As the youngest provincial-level administrative region in Zhongzhou State, Beihai Province covered an area of nearly 160,000 square kilometers. This piece of land once belonged to Snow Country and East Island respectively. It was next to Zhongzhou State and was located between Snow Country and East Island, like a bright pearl in the northeast sea of Zhongzhou State.
Beihai Province had been a major political, economic, and resourceful province since its return to Zhongzhou State hundreds of years ago. Today, it may not be the most developed province in Zhongzhou State, it was definitely the most beautiful place in Zhongzhou State, with its economic strength being one of the top ones all the year round.
There were 11 cities in Beihai Province, including two sub-provincial cities and nine prefecture-level cities. Nearly 20 million people lived and worked here. Furthermore, as time went on, the population of each city in Beihai Province increased every year. This index was so visual that even the blind could see that the potential of this young province had not yet reached its limit and it still had great potential to develop.
This was the most special province in the entire Zhongzhou State. There were an army and a system that belonged only to the Beihai Province. For hundreds of years, many high-ranking officials and generals from Beihai Province had gone out, but few cadres from outside had come in.
That was true autonomy. This was something that had never happened to other cities and would never happen to them.
Beihai Province belonged to Zhongzhou State.
This was an issue that everyone, including the leaders of Beihai Province, was stressing.
But in the hearts of people here, Beihai Province belonged only to the holy mountain and the influential family on the holy mountain.
Beihai Province’s capital city was Shengzhou. The mountain not far from Shengzhou City was the holy mountain in the eyes of people living in Beihai Province.
It was the headquarters of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, which dominated the entire Beihai Province.
Beihai Province and Zhongzhou State had similar but not identical laws. The appointment of top provincial officials, the unimpeded policies within the province, and the appointment of military generals…
Everything in Beihai Province would be chosen by the w.a.n.g family of Beihai before it was recommended to Zhongzhou State.
It was no exaggeration to say that on this piece of land that covered an area of 160,000 square kilometers, even a brick on the ground belonged to the w.a.n.g family.
In Beihai Province, the entire holy mountain was the most mysterious and majestic place. It was the supreme forbidden land of Beihai Province.
The holy mountain was merely an address called by the folk there. The official name of the mountain which was located in the north of Beihai Province was Beihai Mount Dibing. Everything in the province was clearly visible, even to the last detail, under the watchful gaze of this majestic forbidding place.
Twelve o’clock at noon.
At the best time of the day, w.a.n.g Tianzong, the current Patriarch of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, appeared at the foot of Mount Dibing. Looking at the clear sky, he waited quietly.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao stood quietly beside w.a.n.g Tianzong with a calm expression. Instead of showing any impatience in his eyes, there was a hint of a smile.
Time was slipping away in the waiting.
The sunshine was getting warmer.
The motionless w.a.n.g Shengxiao finally looked down at his watch and said softly, “Dad, that person should be here.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong nodded, keeping a straight face, and said, “Almost.”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao grinned. He and w.a.n.g Yuetong had always been most at ease with their august and silent father. They were not afraid to say anything wrong and basically would say what they thought. “Dad, can we leave him at Mount Dibing this time? Ancestors…”
“He…”
w.a.n.g Tianzong’s eyes flashed and he shook his head slightly. After the night pa.s.sed, he seemed to have completely subdued the anger caused by the loss of an Immortality Potion. His voice was calm again. “He has been determined to turn his back on worldly affairs. This time he is only a guest. I don’t want to talk about anything else with him lest annoying him.”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao nodded. He wished to speak but stopped on second thought, as if he was regretful.
“What are you trying to say?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong glanced at his son and his pale face, inevitably, he felt quite helpless. He thought of his precious daughter, who was badly spoiled by him, by her mother, by w.a.n.g Shengxiao, and by every member of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai. That was why she got into trouble easily this time. In order to create the illusion of her disappearance, w.a.n.g Shengxiao injured himself seriously. He was glad that the brother and sister were so close. But the fury of losing the Immortality Potion pervaded his heart.
“Dad, your strength and his…”
“Of course, me.”
With a chuckle, w.a.n.g Tianzong interrupted w.a.n.g Shengxiao. “That guy is indeed powerful, but he is too lazy, as if the general trend of the world has nothing to do with him. He has no combat experience and can’t beat me no matter how strong he is.”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao replied disappointedly, “I see. I was going to badger him into teaching me. If so, forget it.”
“Nonsense!”
w.a.n.g Tianzong laughed and shook his head slightly. “If he really wants to teach you…”
He paused, shaking his head. “Forget it. I don’t think he will.”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao knew at once that what his father had said was not true. In other words, he was talking big. The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to hold back a smile and slowly looked up at the mountain path.
A small-scale motorcade of tremendous momentum slowly appeared in sight. A black Rolls-Royce of stretched version, flanked by two Mercedes, approached slowly and finally stopped in front of w.a.n.g Tianzong.
The driver got off and opened the door.
A middle-aged man, who looked about the same age as w.a.n.g Tianzong, got out of the car with a smile. He walked quickly and said, “Tianzong, why are you so polite?”
The middle-aged man wore soft and comfortable casual clothes, sports shoes and pulled a draw-bar box with no brand visible, looking free and easy.
Handsome and unrestrained.
It was w.a.n.g Shengxiao’s first impression of him.
The last time he saw this uncle, he was a teenager in the Qi-controlling Realm. The impression of the past had become somewhat vague. The only thing he remembered was that this uncle, who lived in seclusion in Switzerland, was extremely good-natured and handsome.
