Toji's gaze followed Di Qiu'er's slender fingers.
A woman is holding a little girl's hand, standing still, gazing into the distance together, as if waiting for someone to return.
She was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and her graceful figure could not be concealed by a plain-colored long dress.
Her long, jet-black hair was gently tied up, her face was delicate and beautiful, and her eyes held a hint of melancholy.
She held the little girl's hand; the girl also had a head of soft black hair and stood obediently beside her mother.
"That must be them..."
Toji was about to step forward when he suddenly stopped.
Seeing that he had stopped moving and his expression had suddenly become serious, Di Qiu'er was also somewhat puzzled:
"What's wrong?"
Toji shook his head, his gaze passing over the mother and daughter, and instead locking onto four gray-clad men twenty feet away.
"Their aura is extraordinary, and quite powerful. Interesting." Toji lowered his voice, gesturing for Di Qiu'er to pay attention, "At three o'clock, four men in gray. Listen carefully to what they're saying."
Di Qiu'er narrowed her crimson eyes slightly, and at the same time, she activated her Soul Power to enhance her hearing.
Suddenly, the sound of their conversation drifted on the wind:
"This morning I heard from the patrol teams that the surrounding hills have been dragged around by people these past few days, and there are still drag marks at the foot of the hills. If this is true, the person who did this must be incredibly strong, at least Titled Douluo level."
Only Titled Douluo possess the strength of tens of thousands of jin.
Several men in gray were discussing in hushed tones.
"Could this be the person we're looking for?"
"It's hard to say. Over the past few years, we've searched the Heaven Dou Empire, Shrek, Star Luo Empire, and Dou Ling Empire, but we haven't been able to find the person who meets the criteria the sect leader mentioned."
"It is," the gray-clad man at the head of the group said in a deep voice.
"We didn't look for anything other than the Sun Moon Empire."
" The Sun Moon Empire? That's too far away. Besides, they wouldn't go to the Star Dou Great Forest to make contact with the legendary Emperor Auspicious Beast for no reason."
Upon hearing the Emperor Auspicious Beast, Toji and Di Qiu'er exchanged a knowing glance.
"It's the Clear Sky Sect," Di Qiu'er immediately said. "It seems that I've only taken the first step in breaking free from the control of the God King above, and he's already sent people from the Clear Sky Sect to investigate the clues."
"It's a pity they don't know anything about me," Toji said with a smile. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to conduct such a thorough search for me."
Di Qiu'er glanced at him. "Is your injury any better?"
Toji touched her stomach, where a dull ache was throbbing.
"It's been a mix of pain and pleasure. My cultivation has progressed rapidly this past month, and I'm already halfway to level 59, but I've also suffered too many hidden injuries."
"Even with the teachers' resources, I wouldn't dare to go through this again after this batch is used up."
Di Qiu'er said, "So, shall we avoid it?"
"Avoid what? Quickly resolve this matter, confirm if she is indeed Ju Zi, then follow her trail to find her father, rescue him, and then we'll have the authority to contact Ju Zi and discuss the terms of the deal." Toji rubbed his temples and said.
"You're talking business with a seven or eight-year-old child?" Di Qiu'er found it unbelievable.
"Children are at an age where they are like blank canvases, and some people don't appreciate what they have until they lose it and then they regret it immensely." Toji paused here, then continued, "What I want is to wait until Ju Zi has experienced the excruciating pain of losing her father before I personally bring him back to her."
"In that case, everything else is negotiable."
"You win." Di Qiu'er was speechless. "Did this have to go through all this trouble?"
Toji said in a serious tone, "To win the trust of the future Empress Female God of War of the Sun Moon Empire, believe me, it's worth it."
"Heh." Di Qiu'er sneered, "I thought you thought she would be very pretty when she grew up and wanted to be friends with her."
Toji rolled her eyes. "Even if she's pretty, she's not as pretty as you."
These words struck a chord with Di Qiu'er, and her previously cold expression gradually softened, like ice and snow melting quietly under the sunlight in spring.
She tilted her head slightly and said softly:
"Glib-tongued."
Even so, Di Qiu'er's lips curled up slightly, revealing a gentle smile, like a ray of warm sunshine piercing through the clouds and shining into her heart.
At the same time, the four men in gray seemed to have sensed something and turned to look in Di Qiu'er's direction.
Toji their presence was very low, they were subconsciously ignored by them.
Upon seeing such a beautiful woman as Di Qiu'er appear in this inconspicuous border town, the gray-clad leader's eyes sharpened, and he slightly raised his right hand, signaling his companions to be on guard.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, please wait a moment."
His voice carried a hint of authority and an undeniable sense of command.
Di Qiu'er raised an eyebrow, stopped walking, and the smile that had just appeared on her face turned cold again.
"Is something the matter?"
"You two don't look like locals." The man in gray scrutinized Di Qiu'er with eyes as sharp as knives. "May I ask your names, where you're from, and what you're doing here?"
Di Qiu'er crossed her arms, a half-smile playing on her lips.
"You can't even introduce yourself before asking for information? Who are you? Why should I cooperate with you?"
"Even the Star Luo Empire's army wouldn't be so idle as to check the identity of passersby?"
The man in gray had a cold expression and didn't react much to Di Qiu'er's disdain. He simply said:
"We are from the Clear Sky Sect, here on orders to find the two of them. Don't misunderstand, sir, we're just asking for some information."
Di Qiu'er pretended to ponder:
" The Clear Sky Sect? That's the one... once the number one sect in the world?"
"Not just in the past, but even now, we are still the best in the world." The man in gray said this with a hint of arrogance on his face.
Di Qiu'er disliked talking to humans other than Toji, so she turned and left after only a few words.
But when she saw that Toji should have been next to her, had disappeared, her expression softened slightly.
Where did he go?
He couldn't possibly have turned tail and run away as soon as he saw the Clear Sky Sect members arrive, could he?
Ignoring the gray-clad man in front of her, Di Qiu'er began searching directly. Soon, she discovered that Toji had already arrived in front of the mother and child, chatting with them.
"That guy!"
This made Di Qiu'er clench her fists in anger.
All that effort she put into taking care of him after Toji physical training sessions was wasted.
"Your Mightiness?"
The man in gray called out to Di Qiu'er several times, but when she didn't respond, the four of them became even more wary.
Di Qiu'er's gaze fell on them again:
"Spit it out."
"Your Excellency," the gray-robed man stepped forward, his Soul Power subtly surging, "May you demonstrate your Martial Soul to us?"
Di Qiu'er was never one to obediently follow others' instructions:
"On what grounds?"
The gray-clad man snorted coldly, and with a flick of his right hand, a massive, jet-black hammer, Entanglement in thick Soul Power, appeared out of thin air.
Seven Soul Ring rose beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, and three black—a standard configuration for a top-tier Soul Saint, along with an extremely dense aura of Soul Power.
The four men in gray simultaneously revealed their Martial Soul and Soul Ring Configuration, all of them possessing the cultivation level of Soul Saint.
"Because we are members of the Clear Sky Sect, sir, please don't make things difficult for us. We just want to verify your information."
"If you are not the person we are looking for, we will not make things difficult for you."
"But if you don't cooperate, don't blame us for forcing our way in."