Inside the hotel.
After a brief moment of silence—
Cough, cough.
Facing Di Ruqing's murderous glare, Fatty Fu shivered, then coughed dryly.
"Brother Zhao, seriously—where have you been these past days? Don't tell me you stayed in the Lingyin Mountain Range for the full nine days? But we mobilized people… we actually went into the mountains to search for you! We practically scoured every region where fourth- and fifth-rank Land King beasts appear…"
As he spoke—
Fatty Fu swallowed hard.
"Brother Zhao… don't tell me you were actually staying in the territory of sixth-rank beasts these past nine days?"
"You could say that."
Zhao Xuan nodded calmly.
"—Hsssss!"
Fatty Fu sucked in a cold breath.
Then, trembling, he said, "Bro… Brother Zhao… your strength right now… don't tell me you can already fight on par with a sixth-rank beast?"
"Of course not."
Zhao Xuan shook his head naturally.
Silently, he added in his heart:
To be precise, I can now crush sixth-rank beasts with ease.
"Huuuuu—"
Fatty Fu patted his chest with relief.
"Right—!"
As he relaxed, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Brother Zhao, since you were training inside the Lingyin Mountains… did you encounter a group of people?"
"A group of people?"
Zhao Xuan's eyes flickered.
In his mind, the corpses of the five ability-user bandits he had crushed to death surfaced immediately.
"When we were searching for you, we found a few half-eaten corpses in the territory of a fifth-rank Land King beast…"
Fatty Fu's sentence hadn't even finished when Zhao Xuan interrupted:
"I saw them. I killed them."
The moment the words dropped—
A chilling killing intent surged from Zhao Xuan's body.
Fatty Fu froze briefly.
"Did they… try to harm you?"
"They tried to ambush me."
Zhao Xuan said flatly.
Then he suddenly stood up.
"…Right. I almost forgot—there's still one fish that slipped the net."
"Fish that slipped the net?"
Fatty Fu and Di Ruqing exchanged confused looks—
Then quickly followed after him.
Just as the three stepped out of the hotel—
An elderly man—sixty or seventy years old, hair white but spirit sharp—approached.
"Someone from the Li family?"
Fatty Fu frowned immediately.
"Li family?"
Zhao Xuan's gaze flickered.
The next moment—
The old man stopped in front of them.
"You must be Mr. Zhao Xuan."
He bowed deeply.
"What do you want?" Zhao Xuan asked evenly.
"My master has already learned of the offense committed by our young master. The young master has been punished. But the master believes that is not enough to show sincerity. So, he has specially ordered this old servant to invite Mr. Zhao to a banquet. My master has prepared a formal apology banquet for you—tonight. He will personally apologize. Please, Mr. Zhao, do give us this honor."
The old man bowed respectfully.
"An apology banquet?"
Zhao Xuan's eyes narrowed.
"I understand. I'll be there on time."
"Thank you for honoring us, Mr. Zhao."
The old man turned to leave—
But Zhao Xuan suddenly spoke:
"Wait."
The old man paused.
"Mr. Zhao, is there anything else?"
"Will your young master be there?" Zhao Xuan asked lightly.
"Of course."
The old man nodded with a small smile. "He was the one who caused the trouble."
"…Understood."
Zhao Xuan nodded.
The old man left quickly.
The moment he disappeared—
Fatty Fu couldn't hold back.
"Brother Zhao, how did you end up getting involved with the Li family? Don't tell me the guy you meant—the 'fish that slipped the net'—is their young master!?"
"Most likely."
Zhao Xuan nodded.
Then asked:
"Fatty, what's their background?"
"The Li family is the richest family in Hang City—filthy rich. They own at least seven relic sites. They're all low-level relics, so they only produce basic herbs and medicines. But even low-grade goods, when sold in huge quantities… are terrifying. Rumor has it they make tens of billions every year."
"Hang City's richest family?"
Zhao Xuan's eyes flickered.
"Do they have a seventh-rank Sovereign?"
"How could they!?"
Fatty Fu shook his head violently.
"Brother Zhao, you joking?"
"Just asking."
Zhao Xuan smiled mildly.
Fatty Fu stared at him deeply.
"Brother Zhao… I don't know what happened between you and their young master, but you better not act recklessly. The Li family might not have a seventh-rank Sovereign, but their old patriarch and the current family head are both sixth-rank Grandmasters. And not newbies—old, seasoned ones."
"Relax, Fatty. I'm not reckless."
Zhao Xuan laughed lightly.
"And besides, there's no deep hatred with their young master—just a small misunderstanding."
"…Good, good."
Fatty Fu sighed.
Chatting as they walked, the three quickly reached the Hang City Ability User Guild.
After submitting his tasks—
Zhao Xuan sold the two fifth-rank Land King corpses and five fifth-rank beast crystals he brought from the relic space.
The total he received:
73.5 million.
He could've earned much, much more—
If he sold the corpse and beast crystal of the sixth-rank high-grade Berserk Bear.
But he did NOT.
Why?
Because he didn't want to alert the enemy.
When the old servant invited him earlier—
Zhao Xuan's newly awakened Observation Haki had suddenly begun to warn him.
An instinctive danger warning.