Seven or eight years later, when w.a.n.g Shengxiao saw him again, some of his vague memories were suddenly clear and even the two images of him overlapped.
The man did not seem to have changed a bit in seven or eight years. His face was still handsome and sharp, with a broad smile. His only change seemed to be that he was a little more unrestrained compared to the last time they met each other.
It was a kind of leisure and undiscipline revealing from the bones. It was as if everything had pa.s.sed before his eyes like pa.s.sing clouds, leaving no trace.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao glanced at his father, then at his uncle, and instinctively made a mental comparison.
His father possessed the ultimate calm and just stood there quietly. He seemed ordinary, but when anyone took a closer look at him, he would find that he was as vast as universe and sea, with magnificent momentum.
And the uncle in front of him was free and easy, with every move of his showing a real sense of nature. That was really freewheeling. It was as if everything he did was perfectly normal.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao’s smile was modest and gentle, but his eyes were thoughtful. According to what his Second Uncle had said, if the uncle in front of him could be regarded as a member of the Dark World, he should be the only one who could stand up to his father after Li Kuangtu betrayed his country.
Inadvertently, he shook his head.
“Is this what we call ‘the sage presents as an ordinary person’?”
“We haven’t seen each other for years and going downhill to pick you up is a way of showing you politeness. I can’t leave my friend a bad image, can I?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong took one step forward and shook hands with the middle-aged man. Looking at the Rolls-Royce behind him which left directly, he slightly frowned, joking, “Fengting, didn’t you say you came with Chuxue? Where is she? What? Are you afraid that I, your uncle, will forcibly abduct her to be my daughter-in-law?”
“That girl…”
The handsome man named Fengting shook his head. “Leave her alone. She’ll probably come over by herself later. She said that she had never been to Beihai University and wanted to have a look. I let her go, she knows the way anyway.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong nodded and laughed casually. “Why did you suddenly think of coming to Beihai?”
Fengting shook his head and said helplessly, “I was originally in Zhongyuan Province, but I met an old fortune teller at Luojing Airport two days ago. The fortune teller said that I should come to Beihai for a visit. Since the words were mystic, I didn’t take them seriously, but Chuxue did. So she had badgered me to come here. Didn’t I go seek my Fated Chance in Shengzhou just after I got off the plane? The old monk looked benign and should have no wicked ideas. Since I’m an idler, I followed his advice.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong nodded casually, without thinking too much, and said flatly, “Shengxiao, don’t you know your Uncle Fengting?”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao was still thinking about whether his father or Uncle Fengting was stronger. Hearing his father’s words, he suddenly pulled himself together. After exclaimed twice, he said with a meek and respectful smile, “Uncle Fengting, nice to meet you.”
“You’re absent-minded.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong slightly frowned and said smilingly, “The kid asked me just now which of us was stronger. I think he’s mind is wandering since he saw you.”
Fengting burst into peals of laughter. From his laughter, w.a.n.g Shengxiao could not hear the slightest compet.i.tiveness. There were only pure freedom and a sense of free and easy in his laughter.
“I can’t beat your father. He kills people on sight, but I don’t fight. n.o.body’s bugged me these years, so I don’t even know how to hold a sword. I’m no match for your father.”
He said with a nonchalant smile, waving his hand.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao smiled bitterly and coughed, not knowing what to say.
“Aye? What’s wrong with you, kid? You’re seriously injured.”
Fengting took a look at w.a.n.g Shengxiao and seemed surprised.
w.a.n.g Tianzong’s face darkened and he snorted, “Leave him alone. He’s good at getting into trouble all day. Fengting, let’s take a walk.”
Fengting nodded with a smile. He went up the hill beside w.a.n.g Tianzong, carrying the box.
“You and I haven’t been in touch for years, and I thought you were blaming me for what had happened these years. You wouldn’t come to Beihai this time without the fortune teller, would you?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong walked on the mountain road and said with emotion.
“Back then…”
Fengting pondered, shook his head, and said nothing.
w.a.n.g Tianzong narrowed his eyes and sighed gently. The mere sight of his old friend’s att.i.tude made it clear to him that he still had a grudge against what had happened back then.
“Even the one who ranks first on the Divine List cannot just do whatever he wants. First of all, I’m the Patriarch of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, and then, I am w.a.n.g Tianzong.”
Looking at Fengting who still remained silent, w.a.n.g Tianzong said with a self-mocking smile, “Forget it. You just arrived here and we don’t talk about this. I’ll arrange a place for you to rest first.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
Fengting shook his head and said smilingly, “Let’s go to the Formidable Person Stage first.”
Stage of Formidable Person!
If Mount Dibing was the forbidden area of the entire Beihai Province, then, located on the highest place of Mount Dibing, Stage of Formidable Person was the forbidden area of the entire mountain.
In addition to w.a.n.g Tianzong, there were no more than five people who could enter the Stage of Formidable Person at any time among the entire w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
Besides the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, Fengting was another one and also the only one who could do that.
w.a.n.g Tianzong nodded in silence, and just as he tried to speak, he looked up at the top of the hill all of a sudden.
Fengting looked up almost at the same time, with his eyes narrowing slightly.
Above Mount Dibing.
Thunder rumbled, wave after wave, and the whole sky was filled with a rising wind and scudding clouds in a flash.
The fighting desire and killing intent soared up at the same time.
The momentum was so great that as if it was able to rush to the skies immediately filled the whole peak, carrying extreme sharpness.
The sword intent scattered all over the peak, layer upon layer.
A clear female voice sounded and echoed above the entire Mount Dibing. The voice lingered in the air!
“I am Samsara. I’m asking to see His Majesty Sword Emperor!”