Gong Sun Xiang Yang was startled internally when he heard the name, Xu Qian, though his expression remained neutral. He pretended to ponder while repeating the name with furrowed brows.

Then he shook his head helplessly: “Xu Qian is quite an ordinary name. There must be many people in Yong Province with that name. Are there any distinctive characteristics?”

Ji Xuan said: “This person has an unremarkable appearance, just like his name. The only notable feature is that he wears cyan robes, though that might not be much of a distinguishing trait either. Master Gong Sun just needs to keep an eye out, but remember not to alarm him.”

Cyan robes, they are looking for Senior Xu… Gong Sun Xiang Yang displayed a friendly smile:

“These are small matters, small matters indeed. By the way, since you esteemed warriors have come from afar, would you honor us by staying at the Gong Sun Manor?”

He deliberately put on this enthusiastic facade. On one hand, it fit his public persona – as a local power in Yong Province, it would be suspicious if he wasn’t eager to curry favor with a group of Fourth-Rank experts. On the other hand, the Gong Sun Manor was his territory. He could lure them there first, then notify Senior Xu and see how he wanted to handle it.

Ji Xuan smiled broadly: “We have urgent matters to attend to, so we won’t impose on Master Gong Sun.”

Are these people friends or foes of Senior Xu? If they’re enemies, they wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth… Gong Sun Xiang Yang nodded regretfully and probed: “Well, if you don’t mind, I’d like to call upon you distinguished warriors in the future.”

He calibrated his desire to build connections perfectly.

Ji Xuan smiled like a harmless sunny youth: “You’re most welcome.”

After some small talk, Gong Sun Xiang Yang took his leave.

…

“Ji Xuan, accompanied by a Dragon Qi host, inquiring about my whereabouts… Very clearly, these people are from that faction from 500 years ago – Xu Ping Feng’s people.”

On the other side, Xu Qi An withdrew his Divine Consciousness waves, and his first thought was: Kill them!

“Hmm, they all appear to be experts. At my current level, I naturally wouldn’t fear them, but it would be nearly impossible to quickly kill so many strong warriors. Moreover, these people are likely just bait placed in plain sight.”

“I’ll observe first before making a decision…”

The reason he withdrew his Divine Consciousness probing was that he had guessed these people’s identities, which would make it impossible for him to control his hostility, and martial artists’ keen intuition would sense it.

Warriors at Spirit Refinement Realm and above had very strong premonitions of danger.

Any gaze containing hostility or malice would trigger the target’s sensing ability – this was why martial artists were so difficult to ambush or assassinate.

But observation without emotion wouldn’t trigger a warrior’s premonition.

Xu Qi An didn’t want to alert them, so he decisively withdrew his Divine Consciousness probe.

As Gong Sun Xiang Yang left the courtyard and returned to the martial arts field, a sparrow circled in the air before landing on his shoulder.

“Master…”

The Gong Sun clan disciples behind him were about to shoo it away, but Gong Sun Xiang Yang waved them off.

He discreetly grabbed the sparrow in his hand, gently stroking its head with a smile, as if it was just a moment of whimsy.

“What’s their background?”

Sure enough, Gong Sun Xiang Yang heard Xu Qian’s voice transmission in his ear.

Senior Xu was using the sparrow as a medium to communicate with him.

“They claim to be from Qing Province, but their accents don’t quite match. They asked me to find two people, one of whom is you.”

Gong Sun Xiang Yang maintained the appearance of playing with a pet as he continued stroking the sparrow’s head while responding via voice transmission:

“Senior, do you know them?”

Xu Qi An gave a “hmph” and transmitted: “I don’t know them, but I know their elders. Forget it, it’s a messy account, better left unsaid.”

Senior’s words are full of vicissitudes; he must be someone with quite a story… Gong Sun Xiang Yang sighed inwardly.

“Are they all martial artists?” Xu Qi An transmitted.

Gong Sun Xiang Yang recalled briefly and analyzed:

“Three of them have no protective divine light on their bodies, and two of those don’t carry themselves like martial artists…”

Gong Sun Xiang Yang’s analysis was that the exceptionally beautiful young lady, the Southern Borderlands man in colorful robes, and the middle-aged man carrying a sword – these three had no protective divine light.

Meaning they hadn’t reached the Bronze Skin Iron Bones realm.

The young lady and the Southern Borderlands man’s bearing and demeanor weren’t like martial artists.

“I understand.”

After Xu Qi An finished speaking, he controlled the sparrow to take flight, heading toward the two-courtyard compound.

…

In the outer hall, Liu Hong Mian sat lazily in a chair, her right leg crossed over her left, her red embroidered shoes visible under her dress as her feet swayed back and forth.

“Come to think of it, we’ve completely lost track of that kid,” said the Wan Hua Tower’s abandoned disciple, twirling her hair between her fingers. “If I were him, I would have fled far away.”

Xu Yuan Shuang sneered: “Who told you that kid knows we’re coming to Yong Province?”

