Late at night, the gates of the City Lord's mansion were knocked open, and the visitor was led to the courtyard of the Second Madam.

"Xiao Qiang, why are you here? Did you succeed?" The Second Madam's face lit up with surprise.

"Sister, if I had succeeded, do you think the City Lord's mansion would be this quiet?"

"I came to discuss something with you."

The surprise on the Second Madam's face vanished.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Sister, if Huang Ye becomes the head of the family, will he come after you?"

"What do you mean by that?" The Second Madam had a vague sense of foreboding.

"Just answer my question first."

"He's spent very little time in the mansion since he woke up. I don't know what kind of person he'll be once he's grown."

"If he's truly ruthless and vengeful, he might take action. Even if he doesn't, my branch won't receive any good treatment."

"Has something bad happened?"

"He might become the head of the family."

"What do you mean? Wouldn't it be easier to just get rid of him?"

"Sister, I'm here to tell you that I've decided to abandon that plan."

"Why? I've taken care of you since you were young. I supported you when you became the head of the family. You must help your sister," the Second Madam said anxiously.

"Sister, I sent two groups. The first was a peak Martial Master. Huang Ye didn't make a move, and the Martial Master returned with a self-severed arm."

"Today, I sent two Martial Kings, one mid-stage and one early-stage. Huang Ye still didn't make a move, and both returned with severed wrists."

"How did they sever their wrists without him making a move?"

"They did it themselves. If they hadn't, they would have died."

"What!" The Second Madam stood up in shock.

"How is he so powerful that even Martial Kings can't do anything to him?"

"I don't know what he's experienced since waking up. I can only tell you that unless the ancestor takes action, no one can do anything to him. If you can persuade him, go ahead. I don't dare."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"How is this possible? He's been awake for less than three months and never practiced martial arts before he became foolish. How could he grow so quickly?"

"I can't understand it either. Before I came, I discussed it with several elders. They believe there's only one possibility: someone used a technique to enlighten him."

"With his current strength, if he continues to grow, not only the position of family head but even the future City Lord's position, he is the most capable contender."

"That's impossible."

"Why not? He's so young and already has the strength of a peak Martial King. His peers are at most peak Martial Masters."

"Sister, it's not that I don't want to help you. I've really tried my best."

"He asked me to send more people. I'm planning to send two late-stage Martial Kings, but not to kill him, just to spar with him."

"After that, I won't send anyone else. As the head of the family, I must consider the family's interests."

The Second Madam slumped back into her chair.

"Sister, to be honest, your spoiled son is far inferior to him. I've heard that kid has a photographic memory."

"Don't provoke him in the future. Give up your fantasies. With the City Lord around, he won't dare do anything to you."

"I shouldn't ask about your family matters, but do you know about the Huang family's affairs?"

"I don't know. Your brother-in-law won't tell me."

"Were you involved in the incident when Huang Ye was injured at ten?"

"I wasn't involved, but I asked Jiang'er. He answered vaguely, just saying it wasn't him, but I suspect he might know who did it."

"That's troublesome. Once your brother-in-law passes or if his strength surpasses your brother-in-law's, he might investigate this matter."

"What should we do then?"

"See what your brother-in-law thinks. He's the only one who can restrain him now."

"You can whisper in his ear and mention the threat he poses."

"Sigh! I want to, but I'm already yesterday's news. Your brother-in-law doesn't come to me anymore."

"Then I have no good solution. At least you took action this time. Whether he spares you depends on him."

"Given his age, reaching Martial Emperor is certain, and he might even become a Martial Saint. The family won't make a powerful enemy, nor will they protect you and your son!"

"Yes, I understand, Sister. We can only leave it to fate and hope my husband can resolve this."

"Sister, keep an eye on your son. He causes too much trouble."

"I understand. That troublesome boy is indeed a headache."

"Sister, I'll be leaving now."

"Yes, thank you for this."

"Heh!" The head of the Qu family chuckled bitterly and turned to leave.

He understood that even if he sent two more Martial Kings, forgiveness was not guaranteed.

Choosing these two Martial Kings was also a headache; no one wanted to go. He had to threaten them with the destruction of their clan to force two late-stage Martial Kings to agree.

But he knew his actions had already hurt the hearts of all the guest elders. The Qu family would no longer have loyal elders in the future.

He hoped these two could create some miracle.

Huang Ye sat cross-legged in meditation, and he remained there for three whole days.

On the second day, the spies lost track of Huang Ye again. They never expected that Huang Ye was right in the dense forest.

On the fourth day, while Huang Ye was refining spiritual energy, he was interrupted by two late-stage Martial Kings.

The two immediately declared their affiliation with the Qu family, clearly there to spar.

Despite their full efforts, the result was the same: both severed their wrists and left.

Upon hearing their report, the head of the Qu family was relieved that the little devil didn't mention sending more sparring partners, and he rewarded the two generously.

He also realized that this guy's strength was definitely at the half-step Martial Emperor level. Such a young half-step Martial Emperor was terrifying to think about.

He remembered Huang Ye's warning not to reveal his strength, or the Qu family would have no future.

The Qu family held an emergency meeting overnight, and everyone who knew about the matter was ordered to keep silent.

After the meeting, the head of the Qu family hurried to the City Lord's mansion. Hearing that the Second Madam only told Wu Jiang not to provoke Huang Ye and the two maids, and that Huang Ye's strength hadn't been leaked, he was completely at ease.

After finishing his body refinement with the two late-stage Martial Kings, Huang Ye returned to his room. Over the three days, he had completed the purification of the wood element, and the earth element was almost done.

After finishing the wood element purification, he tried a technique to cultivate divine sense, and it indeed worked.

His divine sense detection range had reached a radius of three meters. Before purification, he had tried, and it was less than one meter.

This ability wasn't very useful now, as his miraculous eyes were more effective within visible range.

Only when his divine sense expanded to a certain range would it truly help him.

Before leaving the dense forest, he tried the divine sense detection range again, and it was close to six meters.

Following this pattern, once all five elements were purified, it should reach fifteen meters.

Purifying the water element was simple; there was a river in the academy. The fire and metal elements would be best purified at the Tang family.

Yes, first, he would check the hidden weapons class to see if Tang Xin had returned. If she had, he would go back with her.

When he arrived at the hidden weapons class, he saw Tang Xin teaching from a distance and turned to head to the swordsmanship class.