Unsheathed

Li Baozhen's mind whirred as he looked at the young man who definitely shouldn't have appeared on this road.

Was it Liu Qingfeng, the person sitting behind him, who was trying to harm him? Did he yearn to dominate the Azure Phoenix Nation behind the scenes by himself? However, it didn't make sense for the imperial preceptor to allow Liu Qingfeng to grow unchecked. Rather, it made much more sense to have him and Liu Qingfeng keep each other in check.

In that case, perhaps this was just a curious coincidence? Perhaps this was an unexpected chance encounter?

Li Baozhen heaved a soft sigh. If his luck were indeed this terrible, then it would be much better if this were a plot designed by someone to harm him. After all, one could rely on their brains to battle on the Go board. If his fortune was truly bad, however, then perhaps he needed to offer incense and pray to Buddha?

Li Baozhen stood behind the carriage driver and asked in a quiet voice, "How is it?"

The old carriage driver's voice was solemn as he replied, "Of the subordinates standing behind him, it's extremely likely that the hunchbacked old man is a Far Roaming Tier martial artist. His cultivation base is most likely no lower than mine."

Li Baozhen slapped his forehead and lamented, "The intelligence reports have screwed me over."

According to the latest intelligence reports, three of Chen Ping'an's four grandmaster-level subordinates had left his side during their stay in the capital's Hundred Flower Garden. Only two subordinates had remained with him, one by the name of Zhu Lian. The intelligence report had marked his strength as unknown, saying that it was possible that he was a Vajra Body Tier martial artist. The other subordinate acted strangely, and his performance had also been very ordinary during the conflict in the Lion Garden. Thus, it was very likely that he was weaker than Zhu Lian.

As for Chen Ping'an, he was at least a fifth tier pure martial artist judging by the punches that he had thrown atop the walls of the Lion Garden. He was also able to draw talismans, and he was wearing an immortal Dao robe that they found difficult to determine the grade of. The gourd hanging by his waist was a Sword Nurturing Gourd named Jiang Hu, and it was temporarily unknown whether he was using it to nurture any flying swords.

This information was pieced together from numerous scattered intelligence reports, yet it still failed to properly describe Chen Ping'an's true abilities.

However, this wasn't important. As long as Chen Ping'an remained in the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation, Li Baozhen had determined that it wouldn't affect him at all even if Chen Ping'an suddenly transformed into a terrestrial immortal overnight.