"It's fine, I want to see what's going on." Warren Wong was extremely curious, so he refused Marshall Wong's suggestion and stood there, waiting for the arriving disciple.
Soon, the butler brought a disciple inside.
The disciple spoke upon seeing the clan patriarch, "No. 3 Mine has an urgent situation to report."
"Urgent situation? What happened?" Marshall Wong asked in surprise upon hearing it was an emergency.
"This is a confidential letter." The disciple presented a sealed letter to Marshall Wong. When Marshall saw the letter marked 'First Rank,' he sensed something major had happened. Only urgent matters used such special one-time letters—once opened, they would automatically disappear.
Staring at the urgent letter in his hand, Marshall Wong told the disciple and butler to wait at the door, while he and Warren Wong remained inside. When Marshall opened the letter with both hands, a few lines appeared on a special sheet inside.
After Marshall Wong finished reading, a rare smile appeared on his face. Warren Wong, puzzled, asked, "Dad, what's going on?"
"Good, excellent!" Marshall Wong was so excited he forgot to answer Warren's question.
Warren Wong had to ask again, "Dad, what exactly happened?"
Marshall Wong smiled as he looked at the now vanished writing. "No. 3 Mine has discovered a piece of top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore."
"What?" Warren Wong was utterly shocked when he heard this.
"With it, not only will cultivation be twice as effective, it can also be used for many other things." Marshall Wong's face was now full of excitement.
"Dad, where is it now?" Warren Wong was eager to see what the so-called top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore looked like.
"It's in Wong Zhuxiong's hands. He's afraid someone might try to steal it, so he's keeping it safe for now and wants us to hurry over to claim it." Marshall Wong replied.
"Then let's hurry and go." Warren Wong said.
"Yes, we must. But to avoid arousing suspicion, just the two of us will go. As for your matter, we'll discuss it after we return." Marshall Wong decided not to bring anyone else, fearing exposure and alerting other clans or sects.
Warren Wong wasn't foolish. A piece of top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore could bring huge benefits to a clan like theirs, but if things went wrong, it could spell disaster.
Seeing Warren Wong agree, Marshall Wong still felt something was missing, so he called the butler in from outside.
"Butler Wang, No. 3 Mine is short on manpower. Arrange for fifty disciples to go there within three days." Marshall Wong gave the butler a pretext.
The butler nodded, "Yes, Patriarch."
"Wait, Warren and I will go to No. 3 Mine first. You and the other disciples can head over in three days." Marshall Wong spoke after thinking it over.
"Yes." The butler responded.
"Go ahead and get ready." Marshall Wong dismissed the butler.
Warren Wong asked, puzzled, "Dad, why did you tell the butler to send people over in three days?"
"I'm worried that too many Wong Clan members will gossip, so I made up an excuse to make them think the letter from No. 3 Mine is about manpower shortage." Marshall Wong smiled, secretly planning to return with the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore before anyone else arrived.
"So that's it. Dad, should we go now?" Warren Wong understood.
"Yes, let's go. But before we head out, I want to meet someone." Marshall Wong hesitated, then said to Warren.
Still confused, Warren followed Marshall Wong out of the Wong Clan estate. The two went to a certain town, found a tavern, and started drinking.
"Dad, why did you come here?" Warren Wong was puzzled, seeing only mortals around them.
"Don't forget what day it is." Marshall Wong was still thinking about his usual routines, so he wasn't in a hurry to leave.
"Aunt Fiona, what exactly did Evan Yang tell the Situ Clan patriarch?" Warren Wong realized there was a key issue: what did Evan say that made Skyward Situ not only refuse to arrest the killer, but actually get angry instead?
The newcomer was none other than Fiona Maple, second madam of the Situ Clan and Marshall Wong's junior-sister.
"Junior-sister, how have you been lately?" Marshall Wong said with a smile.
Fiona Maple sat down with a stern face, clearly not in a good mood, and sighed helplessly, "Sigh, the Situ Clan is slipping out of control."
"What's wrong?" Marshall Wong asked curiously.
"What else? Ever since that beggar met Skyward Situ, he started rebelling, stopped relying on me, and even Situ Jing found some helper, telling my father not to interfere!" Fiona Maple said angrily.
"Situ Jing? He found someone who could make Master himself refuse to act?" Marshall Wong was shocked, and Warren Wong also looked at Fiona Maple in amazement, waiting for her explanation.
"I've explained to my father many times, but he refuses to intervene, telling me to stay put in the Situ Clan and not to go around exterminating people for no reason." Fiona Maple grew angrier as she spoke.
"That's strange. Normally, Master would support you, junior-sister. Why is it different this time? Could it be that the person Situ Jing found is really powerful?" Marshall Wong pondered aloud.
"I don't know. I asked my father, but he wouldn't say—just told me not to keep trying to wipe out the Situ Clan." Fiona Maple looked disappointed.
