Twenty-five miles west of the capital, a scenic riverbank, several wisps of smoke slowly rose, and it was already lunchtime. A military camp was stationed here, and in the center of the camp stood a large black flag with red edges, which was the banner of the newly risen Black Flag Army of the Great Han Empire.

  The sound of clashing steel echoed through the camp as Xu Haifeng wielded a hundred-refined golden sword against Lin Changkongs fierce attack.

  And beside them, Cheng Jiahui and Cheng Yingming were engaged in a life-and-death struggle. The two seemed to have deep grievances, and their moves were ruthless and deadly. Cheng Jiahui had the upper hand due to his rich experience, with old and cunning techniques, but Cheng Yingming was young and vigorous, daring to fight and clash, with an inner strength that surpassed his uncles by a great margin. For a time, the two fought evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

  It has been ten days since Xu Haifeng returned to the camp, and during this period, Xu Haifeng can be said to have been in high spirits. Since confirming his relationship with Lin Wanyin, Xu Haifeng no longer had to sleep alone at night, every evening embracing this peerless beauty as he drifted off to sleep, entwined in endless love.

  After recognizing the Fang family as his backer, he only knew that the behind-the-scenes boss of Zuiyuelou was actually the Tang family, one of the four major families. The Tang family, in order to curry favor with this rising star, not only increased the daily supply of Zuiyue wine to two jars, but also gave it away for free. For someone like Xu Haifeng, there was no better tonic than Zuiyue wine. He was a come-and-go guest, drinking every day until he was drunk, and still felt unsatisfied.

  Lin Wanxi worried that he drank too much, which was bad for his body, but unexpectedly, Xu Haifeng became more energetic the more he drank, and every night he made her count the degrees of climbing to extreme pleasure. At the same time, Xu Haifengs essence also flowed into Lin Wanxis body, so no matter how tired Lin Wanxi was the night before, she could recover as usual early the next morning.

  As love nourished her, Lin Wanxin became even more beautiful and charming. If it werent for the fact that everyone here was a bloodthirsty warrior who didnt understand how to appreciate beauty, she would have probably caused a huge commotion among the troops already. The only exception was Jiang Kongming, who after seeing Lin Wanxins transformation, sighed and said: "The ancients said, A beautiful face is a calamity, indeed they were not deceiving me."

  Apart from that, Xu Haifengs mental state has also made rapid progress with the massive replenishment of vital energy. Just two days ago, he successfully advanced to the sixth realm. At this point, in terms of his abilities, Xu Haifeng has already reached the standard of a top-notch master. With his abilities at this level, all sorts of wonderful uses began to emerge one after another. Xu Haifengs senses became even more acute, and a stream of true energy flowed unceasingly within his body. His body was light as a swallow, and he had an easier time grasping the application of moves.

  Xu Haifeng finally understood why those martial arts masters, once they reached a certain level, would tirelessly pursue an even higher realm. It turned out that higher-level kung fu could bring people even greater enjoyment. Just like power and influence, martial arts could also be addictive.

  His inner strength had increased, and his moves couldnt be underestimated. For the past few days, Lin Changkong and others had become his sparring partners. Although Xu Haifeng still felt restricted, he was no longer completely helpless. Of course, if the two were to engage in a life-or-death battle, adding another Xu Haifeng would still not make him a match for Lin Changkong.

  As for Cheng Yingming, his situation is similar to Xu Haifengs, also reaching the level of a first-rate internal power expert, but his martial arts attainments are not up to par. However, his situation is much simpler, and any move can only be used at the most critical moment to achieve the greatest enlightenment.

  With the specially made blood wine on Xu Haifengs body as a guarantee, Cheng Yingming and several top-notch masters in the Black Flag Army fought one-on-one. Although he suffered fatal injuries each time, as long as he was still breathing at the scene, he would recover within an hour. After ten days, Cheng Yingming had already held his own against his uncle in solo combat, truly becoming a first-rate master of the Jianghu.

  However, Cheng Yingmings current appearance is vastly different from his original look. After being tortured by the "Separate Bones and Muscles" technique and drinking the Blood Wine, although he managed to keep his life, his physique underwent a drastic change. Not only did he lose a lot of weight, but he also grew several inches taller out of thin air, and his face became disfigured beyond recognition. Jiang Kongming even ordered him to shave his head bald, making it impossible for his own parents to recognize their son standing in front of them.

  Since his appearance had changed, Jiang Gongming let him change his name to Xu Haiming and become a personal bodyguard for Xu Haifeng. To outsiders, he would say that he was a clansman of the Xu family, although everyone knew that this explanation couldnt fool those who were perceptive.

  As for Cheng Jia Hui, his physical appearance and agility, even his martial arts skills have all taken shape, and he has been famous for many years, so there are too many people who recognize him. Therefore, he absolutely cannot reveal himself openly, but can only hide in the shadows and be used as a secret weapon.

  "Hmph……" Just then, a loud explosion came from the riverbank, and after a moment, a burst of hearty laughter spread throughout the camp. There were not many people who could be so reckless in the Black Flag Army, except for Xu Haifeng, the main general, only Jiang Kongming, this half-madman, would do such a thing.

  "Whats going on? Lets go take a look." Having been disturbed like this, Xu Haifeng no longer had the interest to continue practicing his skills and brought everyone to the riverbank.

  Dozens of blast furnaces stood along the riverbank, hundreds of soldiers rushing back and forth, while Jiang Kongming sat in a wheelchair, waving a feather fan with a pleased expression, occasionally letting out intermittent, eerie laughter that sent chills down ones spine.

