"Sigh, if back then the Young Master hadnât stubbornly gone his own way, dead set on following that idiot Dan Tai Xuan, and had instead broken out of Qingyang Pass like Fang Zhe, things wouldnât have ended up like this, right." The Changsun Family, Song Qu and several other familiesâ disciples looked at the highâspirited Zhang Family crowd opposite them and spoke in unison.
Unfortunately, thereâs no such thing as regret medicine in this world; whatever you say now is already too late.
Mu Hanyan led a group of noble familiesâ sons out of Beining Pass and set off on the return journey. At the moment of parting, she looked once more at that mistâshrouded gorge.
Suddenly, a black shadow sprang out, and from afar, seeing Mu Hanyan, it let out a series of beastly roars.
"Clang!" Seeing an Exotic Beast again, nearly all the noble familiesâ sons drew their Longswords at the same time.
"Donât make a move." Mu Hanyan instead waved her hand to stop them.
Qiongqiâthe Exotic Beast running from afarâwasnât it exactly Xia Youchenâs Qiongqi Divine Beast, that one which only ate vegetables, not meat, loved peace, didnât fight, and wouldnât kill? How could it be here?
Although this Little Qiongqi was all false reputation and was simply a disgrace to the Four Great Fierce Beasts, even Mu Hanyan often felt sorry for Xia Youchen because of it, still, as a Sword Pet, under normal circumstances it absolutely would not stray far from Xia Youchen, unless Xia Youchen was dead, or something major had happened.
At her side, Ye Yanran had clearly thought of the same thing; her face turned pale.
"Why did you run over here, whereâs my greatâgrandâancestor?" Ye Yanran grabbed the Little Qiongqi that had pounced up to her, asking frantically.
"Awoo..." Little Qiongqi ignored her. It first let out a long howl, then grabbed Mu Hanyanâs hem and babbled out a stream of beast language.
"What is it saying?" Ye Yanran froze for a moment and looked to Mu Hanyan for help; she couldnât understand beast speech.
"Senior Xia is still alive, heâs just besieged and canât break free. Weâre going to rescue him immediately." Mu Hanyan said quickly.
Although when she first met Xia Youchen they had been more enemies than friends, later at Flying Peak, Xia Youchen had gone to every length to shield Tang Bufan and Fen Qianji, risking his life to save them, which greatly changed her impression of him, and the two could be considered friends despite the age gap. Later, after she learned of the grudges and entanglements between Xia Youchen and Ye Yanranâs maternal greatâgrandmother, Mu Hanyan felt even more sympathy for him. Even if only for Ye Yanranâs sake, she would step in to save him.
Hearing Mu Hanyanâs words, Little Qiongqi let out a few cheers, then turned and ran back toward Longyan Mountain. In just the blink of an eye, its figure was already dozens of zhang away.
Mu Hanyan paused slightly. At this speed, it was almost no slower than a Sword Saint expert using Wind Control Skill. So this fellow wasnât completely useless after all; at least its escape ability was firstârate.
Although she could rely on those Five Great Magical Instruments to forcibly raise her strength to the Sword Saint realm, she couldnât stay boosted all the time, and in terms of pure speed she really couldnât catch up to it.
Huayue and the others had already taken a step out, but seeing this, their bodies also halted and they smiled wryly at the same time. With this kind of speed that even Mu Hanyan couldnât match, they had no way at all.
"Iâll go with you." Ye Lanfeng said as he formed a Hand Formation.
Mu Hanyan, Huayue and the others only felt their feet grow light, and their bodies floated up.
"You go back to the Capital on your own. I still have some matters to attend to." Mu Hanyan gave a brief instruction to Mu Chengxuan and the others, then chased after Little Qiongqi.
With just a few rises and falls, several figures disappeared from sight.
