Li Xiang sat cross-legged before the low table. On the bed, Dijiang lay with all four paws in the air, its round belly rising and falling with its breathing. It snored softly, its tail twitching now and then, lost in some unknown sweet dream.
The night deepened.
Li Xiang was about to finish cultivating and go to sleep when [Autumn Wind Stirs Not, Cicada Senses First] suddenly trembled deep within his Sea of Consciousness.
It was not a warning of danger.
Instead, it was a strange perception: someone had approached the wooden cabin without giving off the slightest fluctuation of vital energy.
Had this passive talent not been keen enough, he would never have noticed anything unusual.
Creeeak!
Someone pushed the wooden door open from outside.
A man stood beyond it.
He wore a dark blue robe, with a two-foot beard beneath his chin and thick, swordlike brows. His square face bore a grave composure, weathered by the years yet commanding respect without anger.
Guan Yue.
Li Xiang's pupils contracted. His seated body did not move, but his spine tensed in an instant.
It was not fear.
It was surprise.
Guan Yue had secluded himself and refused all visitors. Guan Ying had personally stood guard at the residence's entrance with the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Eleven leaders had sought an audience in vain, and all of Yiling City was discussing the chief leader's movements.
Yet here was the World's Number One Grandmaster, appearing in the room of a junior like him.
"Alliance Leader Guan?"
Li Xiang rose from behind the low table and cupped his fists in salute.
Guan Yue did not look at him.
His gaze settled on the yellow ball of fur curled up on the bed, utterly defenseless.
Dijiang was still snoring.
The young Hundun, disguised as