Early morning in Jiangjia Town.
A middle-aged woman carrying two steamed buns entered the courtyard where Jiang Li was being held. She opened the door to the room and scanned her surroundings, quickly spotting Jiang Li crouched in a corner, her hair a disheveled mess.
Jiang Li was curled up in the corner, hugging her knees with her head buried, her body trembling slightly. She looked like a quail shivering in the dead of winter, an utterly pitiful sight.
The middle-aged woman, however, felt not a shred of pity at the sight. Instead, she strode over with a furious expression, looming over Jiang Li. "Jiang Li," she sneered, "you didn't eat anything all day yesterday. Are you trying to starve yourself to death?"
Jiang Li's head moved slightly, but she didn't lift it or speak. She just curled herself into an even tighter ball.
"Are you deaf?" the middle-aged woman roared, yanking Jiang Li up by her hair. The girl's thin, pretty face was forced upward, her eyes, as clear and pure as water, glaring hatefully at the woman.
*Slap! Slap!*
The middle-aged woman struck her twice across the face, leaving two bright red handprints on the girl's delicate features. "You dare glare at me?" the woman roared viciously. "Believe it or not, I could beat you to death right now! If you know what's good for you, eat these steamed buns!"
Jiang Li's face stung fiercely, but she didn't rub it or reach for the steamed buns. She just continued to stare daggers at the middle-aged woman.
The woman flew into a rage and raised her hand to strike again, but then she remembered that Han Shiqi was coming to collect the girl in just over ten days. If she damaged her, she wouldn't be able to answer to the Third Elder. Forcing down her anger, she lowered her hand.
The woman stood up and paced back and forth, growing more and more agitated. She violently threw the bowl to the ground, and the steamed buns rolled onto the floor.
After a moment, an idea seemed to strike her. She pointed at the girl and let out a sinister laugh. "So you won't eat, is that it? Fine. I'll go report to the Third Elder right now and have your brother beaten to death. After all, you two siblings are just worthless bastards whose deaths would be no great loss…"
With that, the woman turned and started to walk out. Jiang Li's small frame trembled, and a look of panic filled her face. She quickly cried out, "I'll eat! I'll eat, alright?"
As she spoke, Jiang Li crawled over, picked up the dust-covered steamed buns from the floor, and began to devour them. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the woman. "Don't hurt my brother! I'll do what you say! I'll marry him, I'll marry him, alright…?"
"See? It would've been much simpler if you'd just been this obedient from the start!" the middle-aged woman snorted coldly. "You just had to do things the hard way. You little bitch, hmph!"
Jiang Li...
Jiang Han was completely unaware of the suffering Jiang Li was enduring.
He had spent another night in the ruined temple and was already up the mountain at the crack of dawn.
Just like the day before, Jiang Han found some roots of a brown plant and set up traps in areas frequented by Phantom Mice.
Unlike the Tianxiang Fruit, the roots of this brown plant didn't have a peculiar fragrance that could spread with the wind, making the trapping process somewhat difficult. Jiang Han could only settle in and wait patiently.
Fortunately, this mountain peak had a good number of Phantom Mice. After waiting for the entire morning, Jiang Han managed to hunt another three. The color of the Phantom Mouse engraving on the Heavenly Beast Cauldron gradually deepened.
Anticipation began to build within him. He wondered what kind of bloodline Divine Ability he would obtain after refining ten drops of Phantom Mouse essence blood.
Time passed, and just as the sun was about to set, Jiang Han finally hunted his tenth Phantom Mouse.
"Refine!"
Holding the final drop of Phantom Mouse essence blood in his hands, Jiang Han's eyes burned with fervor, his entire body buzzing with excitement.
Closing his eyes, he immediately visualized the Heavenly Beast Cauldron.
Just like before, the Heavenly Beast Cauldron erupted in a brilliant golden light. The lifelike image of the Phantom Mouse flew off the cauldron's surface, transforming into a wisp of green smoke that merged with Jiang Han's soul. At the same time, a strange energy from within the cauldron swept through his entire body.
A moment later, Jiang Han opened his eyes, which now shone with a vibrant light. He let out a low shout, "Phantom Shift!"
*Hum!*
His body trembled slightly, and in the next instant, he appeared three meters away. What was even more shocking was that another 'Jiang Han' remained standing in his original spot. After a single breath's time, however, this afterimage gradually turned illusory and slowly dissipated.
"This… this…"
Jiang Han stared, dumbfounded, as the other version of himself slowly vanished.
