Ninth In the World

“How dare you come back here! Follow me, I’ll lead you out. Don’t carry a saber on your back for no reason. Doing this could attract trouble,” said Zhen Man in a pitying tone as she walked up to Di Jiu and looked at the red embellished saber on his back.

Di Jiu lifted his head and looked at Zhen Man, who was standing in front of him. Zhen Man’s appearance had not changed much. She still looked delicate and beautiful. Her cultivation level was at the second-stage Foundation Establishment Realm, which was not considered bad in the Yalun Continent.

“Who’s he, Junior Sister Man?” the man beside Zhen Man asked casually as he walked over.

“He’s the member of the Di Family who escaped.” Zhen Man did not hide Di Jiu’s identity.

Unlike before, Di Jiu looked much more muscular now. He also exuded a manly aura. Unfortunately, he was still considered a weakling in the eyes of the Wu Family.

“Thank you. I have some other matters to take care of. You should make a move first.” As Di Jiu thanked Zhen Man, his heart was as calm as unperturbed lake water.

The one-sided feelings he had harbored when he had been younger disappeared like bubbles. Di Jiu felt as if something deep in his heart had broken apart. His entire body felt much lighter now.

Di Jiu stood up and told Zhen Man once again, “Thank you.”

His state of mind suddenly improved as a result of Zhen Man’s coincidental appearance. This was something Di Jiu had never expected. This time, he thanked Zhen Man for appearing and allowing him to be liberated from his teenage obsession.

After he took revenge for the Di Family, his obsession would disintegrate completely and his state of mind would be upgraded.

Zhen Man shook her head. “There’s no reason to thank me. Although I did enter a sect, I was never able to help you. I heard that the Wu Family was very close to a large sect. I just couldn’t help you.”

Di Jiu smiled. Zhen Man would never understand the true meaning behind his second ‘thank you’. Di Jiu took out some jadeware, threw it on the table and walked out of the cabin.

“Hold on…” When Zhen Man chased him out of the room, she discovered that Di Jiu had disappeared. Her Spiritual Force swept out, yet Di Jiu’s figure was no longer within her Spiritual Force’s range.

“He doesn’t seem simple,” said the man following Zhen Man suddenly. His Spiritual Force did not detect Di Jiu’s figure either. He was at the seventh-stage Foundation Establishment Realm, so his Spiritual Force was much more powerful than Zhen Man’s.

Zhen Man stood by the restaurant’s exit in a daze. A voice in her heart suddenly questioned whether Di Jiu had also entered a sect and if his cultivation level was much more powerful than hers.

She shook her head immediately, thinking that this was not possible. Di Jiu did not possess any martial roots. After she started cultivating, she discovered that no one without any martial roots could possibly possess a spirit root.

“Junior Sister Man, I suspect that Di Jiu can cultivate as well. He came back this time to take revenge,” said the man lowly.

Zhen Man shook her head. “That’s impossible. There was no spiritual aura fluctuation or Quintessential Essence Aura. His aura was stable. There was just no trace of cultivation… I hope he won’t do anything foolish. Di Jiu must be the only member of the Di Family that’s left. If he had already escaped, why did he have to come back?”

Zhen Man suddenly understood after a pause. “I know why. He must have obtained an invisibility talisman. No wonder he could enter the Pearl City so safely!”

This was the only plausible explanation as to why Di Jiu had suddenly disappeared.

“He seemed very calm when he saw you, Junior Sister…” The man following Zhen Man, who liked her, had been staring at Di Jiu.

Di Jiu had looked calmly at Zhen Man, without any trace of emotion. Zhen Man had said previously that Di Jiu was deeply in love with her, yet he had not seemed to be.

Zhen Man was stunned. She was worried about Di Jiu’s life. Hence, she truly had not thought about his expression or why he had been far too calm when he had seen her. One would not be this calm if they were madly in love.

…

Meanwhile, in the Grace Supreme Hall of the Ji Nation’s Palace, Wu Bahu coughed and said slowly, “Call Little Jian over.”

“Yes!” answered a eunuch standing beside Wu Bahu as he bowed hastily and retreated. However, before he could walk to the exit, a foot stepped on his back and kicked him away. The eunuch slammed into Wu Bahu.

Wu Bahu, who was already very ill, spat out a mouthful of purple fresh blood at the collision. The eunuch landed on the ground, panting heavily, unable to make a sound.

“How atrocious!” Wu Bahu hollered. Although his body was currently weak, after occupying the throne for many years, his aura was still present.

He had just said those two words when he recognized who the person who had walked in was.

It was Di Jiu, the only survivor of the Di Family. He had come back to take revenge. He had indeed come back. Wu Bahu sighed. He had known that this matter was not over yet ever since Di Jiu and Di Yue had gone missing.

