Steam-powered martial arts: My virginity cultivation technique has been broken.

In a small courtyard within the Cai residence, Cai Xu, the second young master of the Cai family, received Song Yuanzhi. This man was tall and handsome, dressed in white, and possessed a scholarly air about him.

"Song Wushen, has your visit been for my marriage with A'Luo?"

His attitude was not bad; he was polite and courteous. His family had been officials for generations, living a life of luxury and wealth. He could look down on others, but he would never show it in public.

He was mainly responsible for the business of the elixir of immortality with the priest of Wuzhou in the Cai family. He had traveled between Nandu and Fengcheng many times and had met A Luo a few times, and was amazed by her extraordinary appearance. A Luo, however, did not have a good impression of him, even though she had confirmed that he had the Ziwei aura of a chosen one, and at the same time, his bloodthirsty aura was too heavy. People with such an aura are often violent and cruel.

This seemingly gentle and refined young nobleman is actually a devil who practices evil arts.

Even though he had just changed his clothes, Song Yuanzhi could still smell the stench of blood on him. This was something Song Yuanzhi couldn't understand: how could someone chosen by heaven to overthrow a dynasty be so evil?

"A'Luo has gone missing. I've come here to ask for your help in finding her."

"Oh? How could they have disappeared?"

Song Yuanzhi briefly described what had happened, without mentioning Ku Ning, only saying that they encountered a powerful enemy and were taken advantage of by Taolin.

"So Qian Zhuang and the Qian family are finished too?"

"Yes, the Wuzhou prefect suddenly switched sides, which was something we didn't expect."

"Heh, Qian Zhuang, that nouveau riche, gets arrogant and domineering with just a little money. It was only a matter of time before he fell from grace, I'm not surprised. Ge Man was never one of us, not to mention Wu Yihang is involved. But the attitude of those priests in Wuzhou is very suspicious. Since they've decided to rebel against Chen, why haven't they made a statement yet? And this time they even took A Luo away?"

"The thoughts of these demons are unpredictable; we must be wary of them."

"Song Wushen was able to marry Tao Lin; doesn't he understand their feelings?"

"When they're on your side, they're incredibly kind. But when they turn against you, they hate you to the core. She's hated you for over a decade because of her son's death."

"They're nothing but a bunch of uncivilized monsters. This kind of inferiority complex and arrogance is common among the poor. They judge right and wrong by good and bad, believe in shallow morality, are short-sighted, and extremely cliquish. Getting rich won't change the fact that this is just the way of survival for the weak. Let's not provoke them for now. When they start their rebellion, give them a little benefit and show them some goodwill, and they will naturally follow."

"What about A'Luo? She's very important to you, young master!"

Do you think Taolin will keep her in Wuzhou?

"No, she knows she can't stop the Cai family from taking her away."

"Where will they be sent? There's nowhere in the Great Chen Dynasty that my Cai family can't go; we can even find them in the imperial palace!"

"Overseas! Their slave trade has connections overseas. Once they're at sea, we'll have no way of finding them among the two great empires and numerous smaller countries. We must send men to intercept them quickly!"

Song Yuanzhi panicked. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? If A'Luo wasn't there, his plan would be ruined. Cai Xu, however, remained calm. So many days had passed; she should have already left Wuzhou. There were only a few ports in the southeast with ocean-going vessels; as long as A'Luo appeared, she wouldn't escape their notice.

Cai Xu narrowed his eyes slightly: "The problem is, what if they don't head southeast to sea?"

Song Yuanzhi said, "Then it's even simpler. Apart from the southeast, the only place that can accommodate ocean-going ships is Huanglong Port in the eastern capital."

Cai Xudao said, "The Li family in Dongdu happens to be at odds with us. Their eldest son is the Censor of Zhongnan Circuit in the Censorate in the capital, and he has repeatedly accused us of extorting money and harming the people. However, their family also has connections with the priest of Wuzhou, and they are the ones who maintain the sales channels for the elixir of immortality in the north."

Song Yuanzhi has determined that if A Luo is to go to sea, she will definitely take the route to Dongdu. Even if she boards a ship and goes out to sea, the Cai family can find a way to bring her back if they want to; there is no room for luck.

"Dongdu is not our territory, so intercepting it halfway is still the best option."

"Finding a needle in a haystack—it's easier said than done."

"Who do you think Taolin will send to escort A'Luo?"

Song Yuanzhi fell silent. Of the seven high priests, only one was a Martial King realm expert, but they could not leave Wuzhou. He could only shake his head.

Cai Xu laughed: "A dignified Martial God, you can't even confirm this little bit of information?" He walked to the door, clapped his hands, and several dark figures flashed out to pay their respects.

"Order Shadow to send over the latest intelligence about Phoenix City."

Before an incense stick could burn, a stack of intelligence reports was presented. Cai Xu glanced at it, then angrily knocked it over: "How dare you! You actually concealed such a huge loss!"

Song Yuanzhi leaned closer, glanced at it a few times, and his pupils contracted sharply. Tao Lin was ruthless! She had actually eliminated the spies of other forces in Fengcheng in just one day, which proved that they had long been aware of the situation with their spies, but had simply kept quiet.

