Leave Daning Palace.

On the way, Ning Chen met Ning Feng's carriage and quickly dismounted to salute Ning Feng.

Ning Feng's carriage stopped, he opened the curtain, and his eyes fell on Ning Chen's face: "Where did the emperor arrange for you to go?"

"Replying to second brother, it is Lizhou." Ning Chen said.

"Your mother's clan is from Lizhou, right?" Ning Feng said.

"Yes, second brother." Ning Chen nodded.

Ning Feng didn't say anything else. After looking at Ning Chen again, he lowered the curtain and the carriage slowly drove away.

Ning Chen bowed to Ning Feng's carriage, then turned around and got on his own carriage.

Return to Shangcheng Palace.

Before Ning Chen could finish cleaning up, a commander of the imperial guards wearing dark gold armor appeared in the hall.

"Your humble servant Yan Conglong pays respect to His Highness the Ninth Prince."

"No gift!"

Ning Chen looked Yan Conglong up and down. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, but his real age was unclear. The aura of his cultivation seemed very weak to him. In fact, it was because the latter was too strong and could restrain his aura.

"My father sent you to go to Lizhou with me?"

"Your Highness, yes, I will protect your safety for the next period of time." Yan Conglong nodded lightly, with a neither humble nor arrogant attitude.

Ning Chen didn't care about this. After all, he was a powerful man in the Wanxiang Realm. There were not many people in the Wanxiang Realm in the world, only a few hundred.

There are not many commanders of the Wanxiang Realm Imperial Guards in the imperial palace, less than thirty.

"Are you the only one?"

"In addition to me, there are seven other people accompanying you, two Tiangang and five Lingying." Yan Conglong said.

Ning Chen nodded. It was quite considerate of him to have eight people accompanying him.

"I've already cleaned it up, don't you guys want to clean it up too?"

"You need to pack up and cannot wear the imperial guards' armor. Your Highness, please wait for a moment." Yan Conglong said, bowed and walked away.

Outside the palace.

Ning Chen turned and sat in the luxurious carriage that had been prepared long ago. Yan Conglong and the other eight men were all dressed in black, with swords on their waists and spears in their hands.

Ning Chen took a look and asked Liu Dai to drive out of the city.

On the way, they met the carriage of Prince Ning Hong of Yan. Ning Hong stopped Ning Chen's way, pulled aside the curtain and sneered, "Where did the emperor send you to?"

"Meet Sixth Brother." Ning Chen did not answer, but asked: "Where did the emperor send Sixth Brother to?"

"Hmph, I'm going to Qingyang." Ning Hong snorted coldly, feeling that Ning Chen was becoming more and more dishonest.

"Congratulations, Sixth Brother. Qingyang Realm is a great place."

"What the hell, what about you?"

"My father arranged for me to go to Lizhou."

"Lizhou?"

Ning Hong was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "The underworld in Lizhou is the most chaotic, so you'd better be careful, or someone will die before you get things done."

"Don't worry, Sixth Brother. Even if I die, I will do everything for you."

"Hmph!" Ning Hong snorted twice, lowered the curtain, and the carriage drove away quickly.

Ning Chen also lowered the curtain, his expression somewhat ugly.

Is the underworld in Lizhou very chaotic?
He really didn't know.

Never mind, let’s go to Lizhou first.

"Do you also know where Luo Ying and Qin Fei are?" Ning Chen thought of the two of them while sitting in the carriage, because they were both wandering around in the martial arts world. Of course, Luo Ying was not a casual martial artist, and the Luo family also had a good status in Qingyang Territory.

Qin Fei's family background is ordinary, but his cultivation strength has already improved. If he is willing to join the Martial Arts Alliance, he will definitely be able to enter the monster training camp. With the cultivation of the court, he will definitely be able to rise faster than venturing out on his own.

After arriving in Lizhou, Ning Chen planned to ask someone to inquire about Qin Fei's news.

Two days later.

