Yu Wushuang was once again stunned by the strength Ye Jingyu displayed. A fierce beast like the Taotie, even a juvenile one, was enough to make even a Grandmaster or a Martial Saint wary—a supreme powerhouse whose sheer strength could shatter the void. Now, they had gained a true Martial Saint.

This level of power would be sufficient for a siege, yet it was currently being deployed merely to rescue Miss Xiangyi. Just what kind of friends had Miss Xiangyi made over these past few years?

Only at this moment did she deeply grasp the extent of his power. The domineering words she’d once used toward Liang Xiaoke gradually evaporated. She was merely Gongsun Sheng’s subordinate, not some stubborn martyr. Of course, she understood the principle that the strong are revered. Gongsun Sheng was stronger than her, so she became his subordinate. Now that Liang Xiaoke was even stronger, what did it matter if she became his woman?

This world inherently respected strength. Attaching oneself to the strong, following the powerful—this was not strange at all.

From this very moment, all other distracting thoughts in Yu Wushuang's mind vanished completely, and she resolved to follow Liang Xiaoke wholeheartedly.

While Yu Wushuang was reeling in shock, far away on a hillside west of the Medicine King Valley, a stooped elder pushed a wheelchair, standing silently on a platform. In the chair sat another elder, his hair stark white, but his cloudy eyes now shot out piercing glints of light.

It was Gongsun Sheng and his old butler.

"Old Xu, it seems we have an unexpected catch today!" Gongsun Sheng murmured, gazing at the dilapidated pavilions of the Medicine King Valley.

"Indeed, Master. This appears to be a big fish, and one from another pond entirely. Master, what course of action should we take now?" the old butler replied respectfully.

"Heh heh. Since it’s a big fish from another pond, and our two fishing rods failed to reel it in—perhaps even snapped—then it’s time to cast the net. I should like to see just what kind of big fish has swum into our waters!" Gongsun Sheng’s face held a faint smile.

"Master, must we deploy the Violent Ape Battle Squad?" Hearing Gongsun Sheng’s words, the old butler’s expression shifted slightly. He knew well that the 'fishing rods' Gongsun Sheng referred to were naturally Yu Wushuang and Leng Feng. A Grandmaster, coupled with a Soul Master of the Spirit Manifestation Realm, and a Sixth-Grade Desolate Beast—the Violent Ape—could not handle the arrivals. If they were to keep these newcomers here, they would have to summon the ultimate guard force of the Medicine King Valley: the Violent Ape Battle Squad!

"Mm," Gongsun Sheng nodded lightly.

"Understood, Master!" The old butler nodded, then pulled a whistle from his robes and blew three sharp notes in succession.

As the sound echoed, streams of black figures shot out from the depths of the Medicine King Valley, rushing swiftly toward the pavilions. In just a few breaths of time, the area surrounding the pavilions was densely surrounded. Moreover, massive silhouettes, some towering over ten feet tall, thundered out from the valley depths, keeping close to the human figures. From a distance, all one could see were pairs of blood-red eyes.

If Yu Wushuang could witness this scene, her jaw would surely drop in astonishment, for these were precisely the Violent Apes that had been by her side—the Sixth-Grade Desolate Beasts she had painstakingly subdued with Gongsun Sheng's assistance. Yet, here in the darkness, there were at least a hundred such towering figures.

One hundred Sixth-Grade Desolate Beasts! That equated to one hundred Grandmasters, perhaps even stronger, with defenses several times greater than a Grandmaster's and offensive capabilities no less formidable. Such might could easily decimate an army of ten thousand soldiers.

The Gongsun Clan, with its millennia of heritage, was clearly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

She failed to realize that although these Violent Apes had reached the Sixth-Grade Desolate Beast level, they were chemically catalyzed—and thus fundamentally inferior to her own ape. Their strength was at best slightly superior to that of an average Martial Master, far from being a match for a true Grandmaster!

These Violent Apes stood motionless around the black figures, disciplined like an army, their blood-red eyes occasionally sweeping toward the battered pavilion.

To this moment, the guards who had been afflicted by the 'Crimson Dust Drunkenness' showed no signs of waking, appearing utterly dead to the world.

Upon receiving the warning from Bing Ming, Ye Jingyu’s face showed little shock. This was the Medicine King Valley; the Gongsun family would certainly not have stationed only these few people. Furthermore, this was a setup orchestrated by Gongsun Sheng to test his juniors, so it was impossible that he had only sent Yu Wushuang and Leng Feng; there had to be contingencies.

"It seems we have unintentionally become Gongsun Sheng's fish. In that case, let us see just how profound the foundation of the Gongsun family truly is?" Ye Jingyu’s face curved into a faint smile, as if he were entirely unconcerned by the impending crisis.

Not only did he appear calm, but Liang Xiaoke and Bing Ming also wore smiles of self-assurance, as if they knew nothing of danger. It made sense: a Martial Saint, a Corpse Emperor whose strength was no less than a Martial Saint’s, and an entity whose power bordered on, or could even surpass, a Martial Saint, plus an Ancient Fierce Beast. With such a lineup, unless they encountered a monstrous anomaly like Dugu Ba Chen, few people could genuinely stop them.

Sensing their confidence, Yu Wushuang also relaxed. Since she was now his woman, surely he wouldn't abandon her to face this alone.

Led by Ye Jingyu, and ignoring the assassins already subdued by Leng Feng, the group exited the pavilion. Of course, Bing Ming’s form had once again vanished into the void.

When they beheld the hundreds of blood-red eyes surrounding them, the faces of the group shifted slightly. However, where Ye Jingyu and the others felt astonishment—hundreds of Sixth-Grade Violent Apes—Yu Wushuang felt mounting horror. Did this signify hundreds of Spirit Manifestation Realm Soul Masters?

No, it was impossible for the Gongsun family to command such a force of Soul Masters; otherwise, they would have long since dominated the world. Therefore, these apes must have been tamed by the Gongsun family.

The ability to treat Sixth-Grade Desolate Beasts as common beasts for training spoke volumes of the Gongsun family’s true might. A prestigious lineage spanning a thousand years was indeed extraordinary.

However, Yu Wushuang’s complexion turned ashen. She had struggled so hard to subdue a single Violent Ape, and now there were over a hundred. How could this not shock her?

One hundred Sixth-Grade Desolate Beasts—that was an absolute deterrent capable of holding off a Martial Saint. Even a Martial Saint would likely have to temporarily avoid the combined assault of a hundred Violent Apes.

Just as despair began to settle in, a large yet slightly cool hand grasped her delicate one, and a voice filled with absolute confidence sounded in her ear: "Don't worry. You are my woman. As long as I don't die, no one will lay a finger on you!"

Feeling the overwhelming aura of dominance in Liang Xiaoke's words, even though his palm was cool, Yu Wushuang felt a wave of warmth spread through her.