Chu Li arrived at the Secret Guardians Hall in the afternoon.

　　The Mei Er Courtyard was bustling with Qin Jin and three other Grandmasters sparring in the martial arts field. Their momentum was startling, and their fists and palm energies were formidable.

　　Dong Qifei and the others were watching the fight with shining eyes. Sparring matches between Grandmasters were not commonly seen, and observing their fight with each other was a huge benefit to them.

　　Chu Li glanced around him but did not alert them of his presence. He arrived at his own house.

　　Yang Zongwen walked out from a room in the west. He knocked on the door before entering.

　　Chu Li was sitting in the armchair. “Is there any news?”

　　“There’s one.” Yang Zongwen took out a dossier and passed it over. “There are currently rumors saying that after Hao Ran Faction lost the Cloud Slashing Manual, it had landed in the hands of Tai Hua Valley.”

　　Chu Li straightened himself. “Tai Hua Valley?”

　　“Yes.” Yang Zongwen pointed at the dossier and said, “Tai Hua Valley seems to be within the borders of the Yi Public House. I received this piece of information just this morning, and I know that the centurion will be concerned about this kind of news, so I came here to report it to you.”

　　They had seen the various martial arts sects fought and slaughtered one another. It was an extremely gory sight. The secret guardians of the imperial court did not take any actions but merely watched the commotion from the side.

　　The Ji Public House was the same. They watched the whole thing from the side indifferently. They were completely unsympathetic towards the news that Hao Ran Faction was raided. It was as though they had not known that such a thing happened.

　　The Ji Public House had supported Hao Ran Faction, so the various martial arts sects naturally were angry with them. However, the Ji Public House had also acted completely indifferent towards Hao Ran Faction’s loss which caused the various martial arts sects to grow even more wary of the High Duke’s Public House. Hao Ran Faction had such close relations with the Ji Public House, but they still ended up where they were now. As expected, the High Duke’s Public Houses could not be trusted.

　　Chu Li sighed internally and shook his head. The Ji Public House had made a bad move this time. Hao Ran Faction had been thoroughly destroyed, and the prestige of the Ji Public House had also been reduced to nothing.

　　Yang Zongwen knew about the centurion’s approach to this matter. He simply wanted to observe the spectacle. He liked to hit on anything that sparked his interest and had gathered extremely detailed information on numerous cases like this one before.

　　It was a different matter when Tai Hua Valley was concerned because it was located in the borders of the Yi Public House. That was the centurion’s territory.

　　Chu Li took the dossier, swept his eyes over it a few times, and chuckled dryly.

　　He never imagined that anyone would want to go against Tai Hua Valley. It was true when they said that the kind ones would always get bullied.

　　Tai Hua Valley was also a second class faction, not all that different from Hao Ran Faction. However, Tai Hua Valley consisted only of girls. For a lot of men, they were much easier to bully. Could the Ji Public House be the one behind this? They had definitely taken things too far this time. Tai Hua Valley was within the territory of the Yi Public House. They had crossed the line!

　　“Centurion?” Yang Zongwen asked carefully, “Should we do anything about it?”

　　Chu Li waved his hand. “You can leave now. Let me think about it.”

　　“Yes,” Yang Zongwen replied hurriedly and withdrew from the house.

　　Chu Li stood up and began pacing with his hands behind his back. He was thinking of solutions to this issue.

　　Tai Hua Valley would not be easily discovered, but those bastards had sinister intentions and had already expressed clearly their desire to have Tai Hua Valley. If they were not taught a harsh lesson, they would not give up.

　　How exactly should they be viciously disciplined? That was the most important question to consider.

　　——

　　Chu Li appeared on his own island and took a boat to the Iron Eagle Island.

　　When he approached the main hall, Linquan came to welcome him with a smile on his face. “Chief, Eldest Master invites you to come inside.”

　　Chu Li nodded and appraised Linquan. “How’s Eldest Master feeling recently?”

　　Linquan still had white hair and a ruddy complexion. His cheeks were a rosy red, and there was no sign of him aging.

　　He lowered his voice and said, “Eldest Master has been in a good mood recently. There’s nothing outside which troubles him, and the various martial arts sects are all quite well-behaved.”

　　“Has he heard about the Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual?” asked Chu Li.

　　“Eldest Master finds the rumor about the Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual complete nonsense.” Linquan shook his head.

　　Chu Li said, “What about Tai Hua Valley?”

　　Linquan looked at him dumbfoundedly and shook his head.

　　Chu Li said, “It seems that Eldest Master hasn’t received news of this yet. Someone had spread the rumors saying that Tai Hua Valley had obtained the Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual.”

