Chapter 54: Fan Li Sets His Plan in Motion

Dragon God Hall.

Fan Li lay on his side atop a soft couch, one leg crossed over the other. He lazily spread open his right palm, and Wuzhui, with practiced ease, handed him a peeled grape.

“So boring,” Fan Li yawned, popping the grape into his mouth.

He spoke as if to himself, “That so-called Holy Master, at the second tier of the Grand Ascension Realm—even the most elite covert operatives of the Garrison Army could never approach unnoticed to steal intelligence on the Holy Master’s movements or the plans of the Lihuo Sect.”

Wuzhui, usually reticent and seldom speaking, displayed an odd look in her eyes, clearly privy to something but too indifferent to mock Fan Li.

Fan Li chuckled to himself, “But no matter how powerful the Holy Master may be, he could hardly guess that the eagles soaring overhead are actually spirit birds raised by my third brother’s Garrison, observing their every move. So, as the saying goes—know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never lose a hundred battles. I suppose I can just about manage that.”

Wuzhui opened her mouth as if to speak but restrained herself.

Fan Li continued, “It’s not the gods you should fear as your enemies, but the pigs you have for comrades. Tell me, Wuzhui, does Xiang Chong have a human brain? He’s just a pig! The Fan family’s influence has dominated the court for years, and yet, the moment he returns to the capital, he thinks he can dig up intelligence on me, Fan Li?”

Rolling over, Fan Li found lying on his stomach rather comfortable.

“If I hadn’t deliberately leaked the information, would Xiang Chong have learned the location of my elder brother or the secret estate? Would my third brother have gone hunting in the southern hills? And as for my younger sister, she’d never go to admire peach blossoms—she only loves peonies.”

With a spark of interest, Fan Li asked Wuzhui, “Well? Am I not clever?”

Wuzhui finally nodded in earnest. “Had the Hegemon possessed your aptitude for strategy, the realm would never have split into three.”

From someone who seldom flattered, such words were rare—and Fan Li was clearly delighted, grinning from ear to ear.

“Alas… Duke Jin’s scheming goes far beyond knowing oneself and the enemy. The mere orchestration of manpower leaves me in the dust…”

There was a third person in the Dragon God Hall. He glanced sullenly at Fan Li, sighed again, then picked up a scroll, though he had long since memorized its contents. Nevertheless, he began reading it from the first page, studying it with care.

...

Outside Pengcheng, at a secret estate.

The manor was hidden deep within dense forest, guarded by sentries every few paces, vigilance at its utmost.

But Nangong Yan only sneered.

He had already discovered that the estate was protected by exactly three hundred and sixty-five Fan family guards. The strongest among them had only just reached the initial Nascent Soul stage, the weakest were at the first tier of the Golden Core Realm. Such a level of security surpassed even that of the Inner Palace Guards in the kingdoms of Chu, Han, and Ming.

Nangong Yan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

The Fan family’s guards were even more formidable, on average, than the disciples of the Lihuo Sect?

“If only the Fan clan boasted experts at the Integration or Grand Ascension Realms, they’d have long since looked down on the world.”

In the manor’s most secretive main house, even with Nangong Yan’s cultivation at the ninth tier of the Integration Realm, he could sense nothing within.

Clearly, the main house was protected by some barrier or treasure that blocked his perception.

Nangong Yan thought this only natural, given the illicit dealings likely taking place within.

“It’s time to act.”

He had no intention of wasting time on three hundred-odd guards. He would strike directly at the main house, aiming to slay everyone inside with a single blow.

He couldn’t even be bothered to identify who was within.

The Han Grand Tutor Dong Zhuo’s secret envoy?

Since they were here, they could accompany the Fan family’s patriarch to the grave.

“Starlit Wildfire!”

Unleashing his sect’s secret art, Nangong Yan transformed into a blazing meteor, plummeting from the sky toward the estate below.

