Chapter 126 : Chapter 126

Chapter 126: No Need to Rush Yet—Beyond the Ninth Rank

The moment Cheng Fang proposed striking first, the entire hall instantly broke into heated discussion before Xiao Teng, the current Prince Qing seated upon the gold-and-crimson Dragon Throne, could even speak.

“Since we have already been exposed, we truly should strike first and seize Jiannan Circuit!”

“No! Only a few days ago, we suffered a major setback with losses in both men and strength. How can we act so rashly?”

The injured Granny Wu rose to her feet and cupped her fists toward Xiao Teng in salute.

Refuting Cheng Fang, she said, “Your Highness! The False Court’s dog-slaves possess strange and unpredictable strength, and the Young Princess is still in their hands. I believe this matter cannot be rushed!”

The moment they heard that, the others immediately nodded in agreement.

“The Young Princess is extraordinarily gifted. She is the future of our Heavenly Fate Lineage.”

“Before we reclaim the Heavenly Fate and secure it for generations to come, how can we act recklessly?”

Cheng Fang’s brows knitted tightly together. “Strike first and seize the initiative—you fools!”

At this point, he was even more anxious than the descendants of Prince Qing, who had been rebelling generation after generation.

If he did not wrap things up as soon as possible and take the treasure that had been promised to him,

then once matters descended into chaos, everything would become uncertain!

Someone from Prince Qing’s line looked at him with hostility.

“This man is clearly at the Eighth Rank, yet when facing a mere Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander, he could not even protect the Young Princess! Why should we listen to him?”

“Exactly! I say this man has ulterior motives. One who is not one of the Heavenly Fate descendants is bound to have a different heart, Your Highness!”

With that bit of instigation and fanning of the flames, everyone turned to glare at Cheng Fang with hostility.

As the only outsider present, and one who had failed to protect the Young Princess, what right did he have to tell them what to do?

Cheng Fang’s eyes widened. How could all of this be blamed on him?

He immediately tried to explain himself.

“That man crushed a late Seventh-Rank hard-body martial artist to death and severely wounded Young Princess Xiao Qian in a single move. He is absolutely no ordinary Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander!”

And besides, it was clearly their Young Princess who had failed to listen, acted rashly, and gotten herself captured.

Why were they blaming him now?

“Hmph. No matter how much you say, he is still just a Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander! Useless trash!”

“You—!”

Cheng Fang could not reason with them at all, and inwardly he cursed furiously.

A pack of mad barbarians!

As an Eighth-Rank martial artist of the Cheng Family, he was being slandered like this, and it infuriated him to no end.

Grinding his teeth, he looked toward Xiao Teng seated at the front.

Only that man knew most clearly on whose behalf he had come.

Xiao Teng nodded and raised a hand. Terrifying Vital Blood erupted from his body.

“Silence!”

The immense Vital Blood under his control was incomparably obedient, spreading outward like flood dragons.

The pressure was so overwhelming that those who had been talking over one another instantly lost the strength to continue speaking.

His Ninth-Rank Martial Realm was revealed beyond any doubt.

“Mister Cheng is the external aid I invited. Instead of thinking about how to show some backbone yourselves, you still have the nerve to call him an outsider!”

The moment those words fell, the entire hall fell silent.

That was because of both the prince’s status and strength, and the meaning of what he had said.

If they had shown even a little more promise and produced one more Eighth-Rank expert, so that Madam Wu from the previous generation did not have to handle everything personally,

then why would they have needed an outsider to take part in reclaiming the Heavenly Fate?

All the members of Prince Qing’s line present felt too embarrassed to say anything more.

“Thank you for Your Highness' trust. Cheng Fang will certainly not disappoint you.”

Cheng Fang thanked him awkwardly. Although Xiao Teng’s words had shut everyone else up, they had also made one thing clear to him.

You are an outsider!

Originally, Xiao Teng had treated him with full courtesy and even called him brotherly—not for Cheng Fang’s sake, but for Cheng Zhenjiang’s.

Now that his attitude had changed so drastically, he was clearly displeased that Cheng Fang had lost his daughter.

The more Cheng Fang thought about it, the more dissatisfied he became with Cheng Zhenjiang.

The man had told him nothing at all, and even his son had trapped and ruined him.

Now he, an outsider, was being forced to endure humiliation among a bunch of madmen surnamed Xiao.

His desire to take Ancestor Cheng Yuan’s secret treasure from Xiao Teng’s hands and keep it for himself only grew stronger.

But that depended on one condition: the matter could not grow too large.

If it escalated to the point where Cheng Zhenjiang himself came in person, then Cheng Fang would have no choice but to swallow the bitter pill in silence.

Once Xiao Teng saw that no one dared mutter any longer, he nodded and said in a deep voice, “There is no need for our Heavenly Fate Lineage to rush to raise our banners and seize Jiannan Circuit. Under no circumstances must we place Qian’er in danger.”

