"Young master, why were you so insistent on buying this Yin-Yang Spirit Grass? Surely it can't be that valuable, right?"
On the way back home, Xue'er couldn't help but curiously appraise the box containing the Yin-Yang Spirit Grass in her hand, asking in a confused tone.
Ji Haotian waved his hand casually, "It's not that valuable, but I learned from brother Wu Liang that it can greatly help Body Tempering Realm cultivators in their cultivation. Even a little bit help in my progress far outweighs any amount of money, besides, our Ji Mansion will regain what was spent today within the next few days."
Ji Haotian's tone sounded extremely arrogant, yet inwardly, even he was a little nervous. He had to live up to his father's high expectations and not waste this money.
He had already set his goal: reaching the Third Stage of Body Tempering Realm within a week and then participate in the Lingshan County Annual Talent Conference, which was only 2 weeks away!
He was confident that he could sweep through all his opponents in this Talent Conference and build a formidable reputation for himself, bringing more fame to the Ji Mansion.
Xue'er couldn't help but secretly take an astonished glance at Ji Haotian.
This was the first time she had ever seen her young master act so confident, so arrogant, matching the image of a major power's true heir.
She couldn't help feeling a little excitement; it seemed that her young master was finally going to appear at the grand stage of the world after secretly developing for years.
This suddenly reminded her of a certain myth in the cultivation world, of a supreme powerhouse who cultivated in seclusion for centuries before emerging and instantly became the most powerful entity throughout the world, although the myth has been doubted across the ages because of many inconsistencies.
After all, who could cultivate in seclusion with no resources, no opportunities, and no reputation, suddenly appearing out of nowhere to stand at the top of the world?
It was simply too unrealistic, unachievable by just relying on talent.
However, her young master was different, he always had the support of the Ji Mansion behind him, and besides, he was not yet invincible in the world, but she believed he could certainly attain such heights sooner or later!
Ji Haotian didn't pay attention to Xue'er little thoughts and kept moving forward, with Guard Chen constantly paying attention to his surroundings, his hand always resting on the saber strapped at his waist, displaying the demeanor of a true elite.
Just as their group was only a few hundred meters away from the Ji Mansion, Guard Chen's gaze suddenly sharpened as he bellowed, "Young master, get down!"
*Swoosh!*
The next second, he threw his saber right above Ji Haotian's head, startling the latter into quickly lowering his body to dodge.
*Clang!*
A sharp sound echoed in the empty street as Guard Chen's saber was instantly flunged back, embedding itself into the bluestone pavement.
"Oh? Not bad, you have some skill for a Meridian Cleansing Realm cultivator in his forties, you must possess First-Grade Talent, unfortunately, with your cultivation speed, you will probably never be able to step beyond the Innate Realm in this lifetime."
A slightly surprised yet indifferent voice rang out from above, prompting the group of three to simultaneously look upwards.
However, what entered their sight left their eyes wide with disbelief.
In sky dozens of meters high, the silhouette of a middle aged man clad in black robes floated in the air as if standing on flat ground, looking down at them with an air of nonchalance and arrogance.
Seeing him, a single thought erupted in Guard Chen and Ji Haotian's mind.
Qi Refinement Realm!
Only those high and mighty cultivators at the Qi Refinement Realm could float in the air by relying on the mystical Spiritual Energy in their body, performing unimaginable feats of power.
Even a newly ascended Qi Refinement Realm cultivator could easily destroy peak Innate Realm cultivators.
All Qi Refinement Realm cultivators in Baiyun Prefecture were old men and women over a hundred years of age at the very least, and Guard Chen had known their faces as well.
Yet, he had never seen this man among those Qi Refinement Realm cultivators.
Besides, he actually appeared to be around the same age as Guard Chen!
Guard Chen had a strong gut feeling that this was not the effect of a Youth Retaining Pill, but this man was actually only in his forties!
Such a young Qi Refinement cultivator had never appeared in the entire Qingyun Province, much less the Baiyun Prefecture!
At this realization, Guard Chen's heart sank even more.
Just who was targeting the Ji Mansion?
At this moment, the middle aged man's gaze turned to Ji Haotian, who was shielding Xue'er behind him with a somewhat nervous expression on his face.
He had never come face to face with such a dangerous situation in his entire lives, and he couldn't maintain his facade for the time being. Xue'er, as a First Stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator who had followed Ji Haotian for so long, was even more nervous, clutching the hem of her robe.
"Merely at the Second Stage of Body Tempering Realm at fifteen years of age, are you the so called young master of the Ji Mansion? I was already at the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering Realm at your age, tsk, tsk."
