“Uncle Sun Qiang?”
Wei Yuqing was just about to explain the matter when he heard these words. His lips trembled, and he nearly bit his own tongue.
As the head of the Poison Hall, there were no doubts about the other party’s strength and his ability to utilize poison. Even if Hall Master Xie Jiuchen were to come personally, there was no guarantee that he could defeat the other party.
Even Wei Yuqing had to bow respectfully before such an elder for fear of offending the other party.
Yet, this fellow declared that ‘uncle is here’ as soon as he arrived.
Where in the world did that come from?
Even if Gu Mu was Yang shi’s grandstudent, you should have nothing much to do with it!
For a Dingli realm fellow to claim to the be uncle of a Zhizun realm expert…
And to declare it so loudly and imposingly at that…
Wei Yuqing felt his face turn green.
He thought that it should be a simple matter bringing Sun Qiang here to look for someone. How could he have known that Sun Qiang was such an unreliable companion?
“What did you say?”
“Where did this fool come from!”
As expected. As soon as Sun Qiang spoke those arrogant words, everyone’s fury immediately erupted.
They had always admired Hall Master Gu Mu’s incredible strength, so how could they tolerate a random stranger claiming to be his uncle, his senior? This was an insult!
Furthermore, even if Hall Master Gu Mu were to really have an uncle, the other party should at least be a powerful Transcendent Mortal expert. How could such a shameless-looking Dingli realm fellow like you be his uncle?
“Audacious!”
Used to such situations, Sun Qiang’s eyebrows shot up as he bellowed authoritatively, “Hurry up and call him out. Otherwise, don’t blame me if I get that lad Gu Mu to tear you apart!”
“Lad? Gu Mu?”
Wei Yuqing’s mouth twitched yet again.
He felt that a heart problem would crop up soon enough if he continued listening to these words.
“You…”
The faces of the poison masters steeled in fury. Unable to hold back their fury, they were about to make a move on Sun Qiang when a voice echoed.
“What happened? Who are these visitors?”
Turning to the origin of the voice, an imposing young man walked over with widened strides.
It had not been long since the bell rang, and it was already ringing for the second time. When did the Poison Hall get so bothersome?
“Poison Master Wu Xi, you came at the right time. These fellows popped out from nowhere and claimed to be Hall Master Gu’s uncle…” The group hurriedly explained the matter to the young man who had just appeared.
“Teacher’s uncle? I don’t recall teacher having any relatives…”
Wu Xi frowned in confusion.
Even though he was baffled, he chose to handle the matter prudently. Thus, he clasped his fist and asked.
“I am Wu Xi, and Hall Master Gu Mu is my teacher. May I know how to address you and where did you come from so that I can report this matter to teacher.”
Seeing the other party’s respectful attitude, Sun Qiang nodded his head in satisfaction. “How to address me? I am your teacher’s uncle, so you can address me as grandfather!”
Wu Xi’s eyebrows twitched, and his body swayed for an instant.
As the direct disciple of the hall master, he possessed a high standing in the Poison Hall. For a Dingli realm fellow out of nowhere to claim to be his grandfather…
Stifled, he nearly exploded.
Even so, if the other party was truly his teacher’s uncle, there would be no problem with the address.
“Since you claim to be teacher’s uncle, may I know if you have… anything to affirm your identity?”
Suppressing his rage, Wu Xi clasped his fists respectfully.
“Here!”
With a flick of his wrist, Sun Qiang threw the token Zhang Xuan gave him over.
“It’s teacher’s token…”
Upon seeing the object, Wu Xi’s face changed.
He had seen teacher’s token once, and it was a one-of-a-kind object. To think that he would see it on this plump man… Could this unimpressive fellow truly be teacher’s uncle?
“Elder, please wait for a moment. I’ll report this matter to teacher now!”
Given that the other party was able to take out his teacher’s token, it was highly likely that his words were true. Thus, Wu Xi hurriedly clasped his fists respectfully. At the same time, he also changed his method of address to ‘elder’.
“Un, go on!”
Sun Qiang waved his hands proudly.
Seeing the imposing Wu Xi behaving so respectfully, the other poison masters were dumbfounded.
They thought that this fellow was bragging. To think that it was actually true!
Just a moment ago, someone had just appeared claiming to be the hall master’s teacher. Given his powerful and majestic disposition, no one doubted his words at all.
And now, the uncle had appeared as well. However, why did this uncle seem so weak and unimpressive?
…
In the lounge of the Poison Hall, Gu Mu was seated on a chair, and he had an extremely respectful and humble look on his face.
In the past twenty days, his cultivation had leaped considerably. Vaguely, one could sense that he was just a single step away from reaching Half-Transcension.
It seemed like it wouldn’t be long before he managed to make that breakthrough to a whole new world.
