As the commander of the Redscale Army troops stationed at the foot of the Western Mountain, Yuan Luoyu was the first to see Zhou Zhili and company descending from the peak.

His Sixth Highness won? Yuan Luoyu’s heart shook.

Zhou Zhili saw Yuan Luoyu too. He ordered, “Lead the Redscale Army to the peak and clean up the corpses. Gather up anything of value you find and have it sent to the House of Waveswept Rocks.”

Clean up the corpses!? Yuan Luoyu deduced a certain possibility, and despite himself, his heart shook.

It was then that the gathered big shots saw Zhou Zhili and company descend from the mountain. The uproar came to an abrupt halt as everyone ceased their discussion and looked over.

Someone worked up the courage to ask, “Your Highness, dare I ask who won at this morning’s Tea Party?”

When he heard this, Zhou Zhili instantly stopped in his tracks. His gaze swept across the gathered big shots, one by one. 

Then, amidst the deathly silence, the sixth prince broke into a faint smile and gestured to Mu Zhongtong. “Allow me to introduce you: from this day forth, His Lordship Mu Zhongting shall be the new governor of the Imperatorial Province.”

A single rock could stir up a thousand waves. Similarly, a single sentence threw the entire venue into an uproar.

Who could possibly miss that at today’s Tea Party, the focus of countless experts’ attention, His Sixth Highness had emerged as the ultimate victor?

This result was completely beyond most of the audience’s expectations, to the point that many of them stared in obvious disbelief.

But Zhou Zhili didn’t explain anything. He just left those words behind and led Mu Zhongting and his other allies away in a hurry.

“I just knew that with Master Su lending his aid, his Sixth Highness would find it hard to lose even if he wanted to!” Yuan Luoxi exclaimed in delight.

But Yuan Wutong’s heart shook; he’d just realized that, even after Zhou Zhili and company left, Xiang Tianqiu and his allies still had yet to appear. 

Don’t tell me Master Su killed them all? As soon as this thought occurred to him, his head buzzed. If so, this is going to be an enormous mess!

“Father, why haven’t we seen Master Su yet?” asked Yuan Luoxi, sounding a bit confused.

Yuan Wutong took a deep breath, then said in low voice, “Wait a little longer. Your second brother is leading a group to the mountaintop. I trust that we’ll understand the full truth soon enough.”

“The full truth?” Yuan Luoxi was stunned. Don’t tell me there’s more to what happened up there? Some kind of secret?

“Why haven’t His Lordship Xiang and the others appeared yet?” By now, numerous onlookers realized that something strange was afoot. Xiang Tianqiu, Yu Baiting, and the others were all peak-level influential figures within the Imperatorial Provincial Capital, yet not one of them had returned from the mountaintop!

“This… Don’t tell me something happened to them?” Someone gulped nervously.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, everyone! Just now, the famous fifth-level Grandmaster Qin Changshan took action. It’s obvious that he lost. Otherwise, how could the sixth prince possibly have emerged victorious?”

Someone’s eyes flashed. “Also, just now, a Bluescale Eagle appeared on the peak. I suspect that it was Palace Master Ning Sihua’s personal mount. Does that mean the famously mysterious palace master of Heaven’s Origin Academy got involved in the struggle too?”

“Don’t guess randomly. Wait for the Redscale Army to come back down. Then we’ll know what really happened.”

The crowd continued discussing the matter amongst themselves. Although they knew the Tea Party’s results, they felt more confused than ever.

“Young Miss, do you think it was Ning Sihua who intervened to defeat Dragonlake Hermit Qin Changshan?” Uncle Ying couldn’t quite see through these results, and his brow was tightly knit.

“That’s not possible.” Hua Yan rejected the possibility without a moment’s hesitation. “Earlier, when Qin Changshan attacked, he provoked all manner of celestial and earthly phenomena. His sword qi cut through the air, and the sea of clouds boiled over. However, it was only after the curtain set on his battle that the Bluescale Eagle glided over. That means that it couldn’t possibly have been Ning Sihua who defeated Qin Changshan.”

“Then who was it?” Uncle Ying couldn’t help but follow up.

“Su Yi!” Hua Yan hesitated, then said, “I just noticed that when His Sixth Highness and his followers descended from the mountaintop, Su Yi and his serving girl weren’t with them. Furthermore, everyone just saw that Bluescale Eagle leave carrying two figures on its back. They were undoubtedly Su Yi and his servant.”

She paused, then continued, “That means that there were no casualties among the sixth prince’s followers. Of that group, only Su Yi could possibly have the power to defeat a fifth-level Grandmaster like Qin Changshan.”

When she said this, her pretty eyes shone with bewilderment. “But saying he defeated Qin Changshan sounds a bit too unbelievable…”

Uncle Ying fell silent. He already understood what she was getting at.

Were they talking about anyone else, he couldn’t possibly have believed that a Qi Accumulation Realm youth could defeat a fifth-level Grandmaster.

And yet, it was true: Su Yi was the most likely suspect.

Who wouldn’t have been bewildered?

But then, amidst the debate and widespread confusion, Yuan Luoyu and his men returned from the mountaintop.

By now, Yuan Wutong could no longer hold back. He immediately asked, “Luoyu, what’s the situation?” 

“His Lordship Xiang and the others… they’re all dead…..” Yuan Luoyu said softly, but he still looked shaken. 

All of them are dead? The crowd was initially stunned. Then, their scalps when numb and they gasped. They finally understood.

The entire venue instantly fell into a strange, deathly silence.

No matter how stunned they were, all of them reached the same conclusion—

Chaos was coming to the Imperatorial Provincial Capital!

