They looked toward the sound and discovered a young man slowly sitting up on the artificial hill. Their angle of view had hidden him before, but now they could see him.
Clapping as he went, Hou Niao slowly descended the artificial hill, immediately putting Young Master Duan's party on edge.
Among them, Wang Zuo was an ordinary mortal employed by the city authorities; the two retainers were Heaven-Connecting Realm cultivators, but neither was a Shanmen Sword Cultivator. Within the Quanzhen Sect, no one, however lofty their position, dared use the sect's own Sword Cultivators as servants. This was an ironclad rule.
Young Master Duan had yet to attain Profound Connection. For a Lineage scion like him, advancing to the Upper Realm of Profound Connection was not difficult; the difficulty lay in choosing a method.
Should he rise through his own ability? Or use the merchants' approach and pile up resources to push himself upward? Vacillating like this, he had frittered away his time until now.
The two retainers cautiously interposed themselves beside their master. Relying on a powerful Lineage was how many Rogue Cultivators survived and sought a path to advancement. It was nothing new anywhere on the continent, no different from serving as guest retainers for the merchant houses of Mirage Tower City.
Hou Niao strolled over, speaking casually. "Entering another's private residence unannounced and openly assuming a threatening posture-get out before you come within reach of my sword, or I will cut you down!"
He took one step, then another. Sweat began to glisten on the two retainers' faces. They knew this was the law of the Shan Kingdom, and of most other countries too. They knew the Duan Clan was powerful, but they also knew Shanmen had no shortage of Sword Cultivators who never bothered to distinguish