“You were able to bypass so many guards to reach this place? Obviously, you must be as strong as a Martial King. Or perhaps you have started cultivating…” After recognizing Di Jiu, Wu Bahu unexpectedly calmed down. He did not call for help in a frenzy, nor did he explain anything or beg for mercy.

Di Jiu walked over, reached out and grabbed hold of Wu Bahu before throwing him down. Then, he sat down in Wu Bahu’s seat and said coolly, “I have no intention of letting any member of the Wu Family leave this place alive today. However, before anything else happens, I need to ask you about someone. Where did Qu Xiaoshu go? If you answer my question well, I might consider leaving your corpse intact.”

Wu Bahu took a deep breath and wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Di Jiu and said, “The Wu Family did indeed let the Di Family down. However, I did not kill your father or take your elder sister’s eyes out to cure my daughter’s illness.”

Di Jiu’s expression turned frosty. “Who was it?”

“It was all Ge Yi’s fault,” said Wu Bahu calmly.

Di Jiu laughed. “You are saying that Ge Yi, a mere doctor, possessed the qualifications to do anything to my father, Di Shan? If you refuse to be honest, you will only have yourself to blame if I search your soul.”

Di Jiu knew who Ge Yi was. He had been a medical grandmaster from the Lu Yuan Empire. His father would most likely have considered a mere medical grandmaster a nobody.

“You have indeed come back with a cultivation.” Wu Bahu’s voice quaked when he heard Di Jiu mention soul searching.

Di Jiu did not reply. He just stared at Wu Bahu.

Wu Bahu’s eyes shone with intelligence as he stared at Di Jiu and said, “Allow me to speak first. When my speech is complete, I will commit suicide, search for Brother Di Shan below and admit my wrongs to him.”

Wu Bahu collected his emotions and added, “On the surface, Ge Yi came from the Lu Yuan Empire. However, he actually came from a cultivation sect called the Abstruse Fire Sect. The Abstruse Fire Sect is considered a six-star sect, although I do not know what that means exactly. What I know is that the person who came with Ge Yi killed all 304 soldiers of the Ji Nation’s forbidden army with one slap. Among these soldiers was a Martial Grandmaster Expert. Your father and his 36 personal soldiers were all killed by him with just a slap. This person was called Sang Li, and he was supposed to be an Essence Soul Realm expert. I’m not sure what an Essence Soul Realm expert represents, but you must know more about that since you cultivate.”

Di Jiu clenched his fists tightly. An Essence Soul Realm cultivator had actually come to the Ji Nation? One Essence Soul Realm cultivator could easily pulverize the entire Ji Nation, yet that person had gone there to deal with an ordinary mortal like his father?

“Why?” asked Di Jiu in a frosty tone. He would level any seven-star or eight-star sect, let alone a six-star sect. Even if he had to deal with a nine-star sect, he would exterminate that sect with the help of a Confinement Killing Array.

Wu Bahu’s voice suddenly became louder. “It was because your elder sister Di Di possessed the Sacred Spirit Eyes. The reason I know this is because Mingzhu told me. Di Di and Mingzhu were originally like sisters. After digging Di Di’s eyes out, Sang Li did not kill Di Di. Instead, he let Mingzhu accompany her. Sang Li said himself that he was digging her eyes out because Di Di possessed the Sacred Spirit Eyes…”

Di Jiu felt a repressed feeling in his chest that was unable to be released. This feeling made him feel extremely aggrieved. He knew all about the Sacred Spirit Eyes. Any cultivator who possessed these eyes could see through any illusions and concealment restrictions once the eyes were activated. This was a naturally-born bloodline. Di Di’s Sacred Spirit Eyes implied that there had once been a powerful cultivator who had originated from the ancestors of the Di Family.

“When Mingzhu came back, she committed suicide. She said that she felt extremely terrible and could live no longer while knowing that Di Di’s eyes had been dug out. It was only later on that I discovered that she was more than just upset about Di Di’s eyes. Liang Lu had also raped her…”

Wu Bahu wiped his eyes. He truly did not care about his own life. However, Wu Mingzhu had been the apple of his eye. No one could understand how aggrieved he had felt over the past years when there was nothing he had been able to do to stop his beloved daughter from committing suicide in front of him or getting raped.

“Who’s Liang Lu?” Di Jiu’s eyes were burning with fury.

Wu Bahu put down his hand. “He was the only son of Liang Jueren, the Sect Master of the Abstruse Fire Sect. I have let the Di Family down. If I hadn’t invited Ge Yi over to help cure Mingzhu’s eyes, he would not have known that Di Di possessed the Sacred Spirit Eyes and this tragedy would not have occurred…”

“You’re wrong. Even if I was not invited over, the Di Family would still have ceased to exist. However, everything is still considered your fault for inviting me over and allowing the Young Master to gain a pair of Sacred Spirit Eyes,” said a tall, long-haired man casually in a mocking tone as he walked over.