The crowd left Jingzhou and arrived in Luozhou, and across Luozhou was Lizhou.

Lizhou borders Qingyang and Luozhou, but it is closer via Luozhou.

July 2nd.

Ning Chen and others left Luozhou and arrived in Lizhou, and immediately a feeling of uneasiness came over them.

Especially during the journey, he also asked Yan Conglong to inquire about it. It is true that the underworld in Lizhou is quite chaotic, which may be because the emperor is far away.

I even heard that some officials and city lords in Lizhou have joined forces with major sects and families. It is difficult to govern without cooperation, and there are many bandits in the mountains.

Ning Chen felt a lot of pressure coming here to form a martial arts alliance. Moreover, most of the time he, as a prince, could not show up and could only help secretly.

Yan Conglong took a look at the map in his hand and said, "Your Highness, the Five Wolf Peak is ahead. There is a group of bandits on the Five Wolf Peak, about 300 people, and the leader is a master of the Spirit Infant Realm."

Before entering Lizhou, Yan Conglong had already inquired about the situation within a thousand miles.

Walking along the official road, passing Wulang Peak, there is a group of bandits who block the road and rob people.

Of course, the bandits on Wulang Peak didn’t rob everyone. They didn’t rob people, but just wiped them out in one fell swoop.

When Ning Chen heard that the boss was only at the Spirit Infant Realm, he felt a little relieved.

As long as it's not the realm of all things, he doesn't care at all.

"As long as they don't provoke us, ignore them." Ning Chen said lightly.

"Yes, Your Highness." Yan Conglong nodded.

"From today on, don't call me Your Highness. Call me Master Ding." Ning Chen thought for a while and said.

Calling him "Your Highness" would easily attract attention, but calling him "Master Ding" would make people more unpredictable.

"Yes, Master Ding."

Yan Conglong was stunned for a moment, but still nodded and gave the order.

However, the bandits on Wulang Peak were short-sighted. Perhaps because Ning Chen's carriage was luxurious and there were not many people in it, the bandits rode their horses, shouting and rushing down the mountain, blocking the official road.

The leading man had a beard and carried a 30-centimeter-wide sword on his shoulder, which was flashing with blood.

Behind him followed hundreds of foul-looking bandits, none of whom were very strong.

Yan Conglong frowned. The bearded man's strength was only at the Jade Dan Perfection level, not even a Spirit Infant. It was obvious that he was not the boss of the mountain village.

"Bah!"

The bearded man waved a machete and shouted, "If you want to get through, leave your money behind."

Yan Conglong snorted coldly: "A bunch of bandits dare to rob my young master?"

"Stop talking nonsense. If you want to pass through here, you must leave money behind, otherwise no one will be left alive." The bearded man shouted with a ferocious look on his face.

Yan Conglong's face was full of disdain. He turned around and looked at a follower in the Spirit Infant Realm. The follower leaped forward and stabbed the bearded man with the spear in his hand.

"court death!"

The bearded man was furious, but the next moment, the bloody machete in his hand was shot away, and before he could react, his neck was pierced and blood gushed out.

Seeing this scene, hundreds of bandits were stunned and fled to the mountain. The bearded man was their third leader, with a perfect jade pill and extremely strong strength, but he was not inferior to the follower, who kicked the iron plate down with a shot.

When the follower saw the bandits running away, he turned around and looked at Yan Conglong, asking whether he should chase them or not.

Yan Conglong shook his head: "Keep going, let's go to Licheng first."

Licheng is the capital of Lizhou.

As for the mountain bandits, the county will deal with them.

However, before everyone could pass through the Five Wolf Peaks, another group of bandits came chasing them from behind. This time, the leader was a master in the Spirit Infant Realm.

Ning Chen said: "See if he can surrender. If not, it won't be too late to kill him then."

It is not easy to cultivate to the Spirit Infant Realm. Not every martial artist in the world can reach this realm.

If we can recruit him, it would be a good thing for him to join the Martial Arts Alliance.

