Chapter 236

Yu Chengwu blinked in surprise, slightly annoyed.

But then he thought again—Mo Hua had a point; no matter how much he disliked Seeing Mo Shan, he wouldn't be so petty as to quarrel with Mo Hua over it.

Besides, quarreling with the son of Seeing Mo Shan—let alone anything else—would make him one generation smaller in magnanimity than Seeing Mo Shan.

"Fine, you're right. I won't hold it against you."

Mo Hua asked again: "Don't you have a wolf-tooth club?"

Yu Chengwu nodded: "That's right."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Can I take a look?"

Yu Chengwu was reluctant, but seeing Mo Hua's curious, bright eyes, he couldn't refuse. After thinking it over, he took the wolf-tooth club from his storage pouch and placed it on the ground for Mo Hua to see.

The wolf-tooth club was five or six chi long, studded with sharp spikes, forged from wrought iron, shaped like wolf fangs, and stained with dark, dried blood.

These bloodstains were likely from both beast and cultivator alike.

Mo Hua tried to lift it, but couldn't budge it at all.

He pushed with both hands—the wolf-tooth club didn't move an inch.

"So heavy," Mo Hua couldn't help saying.

A flicker of pride passed through Yu Chengwu's eyes. "Naturally."

"Was it deliberately forged this heavy?" Mo Hua asked humbly.

"Yes," Yu Chengwu nodded. "The heavier the spiritual weapon, the greater the force. Swung properly, its lethality increases accordingly."

"Oh," Mo Hua nodded.

Yu Chengwu suddenly asked curiously: "Why are you asking about this?"

"I want to get one too."

Yu Chengwu blinked. "Get what?"

Mo Hua pointed at the wolf-tooth club on the ground. "That club."

Yu Chengwu glanced at Mo Hua—delicate skin, slender arms and legs, weak blood qi—clearly not a body cultivator—and asked:

"You're not a body cultivator, are you? Why do you want this?"

Mo Hua blinked. "I have my own method."

Yu Chengwu couldn't help frowning.

Seeing Mo Shan was shrewd; his son was even shrewder, full of schemes—he just couldn't tell what he was planning.

"I'll buy you a drink!"

Having seen the wolf-tooth club, Mo Hua had made up his mind and decided to reciprocate by inviting Yu Chengwu for a drink.

"Your injuries aren't serious—you can have a little," Mo Hua said.

Yu Chengwu hesitated, then took the wine Mo Hua offered, took a sip, and immediately frowned.

Sour and sweet, the alcohol flavor faint—something a child would drink.

But under these circumstances, having wine at all was better than nothing; he had no right to complain.

Yu Chengwu sighed, drank a few sips, relieved his fatigue, then suddenly realized—he and Seeing Mo Shan had never shared a single drink, despite their feud.

Now he was being invited to drink by Seeing Mo Shan's son—drinking a fruit wine meant for children.

Yu Chengwu's mood instantly grew complicated.

After resting and stabilizing their injuries, they continued on their journey.

After walking a while, Mo Hua scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sense, exhaled in relief, and said:

"We can walk slowly now. No need to rush."

His spiritual sense revealed many hunter-killers nearby.

For Mo Hua, having hunter-killers around meant he was on his own turf—any outsider who dared follow them would be asking for death.

Ji Qingbai didn't know why Mo Hua said this, but he inexplicably trusted him completely, and all sighed in relief.

On the road ahead, hunter-killers became increasingly numerous.

Whenever hunter-killers saw Yu Chengwu and the others, whether familiar or not, they came over to greet them.

At first Yu Chengwu didn't notice, but gradually he sensed something was off.

Every time these hunter-killers approached, they greeted Mo Hua first, then exchanged a few words with him.

One or two might be coincidence, but now they'd encountered five or six groups—all the same.

He even felt these hunter-killers were coming specifically for Mo Hua, and greeting him was merely incidental.

Yu Chengwu frowned. "Something's wrong."

Mo Hua was only a Qi Condensation Seventh Layer cultivator; though his talent was decent, he couldn't possibly have such widespread goodwill.

These people greeting Mo Hua must be doing so out of respect for his father, Seeing Mo Shan.

But Seeing Mo Shan's reputation wasn't that great.

Unless… Seeing Mo Shan had successfully established his Foundation?

If he had, then Mo Hua would be the son of a Foundation Establishment cultivator—naturally, others would give him face.

Yu Chengwu silently thought this over, then suddenly realized—this didn't make sense either.

His father, Yu Changlin, was a Foundation Establishment cultivator; he himself was the son of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet no one gave him this kind of face.

Yu Chengwu was baffled—but there was something even more puzzling: the iron armor.

Several groups of hunter-killers they passed, if not all, at least most, were wearing iron armor.

Iron armor! Where did they even get it?

Yu Chengwu's brow furrowed tightly.

He had been sent out by his father, Elder Yu, on a mission, but an accident delayed him over a year—he'd only just returned.

Passing through Qingxuan City, he met Ji Qingbai; since the two had some acquaintance and Ji Qingbai always despised families that bullied others with power, he stepped in to help and accompanied him to Tongxian City.

This return came just over a year after he left.

But for a cultivator, more than a year isn't much time, is it?

Then why does everything now feel different upon returning?

Ji Qingbai and Ji Li also secretly marveled at these beast-hunters.

These are iron-armored hunters—there are barely any iron-armored beast-hunters in Qingxuan City, yet here in Tongxian City, it feels like they're everywhere!

Ji Qingbai and his son couldn't understand it either.

The group traveled without incident, exited Great Heishan, entered Tongxian City through the South Gate, and before their eyes stretched the vast Alchemy and Refining Guilds of Chengnan.

Enormous in area, grand in scale, with towering outer walls and strict arrays, they looked majestic and imposing.

From within came frequent crisp clangs of hammering metal and wafted rich, fragrant medicinal scents.

Yu Chengwu and the others were utterly stunned.

Not just Tongxian City, but all nearby Immortal Cities combined had never housed cultivation industries of this scale.

Yu Chengwu could hardly believe it: "Could these belong to the Qian family?"

In just over a year, has the Qian family's power grown this immense?

Then won't we never have a chance to rise again?

Mo Hua shook his head, "No, they belong to everyone!"

"Everyone?" Yu Chengwu didn't understand.

Mo Hua pointed his small hand, encompassing all of Chengnan beneath it, and said, "Everyone."

Yu Chengwu understood, yet still found it unbelievable, thinking to himself: "Am I dreaming…?"

In a daze, he felt this was merely a dream he'd had while wandering far from home, enduring wind and dew, half-asleep and half-awake.

In the dream, he had traveled tirelessly and finally returned to Tongxian City.

He saw Tongxian City's beast-hunters all clad in iron armor, saw the scattered cultivators build Alchemy and Refining Guilds, saw everyone with surplus Spirit Stones and smiles on their faces.

He had once imagined all these things—but only in dreams.

The scene before him seemed no different from that dream.

Seeing him lost in thought, Mo Hua called out, "Second Uncle Yu?"

Yu Chengwu finally snapped back to reality, yet still found it hard to believe, thinking to himself:

"Not a dream… then is this an illusion?"

Seeing his shifting expression and unstable emotions, Mo Hua assumed he was overwhelmed by homesickness and simply let him be.