Chapter 28: What a Trouble-Maker

The path of martial arts cultivation is divided into four major realms: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Li Yunbao began his training at the age of ten, and nearly twenty years have passed since. Yet, he has never even managed to touch the threshold of the Yellow realm, which serves as a testament to the immense difficulty of the path. Zhou Hailong is the only ranked practitioner he has ever encountered, and word is that he has already attained the status of a master in the Mysterious realm. To Li Yunbao, Zhou Hailong has long been an unreachable figure. When Xiao Nan nonchalantly dismissed the Mysterious realm as "nothing worth mentioning," Li Yunbao felt a surge of disappointment. While Xiao Nan might be powerful, he likely only possessed the strength of a low-level fighter—someone who, like them, was not truly ranked. It seemed clear that Xiao Nan was completely ignorant of the true terror of a real master. He was, after all, simply too young.

It never crossed Li Yunbao’s mind that Xiao Nan could be a master of the Mysterious realm, or perhaps even beyond it. At less than twenty years of age, even if he had started cultivating in his mother’s womb, such a feat would be impossible.

Soon, they arrived at Jade Mountain. Before stepping out of the car, Xiao Nan casually took out a Qi-Gathering Pill and handed it to Li Yunbao. "Eat this, and you, too, can become a master of the Mysterious realm." After recent events, Xiao Nan realized that having an obedient person around could sometimes help him avoid unnecessary trouble, which was why he gave Li Yunbao the pill. He had a pile of them anyway. Although Xiao Nan could clearly see that Li Yunbao currently lacked even the cultivation level of a Yellow realm practitioner, the extraordinary nature of the pill he had personally refined made it easy to forcefully elevate Li Yunbao to the Mysterious realm.

"This..." Li Yunbao took the pill, and while he was still dazed, he realized Xiao Nan had already walked away. He was speechless. A single pill like this? To make him a master of the Mysterious realm? What a joke. If it were that easy to become a Mysterious realm master, would Zhou Hailong have built such a formidable reputation in Luocheng? It seemed Xiao Nan was nothing more than a complete fraud. He had clearly misjudged him.

Having offended the Hailong Gang, Li Yunbao decided he had better run. He turned the car around, intending to go back and disband his followers. He had half a mind to throw away the pill Xiao Nan had given him, but after a moment’s thought, he popped it into his mouth. Even if Xiao Nan was a fraud, he was still more powerful than him; it wasn't worth offending him over something so small. He would treat it as a candy.

The next second, Li Yunbao’s eyes widened. The "candy" he had dismissed the moment it touched his tongue transformed into a warm current that surged into his body, making him feel incredibly comfortable from head to toe. Simultaneously, he began to clearly sense an ethereal, mysterious energy gathering from all directions toward the crown of his head, rapidly pouring into his body. Even a fool would realize that the "candy" he had just consumed was far from ordinary. Not daring to be negligent, he forgot that he was currently on a dark, desolate mountainside. He pulled the car over without hesitation, rushed outside, and sat cross-legged on the ground, greedily absorbing the endless flow of ethereal energy. Though he didn't know what it was, his instincts told him that absorbing such energy would yield boundless benefits.

...

As soon as Xiao Nan pushed open the villa door, he saw Lin Ziqing sitting on the sofa with a dark expression. Clearly, she hadn't gone to bathe or rest after returning, but had been waiting there. Lin Shuyun was also sitting beside her; usually calm and collected, even she looked troubled. It was likely that Lin Ziqing had already told her what had happened.

"You scourge, you actually dared to come back!" As soon as Xiao Nan stepped inside, Lin Ziqing threw a cushion from the sofa at him.

"Ziqing, what's done is done. Please calm down." Lin Shuyun gave Xiao Nan an apologetic look before saying to her sister, "Xiao Nan did what he did because he didn't understand the nature of the Hailong Gang, and in that situation, he was only trying to save you."

"Hmph!" Lin Ziqing scoffed. "Who asked for his help?"

Soon, the sound of engines roared at the entrance. A short time later, Lin Guodong strode in. It wasn't just Lin Guodong; his wife Li Ailing, the second brother Lin Guoliang, the third brother Lin Guoan, and several bodyguards followed closely behind. Clearly, Lin Ziqing had already called them. Upon learning the news, Lin Guodong had not dared to be negligent, summoning the main members of the family to discuss a strategy. After all, this time, they had provoked the Hailong Gang.

"Ziqing, tell us exactly what happened again," Lin Guodong said, nodding at Xiao Nan as he entered before turning his attention to Lin Ziqing. Facing a power like the Hailong Gang, he was desperate to understand the severity of the situation.

Lin Ziqing described the entire ordeal, starting from when her car was blocked to when Luo Hu of the Hailong Gang and his men came over to harass her.

"Thank you for this time, Xiao Nan." After listening to her account, Lin Guodong, despite his heavy heart, looked at Xiao Nan with sincere gratitude. "The people of the Hailong Gang have no moral boundaries. If it weren't for you tonight, Ziqing would have been in grave danger."

Xiao Nan replied quickly, "Uncle Lin, please don't say that. Ziqing is my fiancée, after all. If she is being bullied, I naturally have to intervene."

"You still think you're pretty impressive, don't you?" Lin Ziqing, who already had a negative opinion of Xiao Nan, became even more furious upon hearing this. "That man's filthy hands were almost on my waist! Where were you standing, and what did you even do?"

Although Lin Ziqing still couldn't figure out who the hand was that had suddenly struck Luo Hu and saved her, she couldn't imagine it being Xiao Nan. She glared at him angrily. "When you first called Li Yunbao and his group over, we warned you more than once that the Hailong Gang was not someone the Lin family could afford to provoke, and we told you to stop Li Yunbao from fighting them."

"But you wouldn't listen. You insisted on showing off. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've brought upon the Lin family just because of your momentary ego?"

After hearing Lin Ziqing's words, Li Ailing also frowned, her eyes filled with reproach as she looked at Xiao Nan. "You really have no sense of gravity. I thought you were truly unaware of the Hailong Gang's power, but since Ziqing warned you, how could you still dare to incite them to fight the Hailong Gang?"

"Do you know how ruthless Zhou Hailong is? In all these years, the number of people who have died at their hands and the number of families they have destroyed in Luocheng are countless. Even your Uncle Lin has never dared to provoke them, choosing to take a detour whenever he sees them."

"And you? You've only been engaged to Ziqing for a few days, and already you've landed the Lin family in such a huge mess."