“No,” said Song Jia quickly, her face reddening a bit. She was innately beautiful, and had a tender personality.

The woman next to her laughed, looking at her lovingly. She didn’t say anything.

Her voice light, Song Jia continued, “I just think he’s interesting. He offended so many people, and yet so many people are willing to stand by his side. Also, he doesn’t really look like a Cultivator. He looks more like a scholar.”

The middle-aged woman laughed again, and her expression grew even more gentle. She lifted her right hand, and a flaming jade slip appeared. It burned into nothing, and suddenly, a slight tremble ran through all of the mountains in the Song Clan. The tremble was so minor that anyone under the Nascent Soul stage wouldn’t notice it. Up in the dark sky, the moon s.h.i.+mmered.

Within the moon, countless magical symbols appeared that seemed to be deducing matters pertaining to both the past and the future. After a long moment, they faded away. It was then that in front of the middle-aged woman, time seemed to move in reverse. The jade slip seemed to un-burn as it reappeared in front of her.

Song Jia watched this happen, not with surprise, but with antic.i.p.ation.

“Alright,” said the woman, pressing her finger onto the jade slip. “Let me take a look at the past of this person you find so interesting.”

As soon as she pushed down on the jade slip, it projected a screen into the air. On it could be seen a small county, and a boy sitting next to a window. He was reading a scroll by lamplight.

As he read, he slowly shook his head and fanned himself with a feather fan. It was obviously summer.

The boy was none other than Meng Hao.

The screen flickered, and Meng Hao was now wearing a neat, clean scholar’s robe. He walked out of his house and stood up against a nearby wall, looking a bit s.h.i.+fty-eyed. Soon, a sedan emerged from the courtyard opposite him. He craned his neck to look at it, an excited expression on his face. [1. In case you forgot about the sedan scenario, it was eluded to in Chapter 45: A Look Back at the Mortal World after Three Years]

The screen s.h.i.+mmered, and now Meng Hao stood on top of Mount Daqing. He sighed and tossed a gourd bottle down into the river. [2. The scene from Mount Daqing was obviously in Chapter 1: Scholar Meng Hao]

Next, he was in the Reliance Sect, holding aloft a medicinal pill, face filled with anxiety as he gave the pill away. [3. The scene of giving away the medicinal pill was from Chapter 5: This Kid isn’t Bad]

When Song Jia saw this, she laughed out loud. The middle-aged woman smiled and shook her head.

The next image was of Meng Hao’s shop on the plateau, and his shy, bashful smile as he sold medicinal pills at exorbitant rates [4. Meng Hao’s business schemes were in Chapter 11: Pill Cultivation Workshop Outlet as well as subsequent chapters] There were many images from that time, but they suddenly flashed by quickly, making it difficult to make everything out quickly. The middle-aged woman frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

The next image that Song Jia saw was that of Eccentric Song on the mountaintop and Meng Hao running along with the iron spear. She saw Meng Hao in the city of Cultivators and the deal he made with Lu and Song for the spear. After that were all the b.l.o.o.d.y events that resulted.

Song Jia couldn’t stop laughing. “This Meng Hao is awful… he’s nothing like a scholar!” She continued to watch, her laughter causing her eyes to look like two crescent moons.

The images again became somewhat blurry. By this time, he was in the Southern Domain. However, in this instant, the jade slip suddenly begun to crumble into pieces. In the blink of an eye, it was covered with cracks. A woman’s cold snort could be heard from very far off in the distance. It filled, not only the room, but the entire Song Clan.

The middle-aged woman’s face filled with shock, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. She grabbed the astonished Song Jia and staggered backward several paces, a look of disbelief covering her face.

All of the mountains within the Song Clan began to tremble. As they did, the moon in the sky above the Song Clan suddenly exploded with a blinding light. It was a flash that instantly began to tremble and darken, as if it were being forcefully suppressed by someone.

At this same moment, the seemingly endless mountains of the Song Clan continued to tremble and then… one by one, the mountains suddenly sank down an entire inch, as if they were being pushed down by some incredible force.

That inch seemed to be a warning, some demonstration of power by… someone. This person seemed to be saying that if they wished, they could wipe out the entire Song Clan mountain range.

At the same time, all of the Nascent Soul Cultivators began to tremble and spit up blood. Deep within the Song Clan mountains, near the location of their Dao Reserves, a roaring sound rose up. It didn’t disseminate outward, and only certain people could sense it.

In the deepest, most remote location within the Song Clan mountains, was a stone pillar. Atop the pillar was a corpse, or rather, half of a corpse. The bottom half was nowhere to be seen. The corpse’s eyes suddenly snapped opened, whereupon the aura of the peak Dao Seeking stage exploded out. The corpse trembled, as if it couldn’t stand up to the immense power which was bearing down upon the Song Clan.

“Respected Senior, calm your anger. The Song Clan of the Southern Domain is at fault….”

“If you know you are at fault, then correct it,” came the transmitted voice of a woman. She was clearly irritated. “Your Song Clan has the tradition of marrying daughters? I suggest she be a maidservant.”

The corpse hesitated. “Respected senior….”

