King Fu Jianlong sat on his dragon throne, looking down at the bck-cd martial artist kneeling in front of him. He'd just finished listening to the man's report regarding the recent events that had occurred when Fu Anwen's group had passed through Shining Crane City.

  Steam was curling up from the king's skin, a visual indicator of the intense level of rage he was feeling at that moment.

  ~-o-O-o-~

  As it turned out, the old man that Fu Anwen had crippled had been a cultivator employed by the profligate young master of Shining Crane City's Chen Cn. The old man's job had been to abduct and imprison any young women targeted by the young master.

  Fu Anwen had taken action after seeing one of those young women locked in a cage in a secret room hidden beneath the old man's house.

  Coincidentally, the man who had followed Fu Qingyu's group to the Heavenly Cleaver Pavilion had also been working for that same young master, though he had only been a low-level informant.

  Fu Anwen had guessed that Murong Xinyi had dealt with the stalker during the night, but the truth was that the magistrate and a team of guards had raided the Chen Cn soon after capturing the old man. If not for Fu Anwen dealing with the old man during the day, he likely would have shown up at the inn that very night to capture Fu Qingyu and the other dies.

  Of course, with Murong Xinyi there, the old cultivator was destined to meet his end either way.

  ~-o-O-o-~

  "Is Chen Yuwen still alive?"

  "No, your majesty. All seven members of the Chen Cn who were aware of Chen Yuwen's actions have been publicly executed, as was the old cultivator who was working for him."

  "I see."

  The king sat in thought for a few minutes, the smokey tendrils gradually fading.

  Eventually, the king announced, "Strip the Chen Cn of any status, privilege, and wealth they have acquired over the years. Let them be a warning to other cns of what happens if they fail to keep watch over their own people."

  "Yes, your majesty," the bck-cd martial artist replied with a bow.

  "Go."

  The martial artist bowed once more before retreating from the throne room.

  A moment ter, an old man wearing a pin white robe stepped out from the shadows.

  "Uncle," the king greeted him with a nod.

  As a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment, Fu Kong was the Fu family's backbone. At nearly two hundred years old, his knowledge and advice had also proven to be invaluable to the king many times over.

  "Do you think there's anything more to this situation?"

  The Fu Kingdom had been at peace for many years. While a kingdom at peace was a blessing for most of its people, it was also a time when dark ambitions would brew in the hearts of those who hungered for more power.

  Internal enemies wanted to take over and rule the kingdom themselves, while external enemies wanted to incorporate the Fu Kingdom's nd and people into their own territory.

  Fu Kong shook his head. "There shouldn't be. All the evidence points to the Chen Cn's trash acting on his own."

  "But they were after Qing'er!" Steam again started rising from the king's body.

  Fu Kong stared at his nephew incredulously. This descendant of the Fu family was perfect in almost every way, but he completely lost his mind when it came to that woman.

  "Calm yourself." Fu Kong's words seemed to wield some kind of special power, instantly settling the king's mind and calming his heart.

  Fu Jianlong closed his eyes and repeatedly cycled his internal energy throughout his body. Eventually, he managed to cast aside his emotions.

  "Thank you for your assistance, uncle."

  Fu Kong waved a hand in dismissal. "Just deal with your issues with that woman before she becomes your heart demon."

  The king cupped his fists and nodded, though he already knew that Fu Qingyu had long grown into something more than a simple heart demon for him.

  "Set aside talk of the Chen Cn for now. The more important issue is what's happening with the spiritual energy in the pace. It's already reached a level where cultivation is no longer possible."

  Fu Jianlong squinted his eyes. "Have you still not found any leads?"

  Fu Kong shook his head. "According to the records of the ancestors, the spirit vein is rge enough that every Fu Kingdom cultivator using it to cultivate for ten thousand years still wouldn't affect it. Unfortunately, our Fu family no longer has any Core Formation cultivators, so we can't dig down and verify its state."

  While digging through the ground was a simple task for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the dense spiritual energy near a spirit vein would strengthen the earth until it became far harder than steel. Even Fu Kong's great strength was unable to break through it.

  "I truly have no idea what the problem could be."

  The two of them had already considered bringing in outside help. However, while it would be easy to have a powerful cultivator come to the Fu Kingdom to investigate the situation, getting them to leave afterward wasn't always so simple. That was especially true when they were dealing with something as valuable as a spirit vein.

  "Until this problem is resolved, you should take our family's cultivators elsewhere to cultivate. We can't afford to let our younger generation's strength stagnate."

  "Who will protect the pace if I'm gone?"

  The king spoke with complete confidence, "I alone am enough."

  "Ha ha ha!"

  Fu Kong walked over and spped the king on his shoulder. "That's the right attitude for a king of our Fu Kingdom to have! Alright, I'll head over to the Dancing Sword Sect with the others. Make sure to contact me if there's trouble."

  After Fu Kong left the throne room, Fu Jianlong leaned back in his throne and closed his eyes. His thoughts soon returned to the same topic as always.

  "Qing'er..."