Chapter 32 - 30: Unprecedentedly Prosperous Xingyue City, Jiang Hao’s Cleanup

Chapter 32: Chapter 30: Unprecedentedly Prosperous Xingyue City, Jiang Hao’s Cleanup

Ye Canghai and the Third Elder of the Ye Clan stared blankly at the young figure, so shocked that they were almost speechless for a moment.

It was the Third Elder of the Ye Family who reacted first, subconsciously calling out, "Patriarch."

Hearing this call, Ye Canghai finally snapped back to reality. The two supported each other as they stood up, but their eyes were still filled with absolute horror.

"I am Ye Canghai of the Ye Family in Xingyue City. Thank you, young hero, for saving our lives. I will never forget this great kindness," Ye Canghai said, immediately bowing deeply to the figure.

The Third Elder of the Ye Family also bowed repeatedly, his eyes brimming with gratitude. "Thank you for saving us, young master. Please forgive my rudeness, but I hope my benefactor can tell us your name so that the Patriarch and I can repay you in the future."

After speaking, both of them kept their heads lowered, not daring to rise rashly.

Although the other party looked very young, this was not a world that judged based on age, but one where the strong were revered. Despite his youthful appearance, he was a Unity Realm expert. Even in Xingyue City, such a presence was comparable to the patriarchs of top-tier families.

However, as soon as Ye Canghai and the Third Elder finished speaking, the young man slowly turned around, a trace of heartache and guilt flashing through his eyes.

"Grandmaster Ye, Third Elder, are you alright?"

BOOM!

As soon as these words were spoken, both Ye Canghai and the Third Elder shuddered. Ye Canghai’s expression changed drastically as he suddenly realized something. Why did this voice sound so familiar? Subconsciously, he looked up, only to stand frozen on the spot as if struck by lightning.

"Hao’Er?"

"Jiang... Jiang Hao?"

The two spoke almost in unison, their eyes surging with earth-shattering shock.

Jiang Hao looked at them and smiled guiltily. "Grandmaster Ye, Third Elder, it’s me. Hao’Er."

Hearing Jiang Hao’s admission, it felt like another bolt from the blue for the two old men. They stared at him in utter disbelief.

Ye Canghai couldn’t believe his own eyes and ears. He simply couldn’t fathom that the young man who had just slain a Perfect Tribulation Cultivator in the Realm of Creation Perfection with a single sword strike was Jiang Hao.

"Hao’Er, is it... is it really you?"

"Grandmaster Ye, it really is me."

"You... you...?" Looking at the young man before him, Ye Canghai’s breathing quickened, his eyes brimming with disbelief.

The Third Elder of the Ye Family looked as if he had seen a ghost, completely dumbfounded. "Jiang Hao? Are you... are you really Jiang Hao?"

How could this be possible? They wondered if the person in front of them was really the same trash who couldn’t even awaken his martial soul three years ago. A Unity Realm expert?

The Third Elder’s eyes were filled with doubt, seemingly having suffered an enormous shock.

At this moment, Gu Qingyan’s voice rang out. "This junior, Gu Qingyan, greets the two seniors."

Just as Ye Canghai and the Third Elder were beyond shocked, she descended from the sky. She first glanced at Jiang Hao, and seeing how respectful he was to the two old men, she pondered for a moment before bowing slightly in greeting.

Upon seeing Gu Qingyan, the two old men were taken aback once more. What a beautiful girl, they thought, whose looks were not inferior to Xian’Er’s in the slightest. Furthermore, neither of them could see through her cultivation base.

"Hao’Er? Who is this? And what... what exactly is going on? Your... your cultivation?" Ye Canghai looked at Gu Qingyan, then back at Jiang Hao, his eyes filled with astonishment. He had too many questions and could hardly comprehend the situation.

"Grandmaster Ye, Third Elder, let’s return to Xingyue City first. I’ll explain everything on the way."

After saying that, Jiang Hao took out two medicinal pills and fed them to the two men. As they hurried toward Xingyue City, he recounted everything that had happened recently.

When Ye Canghai and the Third Elder heard the whole story, they were both flabbergasted. Evaluating pills at the Divine Pill Pavilion, alarming the higher-ups, meeting Bai Wufeng, persuading the patriarch of the Tang Family, participating in the Pill Master Competition, obtaining the Alchemy Mark, establishing a life-and-death pact, and training bitterly at Wuyang Mountain.

As Jiang Hao frankly shared these events one by one, Ye Canghai and the Third Elder of the Ye Family felt as if they were listening to a myth. Waves of shock washed over their eyes. They were especially shaken when they heard that Gu Qingyan was actually the Young Master of the Divine Pill Pavilion.

"I am Ye Canghai. Greetings, Young Master," the two hurriedly bowed slightly to Gu Qingyan.

She smiled sweetly. "Seniors, there’s no need for such formality. I am Jiang Hao’s friend and a junior, so it’s only right that I call you Grandmaster Ye and Third Elder just like he does."

At her words, Ye Canghai and the Third Elder were both overwhelmed with trepidation. "Young Master, you absolutely must not! How could nobodies like us dare to accept such a form of address from you?"

The Young Master of the Divine Pill Pavilion was the future master of the pavilion, the leader of countless leading Pill Masters. How could a mere patriarch from Xingyue City compare? However, Gu Qingyan just smiled sweetly, leaving them no room for argument.

At this point, Ye Canghai couldn’t help but shoot a deep look at Jiang Hao. It was obvious that the old patriarch had realized quite a lot.

