Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Most of the cultivators thought that the Special Task Force had placated the Holy Dragon Corporation. Only a minority of them were perceptive enough to tell that some of the corporation’s businesses in Min Province had been taken away.

It was obvious who they were avoiding.

There was no doubt that they were avoiding Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan was seen by many to be enemy number one after having annihilated the Soul-snatcher Sect and then the Song Clan. Yet at the same time, his terrifying ability to eradicate sects and clans single-handedly also made everyone in the cultivation scene quite wary.

Many thought that was the most troublesome thing about him: that he had no need for backing from clans or sects. He alone was more than enough to raze such forces.

There were also no clans or sects to pin down when it came to dealing with such a person, and any sect or clan that got on his bad side would end up suffering the same fate as the Soul-snatcher Sect and the Song Clan. There was no doubt that no one wanted to see something like that happen to their people.

At the very least, no one would look for trouble with Lu Xuan after what happened to the two annihilated cultivation forces.

There were even many forces that, upon learning thoroughly what kind of fate had fallen upon those two forces, unanimously chose to retreat from Min Province. Any that remained made sure to lay very, very low.

If anyone was capable of such feats single-handedly other than the Big Boss of the Special Task Force, the Dragon, it was Lu Xuan.

What scared the other cultivators the most was that the two beings capable of wiping out clans and sects single-handedly belonged to the Special Task Force.

While there were many who knew enough about the agency to find out that Lu Xuan was actually only a consultant to the Special Task Force and little else, which meant that he was not technically a member of the agency, most still perceived him as among the agency’s ranks, without a doubt.

That was more than enough to greatly enhance the intimidation factor of the Special Task Force, while at the same time, the agency declared that Lu Xuan’s family was under their protection.

Any action taken against the family members of Lu Xuan was deemed a declaration of war on the Special Task Force.

Lu Xuan was apparently excluded from the list of protected individuals, but a man who did not even have to worry about the safety of his family members and was capable of razing clans and sects was surely the greatest threat of all, anyway.

This was especially true given that no one knew how Lu Xuan actually managed to annihilate the Song Clan. It must have been different from how he dealt with the Soul-snatcher Sect, as the Song Clan had many tricks up their sleeves. That was something that the corporations knew very well, as the other clans had access to such trump cards, too.

It was only that they had yet to put those cards to use.

Yet the Song Clan had been totally annihilated within an hour, despite having access to such trump cards, and that fact certainly put everyone on edge.

Many forces decided to stay mum until they could learn how Lu Xuan had been able to pull off what he did.

By the time Lu Xuan’s sister came back from the hospital, he was already home.

The atmosphere among the family had definitely become more severe and tense than before.

It was especially bad compared to how things were before they experienced any of the recent events. While all of them had embarked on their respective journeys of cultivation, they were still fundamentally common people in terms of mindsets. They went to work and school every day, and cultivation did not change any of that.

The most that any of them did with their training was that Lu Shanshan beat up some thugs using what she’d learned and eventually became a girl boss at her school.

They were still fundamentally common people–until the assassination attempt. That was the moment they truly learned just how brutal the world of cultivators was.

“Take this.”

Lu Xuan took out a pill for healing and handed it to Lu Shanshan.

Lu Shanshan popped it into her mouth and felt her wounds began to itch immediately before recovering at breakneck speed. She was completely healed before long.

The Yuanyang pill was capable of healing a busted Dantian, so flesh wounds were hardly worth mentioning.

“This is surreal, brother!”

Lu Shanshan then flailed her arms about in an exaggerated manner, and joy was written all over her face. She was apparently very shocked to see how effective the pill was.

“It’s my fault that all of you ended up in this predicament,” Lu Xuan said with a severe expression.

Lu Tianxiang, his father, clapped Lu Xuan’s shoulder, sighing for a moment before saying, “What are you talking about? We’re family, and there’s no ‘I got you guys into this’ with us!”

“We never knew that you were facing something so dangerous before, but rest assured, we’re not going to hold you back.”

Lu Xuan was able to tell that the intention to progress in their cultivation had unmistakably gotten a lot more intense among his family members compared to before the assault.

His family had only taken cultivation to be a part-time job before. They went to school and work as they always had, and they only trained when they had the time to spare.

After what had happened to the manor, though, they finally realized just how ferociously powerful Lu Xuan’s enemies were, so much so that they too were in danger. As such, none of them dared to take cultivation as little more than a hobby anymore.

“No need to worry us, brother. I’ll put more effort into my training so that I’ll be able to fight alongside you one day. Anyone who dares to bully us, I’ll flatten their face!” Lu Shanshan said, clenching her fists.

“But of course, if you still think that you owe us something or whatever, and you insist on buying me a Louis Vuitton bag or a YSL lipstick or whatever, I’d totally understand! In fact, a bag caught my eye just a while ago, and I’d love for someone to foot the bill!”

What Lu Shanshan said baffled Lu Xuan entirely, as he found her to be a little too jumpy with her thoughts. But then again, he knew that was how his sister offered comfort.

“Do I need to remind you of how old you are? Louis Vuitton bags and YSL? Are you kidding me?” Lu Tianxiang said with a stern face.

“No problem, just get whatever you like. I’ve no need for that bit of money anyway!”

Lu Xuan laughed, and the fog in his head cleared somewhat.

“Well, you’ve gotten on the nerves of some really powerful people, I assume. How are you going to deal with it?” Lu Tianxiang asked.

“Relax. I’ve got all of that taken care of. No one will come and bother us from here on out,” Lu Xuan answered.

“That’s good to hear.” Lu Tianxiang nodded and said nothing else. He knew all too well, judging from the invaders who’d come to the house last time, that the enemies that Lu Xuan was dealing with were very powerful people, and there was nothing they could really do to help.

Lu Xuan went to see Zhang Hongyang after he was done visiting his family.

Zhang Hongyang was lying on his bed with two disciples attending to him.

“Greetings, young master!”

Both of them greeted Lu Xuan as soon as they saw him. Zhang Hongyang struggled for a bit, wanting to get up, but Lu Xuan put him back to bed right away.

“Right, right. Take the pill first.”

Lu Xuan took a Yuanyang pill from a porcelain bottle and handed it to Zhang Hongyang.

It did not take long for Zhang Hongyang’s injury to heal completely once he had popped the pill into his mouth.

All of them couldn’t help but feel utterly impressed by the healing capabilities of that Yuanyang pill.

“Thank you, young master!”

Zhang Hongyang felt very grateful, and at the same time, quite astonished at the power that Lu Xuan had access to.

“No need to thank me. You’ve performed admirably this time, and I’m very pleased. I’ll be teaching you some ways of making the breakthrough to Deity level later. Keep up the good work, and you’ll have a bright future ahead of you,” Lu Xuan continued, nodding. It was all thanks to Zhang Hongyang getting in the way of those two National Guardians from the Song Clan and putting his life on the line. The consequences would have been dire otherwise.

As such, Lu Xuan saw no reason to hold back his rewards.