He sneered inwardly.
Long Haoshi knew exactly what the three of them meant.
'Trying to stay out of this? Is it really that easy?'
Long Haoshi didn't waste any more words. After a few brief pleasantries, he led Long Ao and the others away.
"Yuyin, where are you going?"
"Grandpa, I'm going to find Long Ao."
'Find Long Ao?'
At that moment, Wang Yidao seemed to feel a pang of regret. Marrying his most exceptional granddaughter to a good-for-nothing... had he made the right decision?
"Ao'Er, whether you like Yuyin or not, she is still your fiancée. Treat her well. Yuyin is a good kid."
"I know, Grandpa." Long Ao certainly understood his grandfather's meaning. Amidst the gloating stares of the crowd, he gradually slowed his pace. By the time everyone from the Long Family had disappeared from view, Wang Yuyin had caught up to him.
"Long Ao, I need to talk to you."
Looking at the plain-faced yet kind-hearted woman before him, Long Ao was momentarily unsure of his own feelings. 'After all, isn't pursuing a beautiful woman the ultimate goal for any man? But... is beauty really that important?'
For the first time, Long Ao truly asked himself that question.
Long Ao knew that over the past decade, only three people had chosen to believe in and support him. Besides his parents, there was only the woman standing before him now. What other woman in the world could possibly do that?
"Long Ao, I already heard that you successfully awakened your Inner Strength. I knew it! I knew that the peerless genius who once stood above all in Red Fire Town would return. You really haven't let me down."
Deeply moved, Long Ao remained silent as a current of warmth flowed through his heart.
'Ten years... She's the first person, the only person, to say something like this to me. She believes in me? She's always believed in me?'
Wang Yuyin took a small, few-paged booklet from her robes and said gently, "Long Ao, I know you aren't favored in the Long Family and can't obtain powerful Martial Arts, but don't worry. When I heard last night that you had successfully awakened your Inner Strength, I stayed up all night to copy this Great Compassion Hand for you. I..."
Before Wang Yuyin could finish, Long Ao pulled her into a fierce, tight embrace.
At just under 1.8 meters tall, his frame was more than enough to envelop Wang Yuyin. Although she didn't know what had come over Long Ao, being held by the man she had loved for so many years made this the happiest moment of her life.
"Quick, look! That good-for-nothing Long Ao and the Tyrant Girl are hugging!"
"What's the big deal? They're engaged, aren't they?"
"What the hell do you know? Long Ao knew he was a good-for-nothing who gets bullied every year, so he begged his old man to arrange his engagement to the Tyrant Girl. People like him are the most shameless. Pah!"
The disciples of the three major families, who were dispersing, happened to see the two embracing. They stopped one by one to gossip, their faces filled with disdain and contempt.
"Long Ao, don't pay any attention to what they're saying. I believe in your talent. One day, you'll show everyone that you, Long Ao, are not a good-for-nothing. You are the strongest!"
Nodding firmly, Long Ao paid no mind to their taunts and ridicule. Ten years of being ignored had tempered his heart, making it far more resilient than an ordinary person's. He took Wang Yuyin's hand, and the two of them quickly vanished from sight.
After so many years of hardship and reflection, Long Ao had finally come to understand one thing: a woman's most precious quality isn't her beauty, but her soul.
If a woman had looks that could topple nations but a heart as venomous as a viper's, who would dare to have her? Besides, Wang Yuyin genuinely loved him and was the only woman who believed in him. With a woman like that by his side, what more could he ask for?
「The night was still, the sky full of stars.」
Long Ao sat quietly in his private courtyard, absorbing the energy that Long Fu had already finished refining. For the Desolate Sacred Body, however, this small amount of power was nothing. One could only imagine how voracious the Desolate Sacred Body's appetite truly was.
"Long Fu, if I directly absorb the power of an Innate Beast Pill, will I be okay?"
"Anyone else would have a problem, but you, Master, certainly will not."
Hearing this, Long Ao's heart leaped with joy.
"Master, your Desolate Sacred Body can ignore the backlash from a Beast Pill. However, if you absorb it directly, the amount of energy you can absorb will be limited. It would be better to let me help you with the Refinement process."
"No problem." Long Ao handed the Innate Beast Pill to Long Fu for Refinement, while he began to practice the Great Compassion Hand, Gale Step, and Heart-Locking Palm.
Long Ao knew that if he had been more proficient with his two Martial Arts during the battle earlier today, he wouldn't have been forced back at every turn. He had to master all three of his Martial Arts as quickly as possible. Only then, combined with his current Realm, could he unleash their maximum power.
"So, you're Long Ao?"
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in the private courtyard, as silent as a phantom.
Startled by the voice, Long Ao looked over. Not far away stood a young man who appeared to be twenty-four or twenty-five. His complexion was a bit pale, and his features were so delicate he almost looked like a woman.
"I am. And who might you be?"
Suppressing the fear in his heart, Long Ao could clearly sense the aura radiating from the man was overwhelmingly powerful. Even his grandfather didn't possess an aura this strong. 'Could this person be an Innate Martial Artist?'
'Grandpa is at the Peak of Inner Strength Tenth Heaven. For this man's aura to surpass his... it's easy to imagine what level of power he must possess.'
"My name is Long Yulang, from the Long Family of Thundercloud City."
'The Long Family of Thundercloud City?'
'The Sixth Level Long Clan from Thundercloud City?'
In an instant, Long Ao guessed the man's identity. 'They're fast,' he thought grimly. If he wasn't mistaken, this man had come for him... or more precisely, for the Innate Beast Pill he carried.
"It seems you know of the Long Family from Thundercloud City. That simplifies things. I heard that when he died today, you were the only one present. Let me ask you, did you take an Innate Beast Pill? If you did, hand it over now, and I can forget this ever happened."
Just as he'd expected. The man really had come for the Beast Pill.
"Sorry, but I haven't seen any Innate Beast Pill. I made myself very clear earlier today: I didn't take it. Whether you believe me or not is up to you."
"Good. Very good. But belief isn't something you or I get to decide," Long Yulang said. As he spoke, a terrifying aura erupted from his body, descending upon Long Ao before he could even react.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing much. I'm just going to apply a little pressure with my aura to see if you're lying."
CRACK! The pressure from an Innate Martial Artist's momentum was simply too terrifying. Long Ao couldn't withstand it at all. His knees slammed into the ground, and he had to brace himself with his hands. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his face went pale.
"Your willpower isn't bad, but your strength is lacking. It seems you really weren't lying." Retracting his oppressive aura, Long Yulang prepared to leave. Just then, Long Ao staggered back to his feet and suddenly asked, "Are you just going to leave like that?"