Chapter 83

"Jiang Wei is back!"

Jiang Wei had barely walked through the city gate for half an hour when this news reached Fang Siqi's ears.

"Oh?" Fang Siqi, who was drinking with a charming female ghost in a refined pavilion, suddenly stood up, "Finally dared to come back from outside the city? You've made me wait so long!"

Fang Siqi, as the eldest disciple among the Hui Shen period disciples, had never taken any other Hui Shen period disciples seriously except for Lin Nianluo—Jiang Wei, though a disciple of Elder Bai and progressing rapidly, was no exception.

Elder Bai's favoritism was indeed very well-known in the Tianhuang Pavilion, but Fang Siqi was not afraid—because he also had a doting master. Struggles among peers were common in the Tianhuang Pavilion; if Jiang Wei was beaten up due to inferior skills, as long as his life was not in danger, even Elder Bai would have nothing to say.

As for Jiang Wei's rapid progress... Fang Siqi also did not take it seriously. No matter how fast one progressed, once they reached the peak of the Hui Shen period, they would still be stuck there; if they were all at the peak of the Hui Shen period, Fang Siqi would not fear anyone—of course, Fang Siqi did not know that Jiang Wei had already reached the Insight Realm; otherwise, he would not be so confident.

With Fang Siqi's pride, after being beaten by Jiang Wei and having his betrothal gifts taken, he naturally would not let it go. In fact, the moment he received the news, Fang Siqi went to seek revenge; but at that time, Jiang Wei had already left the city with Er Dan, Tu Xiaodao, and others.

"Follow me, let's properly welcome our Junior Brother Jiang Wei!" To get the news of Jiang Wei's return as soon as possible, Fang Siqi even arranged informants at all the city gates; now that Jiang Wei was back, Fang Siqi certainly would not let him off easily.

"However..." the little brother who came to deliver the message stammered.

"However, what?" A hint of displeasure flashed across Fang Siqi's face.

"However, Jiang Wei, along with the five little ghosts who left the city with him, have all... reached the peak of the Hui Shen period!" The messenger was very shocked by the rapid progress of Jiang Wei and the others. After all, this little brother had been in the Ghost Realm for several years and had not yet reached the peak of the Hui Shen period!

"All of them have reached the peak of the Hui Shen period!?" Fang Siqi was also very shocked. After all, Jiang Wei and the others had only been out of the city for a month, and in such a short time, all six of them had reached the peak of the Hui Shen period?

However, Fang Siqi's shock quickly turned to disdain: "So what if they've reached the peak of the Hui Shen period? Even if they are all at the peak of the Hui Shen period, I don't believe the six of them combined can be my match!"

"How could they be a match for you, Senior Brother?!" The little brother beside him flattered him.

"But I should still bring a few brothers along!" Fang Siqi suddenly thought, "Otherwise, if they split up and run, I alone won't be able to catch all of them!"

"That makes sense!" The little brother was about to rush off to gather the brothers when he suddenly stopped, "Senior Brother, I think we should wait a few more days before dealing with them."

"Wait a few more days?" Fang Siqi was puzzled.

"Senior Brother, haven't you forgotten that in a few days, there will be the internal competition in the pavilion!" The little brother flattered him, "At that time, in front of all the ghosts in the inner city, we can thoroughly defeat him, wouldn't that be..."

Fang Siqi's eyes immediately lit up: "Good idea!"

Fang Siqi was extremely confident in his own strength. Among the Hui Shen period disciples, he feared no one except Lin Nianluo.

...

This time, when Jiang Wei returned to the city, he still carried a long spear on his back, and the storage ring on his hand had been fused into his soul.

The reason he carried the spear on his back was that he did not want to reveal the fact that he had a storage ring. After all, a commoner with no fault but possessing a treasure invites disaster, a truth that has been proven countless times in both the human world and the Ghost Realm.

On the way from the West City Gate to the inner city, Jiang Wei took a slight detour and passed by Li Hao's former residence.