The old Daoist Jiao Ye stroked his beard with a smile: “Young Miss Xu is correct. In that kid’s eyes, we were just chance encounters on the road who had a conflict due to hot tempers. There isn’t much hatred between us, no reason to pursue and kill him relentlessly.”

“After losing us in Qing Province, he probably thinks it’s all over. Since that’s the case, how could he miss observing such a grand gathering?”

The imposing and cold muscular man, Bai Hu, nodded and said in a deep voice: “Yong Province city has gathered the heroes of Yong Province. If he’s clever, he might already be plotting how to set tigers against wolves.”

Ji Xuan added: “Have you forgotten what the Imperial Mentor said? There’s a mutual attraction between Dragon Qi hosts. As long as they’re not too far apart, they’ll eventually meet. We have a Dragon Qi host with us – who knows, we might run into that fellow face-to-face one day when we go out.”

“But why is the Young Master looking for Xu Qian?” the old Daoist Jiao Ye suddenly interjected.

“Yesterday I received classified information from the Celestial Mechanics Palace that the Buddhist sect and the Palace are working together to hunt down someone called Xu Qian. This person stole one of the nine Dragon Qi in Lei Province. In Xiang Province, he again snatched it from the Buddhist sect’s hands.”

Ji Xuan continued gravely: “And now, he has also come to Yong Province city. According to the Celestial Mechanics Palace’s intelligence, this person’s methods are peculiar, and he’s outstanding even among Fourth-Rank experts.”

These words made everyone’s eyebrows raise – none of them were convinced.

Liu Hong Mian laughed: “Is he at Cao Qing Yang’s level?”

Ji Xuan shook his head slightly: “Not sure, but at least at the Golden Gong’s level.”

Hearing this, Bai Hu said coldly: “If he’s at the Golden Gong’s level, Hong Mian and I working together would be enough to handle him.”

Cao Qing Yang, the Martial Arts Alliance Leader of Sword Province, was roughly the ceiling of the fourth rank, half a step into the third rank.

Ji Xuan shook his head: “We can’t underestimate him. This person is connected with Sun Xuan Ji – we can’t handle a Third-Rank Arcanist. Fortunately, the Buddhist sect and Azure Dragon Star-Lord are responsible for dealing with them. Our current task is to catch that kid, and then we might need to cooperate with the Celestial Mechanics Palace and Buddhist sect to capture Xu Qian.”

He took a sip of tea and sighed: “I hadn’t guessed wrong – the Imperial Mentor had backup plans. We’re not the only ones collecting Dragon Qi.”

Liu Hong Mian smiled coyly: “Collecting Dragon Qi is a trial the Imperial Mentor gave you. Of course, he wouldn’t put all his bets on you. Tsk tsk, I hope the Young Master’s jianghu journey is successful – then I’ll be able to rely on you in the future.”

She understood clearly that this small team was handpicked by the Imperial Mentor and that City Lord for Ji Xuan.

If Ji Xuan could become the successor in the future, they would all rise with him. Otherwise, they’d be sidelined for life.

“Who exactly is this Xu Qian? Have the Celestial Mechanics Palace and Buddhist sect uncovered his background?”

Xu Yuan Shuang suddenly asked.

She voiced everyone’s question, and they all looked at Ji Xuan in unison.

Ji Xuan shook his head: “The Celestial Mechanics Palace hasn’t revealed his background to me.”

After a few more words, Xu Yuan Qiai picked up his spear and walked out, saying coldly: “I’m going out to spar with that rabble.”

Ji Xuan smiled: “Remember to show restraint, don’t take any lives. Keep a low profile.”

He then turned to look at Xu Yuan Shuang: “Yuan Shuang, go outside and keep watch. If any Dragon Qi hosts approach, notify us immediately.”

Xu Yuan Shuang gave an “mm” and followed her brother’s footsteps out.

At this moment, Qi Huan Dan Xiang suddenly rushed out of the inner hall, looking up at the sky. Shortly after, a sparrow chirping landed in his palm.

The sharp-eyed old Daoist Jiao Ye asked: “What’s wrong?”

Qi Huan Dan Xiang stared at the little sparrow in his palm and frowned:

“This bird has flown around the courtyard twice, it’s somewhat strange. Just now I quickly tried to control it with my heart insect power but didn’t discover anything unusual. Perhaps I’m being too sensitive.”

Ji Xuan nodded with a smile: “It’s always good to be careful, but we’re still maintaining a low profile now, no need to worry too much.”

Everyone stopped paying attention to it.

…

“That was close. They even have a heart insect master among them, and purely in terms of the heart insect realm, they’re stronger than me…”

Outside the camp, among the crowd, Xu Qi An slowly let out a breath.

Those people were even more alert and cautious than he had imagined. If he hadn’t been clever earlier and withdrawn his control in time, he might have already been discovered by his “colleague.”

With the Dragon Qi host sticking close to them, I probably won’t get another chance, and I still need to consider the Buddhist sect and Celestial Mechanics Palace’s ambush… The others are all martial artists, making an ambush almost impossible.

