Little Liar!

The words were spoken at noon, the fight was fought in the afternoon, and the people left that night.

Unfortunately, Chen Guan did not get to witness it firsthand.

Since the Back Mountain was a restricted area of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun had stopped him there. The same went for the sect's disciples—they had only heard the commotion and imagined the battle on the Back Mountain from the earth-shaking tremors.

At first, Chen Guan had been rather worried, but when he saw no sign of the Soul Hall interfering even after a long while, he did not pay it much attention.

Not until night blanketed the land did Jia Xingtian return from the Back Mountain, looking utterly refreshed, as though he had just stepped out of a bathhouse. He was practically one word away from having "satisfied" written across his face.

"Little Chen, I wasn't trying to undermine you on purpose. I was just honestly sightseeing on the Back Mountain. That old fellow Yun Shan came out on his own, and I only lightly knocked on the door to his cultivation chamber."

"And I timed it so that you should have finished discussing business before I made my move. Consider it showing you some support and flexing a little muscle. After all, business negotiations require strength as a foundation. Without strength to back it up, it's just one-sided exploitation."

Chen Guan clicked his tongue. He had never realized Jia Xingtian could talk this much too.

"You didn't use an earth-tier Dou Technique, did you?"

"Of course not. I'm not an idiot. I won't expose something like that unless it's a critical moment."

That was good.

The two quickened their pace and chatted casually along the way, both fairly satisfied with their trip to the Misty Cloud Sect.

At the Same Time, within the Misty Cloud Sect.

Pill King Gu He was in his room, pondering the information he had learned while chatting with Yun Leng earlier. His fingers lightly tapped against the armrest.

Two knocks sounded at the door. After receiving permission, Mo Cheng, the Great Elder of the Mo Family who had yet to leave, entered the room.

"Mo Cheng of the Mo Family greets the Pill King."

"Mm. The Great Elder told me that you wished to seek a Blood Burning Pill in exchange for a batch of precious medicinal ingredients. I have agreed to this matter, but I also hope you will not waste my pill."

The Blood Burning Pill was a fifth-tier medicinal pill.

After consuming it, one could greatly increase their strength for a short period. It was one of the trump cards that Dou Lings and Dou Kings liked to keep in reserve. Even a weaker Dou Emperor could raise their strength by one star with it.

Its side effect was that consuming the pill would burn one's blood essence, leaving the user weak for a period afterward.

Mo Cheng froze.

When did I ask for a Blood Burning Pill? How come I didn't know about this?

Fortunately, he was not truly foolish. After considering Gu He's words for a moment, he quickly understood.

"Yes, yes. Please rest assured, Pill King. I will certainly put it to perfect use!"

It was a windfall from the heavens. Refusing it would be letting himself down.

Though he knew that both Gu He and Yun Leng had their own motives.

That didn't matter. He himself was more than willing to accept this arrangement.

One was willing to strike, and the other was willing to take the blow.

After bestowing a Blood Burning Pill upon him, Gu He gazed through the doors and windows toward the Holy City and found an excuse for himself.

"I am merely cooperating with Yun Leng to help the Misty Cloud Sect win people over. As for everything else, I know nothing."

Three days later, at the Imperial Palace.

Chen Guan had come early in the morning to bid Yaoye farewell.

Now that everything was ready, he could hardly wait to head out and gain experience.

Though the Imperial Capital was safe, it always lacked a sense of urgency, and he could not undergo the tempering of blood and fire here. To accelerate his growth, Chen Guan had to go out and compete for opportunities.

Having already made up his mind, Chen Guan did not Beat Around the Bush after seeing Yaoye. He directly explained his purpose.

Yaoye was seated at her desk, bent over her work. Only after hearing him did she lift her head to glance at him.

"I agree, but you can't leave until you break through to Three-Star Da Dou Shi."

"Alright."

Chen Guan nodded and agreed without any hesitation.

His straightforwardness left Yaoye unable to understand him. From what she knew of him, once the Young Man made a decision, it should have been difficult to change.