　　“That’s just nonsense,” exclaimed Linquan.

　　Of course, he knew about Tai Hua Valley.

　　The disciples of Tai Hua Valley almost never appear in the martial arts world. They all practiced and cultivated by themselves and were not involved with anything in the world. He never thought someone would actually remember their existence and tried to frame them. What malicious intentions!

　　Most importantly, the women Chu Li had cared deeply for were all the disciples of Tai Hua Valley. The High Duke’s Public House had always been trying to protect them, lest anyone disturbed Tai Hua Valley and harmed those women.

　　The two of them walked into the main hall, chatting all the while.

　　Xiao Tieying stood at the gate of the main hall and welcomed them. He said with a smile, “Chu Li, you’re a very busy person now. A celebrity in the Secret Guardians Hall and a centurion!”

　　Chu Li waved his hand and said, “Eldest Master, something happened.”

　　Linquan told him everything hurriedly.

　　Xiao Tieying’s face darkened, “What sinister intentions!”

　　Chu Li said, “It’s a shame that the person who had spread the rumor still hasn’t been found.”

　　“There’s no need to find him,” Xiao Tieying scoffed. “It’s impossible for them to find the location of Tai Hua Valley!”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “That might not be true. It’s better to be careful.”

　　Xiao Tieying walked a few steps and scoffed, “I’ll issue a national order saying that no martial art masters within the borders are allowed to have anything to do with the Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual!”

　　Chu Li laughed and shook his head.

　　As the Yi Public House strengthened, Xiao Tieying also became mightier and more assertive. He was not as careful as he used to be, wanting to think this and that over and consider the viewpoints of each party involved.

　　Xiao Tieying said, “They wouldn’t dare to disobey the High Duke’s Public House with what prestige they have now.”

　　Chu Li said, “Eldest Master, if that’s true, then Tai Hua Valley will be in more trouble than they’re now.”

　　“Hm, that’s true.” Xiao Tieying nodded.

　　The martial arts factions wanted to avoid having any sort of affiliation with the High Duke’s Public Houses. Otherwise, they would become outcasts and be alienated by the other martial arts factions.

　　“Then what other bright ideas do you have, Chu Li?” asked Xiao Tieying. “How about we secretly send a martial arts master over?”

　　Chu Li shook his head.

　　“We can’t just leave this be, right?” Xiao Tieying frowned.

　　Chu Li said, “I came here to ask Eldest Master to ignore this matter.”

　　His understanding of Tai Hua Valley was deeper than others.

　　Tai Hua Valley should be considered a first-class faction. They had the Surpassing State as well as the protection of formation.

　　No one ever realized just how powerful they truly were because they had concealed their formation and faction. Other than that, they had also very limited communication with other sects. As a result, they were looked down upon by others.

　　Tai Hua Valley always had a lack of Taihua Gold Pills which had limited their might from growing. Now, they had no shortage of Taihua Gold Pills, so their might would experience explosive growth. Who knew how many Grandmasters they had now?

　　Xiao Tieying startled and exclaimed, “Ignore the issue?”

　　Chu Li said, “Just act as if you don’t know anything about it. Don’t bother too much about the Tai Hua Valley’s case.”

　　“What’s the reason for this?” Xiao Tieying found it hard to believe.

　　He knew about Chu Li’s feelings towards Chen Ying and the group of women. He protected them as though they were his own family.

　　Chu Li said, “It’s about time Tai Hua Valley stood up for themselves. We can watch and see if they’re capable of finding out who’s behind this.”

　　“Alright, we’ll go with that.” Xiao Tieying had a great experience with Chu Li’s schemes. He laughed and said, “You want to handle this case on your own?”

　　Chu Li smiled. “There might not be a need for me to do anything this time. Eldest Master must keep an eye on the activities inside our borders. Was the Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual not made by the Ji Public House?”

　　Xiao Tieying furrowed his brow. “Judging from what had happened, it does seem like something the Ji Public House would do.”

　　Chu Li said, “If they enter our borders…”

　　“I like what we have now and don’t wish for any trouble again.” Xiao Tieying shook his head.

　　Chu Li nodded slowly.

　　Xiao Tieying scoffed, “The various martial arts sects are all behaving well at the moment. I’m afraid when the Cloud Slashing Treasure Manual comes into the picture, they would start acting up again and take the chance to cause trouble. The ones who suffer are still the civilians.”

　　“Then what should we do?”

　　Xiao Tieying pondered. Chu Li had already rejected the idea of issuing a national order, so he had to think of another idea.

　　After a long while, he muttered, “There’s no other choice. I’ll announce that the High Duke’s Public House has obtained the secret manual!”