The atmosphere in the martial arts arena had reached a boiling point.

  "The lord of the castle gazed at the people from the Hua family, who all had a murderous aura about them. He let out a cold snort and loudly declared: 'There's only one trial left, this trial will decide which of the five mines gets to be excavated.'"

  "What?" Xizhengyi's face turned ugly, and he said loudly: "Isn't it the case that in the past, the first trial decided which of the largest mines belonged to whom?"

  "Are you the one guarding the city, or am I? Do you get to decide, or do I?" The City Guard Lord roared at Xí Zhèngyì with a stern expression.

  "Nature is what you say, sir." Xi Zhengyi was immediately stunned. He didn't dare to be arrogant in front of the city master. He thought: "Rumor has it that this city master and Deputy Commander Hua are in cahoots, and today's incident proves it. Even the rules set can be changed, it's simply not putting the Xi family in their eyes. How did the Xi family fall to this point? I'm really ashamed of my ancestors."

  "The fifth round of competition, Tang Gong Feng from the Hua family and Xi Nu Xian's nephew from the Xi family were invited to take the stage for a martial arts showdown." The city guard's icy gaze swept over Tang Gong Feng from the Hua family, with a warning implication that was extremely clear.

  Xin Nu stepped onto the martial arts stage with a worried look on his face.

  Tang Gongfeng stepped onto the martial arts stage with a mocking smile.

  "I admit..." Xi Nu said as soon as he stepped onto the stage, and yet he was already about to concede defeat.

  Bu Deng Xi Nu had just spoken his third word when Tang Gong suddenly erupted, a fist of bloody energy surging towards Xi Nu like the sea.

  Boom!

  Xinu was struck by a powerful fist, and his body's flesh and blood shattered instantly, splashing everywhere.

  Clap clap clap clap!

  Xinu was struck by a blast of blood and energy again, his bones crackling like exploding beans.

  Bang!

  Xinu exhausted all his strength and fell to the ground outside the martial arts platform, fortunately whispering: "I managed to save a small life."

  "This is the kind of person who has cultivated Dan medicine to the level of a grandmaster, they're simply trash that can't withstand even one blow! Bah! I'd rather be a martial king for life than become someone who cultivates Dan medicine to the level of a grandmaster."

  "The waste of the Xi family. The second master of the Xi family is so iron and steel, for the benefit of the family, he doesn't mind being disabled, how did he have such a useless nephew like Xizu."

  The people in the martial arts arena despised Xi Nu to the extreme.

  Xinu struggled to get up, hearing the discussions of people around him, and retorted: "I'm used to such words, I'm a waste, what's it to you? I'll take medicine to the realm of the ancestors, if you have the ability, you can also take medicine to the realm of the ancestors!"

  Some of the martial kings in the arena, the strong masters restrained their urge to kill Xi Nu.

  Su Dao Xing looked at the scene of Wu Wang, Zong Shi had an expression that he wanted to beat Xi Nu to death. He thought to himself that it was not easy for his brother-in-law to survive until now, and someone who loved to court death like this had not died yet, it was truly a miracle.

  "The fifth round of competition, Tang Gong of the Hua family won, and the Hua family obtained the mining right of the fifth mine. By the way, the City Guard Mansion also allocated a mining right this year, which is the sixth mine's mining right. The City Guard Mansion sold this mining right to the Hua family for a price." The City Guard Lord waved his hand, "Tomorrow, relevant personnel will come to you to hand over the mining rights. People from both the Hua and Xi families can disperse now."

  The Lord of the Castle has issued an order to expel guests, so naturally, people from both the Hua and Xi families left the castle.

  Xizheng Yi and Li Gongzhu carried Xizheng Jun back to the Huahouse on crutches.

  Su Dao Xing directly returned to the painting gallery.

  The second floor of the painting gallery, Yuè Tiān Wǔ was inscribing a poem on a painting, with every movement of her hand and foot, there was a beauty that made one's heart skip a beat.