Yan Conglong nodded and sent a Tiangang realm follower this time.

The bandit leader was the second in command of the Five Wolf Peak, and was at the minor success stage of the Spirit Infant Realm. He was suppressed by his followers in just one round.

After a while, the follower brought the bandit leader to Yan Conglong.

After some questioning, it turned out that the latter was named Ma Junpeng, a native of Lizhou, a self-taught martial artist. Because he had offended a martial artist in his family in his early years, he went up the mountain to become a bandit. He was over fifty years old.

After Yan Conglong asked Ning Chen for instructions, he took Ma Junpeng away.

Ma Junpeng was extremely reluctant, but this group of people was too powerful, so he dared not say much. He claimed that his whole family was still in the mountain village, and if he left, he would take them with him.

"No need to bring it. I'll give you a chance later." Yan Conglong said coldly.

Ma Junpeng could only turn around and tell the bandits that he was leaving the city and inform the boss and his family.

The bandits were also speechless. Who could have thought that while they were trying to rob others, the third in command died and the second in command was also kidnapped.

Who is robbing whom?

On the way, Yan Conglong questioned Ma Junpeng bit by bit.

It is known that Ma Junpeng has been a bandit for twenty years. His cultivation was laid by his adventures when he was young. Later, he entered a mountain stronghold and lived in peace for twenty years before reaching the Spirit Infant Realm.

As for why the county town did not come to suppress the bandits.

Ma Junpeng told Yan Conglong that there were at least two or three hundred strongholds like theirs in Lizhou, and they could not defeat them all. When the Demon Suppression Bureau came, they retreated. Once the Demon Suppression Bureau left, they continued to rob.

As for the Lizhou military camp, it has never moved. Even if some strongholds are destroyed, new strongholds will be established.

The main reason for this is overt suppression and covert collusion.

For example, the Five Wolf Peak has existed for twenty to thirty years because the boss has a relationship with the City Guard of Nanshi County and has to pay two hundred thousand taels of silver to the City Guard every year.

So they also have a mission when they rob. If the amount of robbery in a year is not enough, let alone handing it over to the City Guards of Nanshi County, they can't even feed the more than 300 people in their mountain village.

Fortunately, the number of robberies against the strong men in the Tiangang realm was not large, otherwise the stronghold on the Five Wolf Peak would have ceased to exist long ago.

Ma Junpeng did not expect that he would hit a wall this time. He had no idea who this Master Ding was. All of his followers were at the Tiangang realm, and the leader seemed even stronger. He could not see through him at all.

after one day.

Ning Chen and others arrived at Nanshi County City.

There was no city lord to greet him, because Ning Chen's whereabouts in Lizhou were kept secret, and there was no need for city lords from all over the place to greet him.

The group did not stay in Nanshi County City for too long, just an hour. After briefly understanding the situation in Nanshi County City, they continued on their way.

The sixth day of July.

From afar, everyone saw a huge city built in a basin, surrounded by mountains. However, the basin was not small and the city was extremely majestic. It was the capital of Lizhou, Licheng.

Outside the city, there was a luxurious carriage parked.

An old man in a black robe sat upright in the carriage. From time to time, he lifted the curtain and looked at the official road. He saw a luxurious carriage slowly approaching.

He immediately asked his followers to come forward to make the connection.

The attendant quickly walked up to Yan Conglong and asked, "Are you all coming from Kyoto?"

"That's right." Yan Conglong said lightly.

When the attendant heard this, he turned around and nodded to the old man in the carriage.

The old man nodded, and his entourage took Yan Conglong and others into the city.

Li House.

The mansion covers an area of ​​one kilometer and is very magnificent.

After the carriage stopped, the old man came down personally to welcome Ning Chen and others into the mansion.

Along the way, the old man did not ask any questions, but just led the way, and soon they arrived at the main hall.

Yan Conglong asked his followers to wait outside. He accompanied Ning Chen into the hall alone, along with the old man in the ink-colored robe.

