“It’s you!”

Seeing Wang Gang, Xu Chong's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He immediately realized he had been tricked.

He struggled, but how could he break free from the restraints of Shenmai (divine meridians)?

He could only watch helplessly as Wang Gang stepped forward and used qi-locking needles to subdue them one by one.

Wang Gang smiled, but his methods were cruel. He completely ignored the cries, curses, threats, and enticements of these people, suppressing their zhenqi (true energy) and inner force.

Chi~

Wang Gang inserted several silver needles into Xu Chong's body, locking his zhenqi meridians. Then, he patted Xu Chong's face with a smile:

"It's more than just me. The people Brother Xu invited before were all our brothers."

"Wang Gang!"

Xu Chong's face stung from the slap. Hearing this, he spat out a mouthful of blood:

"You rat! My Xu family will not let you off!"

"A thousand-year-old family, serving as officials for three dynasties, with dozens of dukes and ministers, and thousands of officials in various prefectures and those who have married into the Xu family... Old Master Xu was also the former tutor of the Crown Prince. Your influence is indeed vast..."

Wang Gang smiled, but his expression suddenly turned cold. He slapped Xu Chong to the ground:

"But now, it's all gone!"

The power of the Da Feng Dynasty was extremely strong. Unless they were facing major martial arts sects, there was no need for Liu Yanchang to deal with mere local tyrants and powerful families.

Liu Yanchang left the capital and planned for several years, all for the sake of these aristocratic families.

The corners of Xu Changying's mouth were covered in blood, and his mind was buzzing: 'How dare he? How dare he?'

The most terrifying thing about aristocratic families was not their martial strength, but their intricate network of relationships and the officials who governed the various prefectures and the people.

The ones who truly held power in this world were never the emperors, but these aristocratic families.

Because they controlled the real power in many prefectures. Without their approval, even the imperial decrees could not leave the capital!

Even when dynasties changed, they were still needed to govern the world.

Normally, when he entered the capital, hundreds of officials would greet him, ministers would praise him, and even the emperor would treat him with courtesy. Even the former Prince Feng had studied under him.

How dare they attack us?

Aren't they afraid of chaos in the world?!

How dare they?

"A bunch of pedantic scholars, useless except for their tongues. How dare they come to Wangquan Mountain?"

Wang Gang glanced at them with disdain.

Aristocratic families were indeed powerful, and even the imperial court dared not offend them easily.

However, being unwilling to act rashly did not mean they couldn't be touched!

With the Divine Constable taking action, what did these aristocratic families amount to?

"Just because the world has elevated your status, do you think you are true gods?"

Wang Gang sneered, rose to his feet, and waved his hand indifferently. A dozen people swarmed in:

"Take them away! Send these people, along with those big shots, to Wangquan Mountain!"

The Xu family was not the only one who wanted to come to Wangquan Mountain to 'reason' with An Qisheng, but they were the last batch.

Behind Wangquan Mountain, it was already overcrowded.

The mountains and plains were filled with princes, dukes, ministers, scholars, as well as some scum of the martial world, martial arts bandits, and local tyrants.

Now, they were all the same – prisoners.

.......

The city of Nanliang was bustling with activity, and no one would pay attention to a few disheveled scholars being taken away.

Liu Yanchang left the restaurant, mounted his jiao horse, and left the city.

Before long, he could already see Wangquan Mountain in the distance.

At this time, Wangquan Mountain was quite lively, with many disciples busy welcoming guests who came to pay their respects on An Qisheng's birthday.

"Divine Constable!"

Tie Shan, who was busy in front of the mountain, trembled upon seeing Liu Yanchang. He rushed forward to greet him.

He came from the Six Doors. Although his status wasn't high, he had met this Divine Constable before.

"Tie Shan..."

Liu Yanchang dismounted, tossed the reins to him, and forced a smile on his indifferent face.

There were tens of thousands of constables in the Six Doors. Naturally, he couldn't have met them all, but he had a deep impression of Tie Shan.

He naturally remembered a subordinate who had dared to stop the carriage of a Shangshu (Minister) many years ago.

In fact, his safe passage also had his own intentions.

"Divine Constable, you've come a long way."

Tie Shan took the reins, his face inevitably somewhat excited.

"Your zhenqi (true energy) has already solidified? Not bad progress."

Liu Yanchang patted his shoulder, feeling slightly sentimental:

"Following Wangquan Daoren (Taoist) is good. It's better than following me."

"Sir..."

Tie Shan was somewhat tongue-tied.

"No other meaning. You are indeed very good."

Liu Yanchang didn't say much, and strode past, already walking towards the mountain.

He looked towards the mountain peak.

Wangquan Mountain wasn't very high, only a hundred zhang (approximately 333 meters), insignificant compared to the vast Huayan Mountains. If Wangquan Dao hadn't established its sect here, even bandits wouldn't bother to set up camp here.

But in his perception, Wangquan Mountain seemed to ripple with a strange aura.

Faintly, it had the meaning of being the head of all mountains.

Knowing of his arrival, the disciples of Wangquan Dao naturally didn't stop him. Before long, he had arrived at the Wangquan Dao mountain gate.

Wangquan Mountain had no walls, and the surroundings were open, with many well-arranged temples and halls visible at a glance.

Under the guidance of the Wangquan Dao disciple, he came to the back of the mountain.

He saw An Qisheng sitting cross-legged on the Dao platform.

