A Chaotic World

"Brother Tianzi," Young Master Xuan Hao's voice sounded in Lu Tianzi's head.

Lu Tianzi retracted his perception from the jade slip in his hand, only to see Young Master Xuan Hao walking over with Ruan Ling. "Are we done with this floor?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid we won't be able to proceed to the third floor for now," Young Master Xuan Hao said apologetically.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"It appears that my great grandfather has heard of my return, and is requesting that I go see him now," Young Master Xuan Hao sighed.

The reason why he brought them to the skills repository was to offer some form of benefits to Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.

He never expected that they would have to leave even before they could get to the third floor which was supposed to be the most highlight of the visit.

Young Master Xuan Hao took a quick glance at the jade slips that Lu Tianzi was looking at, and instantly felt even more guilty.

He had always known that Lu Tianzi was an excellent combatant, but he thought that there would at least still be something here that could benefit Lu Tianzi in some small ways.

Apparently not.

Why else would Lu Tianzi be looking at techniques of the Spiritual Essence system, something that was completely useless to them?

It seemed that instead of offering benefits to his Brother Tianzi, he had ended up wasting his time this time.

"That's regretful..." Lu Tianzi let out a helpless sigh. "There's no helping it then. Let's go."

The only reason why they could enter the skills repository was because Young Master Xuan Hao was with them.

If Young Master Xuan Hao had to leave, it was only natural that the rest of them could not stay any longer.

But that was fine as well.

Since he was already planning to stay at Eternal Flame City for a while, there was no need to rush. There would surely be other opportunities to return in the future.

"My apologies, Brother Tianzi," Young Master Xuan Hao said. "But there is one more thing. What do you think about coming with me to meet my great grandfather?"

"Mm, that's fine as well," Lu Tianzi readily agreed.

In the first place, the reason why he came to Eternal Flame City was because Young Master Xuan Hao asked him to come along as a form of support.

It would be pointless if Lu Tianzi were to simply keep to himself while he was here.

After getting Nanlan Qianxue, the quartet left the skills repository and headed straight for the meeting with Young Master Xuan Hao's great grandfather.

Young Master Xuan Hao's great grandfather was Xuan Qinshang, leader of the Blue Ember faction within the Timeless Flame Sect. As part of his lineage, Young Master Xuan Hao naturally belonged to this faction as well.

This time, Young Master Xuan Hao was being summoned to the Grand Ember Hall, which was also where the top echelons of the Blue Ember faction usually hosted guests or discussed about official matters.

The Grand Ember Hall was located deep in the heart of the residence, and the group had to pass through quite the number of winding walkways before they finally arrived.

In front of the door, a lady was anxiously pacing up and down.

"Mum!" Young Master Xuan Hao called out as he stepped forward. "Why are you out here? Are you waiting for me?"

"Hao, you broke through!" the lady's eyes lit up when she saw him, but quickly dimmed down again. "Oh, Ruan Ling is here too?"

"Greetings, Aunt Lianhe," Ruan Ling greeted with a slight bow.

This was not the first time that she had met Young Master Xuan Hao's mother Taomie Lianhe.

"Mm," Taomie Lianhe answered half-heartedly before turning her gaze behind them. "I see you have other friends here too. I don't remember seeing them before. Where are they from?"

"This is Brother Tianzi and Sister Qianxue. I got to know them while exploring the outside world," Young Master Xuan Hao introduced. "I only managed to get out of a few tricky situations because they were there to help."

"Greetings, Madam," Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards the lady.

"Greetings, Madam," Nanlan Qianxue followed suit immediately.

Taomie Lianhe's gaze swept over the two of them, then her gaze dimmed slightly. She simply nodded slightly towards them before turning her attention back to Young Master Xuan Hao.

"Anyway, the seniors of the faction are all inside right now. Not just that, but Linye Caixia is here too, so make sure to be careful with your words later," Taomie Lianhe cautioned. "Don't make your great grandfather angry again."

"Senior Apprentice Sister Caixia is here too? Why?" Young Master Xuan Hao asked.

Linye Caixia was not even part of the Blue Ember faction, so why would she be here?

"It seems like she is here to ask your great grandfather of a favour," Taomie Lianhe said. "All right, come on in. Wait, are you intending to bring your friends in as well?"

Lu Tianzi could not help but feel uncomfortable with how Young Master Xuan Hao's mother scanned them from head to toe.

Taomie Lianhe looked to be in her late twenties and had her long black hair tied up in a bun, much like how Young Master Xuan Hao tied his hair in a top-knot. She had a short stature, and was rather slim.

However, she certainly did not seem weak.

In fact, she was a martial artist at the Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm. Just her cultivation level alone was enough proof of her strength.

Perhaps it was because of this strength that she did not quite seem to look highly upon the three of them, Ruan Ling included.

"Don't worry, mum. My friends are excellent characters of their own right. Great grandfather will not be disappointed," Young Master Xuan Hao answered.

"Is that so?" Taomie Lianhe let out a helpless sigh. "All right, do as you please. Just make sure not to do anything to anger your great grandfather later."

"Why would I do that?" Young Master Xuan Hao shrugged. "Let's just go in."

"Mm," Taomie Lianhe nodded before pushing the door open, leading the way into the Grand Ember Hall.

Lu Tianzi and the rest followed her lead, stepping into what seemed like a throne room of sorts.

The Grand Ember Hall was huge, around a hundred metres from end to end, and with a ceiling that was about ten storeys high. A carpeted aisle stretched right from the door to the other end, where a grand-looking throne sat above a few flights of stairs, along with a secondary throne placed right beside it. Chairs lined the sides of the aisle, all of them positioned to be facing the throne.

