Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"Which faction does that eunuch Gao belong to?" Taking advantage of the crowd's attention being focused on the plump old man, Shen Qing quietly walked up to Song Tinglu and Shan Eryi and asked.

From Zhang Fakui's words, he knew that the plump old man was a eunuch. For a eunuch to dare to openly rebuke a major sect like Dongyue Sword Pool, leaving Zhang Fakui angry but unable to speak out, must be someone of extraordinary origin.

Dan Eryi looked at the eunuch in the distance with a face full of indignation and said, "Brother Shen, that dead eunuch is called Gao Liqiu. He is a trusted eunuch of Prince Zhao Yi of Guangling. He has been staying at our Dongyue Sword Pool for a year and often flaunts his power here. The other two are his personal guards, and they are not good people either."

"So he's a confidant of Prince Zhao Yi of Guangling. No wonder he dares to be so arrogant." Shen Qing suddenly realized. In the original story, when the old swordsman Guangling Jiang broke through 2,600 armor with one sword, Song Nianqing was protecting Prince Zhao Yi of Guangling.

As the full brother of the current emperor Zhao Dun, Zhao Yi, the Prince of Guangling, enjoyed Zhao Dun's deep trust. After the nine states of the Spring and Autumn period were destroyed, he was granted half of the former Western Chu territory and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Guangling. He commanded an army of over 100,000 and was one of the six major vassal kings in the land. In recent years, he had been suppressing rebellions in the southeast, and his fearsome reputation intimidated several surrounding states.

Previously, Yuezhou had no vassal princes. Although there were court officials present, they dared not offend the powerful Prince of Guangling. Similarly, Dongyue Jianchi, as one of the top powers in the land, was bordered by Lujiang County, which was adjacent to Prince of Guangling's territory. Guangling could advance down the river and reach Dongyue Jianchi in just two or three days. Therefore, Dongyue Jianchi had no choice but to submit to Prince of Guangling's threats and inducements, otherwise it would face annihilation and the destruction of its century-old foundation. Of course, Prince of Guangling did not dare to coerce them too much and always maintained a bottom line. Otherwise, if Dongyue Jianchi really disregarded the situation, Prince of Guangling would also suffer losses.

"Fine, for your sake, Zhang Fakui, I won't bother with a mere brat today." Gao Liqiu looked at the agitated disciples around him, his expression unchanged. He then glanced at Shen Qing with disdain before turning to leave.

Although the Eastern Yue Sword Pool outwardly submitted to the King of Guangling in recent years, they remained secretly resentful. Zhao Yi wanted the Eastern Yue Sword Pool to send a first-rank expert to protect him personally, but they kept making excuses, citing Chai Qingshan's travels and Song Nianqing's seclusion, which infuriated Zhao Yi, but he dared not threaten them too much. When their master was mistreated, those below naturally couldn't remain indifferent.

As a confidant of Prince Zhao Yi of Guangling, Gao Liqiu was naturally not a brainless person. After learning that the Prince of Yue's mansion was going to send people today, he planned everything for today in order to make the Prince of Yue's mansion look bad, and at the same time, to indirectly warn and intimidate the Dongyue Sword Pool.

The purpose was obvious: to tell Shen Qing that although the Dongyue Sword Pool was on the territory of the Yue King's Mansion, it was a dog of the Guangling King's Mansion. If the Yue King's Mansion knew what was good for it, it should know its place and leave as soon as possible.

If Shen Qingzhen leaves, it will play right into Gao Liqiu's hands. The world has always respected the strong. If the Yue King's Mansion backs down, it will further demonstrate the power of the Guangling King. At that time, Dongyue Sword Pool will surely make his own decision.

"Stop right there, you damned eunuch! Did I say you could leave?" Just as Gao Liqiu finished his boastful act and was about to leave, Shen Qing's icy voice rang out.

"Young brat, what? You dare to kill me? My family has been serving the Prince of Guangling since childhood. Even if I gave you the guts, would you dare to kill me? Aren't you afraid of provoking a conflict between the Prince of Yue and the Prince of Guangling?" Gao Liqiu said with a mocking expression on his face when he heard Shen Qing's words.

