Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three: Han the Warden

“Who are those people? They certainly look important!”

“You’d better keep saying that here. If they hear you, it won’t just be you who suffers—your whole family will be dragged into trouble!”

“That serious?”

“They’re the Stormcloud Guards, directly under the City Lord’s Manor of Ten Thousand Winds City. Every Meridian-Flow expert among them is an elite. Any one of them could take on ten ordinary fighters.”

An elder and four inner disciples of the Meridian-Flow realm had set out together to receive guests at the sect. Naturally, their appearance aroused the curiosity of the other disciples.

Just who could command such attention?

After hearing the answer, however, some of the disciples were less than satisfied.

“No matter how you look at it, they’re still only Meridian-Flow experts. Elder Liu is an Origin Core expert, after all. Why does he have to receive them personally?”

“The Stormcloud Guards represent the City Lord’s Manor. How could the Divine Sun Sect dare neglect them?”

The disciple who answered seemed to understand the situation well, analyzing it with great precision.

“Besides, the captains among the Stormcloud Guards may be capable of condensing an Origin Core through their own strength. Why would they think highly of Divine Sun Sect elders who rely on pills?”

Luo Tian silently watched the three Stormcloud Guards follow Liu Neng toward Divine Sun Mountain, where the sect master and the four great clans resided. He was not particularly worried. Almost every trace of what had happened had been erased. Although Yuan Zhou and Li Yang knew about the incident, neither of them knew Jiang Zhenglong’s true identity.

Who would ever connect a man secretly controlling several bands of thieves with the son of the City Lord?

“Senior Brother Luo! Senior Brother Luo!”

Li Yang spotted Luo Tian standing alone from a distance and immediately ran over.

“These past few days must have kept you terribly busy, right?”

“I’ve managed.”

Seeing that it was Li Yang, Luo Tian smiled faintly.

“How are things on your end?”

At that question, Li Yang’s expression dimmed.

“We still haven’t found her.”

Seeing his expression, Luo Tian did not know what to say. A weak woman who had never cultivated, falling into the hands of bandits—what kind of happy ending could there be? If she had not been killed at the time, she had probably been sold to the Ten Thousand Fragrance House by now.

“Senior Brother Luo, you’re about to break through to the Meridian-Flow realm, aren’t you?”

Li Yang’s face was filled with envy.

“If only I could become that strong. Then no bandit would ever dare trouble us again!”

“If you had strength, what would you want to do?”

Luo Tian was silent for a moment before suddenly asking the question.

Li Yang seemed not to have expected it. He froze, then awkwardly scratched his head.

“I don’t really want to do anything. After clearing out all the bandits nearby, I suppose that whenever I had free time, I’d teach the other children how to cultivate.”

“Why?”

Luo Tian was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Li Yang to give such an answer, and his curiosity was piqued.

“Cultivating in the Divine Sun Sect is truly exhausting.”

There was no particularly strong emotion on Li Yang’s face.

“I don’t want other people to come here and suffer through cultivation like this again. They give so much and receive so little in return. If I could teach them myself, not only could I help the other children avoid some unnecessary detours, I could also give them enough strength to protect themselves. Then, when they encountered bandits, they wouldn’t have to simply wait for death.”

Luo Tian listened quietly, lost in thought.

“By the way, Senior Brother Luo, you’ve been to Ten Thousand Winds City before. Are all those Stormcloud Guards really that formidable?”

Li Yang narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the group heading up Divine Sun Mountain.

“I heard they’re the finest Meridian-Flow cultivators in the entire territory of Ten Thousand Winds City!”

“Even the strongest people have cultivated their strength step by step.”

Luo Tian spoke calmly.

“I’ll be leaving the Divine Sun Sect in a few days to take the Stormcloud Guards’ examination.”

“The Stormcloud Guards’ examination?”

Li Yang was startled, then immediately beamed.

“That’s wonderful! If Senior Brother Luo stayed in the Divine Sun Sect forever, that would truly be a waste of your talent!”