Seated before was a white-haired elder. His eyes were deep as though an abyss, filled with the vicissitudes of life, leaving one with an unfathomable impression of him.
Seated beside the elder was a youth dressed in a white robe. The youth had rosy lips and held a foldable fan in his hands. Taking a closer look, he was even more dashing than the refined Ji Mo gongzi, who won the hearts of the ladies in Tianwu Royal City.
In fact, the disposition and appearance of this youth far exceeded that of Ji Mo. The difference was as huge as though the gap between the heaven and the earth.
A feature that stood out for that youth was his smooth and pale skin. Even Zhang Xuan, who had already cultivated the Heaven’s Path Golden Body 2-dan, could not match up to his complexion. Perhaps, only Zhao Ya could be a match for him.
The youth sat quietly on a chair beside the elder. Even though he didn’t speak a single word, he exuded a pressure that caused the white-haired elder to feel slightly restrained, not daring to speak excessively.
“Teacher, this is the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed. Upon consumption, it’ll increase a person’s chances of breaking into the Half-Transcension realm by twenty percent!”
With a flick on his wrist, Hall Master Gu Mu took out a jade box and passed it over to the elder.
Opening the box, a blood-red object the size of a peanut appeared before everyone’s gazes. It exuded astonishingly concentrated spiritual energy which revitalized one with just a single breath.
Crimson Flame Lotus Seed!
This was the treasure obtained back when he was at the Red Lotus Range.
“Un!”
Nodding his head, the elder took it and passed it to the youth beside him, “Gong-gongzi!”
“This is the reason why you came here?”
The youth who was addressed as ‘gongzi’ glanced at the seed for a moment before closing it.
The incomparably valuable Crimson Flame Lotus Seed that other cultivators would kill to obtain seemed to be something of zero value in his eyes.
“I heard that this object is beneficial to gongzi’s recovery…” the elder hurriedly explained.
“You’ve been troubled!”
Upon hearing that it was for him, ‘gongzi’ nodded his head, kept the jade box, and fell silent once more.
“Well done!”
Seeing the finicky ‘gongzi’ accept the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed, the elder heaved a sigh of relief. Only then did he turn to Hall Master Gu Mu and nod his head in satisfaction.
“Teacher has done so much for me, it’s only right for me to be filial to you!”
Gu Mu hurriedly clasped his fist humbly.
The person seated before him was his ex-teacher, 4-star Poison Master Jin Conghai.
When Jin Conghai was still a 3-star poison master, he accepted Gu Mu in as his student and groomed him. Eventually, he managed to break through his bottleneck, so he left Xuanyuan Kingdom. With this departure, he was gone for two whole decades.
Even so, his guidance had played a fundamental role to Gu Mu’s current accomplishments.
Otherwise, he would probably still be trying to crawl ahead as a 2-star poison master.
Knowing that the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed was an incredible treasure, he immediately sent the news over to his teacher. As such, his teacher made a detour to the Xuanyuan Kingdom Poison Hall.
“Since we’ve obtained what we needed, let’s go!”
The ‘gongzi’ didn’t seem to care for pleasantries or that sort. Waving the fan in his hand, he stood up.
“Yes!” Jin Conghai nodded.
“Teacher, may I know… where are you heading in such a hurry to? If it’s within my means, I wish to offer my assistance…”
Hall Master Gu Mu hesitated for a brief moment before asking.
He thought that his teacher would stay a period of time, during which, he could seek his guidance on his cultivation to break through his bottleneck. Yet, the other party was going to leave right after arriving. This left him slightly disappointed.
“Gongzi is intending to head to a Tier 1 Kingdom below Xuanyuan Kingdom. There’s nothing we need your help on, you don’t have to worry about it!”
Jin Conghai shook his hands and rejected the other party’s offer with a smile.
“There is a total of twenty-seven Tier-1 Kingdoms under Xuanyuan Kingdom. May I know which one is gongzi and teacher intending to head to? I am familiar with some of them, so perhaps I can help lead the way.”
Knowing that his teacher was deferential to this ‘gongzi’, Hall Master Gu Mu asked for the latter’s opinion as well.
“Tianwu Kingdom!” Jin Conghai said.
“Tianwu? I’ve just returned from there a few days ago. In fact, this Crimson Flame Lotus Seed came from the branch there! I am well-versed with the directions there, so if I may, I could guide you both!”
Gu Mu’s eyes lit up in excitement.
Given that he had just come from Tianwu Kingdom, he was still rather familiar with the basic layout of the region.
“You’ve just returned from Tianwu Kingdom?”
Hearing the Gu Mu’s words, the nonchalant ‘gongzi’ suddenly turned around and asked, “Good, I’ve something to ask you about.”
“Gongzi, feel free to speak!” Gu Mu replied respectfully.
