Dong, dong, dong!

Just then, the door was softly knocked a few times from outside.

Xia Mingqing’s brows knitted slightly, then he raised his left hand and gently swept it towards the door.

The door opened in response, as if an invisible large hand from the void had opened it.

Immediately afterward, a light-footed figure quickly approached Xia Mingqing’s side, then lowered their head to whisper into Xia Mingqing’s ear.

"Your Highness, there’s urgent news!"

"Something happened to the Luo Family, Lord Luo Jin has died!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingqing’s composed expression turned ashen, as black as a scorched pot bottom.

"What did you say!"

"My mentor has died!"

"How is this possible!"

Xia Mingqing suddenly looked up at the messenger and then stood up directly.

"My mentor had the protective restrictions left by the Inspectorate."

"No one, apart from a warrior with Great Success in External Gang Grandmaster, could hurt him."

Xia Mingqing forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart, staring intently at the messenger.

If this messenger were not his most trusted maid, Chen Luomeng, he would have thought someone was brazenly playing a trick on him.

Lv Haodong, standing by the side, was very surprised by Xia Mingqing’s reaction.

But upon hearing that Luo Jin had died, he set his surprise aside and stood up as well.

"Luo Jin has died?"

"This......."

Luo Jin, the Anzhou Inspection Envoy, was killed; this matter might escalate to heaven!

Who is this reckless old monster that did it?

Xia Mingqing now accepted the fact of Luo Jin’s death, but he still looked puzzled, incredulous.

"Apart from me, and that old undying Tao Zhenbang, who else in Anzhou could harm my mentor."

"Unless....."

Xia Mingqing murmured softly.

Suddenly, he thought of another possibility.

"Unless someone used the power of a powerful artifact!"

"Yes, it must have been the power of a powerful artifact."

"Otherwise, a warrior below the Great Success in External Gang Grandmaster could absolutely not harm my mentor."

The restriction left by a powerful artifact can be broken by another powerful artifact.

As long as a warrior newly entered into the Outer Gang Grandmaster Realm uses the power of an artifact, they can exert strength close to that of a warrior with Great Success in External Gang Grandmaster.

Why was Xia Mingqing so sure of this speculation? 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Because, in the entire Anzhou, there were only two people above the level of Grandmaster External Gang Success.

One was himself, in External Gang Grandmaster Perfection, just a step away from the Divine Mansion Realm.

The other was Tao Zhenbang, a warrior with Great Success in External Gang Grandmaster.

He was the governor of Anzhou, the assistant director of the Heavenly Soldier Department, a frontier official in charge of a whole region!

And the Heavenly Soldier Department was the entity that controlled all the troops of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Every regional governor would also serve as the assistant director of the Heavenly Soldier Department to mobilize the troops within their jurisdiction.

Coincidentally, Tao Zhenbang, the governor of Anzhou, was ranked among the top five in strength among the thirty-six governors.

The governors under Tao Zhenbang were generally in the realm of Minor Success in External Gang Grandmaster and warriors just entering the Outer Gang Grandmaster Realm.

"Luomeng, immediately instruct Lin Yu to lead all the Cyan Robe Guard, I want to know who did it within three days!"

"At all costs!"

"That Martial Arts Grandmaster who used the power of the artifact will undoubtedly consume a large amount of gang energy and definitely cannot escape far!"

"Right, let Lin Yu bring the Wind-Fire Saber!"

Upon hearing her lord’s decision, Chen Luomeng’s eyes were filled with shock.

Lin Yu, the deputy chief of the Cyan Robe Guard, was a terrifying presence ranked among the top three in An Prince’s residence.

He was in the realm of Minor Success in External Gang Grandmaster.

Of course, what shocked Chen Luomeng the most was.

The Wind-Fire Saber was a legendary powerful artifact, a celestial level two pattern artifact.

However, Chen Luomeng did not leave immediately; instead, she calmly spoke.

"Your Highness, Luomeng has another discovery."

"Luomeng suspects that Lord Luo’s death might be related to this discovery."

Chen Luomeng’s words caught Xia Mingqing and Lv Haodong’s attention.

"Speak!"

Upon receiving Xia Mingqing’s affirmation, Chen Luomeng slowly stated her deduction.

"Your Highness still remembers a mysterious person riding a Shen Fengjun outside the city this morning?"

"Luomeng just received news from the Cyan Robe Guard that those tracking him fainted on the street."

"When they woke up, they found that person had already left the city mansion!"

"Based on these individuals’ accounts, Luomeng suspects that mysterious person used the power of External Gang Grandmaster’s gang energy to knock them out."

Before Xia Mingqing could speak, Lv Haodong expressed his confusion.

"Shen Fengjun?"

"I remember no one used the Shen Fengjun among the City Mansion Xuan Bird Guards these past few days."

Lv Haodong’s words made Xia Mingqing ponder deeply.

If no one in the city mansion used the Shen Fengjun, then it could only come from another City Mansion Xuan Bird Guard’s Shen Fengjun.

This conclusion suddenly reminded Xia Mingqing of that person.

The one whom his mentor Luo Jin mentioned yesterday, the new appointed Profound Envoy of White Dao Prefecture, Lu Xuan!

The person with a life-and-death feud with his mentor was known by everyone in Anzhou to be Lu Xuan.

"It’s this Lu Xuan!"

"A few days ago, I asked you to check on Lu Xuan’s information; have you found anything?"

Xia Mingqing turned his gaze to Lv Haodong, having summoned him today largely because of this Lu Xuan.

"To report to Your Highness, based on the report from the Profound Bird Guard I placed in White Dao Prefecture."

"That Lu Xuan appeared in the Profound Bird Guard a month ago, and besides the old fellow Li Chengfeng, no one knows his origin."

"However, I happen to have a painting, a portrait of this Lu Xuan."

After saying this, Lv Haodong took out a rolled-up white paper from his gray sleeve.

"Oh!"

Upon seeing this, Xia Mingqing’s eyes narrowed, and several strands of dark gang energy floated from his body and swept towards the white paper.

Under the effect of those strands of gang energy, the white paper gently unfolded in the void, floating up and down.

On the white paper was drawn a young and handsome man, with long hair like a dark cloud, neatly tied behind his back.

Seeing the man depicted on the white paper, even Xia Mingqing was a bit surprised.

So young!

This Lu Xuan seemed to be only in his twenties.

"Luomeng, let those people see if the person who entered the city today is him!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Just as Chen Luomeng was about to leave, Xia Mingqing suddenly spoke again.

"If it is this Lu Xuan, you and Lin Yu should personally go to White Dao Prefecture and say that I want to see him!"

"Of course, if he refuses to come...... I don’t want to hear any news that he is still alive in Anzhou."

In the end, Xia Mingqing said something meaningful, causing Chen Luomeng’s heart to tremble.

"Luomeng, fulfill all his requests regarding Lu Xuan...... you must satisfy him."

The implication was something Chen Luomeng could not possibly misunderstand.

Fulfilling all of Lu Xuan’s requests would naturally include herself.

Lu Xuan was originally on Xia Mingqing’s must-kill list.

However, after seeing how young Lu Xuan was, Xia Mingqing gave up on the intent to kill.

If the Lu Xuan on the painting wasn’t wearing a disguise.

Then he was likely the most monstrous martial arts genius Xia Mingqing had ever seen.