You call this the way of the sword?

Desheng Building, the residence personally chosen by Liu Changge.

Lin Tong and the other students from Wendao Caotang came here after the assessment, but none of them knew the origin of Deshenglou, only that this place was extremely high-class.

When Qiao Lie saw the words "Deshenglou", he was struck dumb. Then he saw a large group of handsome men and beautiful women pouring out of the building, surrounding Xiao Bingning and calling her "Second Miss".

Upon closer listening, wow, these handsome men and beautiful women were actually the building's employees!

Qiao Lie slapped his forehead and came to a startling conclusion.

Xiao Bingning's Xiao is actually the same Xiao as the richest man in Zhongzhou!

"The famous Desheng Tower in the capital city, Desheng Tower is found throughout the land of Yu and Xia..."

Qiao Lie murmured in surprise, "So that's why the Desheng Exchange faces south! It all started here!"

Just then, Qiao Wanyi's cold laugh drifted past his ears: "What are you doing following us?"

When they came to their senses, Yang Qingfeng and the others had already entered the building.

From the outside, Desheng Building already appears magnificent and grand, but once inside, one realizes that it is an even more hidden world.

Even though Yang Qingfeng was naturally indifferent, he was shocked by what he saw.

The building inside is not a building, but a cave dwelling!

Within the city lies a secluded cave dwelling, surrounded by heaven and earth, green mountains, the sun and moon, and flowing water. White cranes carry flying fish, and the Golden Jade Pavilion stands in front, while the Glazed Bridge leads to the garden behind. From afar, one can see the garden's profound and elegant scenery, as if there are even more luxurious pavilions and villas.

What's even more shocking is that there's an exchange right next to the gold and silver shop!

They've opened the Imperial Exchange inside a building—what a reactionary move!

"Senior, this..."

Yang Qingfeng subconsciously turned his head, only to find that Liu Changge had disappeared, while Lin Tong was looking at him with a half-smile, revealing a rather satisfied expression.

"Are you confused?"

"Being confused is fine. You country bumpkins from mountain villages and towns have never seen the world."

"Come on, bro, I'll show you something even more amazing!"

Dragged along by Lin Tong across the glass bridge, Yang Qingfeng was greeted by the refreshing fragrance of a hundred flowers. He immediately felt refreshed, and all the fatigue of the day vanished in an instant.

The garden is vast, as if the entire wilderness has been moved here. After careful renovation, it has become a stunning landscape, home to all kinds of mythical beasts, and dotted with pavilions, terraces, and elegant courtyards, exuding the atmosphere of a paradise on earth.

Walking in such a natural setting, even the gloom in your heart will unconsciously dissipate, until you enter a luxurious courtyard and meet your classmates who are resting there.

I thought my arrival would freeze the atmosphere, but the situation turned out to be quite the opposite.

"Hey, the talkative one's back."

"Wow, Yang Qingfeng is amazing! He got first place in two rounds, really making our Wendao Caotang (a local academy) proud!"

"Tell me quickly, what's the third round of assessment like?"

Perhaps it was because the heavy pressure of the exam had finally come to an end, or perhaps it was because they were all in a foreign land, but most likely it was the first time they had lived together in a foreign place, and in such a nice place at that, so everyone felt a little carefree.

Seeing this, Yang Qingfeng rarely smiled, but his words immediately drew eye-rolls: "The third round... was just so-so."

Surprisingly, all the classmates fell silent for a moment, then shook their heads and sighed.

"You're hopeless."

"I've decided, to save Yang Qingfeng, we'll use the best wine tonight! Let's crowdfund!"

"Phew~~~ You were shouting so loudly, I thought you were going to treat us to a meal."

A chorus of boos erupted, and the courtyard erupted in laughter once more.

The female classmates moved among them, taking care of everyone and making arrangements, just like a group of precocious little housekeepers, showing a rather virtuous side.

Just then, the Qiao siblings returned. They threw out the spare clothes prepared in the yard and chased Qiao Lie and Yang Qingfeng to the back of the building.

