“I don’t know either.” Jian Yunxi merely shook his head and said nothing more.

　　Liu Zhaoyue thought that Jian Yunxi deliberately kept the information from him, so he pouted and rolled his eyes as he spoke contemptuously, “Fine, don’t say it. Who cares?”

　　Jian Yunxi endured. Originally he wanted to say that he really didn’t know, but since Liu Zhaoyue insisted on using a petty heart to measure a noble person’s character, then it seemed that no matter Jian Yunxi’s explanation, they would all be redundant.

　　Moreover, in view of his relationship with Liu Zhaoyue, there really was no need to explain. It was useless to say more.

　　Although the two had been in contact since childhood and were often compared together, in reality, they did not have a good relationship, so much so that most of the time, they were hostile to each other. So right now, they had nothing to say to each other either.

　　For a while, the atmosphere seemed silent.

　　Before long, the senior martial brother gatekeeper came back. He first looked warily at Liu Zhaoyue and confirmed that the other party didn’t mess around while he was away. Then he spoke respectfully to Jian Yunxi, “Junior Martial Brother Jian, the Venerable Lord invites you over.”

　　The senior martial brother gatekeeper also gave the jade pendant back to Jian Yunxi. He whispered, “The Venerable Lord also said that after the jade pendant is used once, it would have been used to its fullest extent.”

　　Jian Yunxi’s expression changed slightly. He looked down at the jade pendant and saw that the scattered silver stars connected by straight lines on its surface had completely faded to the original stone’s color, leaving only shallow traces behind.

　　Jian Yunxi put away the jade pendant. “Thank you.”

　　The senior martial brother gatekeeper urged, “Go in quickly. There’s still a long way to go; don’t keep the Venerable Lord waiting.”

　　Jian Yunxi nodded, put away his sword, and walked towards the mountain gate.

　　“Hey, wait a minute.” Liu Zhaoyue followed, grabbing Jian Yunxi by the arm, “Take me with you.”

　　Jian Yunxi looked at the hand that was holding his arm. “Find your own way in.”

　　With that, Jian Yunxi directly shook off Liu Zhaoyue’s hand. He flung the sleeve of his black Daoist robes whose edges were lined with gold, which brushed past Liu Zhaoyue’s face.

　　Liu Zhaoyue seemed to have been dumbfounded by this action; for once, he didn’t immediately jump up and curse. Instead, he stared blankly at Jian Yunxi, who touched his nose awkwardly. Jian Yunxi was just about to say something when suddenly, Liu Zhaoyue let out an angry roar, “Jian! Yun! Xi! How dare you hit honourable me’s handsome face? Are you tired of living?”

　　Jian Yunxi felt that his eardrum was going to burst from the roar.

　　He frowned and took two steps back. “That was an accid…”

　　“Clang–!”

　　The sound of swords clashing rang out. Jian Yunxi suddenly pushed up with his feet and flew backward while simultaneously turning his palms toward Liu Zhaoyue to defend against his attack.

　　Liu Zhaoyue was obviously extremely furious; he actually took the sword straight out of its sheath. For a while, silver light flickered in front of the mountain gate, and a cold glint wantonly moved about.

　　A corner of Jian Yunxi’s clothes was nearly cut off. His patience spent, he drew his sword and warded off Liu Zhaoyue’s sword techniques. He shouted angrily, “Are you crazy? This is not a place where you can casually start fighting. You should restrain yourself!”

　　Liu Zhaoyue cursed, “Restrain myself? Yeah, right! You stand right there and let honourable me slap you once, and honourable me will stop right away!”

　　Jian Yunxi, “….”

　　Dream on!

　　However, he had no time to continue with Liu Zhaoyue’s nonsense.

　　After all, he and Liu Zhaoyue were evenly matched. Now that Liu Zhaoyue had started to go berserk without any scruple, it seemed that Liu Zhaoyue would only let the matter drop after he pestered Jian Yunxi and won, or after he successfully slapped him once.

　　So Jian Yunxi avoided a slap on his cheek and landed on top of a jagged rock. “Stop! I’ll take you in with me!”

　　Whoosh–

　　The tip of the sword brushed past a lock of long hair on the left side of Jian Yunxi’s face.

　　Liu Zhaoyue sheathed his sword without even looking at it. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Why do you insist on foolishly making trouble for me and wasting time?”

　　Jian Yunxi, “….”

　　He felt an urge to swear.

　　Jian Yunxi walked back to the gate again and told the senior martial brother gatekeeper who had turned pale, “Can I bring something else inside?”

