Chapter 69

Injured, Bai Cangdong did not have the strength to leave the Hurricane Abyss immediately and could only find a secluded cave to recuperate.

Bai Cangdong's injuries were not solely caused by the Earl of Fenghua's palm strike. In fact, that strike was more of a lesson, painful but not seriously damaging.

Bai Cangdong's main injuries came from the violent white life-force light. As the life-force light flowed through his meridians, it caused significant damage, with about thirty percent of his meridians being injured, making it difficult for him to recover quickly.

The only thing that puzzled Bai Cangdong was that the violent eruption of the white life-force light did not harm his origin or life plate. This could only mean that the power of the eruption did not come from the life plate or by depleting his origin.

After nearly half a month of recuperation in the cave, Bai Cangdong's injuries were mostly healed, and he left the Hurricane Abyss, returning to Fenghua City.

As soon as he entered Fenghua City, before he could even gather information, he heard people on the streets discussing something. After listening carefully, Bai Cangdong was completely stunned.

"Yan Mengyun has become the heir of the Earl of Fenghua!" Bai Cangdong could hardly believe his ears.

After careful investigation, Bai Cangdong finally confirmed that Yan Mengyun had indeed become the sole heir of the Earl of Fenghua.

Mei Yun died in the Hurricane Abyss, and Feng Xian was severely injured, almost beyond recovery. Therefore, the Earl of Fenghua had to choose an heir from among Huo Qianwu, Ling Bo, and Yan Mengyun.

To prevent another tragedy like the one in the Hurricane Abyss, the Earl of Fenghua decided not to delay and had Huo Qianwu, Ling Bo, and Yan Mengyun engage in three battles. The final victor would become her fully supported heir.

In the three battles—leading a ten-person team, hunting undead, and the final three-way duel—Yan Mengyun emerged as a dark horse, almost overwhelmingly defeating Huo Qianwu, who was favored by everyone, and Ling Bo, securing the final victory.

Especially in the final three-way duel, Huo Qianwu and Ling Bo teamed up against Yan Mengyun but were still defeated, leaving no doubt that Yan Mengyun had become the heir of the Earl of Fenghua.

Now, Yan Mengyun had moved into the earl's mansion and become the young master.

Even after confirming that Yan Mengyun had moved into the earl's mansion, Bai Cangdong still found it hard to believe. Yan Mengyun, in terms of talent and potential, was not considered top-notch in cultivation, something Bai Cangdong, who had been with her for a long time, knew very well.

How could Yan Mengyun, who had just returned to Fenghua City, suddenly become a genius, defeating the combined efforts of Huo Qianwu and Ling Bo? Ling Bo was one thing, but Huo Qianwu was not an easy opponent. Defeating her under equal conditions was a remarkable feat.

Despite his doubts, Bai Cangdong was very happy that Yan Mengyun had become the heir of Fenghua City.

"Mask, it seems your efforts were in vain. Your master is now a cripple, and the Feng family is doomed to decline," Huo Qianwu sneered at Bai Cangdong.

"What about you? Fenghua City won't belong to your Huo family in the future. What do you have to be happy about?" Bai Cangdong said coolly.

Huo Qianwu's face changed. "At least I'm not a cripple."

Bai Cangdong didn't want to argue with her and walked out of the city. Since Yan Mengyun had become the young master of the earl's mansion, he had no reason to stay in Fenghua City.

Before he reached the city gate, someone blocked his path.

"My lady wants to see you."

"Who is your lady?" Bai Cangdong asked, sizing up the person.

"Feng Xian."

Bai Cangdong followed the person to a garden-like courtyard. He saw Feng Xian happily gnawing on a roasted bird wing, her hands and lips greasy.

"How are your injuries?" Bai Cangdong asked, noticing her unhealthy pallor.

"The effects of the Life-Exploding Pill have been removed, but my life plate has been damaged. I can never advance further and will only be a viscount-level life. Moreover, I can no longer continue to cultivate the Longevity Technique to increase the number of my life-force lights, as the damage to my life plate is too severe. If I were to cultivate more life-force lights, it would cause my life plate to collapse," Feng Xian said lightly, as if it didn't bother her at all.

"Was it my sword that injured your life plate?" Bai Cangdong asked after a moment of silence, sighing.

"Without your sword, I would have died, and the damage to my life plate would have been much worse," Feng Xian laughed. "This is for the best. I can finally let go of the Feng family and the Wind Legion and truly do what I want."

"That's good," Bai Cangdong said, his smile forced.

