"Hahaha! Interesting, the lingering souls of the twenty-three Nascent Soul elders within the Azure Cloud Pavilion!"
Amidst the wind and snow, even now, with everything exposed, Feng Qingyang showed no signs of panic. He simply sighed after his laughter. "The remnant souls of the Azure Cloud Pavilion elders," he mused, "the Li family truly possesses extraordinary fortune."
"With their presence, as long as the Li family makes an example of a few, Li Tianyi can become the new Pavilion Master of the Azure Cloud Pavilion. The remaining major forces will continue to follow the old rules, respecting the Azure Cloud Pavilion, just like hundreds of thousands of years ago. The only difference is that now there's also the Li family!"
"Abbot Wuyou, the Long family..."
"...they are merely discarded pawns!"
Seeing the unwavering determination in Feng Qingyang's eyes...
Li Yaowen said calmly, "Lord Feng, I demand that you swear to the heavens that from this day forward, you will remain in seclusion within the Jun Prince's Mansion unless it faces annihilation, and you will appoint Feng Chunlin as the new head of the family."
"Only then will we let this matter go. The Jun Prince's Mansion will remain the esteemed Jun Prince's Mansion, and my Li family will still be your in-laws."
Feng Qingyang finally stood up, turned around, and looked at the snow falling from the sky. "As if nothing ever happened?" he asked.
"As if nothing ever happened," Li Yaowen confirmed.
With Li Yaowen's affirmative reply, the wind within the Jun Prince's Mansion grew even colder.
The wind whipped up the snow, filling the sky.
A long silence followed.
The wind and snow almost obscured Feng Qingyang's figure, his sighs mingling with the winter's chill.
"It's too late."
"The Feng family has missed opportunity after opportunity," he lamented. "Generation after generation, they have been incompetent. This time, I want to lead the Feng family to victory."
Hearing this, Li Yaowen didn't say anything more. She had her personal maidservant escort her out of the Jun Prince's Mansion, her figure blending into the snowy winter day.
Not long after, within the vast Jun Prince's Mansion, soldiers moved about, and the true strength of the Feng family was revealed.
Feng Chunlin anxiously rushed past the worried servants in the Mansion and arrived at the spot where Feng Qingyang and Li Yaowen had been playing Go. Li Yaowen was no longer there, only Feng Qingyang still standing in the same spot, lost in thought.
Feng Chunlin was stunned. His father, a Nascent Soul cultivator, had always been a figure of towering strength and unwavering posture in his eyes.
But at this moment, his father's back seemed incredibly weary and burdened.
"Father... the Southern Barbarian Lands..."
"...are in turmoil!"
...
On the ground, corpses lay scattered everywhere. A massive flying ship, riddled with holes, had crashed to the earth.
Li Dalong had once again hoisted the coffin onto his shoulder.
The countless flying corpses from before had all been recalled into the Heaven-Piercing Coffin.
Li Yaozu had also sheathed his sword case. Where was the rain of swords and stars now?
They were standing quietly under a large tree that had barely survived the battle.
As for Long Xuankong?
Xuan Tianzi was sitting on a branch, swinging her legs just like before.
Elder Tianqing, who had come from the Azure Cloud Pavilion, kept his distance from Xuan Tianzi, his hands hidden within his wide white sleeves. He frowned as he looked ahead.
"..."
Long Xuankong, who had come to annihilate the Li family and vowed to rename Azure Cloud region to Long Clan Region, now had his eyes rolled back, his body limp like a dead dog. He was being held by the back of his collar by a burly man with a powerful build, his upper body hanging helplessly in the air, his arms and legs dangling limply toward the ground.
"Patriarch Li, you are truly capable," the man said. "To think that you could even make Xuan Tianzi serve the Li family."
The man had a rugged appearance, but he was clearly a smooth talker. He didn't mention a word about Li Dalong refining Xuan Tianzi into a zombie. He threw Long Xuankong to the ground and said with a smile, "Congratulations to the Li family then, on replacing the Long family and becoming another Nascent Soul family in our Azure Cloud region."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Dalong and Li Yaozu spoke in unison.
"Thank you, Heavenly Master Wushou," they said. "My Li family is not qualified to be a Nascent Soul family. We are still a Golden Core family."
"We are grateful for your assistance, Heavenly Master Wushou, in intercepting and killing the Long family. But I wonder how we should divide the spoils this time?"
"..."
Father and son exchanged a glance, each seeing approval in the other's eyes.
[Your descendant, Li Tianyi, with the help of the twenty-three old masters, has gained the support of the seven major forces and the current Sect Master, Elder Tianqing, securing the position of the next Pavilion Master of the Azure Cloud Pavilion!]
[He has gained the backing of Nascent Soul cultivators!]
[Your family has gained the assistance of Heavenly Master Wushou from Everlife Mountain. With the help of Everlife Mountain's experts, they killed over thirty Long family cultivators. Heavenly Master Wushou and the Heavenly Zombie Xuan Tianzi joined forces to kill Long Xuankong on the spot as he tried to flee!]
"Ahem."
Heavenly Master Wushou cleared his throat and glanced at the father and son. One appeared honest and simple, the other serious and reserved. They both seemed like genuinely good people, but the Heavenly Master could tell at a glance that these two were full of cunning.
"Understood," said Heavenly Master Wushou. "Everlife Mountain will announce that the Long family attempted to collude with foreign enemies and was thus besieged and destroyed by the major forces of Azure Cloud region. As for the Long family's resources..."
Heavenly Master Wushou pondered for a moment. "Azure Cloud has always been resource-scarce," he said. "It would be best if the Li family took a look first and then distributed the resources among the major forces of Azure Cloud. This would greatly benefit all of Azure Cloud and help the Li family establish a firm foothold."
Hearing this, Li Dalong nodded slightly.
At this moment, Li Wei, in front of the screen, also had a gleam in his eyes, thinking to himself that this Heavenly Master Wushou was someone they could trust.
In truth, Heavenly Master Wushou's assistance had been crucial. Otherwise, Xuan Tianzi alone wouldn't have been able to prevent Long Xuankong from escaping, and then the Li family would have had many sleepless nights. He had a certain degree of authority in this matter.
If the Li family got to look first, they could take whatever they wanted without needing to tell anyone.
Moreover, Heavenly Master Wushou's words also meant that he acknowledged the Li family's presence in the Azure Cloud region.
Soon after, Li Dalong and his son, with the help of the Everlife Mountain experts, collected all the corpses and equipment debris from the battlefield, and then headed toward the Long family's territory with Xuan Tianzi.
---
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