Taizhou Prefecture.
The dusk enveloped the sea area of Taizhou Prefecture, and a military camp had already been set up by the seaside, heavily guarded.
Liang and the Zheng Kingdom faced each other across the sea, and Taizhou was one of the battlefields.
The battle of Lingxiao City, although it terrified the Zheng Kingdom, making their martial artists dare not launch an attack from Lingxiao City, it spawned attacks from other coastal areas.
For this reason, Taizhou Prefecture stationed three thousand troops.
At this moment, in the central camp, an old man was meditating with closed eyes, and the next moment he suddenly opened them.
"Who?"
"Junior Lin Chen, here to pay a visit."
Upon hearing the voice outside the tent, a wry smile appeared on the old man’s face; he had anticipated the arrival of this Liang genius, just hadn’t thought it would be so soon.
"Come in."
Lin Chen entered the tent. Seeing the elder inside, he saluted and said, "This junior has intruded upon the camp unannounced and humbly asks for Lord Ge’s forgiveness."
On the way here, Lin Chen had already learned that his teacher was involved in a battle with Li Yuan in Taizhou Prefecture and also understood that the military commander here was a Second Grade martial artist.
Ge Hongyi looked at Lin Chen: "You came for your teacher, didn’t you?"
"May I know where my teacher is now? I hope Lord Ge will be accommodating and let me see my teacher."
"Lin Chen, there’s no need to be so formal."
Ge Hongyi saw Lin Chen’s very polite demeanor and gave a wry smile: "Your teacher indeed suffered in the fight with Li Yuan, but I and a few others arrived in time and stopped the fight. I have already arranged for someone to treat your teacher’s injuries."
"I will not favor Li Yuan either. What your teacher reported, I have already submitted to the imperial court, and soon they will send people to investigate clearly. You will definitely receive justice."
"The reason I stopped your teacher and Li Yuan from continuing the fight was to stabilize the military’s morale. Now being at war with the Zheng Kingdom, many officers in the army are on good terms with Li Yuan. Without solid evidence, if I were to detain Li Yuan, it would only unsettle the troops. I hope you understand the difficulties in this matter."
"Thank you, Lord Ge. This junior never held a grudge against you."
Lin Chen nodded heavily, and it was not a mere courtesy. Lord Ge indeed did as much as he could.
As the commander of the army, currently at war with the Zheng Kingdom, stabilizing the troops’ morale was his primary consideration. It was also because Lord Ge gave him face; otherwise, he could have detained his teacher.
"Let me first take you to see your teacher."
Ge Hongyi led Lin Chen out of the tent and towards another tent located at the back of the camp.
"Junior Brother Jia, see who I’ve brought to see you."
Jia Nanzhu, who was recuperating in the tent, stood and walked towards the tent door upon hearing the voice.
He did not hold any grudge against Lord Ge.
This time, he underestimated Li Yuan’s strength. Li Yuan had broken through to Sixth Grade five years ago, and he thought Li Yuan was at most Fifth Grade now, and he could potentially kill Li Yuan by exerting all his strength before his injuries spread.
Yet unexpectedly, Li Yuan had hidden his strength, having already stepped into the Fourth Grade, and at the peak of Fourth Grade. Although his Martial Path Will had reached the Upper Grade Realm, due to his age and old injuries, he could only exert Fourth Grade strength.
Lord Ge’s intervention, on the contrary, saved him.
Unable to kill Li Yuan, he could only hope the imperial court would send someone soon.
Jia Nanzhu lifted the tent curtain, and upon seeing the figure standing behind Ge Hongyi, he was momentarily stunned, his old eyes carrying an incredulous look.
"Teacher."
Seeing his teacher’s head full of white hair, Lin Chen hastily took a few steps forward and appeared in front of Jia Nanzhu.
Bang!
Lin Chen knelt and said solemnly, "Your unworthy disciple has made you worry, teacher."
"Good... good, as long as you’re alive."
"Get up, quickly get up."
