Why do I have so many masters?

"Because it’s already too late."

"Too late?"

Wang Anfeng was slightly stunned.

Yan Ling nodded and said,

"Yes, too late. Given the speed of a skilled martial artist, by now, he’s probably almost reached the place where the Xue Family is located. The Xue Family has a harmonious relationship with Great Qin. I also know that the secret realm of the Xue Family is about to open, and the person you know is one of the members who will enter the secret realm."

"This matter is probably not going to end quickly."

"The Xue Family won’t allow anyone to interfere with this matter. After this parting, if you want to go, you will have to wait at least five years. According to past experience, no matter what, he should have come out by then."

Yan Ling considered the clues from past texts and gave a rather conservative and safe time frame.

Wang Anfeng’s eyes widened, and he suddenly stood up.

"Five years?!"

His previously calm emotions seemed to shatter in an instant. Yan Ling’s pupils contracted and around the young man, the environment began to distort, creating a faint illusion. This instinctively stimulated him, almost subconsciously making him want to draw his sword as cold sweat formed on his forehead.

It was as if the familiar friend in front of him was not a childhood friend, but some sort of ferocious beast that had been thoroughly enraged.

After a few moments, Wang Anfeng’s breathing became slightly heavy, his eyes flickering as he sat back down and said,

"I apologize, Brother Yan. I lost my composure..."

"It’s just that the thought of my old friend being incommunicado for a full five years agitated me."

In fact, it had been seven, even eight years.

Wang Anfeng’s eyes flickered.

Yan Ling exhaled and stated,

"It’s alright, but I just thought of something."

"It might be difficult to meet him again, but if you want him to know that you are safe and sound here, there are other ways to do so. There is one possibility right now."

Wang Anfeng looked puzzled and asked,

"What is it?"

The Imperial Grandson’s visit to Fufeng County City is a customary practice of Great Qin.

The first day is for sacrifices, the second day for listening to government, and the third day is the Fufeng Grand Competition. Any martial artist can step forward to fight. Those who win will be rewarded, and if someone wins every fight, they will be entered into the record and proclaimed throughout the Four Seas.

That could be the opportunity.

Yan Ling, dressed in a wide-sleeved official robe, stood amid the team, already surrounded by grand music, dignified and majestic, displaying the grandeur of the Imperial Family. The Imperial Grandson, Li Changxing, sat prominently at the head, dressed in bright yellow, with the Great General of the Pillar State of Fufeng County, Yu Wenze, sitting on the other side, his demeanor stern and austere.

The broken Divine Weapon was propped up by his side.

Just sitting there, he seemed like a towering, solitary peak rising into the clouds, exuding an indescribable oppressive force. This was a grand occasion with many martial artists present, yet few dared to look directly at this famously strict and renowned general.

With one of the Seventy-Two Pillar States suppressing, no one could stir up even the slightest trouble today.

Below them, a hundred people beat drums, a hundred rang bells, and another hundred played the zither.

The bells signaled the feast, the ancient ritual of the emperors.

This was the Great Qin’s battle formation song.

On the stage of Fufeng martial arts, a tall, veteran military figure stood, holding a battle saber.

This was the first person to make an appearance that day, a colonel of the Imperial Troops, a Seventh Rank in martial arts.

Today, only the one who could defeat him could remain on this martial stage and signify the start of this grand Fufeng competition.

The music concluded.

The high-seated Imperial Grandson took a jade scepter from someone nearby and gently tapped it on a jade chime held by a maid.

A crisp, resonant sound arose.

It was as if a spark had fallen into boiling oil—the atmosphere on the Fufeng martial stage heated up instantly.

The general above, with a flourish of his right hand, raised the blade in his hand toward the many martial artists below and spoke slowly, his voice booming like a roaring tiger,

"Please!"

Yan Ling looked around; martial artists and civilians who had come to watch were everywhere, and the surrounding restaurants were also packed with people, but that familiar figure was nowhere to be seen. His brows furrowed tightly.

Where had that guy gone?!

...............

"Drive!"

"Damn!"

An ethnic strongman sat on the coach box, holding a whip in his hand. Though he tried, the carriage couldn’t move forward, and he snappishly whipped the air with a crisp crack, then turned around to lift the carriage curtain. Looking at the young lady inside, dressed in red and crossing her arms, he bowed and muttered resentfully,

"Miss, we can’t move."

Tuoba Yue slightly furrowed her brows, lifted the curtain next to her, and saw crowds bustling more than usual. Baili Feng, a man under the Military Family’s commanding general, had finished his last duty for the day and was already waiting outside. But judging by the scene before her, it was hard to tell how many hours it would take to leave the gates of Fufeng County City.

Tuoba Yue glanced at the city walls, not too far away, sighed, and murmured,

"There’s no helping it, our scheduled time coincided exactly with the travel of the Imperial Grandson of Great Qin."

"Most of these people are probably here to see the grand competition of Fufeng. Just get past this part and things should be better..."

She looked at the familiar yet somewhat strange city teeming with people, her hand passing over the white jade pendant at her waist, her heart unavoidably filled with melancholy.

Still not having encountered him.

This trip to the Border Pass likely wouldn’t afford her the chance to meet Anfeng.

In the end, she had failed Miss Xue...

With this thought, a sudden annoyance at Wang Anfeng flared up in her—annoyed that he had been gone for two years without any word, annoyed that despite their mutual affection with Miss Xue, he had to miss out.