Behind the building is another complex of buildings. Pushing open the door, a warm, misty atmosphere rushes towards you.

It's an open-air hot spring!

"This place...is really nice."

Yang Qingfeng couldn't find the words to express his feelings, so he could only sincerely say "good".

Qiao Lie sighed, "Deshenglou is famous throughout the world, how could it not be good?"

As they sat down in the hot spring pool, both of them showed extremely comfortable expressions. Then, their minds relaxed, and they fell into a long silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Qiao Lie opened his eyes and saw Yang Qingfeng staring blankly at the sky. He couldn't help but laugh and ask, "What are you thinking about? Did you catch Lin Tong's idea and want to go for a stroll in the Women's Pool?"

Yang Qingfeng glanced at him sideways, then looked up at the darkening sky again: "I'm wondering, Sha Yinzhen tried to kill me in public, and right here in the prefectural capital, so why was he able to get home unharmed?"

The spirit sword exceeded its maximum distance in a very short time. Without a doubt, Sha Yinzhen was not taken away for questioning, but rather sent away.

Yang Qingfeng wasn't asking a question, and Qiao Lie sensed something was amiss. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Do you know how our Yu Xia came to be?"

Yang Qingfeng raised an eyebrow slightly. "What does this have to do with it?"

Qiao Lie nodded, then scooped up some bathwater and rubbed his face, saying, "Yu Xia, Yu Xia, does not only refer to our current empire, but to the Yu Dynasty, the Xia Kingdom, and then Yu Xia."

Yang Qingfeng knew all of this, but since Qiao Lie had made a valid point, he wasn't in a hurry to ask further and listened patiently.

"Based on the existing known data, the rise and fall of the human race is synchronous with our dynasties. Our two dynastic changes were the two catastrophic disasters for the human race."

"It is said that both times the celestial upheavals occurred, and the country was defeated by foreign tribes. At the beginning of the Yu Xia dynasty, eight or nine out of ten humans fell into the mouths of demons and ghosts. The Central Plains were littered with corpses and the sea of ​​blood was boundless. The lucky survivors were like walking corpses, while those who were still desperately trying to save the country... probably included the Sha family."

At this point, Qiao Lie paused, glanced at Yang Qingfeng, and asked, "Do you know what I mean now?"

Yang Qingfeng frowned. "Are all the local sects and aristocratic families the founding fathers of Yu Xia?"

"Of course, there are also many that emerged later, anyway, that's the gist of it."

Qiao Lie said with a complicated expression, "I don't know the specifics, but the founding war was extremely fierce. It is said that there were thousands of sects and families who initially swore an oath, but after the war, only sixteen sects and twenty-four families remained. These sects and families formed a cabinet to govern the country together until the Yu Xia military rose to power, forcing them to return to their local areas."

"To put it bluntly, the local government is backed by the cabinet. The Sha family must have the cabinet backing them up, so they can act arrogantly and recklessly. But this kind of life won't last long."

Qiao Lie smiled mysteriously and said, "Even today, the military and the cabinet still have irreconcilable conflicts, but the cabinet's strength is not what it used to be, and they are not all bad people. So the cabinet should be kept, and the bad people should be eliminated. This is what the empire is doing right now."

"Don't worry about the Sha family. They dared to commit violence in public today, which means they've already given us leverage. One Sha Yin is nothing. If we're going to get rid of them, we have to wipe them out completely."

Yang Qingfeng nodded thoughtfully.

During the day, Liu Changge said that the Sha family would go to the state capital to remove the photos and destroy the evidence. He was still thinking, how could a dignified Pillar General tolerate such a thing?

After Qiao Lie recounted the political struggles within the empire's upper echelons, Yang Qingfeng's suspicions were confirmed, which also earned him respect and a deeper understanding of Liu Changge.

The Pillar of State would naturally not tolerate the Sha family's wrongdoings. The reason for temporarily allowing them to continue was to expose and eliminate all the filth in the entire region.

Things like him leading me by chance to pass by the Sha family and urging me to kill Sha Yinzhen were not jokes at all.

Every word this General of the State spoke during the day was filled with murderous intent.