　　The senior martial brother gatekeeper hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “The Venerable Lord did not forbid that.”

　　Liu Zhaoyue’s expression darkened. “Who are you calling a thing?”

　　Jian Yunxi glanced at him coldly, “Are you coming or not?”

　　Liu Zhaoyue choked for a moment. “Enter.”

　　Jian Yunxi walked directly inside. Liu Zhaoyue curled his lips, then swaggered into the exceptionally charming and beautiful world beyond the mountain gate, following closely behind Jian Yunxi. On the mountain’s summit, Lin Xuanzhi, Wan Yitong, and the others clearly witnessed this scene through the summit sky mirror.

　　Wan Yitong was tongue-tied. “These two boys, their cultivation levels are both Hardened Body first layer. Children nowadays are really amazing!”

　　Zhan Fengting nodded, “Indeed amazing. Previously, they had already shown strong real-life combat experience and cultivation strength in the sect entrance exam. Moreover, although they displayed strength equal to Hardened Body first layer, it’s still unclear whether that’s the extent of their real strength.”

　　Hai Kuanglang also nodded, “The spies the Upper Realm planted into the lower realms are naturally extraordinary.”

　　When he said this, he cast Lin Xuanzhi a glance out of the corner of his eyes.

　　Lin Xuanzhi blinked at Hai Kuanglang.

　　Hai Kuanglang, “…”

　　What just happened?

　　Hai Kuanglang stared at him blankly for a moment, “Little Martial Brother, what do you know about the Upper Realm?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi answered, “I’ve only read about it in books, but I don’t know much about the specific situation.”

　　Hai Kuanglang wiggled his eyebrows and put his arm around Lin Xuanzhi’s shoulder. “Wait till when your Big Bro is in a good mood, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi smiled faintly, “Okay.”

　　Hai Kuanglang withdrew his hand, “However, the Nine Lands is so big that I don’t know what to tell you. But since we ran into them, I’ll first tell you about the spies that the Nine Lands planted in the important lower realms, that is, the so-called reclusive families.”

　　“Reclusive families aren’t any fun. Don’t be fooled by their mysteriousness just because no one had ever seen any trace of them. In reality, reclusive families are especially shameless. They try every means possible and use various identities to mingle among other families and sects and then monitor their every move.”

　　Esteemed Huai Yu was lying in a rocking chair with one leg crossed over the other, his mouth moving.

　　Yan Tianhen moved a small block and sat beside Esteemed Huai Yu, holding a tray carved out of crystal and while his other hand held a slender bamboo pick to pick up fruit for Esteemed Huai Yu.

　　“Ahh–” Esteemed Huai Yu opened his mouth wide.

　　Yan Tianhen stuffed a brilliant red cherry into Esteemed Huai Yu’s mouth.

　　Esteemed Huai Yu contentedly rolled the cherry around in his mouth and finally spat out a cherry pit.

　　Yan Tianhen couldn’t wait to know more about the Nine Lands, so he urged, “What then? What else do they do? After they finish monitoring these families and sects, then what? What are their strengths?”

　　Huai Yu cast him a sideways glance, “What’s the rush? Let me digest it for a while.”

　　Yan Tianhen could only stuff another strawberry into Esteemed Huai Yu’s mouth.

　　When Esteemed Huai Yu was in a cheerful mood, he naturally spoke more.

　　“You asked what they were monitoring?” Esteemed Huai Yu gestured with his finger in an especially mysterious manner, motioning for Yan Tianhen to come near; he wanted to whisper it.

　　The corners of Yan Tianhen’s mouth twitched and he muttered in his heart, In this wild, mountainous land, there are only two people — he and Huai Yu — so why would he need to whisper?

　　However, in the less than a month he’d spent with Huai Yu, Yan Tianhen had almost understood Huai Yu’s personality thoroughly–

　　Huai Yu was like a little kid who hadn’t grown up yet. Not only did his imagination soar across the skies like a heavenly steed, wild and unconstrained, but he also flipped out on people at a frightening speed. Most importantly, no matter what Huai Yu wanted to do, other people had to play along. If they dared to resist, he would certainly have a plethora of crooked methods and nefarious reasons waiting for the unfortunate soul.

　　Although Huai Yu’s personality couldn’t be considered good, it also wasn’t difficult to truly get along with him. In any case, it was enough to remember only one rule, which was “Obey him and prosper; oppose him and perish”.

　　Yan Tianhen cutely shifted his entire face closer.

