After discussing other things, Yun Shang and Guo Xuehua immediately left the Xian royal palace because they had stayed in the Xian Kingdom for a few days to meet Zhang Fei. "May I ask about the Star Tower, Emperor?" Xian Feng nodded to Zhang Fei. "What do you want to know about it?" "What is the main requirement to challenge it? Do I have to join a sect to be able to challenge it?" "Everyone can challenge the tower freely, so you don’t need to join any sect for that." Zhang Fei was relieved to hear Xian Feng’s answer. "There will be some team challenges starting from the second floor, so joining a sect will be more beneficial. Even so, you can find a new team there, especially since many rogue cultivators are eager to challenge the tower, but random teams may yield varying results. After all, everyone has a different character, and we are unaware of their true nature. They can be friends, but they can also be hidden enemies, and you risk losing your opportunities if they turn against you." Zhang Fei did not deny Xian Feng’s opinion, but he also had his own opinion. "Emperor, you are not wrong, but you forget that those closest to us can also betray us. It is difficult to know the character of random people, especially since many are like two-faced foxes. They often act kind in front of us, but they harbor jealousy and greed in their hearts. However, people we don’t know often become our best friends, and people we know very well often stab us in the back. I had a bad experience with that because my big brother betrayed me and tried to kill me, so I killed him and his friends with my own hands. Meanwhile, I got to know the people in my residence after I became a cultivator, and most of them have helped me deal with all my problems." Xian Feng and Shi Qingzhuang were shocked by Zhang Fei’s confession about his big brother, but they did not deny that such a thing could happen in their lives. "So, do you intend to challenge the tower by yourself?" "No." Zhang Fei shook his head at them. "Naturally, I will bring all my wives and family to challenge the tower, but I want to confirm the situation first, so I need more information about everything." Xian Feng nodded understanding and explained. "From the human side, you should be wary of the people from the Huangfu Kingdom, but you must not forget the people from the Bai and Zhou Kingdoms. They are not as vicious as the people from the Huangfu Kingdom, but they are still vicious, so you must always be careful of them, especially the members of their royal families." "The Bai and Zhou royal families?" "Although I have not found any concrete evidence, I have often received news that the Bai royal family has a relationship with the Huangfu royal family, especially their first prince, Bai Chongxi." Xian Feng then took out a scroll and handed it to Zhang Fei. "This is a report on the Zhou royal family’s involvement with the Ximen Kingdom, and you should already know the identity of Ximen Changtian, right?" Zhang Fei nodded at him because Feng Yao had already told him quite a lot about all the kingdoms in the Nine Stars Realm. "Ximen Changtian is the Demon Emperor of the Ximen Kingdom, and his cultivation is at the 5-Moon Divine Expansion. The demon races split into two because his younger brother’s intentions were not in line with his. Ximen Gongfu chose to establish the Dark Demon Kingdom, and his cultivation was at the 4-Moon Divine Expansion Realm." "Ximen Gongfu’s cultivation has now reached the 5-Moon Divine Expansion, and the demons under his command are significantly stronger than those of the Ximen Kingdom. He is far more vicious than Ximen Changtian and has the highest ambition to rule over this realm. Fortunately, we still have the beast and natural races by our side, so he never managed to fulfill his ambition." Zhang Fei frowned immediately after remembering Xian Xiaqing’s story about her best friend. "Honestly, I still regret what happened to Qian Ying, but we had no choice but to let her fall into their hands." Zhang Fei chose not to comment on it and instead read the writing on the scroll, but he then looked at Xian Feng with a shocked expression. "If you and the other emperors already know about the Zhou Kingdom’s involvement with Ximen Changtian, why haven’t you taken action against them?" "Do you think we don’t want to take action against the Zhou Kingdom?" Xian Feng then pointed north. "The Zhou Kingdom is in the north, and we must pass through the Huangfu Kingdom if we want to attack them. Huangfu Shou is our eternal enemy, and he will mobilize his troops to stop our troops. Our troops will travel too far and too long if we go around the Bai Kingdom, so our best choice is to go through the Yun Kingdom. However, the border between that kingdom and the Zhou Kingdom is too difficult to pass, and there are some powerful beasts in the seven divine realms that inhabit that area." When they first came to the Nine Stars Realm, Zhang Fei inspected the area from the air, so he knew the truth of Xian Feng’s words. Xian