Everyone advanced

"Don't be surprised, and don't try to circulate your True Qi. The Fire Evil Poison has been cured. Of course, it wasn't done the way you're imagining.

"Your clothes have been changed too, but my maid did that. In a few days, I'll refine some pills to help you recover your strength." A gentle voice reached her ears. Zi Yun looked up and saw the boy she had met earlier.

"How did you cure my poison?" Zi Yun asked coldly, not trusting Tang Yan.

"Why should I tell you? All you need to remember is that you weren't violated. If you don't believe me, check for yourself." Tang Yan shrugged and continued:

"I know you're about to say you'll kill me if I don't tell you, but your Dantian can't use True Qi right now, so you can't beat me. And don't threaten to kill yourself either. That won't work on me."

Zi Yun seethed at Tang Yan's shameless words. Still, she really didn't seem to feel any discomfort of that sort, and her heart finally settled a little. She glared at Tang Yan. "You wouldn't dare. If I ever find out you did anything to me, I won't let you off."

Hearing this, Tang Yan said irritably, "First, I saved you. If you don't believe me, you can go kill yourself. Second, don't threaten me. If you annoy me, I'll throw you out of my house. You're so beautiful, yet you don't even have the strength to truss a chicken. If some thug violates you then, don't blame me."

Zi Yun's cheeks puffed up with anger at his words, but she had the sense to shut her mouth, merely cursing Tang Yan ten thousand times in her heart.

Only after Zi Yun fell silent did Tang Yan say, "Stay with the Tang Family for now. Once your strength recovers, you're free to stay or leave. I'm going to train."

With that, Tang Yan left the room.

Watching his retreating back, Zi Yun sat alone in a daze. Could there really be a Liu Xiahui in this world, a man who could hold a woman in his lap without succumbing to temptation?

Old Master Tang had been smiling much more often lately.

His son had been missing for years, and his grandson had never amounted to anything. Having no worthy successor to the Tang Family had become a great weight on Tang Ling's heart.

Then Tang Yan's Dantian had been crippled, extinguishing Old Master Tang's last hopes. All he had wanted afterward was to use every ounce of his strength to protect his grandson and give him a peaceful life.

Now, Tang Yan had somehow stumbled into a pile of dog-shit luck and become the disciple of a mysterious master. Not only had his Dantian been restored, but his strength had reached origin tier eighth grade. Suddenly, Old Master Tang had something to look forward to again.

Old Master Tang even felt decades younger. Every day, he brought out the potted plants he had neglected for years and trimmed them.

"Master! Master!" Just as Old Master Tang was tending a pot of orchids in his study, Uncle Mo rushed inside.

Old Master Tang knew his old friend's temperament well. Unless something truly urgent had happened, he would never act so rashly.

"Brother Mo, calm down, calm down. What happened? Has that brat Tang Yan caused trouble again?"

"No, no!" Uncle Mo was beside himself with excitement, his aged face glowing. "The young master hasn't caused trouble. He's done something meritorious!"

"Something meritorious? What did he do?" Relieved that it wasn't trouble, Old Master Tang hurriedly pressed him.

"After the eldest young master reprimanded the guards at the Drill Grounds last time, he began overseeing their training. Do you remember that?" Uncle Mo asked with an air of mystery.

"Stop keeping me in suspense. What happened to those guards?" Old Master Tang urged.

"All one hundred and twenty guards broke through their previous realms today and reached yellow tier first grade!" Uncle Mo exclaimed.

"Oh, what's the fuss? Isn't advancing perfectly normal? Give the man who advanced better compensation and some proper encouragement." Old Master Tang waved impatiently. Then, suddenly realizing what he had heard, he froze.

He grabbed Uncle Mo and roared, "What did you just say? All one hundred and twenty guards have reached yellow tier first grade? Is that true?"

"Ahem, Master, calm down, calm down. Let's talk this through. I only heard it from that boy Yan Jun. I rushed straight here to report it, so who knows whether it's true?" After being shaken about by Tang Ling, Uncle Mo felt as though his old bones were about to come apart.

"Come on, enough talk. Let's go see the Drill Grounds!" Old Master Tang grabbed his old friend's hand and hurried outside.

Yan Jun was an upright boy who had never been careless about important matters. Old Master Tang didn't believe he would make a joke of something like this and already half believed the news. Yet he had never dared imagine such a glorious sight: all one hundred and twenty guards reaching the yellow tier.

The two old men hurried to the Drill Grounds. Before they even entered, they sensed the concentrated presence within. Tang Ling and Uncle Mo exchanged startled looks. Both had reached the profound tier and could sense changes in the surrounding aura with great clarity. Weren't those many presences inside precisely those of Yellow Tier warriors?

Suppressing his astonishment, Tang Ling drew a deep breath and pushed open the gates to the Drill Grounds.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Uncle Mo!"

Seeing the two old men enter, the guards greeted them in unison.

Tang Ling smiled and nodded to them, then asked in a ringing voice, "I hear you've all advanced?"

"Reporting to the master, all one hundred and twenty Tang Family soldiers have reached yellow tier first grade!" Mo Yanjun ran over, excitement on his face as well. Turning his head, he roared, "Form ranks!"

Whoosh! In moments, all one hundred and twenty men stood in the open space with their heads high and chests out, perfectly aligned and brimming with vigor.

"On my command, perform a set of the Tang Family Fist!" Mo Yanjun roared. "Ready! Begin!"

"Hah! Ha! Ha!" At Mo Yanjun's command, the Tang Family soldiers swiftly began performing the Tang Family Fist. One hundred and twenty Yellow Tier warriors gathered their qi and demonstrated their martial arts together. Fierce winds swept across the grounds, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Old Master Tang was already dumbstruck. He examined them one by one. This one was yellow tier, and so was that one. This one was yellow tier too. Yellow tier! Yellow tier... every last one of them!

By the time Old Master Tang had carefully checked all one hundred and twenty Tang Family soldiers, his eyes had gone vacant, as though he were dreaming.

Uncle Mo was no better off. Hearing Mo Yanjun's report that morning was one thing, but seeing one hundred and twenty Yellow Tier warriors with his own eyes left him just as indescribably shaken.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Old Master Tang offered praise several times in succession. Having weathered great storms in his life, Tang Ling forcibly suppressed his wild joy and astonishment, called Mo Yanjun over, and asked quietly, "Yan Jun, how did these guards improve their strength?"

Old Master Tang had forced his way into the ranks of Cloud City's four great lineages, so he was certainly no fool. More than a hundred men had all reached the yellow tier overnight. That defied common sense. They must have encountered some other opportunity.

"Yan Jun, hurry and tell us what happened," Uncle Mo urged from beside him.