A crisis approaching.
Only then did Zhao Xuan realize:
His Observation Haki wasn't the normal kind—
It was a mutation variant.
Similar to Fei Ruxue from the 794 Bureau.
Her Observation Haki let her read thoughts—
basically mind reading.
Zhao Xuan's was different.
He couldn't read minds.
But—
He could sense future danger.
That was why he asked Fatty Fu about the Li family so seriously.
That was why he asked whether they had a seventh-rank Sovereign.
Meanwhile—
In Hang City.
South outskirts.
In a massive, luxurious estate beside a mountain—
An old servant walked into an ancient-style mansion.
"How did it go?"
Inside—
The Li family head, Li Yucheng, a round-faced man with gemstone rings on every finger, asked lazily.
"He agreed."
"Good. You may go."
The servant left.
The room fell silent.
Li Yucheng's eyes narrowed—
"He has a spatial relic large enough to store nearly a hundred four-rank Sandstone Golems… That's no small treasure."
Greed flickered wildly in his gaze.
Time passed quickly.
Night fell.
Zhao Xuan rejected Di Ruqing and Fatty Fu's request to accompany him.
He boarded the Li family's luxury car alone.
The ride headed straight toward the Li estate.
Soon—
They entered the private villa.
Inside the grand banquet hall—
A massive round table was covered with dishes.
Even roasted sixth-rank beast meat.
"Mr. Zhao! You're finally here. I've admired you for a long time. I wanted to invite you earlier, but fate arranged our first meeting in such unfortunate circumstances. Allow me to drink first—to apologize for my failure in teaching my son!"
Li Yucheng lifted his glass—
And drained it in one gulp.
Then—
He waved to the old servant.
"Bring that unfilial brat out."
"Yes, sir."
Soon—
A man in his thirties walked into the hall.
Zhao Xuan recognized him instantly—
The Ability User Guild staff member who tricked him.
"You worthless son! Kneel and apologize to Mr. Zhao!"
Li Yucheng roared.
The man trembled—
Then picked up a wine bottle with shaking hands.
"Z-Zhao… Mr. Zhao… it was my fault. I leaked your information to Xu Da and the others… It was my fault. I'm sorry!"
He lifted the bottle—
And chugged the entire thing in seconds.
Zhao Xuan remained expressionless.
Seeing no reaction—
The man suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Mr. Zhao, please… please forgive me! I won't dare do anything again! I know I was wrong!"
Zhao Xuan didn't move.
After a moment—
Li Yucheng laughed warmly.
"Mr. Zhao, ignore him. Don't let him affect your mood—come, eat."
Under his invitation—
Zhao Xuan sat down.
He ate casually, unbothered.
He wasn't worried about poison.
For two reasons:
The Li family wouldn't dare kill someone in broad daylight. That was suicide.
Zhao Xuan had already placed a Royal Jelly crystal under his tongue before entering the car.
Ordinary Spirit Bee honey already had powerful detoxifying effects.
Royal Jelly crystals?
Their detoxifying ability was unbelievably potent.
Soon—
After several rounds of wine—
Li Yucheng clapped his hands.
Servants brought in trays of spirit herbs.
"Mr. Zhao, these are my apology gifts to you. Please accept them."
Zhao Xuan scanned them—
Every herb was fourth or fifth rank.
Over twenty kinds.
Easily worth over one hundred million.
"Well, since the family head insists—I won't be polite."
A fool doesn't turn down free money.
Zhao Xuan didn't hold back.
He didn't even bother hiding his spatial relic.
Right in front of them—
He tossed all the herbs into his relic space.
After accepting the gifts—
Zhao Xuan said calmly:
"Family head Li, I've received your sincerity. As for the matter with your young master—let's call it settled."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhao! Thank you!"
Li Yucheng's expression lit up with ecstatic joy.
He harshly kicked the kneeling man.
"You unfilial son! Hurry and thank Mr. Zhao!"
"T-Thank you Mr. Zhao! Thank you!"
Zhao Xuan stood.
"It's getting late. I'll take my leave."
"Of course, of course! Please take care on the way."
Li Yucheng then glared at his son.
"You brat! Get up and escort Mr. Zhao!"
"No need," Zhao Xuan said.
"No, no, Mr. Zhao. Let him escort you. If you feel upset on the road, feel free to beat him up—as long as you don't kill him."
The moment these words left his lips—
The man trembled violently.
Then forced a stiff smile.
"Mr. Zhao… p-please, this way…"
Zhao Xuan gave Li Yucheng a deep look.
"Then I'll go."
"Walk safely, Mr. Zhao!"
Zhao Xuan followed the man to the luxury car.
They boarded—
VROOOOM—
The engine roared.
The car sped toward Hang City through the dark night.
The atmosphere was tense—
Currents flowing beneath the surface.
Suddenly—
Zhao Xuan's Observation Haki erupted violently.
A flood of warnings.
Without thinking—
His Azure Dragon Fruit activated instantly.
And—
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
Terrifying explosions detonated along the road.
Several spirit crystal bombs buried beneath the asphalt ignited all at once.
In an instant—
A massive sea of fire swallowed the Li family's luxury car whole.
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