Chapter 255: Chapter 136: The Situation of the Branch Families Becomes Increasingly Clear, The Liang Family Has Fled_3
 

Subsequently, he walked out of the palace.

Within just a few breaths, the elder dressed in black robes and a black hat had disappeared within this palace.

If the departing sub-sects before,

were ranked among the lower-middle tier of the thirteen sub-sects of the Da Feng Dynasty,

then this departing Sect Master of the sub-sect

was rather remarkable.

…

The elder in black robes and hat was named Zhong Mudao,

the current Sect Master of the Zijin Prefecture Sub-sect of the Wan Dan Sect.

And the comprehensive strength of Zijin Prefecture ranked fourth within the Da Feng Dynasty.

Being ranked fourth, in reality, its comprehensive strength was not much different from that of the third-ranked Jiangnan Prefecture Sub-sect.

One could even say the gap was extremely narrow.

The departure of the other Sect Masters was something that the people present could disregard.

But the departure of such a heavyweight Sect Master

made the people present have to reconsider.

Whether the Changqing Prefecture Sub-sect had a higher probability of claiming the top spot, or the Luoshan Prefecture Sub-sect had a greater chance.

…

Following Zhong Mudao’s departure,

everyone else also left this palace.

Now, the situation was almost crystal clear.

The Jiangnan Prefecture Sub-sect, ranked third, chose to support the Changqing Prefecture Sub-sect.

The Zijin Prefecture Sub-sect, ranked fourth, chose to support the Luoshan Prefecture Sub-sect.

Beyond these third and fourth ranked sub-sects, a small number of other sub-sects supported Changqing Prefecture and Luoshan Prefecture respectively.

Of course, apart from these,

there was a small faction of sub-sects that chose neutrality, opting to watch for now.

Choosing neutrality wouldn’t pose a big problem.

But taking the wrong side could result in consequences several times more serious than maintaining neutrality.

…

Thus, amidst unceasing struggles among various parties,

half a month swiftly passed by.

In the military camp of the Luo Family in Qingqu County, Luo Mountain Prefecture,

Luo Yong, the controller of the Luo Family’s army whose cultivation had just barely advanced to the Organ Refinement Realm Intermediate Stage,

was now standing silently outside his tent,

silently watching the Qingqu County Liang Family’s army that had ceased hostilities for several days.

A hint of doubt began to appear on his face.

“Something’s not right, something is off…”

As Luo Yong spoke, he dragged Tang Jian out from the warmth of the Commander’s Tent: “Take a look, how is the Liang Family’s qi fortune? I’ve been feeling that something’s not quite right these past few days…”

Tang Jian glanced at Luo Yong somewhat helplessly.

Afterward, he straightened his somewhat disheveled clothes and silently looked towards the Qingqu County Liang Family.

However, not intending to look initially, upon looking…

It seemed that things had indeed started to look quite amiss.

“Eh…”

“It does seem a bit off indeed!”

As he looked on, Tang Jian inadvertently spoke out.

“What’s going on?”

“Speak quickly…”

Next to Tang Jian, Luo Yong asked eagerly.

“The Liang Family’s qi fortune seems to have disappeared…”

Tang Jian said softly.

“The qi fortune is gone?” Luo Yong’s brow furrowed slightly, then he asked, “What do you mean by qi fortune is gone?”

Tang Jian fell silent for a moment.

After carefully pondering for a while,

he finally provided an answer.

“The Liang Family’s fate has suddenly disappeared, suggesting two possibilities—either the entire Liang Family has been slaughtered to the last person.”

“Apart from that, there is one other possibility.”

“That is, the Liang Family might have already fled…”

Luo Yong said with some surprise, “Fled?”

Tang Jian silently nodded and spoke in a low voice, “Perhaps the entire Liang Family has already left Luo Mountain Prefecture, or even left the Da Feng Dynasty altogether, which is why the fate of the Qingqu County Liang Family has also vanished…”

Hearing Tang Jian’s explanation, Luo Yong couldn’t help but fall silent as well.

If explained this way, it certainly made sense.

However, Luo Yong didn’t quite understand why

the Liang Family would choose to flee?

Wasn’t Qingqu County supposed to be the Liang Family’s foundation?

The Liang Family had been operating within Qingqu County for generations; if you count the time, it has been at least several hundred to a thousand years.

To leave just like that, wouldn’t it be a shame?

“Brother Luo…”

Seeing Luo Yong by his side slightly lost in thought,

Tang Jian then spoke in a low voice, “Brother Luo, no matter where the Liang Family has gone, now is unquestionably the best time to take over Qingqu County.”

At this point, Luo Yong finally snapped out of it.

It was difficult to take over Qingqu County with the Liang Family in power.

But without the Liang Family in Qingqu County,

wouldn’t it be a matter of minutes for him to take over?

…

Therefore, after spending about three days,

the Huai Shui County Luo Family finally took over the territory of Qingqu County.

But just as the Luo Family intended to also seize Shanghua County,

they discovered that the Luo Mountain Prefecture Guan Family had already taken over half of Shanghua County.

Furthermore, they had stockpiled a large number of troops at all important checkpoints,

seemingly to guard against the Luo Family from Huai Shui County.

Thus, left with no other choice,

Luo Yong could only leave behind a portion of the troops, before taking the rest of his armored elites back to Huai Shui County.

From then on, the tripartite power balance of Luo Mountain Prefecture completely disintegrated.

Luo Mountain Prefecture welcomed the era of two great powers.

One great power was the Luo Family.

The other great power was the Guan Family.

The only one to suffer a loss was the Third Prince, Feng Wuyi, who thought he had secured the Liang Family.

…

In the Da Feng Dynasty, Qingcheng Prefecture, within a residence akin to a miniature imperial palace,

the Third Prince of the Da Feng Dynasty, Feng Wuyi,

was currently staying silently inside a room.

However, it was clear to see

that the atmosphere in this room was oppressively somber.

“The Liang Family fled?”

Feng Wuyi looked at the middle-aged scholar Qu Heng in front of him, as he tried to suppress the fury in his heart and asked him in a low voice.

“It seems their entire clan has already moved away from the Da Feng Dynasty…”

Dressed in a clean, white Confucian robe, Qu Heng said so.

“Have Qingqu County and Shanghua County been occupied by the Luo Family and the Guan Family respectively?”

Feng Wuyi asked again.

This time, Qu Heng did not speak.

After a moment of silence, he simply nodded slightly.