Jia Nanzhu looked at the young man kneeling in front of him, his withered hands hurriedly helping him up. Ge Hongyi, watching the emotions of this master and disciple pair, furrowed his brows, clearly not comprehending why they were so emotional.
Although he was the local commander, he didn’t know about Lin Chen’s uncertain fate.
However, being perceptive, Ge Hongyi quietly left, giving the master and disciple some private space.
"Come inside the tent and tell your teacher what happened inside the Li Fire array?"
Jia Nanzhu led Lin Chen into the tent, and Lin Chen helped his teacher sit comfortably: "Teacher, when I entered the array, I didn’t expect that the Han Kingdom and Nansha Three Islands would send martial artists in, and the Han Kingdom harbored ill intentions, wanting to awaken the Li Fire..."
After a cup of tea’s time, having listened to Lin Chen’s account, Jia Nanzhu also laughed: "It seems you’ve benefited from the misfortune."
"I suppose so." Lin Chen smiled. If he hadn’t been forced, he wouldn’t have dared to challenge crazily at Martial Arts Mountain and might have missed out on discovering the Inextinguishable Divine Face Technique.
"Teacher, what is the situation with the Li Family?"
"Do you still remember the Huo Family of Raozhou Prefecture?"
"Yes."
Lin Chen nodded. He remembered the Huo Family of Raozhou Prefecture, the first Martial Arts Clan that targeted him, but they were later exterminated.
"The daughter of the current patriarch of the Huo Family, Huo Shu, didn’t die. She was staying with the Li Family. The Li Family somehow found out that you entered the array and hadn’t come out for months. They assumed you were dead, and that Li Zhe incited Huo Shu to seek revenge against your family, which I discovered. From him, I learned the mastermind behind the scenes was the Li Family."
Here, Jia Nanzhu paused for a while: "Your teacher really thought you were dead at the time. The Li Family holds such a grudge against you. Even if Lord Liang and I are keeping an eye on them, and the Li Family dares not act against your family, but your teacher is old, and so is Lord Liang. Once your teacher and I pass away, the Li Family might still act against your family."
"Your teacher thought rather than leave it like that, it would be better to use my withering body to solve this threat for your family. As for any blame from the imperial court, your teacher will not live for many more years, so it doesn’t matter."
"This matter, I didn’t tell Instructor Yu; his strength is somewhat lacking, and even knowing would be of no help."
"This disciple has made you worry, teacher."
Although Lin Chen had already guessed his teacher’s intentions on the way, hearing his teacher’s words at this moment still moved him deeply.
He traversed to this world, and though his background wasn’t great, he was thankful to have met two excellent mentors on the Martial Path.
"You are my disciple; shielding you from wind and rain is what a teacher should do. When you were in the Li Fire Array, I couldn’t save you. If I can’t even protect your family, what face would I have..."
Jia Nanzhu abruptly stopped speaking here. His intention was to express that if he failed to protect Lin Chen’s family, he would have no face to meet Lin Chen after death.
Now that Lin Chen was still alive, these words were no longer appropriate.
"Since you’re still alive, the Li Family’s matter should now be left to the Imperial Court to handle. The court will surely give you an explanation. Don’t blame Lord Ge. It was reckless for the teacher to enter the military camp uninvited and strike the military leaders. Another commander could have killed me on the spot, but Lord Ge did not; instead, he provided a Pill for my healing."
"Understood." Lin Chen nodded, then inquired with concern, "Teacher, how are your injuries?"
"Old ailments from years ago, nothing serious."
Jia Nanzhu reassured Lin Chen, who didn’t press further. Regarding what injuries his teacher had sustained in the past, Lin Chen could ask Lord Liang.
Just because the Nine Kingdoms don’t have a Pill to heal the teacher’s injuries doesn’t mean the Flame Dynasty doesn’t.
"Then please rest, Teacher. I will go see Lord Ge again."
"Remember, don’t act rashly, avoid impulsiveness."
As Lin Chen reached the tent’s entrance, he heard his teacher’s advice and his expression turned odd. "Teacher, you yourself killed your way from Poyang County to Hongdu Prefecture, exterminated the Li Family, then charged into the military camp to confront Li Yuan, and now you caution me against impulsiveness..."