After a momentary pause, the ‘gongzi’ was just about to voice his query when anxious footsteps sounded outside. Then, Wu Xi appeared in the group’s sight. “Teacher!”
“What’s wrong?”
Given that the other party interrupted the esteemed ‘gongzi’s’ words, Gu Mu’s complexion immediately darkened.
“There’s a person outside claiming to be your uncle, and he insists on meeting you…” Wu Xi hurriedly said.
“My uncle?”
Gu Mu was baffled. “When did I ever have an uncle?”
His father was the sole son in his family, so how could he have an uncle?
“But… he has your token!”
Wu Xi quickly lifted the token Sun Qiang gave him up.
Upon seeing the token, realization suddenly struck Gu Mu. “Could he be someone senior granduncle sent?”
It was just a few days ago that he gave this token to the mysterious ‘senior granduncle’.
Even though the other party looked young, he possessed unfathomable means. The reason why he managed to touch on the gates of Half-Transcension in just a short span of twenty days was because of this senior’s guidance.
The other party had cured him of his affliction and helped him tame the Lava Beast, thus granting him sufficient time and hope to avenge his wife.
To be honest, the gratitude he felt toward this mysterious senior didn’t pale to that of his teacher.
“What senior granduncle?”
Hearing Gu Mu’s mutterings, Jin Conghai turned his head over.
“I was just about to report this matter to teacher…”
Gu Mu hurriedly walked forward and asked, “May I know if… teacher has a young-looking senior uncle?”
Since the other party was his senior granduncle, then naturally, he would be his teacher’s senior uncle.
“Senior uncle?”
Jin Conghai was bewildered. “Young-looking? What’s his name?”
“His name is Bai Chan… However, I think that it’s just an alias. I’m not too sure what his real name is either!” Gu Mu said.
Gu Mu had Liao Xun investigated the matter, but the results showed that Bai Chan was only an ordinary physician in Tianwu Royal City. Most probably, senior granduncle did not want others to know his identity, that’s why he chose to conceal his true name.
Seeing that Gu Mu was unclear of the matter as well, Jin Conghai asked, “Where’s he now?”
It was common for a cultivator to have many teachers throughout his entire life. However, most of them could only be considered as a half-teacher. More often than not, one would only have a single true teacher.
His teacher had already passed away many years ago, and he didn’t hear of his teacher having any juniors at all. Where did this senior uncle appear from?
“I haven’t met him since parting from him at Red Lotus Range. However, I gave him my token, and someone is looking for me now with it. Most probably, that person should be his junior or his student!” Gu Mu said.
Since the other party claimed to be his uncle, it meant that the other party was a junior of his senior granduncle.
“My teacher, Jin Chengxue, has already passed away, thirteen years ago. He’d never spoken of our lineage, so I’m not too sure about the details as well. However, if he’s truly related to my teacher, I should be able to recognize it…”
With a deep frown, Jin Conghai suddenly felt intrigued to know who this ‘senior uncle’ was. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to look at ‘gongzi’.
“It’s only out of interest that I’m heading to Tianwu Royal City. It isn’t much of a problem for me to push back my schedule for a few days. Since this is a problem regarding your lineage, you should investigate it properly to prevent anyone from making use of your name!”
Knowing Jin Conghai’s intentions, ‘gongzi’ shook his hands casually.
“Thank you, gongzi!”
Upon receiving the other party’s approval, Jin Conghai’s eyes lit up. Then, turning to Gu Mu, he issued an instruction.
“Allow him in. I would like to see if this senior uncle is real or not…”
“Yes!”
Gu Mu nodded before gesturing to Wu Xi.
The young man walked out, and before long, he returned with two figures behind him.
The one walking in front was a plump man whose cultivation was only at Dingli realm. His hands behind his back, his chest was puffed up, and he carried a slight air of superiority.
Sun Qiang.
The other man was an elder possessing a cultivation of Zhizun realm pinnacle. He had a composed disposition, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes.
Grand Elder Wei Yuqing.
As soon as the trio walked in, before Wu Xi had a chance to introduce them, Sun Qiang’s eyes swept across the people in the room and he said, “Which of you is Gu Mu?”
Seeing how that fellow arrogantly addressed the hall master by his name, the complexion of Wu Xi and the others turned awful.
“I am!”
Gu Mu frowned as well, but he clasped his fist and responded politely.
“I believe you have seen the token already. The old master hopes for you to make a trip to Xuanyuan Royal City.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Sun Qiang walked up to the main seat and waved his plump hands, “You should hurry up and make preparations!”
“May I know… the reason why senior granduncle is asking me to head for Xuanyuan Royal City? And what should I prepare?” Gu Mu asked in confusion.
Since the other party had the token, it was unlikely that this plump man was an imposter. Besides, Gu Mu had given his word that regardless of who it was, as long as they came to him with the token in hand, he would fulfill their demands regardless of what it was.