Feng then continued his explanation. "Zhou Xiaochuan’s cultivation is on par with mine and Brother Yun’s in the 5-Moon Divine Expansion, but he is stronger than us because he has already touched the barrier to the Divine Manifestation Realm and will probably break through to that stage soon. Even if the two of us join forces to fight him, we won’t necessarily win against him, and he still has several cultivators in the 4-Moon Divine Expansion under him. Moreover, they have proven to have a relationship with Ximen Changtian, and the demons under them are far stronger than our forces, so they will die in vain if we go to war with them." "What about the beast and natural races? Are they going to take action?" Xian Feng shook his head at Zhang Fei. "The beast and natural race kingdoms are the first and second strongest in this realm, but they are very selfish and don’t care about human affairs. They will not initiate a war against the Zhou Kingdom and will only take action if others threaten their kingdoms. Anyway, you don’t need to think about that because it is our responsibility as the natives of this realm so that you can focus more on yourself and the people closest to you." "Honestly, I don’t care about the affairs between all the kingdoms, but I won’t keep quiet if any of them seek trouble with me, especially if they want to harass the people closest to me." Zhang Fei then looked in several directions before continuing. "The current me is indeed not their opponent, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight them back, and I will eliminate anyone who has malicious intentions towards my family. For now, one person has done that, and I will do something to him soon, but I will not do it openly, and I will use other methods to destroy him." Xian Feng and Shi Qingzhuang immediately exchanged glances, as they already knew the identity of the person, who was none other than Lian Jinshu. "The alchemy union is powerful, so you must be very careful in your actions against him, lest they will come here to attack you, and you will not be able to do anything to protect them." "Thank you for your advice." Zhang Fei then faced them again and returned the scroll to Xian Feng. "Fa Zhen and Old Gang are waiting for me at the restaurant, so I must return now." Following Zhang Fei’s disappearance, Shi Qingzhuang promptly questioned her husband. "How did he discover that you sent Changyue to the Wasteland Realm? With his current cultivation, he shouldn’t be able to observe us from such a distance, and we would have noticed it right away if he was watching us." Unfortunately, Shi Qingzhuang still did not know Zhang Fei that well. Moreover, almost all of his wives and family did not even know about the system’s existence except for Zhang Lin, and it was too easy for him to monitor anyone in the realm without having to do it himself. "I don’t know how he managed to do it, and I was shocked when he told us about Changyue. However, we were fortunate that he told us the real situation in the realm, or my sister would have faced great trouble if she met the cultivators from the upper realms, especially those demon races." Xian Feng then turned his face toward the location of the Sky Jade Restaurant. "That kid was truly decisive in protecting himself and his family, and he even dared to kill his big brother with his own hands, something even I wouldn’t dare to do." Shi Qingzhuang sighed heavily and hugged her husband’s arm. "I know you still regret your big brother’s choice to defect to the demons, but it happened too long ago, and we can’t change it. He will undoubtedly attack us again sooner or later, and we may have to make the difficult decision of killing him then." "Yeah." Xian Feng then led his wife back into the palace, and they discussed several other things. . . . When he returned to the restaurant, Zhang Fei could not find Lian Jinshu and Huan Ya there, and Liu Hua told him they had left immediately after finishing their meal. Zhang Fei immediately approached the two men waiting for him. "Old Gang, is it possible to build a blacksmith’s workshop in my residence? It’s okay for me to practice at your place, but building one in my residence would be better for me to practice blacksmithing daily." "Building a blacksmith’s workshop is not difficult, so it’s fine if you want to build one." Gang Zhishou replied with a nod. "If you want that, we can go back to my shop first to get some spare equipment, so all you need to do is build the furnace and start practicing immediately." "All right, we’ll go to your shop first, then I’ll take you two to my residence." Gang Zhishou promptly guided them to his shop, and once he had taken everything, the three departed the Xian Kingdom through the south gate. Upon arrival, Fa Zhen immediately questioned Zhang Fei. "Where is your residence located? How far is it from this capital?" "My residence is in the far south, and it will take two to three days if we go there using a flying artifact." Fa Zhen frowned upon hearing that, especially