Chapter 208: You Should Go Out for Tempering

A mischievous smile flashed in the West Island Lord’s eyes, while the East Island Matriarch turned her head directly to the side, her expression unreadable.

The North Island Lord had a much larger reaction, directly slapping his thigh as he laughed.

Lian Li’s intuition told him things weren’t good. He slowly closed his mouth and took a step back to hide himself behind Yun Huizhou, while simultaneously poking Yun Huizhou in the waist.

Although he didn’t speak, he knew Yun Huizhou would definitely understand his meaning: Hurry up and tell me what exactly is going on.

Yun Huizhou indeed did not disappoint him. He didn’t deliberately turn around to tell Lian Li who that youth-like person was; instead, he looked directly at the youth and called out: “Grandmaster.”

This served to gloss over the fact that Lian Li had called the Grandmaster a “handsome little guy” and had mistaken the Grandmaster for his master’s disciple.

Upon hearing this, Lian Li also hurriedly followed Yun Huizhou’s lead and called out: “Grandmaster.”

His voice was steady enough, but a stormy sea had already erupted in his heart.

Grandmaster!?

That meant his Master’s master.

He had always known they had a Grandmaster who was constantly wandering outside, but the term Yun Huizhou had used was “traveling.” Thus, even though the four Island Lords of the East, South, West, and North—aside from the South Island Lord whose face couldn’t be seen—all looked to be in their twenties, Lian Li had still subconsciously assumed this “Grandmaster” would be a white-haired, sage-like old grandfather, or perhaps a white-haired grandmother with an ethereal temperament.

Who could have imagined that the words “Grandmaster” and “traveling,” when combined, would result in such an image—a youth who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old?

If the other party hadn’t looked like a youth, he wouldn’t have blurted out “handsome little guy.”

Seeing his newly emerged little grand-disciple, Li Hansong reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small brocade box the size of a palm, tossing it toward Lian Li.

“A meeting gift.”

His method of tossing was naturally not that of an ordinary person throwing things; a surge of Qi wrapped around the brocade box as it shot straight toward Lian Li.

Lian Li naturally sensed the little trick carried within this brocade box. His internal energy surged as he raised his hand, first fixing the box in the air a centimeter away from his palm. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he neutralized the force carried by the box before slightly curling his fingers to take the small brocade box into his hand.

Seeing him catch it smoothly, Li Hansong nodded, appearing relatively satisfied with him.

“In just one short year, your martial arts have been practiced well, but you lack a sense of sharpness,” Li Hansong said, looking toward Nanrong. “You should take him out for tempering.”

Regarding the “tempering” he spoke of, Lian Li already knew what it referred to after hearing about how Yun Huizhou had tempered himself as a child.

Killing evil people.

For those on the wanted list, he could take up the bounty to kill them. If he encountered those not on the list but who were committing evil acts, he also had to kill them.

While it was said his Master would “take him” to kill, it actually meant the Master would just follow him to ensure he didn’t die. Everything else would depend on his own decisions; they wouldn’t give him any advice.

Lian Li had no objections to this. After all, among all the people present, he had practiced martial arts for the shortest time and had the least experience. It couldn’t be wrong to listen to the advice of these big shots.

Moreover, they were all his elders. If he felt something was inappropriate during the process, they could communicate.

The South Island Lord glanced at Lian Li and then nodded to Li Hansong, signifying agreement with the matter.

Knowing the matter was settled, Lian Li glanced at Yun Huizhou, thinking: Grandmaster means for Master to take me for tempering, so can Yun Huizhou follow?

After all, Yun Huizhou had already completed his tempering. If he couldn’t follow, wouldn’t the two of them have to be apart for a long time?

He remembered that Yun Huizhou’s tempering was measured in years.

Before he and Yun Huizhou had shared their feelings, he had always thought about finding an opportunity to avoid Yun Huizhou to prevent himself from suffering in the end. Now that the two of them were definitely together, they were actually facing a situation where they had to separate for tempering.

Though he thought this, Lian Li didn’t intend to skip the tempering just to stick to Yun Huizhou.

Just as the East Island Matriarch had said when scolding Yun Huizhou before: no matter how powerful Yun Huizhou was, he and Yun Huizhou were two separate people. Even if the two were inseparable, there would always be times when Yun Huizhou couldn’t look after him.

He had to be powerful himself and have the ability to protect himself.

Just as he was imagining the scene of his future separation from Yun Huizhou and their reluctant parting, Yun Huizhou spoke.

“Lian Li has always wanted a precious steed. I originally planned to take him to the grasslands to catch one, but things have come up one after another, so we haven’t been able to go. Since he needs tempering, we might as well head all the way to the grasslands.”

Lian Li stole a glance at Yun Huizhou, feeling a bit dejected. He had originally thought the two of them would take Ice-Treader to the grasslands to find a horse while enjoying the vastness of the plains—a simple trip.

Now it seemed he would have to honestly go with his Master to temper himself while catching a horse.

It was just that he still had a slight problem communicating with his Master; it wasn’t as smooth as the communication between Yun Huizhou and his Master.

He estimated that after staying outside with his Master for two years, either his mind-reading abilities would improve by leaps and bounds, or his Master would be forced to become more extroverted.

“It’s also a good chance to take Ice-Treader back to the grasslands to have a look and let it run around,” Yun Huizhou said, before suddenly changing the subject. “However, Lian Li has only been a disciple for a short time, and there are still some issues with his communication with Master. If only Master takes him, I’m afraid there might be some minor trouble.”

As soon as he said this, the West Island Lord instantly knew what he was plotting.

A teasing smile flashed in the West Island Lord’s eyes, and he deliberately spoke up: “It’s precisely because there’s a small communication problem that they should spend time alone together. Only then can these small problems be resolved.”

Yun Huizhou: “…”

Yun Huizhou looked toward the West Island Lord with a fake smile. The West Island Lord raised an eyebrow, the mirth in his eyes growing even stronger.

Lian Li didn’t notice the undercurrents between the two of them. After hearing Yun Huizhou’s words, he knew that Yun Huizhou wanted to go with him.

Although it wasn’t the trip for two he had initially hoped for, a party of three was clearly much better than going only with his Master.

However, before he could echo Yun Huizhou’s words, he heard the West Island Lord’s remark. His eyes, which had just lit up, dimmed again. He then gave the West Island Lord a pitiful look, his eyes filled with a bit of resentment.

Receiving such a look, the West Island Lord almost burst out laughing.

This kid was truly… what was the term? A bit too “sweet and naive.”

With him like this, he was bound to be completely dominated by a bad boy like Yun Huizhou.