After calming down, Cai Xusheng realized he couldn't blame his subordinates. Wuzhou was a poor, strategically insignificant place; the seven high priests weren't even important pieces on his chessboard. The so-called elixir of immortality was just a convincing lie to noble ladies and aging women. What truly caught his eye were the secret medicine in Song Yuanzhi's possession and A'Luo's ability to read auras.

"Go find Song Chuxiong. The Regent has received so many benefits from us; it's time for him to do his part."

They haven't rebelled yet, and outwardly they're still siding with the regent.

Half an hour later, a person who would surprise even Ku Ning appeared at the Cai residence. It was none other than Song, the commander of the Luanyi Guard, whom Ku Ning had met once before at the Fire Wheel.

"Commander Song, I have something for you to do."

Cai Xu's rude attitude towards him suggests that the two are not friends, but rather have a superior-subordinate relationship.

Song Chuxiong was a disciple of Fengling Temple in Nandu, a martial arts sect no less prestigious than Baige Temple. For Song Chuxiong to possess a second-rank cultivation level at his age and hold the position of Commander of the Imperial Guard, he must have been a core disciple with a good family background. Even so, Cai Xu showed him no respect whatsoever, demonstrating the vast difference in their abilities.

Cai Xu recounted his search and interception of A Luo, and Song Chuxiong asked, "Do you have a portrait?"

Cai Xu ordered someone to find A Luo's portrait.

Song Chuxiong said, "The young mistress is as beautiful as a fairy, unforgettable at first sight, and her eyes are also quite unique, so she shouldn't be difficult to find. I will use my connections in the Imperial Guard to search the entire country. However, it's not convenient for us to take action ourselves; if there are any casualties, it would be easy for others to use it against us. Recently, the Empress Dowager has established a new intelligence agency in the name of the Emperor, determined to confront the Regent. A storm is brewing."

Cai Xu waved his hand dismissively: "As long as you find the person, everything else is not a problem. By the way, have your Imperial Guard's spies in Wuzhou been eliminated?"

Song Chuxiong laughed, "Do those priests dare? We are the Emperor's guards. Tao Lin just found a few suitable reasons to lock them up, and didn't even dare to reveal their identities. It seems they want to cover up the direction the young mistress escaped. However, I heard some news from some merchants. Before the young mistress disappeared, a great battle took place in Fengcheng. A first-rank master fought against Black Wolf and killed him."

"I know that, Song Wushen already said so."

"Young Master, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Peach Grove has no one to rely on. Could you consider cooperating with the expert who defeated Black Wolf? Unfortunately, those who were nearby have all been imprisoned in Peach Grove, and their fate is likely grim. Those who have been released are also unaware of the specific situation."

Cai Xu suddenly turned around and stared at Song Yuanzhi: "You fought that person before, do you know his appearance and identity?"

Song Yuanzhi's heart tightened. Changing his story now would surely arouse suspicion. Ku Ning's identity was very useful and couldn't be revealed: "No, the other party was masked, I don't know, but he was quite young." He said young, but didn't specify his age. Even the youngest Yipin would be in his thirties or forties. Now he also felt that Taolin was very likely to cooperate with Ku Ning, and he had other ideas in mind, so he was even less likely to tell the truth.

Song Chuxiong interjected, "Then what about the style of martial arts? With Song Wushen's experience, surely he can see through the opponent's style of martial arts?"

Song Yuanzhi cursed inwardly; this guy was too aggressive. Ku Ning's martial arts style? Twelve Deadly Gale Kicks, Vajra Palm, and the Vajra Child's Indestructible Body—the latter two, judging from their names, were Buddhist martial arts, difficult to explain; he could only say, "Gale Kicks."

Song Chuxiong frowned: "Earth-level martial arts?"

Song Yuanzhi nodded affirmatively: "Yes, his leg techniques are sharp, fast, and fierce."

"What about internal martial arts techniques?"

"Unknown, it seems like an evil technique, extremely strange."

Song Yuanzhi was not lying; Ku Ning's "Boyhood Skill" did indeed resemble an evil skill.

Cai Xu became interested: "If an evil technique can activate a level-one Swift Wind Kick to defeat a super-grade-one Black Wolf and force you to retreat, even if it's just a puppet and... something old, then what level of evil technique is that!"

He felt as if he had discovered a treasure. His goal was to become an emperor, a powerful and long-lived emperor. Breaking through to the Martial King realm was his dream. Unfortunately, he lacked talent. He had practiced martial arts for twenty-eight years and was thirty-one years old this year, but he had only just reached the fifth rank. That was only after using evil techniques to build up his strength in the last ten years.

Seeing the man's eyes gleaming as if he wanted to devour him, Song Zhiyuan felt a chill run down his spine: "Does this man truly have the aura of a true dragon emperor? He's more like a ruler destined for ruin! No, I need to have someone investigate further, lest there be a mistake. The prophecy of the Imperial Advisor has already begun to come true; the Great Chen Dynasty will perish after experiencing four battles between evil dragons and imprisoned dragons. If Ku Ning is an evil dragon, then the current emperor is an imprisoned dragon. If Ku Ning is an imprisoned dragon, then the current emperor is an evil dragon that brings chaos to the world."

"A new true emperor will surely be born, stepping over these two pathetic worms!"