Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

The carriage had already left Nan Yao City.

Zhong Xuan Sheng put down the curtain and looked at the old man opposite him, smiling playfully, "We don't need to mention how handsome Zhong Xuan Zun is, right? A great young man, how can we judge him based on appearance?"

The short and fat old man smiled kindly, "It's all about face."

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Wang, repeating, "It's all about face."

Jiang Wang nodded in agreement.

Zhong Xuan Sheng didn't mind at all. Taking this opportunity, he introduced Jiang Wang, "This is my grandfather, because of my handsome appearance, he has always doted on me. Don't be fooled by his kind appearance now, he used to be known as the Butcher, his name frightened children at night!"

The Butcher, Zhong Xuan Chu Liang, was the younger brother of the current head of the Zhong Xuan family. He was the youngest among his generation.

Nowadays, not many people remember Zhong Xuan Chu Liang.

But if you mention the Battle of Qi Xia thirty years ago, no one would be unaware of the name Butcher.

As a powerful challenger to Qi in the eastern region, the Xia army was formidable.

The war between the two countries lasted for four months.

In the end, it was Zhong Xuan Chu Liang who broke through the enemy's rear, killing and plundering, causing chaos in the Xia army's rear and cutting off their supplies. As a result, the once powerful Xia, which had dominated the southeastern region, was completely defeated and had to cede a large amount of territory and abandon many vassal states, retreating to the southern region.

If it weren't for the intervention of Jing Guo from the central region for the purpose of balance, Xia would have been destroyed.

And because of his extremely brutal leadership style in that war, Zhong Xuan Chu Liang was given the name Butcher.

Perhaps because they were both a little chubby and had narrow eyes, among the younger generation, Zhong Xuan Sheng, who had lost his parents at a young age, had a taste for him since childhood.

Like Zhong Xuan Zun, Zhong Xuan Sheng was the grandson of the current head of the Zhong Xuan family, Zhong Xuan Yun Bo. They were first cousins.

It's just that Zhong Xuan Sheng's father died early, which put him at a disadvantage compared to Zhong Xuan Zun.

But in Zhong Xuan Sheng's father's generation, there were almost no outstanding talents. Otherwise, the succession of the family headship would not have fallen to the generation of Zhong Xuan Zun and Zhong Xuan Sheng.

Zhong Xuan Zun's father was no exception. Although he had a position of power in the clan, it was impossible for him to go further. But he had already figured it out and was now focused on helping his son ascend to power.

Most of the elders in the family had ambiguous attitudes. The only one who clearly supported Zhong Xuan Sheng was Zhong Xuan Chu Liang.

In Nan Yao City, just a word from him forced the Inner Palace Realm eunuch by Jiang Wu Yong's side to retreat. It can be seen that although years had passed, the terror of the Butcher had not been completely forgotten.

"Hello, senior." Jiang Wang greeted honestly. He didn't have a direct impression of the terrifying aura of this short and fat old man, but he felt that he was quite kind and amiable.

Zhong Xuan Chu Liang smiled and squinted his eyes. He seemed to appreciate Jiang Wang as well. "Sheng'er has a good eye for people. You're not bad. Your swordsmanship has some charm."

For someone like him, "having some charm" was already a good evaluation.

Jiang Wang accepted it calmly.

Sitting in the same carriage as a powerhouse of this level was a rare opportunity. He took the opportunity to ask about some difficulties in his cultivation.

Zhong Xuan Chu Liang patiently answered all his questions, greatly benefiting him.

After discussing cultivation matters, the carriage had already traveled a long distance.

Zhong Xuan Sheng was going directly to Qi's capital, Handan, to continue unfinished business.

But Jiang Wang thought about it and realized that it was not suitable for him to appear in Handan at the moment, after his battle with Jiang Wu Yong.

Even if Jiang Wu Yong didn't want to settle old scores, it would be hard for him to resist the temptation of seeing him every day.

So he proactively asked Zhong Xuan Sheng, "Now that my sword has been forged and it takes time to become proficient in Dao techniques, it will be difficult for me to break through to the next realm for a while. It's useless to sit idle. Is there anything I can help with?"

His relationship with Zhong Xuan Sheng was not a simple servant-master relationship. With the addition of Lian Que, they were bound even tighter, sharing honor and disgrace.

Zhong Xuan Sheng didn't bother with formalities either. Taking Jiang Wang to Handan at this time would be more trouble than help.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "There is actually something. My Zhong Xuan family has a Tianqing Stone vein in Yang Country, and occasionally produces some precious Tianqing Cloud Stones. When we obtained this vein, it was estimated to have thirty years of mining reserves. But for some reason, it seems to have dried up now after only five years of mining, and the production has been declining rapidly. This is one of the things I'm currently dealing with. If you're interested, you can represent me and go to Yang Country to see the situation."

As a powerful country, Qi not only had vast territory, but also had many vassal states throughout the world.

These vassal states were countries that recognized Qi as their suzerain. They had to pay tribute to Qi every year, and when Qi went to war, these vassal states had to organize a certain number of troops to accompany them.

Correspondingly, Qi had the obligation to protect these countries from aggression by other nations.

Yang Country was one of Qi's vassal states.

As a prominent family in Qi, it was normal for the Zhong Xuan family to have industries in neighboring countries, especially in vassal states like Yang Country.

A vein with thirty years of mining reserves suddenly experiencing a decline in production must have some hidden secrets.

Tianqing Cloud Stone was indeed a good material for forging artifacts, but it was only a companion ore to Tianqing Stone and its production was not high. In the past, it might not have had much value in Zhong Xuan Sheng's inherited industries, but now with the addition of Lian Que, its value was completely different.

In Zhong Xuan Sheng's eyes, it was no longer just an ore, but a fully formed standard artifact!

That's why he attached so much importance to this matter and asked Jiang Wang to handle it.

Of course, from another perspective, although Jiang Wang's current strength was already quite good, his role in the internal struggles of Qi was not very significant. His true value lay in his qualification as an Inner Palace Realm cultivator and his potential for the future.

To gain some reputation and then leave, accumulate strength in other places, and return after fulfilling his potential, that was the right path.

Jiang Wang didn't think too much and agreed. After all, to him, both Qi and Yang Country were foreign lands, and there was no difference between them.

He agreed to help Zhong Xuan Sheng fight this battle, and there was nothing more to say. He would do his best."By the way." Zhong Xuan Sheng suddenly remembered something and said, "You're heading to Yang Country, and you'll pass through Feng Xian County. I've heard that Zhang Yong from Feng Xian County has recently had his entire family wiped out. You got along quite well with Zhang Yong, didn't you? You might as well pay him a visit on your way."

The implication was that he wanted Jiang Wang to help recruit, but there was no need to say it explicitly. Jiang Wang naturally understood.

"Wiped out?" Jiang Wang thought of the shy and introverted young man and couldn't help but frown, "Have they found out who did it?"

Zhong Xuan Sheng shook his head, "Not yet."

"Alright, I understand." Jiang Wang said thoughtfully.

Who would harbor such deep hatred against the already declining Zhang family of Feng Xian?

Just when a talent emerged from the Feng Xian Zhang family, and they had the chance to rise again, such a tragedy occurred.

On the official road, one carriage separated from the Zhong Xuan family's convoy.

The wheels rolled on, carrying Jiang Wang straight to Feng Xian County.