"Song Laosan, what's wrong with you? Has this brat muddled your mind?" The middle-aged man casually lifted the wine jar, poured himself a cup, and smiled. "He's just an impetuous youth speaking nonsense. You've always been a man of great bearing; I hardly think you'd stoop to such petty behavior. Even if he doesn't appreciate my wine, I certainly do."

"Your Highness, you wouldn't understand. In my entire life, the proudest achievement of Song Laosan has been brewing this fine wine. Everything else, to me, is merely fleeting smoke. For some youngster to slight my wine, I should naturally just smile and let it pass without a second thought!" Song Laosan stared wistfully in the direction Jun Xie had departed. "It's a pity, though. When I heard what he said right before leaving, he was already gone. A true connoisseur of the wine path, meeting him only to part ways—that's the real regret."

"A connoisseur of the wine path? Regret?" The middle-aged man addressed as "Your Highness" sounded somewhat astonished.

"Indeed, regret!" Song Laosan nodded firmly. "This young man, capable of speaking those words, is truly someone who understands wine." He murmured, "True drinking is about the mood! It's about the artistic conception! It's not merely about pouring wine down the throat; that only wastes the grain used for brewing! To know how to drink, how to savor, how to appreciate wine—to miss out on this fellow connoisseur is truly the greatest regret of my life..."

Glancing sideways, Song Laosan noticed that the straw hat Jun Xie had kept behind his back had vanished without him realizing when.

Song Laosan's expression shifted, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, a faint hint of pale azure surfacing in his irises...

Equally unfortunately, the "Your Highness" standing right behind him failed to notice the strangeness in Song Laosan's eyes.

Earth Rank Yellow, Heaven Rank Blue!

This utterly slovenly Song Laosan, known only for brewing wine, was actually a profoundly hidden expert of the Celestial Profound level! Below the Supreme Divine Profound, a Celestial Profound expert could be considered one of the figures standing at the pinnacle of the Profound Continent's pyramid! Such a person was actually confined to this obscure little tavern!

What a shame. If Jun Xie hadn't already left, with his unique spiritual intuition, he would surely have noticed Song Laosan's extraordinary nature, and he would certainly have used Song Laosan's passion for wine to his advantage! Alas, Jun Xie was now gone beyond even a shadow.

Jun Xie walked slowly out of the tavern, his mind gradually clearing and regaining sobriety. He had broken free from the earlier mystical state, a state that could almost represent the Heretical Sovereign Jun Xie—that moment of madness was the true nature of the Heretical Sovereign defying the world in his past life! Unafraid to offend anyone, speaking as he wished, acting as he willed, advancing even against countless foes! Even if the world pointed fingers at him, the former Heretical Sovereign would have arrogantly met them head-on, facing the masses alone!

Following his whims, utterly heedless, never caring for anyone else's feelings! If the world praised him, flattered him, and exalted him to the heavens, he accepted it calmly, feeling entirely deserving! If the world slandered, reviled, and scorned him, that too was equally natural!

This heretical disposition was precisely the origin of his title, "Heretical Sovereign"!

But now, after that outburst, the rational Jun Xie naturally would not maintain the "Heretical Sovereign" persona he had just displayed. He suppressed his aura, and with nowhere suitable to go in the heavy rain, he naturally started walking in the direction of home.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to turn the next street corner, Jun Xie's expression froze, and his pace slowed; a low voice drifted from around the bend, muffled amidst the downpour. If Jun Xie's senses hadn't been significantly sharper than ordinary people's, he would have barely caught it.

The voice said: "...It's finally done. If it weren't for this great rain tonight, I truly wouldn't have dared to touch the belongings of that old wretch in the Tang family. Heaven truly smiled upon us..."

The Tang family? Jun Xie's heart stirred; he immediately thought of Tang Yuan's lineage. With a shift in thought, his body flickered like lightning, and concealed by the downpour, he hid behind a corner, behind a jutting earthen wall. This wall wasn't particularly tall normally, certainly not enough to hide a person, but in this torrent of rain, everything was hazy, visibility near zero, making it excellent cover. Slowly, he removed the straw hat from his head, letting the rain drench him instantly from head to toe.

He had to be cautious because the sound of rain hitting the hat was entirely different from the sound of rain hitting the earthen wall. The sound of rain hitting a person also differed slightly from hitting the wall, but compared to the hat, the distinction was incomparable.

With ragged "huffing" and "puffing" breaths, five or six figures seemed to walk over with great effort, never suspecting that anyone else would be on the street in such heavy rain. One of them, carrying a bundle, turned the street corner. One said, "This matter has been planned for a long time but never succeeded. This time, we brothers finally pulled it off. The Boss will be ecstatic when he hears."

Another gasped, "We succeeded, yes, but the cost wasn't small. We never expected that even after four of the six Tang family experts left, the remaining members could still discover the anomaly and our secret infiltration. If it weren't for that mysterious person drawing away the two remaining Tang family experts, and if fourteen of our brothers hadn't fought desperately to cover the rear, we probably..." He coughed violently, "...cough, cough."

"But this item is truly crucial; we must not lose it under any circumstances. We need to rush back and hand it over to the Boss immediately. Once this matter is settled, we can finally be at ease. Ah, this period has been too much! Let's not delay any further; better safe than sorry. Hurry up and travel!"

"Yes, yes. But, Brother Lang, the man who let us in when we went to the Tang family was your brother-in-law. If the Tang family investigates later... won't your brother-in-law be in mortal danger?"

"Worry about him? When they finally trace it back to us, we brothers will take our reward money and disappear, living happily wherever we go. The world is vast; how could the Tang family find us? As for my brother-in-law, he probably vanished long ago. Why wait for the Tang family to catch him? That kid is slippery. We should worry about ourselves instead of him!"

"That makes sense."

The six hurried on their way, drawing closer to Jun Xie. Jun Xie observed clearly: four of the six men were severely wounded, and the remaining two were also badly hurt. They bled continuously as they walked, and two of them coughed incessantly, leaving a small streak of red on the ground with every spasm, though that crimson stain was immediately washed away by the rain.

What exactly did they steal from the Tang family? Something so important?! Fourteen out of twenty men left behind, and out of the remaining six, four were so grievously injured, yet they still looked satisfied and proud?

If the Tang family possessed such a valuable item, why wouldn't Tang Yuan show it off to him?

Suddenly, the most heavily wounded among them stiffened, stopping his coughing, and shouted fiercely, "Who is it? Come out!" His gaze, sharp as lightning, swept toward Jun Xie's position! His entire body suddenly shone with silver light as he gathered all his profound energy, ready to strike with thunderous force at any moment!

This severely injured person was actually a powerhouse of the Silver Profound level!

And he had discovered Jun Xie's presence!