Sun Qiang replied, “As a subordinate, I dare not comment on the old master’s affairs. I advise you to do the same as well… When you reach Xuanyuan Royal City, he’ll inform you on the rest!”
“This… Yes!” Gu Mu nodded.
Not only was this Dingli realm fellow fearless before the Zhizun realm pinnacle Poison Hall Hall Master, he even spoke with a lecturing tone. Grand Elder Wei Yuqing felt so faint-headed that the whites of his eyes were showing.
He thought that given Sun Qiang’s weak cultivation and shabby background, it was unlikely for him to be experienced in this kind of huge matter. Thus, as a Zhizun realm pinnacle, the grand elder of the Beast Hall, he intended to bring him along and teach him a thing or two…
In the end… he became the countryside bumpkin instead.
Before the fearsome head of the Poison Hall, he was so scared that he didn’t dare to utter a single word. On the other hand, the other party was able to speak nonchalantly, lecturing as he pleased, not giving the slightest consideration to the hall master’s face at all…
He sure was bold!
Where in the world did he get such confidence from?
Did he really think that the other party wouldn’t dare kill him?
Even the composed ‘gongzi’ couldn’t help but widen his eyes in astonishment.
He had seen arrogant people before, but this plump man clearly topped them all.
Given the other party’s strength, even an apprentice in the Poison Hall could easily extinguish his measly life. Yet, he was able to speak fearlessly here. Could his backing truly be that great? Was he certain that Gu Mu wouldn’t make a move on him, that’s why he was able to remain fearless?
“This friend here, may I know how I can address your old master?”
Unable to hold himself back anymore, Jin Conghai spoke up.
The other party’s confidence and boldness had left him puzzled as well.
If the other party was an imposter, he would surely show some hints of fear. However, Jin Conghai could sense that this plump man was truly confident and fearless.
This meant that he must have something to fall back on…
Such boldness was not something an imposter could possess.
“Audacious! Who do you think you are? I’m speaking to Hall Master Gu Mu, this isn’t your place to butt in!”
Sun Qiang’s eyebrows shot up furiously.
“The heck!”
Grand Elder Wei Yuqing nearly spurted a mouthful of blood. He nearly couldn’t hold back his urge to escape.
Due to Sun Qiang’s lack of strength, he was unable to gauge the strength of this elder. However, as soon as Wei Yuqing walked in, he had already noticed the peculiarity with this elder. Given the deeply concealed and exceptionally calm aura of the other party, there was a high chance that he was a Transcendent Mortal expert!
It was precisely due to this elder that he didn’t dare to move or speak at all. Yet, this fellow… berated him!
Doomed!
Wei Yuqing thought that this should be an easy mission since they only had to look for a person. But from the looks of it now, this simple mission was going to claim his life…
He wasn’t the only one astounded by this situation. ‘Gongzi’ and Gu Mu also nearly bit their tongues.
How dare a Fighter 5-dan Dingli realm weakling speak to a Transcendent Mortal expert like that…
This was no longer boldness, this was madness!
“You…”
Having been bellowed at, Jin Conghai’s face darkened. He flung his sleeves and said, “I am Hall Master Gu Mu’s teacher, 4-star Poison Master Jin Conghai. Even so, I still have no rights to speak?”
“Gu Mu’s teacher? 4-star poison master?”
Sun Qiang was taken aback.
He thought that the other party was just a sidekick, and he didn’t expect him to be such a formidable figure.
Even so, Sun Qiang didn’t panic in the least. He simply stared at Jin Conghai with a look of disdain.
“So what if you’re a 4-star poison master? Even 4-star master teachers like Su Fan and Ling Yuheng have to pay respect to the old master in the capacity of a student, not daring to refute even when reprimanded… Why, do you think that you’re superior to 4-star master teachers?”
Trying to scare me?
Let me tell you, I, Brother Qiang, am no bumpkin!
Back then, even the 4-star master teacher ‘Little Su’ acted subserviently to the old master, not daring to speak loudly or go against his wills. You are just a mere poison master. No matter how incredible you are, do you think you can match up to the number one occupation in the world?
Didn’t I try to spare your pride already? What are you bragging for!
“Su Fan? Ling Yuheng? Do you mean Elder Su and Elder Ling from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance’s Master Teacher Pavilion?”
Jin Conghai was about to erupt from rage when he heard those words. His face immediately warped in shock.
As 4-star master teachers, Su Fan and Ling Yuheng were famous figures in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. Not only were they powerful, they also possessed incredible influence as the elders of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Their standing was comparable even to the nobles of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance’s royal family.
Yet, these two noble and powerful master teachers actually paid respect to his old master in the capacity of a student… Are you for real?
If that’s true… Then who in the world was his old master?
A grave look surfaced on Jin Conghai’s face.
