Chapter 54: Annihilation

　　Upon hearing what the lady said, everyone present could not help but brim with curiosity.

　　Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

　　Everyone fixed their gaze on Su Zimo.

　　The Su family gaped in shock. Everyone could tell that the lady in front was from a noble family and had a powerful background. She could likely be from the Great Zhou Dynasty’s royal family.

　　From the tone of the lady, the Su family were further surprised that the lady seemed to be on close terms with Second Young Master Su.

　　The Foundation Establishment Cultivators behind the lady stared at Su Zimo, envy and jealousy evident in their eyes.

　　There was a hint of provocation in the eyes of the golden armored leader.

　　Yao Xue controlled a flying sword and landed on the ground, gazing at Su Zimo who looked astonished. She pursed her lips as she smiled. “Don’t you recognize me?”

　　“You?”

　　Su Zimo finally recovered himself, smiling. “Are you the disciple from Azure Frost Sect?”

　　“Yes.”

　　Yao Xue nodded, pausing before she continued. “However, I am a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty as well. My surname is Ji. Back then we came together by chance and I hid the fact from you, will you blame me for that?”

　　Su Zimo smiled, shaking his head.

　　Ji was not a common surname. If Yao Xue revealed her surname back then, he would most likely have guessed her background from her surname.

　　But now that he thought about it, there were some clues that pointed to her identity.

　　Ji Yaoxue knew everything about Sky Treasure Pavilion and could gift Su Zimo with a Sky Treasure Gold Badge casually. Ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would not be able to do that.

　　“We are old acquaintances, aren’t you going to invite me for tea?” Ji Yaoxue bent her head to the side, blinking at him.

　　“Sure, come over to my place.”

　　Su Zimo nodded to Su Hong, telling him to rest assured before he brought Ji Yaoxue to his mansion. The golden armored leader brought several Foundation Establishment Cultivators with him and followed them to the mansion. He seemed to be worried that they would be spending time alone.

　　Su Zimo and Yao Xue sat at a round table at the courtyard. There were two cups of fragrant tea that were piping hot. The golden armored leader and the rest stood behind Yao Xue.

　　The golden armored leader stared at Su Zimo, there was hostility in his eyes.

　　Su Zimo had already noticed it but he did not let it bother him.

　　“Yao Xue, why…”

　　“Audacious!”

　　Su Zimo had a lot of doubts and was just about to ask Yao Xue some questions when he was yelled at by the golden armored leader.

　　“It is a taboo for a mere mortal to call the princess by her name!” The golden armored leader sneered. There was contempt in his eyes as he stared at Su Zimo.

　　“Dai Xu!”

　　Without waiting for Su Zimo to speak, Ji Yaoxue arched her eyebrows, speaking in a low voice. “It is none of your business how Zimo addresses me. Wait by the side.”

　　“Third Princess, the Emperor ordered me to ensure your safety and not to leave your side.” Dai Xu bowed slightly, cupping his fists.

　　“Then keep your mouth shut!” Ji Yaoxue gave a sideways glance to Dai Xu, sending him a look of warning.

　　“Yes, Princess.”

　　Dai Xu looked upset, he glared at Su Zimo before he answered.

　　Su Zimo remained composed, he ignored Dai Xu’s provocation and did not look in his direction.

　　Ji Yaoxue smiled apologetically at Su Zimo and said, “A few days ago, there was a secret report from Sky Treasure Pavilion and I happened to chance upon it. From the description, I guessed that you were the one who killed the King of Yan. Therefore, I begged my father to issue an imperial edict and came with all of them.”

　　Ji Yaoxue did not tell him everything, but Su Zimo could roughly guess what was going on. Before that, the Emperor must have sent people to conduct a detailed check on the Su family.

　　“Are you pleased with this arrangement?” Ji Yaoxue smiled as she asked.

　　“It’s pretty good.” Su Zimo nodded.

　　With this imperial edict, Su Hong could be crowned the king without engaging in any fights and the surrounding states would not dare to intrude on the Country of Yan’s territory.

　　To him, this was a big favor.

　　But Su Zimo was not someone to flatter people, instead he would remember their kindness deep down inside his heart.

　　“Why do you bring so many Foundation Establishment Cultivators with you?” Su Zimo continued to ask.

　　Ji Yaoxue frowned slightly, saying, “After returning to the clan, I conducted some investigations on Joyful Clan and discovered that the cultivators are involved in evil deeds. They always abducted women and made use of their Yin energy to supplement their own Yang energy to aid their cultivation. I intend to eliminate this clan, but…”

　　Ji Yaoxue paused slightly, there was a flash of doubt in her eyes.

　　“But what?” Su Zimo could roughly guess the reason, but he did not reveal anything.

　　Ji Yaoxue continued. “But I found out that more than one hundred Joyful Clan cultivators had died at Cang Lang Mountain Range and they had been through a very vicious fight. It felt as if they were hunting down one man but was instead killed.”

　　At the mention of this, Ji Yaoxue raised her head to look at Su Zimo.

　　Back then, the Joyful Clan had caused quite a commotion when they hunted down Su Zimo. The entire capital of the Country of Yan had witnessed it.

　　“Oh?” Su Zimo expressed his shock at hearing the news. His reaction was appropriate and suitable.

　　Ji Yaoxue thought to herself, “Although Zimo is very capable, and he is very powerful in close combat, he would not have the capabilities to slay Foundation Establishment Cultivators. It should not be him, instead it must be someone else.”

　　After a brief silence, there was a flash of surprise in Ji Yaoxue’s eyes. “This is not the worst part. When we reached the place where the Joyful Clan inhabited, we realized that the entire clan was reduced to rubble, bones and corpses were strewn everywhere. No one was alive!”

　　“Ah?”

　　This time, Su Zimo really had a shock.

　　Although Su Zimo killed hundreds of cultivators from the Joyful Clan, the clan was still around. If there was a chance, the Joyful Clan would definitely seek revenge.

　　Ten days had passed but there were no news from the Joyful Clan. Su Zimo could not help but be on tenterhooks.

　　He did not expect that the entire clan was wiped out.

　　“The person who did it was way more powerful than the cultivators of the Joyful Clan. It seemed as if every cultivator of the Joyful Clan died instantaneously! It was definitely a different person from the person on Cang Lang Mountain Range,” Ji Yaoxue said.

　　Su Zimo was reminded of a red-robed figure and a cold and stunning face.

　　According to what Ji Yaoxue had said, Su Zimo could not think of a second person who had the ability and would do such a thing.

　　Before Die Yue left, she must have been worried that the Joyful Clan would seek revenge on him. Therefore, she decided to take drastic measures by annihilating the entire clan, so that he would be free of troubles!

　　However, Su Zimo would never tell anyone about this.

　　Ji Yaoxue let out a long breath before she smiled and said, “Let’s not talk about this. Other than to crown a new king, there is another reason why I made this trip and it is because of you.”

　　“What is it?” Su Zimo asked.

　　Ji Yaoxue took a stone that was the size of a fist out from her storage bag, placing it on the round table. She smiled as she asked, “Zimo, do you know what this is?”

　　Spirit stone?

　　Unlikely.

　　Su Zimo shook his head.

　　“This is a testing spirit stone. It can tell whether someone has a spirit root and as well as the grade of the spirit root.”

　　Ji Yaoxue went on to explain. “Zimo, given your capabilities, if you have a spirit root, even if it is the most ordinary spirit root, you will have huge achievements in the future.”

　　“The clan has promised that I can bring someone with spirit root to join the clan. It doesn’t matter even if it is the most ordinary spirit root. Zimo, you should give it a try.”