"To completely free myself, I want to hand over the Wind Legion to you. This way, I will have no more worries."

"Hand over the Wind Legion to me!" Bai Cangdong was surprised.

"Yes. In my current state, I can no longer lead the Wind Legion. However, the Wind Legion is the result of generations of effort by the Feng family. I cannot let it fall into the hands of outsiders. I hope you can take charge of the Wind Legion," Feng Xian said, her cheeks slightly red, implying that Bai Cangdong was not an outsider to her.

"I cannot accept it," Bai Cangdong's answer disappointed Feng Xian.

"Why?"

"My goal is to become an earl, and even to advance to a higher rank. I don't have the time or energy to manage a legion."

Feng Xian suddenly laughed and tapped Bai Cangdong's forehead with her delicate finger. "Naive child, if you want to become an earl, you should take charge of the Wind Legion."

"Why?" Bai Cangdong asked, puzzled.

"You should know how powerful the undead are. Even a hellfire envoy or an eighth-eyed celestial, who are viscount-level powerful undead, would be difficult for you to defeat alone unless you are in that special state of eruption."

"Advancing to viscount requires a lot of resources, which you cannot gather alone. With a legion supporting you, it would be different. They can help you gather resources, and when you need to advance to earl, you can get help from the skilled members of the legion. This way, you have a chance to advance to earl."

"That makes sense, but I really don't have the time or energy to manage a legion," Bai Cangdong still refused to take charge of the Wind Legion.

"Your attitude is not right. Even if you become an earl, you will be on a dead end. Think about it. Whether it's the Earl of Fenghua or the Earl of Daolun, why do they build cities instead of pursuing advancement alone? It's because the power of one person can never match the power of a group. Being too proud is not good for you," Feng Xian said patiently.

"You are right, but I really cannot take charge of the Wind Legion," Bai Cangdong stubbornly refused.

The Wind Legion, after all, is a subordinate force of the Lord of Fenghua City, and Yan Mengyun will be the future Lord of Fenghua City. Bai Cangdong did not want to face Yan Mengyun in such a capacity.

"Why?" Feng Xian stared at Bai Cangdong. If she gave the Wind Legion to any viscount, they would be grateful and treat her like a savior. But Bai Cangdong kept refusing her, which she couldn't understand.

Bai Cangdong smiled. "Didn't you tell me that even after becoming an earl, I should build my own city? So, I am preparing to cultivate my own forces from now on, which will make it easier when I build my city in the future. The Wind Legion, after all, is a subordinate of Fenghua City. Even if I manage it now, I can't take it with me in the future."

Feng Xian was taken aback and then laughed. "I underestimated your ambition. You are right. If you leave, you won't be able to take anyone from the Wind Legion with you, as their families and friends are all in Fenghua City. The roots of the Wind Legion are here, and they cannot leave."

"Where do you plan to go?" Feng Xian asked after a long silence.

"I haven't decided yet. I might travel around, hunt undead for equipment and martial techniques, and perhaps, as you suggested, build my own forces to prepare for advancing to earl."

"If you have no specific destination, why not stay in Fenghua City for a while? The earl will soon distribute the Eighth-Eyed Celestial Pearl. You can go with me to the bottom of the abyss, where there are many precious herbs and materials that can help you advance to earl. There is a type of undead called the Black Flame Ant that might drop a viscount-level golden equipment, the Black Flame Blade, which can harm earl-level undead. If you are lucky, you might get it."

"How long before we can enter the bottom of the abyss?" Bai Cangdong asked, somewhat interested.

"The monsoon will stop in about half a month, and then we can enter the bottom of the abyss."

"Alright, I'll wait for half a month and go with you to the bottom of the abyss. I hope our luck is good, and we can get the Black Flame Blade." Bai Cangdong decided to stay. Advancing to earl is an extremely difficult challenge, and any increase in success rate, no matter how small, is worth trying.

Bai Cangdong settled into a small building in the garden-like courtyard, not far from Feng Xian's. Feng Xian rarely went out and didn't practice martial techniques or the Longevity Technique much. Instead, she spent most of her time learning cooking.

She had no prior knowledge of cooking, but her intelligence allowed her to make rapid progress, providing Bai Cangdong with delicious meals every day.

"The earl has invited us to a banquet."

Bai Cangdong was practicing his knife skills in the garden when Feng Xian approached with an invitation.

"Us?" Bai Cangdong frowned slightly.

"Yes, the earl specifically requested your presence at the banquet." Feng Xian handed the invitation to Bai Cangdong, who opened it and saw the words inviting him to attend.