There were not many people in the hall, a middle-aged man in blue brocade clothes, and two other people, one wearing armor and the other wearing a purple flying fish suit.

When the three of them saw Ning Chen, they bowed and saluted: "Your subordinate Nie Yongxuan greets His Highness the Ninth Prince, Lord Yan."

Yan Conglong was the commander of the imperial palace guards, holding a high official rank of third grade.

As the Lord of Lizhou City, Nie Yongxuan also holds the third-rank official position, but compared to him, he is still not as good as Yan Conglong, even in terms of cultivation strength.

"No need to be so polite!" Ning Chen waved his hand and said.

His whereabouts in Lizhou this time to establish a martial arts branch alliance were kept secret, but the city lord of Lizhou must have known about it. It was also normal for the chief of the City Guard Division and the chief of the Demon Suppression Division to know the news.

The three of them stood up. Nie Yongxuan looked at Ning Chen who was sitting down and introduced him, "Your Highness, this is Liao Bufan, the Chief of the City Guards, and this is Luo Kang, the Chief of the Monster Suppression Department."

Ning Chen nodded indifferently. All three of them were powerful masters of the All-Seeing Realm, which was a standard configuration for a provincial capital.

"I am Li Quanwu, a commoner, and I am here to pay my respects to His Majesty the Ninth Prince and Lord Yan." The old man in the black robe also bowed and saluted, showing great respect.

Ning Chen stared at Li Quanwu and asked, "Are you the leader of the sub-alliance?"

Li Quanwu had a respectful look on his face. "Thanks to the great boxing saint for looking up to me and ordering me to form a branch of the martial arts alliance in Lizhou. He said that a noble person from the court would come to help secretly. I didn't expect it to be you, Your Highness. I know that you are a genius in the martial arts competition."

Ning Chen waved his hand calmly and said, "From today on, call me Master Ding."

Hearing this, the four of them nodded repeatedly.

"How many people are there in the alliance now?" Ning Chen stared at Li Quanwu and asked.

Li Quanwu said truthfully: "My Lord, the current number of members in the branch alliance is less than 3,000. My Li family has more than 2,000 members, and the martial artists we organized are less than 300. They are of different ages, ranging from 17 or 18 years old to 60 or 70 years old."

"Don't be in a hurry. Everything is difficult at the beginning. This young master will assist you secretly, and Lord Nie and the other two will also help. As long as no one makes trouble, you can slowly build it up and proceed according to the requirements of Senior Boxing Saint. Remember, this young master is not suitable to show his face. If you need any help, try to come to me secretly."

He had participated in a martial arts tournament, and hundreds of millions of warriors in Daning had seen him and knew that he was a prince.

If they were to show up in the martial arts alliance, the major sects and families in Lizhou would certainly know that the imperial court was secretly forming a martial arts alliance. They would definitely feel threatened, and it would be normal for them to try to obstruct it. They would even look for the three major sects and major families, such as the Lu family, the Fang family, the Peng family, the Yang family, the Luo family, the Zhang family and other major families to step forward.

It is easier to deal with aristocratic families, such as the Lu family, which is on the side of the imperial court.

Even though the Fang family in Qingyang Realm also has a powerful Martial Emperor, the Fang family prefers to keep a low profile and not go against the imperial court.

But it’s different for the big sects. Dajue Temple is still okay, but especially the big sects like Tianwu Sect, Zhenwu Taoist Sect, Leiwu Sword Sect, Qingjiang Luomen, Beixue Sword Sect, etc., will feel threatened.

After all, if the imperial court is really successfully established, if it is a military camp, it will purify the elites and form a strong and powerful army. Only with the participation of the powerful Emperor Wu, it can crush the major sects and big families in the world.

By then, the Daning Dynasty will be truly ruled by the Ning royal family alone. Anyone who disobeys orders will be destroyed.

"Yes, young master." Li Quanwu nodded. (End of this chapter)