Gao Liqiu had calculated that unless King Zhao Kai of Yue came in person, no matter how much trouble he caused, the envoys of the King of Yue's mansion would not dare to provoke a powerful enemy like the King of Guangling for their master. And as long as he was sure of this, Gao Liqiu would have no scruples.

"Lord Shen, just bear with it, it's not worth getting angry over such a minor character." Zhang Fakui's heart skipped a beat when he saw Shen Qing speak, and he quickly came over to persuade him. As the host, Dongyue Sword Pool was most afraid of this kind of battle between titans. No matter which side suffered a loss, they would eventually vent their anger on them. Therefore, they adhered to the attitude of "it's better to avoid trouble."

"Second Elder, please don't say any more. This is no longer something that can be resolved by simply enduring it; it concerns the dignity of the Yue Prince's Mansion," Shen Qing said coldly, pushing aside Zhang Fakui who was blocking his way.

Hearing Shen Qing say this, Zhang Fakui could only step aside and retreat to Song Nianqing's side, asking with a bitter face, "Sect Master, what should we do?"

Song Nianqing glanced casually at the scene and said in a deep voice, "With me and Senior Brother Chai here, the sky over Dongyue Sword Pool won't collapse."

As a grandmaster of swordsmanship, Song Nianqing possessed his own pride. Whether it was the Prince of Guangling or the Prince of Yue, if they were truly pushed to the edge by the Dongyue Sword Pool, he would show these powerful nobles what it meant for a commoner's rage to cause bloodshed. If a grandmaster of swordsmanship at the First Rank Finger Profound Realm were to shamelessly attempt an assassination, it would be enough to keep these vassal kings awake at night. Especially since the Dongyue Sword Pool had two top-tier swordsmen at the First Rank Finger Profound Realm, the threat would increase exponentially.

Seeing that things had come to this point, and having received reassurance from Song Nianqing, Zhang Fakui could only wait and see how things developed, acquiescing to whatever was happening.

Shen Qing watched as Gao Liqiu suddenly burst into laughter, the laughter growing louder and louder until Gao Liqiu's face turned ashen. He couldn't help but ask, "You little brat, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at a clown who's courting death." Shen Qing's laughter stopped, and he looked at Gao Liqiu coldly, as if he were looking at a dead man.

Although Gao Liqiu was quite intelligent, his biggest mistake was targeting Shen Qing. If it were anyone else, they might have acted as Gao Liqiu predicted, hesitant to take responsibility for the conflict between the King of Yue and the King of Guangling. However, he miscalculated the relationship between Zhao Kai and Shen Qing. Although nominally ruler and subject, Shen Qing's influence actually surpassed Zhao Kai's. If not for the consequences of the Black Ship incident, Shen Qing might have chosen to declare himself king. Therefore, Gao Liqiu's move, which might have worked for others, was suicidal for Shen Qing.

Although Shen Qing had already sentenced Gao Liqiu to death in his heart, he wasn't in a hurry to act. Instead, he turned his attention to the people of Dongyue Sword Pool. His purpose in coming here was to target Dongyue Sword Pool, so this incident was a perfect opportunity to test their attitude. After all, many things are said nicely, but when it comes to actually doing them, their attitude is quite different.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing looked at the people of Dongyue Sword Pool with a playful gaze and said, "Gao Liqiu has offended the dignity of the Yue King's Mansion. I wonder if anyone in Dongyue Sword Pool is willing to take action to eliminate him for me?"

Shen Qing's move caught Dongyue Sword Pool completely off guard, catching everyone off guard, and the scene immediately fell silent.

Even the disciples who had just been filled with righteous indignation dared not utter a sound. Compared to the immense power of the Guangling Prince's Mansion, the Dongyue Sword Pool was simply not to be trifled with. It was like comparing an ant to an elephant, or at least the difference between a child and an adult.

Once the King of Guangling is thoroughly offended, the arrival of his army will raze the centuries-old heritage of Jianchi in Dongyue to the ground.