It felt like a butcher advising a passerby not to kill.
Leaving his teacher’s tent, Lin Chen once again headed towards Lord Ge’s tent. However, before entering, he saw Lord Ge coming out with a livid expression, followed by several generals.
"Lord Ge, what happened?"
"Li Yuan is gone."
"What?"
Lin Chen’s face also darkened. Li Yuan disappearing at this time—did he know Lin Chen had come?
"Due to your teacher’s incident, I ordered Li Yuan to remain in the tent, not allowed to leave, but I’ve just been informed that Li Yuan has vanished."
Ge Hongyi was also furious. He couldn’t detain Li Yuan based solely on Jia Nanzhu’s words; he only ordered Li Yuan to stay put.
Someone must have tipped Li Yuan off!
"Lin Chen, Li Yuan left the tent less than a quarter of an hour ago. I’ve already dispatched people to pursue him; he won’t escape."
"Thank you, Lord Ge. Do you know which direction Li Yuan headed?"
"The soldiers reported that Li Yuan left camp heading north."
North?
Lin Chen squinted slightly. North of Taizhou is the Wannan Path...
"Lin Chen, I’m going to apprehend Li Yuan; you stay here and look after your teacher."
Without saying much more to Lin Chen, Ge Hongyi hurriedly left with several generals. Lin Chen, however, didn’t return to his teacher’s tent; instead, he gazed southeast.
If he were Li Yuan, he certainly wouldn’t continue staying in Liang. His escape confirmed his involvement in the attack on his family. The safest method of escape was to leave Liang.
Heading north would still be within Liang’s territory.
But heading southeast led to the Minnan Road, bordering Zhao Kingdom, the closest route out of Liang.
"Lord Ge and his men pursued northward. If Li Yuan fled north, he would surely be caught by Lord Ge."
Having figured it out, Lin Chen no longer hesitated and exited the camp, heading southeast. If his guess was right, Li Yuan would switch to a southern route after initially heading north, allowing Lin Chen to catch up.
As dawn broke.
A middle-aged figure breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the river ahead.
Crossing this river would mean entering Zhao Kingdom.
"Jia Nanzhu, Lin Chen... this grudge I will not remain a man if I don’t avenge it,"
Li Yuan’s eyes held a look of resentment. He fled not because Jia Nanzhu had evidence—Jia Nanzhu absolutely did not. That was why, even as Jia Nanzhu wreaked havoc in the camp, Li Yuan remained unafraid.
But upon hearing from a trusted subordinate that Lin Chen had arrived at the camp, he could no longer sit still.
Even though he didn’t understand why Lin Chen was still alive, his loyal subordinate had previously seen Lin Chen in Lingxiao City and would not mistake him.
If Lin Chen was alive, whether Jia Nanzhu had evidence became irrelevant.
He realized that although he was a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist, he knew that Kong Qifeng valued Lin Chen greatly. With their unresolved animosity, based on his understanding of Kong Qifeng, the Minister of Martial Affairs would definitely eliminate him as a threat for Lin Chen’s sake.
Minister of Martial Affairs Kong Qifeng, known as a kind old man among Martial Arts School disciples, had the decisive ruthlessness required for his position, having once eliminated a large group opposing voices in the nation with his blade.
If he didn’t flee, waiting for the Imperial Court’s arrival meant certain death.
In order to escape smoothly, he chose to go north after leaving the camp, but then changed direction heading south after several miles.
"Lin Chen, one day I, Li Yuan, will use your and your family’s heads to commemorate my son’s spirit in heaven!"
Li Yuan shouted furiously, and the next moment he stepped onto the river’s surface.
Even if he alerted the river’s defenders now, he wasn’t afraid; the strongest among them was just a Middle-Grade Martial Artist, not enough to stop him.
"If you want my head, why wait? You can take it right now."
Just as Li Yuan stepped onto the river, a voice came from behind him. Li Yuan instantly turned around, eyes fixed on the figure walking from a hundred meters away, eyes glaring at the person intently.

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