Sensing the frustration in Xu You’s tone, Shen Mengqi replied calmly, “He’s just a childhood playmate and an old friend. Without a spirit root, he can’t cultivate and is unlike us. You don’t have to bother about him.”
“So, it’s just a mere commoner. I was wondering what sort of a character he was.”
Xu You raised his eyebrows and said coldly, “This Su Zimo clearly knows that you’ve joined Iridescent Clouds Palace and became a cultivator. Despite that, he dares to bully your brother?”
Shen Mengqi shook her head. “Forget it, it’s all in the past. Besides, it might not be his fault either.”
Even though Shen Nan made himself seem innocent while explaining the story and mentioned how Su Zimo was the one bullying others, Shen Mengqi was well aware of her brother’s character.
Furthermore, the way Shen Nan was avoiding her gaze affirmed her guess that there was more to things.
“How can that do!”
Xu You said in a deep voice, “This Su Zimo doesn’t know his place. He even dares to act so impudently as a commoner. Since I got to know about him, I’ll have to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget!”
Initially, Xu You had not intended to interfere in this matter. However, he could vaguely sense that Shen Mengqi seemed to be defending that Su Zimo.
The more she did that, the more Xu You wanted to interfere and take a look at that person!
He looked at Shen Nan and asked coldly, “Young Master Shen, where is that person now?”
Shen Nan did not intend to do anything at first. But when he heard Xu You’s words, his mind started churning and he turned more energetic.
Stammering, he replied, “H-He left Ping Yang Town two years ago. I don’t know where he is.”
Xu You frowned.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was enormous and there were dozens of vassal states of varying sizes – finding a person was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.
Shen Nan coughed gently. “However, he has a brother, Su Hong, who is the current King of Yan. He has a prominent status and we can’t afford to offend him…”
“Humph!”
Xu You scoffed. “A king of mortals is but a mortal! He can be on par with the Qi Refinement Warrior of a minor sect, but against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of Iridescent Clouds Palace like me? Even if he’s the King of Yan, he’ll have to kneel before me!”
Shen Nan’s eyes shone and his blood boiled as he listened.
It was as if Shen Nan was looking at the high and mighty King of Yan kneeling in front of him obediently, not daring to lift his head. What sort of an image would that be?
Xu You declared proudly, “That’s perfect. Junior sister, since this Su Zimo bullied your brother, let’s go to the capital of Yan Country and teach his brother a lesson! Fufu, this is tit for tat!”
Shen Mengqi frowned and hesitated.
“Junior sister, we’ll have to make a trip to the capital of Yan Country even if it’s not for this matter.”
Xu You continued, “Junior Brother Zhou disappeared for two years without a trace. Master asked us to investigate the place where the most cultivators are gathered in Yan Country. The place with the most information is the capital.”
“Yes, alright.”
Shen Mengqi nodded.
Xu You retrieved a spirit vessel from his storage bag and injected spirit qi, causing it to expand with the wind and hover in midair.
Smiling, Xu You said, “Young Master Shen, do come along. The day you meet the King of Yan will be the day you can hold your head high!”
Shen Nan nodded hurriedly and his body trembled in excitement; his eyes could barely conceal his emotions.
The many Iridescent Clouds Palace cultivators boarded the spirit vessel one after another. Under Xu You’s control, it rose into the air and turned into a stream of light, speeding towards the capital of Yan Country.
…
After traveling a few days at full speed, Su Zimo and Demoness Ji finally arrived at the capital of Yan Country.
Two years ago, Su Zimo was here.
In that main hall, he beheaded the King of Yan, Zhao Qian, in front of everyone. Tying the latter’s head to his waist, he engaged in a bloody battle and fought his way out with dominance.
Everything seemed to have happened yesterday.
After a slight pause, Su Zimo rode on his flying sword and sped towards the palace, arriving above it quickly.
“Who’s there?!”
Someone berated from below.
Right after, two Qi Refinement Warriors summoned their flying swords and flew into the air, arriving opposite Su Zimo and Demoness Ji.
The two of them were Qi Refinement Warriors, one at Level 6 and the other at Level 9.
Using their Spirit Peering Art, they swept across Su Zimo and Demoness Ji, causing their expressions to change in shock as they shuddered.
Su Zimo’s current cultivation was at the peak of early-stage Foundation Establishment, he was far above the both of them.
Demoness Ji stood there with a veil covering her face – they could not detect her cultivation!
“Greetings, seniors.”
The two Qi Refinement Warriors reacted quickly and bowed hurriedly.
One of them asked cautiously in a testing manner, “May I know what brings you two here?”
“Bring me to the King of Yan.”
Su Zimo smiled in a friendly manner.
“This…”
The two men exchanged glances and did not agree immediately.
After all, they did not know the identity of this green robed cultivator – how would they dare to bring people in rashly?
However, the man and woman before them had high cultivations. If they wanted to force their way through, no one could stop them either.
Right then, a sword beam sped over from not far away.
When that person came close and caught sight of Su Zimo, his eyes lit up and he said happily, “Second Young Master Su?”
“Mr. Song, it’s been two years. How have you been?” Su Zimo smiled and nodded.
The person who arrived later was the Qi Refinement Warrior that Su Zimo had hired two years earlier to protect the Su family – Song Qi.
Back then, Song Qi had just broken through to be a Level 8 Qi Refinement Warrior. Right now, he was at Level 9.
“Eh?”
Song Qi looked at the flying sword Su Zimo was riding on with widened eyes of disbelief.
From what he could remember, Su Zimo did not have a spirit root and was unable to cultivate – how was he managing sword kinesis flight right now?
Instinctively, Song Qi checked Su Zimo’s cultivation with the Spirit Peering Art.
That single check gave Song Qi a shock and he nearly fell from the skies.
Early-stage Foundation Establishment!
In just two years, a mortal without any foundation or spirit root had entered Foundation Establishment realm!
Song Qi had not slacked off in the past two years but even then, he had only improved by a single level.
In fact, what Song Qi did not know was that Su Zimo had even spent half a year locked in Thunderclap Valley without any improvement to his cultivation.
Furthermore, half of Su Zimo’s spirit qi was spent on tempering his body as well.
How great was the gap between them?
In the entire Yan Country, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could be considered as one of the top.
This was the difference between spirit root and had nothing to do with how much talent or cultivation resources one had.
“Second Young Master Su, you’ve changed so much in two years.”
Song Qi sighed and shook his head, lamenting to himself.
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that the youth from Ping Yang Town back then would reach such a level today!
Demoness Ji blinked her eyes at the side. Grinning, she muttered softly, “Second Young Master Su. Hehe, interesting.”
“How has brother been recently?” Su Zimo asked.
“Young Master’s health is fine, but he often misses the two of you. He’s worried that you’ll meet with danger and be bullied outside.”
That had Su Zimo feeling extremely touched.
Song Qi led Su Zimo and Demoness Ji into the back palace.
The back palace of the King of Yan was quiet and plain. There were no beautiful women or three thousand concubines. Instead, they saw quite a number of Su family members.
When old friends met, they could not help but exchange pleasantries.