After a long time, Ou Yangming turned and flashed toward the city's wall.

Wu Hongliang, who was quite a distance away, sighed a breath of relief. For a moment, he thought Ou Yangming would rise in revolt or leave the capital. Had the young fellow made one of those choices, he would have to subdue him.

Nonetheless, after watching the fight between the two young men from afar through the imperial family's secret treasure, Wu Hongliang began to doubt his life.

'Can I really triumph over them?'

Wu Hongliang sighed and shook his head. He dared not delay the matter, so he quickly chased after the young fellow, but he still lamented and had countless thoughts in his mind.

'The younger generation now is too frightening!'

Once Ou Yangming returned to the capital and went back to his courtyard, Du Gaoge ran toward him like a lapdog and informed him softly, "Master Ou, Young Pavilion Master is here to see you."

Ou Yangming was slightly stunned. His scalp was tingling, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

'I just dealt with the princess. Why is Bai Shixue here now?'

The young fellow would rather have an all-out fight with Zuoqiu Hongyuan or He Liangce than have the two young ladies pester him. He finally had the thought of moving out at this moment. Back then, perhaps Ou Yangming would be reluctant to leave, but after the conversation with Wu Hanning earlier, he knew exactly what he wanted and would not hesitate anymore.

"Master Ou, you're the consort now, so you must be careful with everything you do!" Du Gaoge looked around and warned him softly. He later turned and left in a hurry.

Ou Yangming was dumbfounded, and he could not help but laugh. He was starting to have a favorable impression of Du Gaoge.

'He took a huge risk to remind me. He's not a good-for-nothing, after all.'

Ou Yangming curbed his thoughts and entered the courtyard. Sure enough, Bai Shixue was sitting in the gazebo, but she did not seem to have noticed him. She had her hands under her cheeks and was in a daze as though she was deep in thoughts.

The young fellow cleared his throat and pulled her back to her senses.

Bai Shixue blushed and stood up right away. "Master Ou, you're finally back."

Ou Yangming grinned. "Why are you looking for me, Young Pavilion Master?"

"Master Ou, I received some news, but I'm not sure if I should tell you," Bai Shixue answered.

"What's your concern?" Ou Yangming was surprised.

Bai Shixue sighed. "I'll be offending the imperial family if I tell you about it, but if I don't, I'm sure the Yi Pavilion will lose a friend like you in the future, and you might hate us too."

Ou Yangming and the Yi Pavilion had been cooperating well. Even if there was an unclear entanglement between him and the young pavilion master, it would not make them enemies at all.

Nonetheless, judging from Bai Shixue's seriousness at the moment, the young fellow knew she was not joking around.

Struck with a thought, Ou Yangmingʼs face changed, and he asked in a deep voice, "Young Pavilion Master, did the news come from Changlong County?"

Bai Shixue nodded. "You guessed it yourself; I wasn't the one who told you."

Ou Yangming had a grim look on his face, and he subconsciously released threatening killing intent.

He finally understood why the emperor gave such a decree. It turned out that His Majesty was already informed.

Nevertheless, it was not strange because if the imperial family, who watched over the country from the center, was not the first to receive news when the disaster was about to happen, they would soon be overthrown.

Despite that, they received the news but did not inform Ou Yangming and tried to hide it from him. For those reasons, he developed a strong hatred for them.

Ou Yangming took a deep breath and slowly calmed down, causing the surging fearsome aura from him to disappear as well.

"Young Pavilion Master, what do you know about it? Can you tell me in detail? I won't forget the favor no matter what," he noted sternly.

Bai Shixue had been waiting quietly beside Ou Yangming. She thought to herself when he composed himself in a swift, 'I didn't misjudge him at all.'

If Ou Yangming was unmoved after he heard the news or became anxious and lost his sense of propriety, Bai Shixue would have lost respect for him. However, the young fellow showed his real temperament but curbed his thoughts very quickly and began to inquire about the issue. The countermeasure was a real man's response.

"Master Ou, it's not as terrible as it sounds," Bai Shixue comforted Ou Yangming before she explained, "The ferocious beasts from the immense forest are ready to move, they've left the forest and begun to attack the Humans' residences. People have been arranged to leave temporarily and to take shelter in big cities or walled cities. Though most people are still unaware of the once-in-a-century disaster, the Humans have been preparing for it. As such, every place has enough provisions and resources, so they can survive a long war."

