"You..." The Second Young Lady glared at him in fury. She had read ancient records; her constitution was passed down from antiquity, inheriting the lineage of the Water God itself. How could it sound like little more than trash coming from his mouth?
"Young brother! This is a matter of my Yan family. Although our Yan family does not wish to court trouble, it does not mean we fear it. If you interfere in this, I'm afraid our Yan family will not let you live in peace." A First-stage Divine Realm cultivator spoke, his voice thick with threat, implying that the Yan family would seek revenge.
"Hey, Ma Lian! Is this Yan family very powerful?" Wu Tianjun suddenly spoke to the empty air. "Little Loach! I think you want me to deal with them myself, and then deal with you next." He then looked toward the Flying Flood Dragon, which was fighting the other three, and shouted loudly.
"Hmm, not particularly powerful. Twenty thousand years ago, they were merely a God Lord family. Your subordinate is not very clear about their current state." The void tore open, and a middle-aged man stepped out. He casually grabbed one of the men pursuing Elder Fu and the other person, performing a soul search. "Hmph! Two early-stage Divine Venerables. I could make the entire Yan family vanish from the face of the earth with a single slap!" Ma Lian spoke nonchalantly, completely ignoring the people below who were staring at him with slack-jawed astonishment.
"Is that so? Two Divine Venerables. Hmph, that is somewhat powerful. It scared me half to death." Wu Tianjun looked at the First-stage Divine Realm cultivator with a half-smile. "So, do you think I can interfere now?"
"Y-yes, you can..." the First-stage Divine Realm cultivator said in a trembling voice. Tearing open the void was not something an ordinary God Lord could do. Making the Yan family disappear with a single slap—didn't that mean even the two Divine Venerable ancestors would perish in one blow? And this young boy was his master. Just how powerful were they?
"Hey... so you don't agree!" Wu Tianjun looked at the Second Young Lady, then stepped into the air and said to Ma Lian, "Let's go! Have you gathered enough intelligence?"
"Yes, Master!" Ma Lian said respectfully, following behind him in the sky.
"Haha, Little Loach, you didn't complete the task. I'm in a bad mood, so I'll spare your life," Wu Tianjun said lazily. What kind of bullshit logic was this!
"Huh? Thank you, milord, for sparing my life!" The Flying Flood Dragon said in joy, then soared into the depths of the Yuanwood Star Forest. It was too dangerous out here; if it met that boy again, it might really be roasted and eaten.
"Wait..." the Second Young Lady suddenly spoke up. "Do you want me to be your concubine?" she asked, her face flushing red.
"..." Wu Tianjun and Ma Lian almost fell to the ground. They turned back to look at the Second Young Lady. "When did I ever say I wanted to take you as a concubine? This young master hasn't even officially married his main wife yet, so why would I take a concubine?" Wu Tianjun looked at the Second Young Lady, not hesitating to strike while the iron was hot. "I told you to follow me. Just follow me. Who wants you as a concubine? This young master is handsome and elegant, dashing and refined, radiating charm in all directions. Taking a concubine would only ruin my free and easy life! Besides, my eldest brother isn't even married yet. Keep dreaming!" Wu Tianjun ranted on for a while before finally stopping, looking at the Second Young Lady as if she were an idiot.
"I will follow you on one condition: you must help heal my father." Having misunderstood his intentions, the Second Young Lady blushed, not daring to lift her head as she mumbled.
"No time! Go find some other expert." Wu Tianjun's childish streak flared up as he spoke.
"As long as you help my father, you can have me do whatever you want in the future, including..." At this point, the Second Young Lady blushed and fell silent.
"Hey! Come on, elder sister, you shouldn't say things like that. It makes it sound like this young master is bullying a girl from a respectable family. If my mother... and my father find out, they'll beat me to death." Wu Tianjun spoke with a bizarre expression, but remembering his mother dampened his mood. "Ma Lian! How exactly was her father injured?" He looked at Ma Lian with a serious expression. Having decided to take in the Second Young Lady, he didn't want her to harbor any lingering grievances.
"It seems to be a soul injury..." Ma Lian speculated, based on the results of his soul-searching.
"Is that so? Chi Danzi, go back to the Yan family with her! While you're at it, gather some intelligence about what has happened over these past few years." Wu Tianjun spoke, looking toward the void.
The void tore open once more, and Chi Danzi stepped out, bowing respectfully. "Yes, Master!" It turned out they had returned long ago, but seeing it was just a minor squabble, they had remained hidden in the void to enjoy the show.
"And what about these people...?" Ma Lian asked, pointing at the pursuers.
"Kill them. For now, I don't want anyone to know of my existence." Wu Tianjun pronounced their death sentence. Until he uncovered the reason behind his family's disaster, he would not reveal himself to the world.
"Master, why don't we accompany these two back to the Yan family? We can just enter in secret without letting anyone know," Jiang Wu suggested, stepping out of the void as well.
