‘Say what?’

Several cultivators and Duanmu Lin exchanged dismayed glances with strange expressions.

Upon seeing the weird expression on everyone’s faces, Hun Sen slightly furrowed his brows and said discontentedly, “What’s with your looks, guys? I told you all the truth. Director Duanmu, I know that you value Tang Xiu very much, but he was a conceited man who knew nothing of the immensity of Heaven and Earth. Even if he did have some minor abilities in cultivation, showing off in this place is just a big no. Haven’t you heard that those who drown are those who know how to swim, and those whose face gets beaten are those who pretend being pushed? That’s what that surnamed Tang brat is like!”

“Shut the hell up!”

The scene of Tang Xiu and his men with bruises and wounds all over their bodies replayed itself on Duanmu Lin’s mind. While looking at Hun Sen, who had a dissatisfied expression and prattled about, he sharply snapped. “Tang Xiu didn’t die, nor has any of his men. I know you hail from a secluded clan and brought with you a group of elite warriors, Hun Sen. But you must have the qualities of a cultivator and you must know how to respect others!”

“What the hell do you mean talking to me like that, Duanmu Lin?” Hun Sen was angry and retorted. “You say that I, Hun Sen, am an unlearned man that doesn’t know how to respect others? Do you think I’m wrong? That brat is arrogant, causing him to die by the demonic beasts and becoming their food. He only has himself to blame. Period.”

“You know. It never occurred to me that you, who are supposed to not be that old and possess powerful strength, would also have integrity,” replied Duanmu Lin indifferently. “I never thought that you’d vilify and even be intolerable to others. Look, just listen to me. Tang Xiu isn’t dead, nor are his men! He returned with all his men just 10 minutes ago, all with scarred with wounds and apparently just having fought a fierce battle with demonic beasts. In my eyes, he and his men have won our respect with their strength and courage. They are brave people who are not afraid of death and deserve to be called heroes by us.”

Suddenly, more than 10 cultivators around him showed indignant look and echoed one after another:

“That’s right! He’s a real man, and so are his men!”

“Tang Xiu is definitely alive, he just left a few minutes ago. His men are also real heroes, including that 10 years old girl, who is his disciple, and those five children. That girl is just 10 years old and those five children are even younger than her, yet all of them just came back with scarred bodies full of injuries. The kind of wounds left by the sharp claws and fangs of demonic beasts!”

“Heh, coming from such a prominent, secluded cultivator clan, yet you insult others without knowing the whole story. What a shit! Things can be faked, but the injuries on Tang Xiu’s men are absolutely not fake!”

“Oh dear, to think that the world still has this kind of people. I really can’t guess whether you’re jealous or you have no abilities to catch up with them. You didn’t see them fighting those demonic beasts, yet you still hurl insults at them.”

“Yeah, Tang Xiu is a young hero…”

“True that! He deserves our respect!”

“…”

Hun Sen was utterly dumbfounded, for he never dreamed that such public anger would arise because of his statements. He also didn’t expect that his guess was all wrong. Not only did Tang Xiu and his men not die in the hands of demonic beasts, but they also had come back alive. All of them.

Could it be… the traces of the battles and the pool of blood left behind that he and Jiang Shuisheng saw were not from Tang Xiu and his men? Meaning… they were from demonic beasts?

“You guys…”

Lips twitching, Hun Sen was unable to argue. If what all they said was true, then he had literally prattled about, slandering Tang Xiu at the exchange of slapping his own face. Injuries and death were not things Hun Sen dreaded, losing his reputation and becoming a laughingstock was.

Jiang Shuisheng frowned, secretly glad that he hadn’t said much a moment ago. However, Hun Sen was jeered by everyone and some toxic words were also hurled at him, making him also feel ashamed.

“Director Duanmu and friends from the cultivation world, please. What Hun Sen just said was only his speculation with no malice towards Tang Xiu whatsoever. On the contrary, he’s likely feeling happy inwardly since Tang Xiu turns out to have met with no accident. It’s because we’ll have more hope for victory the more human experts are alive to face the following battles,” said Jiang Shuisheng.

“Some human language finally comes out, huh?” A temperamental senior in the cultivation world snorted.

Hun Sen glared at him and coldly retorted. “You all say that Tang Xiu is still alive, so where are he and his men, then? We’re now facing dreadful enemies, so why are they not here?”

“From our surveillance, thousands of demonic beasts are now gathering in the depths of Himalayas, and they are highly likely moving out to attack us,” answered Duanmu Lin. “Tang Xiu went to investigate the situation alone, whereas his men are now all wounded, so they stayed behind to recuperate.”

” Hmph . It’s inevitable to get injured when fighting demonic beasts.” Hun Sen snorted and coldly said, “Just because you have some minor injuries and you came back to recuperate… that’s just damn shameful.”

