[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star":3,"chapter-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-209":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After Fifteen Years of Secret Cultivation, I Start as a Top-Grade Ultimate Peak!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2282317,4464,"Chapter 209: How Tall?","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-209",209,"\u003Cp>The little girl in pink held a steamed bun in her left hand and braised beef in her right; after realizing what had happened, she stood still and shouted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian pointed to the large horse he had brought and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My horse is worth far more silver than your donkey—you’re getting the better deal and still complaining? You’re barely a child and have no sense of gratitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Li Muxian ignored the furious little girl on the ground, took the map from his horse’s back, and mounted the donkey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandpa, look at him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little girl glared angrily at the old man in hemp clothing beside her; the two exchanged a barely perceptible glance, and the old man’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward Li Muxian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Li Muxian glanced at the map in his hand—its dense routes and markings made him frown in frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief pause, he turned to the scar-faced man and the others kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear, and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re heading to deliver a birthday gift to the Seven Sacred Peaks’ master, right? Coincidentally, I’m going there too—guide me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the scar-faced man lifted his pale face, glanced fearfully at Li Muxian, then stole a sidelong look at Hu Rui’an nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had witnessed Hu Rui’an casually slaying the Luoshen Peak disciples—he knew full well the terror of the man’s martial prowess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Li Muxian was young, his status seemed even higher than Hu Rui’an’s; perhaps his strength didn’t match Hu Rui’an’s, but he dared not underestimate him in the slightest, so he stammered quickly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As long as you spare our lives, we’ll obey every order you give.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he staggered to his feet; though his calves still shook uncontrollably, he forced down his fear and barked at the disciples on the ground:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you waiting for? Get up and move!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the disciples instinctively glanced at the corpses of the Luoshen Peak men; each face turned pale with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet none dared delay—they slowly rose from the ground and shuffled like walking corpses toward the cart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without uttering another word, they drove the horses past the roadblock and continued along the main road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scar-faced man glanced back at Li Muxian seated atop the donkey, then immediately mounted his own horse and followed the disciples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian nodded in satisfaction, patted the neck of the donkey beneath him, and the beast stepped forward at a slow pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the hemp-clad old man suddenly turned to Hu Rui’an and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you truly comfortable letting your young master travel alone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Rui’an glanced at him but offered no explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s cloudy eyes flickered slightly, yet he asked no further; instead, he picked up the pink-clad girl and placed her atop the large horse, then continued walking along the road, leading the animal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Rui’an and Wu Shang and the others watched Li Muxian’s figure recede into the distance; inside the cart, Murong Xiaoya and Shen Anran lifted the curtain and silently watched him depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You needn’t worry—His Highness’s strength, even if he can’t defeat those old fools of Luoshen Peak, should be more than enough to escape unharmed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Rui’an lowered his gaze and spoke slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shang and the others exchanged glances but remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the following half-day, Hu Rui’an and his men waited in place, eliminating several waves of reinforcements from Luoshen Peak, until the Tianjinwei elite sent by Fu Qiwén finally arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where is the Eighth Prince?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newcomer, seeing no Li Muxian, immediately asked Hu Rui’an with a grave expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Hu Rui’an revealed nothing of Li Muxian’s whereabouts, only saying:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will report this personally to the Guard Commander. Right now, our priority is to rendezvous with the Tianjinwei—I have an incomplete map of Luoshen Peak’s defenses that may prove useful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the Tianjinwei expert frowned but dared not press further; he led Hu Rui’an and the others to the Tianjinwei’s encampment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the imperial capital, Fu Qiwén traveled by water to Lancheng, during which he visited several retired Tianjinwei masters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These men had once been his superiors; while in the capital, he had personally written letters requesting their aid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To crush Luoshen Peak, aside from the imperial court’s main forces—which he could not mobilize—he had exhausted every means to gather allies for the Tianjinwei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, he had secretly ordered several reliable martial sects allied with the Tianjinwei to mobilize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even sects with longstanding grudges against Luoshen Peak had been contacted, but most chose self-preservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They did not believe the Great Li Tianjinwei could defeat Luoshen Peak—one of the Four Great Martial Sects of Great Li—and were certain the mission would end in failure; none wished to die pointlessly, so only a handful agreed to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Foolish! How could you let His Highness act recklessly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing from Hu Rui’an where Li Muxian had gone, Fu Qiwén’s deeply wrinkled brow tightened—he was clearly furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Rui’an looked up and saw that Fu Qiwén, whose hair and eyebrows had once been half-gray, was now entirely white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the man looked at least ten years older than when they had last parted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hu Rui’an silently sighed and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, you don’t realize—His Highness is far weaker than we once thought.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Fu Qiwén glanced at Hu Rui’an, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew his trusted aide well—he would not speak without reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Qiwén suppressed his anger and said sternly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then tell me—what ability does His Highness possess to go alone to Luoshen Peak?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Rui’an bowed, hands clasped, raised his eyes slightly to meet Fu Qiwén’s, paused a moment, then said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually… His Highness’s martial cultivation is extremely high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Qiwén frowned, fixed his gaze on Hu Rui’an, and unconsciously narrowed his eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His Highness’s martial cultivation is extremely high? How high? I saw nothing of the sort.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Rui’an thought for a moment, then said seriously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to His Highness’s own words, he’s about ten stories tall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Fu Qiwén froze slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he could speak, Hu Rui’an suddenly looked up at him and added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I believe His Highness’s strength surpasses yours, at the very least.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Fu Qiwén’s reply died in his throat; he stared at Hu Rui’an in utter astonishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1069,"2026-06-20T01:43:39.330Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","117cec9ac64272564dc9b4f8475213bb89e6f98c059c5db7052a8536b74dc25d","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-210","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-208",259,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-cover.jpg"]