"Xiao Hao!"

"Xiao Hao, it's been a long time!"

Many ghosts who were familiar with Li Hao gathered around, talking to him. However, they soon discovered in shock that Li Hao had already reached the peak of the Hui Shen period!

"Are you serious, Xiao Hao, you've reached the peak of the Hui Shen period!?"

"How long have you been gone..."

All the ghosts found it very unbelievable. Li Hao, who had lived with them for ten years and had made almost no progress in strength, had now soared to this level after just a month or so. They were naturally shocked.

"Hehe!" Li Hao laughed awkwardly, not explaining.

It wasn't that Li Hao didn't want to explain, but he really couldn't! After all, Li Hao's current strength was not something he had achieved step by step, but purely... eaten! How could he explain? Should he tell these ghosts, "Well, I just eat a lot, and before I knew it, I ate my way to the peak of the Hui Shen period"?

So Li Hao could only laugh.

Then, the ghosts surrounding Li Hao discovered that the other five ghosts traveling with him were also at the peak of the Hui Shen period!

"This... this..."

Li Hao's companions were completely stunned.

At first, they hadn't paid much attention to Li Hao and the others' strength, after all, even at the peak of the Hui Shen period, the soul still felt very ethereal; if you didn't pay attention, it was easy to overlook. Of course, if you paid attention, it was easy to tell.

Now, they could tell, so they were stunned.

"Indeed, birds of a feather flock together... around a master, there are indeed other masters!"

These low-level little ghosts all sighed.

Li Hao's companions had long been at the very bottom of the Ghost Realm and had long lost their motivation to advance. These little ghosts never imagined that among their group of low-level ghosts, one could stand out and become a master at the peak of the Hui Shen period!

In their view, reaching the peak of the Hui Shen period was already the highest level of mastery; a master at the peak of the Hui Shen period could easily get a house in the outer city! As for masters at the Soul Condensation period... in these little ghosts' understanding, even in the inner city, masters at the Soul Condensation period were big shots!

"I was just lucky to reach my current strength!" Li Hao vaguely said.

"Lucky?" The ghosts all shook their heads, "Strength is strength, there's no such thing as luck or no luck!"

Some older ghosts also stood up and said, "Xiao Hao, we are all ghosts with our yin lifespans almost exhausted, and we have no great desires; but I still want to speak for these young ghosts... Xiao Hao, now that you've made it, if it's convenient, could you help these old folks here?..."

Li Hao quickly interrupted, "Uncles, what are you saying? I've lived in the Ghost Realm with everyone for ten years and have received a lot of help from you all; now that I've achieved a little, how could I forget you all?—Don't worry, as soon as I settle down, I'll immediately help you all get a house in the outer city!"

"Oh?" These low-level little ghosts had never lived in a house before, so they all said, "That would be great! That would be great!"

"By the way, I have something important to announce..." As he spoke, Li Hao awkwardly pulled out the equally awkward Zhou Xue and introduced her.

...

After chatting with the ghost friends he had lived with for ten years, Jiang Wei and his group left and continued toward the inner city.

"A Wei!" Li Hao suddenly said, "Can't we really gather some Cloud Vine for them to eat?"

"It's not that we can't..." Jiang Wei thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, all the Cloud Vines have withered!"

"All withered?" Li Hao and the others had not returned to the place where the Cloud Vines were, but were found by Jiang Wei during their travels and brought back to the city; so, Li Hao was naturally surprised when he heard that the Cloud Vines had withered.

"Yes!" Jiang Wei nodded, "For some reason, they all withered, and now they probably have no energy left at all!"

In fact, Jiang Wei knew the reason why the Cloud Vines had withered.

The Cloud Vines grew entirely due to the soul stone veins underground. Now that the soul stone veins had been dug out by Jiang Wei, the Cloud Vines, cut off from their energy source, naturally withered—just like flowers and grass, if they were pulled out of the ground, they would quickly wither.