A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

Night falls, at midnight.

The inner city's Jinyufang was completely silent.

In front of the Prince's Mansion, a carriage slowly came to a stop, and a figure stepped out of it. It was none other than Wei Tianhe, the head of the Wei family.

Wei Tianhe glanced around, then stepped forward.

Today is the day of the Five Races Conference initiated by the Wang family.

At that moment, a gatekeeper was already waiting on the side, and bowed to lead Wei Tianhe into the mansion.

The entire palace was completely dark and eerily silent.

However, with just a casual glance, Wei Tianhe could detect the numerous sentries scattered around the corners. These figures exuded a deep and imposing aura, and were all powerful individuals, including many martial arts experts at the Bone Forging Realm.

When he entered the backyard of the Prince's mansion, he couldn't help but frown.

Five figures were scattered around the backyard, nestled in the shadows of the eaves.

These figures varied in height and were both men and women. They all wore black cloths to cover their faces, making it impossible to see their features. However, judging from the aura emanating from them, they were all at the Yi Jin realm.

Even the Five Dark Abysses have been mobilized.

Wei Tianhe looked at the five people and muttered to himself.

As the head of the five major families, the Wang family possesses unfathomable depth and influence.

Aside from the three members of the Wang family, father and sons, who are all at the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the next group consists of the five members of the Dark Abyss.

These five people were of one mind and had been practicing their combined attack technique for more than ten years. It is said that they once killed a genuine master of the Marrow Cleansing Realm with their combined attack.

These five people are usually elusive, only showing up when the Wang family encounters a major event.

Wei Tianhe glanced at the figures again, composed himself, and stepped into the backyard.

The house was still dimly lit, with only a lone lamp on the table providing light, through which six figures could be barely seen sitting around.

The flickering candlelight cast their shadows long and thin, twisting and swaying on the wall.

"Brother Wei, you've been quite the player lately, daring to even intercept Liu Rong."

A burly middle-aged man picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said indifferently.

This man is none other than Jiang Chengxian, the current head of the Jiang family.

"Such an important matter was not even discussed with us. If it succeeds, that's fine, but if the news leaks out, wouldn't that give Liu Wenju an excuse to attack us?"

Another middle-aged man with fair skin and a shrewd look chimed in, and that was none other than Han Tianming, the head of the Han family.

"Kidnapping Liu Rong? Wasn't that Xu Qingyi's doing? What does it have to do with me?"

Wei Tianhe's expression turned cold, and he let out a cold snort.

But his heart sank. The reason he used Xu Qingyi to kidnap Liu Rong was to absolve himself of any responsibility.

The business alliance may seem like a monolithic entity, but in reality, each member has its own ulterior motives.

If the Wei family makes a move openly, it will inevitably involve the entire business alliance. And these people will certainly not want to be held hostage by the entire business alliance to avenge their son.

He thought he had done everything clean, but how did these people know?

"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."

A languid female voice rang out. The speaker was a middle-aged beauty with a graceful figure, holding a docile tabby cat in her arms.

"I am also heartbroken by Wei Rong's death. However, my Wu family will not agree to tie my entire merchant alliance to your war chariot."

She is Wu Lianyue, the current head of the Wu family.

"Madam Wu, you have quite the nerve, coming here right off the bat to accuse my Wei family of ordering bandits to kidnap Liu Rong. Do you have any evidence?"

Wei Tianhe immediately retorted.

Just as Wu Lianyue was about to say something more, she was interrupted by an old man sitting at the head of the table.

"Alright everyone, I invited you all here today to discuss important matters. Let's not let our own people ruin our harmony."

As the old man finished speaking, everyone in the hall stiffened and fell silent.

Wang Moheng, the head of the Wang family, not only reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm decades ago, making his cultivation unfathomable, but also, being older and having seen too many storms, he enjoys extremely high prestige among the five major families.

Han Tianming glanced deeply at Wei Tianhe, then bowed to Wang Moheng, who was seated at the head of the table, and asked, "What important matter is it that you, Old Master Wang, are referring to?"

After Han Tianming finished speaking, the people around him also put aside their thoughts and looked at Wang Moheng.

However, Wang Moheng did not answer directly, but instead asked a question slowly.