Mu Chengxuan and the others looked at one another. At first, when they heard Mu Hanyan say she was going to save someone, whether Mu Familyâs Disciples or disciples from the other families, their blood all boiled, and some had even drawn their Longswords in uncontrollable excitement. But when they subsequently saw the speed of Mu Hanyan and the others under the blessing of Wind Control Skill, they could only helplessly sheathe their blades again.
"Brother Mu, what should we do now?" He Qingzong asked Mu Chengxuan somewhat at a loss.
They didnât know when it had started, but the disciples of the major families, including each familyâs Young Master, all took Mu Hanyan as their one and only leader. Now that she had suddenly left, they felt as though they had lost their backbone; their minds were unexpectedly blank.
"The Young Master told us to head back first, so letâs go back first." Mu Chengxuan thought for a moment and said.
"Oh right, Young Master Mu told us to return to the Capital ourselves, so letâs head back first." He Qingzong finally woke up as if from a dream, slapped his forehead hard, and nodded repeatedly.
Immediately, everyone followed Mu Hanyanâs instructions and returned to the Capital on their own.
Before leaving, Zhang Chihua couldnât help but glance again in the direction Mu Hanyan and the others had gone, his heart filled with emotion. Although the ranking of the Eight Great Families still had to wait for the elders of the various Capital families and His Majesty the Emperor to deliberate, at least regarding the ownership of the First Family title, their deliberations werenât all that important. Just looking at how everyone followed Mu Hanyanâs orders without question, one could tell that the position of First Family could belong to no one but the Mu Family!
Meeting Mu Hanyan must be the luckiest thing in my entire life. Zhang Chihua glanced again at the highâspirited Zhangchiâs descendants behind him, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
...
While the group of noble familiesâ sons was returning to the Capital, Mu Hanyanâs party was gradually entering the depths of Longyan Mountain.
Little Qiongqi was worried about Xia Youchenâs safety. It stretched out its four legs and sprinted wildly, its speed as swift as the wind. Though this fellow was often unreliable, it truly cared a great deal about the safety of its "dad," Xia Youchen.
Although Ye Lanfengâs strength was great, he couldnât continuously bless everyone with Wind Control Skill. Fortunately, Mu Hanyan herself carried the Green Cloud Feather, which could also greatly increase speed. Relying on Ye Lanfengâs intermittent blessing of Wind Control Skill and the Magic Artifact power of the Green Cloud Feather, they were able to stay right behind Little Qiongqi.
Unknowingly, several days had passed. In these few days, apart from occasionally resting briefly to replenish some dry rations and water, they had practically not stopped at all as they raced after Little Qiongqi.
Though Mu Hanyan and the othersâ strength had greatly improved by now, after running wildly for days on end, they still couldnât avoid feeling somewhat exhausted.
Fortunately, they had Ye Yanran. Whenever everyone was utterly exhausted, Ye Yanran would once again activate her Heavenly Rain Divine Healing Innate Divine Ability. Under that golden rain of light, everyoneâs fatigue immediately vanished, even more effective than taking a Ten-Complete Replenishing Pill. It turned out that besides its miraculous healing effect, this Heavenly Rain Divine Healing Technique could also rapidly replenish Qi and restore stamina.
As for her, she remained spirited and brimming with energy. Even when Mu Hanyan was so tired she could barely endure, there wasnât the slightest trace of fatigue on Ye Yanranâs face.
The only regretful thing was that her strength hadnât improved much; up to now she was still only a Second-level Sword Master. But that was normalâthe Heaven and Earth Rules are fair to everyone. Even if she was borrowing the hidden power in Mu Hanyanâs body, her Innate Divine Ability was simply too heavenâdefying. Strictly speaking, even Huayue and the othersâ Innate Divine Abilities might not compare to hers. If her own cultivation also advanced by leaps and bounds, then even Mu Hanyan would have to keep her distance when facing her.
Judging by the distance, they had now penetrated hundreds of thousands of li into Longyan Mountain. Although they had not yet entered the very core region, they were already deep within its heartland.