Leng Mansion...
Within a secret chamber in the Leng Mansion, there were two men dressed in embroidered clothes. They were looking at a corpse that was lying on the ground. If Luo Cheng was here, he would definitely be shocked. The corpse lying on the ground could be identified as the blue robed cultivator he saw in the Bloodstone forest.
One of the two men present in the secret chamber was none other than Prince Zhou Leng, and other was his Imperial Protector Ye Guhan.
Prince Leng knelt down and casually flipped the corpse over, "When was he discovered?"
The corpse had already been rotting for a period of time, as proven by the faint stench of a corpse in the air.
Ye Guhan wrinkled his nose, "Ten days ago. The Blood Soul Guards found his corpse in the inner part of the Bloodstone Forest while searching for members of the Divine Dao Alliance. There were also corpses of the Xiao Clan members. You've been in secluded cultivation all this time, which is what made it inconvenient to bring the body over to you."
After pausing for a while, Ye Guhan continued, "This fellow died of a vicious palm art and I can't tell it's origin."
Prince Leng got up and carefully listened to Ye Guhan's depiction of the recent event. After listening to the whole thing, there seemed to be calm expression on his face, "The Sixth Elder of the Divine Dao Alliance dying is a good outcome regardless of who the murderer is. I only wonder who the third party is."
Ye Guhan asked with concern in his voice, "Are you not worried at all about that mysterious killer?"
Lightly smiling, Prince Leng said. "Ever since the Great Zhou Empire established itself in this Heaven Desolate Region, we've had countless enemies, and still we stand strong, so what is the point of me worrying.
If these dancing clowns want to target my Leng Mansion, as long as I, Zhou Leng, still have a breath in me, even if I turn into ash, I will take my revenge." With the change in topic, Prince Leng's eyes had a resolute gleam that could easily inspire a sense of conviction in people.
Ye Guhan naturally understood what Prince Leng meant by his words. Ever since he became an Imperial Protector of the Great Zhou Empire, he knew how strong the enemies of the Great Zhou Empire had been back then. It had not been easy for the Great Zhou Empire to survive till today. At the end of the day, their enemies now compared to then were not even worth mentioning in the same breath.
Prince Leng did not seem interested in looking at the corpse anymore, without changing his facial expression, he spoke with mild bemusement "I'm sure by now the Divine Dao Alliance knows of his death. All they want is to enter the Ancient Tomb so i think they'll use this as an opportunity to negotiate a temporary alliance with us to explore the Ancient Tomb."
Turning to look at Ye Guhan Prince Leng said, "Go send an invite to Rune Master Liu Shu. we'll require his assistance to open the entrance to the Ancient Tomb."
"Yes Your Highness." replied Ye Guhan as he slowly merged with the shadows.
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The next day, after getting up from bed, Luo Cheng walked towards his wardrobe. There were many luxurious clothes inside with varying designs for specific occasions. Luo Cheng picked a few out of them to wear. As he got dressed, he decided to wear a golden robe with dragons embroidered on it.
After getting himself ready, Luo Cheng looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit that he certainly did look handsome.
He had long white hair and thin lips, golden pupils, and a beautiful smile. His luxurious yet straightforward clothes, coupled with his handsome appearance, mesmerized even himself.
After admiring his appearance for what seemed like a long time, Luo Cheng decided that it was finally time to go out. He opened the door and took his first step out. He was greeted with a fresh breeze of air. Outside, he saw a large and beautiful garden. It was his garden, and it still looked so beautiful.
Although the servants didn't respect him that much because of his identity as an adopted child, they still took care of the garden for him with all due care, as this was the place where his adoptive mother Consort Zilan often passed by whenever she went to Luo Cheng's room.
Luo Cheng strode through the garden while enjoying the scenery and the smell of fresh flowers. He walked towards the east wing of the Leng Mansion, Consort Zilan's courtyard.
Arriving at the Courtyard, the gate opened, and a beautiful woman came out. She had long, lustrous black hair, black eyes, and a perfect figure. She was Luo Cheng's adoptive mother, Yan Zilan.
Although he knew that his mother was probably only a few years older than sixty, he couldn't tell from her looks. She looked like she was not a year older than twenty-five. That was certainly because she has a high cultivation level, since cultivators could keep themselves looking younger, the higher their cultivation bases were.
"Where are you going, Cheng'er? Are you going out to play?" While Luo Cheng was lost in thought thinking about 'his' adoptive mother's looks, she suddenly asked him in a gentle tone.
"I'm going to the martial arts hall." replied Luo Cheng as she walked closer to him.
When she was just in front of him, she put her hand on his cheeks and gently spoke. "You're looking so amazing, Cheng'er, like a heavenly prince. Okay, go on now, Mother won't take your training time anymore." She kissed his cheeks as she said.
Long Chen turned back and continued towards his destination. There was an extensive martial arts hall in the Leng's Mansion. It was more than a few hundred meters long.
The training grounds were made expansive so one could practice any Martial Technique freely, and there was even a battle stage where clan members could have friendly bouts with one another.
Be that as it may, no one was allowed to injure their opponents as they were all from the same clan. These spars were only meant as a way for them to exchange some moves and gain battle experience. Every intentional injury was punishable by clan law, while accidents were allowed. Though only to a certain degree.
Only four people were practicing their martial techniques at the training grounds. He could only see people from the younger generation there. He knew that adults practiced somewhere else, as even the residue energy of their martial techniques might cause collateral damage. That was why only members of the younger generation practiced there.
Luo Cheng could see his foster siblings,
although, he couldn't see the strongest prodigy of Leng Mansion's younger generation, Zhou Yan, the eldest son of Prince Zhou Leng, his other foster siblings were present.
His two 'sisters', Zhou Youran and Zhou Qing were at the 9th and 8th Star of the Qi Warrior Realm respectively and were weaker than Luo Cheng. He also noticed that Zhou Feng was now in the 2nd Star of the True Qi Realm.
He could also see a boy practicing in an empty area. He was shocked to see the power contained within the boy's martial techniques. He could control Qi in the air to attack his opponents.
His attacks had a strange fighting spirit, one that made all his attacks seem alive. Luo Cheng knew why it was as such. The boy had broken through to the Houtian Realm.
He recognized the boy. He was the second son of Prince Leng, Zhou Han. He was older than Luo Cheng by three years, being of 18 years of age. However, he was already at the 1st Star of the Houtian Realm.
Long Cheng slowly walked towards him.