After Leng Junfeng recovered, his strength had skyrocketed to the peak of the Body Transformation Realm and briefly touched upon the threshold of the Acupoint Opening Realm despite being at the early Bone Refinement Stage. In other words, under the Acupoint Opening Realm, he was invincible. At least in one-on-one battles in the Allfist Realm.
Leng Junfeng still shared many of the weaknesses his fellow Allfist Realm denizens shared, such as the inability to defeat a large number of enemies in a short amount of time or fend off a large group of people with the same strength. However, those weaknesses would soon be removed when Fenghua taught him new techniques once he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Still, for the remainder of the war, Leng Junfeng moved uncontested and killed many of the field generals to the point that the Gu Dynasty army sent out their martial grandmasters early. In addition, Leng Junfeng attracted the hatred and attention of the fifth prince, Gu Dulong, because of this.
Surprisingly, both sides had three martial grandmasters if Fenghua was excluded. It was obvious that the Gu Dynasty's three martial grandmasters were stronger, not only in skill but in equipment as well. The Gu Dynasty would have had the upper hand had the martial grandmaster that met Fenghua not foolishly tried to attack her.
Fenghua didn't plan to participate at all originally, but who told someone to annoy her constantly? As a result, the battle between the two sides reached a strange equilibrium due to Fenghua severely injuring the martial grandmaster who tried to attack her.
Overall, the inclusion of martial grandmasters in the war didn't affect the overall situation. The reason was that that the martial grandmasters were fighting their counterparts and could not kill the commanders on the other side. If Fenghua hadn't retaliated, the situation would have been very different.
In this environment, Leng Junfeng was like a fish in water, attacking and retreating wherever he pleased. Naturally, he wasn't stupid enough to show up at the martial grandmaster's battlefield and seek abuse or injury.
Just as it seemed that the Li Dynasty army would overwhelm the Gu Dynasty army, a major change occurred. It could be said to be expected, yet unexpected.
The army under the imperial family's control suffered a huge loss. A third of their field generals suddenly died in battle, resulting in the Gu Dynasty army taking advantage and eliminating nearly half of the imperial family's soldiers. As a result, the Gu Dynasty won the battle that day, and the prime minister's army had twice the power of the imperial family's army, gaining a significant amount of say in the war plans.
As a result of the shocking change, the battlefield between the two sides reached a strange equilibrium. Furthermore, there were rumors of a traitor in the ranks of the soldiers. However, the upper echelon who had ugly expressions knew that it was no spy.
The prime minister's faction had backstabbed them.
Still, the upper echelons of the imperial family's faction did nothing to stop the rumors. After all, to the common soldiers, it was better to say a spy had caused this rather than being backstabbed by their fellow countrymen. Only this debt of blood was deeply imprinted into their minds.
There was no doubt that the factional dispute in the Li Dynasty would intensify after the war ended between both dynasties.
As for Leng Junfeng? After his identity got exposed and he displayed his increased strength, nothing really changed. First of all, he was just a special task squad member, so he had no true power in the army. In addition, he was seen more as a hero by the soldiers since his actions directly aided them in winning the war.
Under the baptism of war, Leng Junfeng's battle prowess increased, from the speed of his strikes, intuition, judgment ability, and many more. Although he suffered some injuries, they only served to motivate him even more.
The war continued for months, with both sides gaining advantages and disadvantages. Near the end of the fall season, both sides recalled their soldiers as winter began to arrive. Neither side had thought of continuing the war during winter. History had taught them that waging wars in winter was a horrible idea. Plus, with the war going on for months, the rations were beginning to run low, and wars couldn't be fought on an empty stomach after all.
Compared to the soldiers who were sighing in relief or in disappointment for not winning the war, Leng Junfeng had a heavy heart as he trekked towards Chang'an, the capital of the Li Dynasty. He knew that with the exposure of his true identity, the Teng Family would attack him.
Leng Junfeng had no hope that the imperial family would shield him from the Teng Family. First of all, their power had greatly decreased with the loss of their faction's soldiers, and even if he contributed much to the war effort, the war wasn't won. If the war had been won, it might have been a different story, but history had ifs.
