Chapter 1803 - 906: Startling News

"Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce?"

The moment those four words reached his ears, Li Yan’s gaze slightly narrowed, and his expression turned somber.

The current situation in the Capital was already in a state of impending turmoil.

The old Emperor, Xiao Qixuan, had passed away, his body not yet cold; the national mourning rites hung over the city, becoming a temporary shackle binding the hands and feet of all factions.

However, while the court and the public appeared to adhere to the rituals and solemnly conduct mourning, beneath the surface, undercurrents surged, and danger lurked everywhere.

The throne was vacant, imperial power unclaimed, and the ambitious forces from all sides could hardly restrain themselves.

Vassal Kings across the lands held military power, entrenched in their territories, secretly mobilizing manpower and forming connections; the major Chambers of Commerce throughout the world, backed by the financial resources of merchants and extensive networks of intelligence, inevitably got involved in the court’s power struggles.

Everyone was secretly strategizing and vying for advantageous positions, yet no one dared to break the silence first.

At the core, it was all due to the fear of a single name.

With the old Emperor not yet buried, whoever first openly caused chaos and stirred up the court would be charged with disrupting the national mourning and committing treason, becoming the target of the entire court and the nation’s aristocratic families, destined to be attacked and persecuted by joint forces, leading to inevitable ruin.

Thus, everyone tacitly maintained a facade of peace, only clashing and pulling strings in the shadows.

There were Chambers of Commerce everywhere, each acting in their own interests.

Many secretly took sides and colluded with the powerful, something Li Yan had anticipated, leaving him unfazed.

But only the involvement of the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce truly caught him by surprise, even disbelief.

His connection with the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce was far deeper than with other chambers.

Long before he rose to power, when his influence was weak and he was unknown, the two sides had already established a deep friendship, cooperating for mutual benefit over the years. Back then, the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce provided significant assistance several times, offering him food and accommodation, pugilistic world intelligence, and helping him resolve several crises, genuinely playing a big role.

Later, when the Five Dao General needed to expand tribute, the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce spared no effort or hesitation in providing financial resources and connections.

To this day, he remained one of the highest-ranking tributes of the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce.

With such deep ties, why would the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce trouble him?

Thinking of this, a chill began to form in Li Yan’s heart.

He looked up at the noble young man in front of him in luxurious clothing, coldly asking:

"What about Hu Ming? Does he know about this?"

Hu Ming was the person in the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce with whom he had the closest personal friendship.

Calm and cautious by nature, Hu Ming was definitely not someone who would act rashly or take reckless chances.

In the past, in Wuchang, Hu Ming had helped him find a master from the Chamber of Commerce to refine artifacts to counter the Ghost Sect’s pursuit.

Hu Ming’s family, the Hu Family, was one of the top families in the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce, deeply rooted.

With Hu Ming’s character and the Hu Family’s position, it was absolutely impossible for them to be involved in such a treacherous plot.

But what Li Yan did not expect was that the noble young man opposite him, Liu Mu, after listening, showed a hint of mockery:

"Hu Ming?"

He snorted lightly, "This person colluded with barbarians, betraying the country, and was publicly executed by the sect’s Law Enforcement Hall. The Hu Family’s entire family was executed, over a hundred people without exception."

After speaking, he looked at the slightly changed expression of Li Yan and smiled, clasping his hands in courtesy: "Young Hero Li, you are pure and honorable, with a bright future ahead. It is better to keep away from these rebellious families to avoid tarnishing your good name and inviting trouble."

The Hu Family was wiped out?

Li Yan was startled by the words.

The Hu Family had been in business for generations, cautious and meticulous, always adhering to the rules, never venturing into court disputes, let alone secretly communicating with barbarians, conducting affairs in a low-key and prudent manner, simply to safeguard the family legacy and ensure stable continuity.

Colluding with barbarians, betraying the country?

Such charges against the Hu Family were utterly ridiculous; there must be something fishy!

However, at this moment, it was far from the time to delve into the details and uncover the truth.

Li Yan suppressed the surging killing intent in his heart, quickly scanning Liu Mu and his surrounding men. His eyes fell on the people behind Liu Mu, and his heart stirred, immediately speaking: "Lead the way!"

Liu Mu, with a gentle and composed demeanor, raised his hand, gesturing: "Young hero, please."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant waiting beside them immediately stepped forward and opened the curtain of the carriage parked beside them.

Li Yan stepped forward, and just as he was about to board the carriage, he paused slightly, his peripheral vision once again sweeping over the few men standing silently beside Liu Mu.

These people had been silently standing without speaking, but their auras were not something he could overlook.

Especially the one leading them, an elderly man with grizzled hair, thin in stature, stood inconspicuously in the crowd; a simple bronze halberd hung from his waist, its surface mottled and engraved with the worn patterns of the Rong Di.

A faint smell of mutton drifted subtly from the elderly man’s body, lingering at the tip of Li Yan’s nose.

Li Yan lifted his gaze slightly, and spoke calmly: "If I’m not mistaken, you are the ’Yanling Guest.’"

He had just refrained from taking any hasty action.

Firstly, he hadn’t seen Sha Lifei and the other, and secondly, because of these individuals before him.

The pugilistic world in the Divine Land was vast, and besides his Twelve Primordial Spirits, there were countless Wandering Immortal Teams straddling the line between right and wrong.

These teams scattered across various regions, unbound by the court or sects, exhibited diverse styles and varying morals.

Among them were loyal heroes like the Hai Cang Team, who had infiltrated Japan for years, enduring hardships for the country; as well as many with ill intentions, willing to side with and serve Jianmu for cultivation or profit.

The Yanling Guest was one of the Wandering Immortal Teams with a highly renowned name in the pugilistic world, known for their formidable strength and ruthless methods, always acting in secret and rarely appearing in public.

Their most sensational battle in the pugilistic world was the campaign at Zhangjiakou Castle years ago.

At that time, the Shaman lineage of the grassland evil cultivators rampaged at the border, using live human blood to practice evil skills, slaughtering countless border residents with rampant arrogance. The Yanling Guest team mobilized fully, relying on the Broken Dragon Stone mechanism left by Ming Dynasty founding General Xu Da, using yin soldiers’ residual souls as a guide to activate the hundred-year-old Slaughter Array, completely annihilating this vicious evil cultivator lineage in one strike, gaining fame and shaking the northern border.