……

That day, news of the Western Mountain’s Tea Party swept across the city like a hurricane.

It wasn’t long before the entire provincial capital sank into massive unrest!

The Yu Family.

Inside a beautiful and lavishly-decorated pavilion.

Yu Shuangning had been waiting for a long time, and she was starting to get impatient.

Last night, her father, Yu Baiting, chuckled and told her that tomorrow, Su Yi would disappear from the face of this world.

Yu Shuangning was rather looking forward to it. 

She certainly hadn’t forgotten how detestable he was, or how he used “kindness” as leverage against her, or how impudent to the extreme he was.

Father’s been gone for four hours already. Isn’t it about time he gets back? Almost as soon as she thought this….

Bang!

Someone outside the pavilion kicked the door in, and a tall young man charged in, leading a flock of attendants. 

Yu Shuangning cried out. She was startled at first, but when she saw her unexpected visitor clearly, she instantly lost her temper and rebuked him. “Yu Xiao! What are you doing?” 

Yu Xiao was the son of the Yu Family’s second elder. He’d always played the meek, submissive yes-man in front of her, reacting like a mouse who’d just spotted a cat whenever he saw her.

Yet now, he’d led a group of men to kick down her door!

Yu Xiao looked her up and down without the slightest reservations, then chuckled. “Little cousin, I’m here to tell you that the family head is already dead. From this day forth, my father is the new family head, while I…. am his future successor!”

“What? That’s ridiculous! How could my father possibly die?” Yu Shuangning’s expression changed dramatically. She lifted her foot and was about to charge out of the pavilion when…

Whap!

Someone slapped her right across the face. Her cheeks stung like fire, and she staggered back and fell.

She’d been pampered from a young age. When had she ever endured such humiliation?

She was on the verge of going mad with anger!

“You…”

Yu Shuangning was just about to say something when Yu Xiao bellowed coldly, “Imprison her for me!”

“Yes, sir!” His attendants all charged into action.

The moment she saw this, Yu Shuangning felt as if she were on the verge of a mental breakdown. What exactly is going on? Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me something really happened to Father?”

But the attendants didn’t give her any time to think. They simply captured her, trussed her up, and led her away, a grave humiliation.

That day, following the news of Yu Baiting’s death, the Yu Family descended into enormous strife.

In order to seize the seat of family head as quickly as possible, the Yu Family higher-ups instantly launched into bloody conflict. 

Yu Baiting and his immediate circle became nothing but lambs to the slaughter.

His daughter, Yu Shuangning, became nothing but a prisoner.

The family was like a pack of dragons without a leader; internal conflict was inevitable. 

And the bigger the clan, the more severe the consequences of dissension.

Similar scenes played out in the Zhao, Bai, and Xue Families as well. 

….

Heaven’s Academy.

The Cliffs of Penance.

Piercingly-cold gales howled, sharp as the edge of a knife.

Xiang Ming sat in a cave, his hair disheveled. He looked haggard, and his eyes brimmed with impatience, indignation, and hatred. 

He gnashed his teeth and spat, “Su Yi, just you wait! The moment I get out of here, I’ll go ask my father for help. I cannot lay this grudge to rest until I’ve hacked you to pieces!”

He was the son of the provincial governor, the man of the hour at Heaven’s Origin Academy. He’d never once suffered a setback like this!

Suddenly, a frantic voice emanated from beyond the cave. “Senior Apprentice Brother Xiang, this is bad!”

The new arrival was a somewhat overweight young man. He charged into the cave, already covered in sweat, panic written all over his face. 

“Calm down!” Xiang Ming glared at the chubby youth in displeasure. “How many times have I told you? When something big happens, you have to stay calm. No matter how bad this news is, could it possibly be any worse than my current predicament?”

The chubby youth wiped the sweat from his brow and gasped, “No, Senior Apprentice Brother Ming, something really big has happened this time. I don’t even dare believe it, but now, everyone in the academy is saying….”

“What exactly happened?” Xiang Ming furrowed his brow in displeasure.

The chubby youth stammered, “Senior Apprentice Brother, I’ll tell you, but don’t get upset, and don’t get angry. It’s not necessarily true…”

Seeing him go on like this, Xiang Ming felt incomparably impatient. He couldn’t help but bark, “What exactly do you have to say!?”

The chubby young man jumped and blurted in a panic, “Your dad’s dead!”

Xiang Ming was stunned. Then, he roared in fury, “You… Are you trying to curse me?”

The chubby youth blubbered, “Senior Apprentice Brother, I’m not lying. Your dad really is dead! They say your house has been ransacked, and your father’s concubines took advantage of the chaos to run off with his valuables. Even those songstresses you were keeping have been seized…”

Xiang Ming almost exploded. He shot to his feet and bellowed, “Which scoundrel is out spreading rumors? I’ll have his entire family killed if it’s the last thing I do!”

The chubby youth said in a tizzy, “Senior Apprentice Brother Xiang, everyone in Heaven’s Origin Academy knows about this! Even the higher-ups are talking about it. They say your dad was decapitated at the Tea Party on the peak of the Western Mountain….”

“Even the higher-ups are talking about it….” Xiang Ming felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His mind went blank, and his hands and feet quivered uncontrollably.

How is this possible?

With Father’s strength and authority, he’s practically the hegemon of the Imperatorial Province. How could this possibly happen to him?

“Impossible! This is absolutely impossible—!” Shortly afterward, Xiang Ming’s bestial roars emanated from within the cave. The sound of his imminent mental breakdown and loss of control echoed throughout heaven and earth.