"My father said that in two years, Kane Xiao, the King of Forging, will come out of seclusion. He'll likely choose a disciple to inherit his mantle, so Heaven-Earth Gate has already started recruiting candidates for the next King of Forging." Fiona Maple said solemnly.
"I was about to ask you the same thing! That wretched beggar—what's his background? He disciplined Easton, and I wanted to find an excuse to teach him a lesson, but then he ran off with Jace Situ and killed Easton's peak Foundation-stage bodyguard. If Easton hadn't had a protective jade, he'd be dead by now." Fiona Maple grew angrier as she spoke, thankful her son had a talisman to survive Evan's attack.
"Yes, five hundred years ago he was rumored to have forged a treasure like a celestial artifact, but no one ever saw it, so nobody knows if it's true. Now that news of his return has spread, many are sending people to Heaven-Earth Gate hoping for information." Fiona Maple nodded deeply.
"Really? That kid, with only mid-Foundation cultivation, could easily defeat you?" Fiona Maple knew Warren Wong was already at peak Foundation, and had hoped Jace Situ helped, but was shocked by the result. She stared at Warren in disbelief.
Marshall Wong wasn't much better off. He had assumed Evan Yang fought Warren to the bitter end, leading to Warren's finger being severed, but the truth was Warren lost badly and only escaped with a teleportation talisman.
Seeing their strange expressions, Warren Wong said angrily, "That kid—I swear I'll get revenge someday!"
"If you catch him, let me know. Easton has been clamoring to capture him for half a year, and it's driving me crazy." Fiona Maple said helplessly.
"Don't worry, junior-sister. If I hear anything about him, I'll tell you right away." Marshall Wong replied.
"Enough about that. There's something important I need to tell you today." Fiona Maple put away her helpless expression and spoke seriously.
"What's happening today?" Both Marshall and Warren Wong looked at Fiona Maple curiously.
"My father said that in two years, Kane Xiao, the King of Forging, will come out of seclusion. He'll likely choose a disciple to inherit his mantle, so Heaven-Earth Gate has already started recruiting candidates for the next King of Forging." Fiona Maple said solemnly.
"What? Hasn't he been missing for five hundred years?" Marshall Wong exclaimed. Warren Wong, meanwhile, didn't really know who Kane Xiao was.
"Yes, five hundred years ago he was rumored to have forged a treasure like a celestial artifact, but no one ever saw it, so nobody knows if it's true. Now that news of his return has spread, many are sending people to Heaven-Earth Gate hoping for information." Fiona Maple nodded deeply.
"A celestial artifact? That caused a huge stir back then, but he disappeared for five hundred years claiming he was in seclusion. Even if he didn't forge a celestial artifact, his forging skills are unmatched on the continent." Marshall Wong muttered.
"Exactly. That's why, in half a year, I'm sending Easton to Heaven-Earth Gate. Warren, are you interested in going too?" Fiona Maple was worried her son might cause trouble, so she hoped Warren would accompany him.
Marshall Wong understood her intention. He also wanted Warren to join Heaven-Earth Gate; even if Warren didn't break through in cultivation, learning forging would help temper his mind and distract him from revenge.
Warren Wong nodded slightly, "If nothing unexpected happens, I'll go with him in half a year."
Seeing Warren agree, both Fiona Maple and Marshall Wong smiled, feeling their wishes fulfilled.
Since Marshall Wong and Warren Wong still had things to do, they chatted a bit more and then left the tavern, heading for No. 3 Mine.
"Miss, someone spotted the beggar in Tiger Village. He even killed a few rogue cultivators." In a secret chamber, a one-eyed man reported to a woman standing with her back to him.
"Tiger Village?" The veiled woman murmured.
"Yes." The one-eyed man replied.
"Is he really heading for the Death Crystal Field?" The woman asked in surprise.
"He was supposed to enter the outskirts with those rogue cultivators, but something happened and a conflict broke out. In the end, the rogue cultivators scattered, and their leader was killed by the beggar." The one-eyed man explained in detail.
"Alright, I understand. I'm heading out for a while—I'll leave things here to you." The woman turned to instruct the one-eyed man, as if preparing for a long journey.
The one-eyed man seemed used to this and asked, "What should I say if people from other places ask about you, Miss?"
"Just the usual—tell them I have business to attend to." The woman replied after a moment's thought, then left, walking past the one-eyed man.
Watching her leave, the one-eyed man sighed, "I wonder why Miss cares so much about that beggar."
The woman who left the secret chamber had no idea what the one-eyed man was thinking, and simply flew away from the base.
Evan Yang had no idea he was in danger; instead, he was lost in thought.
"This Heaven-Form Aspect Art is like an ocean." Looking at the countless formations, Evan Yang commented, relieved that it was easy to locate the one he needed.
As soon as he entered the cave, he began studying the basics of formation arts, gradually moving from simple to complex. With enough strength, one could forcibly break a formation; but even without it, there were special ways to remove the formation's core.