  Yuetianwu's beauty shines from the inside out, and she is also the most beautiful girl that Su Daoxing has ever seen. Even Kong Feixuan, Kong Yue, and Fang Xueqin are slightly inferior to Yuetianwu in terms of appearance.

  "A beauty is like a painting, life is like wine." Su Dao Xing only remembered this sentence, gazing at Yue Tian Wu's beautiful side profile, and for a moment, he was somewhat enchanted.

  Yuè Tiān wǔ zhuǎn shēn, liǎn shàng méi yǒu mēng shàng qīng shā, tā nà zhǒng zhì xī de měi ràng Sū Dào Xǐng zhǐ jué dé kǒu gān shé zǐ, xīn yuán yì mǎ.

  Translation:

  Yuè Tiān spun around, her face not covered with a light veil, the suffocating beauty made Su Dao wake up feeling dry mouth and tongue, his heart racing with excitement.

  Su Dao Xing immediately closed his eyes, then opened them again, and looked at Yue Tian Wu with a gaze that was as calm as usual. He said to Yue Tian Wu: "The poem's meaning and scenery are very beautiful, I was immersed in it for a moment and couldn't help myself."

  Yuè Tiān Wǔ revealed an expression of "you'd better believe it", and said lightly: "Is that so."

  Xī Mèng walked out of the compartment, glanced at the two children and said: "Being young is great. When Qing Shang and I were like you, that quiet time was so good, it's really memorable."

  "Mom, you're showing off your love for dad from afar." Su Dao Xing chuckled and walked over to her mother's side.

  Xue Meng put away his old feelings and asked Su Dao Xing: "How about a match?"

  Su Dao Xing briefly mentioned the matter of comparing the city's defense with the prefecture.

  "What! Second Uncle actually cultivated a poisonous body and poisoned one of the Huas' guardians. Is it worth it just to win the mining rights for a mountain?" Ximen's eyes seemed to float with the stubborn face of her second uncle, Ximen Zhengjun, and she sighed, saying: "I hope Second Uncle will have good fortune."

  "Mother, Master Xi has agreed to give the Painting Institute one-tenth of the profits from the mine I won. For the sake of my brother and sister having resources to become masters, you can't decline this offer. Especially not with Big Brother Xi Nu around, he's not someone who spares oil for lamps, Mother, you absolutely cannot be swindled by him. A mountain of gold or silver is only good if it's in hand." Su Dao Xing was truly worried that his mother, who had been brainwashed by the family for decades, would have a change of heart and not want that one-tenth of the profits.

  "Mother has her own measure. Don't worry, the Xi family won't treat you unfairly just because you're from the Su family." Xī Nǔ gave Sū Dào Xǐng a sideways glance, "Your wings have hardened, and now you even dare to lecture Mother. It seems that when you see your father, you'll be able to lecture him too."

  "Mother, you're thinking too much." Su Dao Xing sighed with a bitter smile, "Even if Father becomes the Sect Master, he's not my opponent. A hundred-vein Sect Master like me wouldn't stoop to bullying a newly-promoted Sect Master."

  Ximei was choked with anger.

  Yue Tianwu interrupted to ease the awkwardness between the two, "Tianwu recently heard that Uncle is serving as the city guardian of a giant castle in the Town of Tranquility."

  Upon hearing this, Xi Meng said: "Qing Shang was previously only the 18th rank Wu Wang, and recently there has been no news of him. He might be promoted to Zong Shi. The imperial court has promoted him several ranks, previously he was just a Yun Qi Wei, now he is a Zhong Wu Jiang Jun, in charge of a city, which is also reasonable. However, the area of Zhen Yuan is an extremely dangerous place, every year tens of thousands of soldiers from the imperial court who enter Zhen Yuan are sacrificed. Zhen Yuan is simply a slaughterhouse for soldiers, and people from the northern border turn pale at the mere mention of it."

  "Since Father is at the Town of Abyss, I must go. Father has always been on the front lines, every day he's on the edge of death. Many nights I've had dreams where I couldn't even dream of good things, seeing him once, and maybe later I can have a good dream." Su Dao Xing looked at Xi Meng with an extremely resolute attitude.

  (End of chapter)