Chapter 1: The Carefree Man

  The Xiangyao Mountain Villa, situated on the top of Shenglong Mountain, is quietly nestled among the green hills and waters. This is a mysterious villa with an extremely long history. In this ancient villa, there lives a family that has been far away from the worldly dust yet closely related to the rise and fall of the world. For over a hundred years, the family has followed the tradition of single succession, where each generation's male heir takes over the villa and is called Xiangyao when facing outsiders.

  Carefree Mountain Villa's Carefree

  In the cultural heritage of Sheng Long, there is a very unique culture, that is Chivalrous Culture.

  Kill one person in ten steps, travel a thousand miles for one promise.

  These swordsmen from the lowest level of society, unwilling to spend their lives with their faces in the dirt and their backs to the sky like most ordinary people, without noble blood or powerful connections to help them rise to greatness. The only way is to gather together, in this circle they have their own morality, their own laws; they use their swords, their blood, their lives to wait for the opportunity to gain wealth and glory, thus there is Jianghu, there is Wulin...

  They have no fear and no dread; they are also unable to be intimidated.

  They value loyalty and keep their promises.

  They can give up everything to repay the kindness they have received, and they can shed blood for five steps to prove their own worth.

  They rely on brute force and despise it at the same time.

  In times of peace, they use extremely means to achieve fairness and justice in their hearts; while when the country is in danger, those who are generous and brave enough to save the nation from peril are often them.

  "I and all of you officials knew each other from humble beginnings, rose to prominence in the wilderness, traversed the rivers and lakes, and achieved success in the imperial court!"

  "This is Sheng Taizu's confession about past events."

  Whether or not they are willing to admit it, the Holy Dragon Empire was established with the support of these butchered dogs who were looked down upon by the aristocratic families. This force has an astonishing vitality, and although a large purge was carried out in the imperial court after the founding of the country, among the people, it remains like grass on the field, impossible to eradicate.

  The founding emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire came from among them, and many of the civil and military officials of the Holy Dragon Empire also came from among them. The first generation of Xīyáng in Xiāoyáo Villa became a leader of this force.

  Since the establishment of the empire, the first generation of Xiao Yao has established a great merit and prestige, second only to the founding emperor Sheng Long Taizu. However, Xiao Yao was very clever, abandoned his official position, retired with honor, and avoided the usual calamity of cleaning up meritorious officials after seizing power in successive dynasties.

  The first generation of Tiān Yǐng has retreated, but the Tiān Chí Sword Sect he founded remains a significant force in the Jianghu. The emperors of Shèng Lóng have long wanted to eliminate this power, but it is deeply rooted in the lowest level of Shèng Lóng as an absolute symbol of "chivalrous culture circle", making the emperors dare not act rashly.

  These ninety-five supreme ones are very clear in their minds that no matter how much the royal family takes care of the noble families of Sheng Long, no matter how close their kinship is, and no matter how tightly the aristocratic families hold power and exclude commoners, they cannot resist the rioting of the entire empire's underclass - the previous dynasty was overthrown in such a riot, and the empire also rose to power with the help of such riots. And those who have the greatest ability to control this underclass are not government officials, but that "chivalrous culture circle", which is the Tiangong Sword Sect led by Xiao Yao, having absolute power over Jianghu and Wulin.

  The imperial court feared and relied on this force to some extent. As a result of the compromise between the two forces, the Holy Dragon Imperial Family tacitly allowed the existence of this force, while Xiao Yao promised that the Tianchi Sword Sect would stand up for the imperial family in times of crisis.

  Thus, Shengjing became the absolute heart of the Empire, with the center of the Overground Dynasty located within the majestic Holy Dragon Palace; while the center of the Underground Dynasty was quietly situated in the Xiangyang Mountain Villa on top of the Holy Dragon Mountain. The successors of the Overground Dynasty were the Holy Ancestors and their descendants; while the rulers of the Underground Dynasty were naturally the successive generations of Xiangyang, who were respectfully referred to as the Great Dragon Heads in the Jianghu.

  As the great dragon head, Xiao Yao has absolute power and is at the top of the underground kingdom's pyramid. Below the great dragon head is the Council of Elders, which assists the great dragon head in handling various matters and supervises the great dragon head in performing his duties. Next are the hall masters of the inner halls, who are responsible for maintaining the daily operation of the central underground kingdom. The local rudder masters, incense masters, and altar masters are like feudal officials, regularly reporting to the central government and accepting its audit and rewards and punishments. In addition, there are many gangs on the rivers and lakes that do not belong to the Tianchi Sword Sect, which are like vassal states of the empire, paying tribute to the great dragon head to show their loyalty.