  Jiang Kongmings eyes scanned and saw Xu Haifeng and others. He immediately stood up, walked to Xu Haifeng and paid his respects.

  "What the hell are you doing?" Xǔ Hǎifēng asked discontentedly.

  Jiang Kung-ming smiled and said, "The student was using the local method to smelt steel, and only today did he finally succeed. He is momentarily excited and cannot control himself, so please forgive him, Your Excellency."

  Xu Haifeng looked at the ugly blast furnaces by the riverbank and asked in puzzlement, "What are you going to smelt? Whats the use of that thing?"

  "Students must temper their steel, and as for the tempered steel that comes out, it can be made into swords and armor."

  "Manufacturing weapons? Is this all youve accomplished?" Xǔ Hǎifēng asked, pointing at those high furnaces.

  Jiang Kongming burst out laughing: "Reporting to the master, although these are all inferior steel, compared to the current weapons and armor, that is an extremely rare first-class material."

  Xu Haifeng nodded half-believingly, if it werent for Jiang Kongmings every strange action having a remarkable effect, he wouldnt have believed him: "Alright, you can slowly refine it then, remember to let me try one when youve succeeded."

  "Student obey." Jiang Kongming responded.

  For ten days, the capital has been in an uproar, with Chen Youkun leading people to turn over almost every inch of the citys soil, but still nothing has been found.

  By now, everyone knew that Cheng Yingjie and others were in a precarious situation. Min Zhitang and others had no way out except to continue putting pressure on the Ministry of Punishment.

  As a result of this incident, the number of grand and small gatherings in the capital decreased significantly. When powerful officials and nobles went out, they were always heavily guarded and escorted by large groups of guards. The most unfortunate ones were those Kaifeng merchants, with countless people being imprisoned and even having their families broken up.

  The hooligans in the capital were swept away, and although some underworld figures who could stand firm in the capital had some connections with the authorities, this matter was not trivial, and no one dared to intervene, provoking Cheng Yinghao, who had already turned red-eyed, so the law and order achievements in the capital reached a ten-year high.

  After being tense for so many days, it finally started to relax a bit. After all, this is the capital of the Great Han, the political center of the empire, and the number of people coming and going every day is in the tens of thousands. How can such a high state of alert be maintained? The various banquets in the capital have also begun to unfold one after another, and Xu Haifengs carefree life will soon come to an end.

  Looking at the two invitation cards in his hand, Xu Haifeng really didnt want to bother with them, but these few taels of heavy red cards were like a weighty burden, not allowing him to say a single "no". Because the owners of these two invitation cards were none other than the current Crown Prince - Huì Wáng Liú Zhèng Tíng and the Fifth Prince - Wǔ Wáng Liú Zhèng Qǐ.

  What really troubled Xu Haifeng was not the two invitations, but the arrival of Fang Lingde and what he said. According to Fang Lingde, the current emperor had seven princes, but only two were qualified to inherit the throne. One was the eldest prince, Prince Hui Liu Zhengting, and the other was the fifth prince, Prince Wu Liu Zhengqi. The two of them had been fighting for the right to inherit the throne, and if the emperor were not still around, they would have already clashed openly with swords drawn.

  It wasnt until now that Xu Haifeng finally understood the meaning of the words he said when parting ways with Fang Xiangling in Linan City. In the capital, one should observe and listen more, speak and act less, and not easily make promises. It turned out that Fang Xiangling had already guessed that these two would come to win him over, so he pointed it out to himself at the time of parting. Moreover, he had already shown him a way to survive, which was to rely on the Fang family; otherwise, as a small general, no matter whose side he offended, he would be doomed.

  "Cough..." A cough came from outside the door, calling back Xǔ Hǎifēng from his memories. With his accomplished martial arts skills, he could tell that it was Jiàng Kǒngmíng, the military advisor, at the door just by the sound of the voice and footsteps.

  "Please come in, military advisor." Xu Haifeng hastily invited.

  Jiang Kung-ming walked in accompanied by Lin Chang-kong, at this time Jiang Kung-ming was already the second-in-command of the Black Flag Army, and it was only natural that Lin Chang-kong, a top-notch expert, followed him to protect his safety under orders.

  "Unaware of your lordships summons, what is the purpose of this?" Jiang Gongming asked with a bow.

  Xu Haifeng didnt bother to chat with him, and directly handed the two invitations in his hand to him. Jiang Kongming took a look, thought for a moment with a thoughtful expression, then raised his head and smiled: "Could it be that the two kings are competing for the throne?"

  Xu Haifengs expression changed, although he had long known that Jiang Kongming was highly intelligent and rarely seen, but he had guessed it just by looking at the invitation. This was really too shocking to hear: "The military advisor is right, I was just thinking of asking you for a strategy."

  Jiang Kongming smiled silently, covering his head with his hand and pretending to be drowsy. Xu Haifeng had been with him for many days and was already accustomed to his actions. After a moments thought, he immediately understood what Jiang meant and asked, "You want me to pretend to be ill?"

  "Its not bad, if the master had just entered the capital and was still unstable, then he could only choose one to follow. But now that the master has the support of the Fang family, he naturally doesnt need to bother with them. And before the situation becomes clear, they wont come to trouble the master either, or rather, they dont dare to trouble the Fang family." Jiang Kongming analyzed.

  "Alright, Ill follow the military advisors words and send a letter of refusal right away."

  "Its not proper, Master should hand over this post to the Fang family and let them handle it in person, that would be the right way."

  Xu Haifeng took a look at Jiang Kongming and finally sighed: "The military advisor is indeed brilliant, I really admire him."