A flaming sun rose slowly amidst purple mist, emitting dazzling rays to the surroundings. It was like a huge round plate that hung high above the horizon far away.
From the military camp, a group of people on horses charged out to head to the prefecture.
After learning a lesson from the incident where soldiers were obstructed halfway and killed, a huge team escorted Ou Yangming this time.
Although the military’s commanding generals could not easily leave the camp, apart from the North Camp’s commanding general, the other four generals had actually sent their respective Guards Captains.
Needless to say, Guards Captain Mei Jianyi from the East Camp was actually there to escort the Ni family young masters instead of Ou Yangming.
As for Guards Captain Wu Guotu from the Middle Camp, Guards Captain Yu Hailiang from the South Camp, and Guards Captain Liu Zhengye from the West Camp, they were naturally there to escort Ou Yangming.
Master Ou had been intercepted once before. Though the attacker failed and lost his life, it was like a slap in their faces. If a similar incident took place again, the military camp would really lose its face.
Wu Guotu was the only Yang Grade powerhouse other than the five generals in the camp, and while Yu Hailiang and the other captains were not in Yang Grade yet, they had a cultivation base at the peak of Yin Grade Class Five. With them joining hands together, and with assistance from numerous soldiers, if someone like Zhang Yinli attacked again, that person would be dead for sure.
Ou Yangming traveled by horse. He was not adept in horsemanship, but Ni Yinghong had kindly picked an elite war horse for him, so as long as he sat on it steadily, it would gallop with the rest of the squad without falling behind even if he did not ride it.
They traveled at the speed of light till afternoon, where they took a break at a shaded area. As soon as they finished their lunch, Ou Yangming asked impatiently, “Captain Wu, can we hit the road already?”.
After all, Wu Guotong was Middle Camp’s Guards captain, hence he was considered the person in charge.
He looked at Ou Yangming strangely and asked, “Master Ou, don’t you want to take a
break?”
The captain would not have looked at Ou Yangming in the eye if he had urged him in the past. However, Ou Yangming defeated Ni Yunhong in a smithing challenge, and even killed Zhang Yinli, a Yang Grade powerhouse, in the dense forest, thus Wu Guotu dared not belittle him anymore.
Ou Yangming shook his head. “Saving a person is like saving a fire, the sooner, the better.”
‘A bit of hard work is obviously not worth mentioning for tough men in the military, but what about the Ni family siblings?’ Wu Guotu nodded, but wondered. Not far away, a middle-aged man scoffed and said, “General Wu, it’s a bit too rushed to set out again now, the young masters from my clan are still resting…”
“There’s no need to.” Ni Yunhong stood up to cut him off. “Let’s leave now, and the faster, the better.”
The middle-aged man was stunned. He dared not disobey Ni Yunhong even though he was displeased, so he responded to the young master softly. That said, the middle-aged man could not hide his hatred for Ou Yangming when he looked up at him.
Ou Yangming smiled bitterly and said to himself, ‘I can’t believe that I offended someone again for no reason.’
Nonetheless, he always kept Old Craftsman in his mind. Ou Yangming wanted very badly to have wings so that he could hurry to the Ni residence in the prefecture to retrieve the spiritual medicine. Therefore, he could not care less about offending insignificant people.
With that, everyone continued to travel day and night, and spurred their horses to full speed. On the third day, they finally arrived at the prefecture.
Looking at it from afar, it was a magnificent giant city, but the wall around it was roughly 3 meters tall. It was Ou Yangming’s first time seeing such a gigantic structure, but he did not have time to admire it, so he looked at Ni Yunhong after taking two glances at the wall.
While he had promised Ni Yinghong to do this, the person who was really in charge was unquestionably the smithing master.
Ni Yunhong grinned when he noticed Ou Yangming looked at him. “Brother Ou, don’t worry, we won’t delay this.”
He naturally understood how eager Ou Yangming was, and honestly, his desire for the legacy in the forbidden area was not at all lesser than Ou Yangming’s yearning.
Wu Guotu cupped his hands at the other people and said, “Everyone, we’ve arrived at the prefecture. We have to report to the military, so we’ll make a move first.”
Following that, the Guards captains and the soldiers whipped their reins to ride their horses away.
They were officers and soldiers from the military, after all, so they must not desert their post. Although it was easy to find an excuse to leave, they must report to the military since they had arrived at the prefecture.
Ni Yunhong watched them leave, then said, “Brother Ou, please.”
They soon entered the city and arrived at a grand residence.
Once they entered the residence, someone brought Ou Yangming to a side room to rest.
Ou Yangming was as anxious as an ant on fire, but he controlled himself and waited quietly in the room.
In the main hall at the Ni residence’s main room, around ten powerhouses gathered, each of them carrying a rich, substance-like aura. Some auras were valiant and sharp, some were as cold as ice, and some were like a blazing fire that kept people away.
Everyone present was a Yang Grade powerhouse.
