Departure and Deterrence

Inside the study of the Hyde Clan!

Vincent put away his thoughts, looked at his eldest and second sons with a serious expression, and said, "Alright, since that lord has decided not to take you two as disciples, you should put away those little schemes of yours.

You both know the current state of our Hyde Clan; one wrong move, and we could end up facing the destruction of our home and family.

Now that your fifth brother has been accepted by a powerhouse, I intend to have Lord Zhao Nan take him away.

Once he has achieved success in his studies, he will return to our Hyde Clan to help us clear out the parasites within our ranks!"

After hearing their father's words, the two Hyde brothers fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.

They were no longer young and had already begun assisting Vincent in managing the affairs of the Hyde Clan, so they were well aware of the situation within the family.

It could be said that the current Hyde Clan was beset by both internal and external troubles.

Externally, the various nobles of the Hanmu Kingdom coveted the Hyde Clan's weapon business.

One must know that as a clan with a five-thousand-year heritage, the Hyde Clan had always been engaged in the weapon forging industry, and many secret techniques and forging processes belonged solely to them.

But precisely because of this, a clan without a powerhouse to protect it would always attract the attention of others once the profits became substantial enough.

As for the internal troubles, it was naturally due to the large number of Hyde Clan members and the unreasonable distribution of benefits, which allowed many ambitious individuals to see an opportunity.

And it was precisely because of these internal members of the Hyde Clan that the predatory forces outside were incited to covet their assets.

After all, the reputation of the Four Ultimate Warriors was still very prominent on the Yulan Continent, and no one would dare to provoke the Hyde Clan without concrete information.

Who knew if there were some ancient, undying monsters hiding within the clan?

However, it was a different story once internal members started leaking information.

By now, the high-ranking officials within the Hanmu Kingdom all knew that the Hyde Clan no longer possessed the glory of the Four Ultimate Warriors from the past.

The strongest person in the clan was only a warrior of the sixth rank.

It was precisely because they understood this situation that Zhao Nan's arrival had such a significant impact.

After the father and his two sons talked for a while longer, they left the study one after another.

Although Zhao Nan could perceive the situation inside the Hyde family study, he did not bother to listen to what they were discussing.

In this world where great power is concentrated in one's own person, any scheme can be shattered by sheer force.

Therefore, Zhao Nan did not pay attention to the affairs of the Hyde family, but instead lowered his head to bond with Ace Hyde.

Although Zhao Nan was not yet twenty years old, when combined with the experiences of his past life, he was nearly forty, which was exactly the age when one starts to enjoy the company of children.

Ace was very well-behaved and did not fuss or cry.

This made Zhao Nan like him very much.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. At the main gate of the Hyde Clan, Zhao Nan held Ace by the hand and said to Vincent, "Mr. Vincent, rest assured, I will take good care of Ace.

Once Ace is capable of standing on his own, I will have him return to find you.

Of course, once Ace learns to write, I will also have him write letters to you."

After hearing Zhao Nan's words, Vincent nodded and thanked him, then hugged Ace, patted his head, and said, "Then, I will leave it to you, Mr. Zhao Nan!"

"Haha, even a journey of a thousand miles must come to an end.

Mr. Vincent, we shall meet again if fate allows!"

After saying this, Zhao Nan picked up Ace and soared directly into the sky, flying toward the distance.

With Zhao Nan's actions, everyone in the Hyde Clan instantly realized that Zhao Nan was actually a Saint-level powerhouse.

In an instant, the entire Hyde Clan began to tremble, and even the entire Hanmu Kingdom began to shake.

One must know that on the current Yulan Continent, a Saint-level expert could be called the strongest of the strong.

After all, God-level powerhouses rarely appeared in the outside world.

Likewise, the news that Ace Hyde had been accepted as a disciple by a Saint-level powerhouse reached the ears of many interested parties immediately.

This caused the schemes against the Hyde Clan to fall into a state of stagnation for the time being.

After leaving Hyde Ridge, Zhao Nan landed on the ground, turned his head to look back at the ridge, and muttered to himself, "For the sake of little Ace, I'll do you a favor!"

Indeed, Zhao Nan did it on purpose.

Although Zhao Nan had not listened to Vincent's conversation, combining the original story with the scene he had seen of the Hyde Clan, it was clear that the Hyde Clan must have undergone massive changes during the years of Linley's rise.

As for what those changes were, Zhao Nan did not investigate, but he knew it must have been due to conflicts of interest.

In a large forest, there are all kinds of birds.

A clan as vast as the Hyde Clan, without a pillar of strength to support it, was bound to run into problems.

After saying this, Zhao Nan first set Ace aside, then took out a map from his interspatial ring and began to examine it.

This time, Zhao Nan's target was none other than the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory.

According to the records in the original story, the descendants of the Undying Warrior Amanda Clan lived within the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory.

The five brothers of the Amanda family were the eldest Barker, the second Ankh, the third Hazer, the fourth Boone, and the fifth Gates.

According to the records in the original work, among the five brothers, it was only the fifth brother, Gates, who had slightly better comprehension.

But it was only slightly better, nothing more.

Originally, Zhao Nan had intended to take the descendants of the Four Ultimate Warriors as his disciples, thereby sharing their bloodlines.

However, after taking in Linley and Ace, both SSS-level disciples, Zhao Nan had unconsciously raised the standards for his own disciples.

If nothing else, they at least had to reach the S-level, the level of becoming a god on their own!

Therefore, after picking up the map and looking at the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory, Zhao Nan was momentarily stunned.

But Zhao Nan only froze for a moment before quickly recovering.

In the end, he still decided to go and find the five brothers.

After all, a great man once said: without investigation, there is no right to speak!

If he hadn't even met the five brothers himself, how could he know what their specific levels were?

With this thought in mind, Zhao Nan paid for a carriage and purchased some daily necessities, then took on the role of the coachman himself, driving the carriage as it swayed toward the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory.

This time, Zhao Nan did not go looking for any merchant caravans, choosing instead to travel alone.

It wasn't that he couldn't find one, but given Zhao Nan's current strength, there was no longer any need to care about the protection of a caravan.

Furthermore, Zhao Nan didn't believe any caravan would follow him.

One had to know, Zhao Nan was planning to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range!