Chapter 541: The Foodie Xiao; Preparations for the Rearguard

An hour later, the battle concluded.

The eyes of the Evil Clan leader were wide open, lingering with deep unwillingness and fear. As the gaze shifted downward, a long ice sword had pierced through the chest; under the effect of the low temperature, not a drop of blood flowed out, and thick frost spread across the body from the point of contact with the sword.

"Bang!"

The long sword was pulled out, and the corpse, now devoid of any warmth, fell heavily to the ground.

Looking at the cold, clear figure in the distance who had already retracted their aura, the chill on the face of the sword's owner finally dissipated, and their tone became light.

"Xian'er, it's time to go back and report to Mistress."

Xian'er nodded slightly and came before the man, a brilliant light flickering in her eyes as she praised:

"Senior Brother, you are becoming increasingly adept at using the Ice Killing Realm!"

"Haha! I have indeed gained some insights from fighting the Evil Clan during this recent period."

The man laughed heartily. Even though he had grown quite a bit after years of tempering and could remain unmoved by the flattery of others, he was easily swayed when praised by his own Junior Sister—not to mention that this was indeed an achievement he was quite proud of.

If Xiao Han himself were to observe this battle, he might be very surprised to discover that the disciple he had almost entirely left to his own devices had, at some point, made astonishing progress in the sect's heritage.

These two were none other than Xiao Wu and Xian'er, who had just finished their training and returned to Langya Heavenly Palace. As disciples of Xiao Han and Yi Huang, the two, who could be considered gifted, had been unable to intervene in that world-shaking war on the Dou Qi Continent, and after coming to the Great Thousand World, they had remained obscure for many years; however, this did not mean they had faded into the crowd.

Years of cultivation had allowed Xiao Wu, once a low-level Dou Sheng, to grow into today's Great Perfection Earth Sovereign. The transformed Ice Spirit Power had inherited the true teachings of his teacher, Xiao Han, and he had mastered almost all of the latter's legacy in the way of ice. With just a bit of polishing and settling, or by finding some opportunity, he would be enough to advance to a Heavenly Sovereign, a top-tier combat strength even in the Great Thousand World.

Xian'er's progress was slightly slower, and she was currently only at the peak of the Upper Earth Sovereign, but she had completely developed her Woeful Poison Body. Her Disastrous Poison Qi was a nightmare for those of the same rank, and after unfolding her Heavenly Poison Domain, even veteran Great Perfection Earth Sovereigns had to avoid her edge. These years of training had also made the Woeful Poison Body, a constitution originally only famous on the Dou Qi Continent, renowned throughout the Great Thousand World. Paired with the medical skills from Yi Huang and the Medical Saint Sect, she could be called "Medical Poison Dual Perfection."

Because of Xiao Han's disappearance, the two who were training outside had to rush back. As soon as they returned, they began executing cleanup missions, specifically targeting those elite Evil Clan squads that had small objectives but high destructive power. The squad just now was not the first, nor would it be the last.

When the two returned, Yi Huang was burying her head in documents, muttering to herself:

"In the northwest corner, the power of the Explosive Flame Spirit Array is still somewhat lacking. Arranging for three hundred disciples to superimpose three more layers of the Thunder Punishment Spirit Array should be about right. The Array Martial Hall, previously managed by Tai Yun and You Ye, sent word that they have developed a new spirit array; I wonder how powerful it is..."

Sensing someone entering, Yi Huang finally raised her head. Seeing the familiar juniors and observing their clean, tidy demeanor and light-footed appearance, she knew they hadn't suffered any losses. While feeling relieved, she also smiled:

"Not bad, you're back so quickly today."

When they went on missions before, although they weren't slow, it was normal to spend a day or two going and coming back, unlike today where they left in the morning and returned in the afternoon.

"It's not that those animals were bold enough to dare lurk near our sect!"

Xiao Wu was not restrained at all. Seeing the prepared pastries nearby, he simply plopped down on a chair by the door and busily stuffed the snacks—made of unknown ingredients—into his mouth. After a slight taste, his eyes immediately lit up, his hand movements unconsciously quickened, and he let out bursts of praise, interspersed with a few "This is what life is really about!" and "Happiness!"...

The increasingly unbridled actions made Xian'er, standing to the side, look on with black lines on her forehead. She wanted to drag this embarrassing fellow out, but considering her image in front of Yi Huang, she could only secretly tug at someone's clothes under Yi Huang's smiling gaze, squeezing a voice so weak it was almost inaudible through her teeth:

"Teacher is still here, watch your image."

"It's fine, it's fine." What made Xian'er's expression even uglier was that, in response to her advice, Xiao Wu only slowed his mouth movements slightly and then replied nonchalantly:

"Mistress isn't unaware of my character; I just can't control this mouth of mine, otherwise I wouldn't have been poisoned by you so many times."

Yes, as the personal eldest disciple of Langya Heavenly Palace Palace Master Xiao Han, the current Xiao Wu showed less of his former wanton arrogance and more steadiness. Coupled with his thorough handling of external affairs, he could be called a model of the second generation among the many forces of the Great Thousand World.

However, this model of the second generation in front of others had a hobby not well known to outsiders—eating.

Perhaps it was because conditions were not very good when he was young, or perhaps the colorful world was dazzling, but Xiao Wu had been addicted to his appetite since the Dou Qi Continent. For ordinary cultivators, the desire for food was optional; eating occasionally just to remind themselves they were still human was enough. But for Xiao Wu, eating was one of the few pursuits in his heart, and there was only one standard for judging food—taste.

