Inside the villa.
Thud! The sound of the door closing rang out.
A bespectacled middle-aged man who looked refined and scholarly walked in and said with a smile,
"What is it, Little Luo? What was so urgent that you called me over?"
The visitor was Luo Ji's uncle, the younger brother of Luo Ji's father, Luo Meng, and a successful businessman in the East District of South China Base City-Luo Peng!
Luo Peng's words were met with silence.
Luo Ji sat curled up on the sofa, his face pale and his eyes filled with fear, looking as though his soul had left his body.
"What's wrong?" Luo Peng also realized something was amiss. Seeing Luo Ji like this, he immediately understood.
Something had happened!
Luo Peng hurried over and smiled reassuringly at Luo Ji. "What's wrong? Did someone bully you at the academy?"
Hearing this, Luo Ji raised his head with difficulty. His lips pale, he spoke in a trembling voice.
"Uncle, I've gotten into trouble!"
"What trouble did you get into?" Hearing the tremor that came from the depths of Luo Ji's soul, Luo Peng immediately realized the gravity of the problem and said gravely,
"Tell me everything that happened, from beginning to end. Don't leave anything out!"
With his uncle there, Luo Ji finally managed to calm down a little and recounted what had happened between him and Chu Tiannan.
As Luo Peng listened to Luo Ji's account, his already furrowed brow grew increasingly grave, especially when he heard Luo Ji say that this Chu Tiannan was no advanced student at all, but rather...
"You little brat, you've really gotten yourself into trouble this time!"
Luo Peng sprang up from the sofa and pointed at the utterly terrified Luo Ji. He wanted to say something, but instead let out a sigh.
"If this Chu Tiannan really is a Martial Artist, and he's at the Martial Master level, this is serious trouble. It's already beyond my control."
It was not as though Luo Peng had never cleaned up Luo Ji's messes before, but to him, those minor incidents had been
beneath mention!
This time was different, though, because Luo Ji had provoked a Martial Artist, and a strong one at that.
Matters involving Martial Artists were the most troublesome, because Luo Peng was not a Martial Artist. He was merely a businessman.
And the special status of Martial Artists was enough to draw the attention of every alliance in the world.
Clearly, Luo Ji's problem this time was no longer simply a matter of premeditated murder.
"You actually had someone deal with Chu Tiannan in prison. I really... should I call you stupid or reckless?" Luo Peng pointed at Luo Ji, gritting his teeth.
Then he hurriedly took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello!" A deep voice came from the other end.
"Brother, our boy has gotten into trouble..." Luo Peng had called Luo Meng directly, opening with those words.
Because this was a dispute involving the Martial Artist System, Luo Ji had no chance of winning as a citizen. Now, Luo Peng pinned all his hopes on Luo Ji's biological father.
Luo Ji trembled beside him, not daring to speak.
"That's what happened, brother. This is a bit troublesome. You're a Martial Artist, and Martial Artists can settle things privately between themselves. How about..." Luo Peng finished speaking, his brow furrowed throughout.
After a brief silence on the other end, the deep voice sounded again.
"I understand. A Martial Master-level kid. The little brat really has gotten into trouble this time, but it's all right. It's still within my control."
Since the phone was on speaker, Luo Ji naturally heard him too, and immediately let out a long inward sigh of relief.
He had been so frightened that he had not dared sleep all night. Now that he knew his father could save him, he suddenly felt as though he had survived a disaster.
"Brother, if you can handle this, that couldn't be better!" Luo Peng smiled at those words, his mood instantly lifting as well.
After all, to Luo Ji and the others, Luo Meng was the heavenly pillar supporting their entire family!
"Dad, I'm sorry!" Luo Ji's voice now carried a slight sob. If he had known that Chu Tiannan was a Martial Artist,
he would never have gone so far as to provoke Chu Tiannan over his feelings for Luo'er, not even if someone beat him to death.
"Little brat, as long as you know you were wrong. Wait for my news. I'll be home in another week. I'm still out hunting Demon Beasts, so that's all for now..."
The call ended.
The heavy atmosphere vanished completely. At least Luo Ji was no longer trembling as he had before, while Luo Peng tapped him with his phone and said through gritted teeth,
"You little brat, you're lucky your dad can help you this time. I told you that as long as it didn't involve Martial Artists, I could help you, yet you just had to..."
But Luo Peng also knew Luo Ji had not done it intentionally, so he sighed, turned, and left.
"Remember this lesson. I still have a meeting at my company, so I'm leaving!"
The door closed again, leaving Luo Ji standing there alone in a daze.
That night, Luo Ji was destined to go without sleep.
Chu Tiannan was likewise sleepless that night, but he spent it repeatedly studying his Heaven-Deriving Sword.
As he studied it further, he made a startling discovery.
There were mysterious patterns on the Heaven-Deriving Sword that he could not understand, but he was still unable to activate them.
Clearly, he was not strong enough yet!
I suppose the stronger I become, the more I'll be able to gradually comprehend the mysteries of the Heaven-Deriving Sword.
Without studying it too deeply, Chu Tiannan put the Heaven-Deriving Sword back behind him, walked to the window, and smiled at the dawn.
Day had broken!