The following week, Hao Yu once again visited Li Xue to ascertain her condition.
"How is your injury and strength?" Hao Yu asked.
"I have fully recovered. I can exert my 7-Star Qi Gathering Stage strength. There are still abundant resources, and if I can use all of them, there is a high possibility that I will advance to 8-Star. It just... taking all this will require a long time."
"I see. As long as you have recovered, then that's enough for now." Hao Yu nodded, contemplating a few things. "Do you know who will be coming next? How many of them?"
"I'm not sure. But I can tell you everything about his subordinates."
"Then tell me about them, the ones stronger than Zhao Xin and Su Han but weaker than him."
"I believe there are two people that match your description... No, there are three." Li Xue corrected herself. "The last man is the one who always sticks with him. He can be called a best friend or actually his servant."
"Tell me about that person first. What is he like, and what are his strength and weaknesses?"
Li Xue paused for a moment. On the one hand, with her current strength, it wouldn't be weird if she left this city and regained everything without Hao Yu's help. On the other hand, that thought had completely disappeared after seeing Hao Yu eliminating Zhao Xin and Su Han.
Hence, Li Xue explained, "His name is Li Guang. His strength is 8-Star. He is the most trusted subordinate. When everything has gone wrong, Li Guang will be there to fix it. You can say that he is careful, diligent, and detailed. Your last trick won't be able to defeat him."
"I see. The last trick requires the opponents' carelessness." Hao Yu pondered about his plan. "How about his weakness? Does he have something he likes?"
"Like? I don't know how it is a weakness, but I think he is often seen to collect several arts."
"Several arts?" Hao Yu was quite surprised. He thought that a cultivator was an ascetic, but it seemed not all of them were like that.
"Yes. Li Guang came from a rather wealthy family in the southern area of the dynasty."
"Li Guang... Wealthy family... Ah, I think I've come across such a record in the past. If I'm not wrong, there is a Li Family in the southern part of the dynasty. The Li Family is a scholar family. There are a lot of scholars, painters, and sculptors in that family."
"If what you said is true, then that's probably the case."
"What happened to him in the sect to the point he ended up becoming his henchman?"
"I'm not entirely sure about it, but I guess it's about talent? His talent is not enough to become an Inner Disciple. In fact, the only reason he managed to become a disciple is that his family paid a lot of sum to the sect."
"If that's the case, there is a possibility that the Li Family will retaliate if they know about it." Hao Yu frowned. This had become a bigger problem than he originally thought. Of course, a wealthy family was a hard problem even for Hao Yu, considering they were fundamentally different from cultivators.
If his opponents were cultivators, he knew that they would come to him one at a time. But since his opponent was the Li Family, they would use their money to investigate everything. Once the fact that Li Guang died in his city, they would use their influence to pressure this city.
Li Xue saw the troubled look on Hao Yu's face. Worried, she asked, "If you can't handle the Li Family, then please leave them to me. As you already know that cultivators are bound to have a lot of enemies when they become strong. While the Li Family has been bribing the sect to get a lot of people in their sect, it doesn't change the fact that not all of them are good. The best one is probably their uncle, a 1-Star Foundation Establishment Stage Expert."
"There is a high chance that he will come here." Hao Yu shook his head.
"No. If I return to the sect, he will pressure me there. As long as we can hide this news for a bit longer, I can get the protection of an outer elder and use the remaining resources to break through to 8-Star if not 9-Star. By that time, I will try to pique the interest of an inner elder."
It sounded like a solid plan, but those people would definitely like talents. If Li Xue's talent wasn't enough, then everything would be over.
Hao Yu had to find a plan where he didn't have to be entangled with this matter. But it seemed that Li Xue's plan was the only way to escape.
At first, he thought about killing Li Xue when everything was over, but he needed a different plan.
"I might need your strength for this. And there is also a special arrangement that you need to follow," Hao Yu explained.
"I understand. Just tell me about the plan. As long as it can give me the chance of survival, then I will follow it." Li Xue nodded in agreement.
Li Xue could see that Hao Yu was trying to avoid getting entangled with the bigger picture. Despite trying to help her, he didn't want to risk his current position.
This showed that even though Hao Yu was helping her, he didn't want to risk everything. Considering they were just strangers one week ago and the one who required help was her, Li Xue couldn't really complain.
"I'll investigate this matter first and calculate the bigger picture. I'll inform you about our next plan at a later date."
"You should hurry up. They will come soon."
"I know."
…
Iron Mountain Sect.
"Where is she? Why haven't I heard anything from them?" A young man roared while clenching his fist. He had short black hair and a thin frame. Despite that, his muscles were firm, albeit covered with slightly oversized clothes.
In front of him were three people: one 8-Star and two 7-Star Experts. They were all exchanging looks, not knowing what to say.
"We are not very sure about the situation," one of them stepped up.
"Li Guang, what do you mean by you're not sure?"
"I have instructed them to send an update of their progress, whether they ended up finding her or not. If we're talking about Zhao Xin, I'm sure that even if he fails to find her, he won't cover his mistake."
"So, you're saying that something has happened to them?"
"Yes." Li Guang nodded with a serious expression. "I'm afraid that Li Xue has killed them."
"What?" The man rose from his seat, glaring at them as if seeing three incompetences. "Didn't you say that Li Xue should be heavily injured? How did she manage to kill them?"
"I don't know either. The last thing we got from Zhao Xin was the location they suspected Li Xue was in. But there is one possibility that allows Li Xue to kill both of them." Li Guang raised one finger. "Li Xue must have found an inheritance or a unique item that can recover her strength and even make her stronger. There is a chance that Li Xue has reached 8-Star."
"What?!" The man couldn't believe it. But that was the only explanation about the current situation.
"I will personally go to ascertain her condition. You should know my strength. Even if I can't defeat her, I still have the chance to leave. And I'll bring these two with me to increase our chance of survival," Li Guang suggested while pointing at the two 7-Star Experts next to him.
The man contemplated for a moment. On the one hand, he wanted to do it personally. On the other hand, he couldn't leave the sect at the moment.
"Alright. I still have to remain in the sect for another one week. So, report everything to me. If there is any danger, I will personally move. Just make sure Li Xue can't escape."
"Understood. We won't disappoint you." Li Guang nodded with a serious expression.