Undercurrents Stirring

In the Han Family's main hall, Han Fei helped Han Qishan into the seat of honor. He then checked Han Qishan's injuries and finally relaxed after confirming that there was nothing seriously wrong.

Qi Xuanxuan asked, "Han Fei, Pang Shuai was clearly the one who injured Uncle Han. Why didn't you teach him a lesson? Why did you target his father instead?"

Han Fei said, "Because he is a Core Disciple of Class Eighty-Seven, and also my senior brother. If I attacked him, it would be insubordination and against the rules of the Tianyuan Divine Sect."

Qi Xuanxuan said dismissively, "Quite a few people in the sect have been injured by you. And didn't you notice that the group of black-clad people who attacked us the day before yesterday were all graduates of our divine sect?"

Han Fei revealed a faint smile. "That's different. They are martial traitors, while Xue Shuai is still a Core Disciple of Class Eighty-Seven. He is my fellow disciple."

At the same time, in the Pang Family's main hall, Pang Ren's face was grim. Pang Jun was tending to his injuries, while Pang Shuai stood silently before the window.

Pang Ren said angrily, "No matter what, I can't swallow this insult. We must avenge this grudge."

Pang Shuai frowned. "How? Leaving aside Qi Xuanxuan's special status, even Han Fei's value far exceeds mine. Unless we want the Pang Family wiped out, we'd better swallow this insult."

Pang Ren roared, "Isn't it ultimately because you're inferior to him? If your value were higher than Han Fei's, would our Pang Family have to suffer this humiliation? Useless trash..."

Pang Shuai suddenly turned around, his eyes like those of a wild beast as he stared fixedly at Pang Ren. In that instant, Pang Ren even felt intense killing intent.

He stammered, "Y-you, what are you trying to do?"

Pang Shuai said coldly, "Don't shout at me again, or I'll take apart your bones. Because of you, my future has been ruined. I offended the eldest daughter of the Tianyuan Divine Sect—do you think I'll have an easy life from now on?"

Pang Ren was speechless.

At that moment, the guards stationed on either side of the door were sent flying directly into the hall, where they collapsed unconscious on the ground.

The scene startled all three people in the hall.

"Who is it?"

Two masked women in black robes slowly entered the hall. One walked ahead of the other, making their mistress-servant relationship obvious.

If Han Fei had been there, he would have recognized the black-clad woman walking behind, who looked like a servant, as the woman who had saved him that night.

Pang Shuai said coldly, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Pang residence?"

As he spoke, Pang Shuai circulated his spiritual energy and stepped forward, his left hand gripping his sheathed sword while his right hand grasped its hilt.

At that moment, the woman behind slightly tilted her head and instantly transformed into a black shadow.

Before Pang Shuai could even complete his step, and with his sword only half drawn, a powerful force shoved it back into its Sword Sheath. At the same time, the woman's right arm pressed against Pang Shuai's throat.

Bang! Pang Shuai had only just stepped forward and had not even seen the other party's movement before being slammed against the wall beside the window.

The black-clad woman pinned Pang Shuai firmly with her right elbow, leaving him unable to move. Her left palm pressed against his sword hilt while her knee drove into his abdomen, completely restraining him.

The leading woman glanced at Pang Shuai. "Perhaps you are a Core Disciple in the Tianyuan Divine Sect, but in my eyes, you are nothing. If you dare point that piece of junk at me again, don't blame me for taking your life."

With that, the woman waved her hand, signaling for Pang Shuai to be released.

The black-clad servant woman took a step back and released Pang Shuai, then stood respectfully behind the woman.

Even if Pang Ren had been a fool, he could still tell the situation apart now.

"May I ask what brings you two to the Pang residence? If there is anything we can help with, the Pang Family will certainly spare no effort."

The woman said softly, "It's nothing much. We heard that the Pang Family had been humiliated, so we came to offer some help."

As she spoke, the woman sat on a side chair, and a golden token appeared in her hand.

Pang Ren trembled as he picked up the token. One side bore the image of a cloud, while the other had the three words Asura Hall written on it.

"Asura Hall?"

Pang Ren clearly had no idea what Asura Hall was.

He did not know, but Pang Shuai beside him shuddered in fright.

"Hasn't Asura Hall disappeared for a long time? How could it suddenly appear?"

As he spoke, Pang Shuai shook his head. "No, the Tianyuan Divine Sect is investigating Asura Hall. If they learn that the Pang Family is colluding with an evil sect, our entire family will be exterminated."

