C23 The Furious Jiang Woo

The night had deepened, well into the third watch.

Light still glowed from the Great Elder's quarters.

"Great Elder, it has to be Jiang Yuan's handiwork! You've seen what that kid is capable of today. In the hunting grounds, he's the only one with the power to take down Jiang Zhan! My poor Ming'er..."

Jiang Woo's complexion was ashen, his eyes hollow, seemingly unable to grasp the sudden disaster, his voice quivering.

"Did he really do this? With blood wolves breaching the hunting grounds, there might have been some that slipped through..."

The Great Elder's eyes were bloodshot with sorrow, mourning the loss of his most cherished grandson within those very grounds.

Snap!

A faint noise suddenly came from outside the door.

"Who's there?"

The Great Elder's brow furrowed as he unleashed a burst of fiery red Spiritual Force, swiftly moving to the door. Yet, he found no one, only traces of the fiery red Spiritual Force lingering.

There, on the ground, lay a Universe Bag.

"What's this..."

"That belongs to Ming'er!"

In that instant, Jiang Woo burst forth, his eyes ablaze with fury upon recognizing the familiar Universe Bag.

"Jiang Yuan!?"

"I'll make sure he pays dearly for this!"

Fury consumed Jiang Woo as he stared at the Universe Bag, his heart ablaze with towering rage.

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, Jiang Yuan held his breath, observing the unfolding scene. It was indeed his doing, the residual fire attribute Spiritual Force a signature of his Yan Xing Bu technique.

Jiang Yuan watched as Jiang Woo seethed with anger, a sly glint in his eye and a slight smirk on his lips.

Anger drives people to madness.

And madness can reveal many secrets.

With his task complete, Jiang Yuan slipped back into the darkness.

…

"Ding... Consuming the mortal-grade Spirit Blood Grass has increased your body's recovery rate."

"Ding... Eating the mortal-grade Cyan Yellow Grass has sped up your recovery."

"Ding... Consuming..."

"Ding... Your cultivation progress has increased, advancing two levels. You are now an 8-star martial artist."

After consuming all the herbs in the Nine Spirits Shop, Jiang Yuan finally achieved the rank of an 8-star warrior.

The pill furnace ignited!

Having dealt with the consumption of the herbs, Jiang Yuan once again retrieved the ingredients for the Spirit Gathering Pill.

With ease and the techniques provided by the system, Jiang Yuan's experience in pill crafting felt as if he had done it a hundred million times.

Flawlessly, thirty Spirit Gathering Pills materialized in Jiang Yuan's hands.

It was just like before.

Jiang Yuan infused the pills with his Fire Attribute Spiritual Force, transforming top-quality pills into even higher-grade ones.

With all tasks completed, dawn was breaking outside.

"Young master, breakfast is ready."

Just then, an unfamiliar voice called from outside the door.

Jiang Yuan, with a furrowed brow, opened the door.

"Why are you here? Where is Qiao Wei?"

He was puzzled to see the strange maidservant before him; typically, such meals were delivered by his personal maidservant, Qiao Wei.

"Qiao Wei has fallen ill, so I'm filling in for her."

Jiang Yuan's frown deepened as he asked gently, "Qiao Wei is ill? What's wrong with her?"

"Uh... well... it seems... she has..."

The maidservant's face paled, her words stumbling and incomplete, failing to form a coherent explanation.

A sense of foreboding struck Jiang Yuan, and in an instant, he surged with Spiritual Force, gliding past the maidservant with ghost-like speed using the Flaming Steps technique, racing towards the back courtyard.

"Young Master, please wait!"

The maidservant, now drenched in sweat, realized something was terribly amiss.