"How is His Majesty?" Leng Junfeng asked. Under the duke's guidance, the foundation establishment disciple had flown all the way to the emperor faction's secret headquarters.

Currently, he was waiting outside the room where the doctors were treating the emperor. Duke Gong, along with many high-ranking members of the emperor faction, were also present.

Duke Gong said nothing as he just sat there despondently. Leng Junfeng sighed and sat down across from the duke. Two hours later, a ragged doctor with bags under his eyes came out. His steps were uneven, and he was assisted by his apprentice.

"Doctor He, how is His Majesty?" Duke Gong rushed forward and asked.

Doctor He looked at Duke Gong and avoided his eyes. He sighed before saying, "Not good. His Majesty is afflicted with legendary Meridian Shattering Poison."

"The Meridian Shattering Poison developed by one of Ancestor Allfist's direct disciples, Poisonfist? That Meridian Shattering Poison?" Duke Gongo asked, his breath becoming uneven. "How could it still exist? Didn't the Du Clan disappear over a thousand years ago?"

Like the Leng Clan, the Du Clan was one of the Ten Great Clans; only they were more unfortunate. As poison practitioners, they earned the ire of the whole martial community. Because of this, they were eventually killed and had their wealth looted by an alliance that included other members of the Ten Great Clans, including the Leng Clan.

"The Leng Clan acquired a piece of the Meridian Shattering Poison in our vaults. Could the Teng Family have rediscovered the poison using that?" Leng Junfeng asked.

Doctor He stroked his grey beard. "It is possible. According to legend, in ten days, the Meridian Shattering Poison will halt the cultivator's progress. In a hundred days, their meridians will shrink, weakening their cultivation. In a thousand days, their meridians will completely shatter, and only death awaits them."

"Is there no cure?" Duke Gong asked, his hands clamped onto Doctor He's shoulders.

Doctor He hissed in pain. He was also a cultivator, but he was famed more for his medical prowess than his martial ability. Seeing him hiss in pain, Duke Gong quickly released the doctor and profusely apologized.

"I'm sorry, my meager skills are not enough. If we had the recipe, there might be a chance." Doctor He said, causing Duke Gong to hang his head in disappointment.

"Maybe Teacher knows a way." Leng Junfeng whispered.

Duke Gong's snapped so fast Leng Junfeng was afraid it would twist off, but that thought soon disappeared when he found Duke Gong grabbing his shoulder and nearly pressing his face again Leng Junfeng's. "Is what you said true? Does Miss Juedai know a method to cure His Majesty?"

"I don't know! Teacher is most likely the most knowledgeable person in all of the Allfist Realm. If someone were to have a method, it would be her." Leng Junfeng said quickly as he tried to tilt his head back as much as possible.

Hope blossomed on Duke Gong's face once more. No matter how small the hope was, he would not let it go. "Quick, order people to search for Miss Juedai!"

A messenger quickly came in, not to receive Duke Gong's orders but to relay another order. "Reporting to Duke Gong, our scouts have discovered an army of ten thousand making their way here!"

"What did you say?!" The duke asked with a voice full of disbelief. He looked toward Leng Junfeng.

Leng Junfeng shook his head. "When I was fleeing, I made sure no one was following us."

Duke Gong's eyes widened. "The emperor! They have done something to His Majesty or his clothing!"

"Someone investigate His Majesty's body and clothing for anything strange!" A high-ranking member shouted hysterically.

"It's no use. They've already located us." Duke Gong said gravely. "What if the problem is with the emperor's body and not his clothing?"

At Duke Gong's words, the present members of the emperor faction shrank their necks. He sneered. "What? That's all it took for you to cower? You should have joined the prime minister's faction when you still had the chance then."

"Duke Gong, you can call us cowards, but don't call us traitors!" One member shouted.

"That's right. We'll sooner die than bow to that treacherous rat!" Another added.

"Well said!" Duke Gong said.

Under Duke Gong's commands, the members present all left while executing his orders. Soon, only Leng Junfeng and the duke were left in the courtyard, while Doctor He was preparing to flee with the emperor. Duke Gong planned to hold the fort to buy enough time for the emperor to flee to safety.

"What do you need me to do?" Leng Junfeng asked.

"I need you to protect some and deliver them to a safe spot." Duke Gong said.

Leng Junfeng nodded. "You can rest assured that I will do my best to protect His Majesty."

"No, I need you to protect someone else." Duke Gong said with a bitter smile.

"What?" Leng Junfeng said with surprise. 'Just who could be more important than the emperor?'

"Qiu'ai."

"Your youngest daughter?" Leng Junfeng asked. 'I know Miss Gong is relatively talented. She is only twenty but is already in the Marrow Enhancement Stage, so becoming a grandmaster is only a matter of time. But why would the duke want me to protect her? With his loyalty to the emperor, this does not fit his style.'

"Qiu'ai's surname isn’t Gong but Li." Duke Gong said.

"You mean?" Leng Junfeng asked, having realized the meaning behind Duke Gong's words.

"That's right. Gong Qiu'ai is actually Li Qiu'ai, an imperial princess." Duke Gong said, confirming Leng Junfeng's conjecture.

Leng Junfeng couldn’t understand, so he asked.

"Why else?" Duke Gong made a bitter smile. "When Qiu'ai was born, the imperial physician detected that she was born the Cyan Phoenix Constitution. Ordinarily, this would have been great since the imperial family's other grandmaster, King Wu, was nearing the end of his lifespan."

