A swift chop hit Xiao Lao's pretty face, and the aura vanished, like it never existed before.
"Xiao Lao, learn to control yourself," Xiao Li remarked harshly under the unbelieving eyes of everyone affected before.
Then Xiao Li turned towards Yi and bowed deeply, "Please forgive my granddaughter, esteemed Yi; she is still weak and unable to control her emotions and aura at times."
"It's fine," Yi just said, while everyone around them was now shivering in fear.
The bodyguards realized that although Yi did not show any outward aura and no cultivation was discernible, he was probably the strongest among those people, while the girl was the weakest. Making them back off unconsciously without any thought of fighting back.
Meanwhile, the young woman caught by Yi, namely Luan Ronghua, did not focus on Yi but on the girl releasing the aura. She looked as old as her, but her aura and probably cultivation were too far ahead.
She herself, proud of being a cultivation genius within her otherwise secluded family, earned the right to leave home and wander around among the common people from time to time. Although she was not a top genius within the whole country, she thought she was close and could surpass them later.
Sadly, seeing Xiao Lao now completely shattered her entire worldview. She never felt an aura like Xiao Lao's, and she was her own age. Questions started flooding her head. Where is she from? How old is she? What is her secret? How strong is she? And most importantly, can I ever catch up?
Soon the guards went away to call for help, since losing the princess of the Luan family would cost them their heads if something truly happened to her. Meanwhile, Yi had long let go of Luan Ronghua's hand, yet she didn't move for a long time.
Yi's group was about to walk away before Luan Ronghua suddenly turned towards Xiao Lao and got on her knees. "Please, esteemed empress, accept me as your disciple."
The group turned around, surprised by Luan Ronghua's sudden shift in character, but before anyone said anything, Xiao Lao simply said,. "No, go away before I kill you."
"Please, I will do anything. I will let you use my power within my family as you wish," Luan Ronghua, even through harsh words, didn't give up.
"I don't know your family, and I don't care about your family. I don't need their influence or your influence. You disrespected the exalted Mou... Yi and you are lucky that you are alive. Instead of begging me to become your disciple, you should thank Yi for sparing you and get out of my sight. Otherwise, I will kill you right now," Xiao Lao answered in a cold tone, like a knife of ice.
What a ridiculous request. Disrespecting the Moun... Yi and making requests. And worst of all, she seemingly wanted her to be her master instead of Yi. Another form of disrespect to someone akin to a god.
Luan Ronghua, although baffled that her request got denied, something that never happened, quickly realized why. Of course, she does not need me or my family; someone as strong as her at that age should have a family way beyond mine.
There was always a higher mountain peak, always someone better than you, hidden dragons, and crouching tigers. She never quite believed it until today. The world suddenly seemed much bigger and more mysterious to Luan Ronghua, and she vowed to be more respectful from now on. At the same time, though, she would not give up.
She turned towards Yi and said, "Thank you for sparing my life," bowed, and walked away. She would find them again and then become Xiao Lao's disciple.
Yi, Xiao Li, Xiao Lao, and Yan Yuiling sat down in a restaurant. Yi had to hold back Xiao Li and Xiao Lao from threatening the clerk to give them a private room, and they now ordered, in Xiao Lao's words, "an unworthy meal."
Yan Yuiling, not asking questions from the beginning, grew more and more suspicious about the two of them. She could not feel spiritual energy or the aura displayed by Xiao Lao, but seeing the things happening in front of her, the unbelievable idea in her head became more and more likely.
"You two, are you from his world?" She finally asked.
"They are indeed," Yi answered. "I don't know how they got here, but since we have to wait for the food anyways, let's hear it from you. How did you get here?"
Xiao Li bowed quickly before replying. "Lord Yi, let me explain our, or rather the situation of the nine clans,"
2 years after Yi walked through the portal:
"The Mountain Lord? What a joke! Everyone knows that the mountain lord either left this place or died."
"Your clan is in decline. Now that the Mountain Lord is gone, you need to leave this cursed mountain. Otherwise, there will be no end of bandits and clans coming for the inheritance of the Mountain Lord."
"The records of our ancestors show that 1 million years had passed since the last time there was any sign of the Mountain Lord. At first people said it was a test of loyalty, but after 100,000 years passing, slowly but surely the nine clans surrounding the mountain turned to eight, seven, ... all the way to only one. Our clan, the Xiao clan, is the last clan to stay, the last clan to offer gifts. And I ask, why? Yes, there was a debt towards the mountain lord, and yes, there were benefits towards settling down at his mountain, but the debt has been repaid, and the benefits are no longer there. Now we just protect an empty mountain with a corpse on top, defending it from greedy people. We need to move away!"
The elder hall of the Xiao clan was silent. People didn't want to admit it, but the elder that had just spoken was probably right. They were the last clan and also the clan with the steepest decline. They needed change, and hoping for the long-lost mountain lord, who nobody knew if he existed, didn't seem like the best plan.
"No, you idiot, the Mountain Lord is alive!" a feminine voice yelled. "You arrogant people, the mountain lord gave us everything we have, and you want to leave this place and not protect this mountain anymore. Our ancestors vowed to protect this mountain forever. The mountain lord is not dead, but even if he was. We will not leave!" Xiao Lao shouted in anger.