"How are the Blood Spirit Pills selling, everyone?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this. Several months ago, the Wang family somehow obtained a channel to refine a pill called the Blood Spirit Pill.

The other major families started selling the pills through their own channels, using the Wang family as the source. They have now made a fortune and squeezed the market out of the body-tempering pills made by the imperial court.

"Sales went fairly smoothly," Jiang Chengxian said with a smile. Thanks to the Blood Spirit Pill, his Jiang family had made a considerable profit.

"Do you all know the true efficacy of this Blood Spirit Pill?"

The one who spoke at this moment was Wang Xuanzhao, who had been silent beside Wang Moheng.

"The real medicinal effect?" Han Tianming looked puzzled. "Isn't it supposed to increase a martial artist's qi and blood? Recently, quite a few martial artists have been coming to me to repurchase."

"Increasing qi and blood is only a superficial effect."

Wang Xuanzhao smiled slightly and slowly revealed the truth.

"Thirty days to devour the heart, sixty days to sever the soul, ninety days to control the spirit. In another month, any martial artist who has taken this pill will develop an extremely strong dependence on it. If they do not take it on time, their heart meridians will rupture, and they will die from having their heart devoured."

After Wang Xuanzhao finished speaking, a calm smile still lingered on his lips.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the other four family heads slammed their fists on the table and stood up, their expressions changing drastically.

"Wang Moheng! What are you up to?!"

"You actually want us to sell these poisonous pills!"

If what the Wang family said is true, then these families who sell Blood Spirit Pills have committed a heinous crime of having their property confiscated and their clans exterminated!

"With just a few pills, you can control such a large number of martial artists in Luochuan County. Shouldn't you all be happy?"

Wang Moheng finally spoke, his cloudy eyes sweeping over everyone as he slowly spoke.

"What does Grandpa Wang mean?"

Wu Lianyue suddenly had an extremely ominous premonition.

What exactly is the Wang family trying to do by controlling martial artists?

"The government is corrupt, and Liu Wenju is constantly pressuring our merchant alliance. Now that the Prince of Yan's army is marching south, why don't we pledge our allegiance to His Highness and seek another way out?"

The room fell silent as soon as he finished speaking.

Wei Tianhe, Jiang Chengxian, Han Tianming, and Wu Lianyue all had drastic changes in expression.

They formed a merchant alliance solely to oppose Liu Wenju and protect their own interests in Luochuan. Their opposition was directed against Liu Wenju, not the Great Zhou Dynasty!

Judging from the current situation, Wang Moheng is actually planning a rebellion!

They were naturally united in their fight against Liu Wenju. But treason... that was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

"Do you all think there is still a way out?"

Wang Xuangan, the eldest son of the Wang family, who had remained silent until now, coldly added a sentence.

"You have already sold quite a few of these Blood Spirit Pills. This crime alone is enough to lead to the confiscation of your property and the extermination of your entire clan."

Upon hearing this, the four family heads were shocked and furious, but they quickly calmed down and began to weigh the pros and cons. As heads of their families, they were certainly not fools.

However, at that very moment!

"boom!"

The tightly closed main room door was suddenly smashed open by a tremendous force from the outside!

A dark figure suddenly appeared in the hall, his aura surging, and his body radiating a visible, billowing blood energy.

The sheer power of that blood energy caused the several Marrow Cleansing Realm experts present to feel a chill run down their spines.

Beyond Body Tempering, the Blood Transformation Realm!

Wei Tianhe, who was closest to the door, gasped in shock.

……

Muddy Alley, Zhou Residence.

Zhou Yuan stood in the courtyard, his back bent and arms outstretched, practicing the Six Harmonies Stance Exercise over and over again.

Since returning from the Chen family, he has been immersed in martial arts training. Although he is very confident in himself, this does not mean that he will let his guard down.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. This has always been his principle.

He just didn't know what kind of secret technique "Seeking Flowers in the Mist" was. Recalling Li Tong's instructions, Zhou Yuan still felt somewhat uneasy.

Thinking this, Zhou Yuan composed himself, turned around and went back into the house, putting on the golden silk inner armor that Zhu Xiaowen had given him. With this, who cares about being a third-place scholar or not?

Zhou Yuan murmured something, then pushed open the door and walked straight towards the direction of Qing Shi Alley.

Today is the day he's taking his boxing match.

......