"Again, at the mid-point of the month, as usual, the people from the Three Great Families and those from Qingshan Village met once more.
A monthly exchange had become the norm and was greatly beneficial to both parties.
However, unlike the first martial contest, when the villagers from Qingshan were completely suppressed, it seemed now that the villagers were the ones suppressing the members of the Three Great Families.
Of the Three Great Families, only three core disciples and individuals like Liu Jianâan and Wang Lingwei could more or less keep up; the others had gradually fallen behind, especially after Wang Sheng had taken them out.
The leaders who had brought the participants were the same three who had led the first team.
Jiang Xiu Cheng, the leader from the Jiang Family, looked at Liu Jianâan and others with a complex expression and said to the team leader Li Yongfeng, "Li Brother, the younger generation has improved quite rapidly!"
It hadnât been long before they had caught up with them.
"Jianâan and the others have been guided by him for a period of time!"
Li Yongfeng, too, was emotional; the strength of Liu Jianâan and the others had exceeded many of the Martial Artists in the village and were only slightly inferior to him.
Hearing his words, Jiang Xiu Cheng and the leaders from the other two families were envious.
To be mentored by that respectable person, let alone those children, even they themselves or the Grandmasters of their families were willing to do so, but such an honor was not available to everyone.
Just having a connection with that person was sufficient for them to feel quite content.
As their strength improved, the duration of the martial contests also increased, now totaling two days.
The final showdown was still between Liu Jianâan and Jiang Yuan.
Mostly, Jiang Yuan would win their battles, but this time, Jiang Yuan lost, and Liu Jianâan emerged victorious.
"Youâve caught up with me so quickly!"
Jiang Yuan knew that Liu Jianâan had excellent cultivation conditions and talent not inferior to his own. The previous gap was only due to their age difference, but catching up was only a matter of time.
However, he had not expected that day to come so soon.
"I was still close to losing!"
"Being close to losing is still winning; thatâs typical of your character," Jiang Yuan shook his head. "However, it has made me determined. I heard you went out on a trip this time, right?"
Liu Jianâan nodded.
"I need to go on a journey too. I was hesitant before, but seeing your progress, I think going out for experience isnât bad."
Liu Jianâan opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Jiang Yuan continued, "No need to say more, our family has always followed this practice of gaining experience; it was bound to happen."
Liu Jianâan fell silent.
Having gone out on a trip himself, he knew how dangerous the outside world was; if he hadnât had Uncle Wang with him, he might not have returned at all.
But looking at Jiang Yuan, Liu Jianâan guessed he probably wouldnât listen anyway.
In the end, all his thoughts turned into a long sigh, "Be careful, and letâs battle again later!"
"Of course, I may have lost this time, but I havenât given up. Wait and see, once I return from my adventures, I will defeat you!"
Jiang Yuan was spirited and unreserved, his youthful vigor not dampened by defeat.
The exchange between the two sides continued smoothly, but unbeknownst to them, all of this was being observed by two individuals.
"Those are the villagers from that once-small mountain village, right? In a span of a few years, they have Martial Artists nearly at the Sixth Grade. Indeed, theyâre not ordinary!"
If Wang Sheng had been there, he would have recognized that the speaker was the City Lord of Heavenly Saber City, now the Ming King, Jiang Dao, whom they had encountered during the conflict over the Fire Transformation Pearl!
"If they werenât exceptional, we wouldnât have come personally," Wu Qingfeng said expressionlessly, having anticipated such a development.
Jiang Dao didnât argue; the two of them were quite acquainted by now, and he knew what kind of person Wu Qingfeng was. Hence, he raised another question.
"If we do find him, what do you plan to do? Others might not be aware, but you should knowâheâs definitely strong. According to the intelligence, itâs very likely weâre no match for him!"
Wu Qingfeng glanced at Jiang Dao and then slowly spoke, "You always say Iâm hypocritical, but I think you are. Are we really not a match?"
"Youâre no fun, just joking around!" Jiang Dao laughed twice. The person in the shadows was certainly strong, and they might not have been able to face him before, but now... that was uncertain!
Besides, they were two people together.
No matter how strong he was, he couldnât reach the realm of a Master of Destiny!
After the exchange concluded, Li Yongfeng led the group toward Qingshan Village.
Jiang Dao and Wu Qingfeng naturally trailed behind.
Before long, Li Yongfeng had returned to Qingshan Village, and Jiang Dao with Wu Qingfeng had gotten a view of the village.
"Who wouldâve thought that deep within these mountains lies such a hidden paradise; is he really living in seclusion here?" Jiang Dao exclaimed as he looked at the thriving village.
"To see is to know," Wu Qingfeng replied indifferently.
However, just as the two were about to enter, a voice reached their ears.
"Are you looking for me?"
The moment they entered Qingshan Villageâs territory, Wang Sheng sensed their presence. In his perception, these two were not weaker than Zhu Xiao, perhaps even stronger.
Wang Sheng hadnât anticipated the sudden appearance of such high-level fighters.
Most importantly, he recognized themâthe top Great Grandmasters from Spirit Sword Valley and Heavenly Saber City.
But before this, these two hadnât been this strong!
For some reason, Wang Sheng thought of the Yuelai Inn Clan Elderâs wordsâit was probably related to claiming kingship and territorial division, which had likely increased their strength.