording to what I heard, Mr. Zheng went to the Fang n''s manor in broad daylight on the first day of the summer solstice and smashed the gate open with a single punch, then walked straight in and ordered everyone below the Golden Core Tier to leave.


    “The Fang n was furious, and Mr. Zheng was confronted by a pair of Dragon Gate Tier guest elders, both of whom he knocked out with a single punch each. After that, a seventh-tier martial artist came out to challenge him, and once again, Mr. Zheng knocked him down with a single punch, except he never got back up.


    “After that, the culprit was dragged out by a representative of the Fang n, and he told Mr. Zheng that he could do whatever he wanted with the culprit as long as he spared his life. He could even break the culprit''s arms and legs if he wanted, and the Fang n wouldn''t intervene. At the time, the Fang n representative was apanied by the Fang n''s Golden Core Tier swordsman.


    “Mr. Zheng didn''t even spare a nce at the Fang n representative or the culprit. Instead, he turned to the Golden Core Tier swordsman, and he knocked him down with a single punch!"


    Fan Er was brimming with excitement as he spoke, and he demanded, "Give me the wine!"