17: Xiao Su

[You began to observe the situation within the turbulent flow of space.]

[Very few people managed to escape from it, and Tang Chui and Ji Xuanyue were surprisingly among them.]

[Without a word, the two began to clash once again.]

[For a moment, heaven and earth shattered, and the range of the Void Realm turbulence expanded once more.]

[You paid them no mind. After confirming that Tang Chuan had not emerged from the turbulent flow of space, you quietly hid in the distance.]

[You felt that Ji Xuanyue had a slightly better chance of winning.]

[After all, in a previous simulation, you had killed Tang Chuan, and Ji Xuanyue had managed to bring you back to the Tianxuan Sect right from the hands of an enraged Tang Chui.]

[As expected, although both were at the Peak Nascent Soul realm, Ji Xuanyue had stayed at the Peak Nascent Soul realm for longer and was more experienced.]

[Soon, one fled and the other pursued, flying off into the distance.]

[Watching their receding figures, a faint smile appeared on your lips.]

[You decided to find a good place to lay low.]

[After all, you now possessed many Cultivation Techniques and Spirit Medicines plundered from the Great Wilderness Secret Realm, which were enough for you to Cultivate for a long time.]

[Two months later, you arrived at Tianxing City, located at the border of the central and southern regions of the Great Wu Dynasty.]

[This was a small city with a sparse population, but it had troops from the Great Wu Dynasty stationed there.]

[In your view, this was currently the safest place.]

[You began your cultivation here.]

[A year later, the Spirit Medicines you had gathered in the Great Wilderness Secret Realm were exhausted, and your cultivation reached the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment.]

[You could clearly feel that your cultivation speed was starting to slow down.]

[Although you still had some Spirit Stones plundered from corpses, that was ultimately a finite resource.]

[If you continued to Cultivate like this, even by the time the Great Abyss Dynasty launched its full-scale invasion, you might not have cultivated to the Purple Mansion realm or Tier Three Body Refining.]

[You began to miss your days in the Ji Family a little.]

[Although you would be under house arrest, the Ji Family would still distribute some cultivation resources to you every month according to the standard of an ordinary Disciple.]

[But there is no medicine for regret in this world, and you quickly dismissed this thought.]

[You decided to find a way to make some money.]

[You began to look for wealthy targets in Tianxing City.]

[Finally, you stopped in front of a slave market.]

[You found the target you were looking for—the slave market boss, Fat Second Master.]

[This man was insidious and cunning. Although he dealt in the slave trade on the surface, he secretly played both sides.]

[If he encountered powerful individuals, it was fine. But if someone lacking in strength went to buy slaves, within a few days, they would be ambushed and killed by him in league with the slave he had sold.]

[However, despite Fat Second Master frequently engaging in such schemes, many people coming to Tianxing City from other places still fell for it.]

[You entered the slave market and deliberately showed off all the remaining Spirit Stones you had.]

[As you expected, your ostentatious display quickly caught Fat Second Master's attention.]

[You asked to buy the best slave from him.]

[Fat Second Master began to introduce the slaves in the market to you incessantly, while intentionally or unintentionally probing into your identity.]

[You told him that you came from a small Family, that you had brought all of your Family's Spirit Stones with you for this training journey, and that you came to the slave market because you wanted to buy a powerful slave to protect you.]

[Upon hearing your answer, an 'I understand' smile appeared on Fat Second Master's face.]

[Under his recommendation, you purchased the most powerful slave in the market—Xiao Su.]

[She was a woman with a Yao Beast Bloodline who had fled from the Great Yan Dynasty. Although she possessed a cultivation of the third layer of Foundation Establishment, she had been captured by a team led by Fat Second Master.]

[And she was absolutely untouched!]

[Listening to Fat Second Master's introduction, you nodded in satisfaction and handed him the Spirit Stones in your hand.]

[For the next few days, you continued to Cultivate in Tianxing City.]

[Though it had little effect, it kept the people sent by Fat Second Master keeping a close eye on you.]

[You left Tianxing City and began to rest with Xiao Su by a river not far from the city.]

["Xiao Su, there's something I don't quite understand. With your strength at the third layer of Foundation Establishment, why were you captured by those Qi Refining Cultivators?"]

["Hearing this, Xiao Su explained, 'Young Master, this servant was originally a maid in the Great Li Dynasty's Zhen Guan Princes Mansion. Prince Zhen Guan was suspected by the Great Li Emperor, and the massive Zhen Guan Princes Mansion was reduced to nothing overnight. This servant was fortunate enough to escape, but there was no longer any place for me in the Great Li Dynasty, so I had no choice but to flee to the Great Wu Dynasty.'"]

["However, having fled to the Great Wu Dynasty, this servant was already exhausted, which was why I was captured by Fat Second Master."]

[You nodded, then looked toward the forest not far away.]

["Fat Second Master, since you are already here, why bother hiding?"]

["Are you afraid of capsizing in a shallow ditch like me?"]

["Good, what a brat! You truly do not know the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth!"]

[As soon as the words fell, dozens of figures dashed out from the forest, and the leader was indeed Fat Second Master!]

["Brat, you're still putting on a bluff when death is at hand. Even if you really have a Family behind you, so what? Once you're dead, who will know that I, Fat Second Master, did it?"]

[Listening to Fat Second Master's words, you nodded gently. This was indeed a good way to get Spirit Stones.]

[After all, Tianxing City could only be considered a small city, mostly serving as a resting stop before entering the central region of the Great Wu Dynasty.]

[Unfortunately, their judgment was still a bit lacking.]

[With a loud boom, your aura instantly erupted, and you then struck out with a palm!]

[However, the target of this palm print was not Fat Second Master, but Xiao Su behind you!]

[Bang! Snap!]

[The powerful force of the palm sent Xiao Su flying backward, only coming to a stop after snapping dozens of giant trees.]

["You... how did you..."]

["Your acting is too poor."]

[Looking at Xiao Su's bewildered expression, you shook your head.]

[Ever since you took Xiao Su away, you had been keeping a close eye on her.]

[All of her behavior and demeanor did not look like how a slave should act at all.]

[Particularly just now, when a normal slave sees their slave master, their first reaction should be fear.]

[Yet Xiao Su was completely different. Not only was she not afraid, but she instead looked at you pitifully.]

[Of course, none of these were the key point.]

[The important thing was that you had just triggered your Crisis Awareness.]

[That was why you concluded that Xiao Su definitely had a problem.]

["Spare us, My Lord! Spare our lives, My Lord!"]

["Please show mercy, My Lord! It's all my fault for failing to recognize your greatness..."]

["My Lord, I have a hundred-year-old mother above and an unborn child below..."]

[...]

[Looking at Fat Second Master and the others begging for mercy before you, you did not strike immediately, but instead asked about their true identities.]