This was the fourth time he had seen An Qisheng.

The first time was in the mountains of Liangzhou, when he killed the Red Sun Dharma King. At that time, he and Cao Tian'gang were both injured, and with Wang Jianglong present below, they didn't dare to attack out of caution.

At that time, An Qisheng's aura was indeed very strong, but he thought he still had a chance of winning.

The second time was on the city walls of Fengdu, when he personally saw Ji Chonghua nailed to the city wall. If it weren't for Cao Tian'gang, he would have already died on the city wall.

At that time, he was no longer a match at all.

The third time was in the royal city, when he fought against the Dragon King Armor in the sky, and a single stomp had directly killed the King Feng.

At that time, An Qisheng, in his eyes, was like the Dragon King Armor, like a divine dragon in the clouds, invisible from beginning to end, and it was difficult to imagine what level he had reached.

And now, looking at the quietly sitting An Qisheng,

his mind was shaken.

In a trance, he seemed to see the sun and moon in the sky, the stars flowing, the aura vast like the boundless starry sky, like the sky, thick, vast, and unfathomable.

"He's stronger?"

Liu Yanchang's heart trembled, feeling a little unbelievable.

Since ancient times, there had been no shortage of brilliant people, and there were even stories of past War Sovereigns, but even in the most outrageous rumors, no one had ascended faster than this Wangquan Daoren (Taoist).

From an unknown wild Taoist on the fringes to defeating Pang Wanyang and ascending to the number one in the world, he had only used three years!

None of the ten Heavenly Humans recorded in ancient and modern times had his cultivation speed.

It was only because he was a hundred years old that this sense of incongruity faded, but it was not non-existent.

And now, he seemed to have become even more unfathomable.

'If he can't become a Heavenly Human, who else in the world can become a Heavenly Human...'

This thought arose in Liu Yanchang's heart, and he couldn't help but feel more reverence.

Hu!

As the airflow slowly drifted, An Qisheng slowly opened his eyes.

"Daoren (Taoist), those who intended to cause trouble in Fengzhou have been completely wiped out."

Liu Yanchang cupped his hands slightly.

"Several years of planning, uprooted in one fell swoop. Lord Liu's methods are truly decisive."

An Qisheng nodded slightly.

Liu Yanchang and Yang Lin were known as hawks and hounds, the sharpest knives of the previous King Feng, and they were more than enough to sweep away the many aristocratic families.

In the end, this was not Xuanxing. After individual martial strength reached a certain level, what kind of thousand-year-old family or network of relationships was meaningless!

"This is not Liu's achievement. I am ashamed to receive Daoren's (Taoist's) praise."

Liu Yanchang shook his head:

"Unfortunately, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause..."

Enemy countries, the martial world, and aristocratic clans pose decreasing threats to the imperial court.

With the imperial court's martial strength, it was not difficult to eradicate aristocratic clans, because the previous King Feng had already severed all the aristocratic clans' tentacles reaching into the army, and secretly cultivated many scholars from humble backgrounds.

He was able to eradicate many aristocratic clans so easily because of the previous King Feng's preparations. Of course, more importantly, it was because of An Qisheng's existence that many major sects did not dare to interfere.

Without the need to worry about external assistance, counterattacks, and with the deployment of troops and the replacement of officials, he was able to eradicate some aristocratic clans after several years of planning.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to completely eliminate aristocratic clans.

The scholars from humble backgrounds who rise to power now will one day become new aristocratic clans.

In fact, who among the officials in the imperial court is not from an aristocratic clan?

"Why always think about solving everything in one step?"

An Qisheng smiled:

"Treat the disease when it comes, prevent it when there is no disease. It wouldn't make sense to commit suicide to avoid getting sick, would it?"

It is difficult for everything to be perfect. The world of Great Harmony is just a beautiful hope. Making everyone selfless is the greatest selfishness in itself.

What he seeks is not the world of Great Harmony.

But to let the strong be orderly, the weak have support, the hungry have food, the sick have medicine, children have fathers, and fathers have children, that's all.

People are bound to die, but they should not live a life worse than death.

Liu Yanchang nodded slightly, and then asked with some doubt:

"Daoren (Taoist) is a person outside the world, so why interfere in the imperial court?"

This question had been in Liu Yanchang's mind for a long time. Not only him, but Han Changong, and the civil and military officials in Fengdu City who had been 'persuaded' by him, also had this question.

Even if the previous King Feng were still alive, he would still have this doubt.

"When a thought arises, act on it. Knowledge and action are one."

An Qisheng looked at the rolling clouds and opened his mouth leisurely:

"Everyone has a different path. My path is just these eight words."

"When a thought arises, act on it. Knowledge and action are one..."

Liu Yanchang's heart stirred, and he frowned, pondering these eight words in secret.

He only felt that these eight words sounded easy, but if one were to integrate them, do everything like this, every day like this, every thought like this, it would be simply impossible.

How can life in the world be completely satisfactory, how can everything be smooth and as desired?

An Qisheng retracted his gaze, a trace of deep ripples rippling within:

"Now that you're here, you might as well stay for a few days. In a few days, something unexpected might happen..."

"Hmm?"

Liu Yanchang's eyes narrowed:

"Daoren (Taoist) means, someone will come to make trouble again?"

An Qisheng shook his head slightly, his smile somewhat difficult to interpret:

"Perhaps, they're just here to celebrate my birthday?"