Chu Li entered the basilica at a slow pace. He smiled. “The Fourth Youngest Master is right. Young Master, you shouldn’t think this way.”

　　“Chu Li!” Xiao Tieying was pleasantly surprised.

　　Chu Li closed fist saluted. “Young Master, Fourth Youngest Master.”

　　Xiao Baihe returned his closed fist salute, he grinned. “You’re finally back. Big Brother has been looking forward to seeing you.”

　　Chu Li shifted his head to look around. “How’s Young Master Tian doing at work?”

　　Xiao Tieying’s smile was blazing. “Young Master Tian is meticulous in his calculations. He is true to his name.”

　　“That’s great. It was the Green Hill and Feng Huang Hill who took the lead this time with the participation of the Golden Blade Faction, Returning Sword Sect and Nine Spirits Hill. The five factions teamed up.” Chu Li smiled back and nodded.

　　“Five factions have teamed up?” Xiao Tieying and Xiao Baihe’s expressions grew solemn.

　　They sensed that the opposition was strong and influential but could never have imagined the situation to be so dire. Just as the Imperial Court would worry about all the Houses of High Duke cooperating, the High Duke’s Public House was afraid of the factions collaborating.

　　Chu Li continued, “And the new protectors of the High Duke’s Public House was leaked from the Secret Guardians of the Imperial House.

　　“Damn it!” Xiao Tieying slammed the arm of his chair.

　　Xiao Baihe coldly said, “This group of people… They really have nothing better to do.”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “Young Master, Fourth Youngest Master, I’m am now a Secret Guardian of the Imperial House, that’s how I have gotten to know of all this.”

　　“Ah——?” Xiao Tieying and Xiao Baihe looked at him with shocked expressions.

　　Chu Li bitterly said, “Long story short, two Secret Guardians came to the Imperial Residence, looking for trouble. The Young Lady had them killed and entered the palace to question His Majesty on the recklessness of the Secret Guardians. His Majesty then granted me the title of an Imperial House Secret Guardian. Looks like it’s going to stick for a while.”

　　“Second Sister is really restless. Even the Secret Guardian of the Imperial House she dared kill.” laughed Xiao Tieying.

　　Xiao Baihe burst into laughter but felt vented inside.

　　The Secret Guardians have been causing the High Duke’s Public House too much trouble lately.

　　Chu Li added, “The ones who leaked the information this time were two Secret Guardians. Best have their martial arts dispelled to prevent them from escaping the Fairy’s Capital.”

　　“Good. Dispel them, work off some hatred! Who are they?” Xiao Tieying hatefully spurted.

　　Chu Li said, “Take a brush and paper out.”

　　“Linquan!” Xiao Tieying called out.

　　Linquan who was standing in the corner responded and came to the desk to mill the ink slab.

　　Chu Li waited until he was done with the ink slab before wielding the brush to draw two portraits.

　　Xiao Tieying and Xiao Baihe checked them out before nodding. The portraits breathed life.

　　Chu Li mentioned, “Dispelling these two Imperial House Secret Guardians would cause the Secret Guardians Hall to send over more of their men. This time, it’s these two guys who made their own decision that caused this. Changing them over is good enough.”

　　Xiao Tieying exclaimed, “The point is the cooperation of those five factions!… It’s time to hit them where it hurts.”

　　Chu Li asked, “What does the Young Master have in mind?”

　　“Gather all the Grandmasters and give the Green Hill a run for their money!”

　　“The Green Hill has accumulated Grandmasters from all five of the factions. They have anticipated the Young Master’s reaction and are waiting to pack us a punch.”

　　Xiao Baihe thought deeply. “Let’s evade their main force and strike at their weak points. What say we first head to Feng Huang Hill?”

　　“This is a good idea!” Xiao Tieying gnashed his teeth and snorted, “Exterminate Feng Huang HIll as a warning!… What do you think, Chu Li?”

　　Chu Li said, “It may not be easy to exterminate the Feng Huang Hill. The way I see it, it is better to be rid of the remaining three factions. First ranked sects’ cultural deposits can be overwhelming. We should prioritize weakening them. The loss outweighs the gains on exterminating that one faction.”

