The little skirmish between Zi Muyue and her father had finally ended, but Ming's quarters were a mess. The damage done to the garden was so severe that not a tree was left standing.

The trees were uprooted and the soil completely scattered. It was currently winter but instead of displaying a white ground, the boy's garden was a dirt brown.

After Zi Muyue was calmed down she realized she went overboard. It was the first time she felt shame so she didn't know what to do or say. All the eyes of the villagers were on her at the time, so the quick-witted Zi Chang had them disperse.

Once the villagers were gone, the miss apologized to the village chief and his son. On the inside, Zi Tao was full of blame and accusation but he once again swallowed his anger and smiled, not daring to accept her apologies.

Not knowing what to do to get out of this embarrassing situation, Zi Muyue gave the chief a low-grade mortal weapon and some body-quenching ointment. She would have given him some money, but like most cultivators, she didn't use change on a daily basis.

Her father kept laughing as he nodded and began rambling :

"Our daughter has grown up, Cai'er can you see? That tomboy is finally turning into a proper human being..."

She fought the urge to jump him before Zi Haofeng gently scolded his uncle. He knew his cousin’s temper better than anyone and it was better not to spill oil on the fading embers of her wrath. After this whole tussle finished everyone gathered in the living room to have breakfast.

When they were all together they would naturally come to talk about cultivation, and as Zi Tao asked questions about the use of the balm elder Muyue gave him, his new brother in law casually mentioned that it was a peak grade mortal medicine.

Same as martial spirits, weapons, magical treasures, and medicines were divided into eleven grades. The lowest being mortal and the highest being the divine stage.

This ranking system couldn't be said to be a hundred percent accurate but it was used for most things except money. Unlike spirits, there were treasures that couldn't be estimated. After a resource or treasure reached a level higher than the divine one, it was called "legendary treasure" or "world grade treasure".

But it wasn't anything people living in their parts would need to think about. Zi Muyun himself could only buy and keep Master grade items with his deep cultivation and resources. Zi Ming had asked about such items once and Zi Muyun couldn't really explain how they were made since he wasn't a weapon refiner.

He just simply explained how the master grade saber he wielded allowed him to get a fifty percent boost in strength during combat. Besides being sturdier, weapons of different grades offered different benefits to their wielders.

The breakfast was lively and the children used this opportunity to ask many questions concerning the city. When they finished eating, Zi Muyun got up and called the village chief over.

"We'll enter the forest tomorrow morning. Before you go and rest, I'll help you break through your current shackles."

"BANG!" Before the poor middle-aged bulky fellow could understand what was happening he heard a deafening noise.

His skin was emitting heat as energy surged violently out from his pores. Everyone felt a powerful blast of wind for an instant before the room returned to its still state.

"How do you feel?" Zi Muyun smiled knowingly as he yawned and asked.

"This is?" Zi Ming examined his father for several seconds before he followed:

"Marrow and blood produce lifeforce, Body refinement level nine!"

"What?!" Zi Chang was the first to react and yell in shock. "Congratulations, Boss!"

"Haha!" Zi Tao began laughing in self-satisfaction before he kowtowed to elder Muyun.

"This lowly one owes you and will engrave this favor for the rest of my life."

It did not take long for the children to do the same and thank the man.

"Don't sweat it, this is just a simple trick for this old fox." Zi Muyue interrupted as she snorted. "Old man we have a real business to discuss if you don't mind." She signaled for Zi Chang to lead the people out.

As Zi Ming and company were leaving the room under the astuteness of this weasel of a guard chief, Zi Muyun said :

"You three children stay."

.................................................................

Ming was seated in a lotus position between his sister and his girlfriend. The group of three composed of uncle, daughter, and nephew were exchanging words in a small voice. Even with Zi Ming's enhanced sense of hear and sight, he couldn't pick up on any of the words their lips were letting out.

"What are they saying?" His sister pulled on his garments and asked impatiently.

"I don't have a clue, to be frank." He replied, looking clueless.

"Hmm...Have you two made up?" Zi Fei looked over and smiled.

"For now..." Yurou cleared her throat and said nonchalantly. Ming looked at her with a clear trace of bitterness but he didn't push on the subject.

"It's best when siblings get along, especially twins." The three of them were caught off guard. Elder Muyun and the other two had suddenly stopped whispering and looked at them with amused expressions.

"Did I ever tell you about how my brother and I, when were kids..."

The old man was preparing to ramble again when he was cut by Zi Muyue who cleared her throat and stared menacingly at him.

"Hiyaa...I get it already. Just listen to this old man and get along, will you? I don't want two more troublesome disciples on my hands. If you will accept me that is..."

His expression was pitiful to the extreme as he sighed and said.

"Who?" The three teenagers said in unison. The surprise could be seen on their face.

"You two twins." The man sipped on some tea and replied.

"Really?!...." The twins got up and looked at each other. They suddenly realized they were a bit improper and asked at the same time:

"What about sister Fei?!" Yurou frowned as she asked. "What about my girlfriend?!" Ming also asked on his side.

"So young, so happy in love! Haa..." Zi Muyun felt a flash of nostalgy. His look was haggard and his nephew and daughter shook their heads in understanding. He was too inspired to continue being serious so the young man took over for him as he answered:

"She'll be under the tutelage of my father once we go back." The man replied curtly. "If you'll excuse me, I feel a little tired."

He left the room without paying any more attention to the children trio.

"What was that?" Zi Ming thought. The man wasn't acting like usual.

"Don't worry about my cousin, our clan has its own policies. You three are talented children after all." Zi Muyue tried to clear some of their doubts with this answer.

"No need to sugarcoat things." Zi Muyun finally snapped out of his daze. "I'm only a great elder of the clan, I can't monopolize good seedlings."

The boy and the two girls finally understood. They didn't know how to react and just nodded.

"So, what do you say?" Elder Muyue looked at them and asked. "Don't look at this old fox with the eyes of amateurs. He may be a bit quirky but he's still the strongest man in an area of over twenty thousand li." She bit her lips as she said with some difficulty.

"..." Zi Muyun was speechless, his mouth was agape and he turned to the twins. "I think my daughter really wants you two to become her junior brothers."

The twins looked at Zi Fei, then looked at each other with a firm look and kowtowed.

"Disciple greets master!" Both of them said.

"Hmm." Zi Muyun felt fifty years younger as he accepted their gesture.

Moments later, Zi Fei had been asked to leave the room. The group of master and disciples needed to talk some more and share some restricted information.

"Now that we've officially established this fellowship, I'll tell you the real reason why I asked you two to stay."

Zi Muyun didn't have a remaining shred of a funny bone in his body as he told the two siblings. The twins swallowed their saliva anxiously looking meek and apprehensive.

"Have you ever heard of the Pixiu?"

....................................................

"Shaomei, how close are we?"

Two men were running inside the forest. The older one wore radiant green and hooded garments. He had a very thin face and mean traits. One look from this man could probably scare quiet all the babies in a small vicinity. His night-black beard kept bouncing on his stomach as the pair ran. The most noticeable trait of his was his freakish height and slim frame.

"Not far master, I think we'll reach our destination in about three days if we maintain this speed."

The younger and smaller one was dressed the same way, except for the color of his clothes which were blood-red. Some sort of crystal ball was hanging over his head as he followed behind the man he called master.