"That brat?"
Cao Zhengxiong's brows drew tightly together, a trace of complex, inscrutable emotion flashing through his eyes.
Anger, regret, perhaps even a sliver of longing long buried beneath the dust.
He snorted coldly. "Wenzhao, have you lost your mind? Back then, that brat was merely a rootless Rogue Cultivator from the Central Plains who had just broken through to the Body Realm. He took Yueying away, and for over thirty years there has been no word of them. We don't even know whether they're dead or alive. Even if he is still alive, how capable could he possibly be? You expect him to save my Cao Family? Hmph!"
His words carried mockery, but they also voiced everyone's thoughts.
A Rogue Cultivator who had only just broken through to the Body Realm thirty years ago would be doing extraordinarily well if he had reached Body Cultivation Grand Perfection by now. Though Body Cultivation Grand Perfection was powerful, without entering the realm of Qi and blood, how could he help the Cao Family? How could he resolve the extermination looming before them?
Yet Cao Wenzhao remained calm as he spoke slowly. "Who says he is merely a rootless Rogue Cultivator? That brat's name is Li Yanzong. He is the legitimate son of the Patriarch of a great family in Yang Province, Central Plains, and the future successor of that family. The Li Family is no weaker than our Cao Family."
Everyone, Cao Zhengxiong included, was stunned.
Cao Zhengxiong's brows knotted together. "Wenzhao, how did you learn this?"
Cao Wenzhao sighed and said quietly, "More than thirty years ago, when Yueying first arrived in the Central Plains, she sent me a letter."
"Then why have you never told me?"
There was a hint of reproach in Cao Zhengxiong's voice.
Cao Wenzhao gave