since it would take too long. However, he and Gang Zhisou suddenly sensed Zhang Fei’s aura surrounding them. Before they could ask him, he had already taken them away using his Nine Cloud Steps. Sometime later, they arrived in front of Zhang Fei’s residence, and the two men looked at him with expressions full of shock. After all, his cultivation was far below theirs, with their cultivation being in the seven divine realms, but he could transport them to such a far distance in just a few minutes. Fa Zhen immediately took a deep breath after returning to his senses. "No wonder Xian Feng and Yun Shang were so eager to get close to you; you have extraordinary abilities despite your young age and low cultivation." "Hahaha." Gang Zhishou laughed as he patted Zhang Fei’s shoulder. "Old Fa will help you build the formations, and I will help you build the forging furnace. I hope you can forge some equipment before the competition day, and I will take you there so that you can compete against the younger generation of the Divine Flame Realm." Zhang Fei nodded in response. "Don’t worry; I will train hard in these two months to fully prepare for the competition." "That’s good! I hope we will win the competition because the rewards will benefit us." "What formations do you wish to establish in your residence? Since I’m here now, I’ll help you set them all up at once, and I’ll return to the capital afterward." Zhang Fei immediately handed over some of his materials to Fa Zhen, and he also told him all the formations he wanted to use to protect his residence. "All right, leave them to me, but you must watch me when I set them up so you’ll understand the process better." "That’s for sure!" Zhang Fei then called one of them to bring the Zhishou Gang into their residence, and the old blacksmith was quite shocked to see the inside, especially after seeing the number of people inside. "Can we start now, Old Fa?" Fa Zhen nodded to Zhang Fei before surveying the surroundings of the residence. "Three of them are attack formations, so we can’t set them up in one place. I’ll set up the Five Elements Convergence Array and the Misty Phantom Array here, and you can trap and attack enemies from the front. As for the Thousand Sword Array and the Hundred Illusion Array, I will set both of them in the back area, and both can prevent enemies from trying to infiltrate from there. Installing the Nine Dragons Sealing Formation Array in the east and the Frozen Heaven Array in the west is more suitable." Since Fa Zhen was more senior and experienced in formation arrays, Zhang Fei immediately agreed with his decision. "What about the Qi Gathering Formation?" "Your Qi Gathering Array is just a basic array, and I will replace it with the Heavenly Qi Convergence array. It is a high intermediate array, and its effect is 10x stronger than yours." Zhang Fei’s eyes lit up after hearing that, and he asked Fa Shen for the method to create that array, especially since he also wanted to make one in his training space. "Let’s start now; I still have a lot of other things to do." Since most were only intermediate formation arrays, it was not difficult for a high-level array master like Fa Zhen to set them up. In less than two hours, he had already successfully set up two formations in Zhang Fei’s residence. After that, he continued to set up the two formations for the east and west areas, and it only took him a little over an hour to set them up. Zhang Fei then took Fa Zhen to the back of his residence, and he immediately set up the two formations as initially planned. After he had set up both of them, he set up the Heavenly Qi Convergence Array, covering the entire area of the residence so that everyone inside did not need to gather in one place to cultivate, and they could cultivate from their rooms. After installing everything, Fa Zhen installed the Golden Defensive Formation Array, his best protective formation array. Its creation was much more complicated than all previous formations, and it took quite a long time to prepare everything. Zhang Fei closely observed Fa Zhen as he prepared the formation. ’This formation is his best formation, huh? I guess Xian Feng asked him to use it.’ Once the preparations were complete, Fa Zhen immediately instructed Zhang Fei to arrange the materials in various corners of his residence as per his instructions, and he immediately proceeded with the creation process once all the materials had been placed in their respective positions. A golden dome enveloped the residence five hours later, indicating that the defensive formation was perfectly installed. Observing Fa Zhen’s extreme exhaustion from exerting so much Qi to create the formation, Zhang Fei promptly gave him some Qi recovery pills, shocking the old array master. "Old Fa, please keep them a secret, or Lian Jinshu will report it to the alchemy union, and those people will come here to bother me." "I know." Fa Zhen nodded in response. "Since everything is settled, I will return to the capital immediately." - To Be Continued -