"Indeed, Master!" Wang Qianqian chimed in. "Little girl, what is your name?" she asked, turning to the Second Young Lady.
"I... This junior, Yan Ling'er, greets the seniors." Staring at the eleven powerhouses who had emerged from the void, Elder Fu and Yan Ling'er were utterly dumbfounded, at a complete loss for words. What kind of group was this? Their cultivation realms were terrifyingly high. As for their young master, there was something inexplicable about him—he seemed perfectly natural, yet at the same time, not natural at all...
"Ah, very well, let's do as you say. It's about time I met some people anyway. It has been so many years..." Wu Tianjun said, sounding like a wise old man. "Oh, and I need to change my clothes. These are too loose and uncomfortable."
With a wave of his hand, Ma Lian enveloped Elder Fu and Yan Ling'er in a shroud of energy, taking to the skies and flying in the direction Elder Fu indicated toward the Yan family. Elder Fu was overjoyed. With the help of these powerhouses, the Yan family would soon stabilize. As for Yan Ling'er, being able to follow this mysterious boy was truly her great fortune!
Wu Tianjun's group tore through the void all the way out of the Yuanmu Star Forest. Naturally, Wu Zixuan was the one doing the heavy lifting. In less than half a day, they arrived at the Yan family's territory, leaving Elder Fu green with envy. How incredibly powerful must these masters be to tear through space so effortlessly? He and his companion had fled for over a month, yet they had returned in less than half a day. Of course, the Yan family's territory was not too far from the Yuanmu Star Forest to begin with.
The Yan family ruled over ten planets, all interconnected by teleportation arrays. Wu Tianjun had now arrived at one of these planets, known as the Lumo Star. It was merely a minor planet, perhaps only a tenth of the size of the former Qingyun Star. Its spiritual energy was decent, and the highest-level martial artists here were at the peak of the second layer of the Divine Realm, on par with Elder Fu.
"From here, we only need to use the teleportation array once to reach the Yan Family Star," Elder Fu said respectfully to Wu Zixuan and the others. He noticed that although these people called Wu Tianjun "Master," the boy himself did not seem very powerful. He was likely the descendant of some supreme expert. Elder Fu guessed that Wu Zixuan and his companions were, at most, in the Divine Venerable Realm. How could he have known that Wu Zixuan was actually holding back his speed?
"Sigh! With the star domains merging, space is becoming increasingly stable," Wu Zixuan remarked as he tore through the void. Unless absolutely necessary, cultivators would not choose to tear through space; they would use teleportation arrays instead.
"Master, are you heading to the Yan Family Star, or... just looking around?" Wu Zixuan turned to ask Yu Tianjun. Elder Fu might not know of this young man's capabilities, but Wu Zixuan knew he was far from as simple as he appeared.
"Chi Danzi, take three Sacred Gods to assist the Yan family. I find the environment here quite pleasant, so I'll stay here for the time being. Make it quick, and then we'll depart," Yu Tianjun said, looking down at the Lumo Star. "Oh, and once you return, organize yourselves into the Twelve Guardians. Hearing 'Master' all day gets a bit tedious," Yu Tianjun spoke lazily, then began walking slowly toward the Lumo Star.
"As you command, Master!" Chi Danzi replied. He then took one peak Sacred God and two who had newly broken through, departing alongside Yan Ling'er and her companion.
"The Twelve Guardians..." The remaining few fell into deep thought. Could their young master be planning to establish his own faction?
The six of them, led by Chi Danzi, headed straight for the teleportation array. They activated it and departed for the Yan Family Star, unaware that a massive battle was also brewing there.
As the teleportation array flared with light, Chi Danzi's group of seven vanished. Only a few onlookers noticed their departure, but they immediately kept their mouths shut. Anyone who could activate the teleportation array at will had to be a direct descendant of the Yan family. They were in no position to interfere; one wrong move could cost them their lives.
"Split up and gather some information about what has happened over the years, especially regarding the Yu family from a few years back. See if you can find any news of my clansmen," Yu Tianjun instructed. He still did not know exactly how much time had passed.
"The Yu family..." Wu Zixuan and the others recalled that their master's surname was Yu, and that his clan had been wiped out. It seemed that despite his youth, he had already been through a great deal. "As you command, Master! But what about you?" Mo Lian asked, looking at Yu Tianjun.
"Go on. There is nothing on this planet that can threaten me," Yu Tianjun said with a smile. With his Demon Vein cultivation at the peak of the mid-stage Divine Lord realm, he was not someone to be trifled with. Furthermore, his true cultivation alone had reached the late first level of the Divine Realm, and he had yet to test the full extent of his actual combat strength.
"Understood. Then your subordinate shall take his leave." Mo Lian turned and flew off.
"Sigh... I suppose I should look around a bit as well," Yu Tianjun murmured softly, heading toward a distant city.