It would be a shame to come for nothing. Capturing someone for interrogation might even provide a hostage…

Hmm, that woman in the red dress has large breasts, she’d be a good target, but unfortunately, she’s taken the martial path.

While he was thinking, he looked toward the camp and happened to see a young woman leap onto the roof ridge, concentrating as she looked down at the crowd below.

At the same time, a youth carrying a spear turned out of the alley.

As he walked, the youth untied the long spear from his back and suddenly hurled it.

The spear turned into a black shadow, embedding itself in the arena and sending stone fragments flying.

He leaped up across the sea of people, landing on the tilted spear shaft, looking down at the crowd below:

“Who dares to come up and fight me?”

The crowd of heroes cursed angrily, shouting about teaching this arrogant ignorant kid a lesson.

“This young man knows how to show off…”

Xu Qi An shifted his gaze to examine the young woman on the distant roof ridge. He waited patiently for a moment but didn’t see her companions come out.

“The Art of Observing Qi – she’s an Arcanist… The Buddhist sect and Celestial Mechanics Palace’s attention is focused on the Dragon Qi host, no one would think my target is that young woman.”

“She practices the Art of Observing Qi, most likely a disciple trained by that dog Xu Ping Feng. She might know some secrets – know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll win every battle.”

The distance wasn’t close enough yet. Xu Qi An pretended to look at the scenery around while quietly getting closer to the building where the young woman was.

When they were less than twenty zhang apart, that young woman seemed to sense him and frowned, looking down.

Their gazes met. Xu Qi An grinned as his form was enveloped by a shadow, slowly “dissolving.”

Xu Yuan Shuang’s expression changed slightly. Still not realizing this strange man’s target was herself, she widened her beautiful eyes, using the Art of Observing Qi to search for his traces.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the shadow at her feet, grabbing her ankle.

Xu Yuan Shuang was startled but not flustered. The jade bracelet on her snow-white wrist lit up, raising a clear light trying to push that hand away.

That hand was pushed back slightly by the jade bracelet’s power but couldn’t completely break free.

Meanwhile, the opponent also couldn’t penetrate the clear light, creating a temporary stalemate.

Xu Yuan Shuang pulled out a formation-inscribed firearm from her bosom with her right hand, pointing the muzzle at the shadow at her feet, and calmly fired.

Bang! Bang!

The bullets entered the shadow but couldn’t harm the target.

When the firearm proved ineffective, Xu Yuan Shuang’s face sank. She promptly discarded the magical weapon firearm as her second and third magical weapons appeared – a bronze mirror and a round jade pendant.

As the eldest daughter of Xu Ping Feng, she didn’t lack personal magical weapons.

Xu Yuan Shuang flipped the mirror surface, aimed it at the shadow at her feet, and shouted sweetly: “Show yourself!”

The bronze mirror vibrated with an “om” sound, shooting out a golden beam of light into the shadow. As the darkness gradually dispersed, a man’s silhouette was outlined.

The man completely wrapped in shadow slowly raised his head and grinned:

“So many magical weapons – your identity must be extraordinary.”

His palm suddenly exerted force, and with a “bang,” the jade bracelet on Xu Yuan Shuang’s wrist shattered into powder, and the bronze mirror cracked.

At this moment, Xu Yuan Shuang applied force to her fingertips, about to crush the round jade pendant.

This was a teleportation magical weapon – crushing it would allow random teleportation to any location within thirty zhang.

“Mmph…”

Xu Yuan Shuang’s delicate body trembled, instantly becoming weak and soft, and the round jade pendant fell from her hand.

Heart insect!

And her entire person instantly sank into the shadow, disappearing.

The next moment, with a “bang,” a long spear flew over, piercing through the roof tiles, and sending debris flying.

Xu Yuan Qiai, who had been “playing” in the arena, noticed the commotion and threw his spear to support his sister, but it was ultimately a step too late.

His figure descended from the sky, smashing onto the roof ridge, shaking the entire house violently, making dust fall “rustle rustle.”

Xu Yuan Qiai looked around but saw no trace of his sister, letting out an angry roar.

The roof ridge of this building could no longer support it, beams breaking one after another, eaves collapsing.

…

Outside Yong Province city, by the black field ridges, Xu Qi An roughly threw the young woman he had been carrying on his shoulder onto a haystack built by commoners.

Xu Yuan Shuang’s delicate body bounced once on the soft haystack. She propped herself up with both hands to sit up against the haystack, her face burning hot, her breath exhaling scorching air.

Hormones rapidly secreted, her mouth dry and tongue parched, her legs weak.

I’ve been poisoned, it’s love poison, when did I get poisoned…

As an Arcanist, Xu Yuan Shuang was well-versed in medicine. She made the most precise analysis of her body’s condition.

Love poison had no antidote – it could only be suppressed by willpower, or, or…

A flash of fear and panic crossed her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it, looking coldly at Xu Qi An: “Who are you?”