At those words, everyone nodded one after another. A father was worried about his daughter.

How lacking in self-awareness would one have to be to argue with that?

“Your Highness!”

Cheng Fang rose to his feet once more. “But what if Great Qian’s experts all come out in force after we delay for too long?”

Delay, delay, delay!

If they kept refusing to hurry, then it would honestly be a good thing if Great Qian wiped out these lunatics in one stroke.

The problem was, what would happen to his prize then?

Seeing that Cheng Fang was still refusing to give face, the others glared at him again.

How dare he keep speaking!

Xiao Teng raised a hand, signaling everyone to remain calm. “Mister Cheng means well, but what you do not understand is that several hundred years ago, the False Court seized the throne illegitimately and lost Heaven’s virtue. Now it is already a setting sun. It simply does not have the strength to stop the Heavenly Fate.”

The False Court!

Several hundred years ago, Prince Qing had been the legitimate Crown Prince, yet the throne that was already at his lips had been snatched away by his own brother.

After obtaining a fortuitous opportunity, he had immediately refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the imperial throne and began to rebel.

From that point on, Prince Qing’s descendants referred to the present Great Qian as the False Court.

Cheng Fang blinked helplessly.

A setting sun or not, if Great Qian were not worried about the Jianghu taking advantage of the opportunity, it could casually send out two or three Grandmasters to crush all of you rebels to death!

That was what he thought in his heart, but he could not say it out loud, so he merely nodded.

Xiao Teng continued, “Besides, I have already touched the threshold of the next realm. Once I break through and come out of seclusion, the overall situation will be decided.”

“Your Highness is about to break through?!”

The moment Xiao Teng said that, the entire hall of Prince Qing’s line erupted into cheers and excitement.

One more step beyond late Ninth Rank.

Would that not mean... a Grandmaster!

Ever since their ancestor from centuries ago, was their Heavenly Fate Lineage finally going to produce another Grandmaster?

A martial Grandmaster was an immortal among men upon the earth, beyond the reach of ordinary human power!

Xiao Teng clenched his fist, and sonic booms exploded around it. His expression turned savage.

“Our Heavenly Fate Lineage’s great undertaking to reclaim the Heavenly Fate will be accomplished in our generation!”

“Save the world and rescue the people! Reclaim the Heavenly Fate!”

Everyone cheered in unison.

Xiao Teng continued, “I need to enter seclusion for a period of time to make my breakthrough. Lin’er, Xiu’er, the two of you must find a way to rescue Qian’er!”

Two Seventh-Rank martial artists knelt and answered, “We obey Father King’s command. Your sons will surely rescue Little Sister!”

Xiao Teng swept his gaze across the hall again.

“For now, all of you need only wait patiently. Once I emerge from seclusion, the great cause of reclaiming the Heavenly Fate will be right before our eyes!”

The crowd accepted the order excitedly.

“The court is dismissed!”

The court assembly of Prince Qing’s line came to an end, and the overwhelming majority left to attend to their own affairs.

Cheng Fang, however, remained behind alone. He had something he needed to say to Xiao Teng.

“Your Highness, once you take Jiannan Circuit, I trust you will not forget the agreement with my Family Head...”

Xiao Teng cast him a glance, and invisible pressure descended upon him.

Then he said blandly, “Naturally not. My great Heavenly Fate enterprise does not end with a single circuit. I will still need Brother Zhenjiang’s assistance afterward. He has two daughters and one son, while I have two sons and one daughter. The two families are perfectly suited to forge an everlasting marriage alliance.”

Cheng Fang smiled stiffly and nodded. “The Family Head naturally would not reject Your Highness' friendship.”

Dream on!

If he dared say that to Cheng Zhenjiang’s face, he could wait to be cleaved to death by the River-Severing Sword Strike!

As for the two families becoming allied by marriage and eternal friendship—his daughter was most likely in the hands of that man’s most vicious son right now!

“Your Highness, forgive my disrespect. If the Jiannan Circuit Jinyiwei grow bold enough to attack, and you are in seclusion making your breakthrough, how are we supposed to contend with that mysterious swordsman?”

They had already reconstructed and analyzed the previous events.

The mysterious Jian A possessed strength at the Ninth Rank. Added to that was Cheng Yu’s madness. The Jiannan Circuit Jinyiwei absolutely could not be underestimated.

Xiao Teng waved a hand. “It does not matter. With the Ancestral Secret Realm here, if the court’s dog-slaves come, they will only be coming to die.”

The moment Cheng Fang heard that, envy made his teeth itch.

The Prince Qing Secret Realm!

A treasure passed down from Prince Qing himself, one that combined inheritance with both offensive and defensive functions. It truly could deal with Ninth-Rank martial artists.

Why should a bunch of lunatics who only knew how to rebel possess something that good?

It would be far better off in his hands!