Boom!

His fist created a huge blast of air and a force that could sweep away thousands of troops.

Lin Xun’s pupils shrank but before he could counterattack, the old man had already stretched out his hand and swiped across the air.

The soldierly youngster was blasted away like a bullet and slammed against a cabin wall, shaking the entire treasure ship.

The scene even made Lin Xun feel his body ache. But he was more surprised to see the soldierly youngster bounce up like nothing had happened and glowered at the old man. “You’re stronger and you’re bullying the weak. This is unfair!”

The old man chuckled. “Did your father not tell you that only weak people complain that they’re not as strong as others?”

The soldierly youngster snorted and shifted his gaze back to Lin Xun. He gritted his teeth. “Little liar, I’ll deal with you after the old man leaves!”

Lin Xun finally remembered who the youngster was. He had met the youngster after his first visit to the Donglin Martial Training Hall to test his aeth power. At the time, the youngster was surrounded by a group of Steel Blood Guards and he also asked Lin Xun about his cultivation level. He seemed very outgoing, but it was his mature and soldierly appearance at thirteen years old that left a deep impression on Lin Xun.

However, Lin Xun was puzzled as to why he called him a little liar and snapped as soon as he saw him.

“You just said that it’s unfair for someone strong to bully the weak, but isn’t it also unreasonable that you attacked me for no reason?” Lin Xun said calmly.

“I remember that you said you’ve set foot into the Spirit Dipper Stage four years ago, and I am only at the sixth layer True Martial Stage. What’s the difference between you and people who bully the weak?”

The old man looked surprised because he didn’t expect Lin Xun to know the soldierly youngster.

The youngster’s face darkened. Then, he thought of something and fumed, “What a liar. You clearly have a cultivation base of the pinnacle of the eighth layer True Martial Stage but you still dare to lie. Do you think I'm an idiot?”

Boom!

As he leaned forward, his tall figure was already charging towards Lin Xun like a barbaric dragon.

But a wave of hand from the old man sent him flying across the air and he saw stars dance before him. Increasingly enraged, he pushed himself up and yelled, “Old man, why are you protecting that annoying little liar?”

The old man sighed, “Are you really sure that he has a cultivation base of the eighth layer True Martial Stage?”

The soldierly youngster fumed, “When this liar was testing his aeth power in the Donglin Martial Training Hall a few days ago, I personally saw the number 4,900 marked on the aeth testing stone. Don’t tell me it’s wrong!”

The old man was slightly taken aback by his answer and his gaze turned strange as he looked at Lin Xun. “Is this true?”

Lin Xun understood why the soldierly youngster called him a liar. He nodded. “It’s true.”

The soldierly youngster immediately said smugly, “What? Are you feeling guilty and admitting it now?”

The old man pondered for a moment before he said with a sigh, “He didn't lie.”

The old man realized that he thought Lin Xun’s aptitude wasn’t outstanding and that his cultivation was only considered good among his peers, but he actually had aeth power comparable to the pinnacle of the eight layer True Martial Stage when he was only at the sixth layer True Martial Stage!

This alone was unachievable to ordinary people.

“Will Miss change her mind if she learns about this?” The old man pondered about it and in the end rejected the idea. He knew that she wouldn’t change her decision of taking Xia Zhi away no matter how outstanding Lin Xun was.

“You didn’t lie?”

The soldierly youngster’s eyes went wide as he suddenly realized something. “Are you saying that he, as a sixth layer True Martial Stage cultivator, possesses aeth power of the eighth layer True Martial Stage?”

This guy isn’t that stupid he seems. Lin Xun thought to himself.

“Apologies, I misunderstood you before. As the saying goes, friendship grows after fights. I’ll treat you to a drink one day as an apology,” said the soldierly youngster as he strode over.

Even if he was apologizing, he still had an air of self confidence.

This was nothing because what surprised Lin Xun the most was that the soldierly youngster knew he was wrong and directly apologized without any shame. He was much better than the annoying troublemakers.

Furthermore, Lin Xun had long speculated that the youngster had a remarkable identity given the fact that he was escorted by a group of Steel-Blood Guards. Moreover, the fact that he could calmly apologize on his own initiative made him completely different from the children of other aristocratic families.

“It’s useless to argue about it. It’s better for you to buy me a drink.” Lin Xun shrugged his shoulders.

“Haha, you’re interesting.” The soldierly youngster laughed heartily. “My name is Ning Meng. People close to me call me Meng. You can also call me that.”

Lin Xun casually said, “I'm Lin Xun.”

Ning Meng said enthusiastically, “Lin Xun, when we arrive at the Blood Kill Camp, we will be classmates. We will be together for an entire year. I really admire your personality and you’re also pretty strong, though you’re weaker than me. But since we’re going to participate in the training of the Blood Kill Camp together, you’re definitely better than the ordinary trash. If you encounter any trouble in the future, just let me know...”