  The operation of such a huge mechanism absolutely requires the big dragon head to have rich experience, absolute qualifications and prestige, as well as meticulousness and diligence in handling everything personally.

  However, this generation's Xiao Yao is the youngest in history and undoubtedly the laziest.

  All the previous Carefree Emperors had experienced more than 20 years of grassroots training before taking office, but this Carefree Emperor was only 15 years old when he took office; all the previous Carefree Emperors were very diligent, but this Carefree Emperor was a lazy person among lazy people.

  However, this did not affect his absolute rule over this underground kingdom at all.

  After the sudden death of the current master, 15-year-old Xiao Yao took over the family's power amidst the suspicious gaze of the elders in the gang. For a time, the Tianchi Sword Sect faced an unprecedented crisis.

  He's too young, and he always looks so languid, dazed, and lacking in spirit that it's impossible to mention him in the same breath as the ruler of the underground kingdom.

  The elders of the clan began to have different intentions, wanting to control the Son of Heaven to order the vassals; The masters of various platforms, rudders and incense in different places began to take power for themselves; The various large and small factions outside the Tianchi Sword Sect were even more eager to move, trying to take advantage of the situation to expand their territory and redivide the sphere of influence of the underground kingdom.

  The most serious thing is that the Emperor of Shenglong and the aristocratic families regard this matter as a great opportunity to eliminate the Tianchi Sword Sect, strongly supporting various forces, making the entire Jianghu in a state of panic and chaos.

  Three years!

  It only took three years!

  All those who underestimated Xiang Yang paid a heavy price.

  Three years later, on New Year's Eve, the carefree and seemingly foolish Xiang Yang suddenly struck, killing the chief elder who had come to visit him in his bedroom and treated him as a puppet. He then killed 35 leaders of the opposing faction within the gang who had come to attend the annual meeting, replacing their deputies with new ones and swearing allegiance to Xiang Yang.

  In this way, just three months later, Xiao Yao once again controlled the entire Tianchi Sword Sect.

  Six months later, the Tianchi Sword Sect, which had been keeping a low profile and seemed to have suffered greatly, suddenly launched an all-out war against external forces. Within fifteen days, seventy-eight gangs were annihilated, with thousands of people beheaded; all lost territories of the Tianchi Sword Sect were recovered, and local officials opposing the Tianchi Sword Sect disappeared one after another; the Holy Dragon Emperor and the masters of various wealthy families all received a letter of courtesy from the carefree.

  Just as everyone was in a state of panic and unable to decide whether to surrender or fight to the death, suddenly Xiang Yu's words were transmitted.

  The Underworld Kingdom reconvened and redivided the scope of interests. The surviving gangs joyfully accepted the territories of those who had been annihilated.

  The Holy Dragon Imperial Family has once again obtained a guarantee of loyalty from the carefree ones.

  The major tycoons discovered that agreeing with Xiang Yu's cooperation plan could bring in greater business profits.

  Emotions gave way to reason, hatred yielded to interests, yesterday's sworn enemies are now drinking and making merry together, the irreconcilable foes of the past have become today's equal and mutually beneficial friends.

  Thus, Xiangyang sat steadily on the dragon throne of the underground kingdom, issuing orders and holding power over life and death. Under his leadership, the Tianchi Sword Sect changed its previous style of being aloof and only loyal to the imperial court, and actively cooperated with other factions and major aristocratic families, with a vast commercial network covering the world, and an inseparable relationship with officials and nobles, far surpassing that of his father's generation.

  Although Xiangyao was still a young man in white clothes, with scattered hair and a lazy smile, people no longer dared to be disrespectful.

  In people's eyes, every move of Xiao Yao contains profound meaning, even the warmest smile seems to contain the coldest killing intent.

  This generation of Xiao Yao, after being awarded the honor of being the youngest, laziest and most absent-minded Xiao Yao in history, was also crowned as the coldest-blooded, cruelest and most despicable Xiao Yao.

  Everyone around Xiao Yao is trembling with fear, everyone's heart is in their throat, and the Xiao Yao Manor has become a symbol of terror, a place of death.

  However, today's Peach Garden came with a provocative person, he wore a python robe, tiger back and bear waist, although he was already over 60 years old, but still had an intimidating presence.

  He walked up to the gate of Xiangyang Mountain Villa and shouted loudly:

  "Xiaoyao, get out here and return my daughter!"