The Flame Mountains loomed ahead — indeed, just as Jun Beiyue had said, the Flame Mountains formed a range of several interconnected peaks, the tallest mountain range they’d encountered on their entire journey so far.

Mingtian, the young man guiding them, had long since woken up. Though still not quite used to the four great poison beasts, he’d managed to stay reasonably composed.

“This range is called the Flame Mountains — it’s where the martial sects of Xiliang gather. The Flame Valley you’re looking for lies beyond these peaks. Flame Mountain proper is quite low, so it’s not visible from here. You’ll have to cross the final high peak before you can see it,” Mingtian explained diligently.

He’d assumed the group would simply fly over, but instead, everyone hopped down off the poison beasts’ backs. Xiong Xiaobao gave a lazy wave of his hand, and the four great poison beasts vanished into thin air.

Ziqing happened to turn and catch this very gesture of her son’s, and genuinely felt that this motion of his was as noble and elegant as any prince could be.

Well… of course, he was a prince — the emperor’s son.

“You’re not flying over?” Mingtian asked timidly.

“No, there’s something we need to take care of first before we go any further,” Ziqing said.

Mingtian hurried to ask, “Take care of something?”

“How do we get up the mountain? Lead the way.”

These mountains were solid rock, quite difficult to climb.

“Everyone, what exactly are you all planning to do? The people of the Flame Mountains aren’t easy to provoke — though each sect stands independent, they’re extremely united! If you want to go to Flame Valley, I can guide you around by the mountain paths, but if you want to go to the Flame Mountains themselves, then…”

Before Mingtian could finish his sentence, someone behind him knocked him unconscious with a single palm strike.

“What path? We’ll just fly up!” Baili Weisheng said impatiently. The poison beasts weren’t convenient to use here, but with their own abilities, flying up would be no trouble at all.

“Good idea!” Jun Beiyue actually nodded — praising Baili Weisheng for the very first time!

But who would have guessed — the very next moment, he scooped up Xiong Bao with one arm, took hold of Ziqing’s hand with the other, and shot straight up into the sky. In an instant, their figures had vanished over a distant peak.

This left Baili Weisheng utterly dumbfounded.

Jun Beiyue, what exactly do you mean by this?

Are you certain you don’t know about me teasing Little Qingqing? Are you certain you’re not using this as an excuse for revenge?

At this moment, the people remaining beside Baili Weisheng were: Lady Jinjiao, covered in fierce golden scales but unable to fly; Baili Xiaosheng, formidable in martial arts and top-tier in poison techniques, but likewise unable to fly well; and Meng Duo’er, skilled in barrier arts, but equally unable to fly high!

As for the unconscious guide Mingtian lying off to the side, he wasn’t even worth considering!

“Jun Beiyue! Han Ziqing! Get back here right now!” Baili Weisheng roared furiously, but only an echo answered him.

“Son, let’s just wait at the base of the mountain. Once they’ve sorted things out, they’ll naturally come find us,” Lady Jinjiao said timidly. Neither she nor the others had any idea what Jun Beiyue actually intended to do up on the Flame Mountains — they only sensed that Baili Weisheng had somehow been played for a fool.

Baili Weisheng glanced at the three women (girls) — old, middle-aged, and young — then simply flopped down onto his back, too lazy to say anything more, and closed his eyes.

He couldn’t leave. He had to stay behind and protect them.

Meanwhile, Jun Beiyue and the others had already reached the mountaintop. Ziqing very much wanted to ask Jun Beiyue whether he knew about Baili Weisheng teasing her, and whether this was his way of getting revenge.

But she didn’t dare ask outright, only timidly asking, “Just the three of us?”

“More people would be a hassle,” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

Xiong Xiaobao was puzzled. “Mommy, Daddy, what exactly are we here to do?”

“To kick down the gate and find your Uncle Situ and Auntie Qianqian,” Ziqing finally explained. This matter involved too much, so they hadn’t spoken of it openly.