Ou Yangming nodded. It would not be good if the once-in-a-century disaster was known by everyone in the world, but the military's officials and commanders, who were from inherited aristocratic families or the imperial family, were preparing for it. Once the catastrophe happened, necessary countermeasures would be made.

At the very least, there would not be too many casualties during the early period.

"Since the ferocious beasts left the forest, I suppose they went after the Immense Forest Military Camp first? How are the people there now?" Ou Yangming asked in a deep voice.

"I don't know," Bai Shixue answered without any hesitation, "I'm not sure about the details, so you'll have to ask someone else if you'd like to know the exact situation."

Ou Yangming responded after some thought, "Thank you."

The Yi Pavilion might be all over the country, but it was an organization among the common folks, after all. It could not be mentioned on equal terms with the imperial family nor could it meddle in the military system.

He looked gratefully at Bai Shixue and left hastily.

Bai Shixue put away her smile and had a strange look in her eyes. 'After this, Ou Yangming will probably have the least favorable impression of the imperial family, right? Perhaps he can't break free from their restraint now, but when he reaches a certain height one day, I'll surely benefit a hundred times more than I will now.'

Since she was destined to be in charge of the Yi Pavilion in the future, she would have to become greater and make it so glorious that it would be the best merchant in the world.

She took quite a risk when she leaked the information to Ou Yangming, but she knew it would not be worth mentioning as compared to her future rewards. The young pavilion master was an outstanding businessperson, she treated everything in the world as a business.

Having said that, she suddenly thought about that day.

Ou Yangming touched her body from a distance away. While he did not actually touch her, she somehow had a tantalizing thought.

'Do I only treat him as a business?'

※※※※

Ou Yangming walked on the road at an average speed, but he had already made up his mind.

He arrived at the Woo residence again. The guards were curious about his continuous visit in such a short period, but they dared not delay the matter and reported his arrival.

"Brother Ou, did you fight him? What was the result?" Woo Lejia asked as soon as he came out, and he looked like he was dying of curiosity.

"You're a Supreme Great Ancestor now, so why are you interested in a fight between Yang Grade powerhouses?" Ou Yangming asked with a smile.

Woo Lejia smiled bitterly. "If the fight was between two ordinary Yang Grade powerhouses, I wouldn't be bothered even if they fight to their deaths in front of me, but you… And him are different!"

Ou Yangming stopped teasing him. He asked, "Brother Woo, who do you think won?"

"From my perspective, Zuoqiu Hongyuan has a higher chance of winning, but judging from your expression, it seems like you won," Woo Lejia answered after some thought.

"Brother Woo, didn't you experience my Spiritual Fist? Why don't you trust me?" Ou Yangming replied to him snappily.

"The Zuoqiu family has an inheritance of thousands of years, and they have the unique ability to communicate with the upper realm. You may be gifted, but you've only cultivated for a much shorter time." Woo Lejia shook his head and hesitated before he continued, "Besides, Zuoqiu Hongyuan is known for being strong-willed. You've upgraded your Spiritual Fist, but it's possible you can't affect his willpower."

Ou Yangming was displeased, but he had to admit that Woo Lejia's analysis was spot on.

In actual fact, if he was not lucky enough to have a magic tool with him, he would not stand a chance at all against Zuoqiu Hongyuan.

He was able to have such a chanced encounter, but how profound was the foundation of an inherited family, who could communicate with the upper realm and had an inheritance of thousands of years?

Not only Woo Lejia, but perhaps everyone else was not optimistic about him too.

Ou Yangming shook his head and noted, "We did fight, but there was no outcome. His Majesty gave an order, so he was forced to leave."

"Oh? An order from His Majesty? No wonder." Woo Lejia came to a sudden realization. Apart from the emperor, nobody could stop the young powerhouses from competing against each other.

"Brother Woo, what's your progress with the task I entrusted you with?" Ou Yangming questioned with a straight face.

Woo Lejia was taken aback, but he immediately answered, "Don't worry, I've notified everyone, and I'm picking an auspicious day…"

"You don't have to pick one." Ou Yangming cut him off. "I recall an empty space where the Blacksmith Assessment took place. Ask them to come with their respective clan's Yang Grade powerhouses, who are at the peak and want to become Supreme Great Ancestors. I'll be waiting over there, but I won't wait for latecomers."

Following that, Ou Yangming turned and left in a flash.

Woo Lejia was struck dumb, and a grave look was seen on his face.

He stomped his foot after a long time and said, "Fine. Since you're so persistent, I'll go all-out too."

Before long, shocking news spread among the top-notch clans in the capital…