　　Yan Tianhen was waiting for Huai Yu to tell some heaven-shocking great secret.

　　Yan Tianhen felt a kiss on his face.

　　Yan Tianhen, “….”

　　Yan Tianhen jumped up suddenly with the tray firmly in his hand. He stared at Esteemed Huai Yu in horror, “What did you do?!”

　　Esteemed Huai Yu was particularly calm. “Kissed you.”

　　Yan Tianhen touched his face. “Why’d you kiss me?”

　　Esteemed Huai Yu blinked at him, “You looked amusing, so I kissed you. What do you mean ‘why’?”

　　“You….” Yan Tianhen found that he was actually speechless.

　　Huai Yu, this kind of person who didn’t play according to the rules, was simply not someone that Yan Tianhen, who’d been obedient ever since he was young, could deal with.

　　Yan Tianhen gritted his teeth, “Do you have any improper thoughts about me?”

　　Esteemed Huai Yu, “….”

　　Da fuq? Improper thoughts? What improper thoughts could he have about his own son? It was nothing more than thinking that his baby son looked too soft and too adorable, so Huai Yu wanted to kiss him. What the hell was going on in this kid’s head?

　　This degree of narcissism must’ve been inherited from Yan Zhonghua!

　　When he saw that Yan Tianhen’s mouth pouted so much that you could hang a soy sauce bottle from it and that his pair of beautiful apricot eyes also flushed slightly red, Esteemed Huai Yu, who originally felt slightly apprehensive because he stole a kiss, panicked even more.

　　However, he was the kind of person who never apologized. Even if he did something bad, he still justified himself by speaking nonsense with a deadly earnest expression.

　　So Huai Yu rolled his eyes and continued, “Why are you crying? How many people want me to kiss them, but I don’t even condescend to kiss them. This is the Nine Lands’ basic etiquette. Do you really think that Laozi can actually take a fancy to a tiny thing like you whose hairs aren’t even fully grown yet? I like the ones who’re big down there. You’re still far from that.”

　　Yan Tianhen was so provoked by this remark that his face flushed red. He looked at Huai Yu, wanting to say something but not daring to say it. Yan Tianhen really didn’t expect that as an elder, this master of his didn’t know any self-respect and actually dared to say such a thing in front of him, a half-grown child who was not even twenty yet!

　　Although in Yan Tianhen’s heart, he was already a mature adult, this did not mean that Huai Yu could ignore his real age!

　　Huai Yu suddenly had a faint sense of guilt and self-doubt. Should he not say such rubbish to children?

　　But, when he was as old as Yan Tianhen, he also spoke to his senior and junior martial brothers in the same tone.

　　Huai Yu did not have a father himself. Although he was a father, he did not raise Yan Tianhen personally. No one taught him how to be a father either, so Huai Yu did not know whether he was right or wrong.

　　However, this did not prevent Huai Yu from having an inexplicable sense of slight shame.

　　He could only take out his trump card. He knocked on the bamboo chair, “Do you still want to hear about reclusive families?”

　　Yan Tianhen, who had already turned and walked away a few steps, stopped.

　　“I want to hear it.”

　　Huai Yu, “….”

　　No moral integrity at all; he definitely learned this from Yan Zhonghua too!

　　“Rumor has it that those reclusive families who hide like rats in the various lower realms are, in reality, vassals of the Nine Lands’ major families. In fact, the Nine Lands’ nine great Divine Clans are like individual countries. They have their own mountain tops and territories and can establish their own rules, systems, and institutions. The Nine Lands’ Qianyuan Dynasty has given them great self-governing authority in this respect. However, with these benefits, it’s natural that for these Divine Clans to have kings and marquises, they must abide by certain conditions. They will be assigned all kinds of tasks by the Qianyuan Dynasty’s envoys from the Purple Emperor’s Heavenly Capital, and monitoring the lower realms is merely one of them.”

　　Yan Tianhen’s eyes widened as he asked, “But there are so many smaller realms in this world; how can they monitor them all? If they really kept them under surveillance one by one, then how much manpower, material resources, and financial resources would it take? They really are leisurely.”

　　Sarah (slips into the chapter): HY can’t even hold himself back from giving his baby affections smh just let him know who you are already so you can smother your son with love DX

　　Rose: Their tea party seems fun, I wanna join! HY wanna bully his son but backfires when YTH counter-attack with his cuteness

　　Ea: That kiss— Such a character-defining moment!  One day I’ll convince everyone HY is Best Troll