As long as it tasted good, he treated the Taotie Restaurant and ordinary eateries the same, and he could happily visit even a small stall in some remote corner.

Thus, Xiao Wu's daily life was like this: preparing to go into seclusion, first fix two dishes; finishing seclusion, reward himself; in a good mood, celebrate; in a bad mood, have a big meal...

If he didn't know how to restrain himself in front of others, the entire Dou Qi Continent would probably know that the Ice Saint's personal disciple was a foodie. And today's unbridled performance was truly because Langya Heavenly Palace had gone through a great war and suffered significant losses. As the top combat powers below the Heavenly Sovereign, the two were busy, and after successive battles, Xiao Wu indeed hadn't had time to eat for a while, and his stomach had long since rebelled.

As the Junior Sister who spent every day with him, Xian'er was terrified that Xiao Wu would fall because of this mouth. She had tried to suppress his appetite more than once, even "adding ingredients" to the snacks, dishes, and street food Xiao Wu liked. Because of this, the latter didn't know how many times he had started "playing dead" while eating, only to be picked up by a helpless Xian'er.

Yet, despite suffering so many losses, Xiao Wu remained undaunted, his original intention unchanged, and he even argued with good reason:

"Just kidding, isn't that why you're always by my side, Junior Sister? When it comes to the ability to poison, who is your match? As long as you're here, it's fine."

This statement full of trust completely blocked Xian'er's words of advice. Yes, as the Woeful Poison Body, when it came to the attainments of using poison, who was her match? As long as she was by his side, she would absolutely not let her Senior Brother have an accident.

Thus, ever since Xian'er advanced to Dou Sheng, the duo had been inseparable as if tied together by Primal God Gold, leaving deep and not-so-pleasant memories for every expert they trained with.

Yi Huang looked teasingly at the bickering couple. Once, as Mistress and teacher, she had spoken to them separately, but she got a result that made her laugh and cry. In the end, after discussing it with Xiao Han, she chose to keep it a secret and watched the comedy performed within the sect daily.

Seeing the drama in front of her relax a little after a while, Yi Huang coughed twice to attract their attention. The scene quieted down, and she took out a jade slip, her expression becoming serious. Seeing this reaction, the two also straightened their expressions.

"The preliminary work for the relocation has been prepared. The disciples and Elders of Langya Heavenly Palace will withdraw in batches."

At this point, Xiao Wu and Xian'er's expressions became completely grave. The news of their teacher's (Senior Uncle's) disappearance had long been known to their malicious neighbors during this time. If it weren't for the fact that the other side also hadn't received reinforcements, and both sides were temporarily in a stalemate, the Outer Realm Evil Clan would have long since taken advantage of the situation to invade on a large scale.

However, these were ultimately only temporary. The Outer Realm Evil Clan, realizing Xiao Han was not there, was urgently mobilizing Ghost Demon Emperors from nearby continents, attempting to gain an advantage in numbers. To prevent the news of Xiao Han from leaking, Langya Heavenly Palace also had to withdraw from the Huan Continent according to normal arrangements. However, with Xiao Han gone, it was impossible to create a super-long-distance Transfer Spirit Array for everyone to move in a short time under these circumstances, so they could only withdraw in the conventional way. Of course, it was impossible to let the other side watch Langya Heavenly Palace withdraw back into the Great Thousand World, so a group of experts had to stay behind to cover the retreat and withstand the enemy's pursuit.

"For this relocation, we have invited the senior Extreme Sword Monarch to sit in command. He will be responsible for blocking those two Mysterious Demon Emperors. Your Uncle Ye, Supreme Elder Liu, and Elder Qian Sha will hold off those Ghost Demon Emperors. As for the Evil Clan Commanders below them, you will need to lead the Langya Guard and a portion of the Elders to take action. Elder Yang Ling and I will protect the disciples as they withdraw to the Ling Tian Continent."

"Understood!" The response to Yi Huang was two firm, resolute voices.

"Rest assured." Seeing the two looking as if they were facing a great enemy, Yi Huang comforted them:

"As the pride of him and me, the Evil Clan below the Demon Emperor cannot do anything to you. And..."

Yi Huang smiled mysteriously:

"This time it's not just the two of you..."

To their curious gazes, Yi Huang sold a mystery and didn't say much more.

Short Theater:

Yi Huang (looking with scrutiny) at the well-behaved Xiao Wu: "Does your kid really like to eat that much?"

Xiao Wu (showing embarrassment for the first time in a long while, scratching his head): "It's alright, not that greedy."

"Then why do you let Xian'er drug you and pick you up from the restaurant all day? Can't you let her worry a little less?"

Xiao Wu (even more embarrassed, secretly): "Mistress, if I don't do this, where would I find a reason to let Junior Sister follow me!"

Yi Huang (suddenly realizing): "Your kid's intention isn't in the wine?"

Xiao Wu (looking around): "Mistress must help me keep it a secret!"

Yi Huang held her forehead helplessly.

Finding Xian'er

Yi Huang (tone strange): "Haven't you ever suspected that Xiao Wu doesn't like to eat that much?"

Xian'er (with a calm expression): "I know!"

"You know?"

"Then why do you keep following him? Are you afraid he'll get lost?"

The girl (lowering her head in embarrassment): "I like him." (voice as soft as a mosquito's hum)

Yi Huang (not surprised): "Then last time, when your martial uncle and I were prepared to arrange a betrothal for the two of you, why did you refuse?"

Xian'er (with a firm expression): "I want that guy to speak up first!"

Yi Huang, Xiao Han (realizing): "A romantic gesture."