"Brother Qiang, be careful. Why don't we send someone to Clear Wind Stronghold to take a look first?"
Just as the Yuan Family's men began moving, a discordant voice rang out.
"What do you mean by that, A Xian? You don't trust Master Xu?" Yuan Qiang barked.
The man called A Xian said, "The three chiefs of Clear Wind Stronghold are no weaklings. Even if he's a Top Ten Heroes prodigy, he's still young. Wiping out Clear Wind Stronghold alone is hard to believe. What if they captured him and he's luring us over?"
Yuan Qiang froze. It wasn't impossible, but the possibility was practically nonexistent.
They weren't powerful experts or important figures. If Xu Yang really had been captured and betrayed them...
With Clear Wind Stronghold's strength, why would they go to all this trouble? Any band of their lackeys could wipe them out.
"If you're afraid to go, you can stay here."
Yuan Qiang snorted and led his men and their wagons toward Clear Wind Stronghold. A Xian gritted his teeth and followed.
After half an hour of travel, they reached the foot of Clear Wind Stronghold's mountain. Arrows were embedded everywhere; a fierce battle had clearly taken place.
"Master Xu fought his way in."
Yuan Qiang looked up. Halfway up the mountain, Clear Wind Stronghold's gates had been blasted open, leaving a huge hole. Not a single guard was in sight. A breeze blew down, carrying the thick reek of blood.
"Leave two men to watch the wagons. The rest of you, follow me inside."
Drawing the saber at his waist with a clang, Yuan Qiang charged up the mountainside.
As the captain of the Yuan Family's guards, he had been pushed up to the astral qi level through sheer expenditure of the family's resources.
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