A shout echoed across the wilderness bordering Teng Family Village, instantly silencing the previously bustling clansmen. Everyone, whether eating or talking, turned their heads to look.

"Brother, Father?" Qing Yu could barely believe it, her eyes wide with shock and joy.

"Brother Fan!" Yuan Lan, who had been lying on the cart, suddenly erupted with astonishing strength, scrambling up in one motion. She didn't even wait to put on her shoes, running barefoot toward Teng Qingshan and Teng Yongfan. "Brother Fan!" Yuan Lan's face was etched with sheer delight, tears streaming down, as she ran right up to Teng Yongfan.

The chair had been set down, and Teng Yongfan sat upon it.

"Brother Fan."

"A'Lan."

Teng Yongfan tightly embraced his wife. They had been childhood sweethearts, walking through wind and rain together their entire lives; neither could now imagine being apart.

"I thought... I thought you were..." Yuan Lan wept heavily, lowering her gaze to Teng Yongfan's legs. "Brother Fan, your legs..."

"It's a blessing I managed to escape with my life," Teng Yongfan managed a slight smile. "A'Lan, I won't even be able to walk properly from now on."

Yuan Lan's face was streaked with tears: "From now on, I will care for you."

Seeing this scene, Teng Qingshan breathed a massive sigh of relief. If his father had truly died, his mother might have simply withered away day by day in sorrow until she followed him to the grave. But his father was alive and home. His mother no longer carried the intent to die! Having already consumed the Vermilion Fruit Wine, her body was inherently quite strong.

"This is good, this is good," Old Clan Leader Teng Yunlong walked over, beaming. "It's good that you're alive, so long as you're alive." He had witnessed too much death, too many severed limbs—Teng Yunlong had seen enough.

At this moment, Old Clan Leader Teng Yunlong held a wineskin in his hands.

"Grandfather, are your hands feeling better?" Teng Qingshan asked. When the armies from Qinghu Island came to seize them, his grandfather's hand bones had been shattered by the impact.

"They're alright. My hands are useless for heavy work, but holding something light is fine." The hands Teng Yunlong used to hold the wineskin trembled faintly.

Teng Qingshan took the wineskin, removed the small cup covering the spout, and first poured a cup of ‘Vermilion Fruit Wine’ for his father.

"Father, drink this. It will help your body." Teng Qingshan handed it over.

Teng Yongfan looked at his son, nodding with a smile as he accepted the cup: ".Hmm, what fragrant wine. Qingshan, you have me drinking the good stuff the moment I return. Not bad." He immediately tilted his head back and drained the cup, only for his expression to shift in surprise: "What kind of wine is this? It's so potent!"

A surge of blazing energy rapidly flooded Teng Yongfan's entire body.

His body, weakened by massive blood loss, rapidly replenished its depleted vital energy, and his physical constitution even began to improve swiftly. Just one cup of the Vermilion Fruit Wine healed Teng Yongfan by more than half and greatly increased his strength.

"What is this wine?" Teng Yongfan stared, wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Vermilion Fruit Wine," Teng Yunlong beside him said. "I'll explain all of this slowly later. Qingshan... your father is back now, so you don't need to go to Great Yan Mountain anymore, right?"

"I still have matters to attend to," Teng Qingshan stated.

To forgive Qinghu Island?

Impossible!

His elder uncle was dead, and his father had endured such trials only to be paralyzed, nearly losing his life! The thought of his father spending the rest of his life confined to a chair or bed caused Teng Qingshan intense pain. Everything—joining the Guiyuan Sect, becoming the commander of the Black Armored Army—was done so the Teng Family Village could live well, so his parents could have better lives.

If not for that...

Teng Qingshan would have likely set out alone to conquer the world and chase the peak of martial arts.

Yet, in his desperate attempt to protect this home, it was because of him that his father suffered, and his elder uncle died.

"Qingshan," Teng Yongfan pleaded, "Don't go. Don't fight them anymore. Qinghu Island... they are one of the Eight Great Sects of the world. We cannot fight them!" Now paralyzed, unable to practice blacksmithing, or even walk, Teng Yongfan appeared outwardly unconcerned. But who could feel good about being paralyzed?

He was hurting inside, yet he had to pretend otherwise. As for revenge, he longed to kill those people with his own hands, especially the 'Young Island Master' who held the black spear and dragged him away. But he couldn't!

His son, 'Teng Qingshan,' was formidable!

But no matter how strong, how could he contend with the behemoth that was 'Qinghu Island'? Even the entire Guiyuan Sect couldn't match them, let alone a mere Teng Qingshan. For his son's safety, Teng Yongfan did not want his son to attempt it.

"Don't go," Yuan Lan’s eyes were filled with hope and worry.

When faced with the choice between revenge and their son's well-being, they naturally chose to ensure their son lived happily.

"Don't worry, Father! Your son isn't a fool who rushes off blindly." Teng Qingshan forced a smile to comfort his parents. "Since I was a child, have you ever seen your son overestimate his abilities and throw his life away?"

Upon hearing this, Teng Yongfan felt slightly reassured.

Since childhood, Teng Qingshan had always acted with prudence; he was certainly not the type to rush headlong into danger hot-headed.