She was deeply puzzled.

Fortunately, her confusion did not last long.

In less than Half an Hour, Chen Guan returned.

The difference was that he was now, astonishingly, a Three-Star Da Dou Shi! Yaoye did not even notice when the feather pen fell from her hand. She propped her delicate chin with one hand, doubting her life.

I'm so stupid. Really, I should have thought of this long ago.

Looking at the faintly smug Young Man, Yaoye turned her head away. "Get lost. Your wings have grown strong now, so I can't control you anymore."

She could once suppress him by force with her strength, but now, she was no longer even his match.

In truth, she was not overly worried that the Young Man would encounter too much danger. This fellow had quite a few trump cards, after all. She simply found it difficult to part with him.

Chen Guan did not simply run off as she told him to. Instead, he stepped forward and sat opposite her, boldly reaching out to turn Yaoye's head back toward him.

"Sister Yaoye, don't worry. I guarantee nothing will happen this time. At most, in a year and a half—no, one year—I'll be back. Same rule as before: a letter every half month."

Yaoye rolled her eyes at him but did not refuse, tacitly accepting the condition.

"Just be careful. There's less and less the imperial family can do to help you now. Do everything within your means. Oh, take Wang Yan and Wang Dalang with you. Let them handle troublesome matters in your daily life. Having them run errands is not bad either."

"Can they be trusted?"

"No problem. They were the two protecting you from behind last time. After you disappeared in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Wang Dalang risked his life to search for you and nearly died because of it. Of course, it never hurts to keep an extra eye out when it comes to truly important matters."

Chen Guan nodded seriously and agreed.

If Yaoye had not mentioned it today, he would never have known that someone had nearly died because of him.

Though it had been the other man's duty, Chen Guan still remembered this favor. He felt considerably less resistant to bringing them along.

"Understood. That's it, then. I won't go see Elder Jia. Sister Yaoye, tell him for me. I'll go bid Yue'er farewell at the Alchemist Guild, then leave directly."

Yaoye nodded and watched the Young Man leave.

Chen Guan was practically out the door when he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right. Sister Yaoye, send someone to wipe out the Mo Family in Salt City. There's a nest of filthy deeds hidden inside. Just looking at it disgusts me."

"Alright."

Yaoye did not ask further. She understood Chen Guan's temperament well enough—if he said so, then the Mo Family must have earned their death.

As for a reason, give her Five Minutes and she could casually come up with dozens, even hundreds.

With everything arranged, Chen Guan no longer lingered. He went to the Alchemist Guild, bid Yaoyue and Fama farewell, met up with the Wang brothers at the City Gate, and immediately departed.

Over the past month or so, ordinary citizens had rarely heard news about Chen Guan, but the major factions had been paying exceptional attention to him.

Sure enough, the moment he left the city, every faction received the news.

Mitel Teng Shan frowned and asked the steward, "What is Ya Fei doing?"

The steward replied, "Reporting to the clan leader, Ya Fei is hosting an auction."

Nothing wrong with that. An auctioneer naturally had to work properly.

Teng Shan had nothing more to say. The spark he had hoped for had not appeared, and that boy had not even returned to the Mitel Auction House afterward. It made his little scheme seem entirely unnecessary.

Fortunately, it had only been a casual move. Without a pleasant surprise, he was not overly disappointed.

Misty Cloud Sect.

Yun Yun was watching a strange battle in the training ground.

One side was a Dou King elder, while the other was an iron lump.

The scene was somewhat peculiar. The elder, with the strength of a Three-Star Dou King, could do nothing to the puppet, yet the puppet likewise could not threaten him.

Using Dou Qi Wings, the elder occupied the high ground. The puppet could only launch its attacks by hopping up and down. It really could jump high, but it looked utterly ridiculous.

The longer Yun Yun watched, the more she felt like laughing in exasperation.

Just then, Yun Yun received a message. She opened it and skimmed through it. Even with her composure, she gritted her silver teeth in anger and could not stop herself from cursing.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't leave the Imperial Capital for several years? Little Liar!"