Duke Gong's eyes gained a cold light. "But how could the prime minister allow the imperial family to have another grandmaster? So they sent numerous assassins after the newly born princess. War almost broke out between the faction then and there. But then the princess suddenly died, and the prime minister paid a high price to appease His Majesty's wrath."

"But she didn't." Leng Junfeng said,

Duke Gong concurred. "A body double died in the princess's place. And the actual princess was raised as my daughter. Although only the emperor and I knew this secret, to prevent anyone from discovering any abnormality, I purposely made Qiu'ai stagnate her cultivation. Alas, if I had known that King Wu would have died so soon, I would have pushed to become a grandmaster. That way, at least she wouldn’t have been caught in such a terrible situation."

"Miss Gong, no, Princess Qiu'ai must have been happy having you as a father." Leng Junfeng said, seeing the duke's soft gaze.

The duke laughed. "Don't try to comfort me. Although I didn't tell her until recently, I'm sure she knew in her heart that she wasn't my daughter. She was always a brilliant child."

"That's wrong, Father," At this time, the discussed person showed up. "In my heart, you're my only father."

"Qiu'ai! Why are you here?" Duke Gong said in surprise.

"Father, you've always taught me about how great the Li Imperial Family was. I thought you were raising me up to send me to the palace, but I was wrong. You told me that the Li Imperial Family aren't cowards. So how could I flee? I will fight with you!" Li Qiu'ai said.

Duke Gong showed a bitter smile as he glanced inside the room, hoping the emperor was still unconscious. "I also taught you that some battles could not be won. In those cases, you should flee and wait for an opportunity."

"Then you should come with us. You are the leader of the emperor faction since the emperor has fallen. How can we defeat the prime minister without you?" Qiu'ai asked, her gaze staring straight at Duke Gong.

Duke Gong sighed. "It is because I'm the current leader. Although I hope the emperor will recover from the Meridian Shattering Poison, I know it is unlikely. Since the prime minister sent an army to capture or kill me, I can't leave. Only you have the greatest hope of defeating the prime minister. Be obedient and leave with Junfeng."

"NO! I refuse to leave without you!" Li Qiu'ai said as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Qiu'ai," Duke Gong tenderly said as he raised his hand and rubbed her head.

Li Qiu'ai's eyes widened at the tender gesture. "Fathe—"

She never had a chance to finish as Duke Gong used his hand to chop her neck, knocking her unconscious. After handing the unconscious princess to Leng Junfeng, Duke Gong gave him a pleading look.

Leng Junfeng nodded and left.

When Li Qiu'ai regained consciousness, Leng Junfeng had already fled far away. Upon learning of this, she hammered Leng Junfeng's chest with her fists before losing energy and hiding her face in his chest. She would cry herself to sleep and soak his clothes with her tears.

Leng Junfeng sighed and continued to fly. "The prime minister caused so much sadness. I will kill him and prevent him from ruining anyone else's life."

"After saying that vow, the protagonist journeys with the now orphaned princess. Their goal was to gain strength and attain revenge against the despicable villain, Teng Shifang."

"Along the way, the princess slowly started to rely more and more on him and slowly fell in love with the protagonist. The protagonist also fell in love with the princess, but his heart belonged to another, his childhood sweetheart, who was still in the clutches of the lustful Teng Wuba."

"The princess also understood, so she never openly revealed her love and continually stood by his side. They cultivate together and gain strength together in order to avenge their dead family."

"But just who would Leng Junfeng choose in the end? Is it his childhood sweetheart who he reunited after his clan's massacre or the beautiful and talented princess of the imperial family? Or maybe both!"

Fenghua giggled after saying those words. She secretly followed after Leng Junfeng, but she had reverted to her fox form. Her battle with the three grandmasters had depleted her qi by far too much.

'Just because I'm the protagonist's teacher, don't expect me to risk my life for him. I don't want to end up like a damsel in distress, chained and waiting to be rescued. Ugh, I can already imagine it.'

'The protagonist's teacher, who had been tortured for years by the villain, was left a quivering mess. Only after years of accompaniment by the protagonist did she recover, but so she promised to spend a lifetime with him.'

'Who the hell wants that! Bullshit! I'm not the protagonist's golden finger who can sacrifice everything for him!'

Still, that didn't mean she left the Teng Family grandmasters off the hook so easily. She wasn't forced into her fox form because of taking too much damage but expending too much qi.

Before escaping, Fenghua had killed one of the grandmasters and heavily injured the other. Only Teng Shifang remained relatively unharmed. Only relatively, Fenghua made sure that he returned buck-naked.

After making sure that Leng Junfeng was unharmed, Fenghua made a one-eighty turn. To her, the chaotic capital where the people's hearts were full of unease was actually perfect for her to cultivate the Primogenitor Flame Scripture. She had complete confidence in her skills to remain undetected.

For five years, Fenghua remained stationed in the capital as she watched Teng Shifang appease the hearts of the citizens and army before slowly gaining their loyalty. He was not a brute that only used force but a devious tactician who knew how to acquire people's loyalty. How else did he manage to sway nearly half to court to his side?

But none of this mattered to Fenghua, who was using the people's sentiment to recover and cultivate. She only left after she felt the people's hearts settled down and decided there was no further benefit in remaining.

Simultaneously, Leng Junfeng passed his Acupoint Opening Heavenly Tribulation and became an acupoint opening master, a bona fide grandmaster in the Allfist Realm.