　　Xiao Tieying frowned. “Wouldn’t people laugh at our High Duke’s Public House for bullying the weak and fearing the strong?”

　　Chu Li smiled. “Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is the law of the world of martial arts. Take these two factions as an example, their capability is not up there yet they are joining in the mix. They’re courting self-destruction. Who would dare to follow the Green Hill and Feng Huang Hill to goof around the next time?… Weaken their influence and then there’s no rush in taking care of them.”

　　Xiao Baihe asked, “Chief Chu, are First Ranked sects that terrifying?”

　　“They have their strong points. They have existed longer than our High Duke’s Public House. Who knows if there’s some old fart hiding within and when they will make their entrance?… Moreover, First Ranked sects still hold back on their capabilities. They have their individual strong points. Who knows how many Grandmasters they have? They may have three but some might say they only have two.” Chu Li shook his head and sighed.

　　“If they’re that good, wouldn’t they have conquered our High Duke’s Public House already?” Asked Xiao Baihe.

　　Chu Li replied, “They can’t beat our High Duke’s Public House. They too have their own enemies. Take the Green Hill, for example, they have hundreds of years of animosity with the Snow Lunar Pavilion that can’t be resolved. Comparatively, the hatred they have for the High Duke’s Public House isn’t that strong. If they were to focus solely on our House, the Snow Lunar Pavilion would certainly not give up this good opportunity.”

　　Xiao Baihe slowly nodded and came to a realization. “By weakening their powers, their enemies will have the opportunity!… But once their arch enemies gain power, will they threaten our House?”

　　“So there’s a need to find a balance, we can’t act on our impulses. We must stand by the High Duke’s Public House’s point of view to balance out all parties,” Chu Li replied.

　　Xiao Baihe looked at Xiao Tieying and shook his head.

　　He knew that this would be too much on his Big Brother. Big Brother had always relied on his feelings, how could his calm weigh out all the other options?

　　“So we have to give up on Green Hill and Feng Huang Hill?” scoffed Xiao Tieying.

　　Chu Li responded, “They killed six of our men, then we will kill sixty of theirs. Sixty from Green Hill, sixty from Feng Huang Hill and exterminate the remaining three factions, how about that?”

　　“Big Brother, I think that’s doable! One for ten. Let’s see if they dare cross the line again!” Xiao Baihe remarked.

　　Xiao Tieying sighed and hatefully blurted out, “But we’re short on capability!”

　　If the High Duke’s Public House was strong enough to exterminate all five factions, nobody would dare offend the House again!

　　Chu Li bitterly smiled and shook his head.

　　‘If the High Duke’s Public House was that powerful, His Majesty would not just watch idly by.’

　　‘Living in this world, who could really be free of any debts of gratitude and revenge and be able to conquer the world? Even the Emperor could not!’

　　‘On could only live with carefreeness if one ruled the martial arts world and was a loner with no strings attached. However, if that really was the case, what was the point in being the world’s best, the taste of freedom would be nothing when shrouded with the air of loneliness.’

　　Chu Li added, “I will attack in the dark, to see if I can take down a few Grandmasters. I’ll leave the rest to you, Young Master!”

　　“Okay, don’t you worry too much, Chu Li. If we can’t even handle this, then we’re deemed useless,” Xiao Tieying said with a low voice.

　　Chu Li replied, “This show of power will clear the path of any obstacle for the wedding they may have. This ought to extinguish any rebellious thoughts.”

　　Xiao Tieying slowly nodded.

　　Chu Li closed fist saluted. He asked to be excused and left.

　　Five days later, the Nine Spirits Hill was exterminated.

　　Nine days later, the Golden Blade Faction was also exterminated.

　　Twelve days later, the Green Hill took a beating and a hundred over disciples were killed, including two Grandmasters.

　　Fifteen days later, the Huan Jian Faction was destroyed.

　　Sixteen days later, Feng Huang took a hit and over a hundred disciples died, including three Grandmasters.

　　As such, three second-ranked martial arts faction existed in history and two first ranked martial arts sects, Green Hill and Feng Huang Hill were sapped of their vitality. They needed at least fifty years to recover.

　　Yi Public House’s fame rose to gigantic heights once again. All factions that watched in the sidelines in the martial arts world became silent out of fear.