Departure and Deterrence

Inside the Hyde family's study!

Vincent put aside his thoughts and looked seriously at his eldest and second sons. "All right. Since that lord won't take either of you as his disciple, you should put those thoughts out of your heads.

"You both know about some of the problems within the Hyde family. One wrong move, and we could end up losing everything.

"Now that your fifth brother has entered a powerful master's tutelage, I plan to ask Lord Zhao Nan to take him away.

"Once he has learned enough, he can return and help us root out the family's parasites!"

The two Hyde brothers fell silent at their father's words, then nodded in agreement.

They were no longer young, and had already begun helping Vincent manage the Hyde family's affairs. They knew its situation well.

The Hyde family was facing troubles both within and without.

Outside the family, the great nobles of the Hanmu Kingdom coveted its weapons business.

The Hyde family had been forging weapons for five thousand years. Many of the secret methods and forging techniques belonged exclusively to them.

But that was precisely the problem. When a family without a powerful protector earned enough profit, it was bound to attract the attention of others.

The trouble within the family came from its many members and the unfair distribution of benefits, which had given ambitious people an opportunity.

And it was those members of the Hyde family who had alerted the ravenous outsiders and made them covet the family's wealth.

After all, the Four Ultimate Warriors were still renowned across the Yulan Continent. No one would provoke the Hyde family without firm evidence.

Who knew whether the family might be hiding some immortal old monster?

But things were different when insiders leaked information.

By now, the Hanmu Kingdom's leaders all knew that the Hyde family had lost the glory it had once enjoyed as one of the Four Ultimate Warriors.

The strongest person in the family was only a sixth-rank warrior.

That was precisely why Zhao Nan's arrival had such a great impact.

After talking for a while longer, the three father and sons left the study.

Although Zhao Nan could sense what was happening inside the Hyde family's study, he hadn't listened in on their conversation.

In this world, where power was concentrated in the hands of the strong, any scheme could be crushed by sheer force.

So Zhao Nan didn't concern himself with the Hyde family's affairs. Instead, he focused on bonding with Ace Hyde.

Zhao Nan was under twenty, but thanks to his past life, he was nearly forty in spirit—the perfect age to dote on a child.

Ace was well-behaved, never making a fuss.

Zhao Nan liked him very much.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. At the Hyde family's gate, Zhao Nan held Ace's hand and spoke to Vincent. "Don't worry, Mr. Vincent. I'll take good care of Ace.

"Once he can stand on his own, I'll have him come back to you.

"And once he learns to write, I'll have him send you letters, too."

Vincent nodded and thanked Zhao Nan. Then he took Ace in his arms and stroked his head before saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Zhao Nan!"

"Haha, even a thousand-mile journey must end in parting.

"Mr. Vincent, until we meet again!"

After speaking, Zhao Nan picked Ace up and flew off into the distance.

At Zhao Nan's display, everyone in the Hyde family realized at once that he was a Saint-level expert.

The entire Hyde family was thrown into an uproar, and soon the whole Hanmu Kingdom was shaken as well.

After all, Saint-level experts were considered the strongest beings on the Yulan Continent.

Divine-level experts rarely appeared in the outside world.

At the same time, news that Ace Hyde had become the disciple of a Saint-level expert reached the ears of many interested parties.

For a time, their plans against the Hyde family ground to a halt.

After leaving Hyde Ridge, Zhao Nan descended to the ground and looked back at it. "For little Ace's sake, I'll give you a hand!"

That was right—Zhao Nan had done it on purpose.

Although he hadn't listened to Vincent and the others, he knew from the original story—and from what he'd seen of the Hyde family—that great changes would surely befall the family during the years of Linley's rise.

Zhao Nan hadn't investigated what those changes would be, but he knew they would certainly have to do with competing interests.

A big forest had all kinds of birds.

The Hyde family was huge, and without a pillar of strength to hold it together, trouble was inevitable.

After saying this, Zhao Nan set Ace down beside him, then took a map from his Space Ring and studied it.

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

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

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

According to the original story, Gates was the only one of the five brothers with somewhat better aptitude.

But only somewhat better.

At first, Zhao Nan had planned to take disciples descended from the Four Ultimate Warriors and share their bloodlines.

But after taking Linley and Ace as SSS-rank disciples, his standards had unconsciously risen.

At the very least, they had to be S-rank—the kind who could become gods on their own!

So, when Zhao Nan picked up the map and saw the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory, he found himself staring at it in a daze.

But he was only dazed for a moment before snapping out of it.

In the end, he still decided to seek out the five brothers.

After all, as a great man once said: "Without investigation, you have no right to speak!"

He hadn't even met the five brothers. How could he know what level they were?

Once he'd made up his mind, Zhao Nan bought a carriage and stocked up on supplies. Then he took the reins himself and drove off toward the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory.

This time, Zhao Nan didn't look for a caravan. He set off alone.

It wasn't that he couldn't find one. It was just that, with his current strength, he no longer needed to worry about whether a caravan would protect him.

Besides, Zhao Nan didn't believe any caravan would travel with him.

After all, he planned to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range!