Lin Xun couldn’t find any opportunity to add in a single word. Ning Meng spoke rapidly and said several sentences in one breath. He was simply a chatterbox.

But Lin Xun didn’t mind. He learned from Ning Meng that the destination of the ship was a place called Blood Kill Camp, which seemed to conduct some extremely cruel training.

Is this the opportunity that the old man spoke of?

Lin Xun wondered in his mind.

……

The treasure ship was clearly an old one. It not only didn’t fly particularly fast, but the ride was also very bumpy and felt like a cart clattering along a muddy road. It was extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, the bearded middle-aged man had been drinking while operating the ship. Lin Xun couldn’t help but worry about an accident happening if the middle-aged man got drunk.

Even Spirit Dipper cultivators would be afraid of plunging from their height of tens of thousands feet, let alone True Martial Stage cultivators.

The treasure ship was an extremely valuable aeth tool. Its entire body was engraved with runes and its aeth power reservoir was a spirit furnace.

The spirit furnace acted as the core of the treasure ship and was where a pure aeth crystal was being burned. It provided a constant source of aeth power for the runes engraved all around the ship to allow it to suspend itself in the air.

Of course, the aeth crystal had to be replaced with a new one once it was used up.

The so-called aeth crystal was a mass of crystallized substance that possessed astonishing aeth qi. Generally, it would be cut into a standard size. Although it wasn’t considered especially rare, it was extremely valuable. A piece the size of a palm was worth ten silver coins!

It was impossible to fly a ship of a standard treasure ship size across long distances without several hundreds of pieces of aeth crystals.

It was worth mentioning that aeth crystals also had a wide range of uses. They not only provided aeth qi for runes, but they also played invaluable roles in aeth fields, puppets, alchemy and transportation. They could be regarded as an extremely important cultivation resource.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, the old man interrupted Ning Meng, who was chattering endlessly, and Lin Xun’s ears were finally able to rest.

Ning Meng also seemed to know that the old man had something to say to Lin Xun. He stood up and slipped away. He went to the ship's operation room and chatted with the bearded middle-aged man over drinks.

He was clearly very outgoing. Additionally, he was straightforward and open-minded. He tended to be informal and casual and so it was easy for him to get along with others.

“In another hour, I will leave. If you have any questions, I will answer everything I can answer.” The old man sat down, his expression kind and gentle.

Lin Xun said bitterly, “If they are questions related to Xia Zhi, you won’t answer them, will you?”

The old man nodded. “I indeed can’t answer them.”

Lin Xun drew a deep breath and said seriously, “I just want to know how you guys found Xia Zhi. Given your identities, you shouldn’t appear in Donglin City for no reason.”

The old man smiled meaningfully. “Do you suspect that someone betrayed you?"

“Correct.”

The old man thought for a moment and answered him in a serious voice, “You guessed wrong. No one disclosed the secret to us. The reason why Miss found the little girl is due to an obscure feeling.”

Lin Xun frowned as he listened attentively.

“There’s no harm in telling you some of the cause. It’s not that confidential. About a month ago, Miss received a message that the place of her old friend had suffered an accident, so we immediately set off and traveled deep into the Great Three Thousand Mountains. However, when we arrived, we found that it had long been utterly destroyed and not a single clue was left behind.”

The old man’s gentle face seemed more serious than usual as if thinking hard to recollect the moment. His voice was low as he explained. "We searched the Great Three Thousand Mountains, but found nothing. According to Miss, we came too late…”

Lin Xun’s heart trembled as he thought of the destroyed mine prison and Mister Lu who raised him since he was a child.

Could that…be the place that Liulan Jinian and the old man were searching for...

“Your emotions seem to be fluctuating.”

The old man's voice rang in his ears and made his body stiffen.

He donned a bitter expression as he explained, “I’ll be honest with you, my hometown, Feiyun Village, is in the Great Three Thousand Mountains. So when I heard the name, it filled me with nostalgia and reminiscence.”

The old man acknowledged him and didn’t question him further.

Lin Xun breathed a sigh of relief. He would never tell anyone anything about the mine prison until he became strong enough! It didn’t matter whether the other party had good or bad intentions because it involved too many people and things—including Mister Lu and also Lin Xun’s background and enemies!

The old man continued, “Of course, what I said has nothing to do with you. It’s just that on our way back, Miss suddenly had a feeling and told us that there is an opportunity in Donglin City that she had been searching for. You know what happened after that. The little girl with you is the opportunity that Miss has been looking for.”

It sounded very mysterious, but Lin Xun knew that cultivators could indeed sense many mysterious and unfathomable things once their cultivation reached a terrifyingly high level.

It was just that Lin Xun still held a grudge towards her for taking away Xia Zhi. He could understand her but he couldn’t let go of his emotions.

However, the old man’s words made Lin Xun see the glimmer of hope that he had been searching bitterly for!