He had originally thought the "Phantom Shift" Divine Ability was just a sudden burst of speed, a momentary teleportation. He never expected it to leave behind an afterimage, let alone one that could last for a full breath's time.
"The world is truly vast and full of wonders!"
Jiang Han mused, his heart pounding with excitement. This Divine Ability might not be very useful against truly powerful experts, since the teleportation distance was limited and they could react instantly to kill him. But against martial artists of similar strength, its effect would be immense…
"Time to go back!"
Jiang Han didn't linger. He picked up the Mystic Iron beast cage and quickly ran down the mountain.
"It seems Divine Abilities are a martial artist's primary means of combat in this world. Mystic Skills are pathetic in comparison…"
Jiang Han mused to himself as he walked. Different Divine Abilities possessed all sorts of incredible powers, and his was still a relatively weak one.
Wouldn't a powerful Divine Ability be able to shatter the heavens and crack the earth with a single gesture? It seemed the legends about powerful demonic beasts being able to kill an expert at the Third Elder's level with a single breath were not just rumors.
The Jiuzhou Continent was filled with countless martial artists, and experts were as common as clouds. Those who could truly dominate their peers not only possessed high cultivation realms but also wielded extremely powerful Divine Abilities.
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Having a high realm without a Divine Ability was like a castle in the sky—impressive to look at, but ultimately useless.
Soon, Jiang Han was down the mountain.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to spend the night in the same ruined temple as before. The place was deserted and offered shelter from the elements, allowing him to rest with some peace of mind.
He ate some dry rations on the way, and by the time he reached the ruined temple, the sky had grown completely dark.
There was no wind tonight, and the air was hot and muggy—a sign that a heavy rain was coming.
Jiang Han was secretly glad. If he had tried to spend the night somewhere else, he would likely have been soaked to the bone.
"Something's wrong—"
Just as he neared the ruined temple, Jiang Han stopped in his tracks. His eyes turned cold as he tossed the Mystic Iron beast cage aside, drew the battle saber from his back, and shouted toward the temple, "Who's there? Come out!"
"Hmph!"
A cold snort rang out, and two men walked out of the ruined temple. At the same time, two more figures flickered into existence behind Jiang Han, surrounding him completely and cutting off all his escape routes.
"Jiang Xiong, Jiang Xie, Jiang She, Jiang Hou!" Jiang Han's gaze swept over them, recognizing all four.
Third Elder Jiang Xiaotian's branch of the family was thriving, with six sons and seventeen grandsons. The four who had come today were all cousins of Jiang Long and Jiang Hu. Jiang Xiong was the strongest among them, at the 7th Level of the Purple Mansion realm. Of the other three, two were at the 6th Level and one was at the 5th Level.
"Jiang Han, so you really were here!"
Jiang Xiong was tall and burly, with a full, bushy beard. He spoke in a chilling tone, "Spit it out. Where are Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao?"
Jiang Xiong and his three companions had searched the mountains for two days. They had even gone to the Gambling House in Du Family Town but found no sign of Jiang Hu or Jiang Bao. They had been about to give up the search and report back to the Third Elder, planning to gather more men to search the next day.
But as they were coming down the mountain, Jiang She remembered there was a ruined temple here. The group decided to try their luck and found the remains of some dry rations. They decided to wait, never expecting to actually find Jiang Han.
After searching for two days straight, running over who knows how many mountains, they were exhausted and had found nothing. Now that they had finally found Jiang Han, their spirits lifted slightly.
Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao had never gone to the Gambling House in Du Family Town; they had gone to hunt down Jiang Han. Now that the two of them had mysteriously disappeared, they naturally assumed Jiang Han had something to do with it.
"They didn't find Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao's bodies?"
A sense of relief washed over Jiang Han. He silently tightened his grip on his battle saber and said with a blank expression, "How should I know where they went? I haven't seen them!"
"Bullshit!"
Jiang Xiong roared. "The two of them were tracking you, and now they've suddenly vanished. You haven't dared to return to town for the past two nights, which is a clear sign of a guilty conscience. You're not talking, are you? Then don't blame us for what comes next."
"Jiang Han, this is your last chance!"
True to his name, Jiang She exuded a cold and venomous aura. He advanced slowly on Jiang Han, longsword in hand, and sneered, "If you don't start talking, we'll have no choice but to sever your tendons and drag you back to the Elders' Hall for my Third Uncle to interrogate!"
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