Luo Tian knew that Li Yang was genuinely happy for him, and a warm current rose in his heart.

“You should cultivate diligently as well. You may have your own opportunity someday.”

“I know my own talent. What opportunity could I possibly have?”

Li Yang shook his head.

“Senior Brother Luo, I still have several questions I’d like to ask you about cultivation. It’s rare for you to have time now. If I don’t hurry, they’ll monopolize you again.”

On Divine Sun Mountain, inside the Hall of Deliberation—

“Over the years, the Divine Sun Sect has produced hardly any outstanding cultivators. Even after Inspector Han came here, there seems to have been no improvement.”

Though he was a guest, Hua Xiangyang showed not the slightest restraint. He was the first to speak, and his tone toward Han Li was already somewhat hostile.

Han Li smiled faintly.

“Captain Hua, that isn’t quite fair. I came to the Divine Sun Sect merely to oversee the Canon Repository. If the sect cannot produce outstanding cultivators, how could that possibly be my fault?”

“Hmph! And your oversight of this Canon Repository hardly seems very impressive either, does it?”

The Hua and Han families were infamous in Ten Thousand Winds City for being difficult to deal with. Even when there was nothing to quarrel over, they would find some excuse to clash. Now that Hua Xiangyang believed he had seized upon Han Li’s weakness, he naturally refused to let the opportunity pass.

“Along the way, I saw quite a number of disciples who knew almost nothing about body-forging arts. Some could not even be considered qualified practitioners. Surely that has something to do with you, Inspector Han?”

“Captain Hua, there is a problem with what you’re saying.”

Although Liu Changtian, as sect master, was fawning over the three Stormcloud Guards, Han Li remained entirely unmoved.

“As for resources, the Divine Sun Sect has not provided very many. As for cultivation experience, there are even fewer people capable of offering guidance. These disciples have no choice but to cultivate on their own and slowly find their way.”

“As the inspector assigned by Ten Thousand Winds City to oversee the Divine Sun Sect’s Canon Repository, I have told every disciple to pay attention to the secret arts of body cultivation. If they refuse to practice, what can I do about it?”

Hearing Han Li’s shameless reply, Hua Xiangyang was instantly enraged. But considering the circumstances, it was not appropriate to come to blows. He could only forcibly suppress his anger and turn toward Liu Changtian.

“Sect Master Liu, we have come this time because there is an important matter we need you to handle.”

“Please, speak freely.”

Although the Divine Sun Sect occupied a lowly position and could not compare with the Hua family, one of the three great clans of Ten Thousand Winds City, Liu Changtian still had to preserve the dignity of an Origin Core expert before Meridian-Flow cultivators.

An Earth Spirit Core expert and a Human Spirit Core expert were on entirely different levels.

Hua Xiangyang could look down on Liu Neng, but he could not disregard Liu Changtian.

“It is like this. After Young Master Jiang Zhenglong left Ten Thousand Winds City some time ago, he never returned. More than ten days have passed, and he remains missing.”

Once Hua Xiangyang began discussing serious business, his expression became solemn.

“Of course, we cannot rule out the worst possibility. Therefore, we hope Sect Master Liu will order all Divine Sun Sect disciples to pay attention whenever they leave the sect and see whether they encounter any news of Young Master Jiang. If anything unusual happens, they may report it to us. We Stormcloud Guards will investigate the matter thoroughly.”

“Such a thing actually happened?”

Liu Changtian’s expression changed dramatically, and he was genuinely shocked.

“Young Master Jiang is no weakling. How could he simply disappear?”

“That is precisely what we must determine.”

Hua Xiangyang’s expression was grave.

“When he left Ten Thousand Winds City, Young Master Jiang was already a Meridian-Flow cultivator. He was not weak, yet even so, he vanished without a trace. Sect Master Liu, I hope you will treat this matter with the utmost seriousness and immediately order your disciples to gather as much information about Young Master Jiang as possible.”