Currently, a man sat in the main throne while a lady sat in the secondary throne by his side, both of whom looked to be in their mid-forties.

The chairs by the sides of the aisle were mostly filled up by people as well, and there was also a group of three standing on the carpeted aisle, facing the couple in the throne seats.

When Taomie Lianhe entered with the quartet, everyone naturally turned around to look at them.

"Faction Leader, Hao is here," Taomie Lianhe calmly reported after they walked up to the middle of the Grand Ember Hall.

"Greetings, Faction Leader!" Young Master Xuan Hao clasped his fists and bowed.

"Greetings, Senior!" Ruan Ling clasped her fists and bowed as well..

"Greetings, Senior!" Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue hurriedly followed suit.

At the same time, Lu Tianzi secretly sized up the couple in the throne seats.

Instead of addressing him according to their familial relations, Taomie Lianhe and Young Master Xuan Hao both addressed the man as Faction Leader.

Still, this confirmed his identity as Young Master Xuan Hao's great grandfather Xuan Qinshang.

As for the lady seated beside him, it was probably Young Master Xuan Hao's great grandmother.

Both of them were Overlord powerhouses, one at the True Core realm and the other at the Nascent Core realm.

Then again, that was only to be expected of the Timeless Flame Sect.

On the contrary, it would have been strange if the leaders of their internal factions were not Overlord realm martial artists!

"Mm," Xuan Qinshang nodded in satisfaction. "You are finally back, Hao. It seems like you had quite the harvest this time. Did you come across anything interesting?"

By harvest, he was naturally referring to Young Master Xuan Hao's advancement to the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm.

"It was quite the eye-opener indeed, Faction Leader," Young Master Xuan Hao replied politely.

"That's good to hear," Xuan Qinshang said before gesturing towards the other group of three standing before the throne. "I believe you haven't met Caixia after returning?"

It was then that their attention was finally brought to the group of three.

The group comprised of a young lady and two middle-aged men. Among them, the young lady instantly stood out as the most extraordinary looking one.

She looked to be in her early twenties, and her figure was slim. Her facial features were a treat to the eyes, comparable to or perhaps even more exquisite than the beautiful Nanlan Qianxue.

Though her cultivation level at the Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm was inferior to the two Nascent Core Overlords beside her, she still gave off an aura of absolute confidence, as though she did not fear a single thing in this world.

"Senior Apprentice Sister Caixia," Young Master Xuan Hao clasped his fists towards the young lady.

"Junior Apprentice Brother Hao," the young lady smiled. "Watch my move!"

Before Young Master Xuan Hao could even react, a spear suddenly appeared in her hands, and she almost instantly covered the distance between them.

Suppressing her cultivation level to the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm, she thrust the spear out towards Young Master Xuan Hao in a domineering manner.

"Damn it, Senior Apprentice Sister!" Young Master Xuan Hao subconsciously cursed.

At the same time, a burning shield appeared on his arm, which he positioned firmly in front while he bracing himself for impact.

Bang-!

The spear smashed mercilessly into the burning shield, the impact sending out shockwaves in all directions. Fortunately, these shockwaves were instantly subdued by an Overlord realm powerhouse who was watching by the side, making sure that none of the furniture would be affected.

As for Young Master Xuan Hao, he was not as lucky as the furniture.

His guard was blown wide open by the impact, and he was sent stumbling backwards a good few metres.

"Tsk, tsk!" the young lady gently shook her head while putting away her spear. "You might have broken through, but your foundation still has a lot that needs to be worked on, Junior Apprentice Brother Hao!"

"You just caught me by surprise, that's all!" Young Master Xuan Hao grumbled while putting away his burning shield. At the same time, he tried his best to keep a straight face while ignoring the numbness in his arm.

"Oh? Shall we have another go at it then?" the young lady playfully asked.

"Hahaha! Just go easy on him, Caixia," Xuan Qinshang laughed. "Hao might be talented, but how can he possibly hold a candle to you?"

"Caixia is as splendid as ever."

"What wonderful technique!"

Praises quickly chimed in from the others who were watching by the side.

At this point, Ruan Ling's voice sounded out in Lu Tianzi's head. "This woman is Linye Caixia, Brother Xuan Hao's Senior Apprentice Sister. She has a very good relationship with Xuan Wen, and most people see them as a couple. In fact, we have mentioned her to you before – she is none other than the number one genius of the Timeless Flame Sect, the current fourth place holder on the Heaven's Warrior List!"

The Heaven's Warrior List?

Lu Tianzi recalled that the first time he met Young Master Xuan Hao and Ruan Ling on the Canal of Misery, they had mentioned something about that.

It was a ranking board that listed the top hundred members of the younger generation, decided by three main attributes – age, talent, as well as overall combat strength.

To be ranked fourth on the Heaven's Warrior List, this Linye Caixia had to be quite the martial genius!

At this moment, Lu Tianzi realised that Linye Caixia's attention had turned away from Young Master Xuan Hao, falling upon him, Ruan Ling, and Nanlan Qianxue.

"Oh? Are you Junior Apprentice Brother Hao's friends?" Linye Caixia smirked. "To be able to make friends with one of the heir candidate of our Timeless Flame Sect, you must be excellent martial artists as well. Why don't we compare notes a little? Don't worry, I will suppress my cultivation level to that of yours!"

Lu Tianzi gave a polite smile while clasping his fists towards her. "I don't think that is quite appropriate, Lady Liny-"

Before Lu Tianzi could even finish his sentence, Linye Caixia had already drawn her spear once more, thrusting it straight towards him!