It was worth noting that each Yang Grade powerhouse was also known as a tyrant in an area, but there were only six people in the military camp whose cultivation base was at that level. On the other hand, there were already more than ten of them present in the Ni family’s Elders Meeting.
Indeed, the Ni family’s profoundness was far beyond comparable for ordinary families.
Right then, a middle-aged woman asked with a deep voice, “Great Elder, why have you gathered us here?”
The leader seemed to be a roughly 40-year-old man; he was the Ni family’s great elder, Ni Xueshu. He sighed and responded, “Elders, I have something that I dare not decide, so I called for this Elders Meeting to get your opinions.”
Everyone else exchanged glances as they were rather surprised.
Another outspoken man stood up and asked, “You’re the Ni family’s great elder, what is it that even you can’t decide?”.
Ni Xueshu smiled bitterly and answered, “Yunhong and Yinghong have returned, and they… Want to open the Testimony Path.”
“What?”
Once Ni Xueshu finished his sentence, the other elders were in an uproar.
“No, that mustn’t be allowed!”
“It’s true that Yunhong’s a rare genius in our clan, but it’s still too early for him to walk the Testimony Path.”
“What do you mean that it’s too early? Idiot, did you forget that one has to have the cultivation base of at least Yin Grade to walk the path? I wasn’t informed that Yunhong has advanced to Yin Grade.”
“You old fart, who are you calling an idiot? You’re the biggest idiot!”
“Uhm.” Ni Xueshu cleared his throat then said, “Everyone, please keep in mind where we’re at now.”
The two raging men, who looked like they were ready to fight at any time, instantly trembled and lowered their heads as if they were done venting their anger.
As long as a clan was of a certain scale, some members would oppose each other in all sorts of matters regardless of the seriousness. After many generations, those clan members might eventually become enemies too.
Of course, the rest of the clan would turn a blind eye to them so long as they did not collude with outsiders to harm those in the clan.
Ni Xueshu shook his head and added, “When Yunhong and Yinhai visited the Immense Forest Military Camp this time, not only did they invite Elder Xuehai, who studies medicine art intensively, but they also took three Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills.”
The hall was dead silent immediately after the great elder spoke, and an extremely odd atmosphere filled the air.
A Life-prolonging Spiritual Pill was not just an ordinary item; it was one of the most valuable resources in the clan. Each of the spiritual pills was expensively made, and they were one of the best weapons used by the clan for diplomacy.
Even though three Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills were far from anything serious, they were still resources that must not be treated lightly.
Besides, based on Ni Yunhong and his young sister’s position in the clan, as well as how they were doted on by the three great ancestors, it did not matter if they took only three spiritual pills. Nevertheless, if they had taken them without asking, the other people would more or less have a knot in their hearts.
Ni Xueshu shook his head and continued, “I’m able to bear it if only three Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills are needed, but based on Ni Yunhong’s tone, I think he’s asking for more.”
The woman who had spoken first earlier asked, “Did he say what they’re for?”
“Yunhong said he made a friend at the Immense Forest Military Camp, and that friend of his has a senior whose life is hanging by the thread. Hence, Yunhong asked Elder Xuehai to the camp, and used Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills to prolong the senior’s life,” Ni Xueshu quickly answered, then glance at the other elders before he said, “Yunhong has returned, but he asked Elder Xuehai to remain at the military camp, and requested for ten more of those spiritual pills in one go.”
The other elders looked at each other in disapproval.
If only three Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills were requested, none of the elders would have said anything, even if they were displeased. However, they could not sit by idly anymore if Ni Yunhong were to use more than ten of those pills.
“Ah, Yunhong is such an innocent child.” One of the elders sighed. “His friend only became friends with him to go after the spiritual pills. Heh, I’m doubtful if his friend’s senior is actually ill.”
Another elder laughed. “If the senior faked an illness, Elder Xuehai would’ve found out, but I’m sure they lied to Yunhong to get the spiritual pills. Hmph, how can they be so daring? Their offense is unforgivable.”
The elders were in a heated discussion, and their remarks implied the same thing.
Ni Yunhong and his younger sister were too young, and were deceived by outsiders who took advantage of their feelings to obtain the Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills from their clan.
Nonetheless, no matter how they criticized, nobody dared to denounce the siblings directly.
The big man from before stood up and assured, “Everyone, Yunhong and his younger sister are definitely not reckless people. Perhaps there’s an inevitable reason behind what they’re doing.”
“Ah, no matter what the reason is, it’s too much to ask for ten Life-prolonging Spiritual Pills in one go,” a skinny elder expressed plainly.
His statement was instantly agreed upon by many people.
The big man furrowed his eyebrows deeply and suggested, “Everyone, since they’ve returned, why don’t we ask them to come to explain? What do you think?”
Everyone else looked at each other, and none of them objected to the suggestion.
“Alright,” Ni Xueshu uttered, then gave the order. After some time, Ni Yunhong and his younger sister arrived together.