The woman snapped angrily, "What righteous sect and evil sect? Who declared you righteous? And who branded us as evil? These titles are just things people call one another. It was only because the Tianyuan Divine Sect won that great war a hundred years ago. If our Asura Hall had won, then the Tianyuan Divine Sect would be the evil sect today, wouldn't it?"

As she spoke, the woman slowly walked up to Pang Shuai. "Besides, what can the Tianyuan Divine Sect offer you? Now that you have offended the Saintess Qi Xuanxuan, do you think you can still remain in the Tianyuan Divine Sect in the future?"

Pang Shuai's gaze darkened. "What exactly is Asura Hall's purpose? What do you need me to do?"

The woman spread her hands. "What do you think you can do? To tell you the truth, with your cultivation at the sixth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, you are no different from an ant in my eyes."

"Of course, you are not entirely useless. After all, you are still a Core Disciple of the Tianyuan Divine Sect, so you have some use. From today onward, I need to know every development in the Inner Sect. I even need to know which missions each Core Disciple accepts."

Pang Shuai frowned. "That's all?"

The woman nodded. "That's all. In return, I will give you Asura Hall's top cultivation techniques, allowing you to rapidly increase your cultivation. If you contribute enough to Asura Hall in the future, I can even have someone directly empower you."

Pang Shuai was tempted. Empowerment was the most direct method of improvement. Although there was a high chance it would permanently prevent further advancement, it could allow someone to reach a realm they had only dreamed of.

Take Pang Shuai, for example. He knew that even if he spent his entire life cultivating, he would at most reach the Martial Origin Realm. He did not even know whether he could reach the Martial Origin Realm at all. But if someone empowered him and used their own cultivation to elevate him, things would be different. Pang Shuai could even directly reach a very high level of the Martial Origin Realm.

Before Pang Shuai could agree, Pang Ren spoke first. "I agree. From now on, the Pang Family will work for Asura Hall."

The woman nodded. "A wise man submits to circumstances. From now on, the Pang Family should also win over more forces and prepare for the future. Of course, you cannot use Asura Hall's name when recruiting them. I assume you understand that."

Pang Shuai said, "Naturally. When will Asura Hall go to war with the Tianyuan Divine Sect?"

The woman snorted coldly. "Don't ask what you should not ask. If you want to learn certain secrets, work hard to increase your value. Take this communication stone. Send me a voice transmission directly if there is important news."

After saying that, the woman turned and left.

In the depths of that night, no one besides the Pang father and son knew of this transaction. Meanwhile, a dark cloud was gradually shrouding the Tianyuan region.

At dawn, Han Fei slowly woke up. He had not cultivated that night. He had chatted late into the night with a group of Ancient Gods in the Primordial Group before falling deeply asleep.

The feeling was rare. Han Fei could no longer remember the last time he had slept. Every night, he relied on meditation to pass the time, but this sudden sleep left him feeling unusually comfortable.

However, the moment he opened his eyes, he was startled. Qi Xuanxuan was lowering her head, her face less than an inch away from Han Fei's.

Han Fei jumped in fright. "What are you doing so early in the morning?"

Qi Xuanxuan said with a smile, "You really are lazy. There's an A-rank mission near the capital. Let's go take care of it."

Han Fei frowned. "What mission?"

Taking the mission scroll Qi Xuanxuan handed him, Han Fei slowly began reading.

"A-rank mission: Clean House. Target: former Digui Peak Hidden Guard Squad Sixty-Three, five members in total."

Further down was detailed information about this group of martial traitors.

Han Fei sighed. "It really is an A-rank mission. The leader is actually at the fifth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, and there are four more at the fourth level. Xuanxuan, you really think highly of me."

Qi Xuanxuan stuck out her tongue. "Is this difficult for you? According to the mission hall's steward, they are relying on their squad's high cultivation and do not fear the East Continent Empire's imperial family at all. You should know that the East Continent Empire's ruler is only at the sixth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm. This squad truly has no reason to fear them."

Han Fei shook his head. "That's different. The royal family has a large army, after all. If they were besieged by a group of Innate Realm experts, even if they were all at the fifth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, they might not survive."

Just then, Han Fei and Qi Xuanxuan heard a guard outside shout, "The Emperor has arrived..."

Han Fei glanced at Qi Xuanxuan. "Xuanxuan, you were right. The Emperor really came in person."