On Qilin Mountain, Lin Wudao's face was full of gloom.
Li Dalong did not continue to negotiate with him, but instead chose to shatter his ethereal form!
"Madman! A short-sighted lunatic!"
Lin Wudao let out a low roar. He never expected that even after he had explained things so clearly, Li Dalong still would not abandon the hatred of the past!
They so clearly could have just treated the past as bygone clouds and smoke, and both he and the Li family would have had extraordinary futures, even to the point of achieving immortality!
"And a grand gift... what grand gift? For this past century, what on earth has the Li family been doing?!!"
Thinking of the ice-cold gaze in Li Dalong's eyes as he shattered his ethereal form, Lin Wudao's heart was filled with incomparable panic.
He sensed the determination of the Li family; in order to kill him, they had already reached the point of disregarding any and all consequences.
The negotiation between Lin Wudao and Li Dalong was already known to all the avatars in the courtyard, and they were all seething with uncontrollable anger.
"Choosing the hard way instead of the easy way!"
"Ridiculous! Why should we fear him?"
"If his Li family truly doesn't know what's good for them, then we can also bring another bloody disaster upon them!"
"..."
But no sooner had their voices fallen than they were stunned!
That was the Imperial Capital.
Their avatar, Lai Teng, was still within the Imperial Capital, but then he saw Li Kuanghua of the Li family, who hadn't appeared for over a hundred years, making an appearance!
For the Li family, the Imperial Capital was fraught with danger, yet Li Kuanghua was swaggering through the streets, making a grand spectacle of herself.
It was clearly an act of courting death, yet Lin Wudao and his numerous avatars showed not the slightest hint of joy.
They remembered what Li Dalong had said about a grand gift he was going to give them!
Lai Residence.
"She's appeared again?"
Lai Teng shot to his feet. More than a hundred years had passed.
Now, after those other avatars had died, he had long ago broken through to the Divinity Transformation realm and, with the help of numerous other avatars, had even overcome the fifth-grade lightning tribulation!
He leaped out and headed straight towards Li Kuanghua's location!
"The me of today is not the me of the past. I hadn't even come looking for your Li family yet, and you've delivered yourself to my doorstep. Excellent, truly excellent!"
...
Stepping into the Imperial Capital once more.
The Li Kuanghua of this moment, after a hundred years of cultivation, still looked no different from how she had back then, but her expression and her attire possessed a bit more composure.
Behind her were her numerous old friends who had gone with her to the forbidden lands.
These fellows all had the look of being long-weathered by the wind and frost, and stepping into a bustling place like the Imperial Capital, they couldn't help but feel as if a lifetime had passed.
"Lai Teng? He has already reached the Divinity Transformation realm?"
On the bustling streets, Li Kuanghua and her companions had already spotted with a single glance Lai Teng, who was following them from far behind.
That Lai Teng even sent a sound transmission to Li Kuanghua; it was to arrange a duel!
However, upon hearing Lai Teng's provocative sound transmission, the group from Azure Cloud only gave him a single glance and then, in unison, continued walking forward.
By the time Li Kuanghua and her companions reached their destination, Lai Teng's expression was one of utter astonishment.
The place Li Kuanghua and her companions had gone to was—
The Tranquil Heart Pavilion!
This pavilion was elegant, and amidst the bustling market, it seemed exceptionally quiet.
Needless to say, the common folk, but even horse-drawn carriages, would slow their pace as they approached.
From within, one could hear the sounds of the zither-like string instruments, and occasionally, when the doors opened slightly, one could glimpse the silhouettes of dancing women inside.
Everyone in the entire Imperial Capital knew that this Tranquil Heart Pavilion was the property of one of the Twelve Princes of the Capital, Prince Feiheng.
This Prince Feiheng was no older than six hundred and had a perverse and violent personality, yet he had a peculiar fondness for these kinds of elegant things.
"They... how could they have sought out Prince Feiheng?"
As doubt rose in Lai Teng's heart, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Because, within this Imperial Capital, he himself was part of the Imperial Preceptor's faction and had pledged allegiance to Prince Feiheng. But now, Li Kuanghua and her group had walked into the Tranquil Heart Pavilion, and it was clear they had been announced in advance. And yet he was stopped at the entrance by the guards!
Those guards said that Prince Feiheng was welcoming honored guests!
"Honored guests? What honored guests?" Lai Teng was incomparably anxious in his heart.
"Aren't the Li family supposed to be at odds with the Imperial Preceptor and the Twelve Princes? Why now..."
And at the same time.
The numerous avatars on Qilin Mountain had all seen this event, and without exception, their hearts were filled with doubt.
For some unknown reason, a sense of crisis rose from the bottom of their hearts.
...
Inside the Tranquil Heart Pavilion.
At this moment, Li Kuanghua and her companions had already met with Prince Feiheng.
Li Wei was also here.
Within the largest private room on the third floor of the Tranquil Heart Pavilion, there were two rows of low, long guest tables and cattail cushions on the left and right.
Upon the cushions sat several people dressed in court attire; at a glance, they were clearly officials of the imperial court. And yet, those songstresses of the Tranquil Heart Pavilion were actually sitting on equal footing with those officials.
The expressions on the faces of those four officials were extremely unsightly, and it was not known whether it was because they were angered at being lumped in with the songstresses or for some other reason.
And the young man seated at the head of the hall was incomparably handsome in appearance. Dressed in a white shirt, he was truly a peerless and handsome young master. Especially now, as this talented young man was playing the zither, the space between his brows filled with concentration.
The sound of his instrument was tranquil and elegant, and it made one who heard it involuntarily grow quiet.
This was one of the Twelve Princes, Feiheng!
Only Li Kuanghua and the Starfall Sword Saint walked into this private room.
They saw that Prince Feiheng was still playing his instrument; he waited until only the lingering notes remained before he pressed down on the strings.
He then revealed a smiling face towards Li Kuanghua and the Starfall Sword Saint and made a welcoming gesture of "please."
"You two have come from the distant lands of the far north," he said. "Please, be seated."
...
Li Kuanghua and the Starfall Sword Saint furrowed their brows slightly.
They looked ahead; the seats to the left and right were already full of people. The two of them glanced at each other and were just about to find a random place to sit.
But then they saw Prince Feiheng slap his own forehead and say with vexation, "Aiya, it seems it is my fault. Just now, I was so absorbed in playing my instrument that for a moment, I didn't notice that all the seats in my private room were already full."
With a wry smile, he shook his head.
Prince Feiheng said apologetically to Li Kuanghua and the Starfall Sword Saint, "You two, please wait a moment."
As his voice fell, his refined and scholarly appearance from just a moment ago instantly became ferocious.
The storage ring on his hand flashed, and holding a longsword, he walked out, the full aura of his Nascent Soul realm completely revealed!
When those four officials saw this, they looked as if they had lost their own parents, and they hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy.
However, under their despairing gazes, Prince Feiheng still slowly killed two of the officials.
The private room was still filled with the sounds of begging; the two officials who had survived were still kneeling and pleading for mercy, trembling uncontrollably.
Those songstresses, however, were as if accustomed to it, their faces expressionless.
Prince Feiheng's face was splattered with blood.
He casually wiped it off and gave a faint smile towards the incessantly frowning Li Kuanghua and Starfall Sword Saint.
"Alright, there are seats now. You two, please."
---
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