Chapter 406: So I Became Your Savior?

He suddenly recalled what Feng Jiuchen had said back in Huangliang.

There were old monsters in Huangliang Village who had lived for many, many years.

When Feng Jiuchen said that, a chill had run down Wan Ze’s spine.

Lived for many, many years.

‘How long?’

‘Decades?’

‘Centuries?’

‘Or even longer?’

‘If it were just decades, one could barely find a parallel in the real world.’

‘Someone who cultivated to an extremely high Realm could maintain their bodily functions better than an ordinary person. Living to be over a hundred, while rare, isn’t impossible.’

‘But what if it were centuries?’

‘Centuries.’

‘How could a physical body last that long?’

‘If it couldn’t, then how did they survive?’

‘If their physical bodies in the real world had long since decayed, then what was their existence in Huangliang Village?’

Wan Ze had considered these questions before, but not in depth.

He couldn’t figure it out. At his current level, the answers to those questions were still far beyond his reach.

But what Zhai Jia had just said connected all the unresolved fragments in his mind.

‘What if Huangliang really was a sanctuary created by those Qi Refiners from long ago?’

‘What if they didn’t leave the real world voluntarily, but were forced out? Perhaps expelled by some kind of rule, some restriction, some Power. In that case, could they have been waiting all this time for a chance to return?’

Wan Ze was lost in thought.

“Ah Ze?” Seeing him silent for a long while, Zhai Jia thought he’d scared him with his theory. “I was just taking a wild guess. Don’t take it to heart.”

“No,” Wan Ze said, snapping out of it. “What you said makes a lot of sense.”

Zhai Jia opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but suddenly didn’t know what.

The car fell silent again. The plane trees on either side of the road receded, their leaves rendered a translucent green by the morning light.

The car stopped at the entrance of the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall.

Wan Ze pushed the door open, planted one foot on the ground, and was about to get up when he suddenly heard Zhai Jia call his name from behind him.

“Ah Ze.”

Wan Ze turned his head.

Zhai Jia’s hand rested on the steering wheel. He turned his body halfway, a rare, serious expression on his face.

“No matter how all this stuff with you turns out,” he said, “Brother Yu and I will be on your side. Just remember that.”

Wan Ze looked him in the eyes for two seconds, then nodded.

“I know.”

The car door closed.

Zhai Jia started the car again.

Wan Ze was standing at the entrance to the martial arts hall when two enthusiastic greetings came from behind him.

“Brother Jia! Ah Ze!”

Wan Ze turned to see Tan Xiao and Lei Ming walking over from the other end of the alley.

Lei Ming was in front, with Tan Xiao following behind.

Lei Ming bounded up to Wan Ze in a few long strides. His gaze swept past Wan Ze’s shoulder toward the street, and seeing that Zhai Jia’s car had already driven off, he showed a hint of disappointment. “Isn’t Brother Jia coming in for a bit?”

“He’s busy,” Wan Ze said.

Zhai Jia stuck a hand out the window and gave a casual wave in farewell before the car turned a corner and disappeared.

Lei Ming watched the car drive off, then turned back, his expression suddenly conspiratorial. “Ah Ze, did you know something big happened at the hall?”

Wan Ze raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Lei Ming glanced left and right as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping before dropping the news. “I heard our Dragon Eagle is going to war with the Divine Martial Society! You know the Divine Martial Society, right? They’re as famous as Dragon Eagle, it’s just that we’re low-key and stay put in Holy City, while they’re active over in the Jiangnan area. No idea what happened, but a rumor suddenly started spreading that they’re going to war with us. Brother Tan, do you know anything about this?”

He turned his head to look at Tan Xiao.

Tan Xiao shook his head. “How would I know? But I’m guessing one of the masters from our hall made a move.”

When Tan Xiao said this, his tone was filled with unconcealed yearning.

In Tan Xiao’s imagination, the only thing that could provoke a war between two martial arts halls was the work of a master—the kind he had only ever heard his master speak of.

It was a Realm he could not yet comprehend.

Neither Lei Ming nor Tan Xiao knew that this whole affair was actually related to Wan Ze, who stood before them listening with a calm expression.

“War?” Wan Ze frowned, a hint of surprise in his voice. “Isn’t that a bit dramatic? The Divine Martial Society is just declaring war without asking any questions?”

If that was true, then the Divine Martial Society’s methods were certainly high-handed.

But that was fine too. It saved him the trouble of finding an excuse.

He was itching to test his fists and see if he could pummel one or two at the Refining Force Realm to death.

The last time he fought with the people from the Divine Martial Society, he hadn’t been able to fight to his heart’s content.

Back then, he hadn’t yet grasped the way to Strengthening the Foundation, and his punches always felt like they were missing something.

It was different now.

“Uh, well…” Lei Ming scratched his head, sounding uncertain. “Actually, I just overheard a few of our senior brothers talking about it. They were all fired up, saying things like, ‘If the Divine Martial Society dares to cause trouble, we should just strike first!’ It sounded so rousing, I almost started cheering along with them. But after I calmed down and thought about it, our master and the others haven’t said a word about it so far.”

Hearing this, Wan Ze understood.

It was just a rumor spreading among the disciples. The source was most likely someone who had overheard a snippet of conversation, which was then embellished as it passed from person to person until it became “Dragon Eagle is going to war with the Divine Martial Society.”

This kind of thing wasn’t uncommon in a martial arts hall. The slightest hint of trouble could be blown into a full-blown martial world war during a break from training.

He didn’t bother to correct them, casually changing the subject instead. “Brother Lei, want to spar a bit?”