But the Third Elder of the Ye Family wasn’t on the same wavelength as Ye Canghai. He continued to stare at Jiang Hao in disbelief and couldn’t help asking, "Hao’Er, your cultivation...?"

Jiang Hao smiled. "Unity Realm First Layer."

BOOM!

Upon hearing this, the Third Elder of the Ye Family felt as if he had been struck by lightning again. One had to know that it had been less than four short months. Reaching the Unity Realm in four months was an absolute fantasy.

It was only at this moment that the Third Elder seemed to finally understand the persistence Ye Canghai and his son had shown back then. However, he didn’t ask any further questions. Some things were better left unsaid.

Time slowly slipped away.

Before long, the group returned to the Ye Family Mansion and headed for Jiang Hao’s courtyard.

In the courtyard, Ye Tiannan and Ye Qingxian sat by the stone table, both plagued with worry.

"Grandpa has been away from Xingyue City for almost four months now. Father, you don’t think something has happened to him, do you?"

"No. Your grandfather is blessed by the heavens; he’ll be fine."

Although Ye Tiannan spoke words of comfort to Ye Qingxian, his face was fraught with anxiety. Logically speaking, even if Ye Canghai hadn’t managed to find reinforcements, he should have returned to the Ye Family by now. Yet, he had been gone for over three months without a single word. Furthermore, the father and daughter had no idea where he went after leaving Xingyue City, making it impossible to search for him.

Just as the two were worrying about Ye Canghai, Jiang Hao and the others appeared outside the courtyard gate.

"Grandpa? Little dummy?"

Two days later.

Over the next two days, Jiang Hao did not cultivate anymore. Instead, he devoted all his attention to keeping Ye Qingxian company.

The sun set in the west, painting the sky with multiple shades of crimson.

At dusk on this particular day, Gu Qingyan stood far away, watching the young boy and girl snuggled together in the sunset at the edge of the endless meadow. A trace of envy rippled through her beautiful eyes.

"Young Master." An old man appeared soundlessly beside Gu Qingyan, but she made a hushing gesture.

"Uncle Liu, don’t disturb them."

The old man nodded upon hearing this. This was perhaps their only rare moment of peace.

The young man surely knew that no matter who won the life-and-death battle, it would be difficult for him to stay by that beautiful figure’s side ever again. Therefore, he wanted to use this brief period to make up to her as much as possible. If Qi Tianyang of the Qi Family won, Jiang Hao would perish, and his dao would vanish. If he won and slayed the Qi Family’s Qilin Child, there would no longer be a place for him in the Earth Realm of Xingyue City.

Bathed in the setting sun, Ye Qingxian seemed to understand this as well. Snuggled in Jiang Hao’s embrace, her face was filled with a rare sense of happiness as she cherished this time exceptionally.

As the life-and-death battle drew nearer, Xingyue City, which had quieted down quite a bit, began to seethe with excitement once again. Coincidentally, after the passage of three months, the ranking list for the Pill Master Competition had also been published.

Over the past two days, countless experts from the Eastern Domain had flocked to Xingyue City. They were representatives from various factions in the Eastern Domain, arriving to recruit the Alchemy Dao prodigies from this year’s Pill Master Competition. During this period, Xingyue City was experiencing unprecedented prosperity and unparalleled liveliness.

Yet, the moment the various Eastern Domain factions received the list, they all shook their heads helplessly.

"To think that the champion of the competition is a piece of trash who missed his optimal window for martial soul awakening. What a pity."

"A life-and-death battle between a piece of trash and a Qilin? Interesting, very interesting!"

Countless Eastern Domain representatives were slightly taken aback when they heard about the recent events in Xingyue City. Especially when they learned that a person with only the cultivation of the Peak of Body Refining Realm had made a three-month life-and-death pact with a peerless genius in the Unity Realm, they laughed unscrupulously.

As Xingyue City boiled with anticipation, the countdown to the life-and-death battle officially began.

The night before the battle.

In the Divine Pill Pavilion Inner Cabinet Hall.

"Young Master, Jiang Xiaoyou has arrived." Bai Wufeng walked slowly into the hall and bowed slightly to Gu Qingyan.

Following the sound, she put down the Pill Book in her hand. Lifting her beautiful eyes, she slowly gazed at the familiar figure. Their eyes met, and everything was understood without a single word. Seeing this, Bai Wufeng quietly backed out of the room.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat stifling.

After a short while, Gu Qingyan was the first to break the silence. "Just fight with all you have. If you die, I will protect the one you love and the Ye Family for you."

There was no unnecessary dawdling. With just one short sentence, they understood each other perfectly. Jiang Hao’s purpose for coming was obviously to make final arrangements, so there was no need to say much. No matter who won the life-and-death battle, the volcano that was the Qi Family would be ignited.

After Gu Qingyan finished speaking, Jiang Hao bowed deeply to her, then turned and slowly left the hall. From beginning to end, he hadn’t uttered a single word, yet she had resolved the very reason he came.

However, just as Jiang Hao reached the doors of the hall, Gu Qingyan’s voice rang out once more.

"If he dies, I will also guarantee your safe departure from the Earth Realm of Xingyue City."

At her words, Jiang Hao’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt, but he didn’t look back.

"Thank you, Miss Qingyan. I will remember this favor. If I don’t die, I will definitely repay you in the future."

After Jiang Hao left, the entire hall plunged into a deathly silence. Gu Qingyan sat on the main seat, speechless for a long time.

It was as if the whole world had fallen quiet, leaving behind only a soundless solitude.