The black clad man's tone was full of contempt, his eyes holding undisguised disdain as he looked down at Ji Haotian.
Ji Haotian clenched his fist behind him secretly, but he did not answer the man.
On the other hand, Guard Chen's pupils subtly dilated upon hearing this.
He immediately realized that this person was not from the Great Jing Dynasty!
From the looks of it, he was likely telling the truth, but a fifteen year old peak Body Tempering Realm genius would have long since been known across the entire Great Jing Dynasty!
Even the greatest genius of Great Jing Dynasty's thousand year history, the previous Emperor who just abdicated the throne a few decades ago and is now cultivating in seclusion to try and reach the Golden Core Realm, was only able to reach the Seventh Stage of Body Tempering Realm at 15 years old with all the support of the Great Jing Imperial Family!
"Your excellency, may I know your name? What enmity does your exalted self have with my Ji Mansion?"
Guard Chen asked cautiously, not even picking up his saber still embedded in the bluestone road.
"Enmity? Your Ji Mansion is not worthy enough to have enmity with me. It's just that my higher ups wanted me to investigate your Ji Mansion, unfortunately, your senses are too sharp for your own good."
The black clad man spoke in a mocking tone, causing Ji Haotian to tighten his jaw in anger. Yet, he knew that this was not the right time to act on impulse, otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.
Guard Chen secretly heaved a sigh of relief and couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Damn it, so he would have just left without doing anything if I didn't notice him in the first place?
Bullshit!
He clearly had killing intent directed towards the young master!
But on the surface, Guard Chen didn't dare to say anything, only putting on a humble posture before speaking, "I see, it was indeed this junior's fault that I obstructed the senior. Since the misunderstanding has been solved, we should part ways, I'm deeply grateful for senior's magnanimity–"
However, before he could even finish speaking, a terrifying aura suddenly burst forth from the black clad man, his expression turning cold.
"Did I say you could leave? I don't think you heard me correctly. My higher ups indeed wanted to investigate the Ji Mansion, but that doesn't mean you can just disrespect me and go away like that. Bring me to the Ji Mansion to meet your Ji Mansion Lord right this instant, or else..."
He raised his hand, Spiritual Energy gathering at his fingertips as he aimed at Ji Haotian before suddenly shooting out.
*Whoosh!*
Guard Chen didn't even have time to react, the beam of Spiritual Energy's movements faster than the eye of a Meridian Cleansing Realm cultivator could track, heading towards Ji Haotian's shoulder with destructive might.
"How dare you!"
Just then, a shout rumbled through the skies within a hundred meter radius, a figure darting out from the shadows and pushing Ji Haotian away, tanking the beam of Spiritual Energy all by himself.
*Boom!*
The figure was instantly flung away dozens of meters, blasting through the bluestone walls of numerous streets in succession before finally coming to a halt, the commotion alarming hundreds of people in the area.
So strong!
Ji Haotian, who had been pushed aside earlier, widened his eyes as he looked at the broken bluestone walls and the trial of destruction left behind.
This was just a beam of Spiritual Energy from a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator, if the other party went all out, a third of the city would suffer immense damage at the very least!
"Cough!"
At this moment, the figure who had been blasted away let out a cough, rising up from the rubble, looking at the black clad man floating more than a hundred meters away with apprehension.
Seeing him, Ji Haotian cried out in concern.
"Vice Captain Li!"
This was Li Tiangang, the Vice Captain of the Ji Mansion Guards, and a genuine Innate Realm Second Stage cultivator!
Li Tiangang didn't reply to Ji Haotian, instead turning his gaze to Guard Chen who was still in a daze, and called out, "Chen Guang, stop spacing out and take the young master back to the Ji Mansion!"
Guard Chen, named Chen Guang, broke out of his daze, a cold sweat spreading across his temples as he immediately grabbed both Ji Haotian and Xue'er with their arm and rushed towards the Ji Mansion without any hesitation.
The black clad man's eyes narrowed, and he pointed in the direction of Chen Guang and the others, Spiritual Energy swirling at his fingertips once more.
Meanwhile, in the Ji Mansion.
Ji Tianyu lay on his reclining chair in the garden behind his personal quarters, basking in the sun when a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Your son has been attacked by an enemy far beyond his capabilities to deal with!]
[Detected that the enemy's cultivation base is higher than the host... returning the same cultivation base to the host...]
[Ding!]
[Your cultivation has been raised to the Fourth Stage of Qi Refinement Realm!]