When Zi Changhe appeared, the masked men were greatly frightened and immediately tried to flee. Unfortunately for them, not a single one of them was able to leave. Zi Changhe was a late-stage Transformation Realm expert. He moved at a remarkable speed, and only flashes of his body could be seen before all the masked men were already dead.
After killing the masked men, Zi Changhe arrived before Xiang Shaoyun. He lifted Xiang Shaoyun and placed him on the elder wolf.
"Little White." Xiang Shaoyun was still awake and did not forget Little White even as Zi Changhe was taking him away. Little White wasn't injured too badly so he directly hopped onto the elder wolf as well.
"Where did this brat come from? Get off me!" the elder wolf scolded.
"Howl!"
Suddenly, a tiger's roar escaped Little White's mouth. At that instant, the elder wolf sensed a peculiar aura of kings. The aura caused him to tremble, and he quickly shut his mouth in fear. When Zi Changhe saw Little White, he was somewhat astonished. "Striped tiger cub?"
"Senior brother, s-stop bothering about Little White for now. Give me a healing pill. I'm hurting badly!" Xiang Shaoyun said. Zi Changhe did not hesitate and immediately fed Xiang Shaoyun a healing pill. Shortly after, they started their journey back to the Martial Hall Palace.
Zi Changhe brought Xiang Shaoyun straight toward his elder's estate. There, he allowed Xiang Shaoyun to sit down in meditation and heal. As for Zi Changhe, he stood guard nearby. Inwardly, he thought to himself, This kid sure is growing quickly. It has only been a month or so and he's already a first-stage Astral Realm cultivator. Looks like his trip to the Hundred Beast Mountain Range has been a bountiful one.
After about two hours, Xiang Shaoyun finally stopped meditating. He felt much better now.
"Thanks, senior brother, for your help!" Xiang Shaoyun thanked Zi Changhe gratefully.
"I'm your senior brother. Can I leave you there to die?" Zi Changhe said. He paused for a bit before continuing, "I also need to thank Lu Xiaoqing. If it wasn't for that girl, I wouldn't have known what the Wu Clan did to you."
"Lu Xiaoqing?" Xiang Shaoyun cried out in astonishment.
"Yeah, about a month ago, she told the eleventh elder about what had happened. Then, the eleventh elder managed to contact me. At that time, I paid the Wu Clan a visit, but they insisted that they hadn't done anything so there was nothing I could do. I eventually found out that all the people sent for you were dead. That was how I found out you had survived their hunt. Someone must have saved you, right?" Zi Changhe asked.
"Someone saved me? I don't think so?" Xiang Shaoyun muttered before proceeding to give Zi Changhe a rough description of what had happened that day. "And that was how this young master escaped—with my wits. Do I even need to be rescued?"
Zi Changhe sank into a short silence before saying, "No, someone must have helped you in secret. Otherwise, with the speed of those people, they would've been able to catch up with you."
Xiang Shaoyun found Zi Changhe's argument logical, and a figure surfaced in his mind as he thought to himself, Is it him?
"Looks like you must have guessed who that person is. But I won't ask too much about your private affairs. Just make sure to be careful in everything you do. The Wu Clan is quite influential within Wu Town. Even I wouldn’t dare to move casually against them. Try not to leave the Martial Hall Palace unless you have to," Zi Changhe warned.
"They are the ones provoking me, and I have to sit around idly? That is not the kind of person I am," Xiang Shaoyun grumbled unhappily.
"Sure, you can do something if you want. But first, you need the strength to do so. Although the Wu Clan does not have as many Transformation Realm cultivators as the Martial Hall Palace, they still have a considerable number of them," Zi Changhe said.
"Just you wait. If they dare try something against me again, I will definitely exterminate their entire clan in the future," Xiang Shaoyun declared with a ruthless glint in his eyes. Just because he had defeated Wu Mingliang, they were trying to kill him? That was too vicious! But since they were so vicious, they couldn't blame him for remembering this grudge.
"Talk after you deal with your present troubles," Zi Changhe said. He then continued, "After you defeated Wu Mingliang, his two elder brothers have been preparing to make a move against you. Unlike the outer court disciples, we don't prohibit private battles between inner court disciples. Furthermore, they are both personal disciple of elders, making their status similar to yours. It won't be proper for me to interfere in this conflict."
"Private battles between inner court disciples are not prohibited? Great!" Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed joyfully.
"You are too overconfident. Of the two elder brothers of Wu Mingliang, one is a second-stage Astral Realm cultivator on the cusps of reaching third stage. The other is one of the most remarkable personal disciples within the Martial Hall Palace," Zi Changhe reminded. He then continued, "I once told you that I would impart something to you when you reached the Astral Realm. Now, it's time for me to fulfill my promise."
"Wait, I'm still hurting!" Xiang Shaoyun cried out in alarm.
"I'm not starting immediately. We'll start tomorrow. And when you reach late-stage Astral Realm, I will take you to meet our master. At that time, not even the Wu Clan will dare to try anything against you anymore," Zi Changhe said. Then, he turned around and left Xiang Shaoyun.
As for Xiang Shaoyun, he sank into contemplation as he muttered, "So Wu Mingliang still has two elder brothers here? Looks like I won't have an easy time here for now. But that is also good for me. I can use them as my stepping stones!"
...
Wu Clan Estate.
Wu Hongxi was bellowing furiously at the main hall, "Damn that Zi Changhe! He dares to spoil our plan? Is he looking down on the Wu Clan?"
The few underlings Zi Changhe had killed were all Astral Realm experts. Coupled with those killed a month ago, the Wu Clan had suffered quite a bit of losses trying to capture Xiang Shaoyun. Wu Hongxi placed all the blame squarely on Zi Changhe.
"Father, it is pointless to be angry now. That Zi Changhe is clearly protecting Xiang Shaoyun. Should we give up?" said Wu Mingliang. His injuries had mostly healed by now. After a month, his injuries had healed and his strength had also increased, reaching first-stage Astral Realm.
"Forget? How can we forget about it! Who does that Zi Changhe think he is? He is merely relying on his identity as a disciple of a master already at the Cloud Margin City. He really thinks we are scared of that old fool? If he pushes us too far, we will kill him as well!" Wu Hongxi said with a ruthless light in his eyes. After a slight pause, he added, "Since Xiang Shaoyun is back, you should return to the Martial Hall Palace as well. Tell your two elder brothers to capture Xiang Shaoyun and bring him home at all cost!"
"Yes, Father. I will go right now," Wu Mingliang answered and left. Wu Mingliang had barely left when Wu Hongxi arrived at the rear court of their estate. This was where their patriarch resided.
Wu Hongxi entered the room, and with shame, he said to the old man seated on a praying mat, "Father, your child is useless for failing to capture Xiang Shaoyun two times in a row."
The old man looked to be about 80 years old, but in truth, he was over 100 years old. This was Wu Fuxiang, the head of Wu Town.
"I know your capabilities well. You have handled this poorly." Wu Fuxiang sighed with disappointment before adding, "Contact the thirteenth elder of Martial Hall Palace. Let me have a talk with him. There are things we definitely can't afford to wait for."
"Yes, Father," Wu Hongxi complied.