Yet even as Xiong Xiaobao was still puzzled, a tremendous “boom” rang out — Jun Beiyue had kicked open the front gate of the compound at the mountaintop, kicking it clean off its hinges.

Xiong Xiaobao’s eyes went wide, and he suddenly understood why the scholarly uncle down at the base of the mountain had cried out so furiously earlier!

Kicking down a gate — who wouldn’t like that?

And doing it together as a family of three — he liked that even more!

The moment the gate collapsed, a group of disciples who had been practicing martial arts in the courtyard all froze in place, staring in utter shock.

Clearly, Jun Beiyue’s arrival had caught them completely off guard!

“Who — who are you people, how did you get up here?!” the lead disciple cried out, immediately stepping forward.

After all, the mountain paths of the Flame Mountains were steep, riddled with traps, and heavily guarded.

How could this group have made it to the summit without a sound?

Jun Beiyue and Ziqing both wore expressionless faces, their gazes cold and sharp, walking forward step by step.

Their son, by comparison, was far more polite and well-mannered. He toddled along behind them, smiling cheerfully, answering honestly, “We flew up.”

“Flew?” The lead disciple was shocked. “Impossible!”

Given the height of the Flame Mountains, no one among the entire range’s martial artists — from the sect leaders down to the newest junior disciples — could manage that.

“I’m not lying, we really did fly up,” Xiong Xiaobao explained innocently, his sly little eyes already sizing up the weapons in the disciples’ hands — twin-bladed weapons, one edge a saber, the other a sword. He liked them quite a bit.

“Who exactly are you people, and what are you doing here at my Flame Mountain Gate?” the lead disciple demanded, backing away as he spoke.

Jun Beiyue produced the large red “double happiness” character and asked coldly, “Is this your sect’s property?”

The moment the lead disciple saw it, he was about to answer, but just then, the sect leader arrived and immediately shouted angrily, “This isn’t the property of my Flame Mountain Gate — but it is the property of the Flame Mountains as a whole. Who exactly are you people, and why have you come?”

“Which sect’s, then?” Jun Beiyue asked coldly.

“You tell this old man first who you are, and where you got this thing!” the sect leader said coldly.

Jun Beiyue didn’t answer. Ziqing flicked her finger, sending out a blade of wind that snapped a stone pillar behind the sect leader, and with a thunderous crash, an entire side of the main hall collapsed!

Instantly, everyone stood dumbstruck — after all, the martial artists of Xiliang, placed against those of the Central Plains, were simply no match at all. The force of Ziqing’s single wind blade alone was enough to intimidate the entire sect!

The sect leader’s face went ashen, and he hastily called out, “Great hero, please show mercy — I truly don’t know whose property this is, but I can guarantee it’s not from my Flame Mountain Gate!”

“Next one,” Jun Beiyue said flatly, turning to leave.

Yet Xiong Xiaobao didn’t move, mumbling and tugging at Ziqing’s sleeve. “Mommy, I want their sabers.”

At this, before Jun Beiyue or Ziqing could even respond, the sect leader immediately offered up his own twin-bladed saber and sword with both hands, desperately hoping this family of three would leave as quickly as possible so he could rush off to warn the other peaks.

These two were far too formidable — he needed to unite all the strength of the Flame Mountains as soon as possible!

Xiong Xiaobao happily accepted the twin blades, but his face still showed conflicted longing. “Mommy, I want all of their sabers…”

That many? Could they even carry that much?

Ziqing was puzzled and was about to speak, but in the blink of an eye, the weapons in the hands of all twenty-some disciples in front of them had simply vanished into thin air.

“Ah… what’s happening?”

“Where’s my saber?”

“Ah…”

…

Instantly, chaos erupted. The sect leader watched, utterly dumbstruck, his legs going weak, and he collapsed straight to the ground!

Heavens, who exactly were these people?

Well, it wasn’t just the sect leader who was shocked — Jun Beiyue and Ziqing were startled too, both turning in unison to look at their son. The Qiankun poison pouch surely wasn’t meant to be used like this…