"Qingshan," Teng Yongfan said solemnly, "That cavalry leader who forcibly tried to take me, Qinghao, and your Great Uncle Yongxiang from the Teng Family Village—on the way back to the Silver Jiao Army camp, I noticed many soldiers respectfully referring to him as 'Young Island Master'."

"It was him!" A killing intent involuntarily surged in Teng Qingshan’s heart.

So it was Gu Shiyou!

In fact, the first time Teng Qingshan saw Gu Shiyou at Flame Mountain, Gu Shiyou was sparring with someone but stopped mid-fight and conceded... And again in Wu'an Commandery City during the courtesan selection, Teng Qingshan met Gu Shiyou twice and realized this man was rather hypocritical and insidious. But he never expected...

That Gu Shiyou was insidious enough to forcibly seize his own father.

"Gu Shiyou, I will definitely kill you," a murderous intent raged within Teng Yongfan.

Teng Yongfan immediately followed up: "Qingshan, it's obvious this Young Island Master has a grudge against you! So... no matter what you do, you must be vigilant and cannot be careless." Teng Yongfan worried that his son was unaware of that Young Island Master's true nature and warned him, preventing his son from falling for the tricks of the 'Young Island Master Gu Shiyou.'

"Mmm, I will be careful."

Teng Qingshan nodded firmly.

...

Teng Qingshan had grown up and was now a high-ranking Black Armored Army Commander. Thus, Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan could only advise him; they could not force him not to go. Because in the eyes of Teng Yongfan and his wife... they were just a couple from the countryside, their perspective could not compare to their son's.

They could not make the decision regarding their son's choices.

Teng Qingshan packed some food, changed his clothes, and swiftly headed back toward Great Yan Mountain.

"Yoo~~"

Occasional piercing cries echoed in the sky. Teng Qingshan looked up and saw five Snow Eagles circling above a certain spot on Great Yan Mountain.

"Those are Snow Eagles from the Snow Eagle Cult," Teng Qingshan recognized them instantly. "The people from the Snow Eagle Cult should be in the area beneath them. Other factions must have arrived by now too." Currently, Teng Qingshan wore an earth-yellow robe, a belt cinched at his waist, a large pack on his back, and a human-skin mask to hide his scarred face.

Teng Qingshan threaded through the mountain forest, rapidly converging toward the area where the experts were gathering.

"Quite a few people."

From a distance, Teng Qingshan spotted numerous scattered experts, some sitting on the grass, some leaning against large trees, and others perched on branches. From afar, Teng Qingshan counted over twenty individuals.

"Haha, another one arrives!" A laugh could be heard from a distance.

Teng Qingshan strode forward and saw a handsome youth in a white robe smiling as he approached, cupping his hands in greeting: "I am Liu Xiu. Brother, you look unfamiliar."

"Tianying Gate, Qin Lang." Teng Qingshan returned the salute.

"Tianying Gate?" Many nearby people looked on in confusion, clearly having never heard of this sect.

Teng Qingshan smiled calmly: "Just an obscure little sect."

"Hmph, if you want to join us and get a piece of the treasure, you need some strength to qualify," sneered an elder with broom-like eyebrows and graying hair among the six figures in purple robes.

"Whether I qualify is something you can test," Teng Qingshan replied indifferently.

"Arrogant!"

The broom-browed elder scoffed, extended a hand, and a pale green longsword strapped to his back was instantly in his grasp. In the sunlight, the blade glowed with a faint green halo. The other Xiantian experts present silently watched this scene... To gain entry into this group, one definitely needed to demonstrate some capability.

If one had a reputation, there would be no obstruction. But for someone unknown, never seen before, they absolutely had to test one's skills!

"Behold the Nine Swords of Donghua from my Xiaoyao Palace." The broom-browed elder's voice still echoed as he suddenly transformed into a green blur.

"Clang!"

A sharp explosion ripped through the air!

Teng Qingshan remained rooted to the spot, unmoving, but the broom-browed elder was forced to retreat three steps, his eyes wide with astonishment. The previously indifferent Xiantian experts watching the show all changed expression, especially the five masters from She Ri Divine Mountain carrying divine bows, who stared in surprise at the fragments of a flying knife on the ground.

A single flying knife, capable of forcing a Xiantian Core Formation expert back three steps!

The force channeled into this hidden weapon must have been at least two or three hundred thousand jin! Such a master of hidden weapons could not be underestimated.

"I went out for a spin? And you all started causing trouble?" A hearty laugh sounded as a wild-looking man with unbound hair entered, riding a demonic beast, a 'Black Cloud Leopard.' He glanced at Teng Qingshan: "The gloves on that man's hands are the weapons of Wei Dan of the 'Skyhawk Claws.' He must be Wei Dan's successor. No need for a contest, is there?"

"Skyhawk Claws?" Many people looked at Teng Qingshan's gloves in surprise.

A pair of seemingly ordinary gloves that, unless one studied history, would be hard to recognize immediately.

"So he is the successor to the venerable Wei Dan! Senior Skyhawk Claws Wei Dan, over six hundred years ago, was ranked in the top ten of the 'Heavenly Ranking'." The white-robed youth stepped forward, smiling: "I, Liu Xiu, also wander alone. Brother Qin Lang, come, let us go meet Elder Brother 'Wu Hou'."

"Wu Hou?" Teng Qingshan was greatly shocked.

Wu Hou, ranked first on the Heavenly Ranking, known as the 'Beast King.'