“Bullshit!” The temperamental old man pointed his finger to the depths of the mountain range and retorted in a deep voice. “Now, open your narrow eyes and tell me: are those who just came out from there Tang Xiu’s men? Now, spit out and have a look at their appearance, do they look like minor injuries to you?”

In a flash, everyone shifted their eyes to the direction pointed by the old man’s finger. They saw dozens of wretched and bloody cultivators rushing towards them. Some of those cultivators were being carried by their comrades, and it was unknown whether they were alive or dead.

Duanmu Lin himself had met the Tang Sect’s disciples and could recognize their leader at a glance—Tang Xiu’s man, Mo Awu. He no longer paid attention to Hun Sen and instantly moved to greet him.

“How many injured in your team, Mo Awu?”

Mo Awu quickly made a gesture. As everyone stopped, he bitterly said, “Some of our brothers died in battle and the rest are injured, and most of them suffered serious injuries. Director Duanmu, has our Sect Master come back yet?”

“You mean Tang Xiu?” asked Duanmu Lin.

“That’s right. He’s our Sect Master.” Mo Awu nodded.

Duanmu Lin’s mind whirled, but he couldn’t ask how Tang Xiu became their sovereign and whatnot. He nodded and said, “He has brought a group of people back from the interior, but after he learned that thousands of demonic beasts are gathering in the depths of the mountain range and are apparently going to attack us at any time, he went back there to probe the situation alone. Many of the ones he brought back are seriously injured and went to their camp to recuperate.”

Mo Awu’s expression slightly changed. He gritted his teeth and said, “Director Duanmu, the martial brothers and sisters in my team also have serious injuries. Please allow them to go back to the camp to heal themselves.”

“You’ve worked hard. Go ahead.” Duanmu Lin heavily nodded.

Turning around to look at the disciples around him, Mo Awu then said in a deep voice, “Hei Wuya, Ye Shisan, you both have the lightest injuries, so you will come with me to find the Sect Master and ensure his safety. The rest of you, Brothers and Sisters, you all go back to the camp to recuperate. Be sure to recover from your injuries as quickly as possible and prepare for the following battles.”

“Acknowledged!” shouted dozens of Tang Sect disciples in reply.

Duanmu Lin’s expression changed. He hurriedly stopped Mo Awu and said in a deep voice, “Hey, you’re also seriously injured. If my guess is correct, your lungs must be punctured. It will be a serious latent danger and may threaten your life if you don’t treat it in time. Just listen to me. Tang Xiu investigated alone before, so I’m sure he can retreat and return in time should he encounter a situation he can’t deal with. But if you try to find him now, maybe you won’t be able to help him and will instead become his burden.”

“Negative.” Mo Awu shook his head and indifferently said, “The life of our Sovereign is more important than ours. We’ll stay behind and guard the rear to fight and give our Lord a chance to survive should we face any danger. Please don’t stop me anymore. I’ve made up my mind.”

Having said that, he brushed past Duanmu Lin, leading Hei Wuya and Ye Shisan and rushing to the interior of the mountain range lightning-fast. They soon disappeared from the sight of everyone present.

Hei Xiong, who was in the team, had a restless look in his eyes and shouted in a heavy voice, “Everyone, we are to return to the camp to heal our wounds at the fastest speed. Sect Master and Senior Brother Mo Awu are likely to encounter a crisis, so we’d best restore our strength as soon as possible to catch up with and fight alongside them!”

“Understood!”

It seemed there was nearly no hesitation from the other dozens of people as they followed Hei Wuya dashing toward their camp.

Looks of admiration appeared on the faces of dozens of people around Duanmu Lin. They had their shares of seeing devotion, virtue, and loyalty. They had also seen tough and fearless powerhouses who didn’t fear death, yet they had never seen so many respectable strongmen.

Hun Sen fell into silence, whereas Jiang Shuisheng lowered his head without uttering any words.

The momentum and aura displayed by Mo Awu and the others had literally subdued the two of them. They could see how fierce and brutal the fight Mo Awu and the rest had just gone through. They could also tell how worried they were about Tang Xiu’s safety.

‘Tang Xiu!’

Hun Sen slowly closed his eyes. After a while, he suddenly opened them and said with difficulty, “I admit that I harbored contempt against Tang Xiu. But now, he’s indeed a figure to be reckoned with.”

Jiang Shuisheng nodded and echoed, “For him to able to make his men see his life as more important than theirs is evidence of how great he is, indeed. Pity that we weren’t able to catch up with them before—otherwise, we would’ve been able to fight alongside such a group of fearless and powerful heroes.”

Finally, a smile appeared on Duanmu Lin’s face. He nodded at their words and said, “I told you that Tang Xiu is a genuine son of China. He’ll probably sacrifice his life to protect our country and its people when the country is in dire straits. Just look at his men. Each and every one of them has serious injuries, so serious that they likely have killed a lot of demonic beasts. But every demonic beast they killed is a chance they gave for us to survive. I, Duanmu Lin, am also looking for a chance to fight alongside them and resolve this crisis.”