When Leng Junfeng returned to Chang'an, he shut himself in the Gong Ducal Establishment and didn't leave. He planned to adjust to his peak condition before calling forth the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Tribulation, but before he could, an event happened. It couldn't be called major, nor could it be called minor.
"Mei'er, come back with papa." Wang Ming said to his daughter, who was standing behind the opened gates of the Gong Ducal Establishment.
"Father," Wang Meilin called out coldly, causing Wang Ming's eyes to nearly pop out from shock. His daughter had never addressed him so coldly before. "Did you sell out the Leng Clan?"
Wang Ming stiffened. He had come over to the Gong Ducal Establishment to get his daughter to return and continue the marriage. He nearly had a heart attack when she ran away. Luckily, he never told her who her fiance was, so when she came to the capital, she was quickly caught by the Teng Family. Still, Wang Ming never expected to be questioned by his daughter like this.
With an ugly expression, Wang Ming said, "Did that Leng Junfeng rascal tell you this? Trust me, would your papa do such a thing?"
The disappointment in Wang Meilin's eyes deepened. "Don't lie to me, father. I have already investigated. Aside from you, all the other cultivators who had deep relationships with the Leng Clan were killed or missing. Why is it only you that survived? Not only that, you have a deep relationship with the Teng Family that murdered the Leng Clan!"
There was an unhealthy pallor on Wang Ming's face as he heard those words. "Mei'er, you're wrong. It isn't that I betrayed them, but your Uncle Leng that betrayed me first!"
"Uncle Leng betrayed you?!" Wang Meilin said in disbelief. How good Leng Junfeng's father to her uncle, she knew. As long as he had two of anything, he would share them with her father. She'd known the likelihood of her father betraying the Leng Clan was greater.
"Hah! He called me his sworn brother, and he always said he would do everything to help me! He knew that my greatest desire was to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm, but he didn't help me!" Wang Ming roared with a tint of madness in his eyes. His desire to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm had already become an obsession.
"Uncle Leng always shared what he had with you. Father, you must not rush your cultivation." Wang Meilin said, her brows furrowed. Even though she looked down on her father's actions, he was still her father, so she helpfully reminded him.
Wang Ming laughed and then gazed at Wang Meilin with a hint of jealousy. "He did share many things with me, but he didn't share the most important one! The Leng Clan has a treasure that will allow a peak martial master to step into the Acupoint Opening Realm, but my 'good' brother didn't share it with me!"
Wang Meilin's mouth hung open, speechless by her father's shamelessness. After she grew up, she realized how much her father was taking from the Leng Clan without giving anything back. She had even felt guilty and asked her father to betroth her to Leng Junfeng. Even though he couldn't cultivate at the time, she felt that his personality was not bad. Besides, she was a cultivator and had the talent to enter the Acupoint Opening Realm. What were a hundred years to her?
However, Wang Ming had just smiled and said for her to not worry about it and that he had his own plans. Wang Meilin just never expected his plan to be this. For how long had he been planning to betray the Leng Clan?
"Father, I never expected you to be so shameless. Not only have you sold me, but you even hated Uncle Leng after everything he's done for you. Don't say he deserved it. You took and only took without giving anything in return. If I were Uncle Leng, I would have long stopped being friends with you!"
By now, a large crowd had gathered and were watching the show with excitement. If there had been popcorn, many in the crowd would have eaten while watching. In fact, Fenghua was watching all this in the sky while snacking.
Wang Ming's face turned red from anger. "A child like you won't understand!"
"I know I don't understand a lot of things in the world, but at least I understand not to betray my friends!" Wang Meilin shouted back, not wanting to back down.
"You will understand in the future." Wang Ming said as he leaped towards Wang Meilin, his hands stretched out. Clearly, he wanted to take her by force. However, to his surprise, it was deflected by his daughter.
"Mei'er, you've improved again?!" Wang Ming said, his voice surprised and shocked. Soon, that shock turned to calmness. Even if she didn't personally participate, watching a war would change anyone, especially cultivators. It wasn't a surprise that Wang Meilin would enter the stage next stage. "Unfortunately, I'm still stronger."
Wang Meilin felt her body freeze as she felt the horrifying pressure emitted from her father. Just as Wang Ming's hand was about to catch, a fist struck out from behind Wang Meilin and caused Wang Ming's movements to halt.