“What was that? You know, the Song Clan of the Eastern Lands desire this honor but are unable to achieve it. Do you truly dare to refuse me?” As the woman’s voice transmitted out, the entire Song Clan mountains suddenly shook, and sank down three more inches.

Without hesitation, the corpse said, “Respected senior, we shall do as you bid!”

The woman’s voice faded away. At the same moment, back in the capital city, Song Jia’s face was pale white. Next to her, her mother panted, and blood oozed out from her mouth.

“Jia’er, this person cannot be provoked. This person is….” Before she could finish speaking, her body began to shake. It seemed as if Divine Sense were transmitting into her mind. She didn’t continue speaking, and eventually, looked at pale-faced Song Jia, a complex expression on her face.

Everything that had just happened in the Song Clan did not go unnoticed by Meng Hao and everyone else. The ground shaking caused everyone’s faces to flicker, especially the Nascent Soul eccentrics.

Eccentric Song’s body trembled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body continued to tremble, and he coughed up a second mouthful of blood, then a third. In the end, he coughed up a total of seven mouthfuls of blood. He staggered, his face pale and filled with astonishment.

He was the only one in the entire Song Clan who coughed up seven mouthfuls of blood.

It was at this moment that the illusory image of a woman appeared in the square, although no one could see it. She stood there, invisible to everyone except for the Song Clan’s most powerful Dao Reserve, the peak Dao Seeking corpse. Only he could sense her rippling aura as she arrived at the Song Clan square.

From the moment she appeared, her eyes were riveted on Meng Hao. They were filled with kindness, tender affection, and love.

After a long moment pa.s.sed, the situation in the square returned to normal. Everyone was shocked, causing a deathly silence to fill the air. The Nascent Soul Cultivators looked around pale faced.

Eccentric Song’s face was deathly white; he was scared nearly witless. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, nor did he know that the entirety of the Song Clan had been shaken just now.

Panting, he wiped the blood from his mouth. Suddenly, his body shook as a voice filled his mind. The voice filled him with veneration; it was none other than the Spirit Severing stage Patriarch of the Song Clan.

It was clearly a transmission of Divine Will from the Spirit Severing Patriarch, who was pa.s.sing along the orders of the Dao Reserve corpse. All of the Nascent Soul Cultivators of the Song Clan received the same message.

“Meng Hao is not to be provoked!”

Amidst the silence that covered the square, w.a.n.g Tengfei’s voice sounded out. “Meng Hao, you don’t have the qualifications to refuse a battle with me today!” He leaped up and began to stride toward Meng Hao, his Cultivation base erupting with power. Power exceeding the early Foundation Establishment stage soared higher and higher. It turned out w.a.n.g Tengfei’s Dao Pillars hummed with the energy of the mid Foundation Establishment stage.

Meng Hao’s eyes flickered as he watched w.a.n.g Tengfei approach. w.a.n.g Tengfei’s right hand lifted up; black tendrils rose up and circulated around his finger. His eyes were calm.

“In the Reliance Sect of the State of Zhao, you stole my belongings and wrested away my position in the Inner Sect. In the Southern Domain, you insulted me. Do you really think you qualify to be the archenemy of w.a.n.g Tengfei?” His hair whipped madly around his head and a mysterious black glow began to emanate from his poison finger. You don’t deserve to be w.a.n.g Tengfei’s archenemy. You were an insect back then, and you’re still an insect today! Today, you shall be a blood sacrifice to my poison finger!” w.a.n.g Tengfei’s words echoed throughout the square.

“Are you finished?” said Meng Hao coolly. He strode forward, lifting his right hand and striking it out. The power of his four perfect Dao Pillars congealed into the palm. Not a strand leaked out. A roaring filled the air as he struck toward w.a.n.g Tengfei.

As the boom filled the square, the surrounding Cultivators watched, completely focused on what was happening. Only Han Bei and Li s.h.i.+qi, as well as Chen Fan, looked with strange expressions toward the bl.u.s.tering w.a.n.g Tengfei.

Fatty looked extremely nervous. The large man from the Golden Frost Sect was holding him back, otherwise he would have joined Meng Hao to fight.

Amidst the roaring boom, w.a.n.g Tengfei tumbled backward, blood spraying from his mouth. The palm blow just now had actually not been a level strike, but a slap. The sound of the slap rang out as some of w.a.n.g Tengfei’s teeth shattered. He flopped backward, an expression of shock on his face.

“Impossible….”

Meng Hao strode forward after him, striking with his hand again. A boom sounded out, and more blood sprayed from w.a.n.g Tengfei’s mouth. This time, the slap struck the other side of his face.

“Impossible!” w.a.n.g Tengfei’s face was pale, and his eyes filled, not with confusion, but frenzied rage. He was no longer shocked or frightened. His humiliation washed away everything. He stared murderously at Meng Hao and then howled.

At the same time, w.a.n.g Xifan began to move forward, as did the frowning old Nascent Soul Cultivator from the w.a.n.g Clan.

But then, Eccentric Song’s eyes flickered. A look of discomfort and even disbelief covered his face as he reached out to prevent both of them from doing anything.