In a certain residence, in the master's private courtyard.
Ian Song lounged on a recliner, eyes closed in a mock nap, while Cici fed him spirit fruit and Joy massaged his shoulders.
Not far away, Yanna Zhou stood in a Golden Rooster stance, arms fully extended. Each hand gripped a rope tied to a block of black iron weighing over a thousand jin.
Beside her, Lena Wei held a barbed whip, ready to lash Yanna Zhou whenever her posture slipped.
She had been standing there for over an hour already.
If her cultivation weren't sealed, this would be nothing. But now, her arms felt numb and heavy, nearly losing all sensation.
Yet she didn't dare lower her arms. Otherwise, that vicious woman Lena Wei would whip her without hesitation. Thinking of this, Yanna Zhou glared fiercely at the bastard on the recliner. If looks could kill, she'd have hacked him to pieces.
After glaring for a while, Yanna Zhou's eyes grew sore. She had to look away, only to catch sight of the huge beast lying in the corner of the courtyard—a pang of sympathy flashed in her eyes. Once ranked third on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, now kept as a mount.
Compared to him, she was much luckier—at least she was still human.
"Captain!"
Just then, Jackson Wenren walked in. Seeing Yanna Zhou's miserable state, he froze for a moment, then broke into loud laughter.
Yanna Zhou immediately shot him a glare, gnashing her teeth in frustration.
Jackson Wenren's face turned serious. He reported, "Captain, I've learned that the Ward Clan's Poison Dragon and Shadow Phoenix have summoned the Cheng, Young, Chase, Lee, Tanner, and several other powers to Mountain-Sea Pavilion. Looks like they're preparing to make a move against us!"
"Is that so? Keep watching."
Ian Song's eyelids twitched slightly, but he still didn't open his eyes.
"Alright, will do!"
Jackson Wenren nodded. Before leaving, he glanced again at Yanna Zhou, secretly thinking that only their captain could capture a female Hidden Dragon genius and make her serve as a maid.
Yanna Zhou glared fiercely at Jackson Wenren's departing back, then shouted at Ian Song, "Evan Chu, Poison Dragon and Shadow Phoenix are both peak Saint Sea Realm legends! If you release me and Victor Ward now and kneel to apologize, maybe I'll plead for your life so they won't kill you—yet!"
Smack!
Before Ian Song could reply, Lena Wei's whip landed squarely on Yanna Zhou's back.
"Why did you hit me? I wasn't out of form!" Yanna Zhou shouted angrily at Lena Wei.
Lena Wei replied coolly, "You're the Young Master's maid, but you called him by name. That's disrespectful. If you do it again, I'll whip you twice!"
Hearing Lena's explanation, Yanna Zhou ground her teeth in hatred, but couldn't refute her. She resolved that once she escaped, she'd capture Lena and make her a maid, then torture her in every way possible.
Maybe she got too lost in her thoughts, but a faint smile crept onto Yanna Zhou's face. Just then—
Smack!
A sharp pain from her back snapped her out of it. She glared at Lena Wei. "Why did you hit me this time?"
Lena Wei didn't answer, just glanced at her left hand. Yanna Zhou instinctively looked down and realized her left hand was much lower than her right.
She immediately understood—she'd gotten so caught up in her thoughts that her posture slipped without realizing it.
Actually, the task of training Yanna Zhou wasn't assigned by Ian Song, but volunteered for by Lena Wei. Ever since Cici and Joy appeared, Lena sensed a crisis and instinctively tried harder to please Ian.
She'd only been with Ian Song for less than a year, but the benefits she'd gained were beyond imagination.
Moreover, the feeling Ian Song gave her was deeply mysterious—no one truly knew how powerful he was. That only made Lena Wei more determined to stay by his side.
So she volunteered to train Yanna Zhou and even swore that within ten days, she'd have Yanna willingly serving him.
It had to be said, Lena Wei was quite skilled at this.
After a few days, Yanna Zhou had already become much more obedient.
Time passed slowly; the blazing sun in the sky gradually tilted west.
During that time, Jackson Wenren came to report once more: Poison Dragon and Shadow Phoenix were still inside Mountain-Sea Pavilion.
Finally, half an hour later—
Poison Dragon, Shadow Phoenix, and their group left Mountain-Sea Pavilion and headed straight for Ian Song's residence.
"They're coming? This should be interesting!"
Ian Song murmured to himself, sat up from the recliner, and stretched lazily.
Watching this scene, Yanna Zhou seethed with resentment. The man lounged in the shade, pampered by two maids, while she was left to bake under the sun for two hours, forced to maintain that bizarre posture.
By now, her clothes were soaked with sweat, the whip marks on her body throbbed with pain, and her hands were completely numb.
"That's enough for today," Ian Song said, glancing at her.
Hearing this, Yanna Zhou relaxed all over. For some reason, she felt a faint sense of gratitude toward Ian Song.
"What? I'm actually grateful to him? Yanna Zhou, when did you become like this!" she shouted inwardly in frustration.
"Take her to change clothes. No matter what, she's still my maid—she can't go out looking like that!" Ian Song ordered.
"Yes, Young Master!"
Poison Dragon, Shadow Phoenix, and their group didn't keep Ian Song waiting long. Within fifteen minutes, they arrived outside his residence, kicked open the main gate, and strode in boldly.
"Evan Chu, get out here and face your death!"
Someone shouted.
"Evan Chu, you little thief! We're all here—are you just going to hide like a turtle?"
Just then—
Footsteps sounded. Ian Song, surrounded by the Vermin Squad, walked over calmly. Beside him, a giant Fire Qilin, led by a young woman, drew everyone's attention.
"Teng'er?"
Seeing the Fire Qilin, Fiona Ward's eyes narrowed and she moved to rush forward, but Drake Ward grabbed her arm, saying:
"Since we're here, we'll definitely get Teng'er back. A few more moments won't make a difference."
Fiona Ward nodded, a venomous killing intent flashing in her eyes. "Fine, I understand."
"I hear you all ate and drank plenty at Mountain-Sea Pavilion. What's this—are you drunk and here to make trouble at my place?"
Ian Song's voice rang out, tinged with mockery.
"Evan Chu, stop playing dumb! We're here to settle the score today!"
As the saying goes, enemies meet with blazing eyes. Cheng Hao couldn't contain his anger when he saw Ian Song, and jumped out, pointing at him and shouting.
"Who are you?" Ian Song asked calmly, glancing at him.
"Who am I? You really don't recognize me?" Cheng Hao pointed at his own nose, incredulous.
"Someone as insignificant as you—of course I don't know you," Ian Song replied unhurriedly.