"Junfeng!" Wang Ming shouted in surprise. "How is a cultivation waste like you so powerful?!"
Leng Junfeng's face darkened at Wang Ming's words, and the air around him became frosty. "Uncle Wang, no... Wang Ming, so that's how you've always thought of me."
"Hmpf, I thought it was just the imperial family tooting up your abilities to save some face, but I never expected it to be true." Wang Ming said, but the disdain in his eyes wasn't hidden at all.
"You should know, under the Acupoint Opening Realm, I am invincible." Leng Junfeng said as he shifted into a martial stance.
Wang Ming gave a meaningful smile. He raised his arms in an open manner and roared, immediately qi was released from his body and covered him. Unlike the faint trace of qi from martial masters, this qi wasn't illusionary.
"You've reached the Acupoint Opening Realm?" Leng Junfeng questioned, but he didn't show any signs of fear.
Wang Ming's smile disappeared, disappointed by Leng Junfeng's lack of reaction. Then his smile returned. "It's no thanks to your father. If your father had helped me enter the Acupoint Opening Realm, the Leng Clan wouldn't have become like this, hahaha."
A trace of anger flashed by Leng Junfeng's eyes. "Hmpf, even if my father had a treasure that can help you enter the Acupoint Opening Realm, using it on a white-eyed wolf like you is a waste! Who knows if you would repay gratitude with enmity or not."
"Brat, just because you can cultivate now doesn't mean you know the immensity of heaven!" Wang Ming said as he and Leng Junfeng began to duke it out.
In the sky, Fenghua tsked. "After the protagonist becomes invincible in his realm, someone from a higher realm becomes his opponent."
The two cultivators below fought for ten minutes straight. It was obvious that Wang Ming held the upper hand, but due to the vigorous nature of Leng Junfeng's Dragon Elephant Transformation cultivation method, his body was far stronger than those in the same realm. At least in the Huang Realm.
No matter how inconceivable Wang Ming found it, he discovered that he couldn't defeat the former cultivation waste in a short amount of time despite entering the Acupoint Opening Realm. This fact made Wang Ming's heart envious to the extreme. As time passed, the moves he unleashed became more and more lethal.
Just when it looked like Leng Junfeng couldn't hold on anymore, someone appeared in front of the two and blocked their attacks perfectly.
"Enough. Mr. Wang, causing trouble in the imperial capital so blatantly, do you have the imperial family in your heart at all?" The voice was that of a man's, but it was unnaturally shrill.
"Eunuch Feng." Wang Ming said with wariness. Eunuch Feng was a longtime martial grandmaster that served the imperial family since the previous emperor.
"Even if you are a martial grandmaster, don't blame me for not being polite if you don't scram!" Eunuch Feng's words didn't leave any face for Wang Ming at all.
Wang Ming was furious, but he knew that he couldn't beat the man in front of him. If he was a peak martial grandmaster, would a lowly eunuch dare to cause trouble for him? "I can leave, but I must take my daughter with me."
"Mr. Wang, who in the capital doesn't know that Miss Wang doesn't want to marry Teng Wuba. You, as her father, don't care for her thoughts at all. Can you even call yourself her father?" The ridicule was blatant, causing Wang Ming's face to redden. Whether it was embarrassment or anger was unknown.
Wang Ming glared at the crowd before glaring at Leng Junfeng and Wang Meilin. Right now, he even had a hint of hatred towards his daughter. "Unfilial daughter, I've treated you so well all these years, and this is how you repay me? Mark my words. Don't come back to me when you regret it!"
Saying those words, Wang Ming flung his sleeves and jumped away.
Fenghua sneered. On the surface, Wang Ming appeared to be a good father who doted on his daughter, but when his interests were affected, he would use her with only a momentary hesitation. She didn't know if Wang Ming knew about the Teng Family's plan for Wang Meilin, but Fenghua doubted it would cause him to change his mind. She could sense the flames of jealousy burning within him.
"I wonder what the Teng Family's next move would be?" Fenghua answered. She got her answer in a month as soldiers stormed the Gong Ducal Establishment.
"Leng Junfeng! For the betrayal and leaking military secrets to the Gu Dynasty, you are under arrest!"