It was a devastating, wide-range attack—a hundred paces in all directions from the main house would be engulfed by the Starlit Wildfire.

“They’re fleeing?!”

The plunge took only a few breaths, yet Nangong Yan saw all three hundred and sixty-five guards scatter in four directions, fleeing as fast as they could.

Hundreds of guards fleeing simultaneously? The sight nearly made Nangong Yan burst out laughing.

He had thought the Fan family so powerful in Chu, but it turned out their vaunted guards were nothing but a façade, abandoning their master in a crisis?

“Ridiculous! I really needn’t have asked my lady to intervene—she’ll mock me for this for sure!”

Nangong Yan roared, pouring all his pent-up frustration onto the rooftops below.

Yet the destruction and incineration he anticipated did not occur.

From within the main house, three auras rose in sequence, forming protective barriers that enveloped the entire estate.

“How can this be? Three Integration Realm cultivators?!”

Nangong Yan was appalled.

Though his first strike was not his full strength, it was still formidable. The Starlit Wildfire was blocked with ease by the three Integration Realm experts within—the first time his attack had ever been so effortlessly thwarted.

“Xiang Chong’s intelligence made no mention of the Fan family having Integration Realm experts—let alone three at once!”

Nangong Yan descended to the ground, his expression cold as he stood outside the house.

Crash!

The doors swung open, and three people emerged one after another.

Nangong Yan scrutinized their faces, but none of them were Fan Ming, the Fan family member he had intended to kill.

He finally spotted Fan Ming, still inside, leisurely sipping tea and smiling back at him.

“I am but at the Soul Transformation stage, so I won’t presume to show off before the sect master,” Fan Ming said with a smile before finishing his tea.

“No! You knew I was coming to kill you? You deliberately arranged for these three to protect you?”

Nangong Yan noticed that while the three before him were at the Integration Realm, their cultivation seemed inferior to his own—perhaps all three were only at the sixth tier?

Fan Ming nodded, then shook his head. “With my second brother orchestrating matters, I did indeed know of your approach. But this time, it is not the sect master killing me, but rather my three hundred and sixty-five guards, together with Lords Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, who are here to kill you.”

Cao, Liu, and Sun?

Nangong Yan was shocked.

At this moment, the only Integration Realm experts present in the capital of Chu were three Han envoys, dispatched for Princess Changle’s wedding.

“The Han Minister of Works, Cao Cao.”

“Descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, great-grandson of Emperor Xiaojing, Han Left General, Marquis of Yicheng Pavilion, Governor of Yu Province—your uncle, Liu Bei.”

“Grand General of Cavalry, Sun Quan.”

After their introductions, Nangong Yan’s face turned ashen.

He said grimly, “Are the three Han envoys attacking me today on Princess Changle’s orders?”

Cao Cao shook his head. “The princess is now Empress of Chu; as Han courtiers, we are not under her command.”

“Then why are you here?” Nangong Yan demanded.

Liu Bei replied, “It is a rare opportunity—should Duke Jin owe the three of us a favor, then I’m afraid, Sect Master, you must accept the injustice of death.”

Nangong Yan was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing.

“You three? Three half-baked Integration Realm cultivators? You’re courting death!”

The plan had failed, and now he found himself ensnared instead. Furious, Nangong Yan resolved to kill everyone present to preserve his reputation.

The four clashed in a chaotic melee, their battle shaking heaven and earth, the aftermath devastating everything within a hundred paces of the main house. All other buildings in the estate were reduced to rubble in an instant.

But Nangong Yan soon sensed something amiss—Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan were far stronger than expected, their power nearly equal to his own, nothing like what Integration Realm cultivators of the sixth tier should possess.

As they fought, Sun Quan explained with ease, “Sect Master, there’s no need to be surprised. In terms of cultivation, the three of us are indeed inferior. But, as it happens, all three of us bear the fate of emperors—our destinies are unlike ordinary men, so it’s only natural that we’re somewhat stronger than our peers, hahaha…”