“That thing?” said Fang Xi, staring with wide eyes at the meat jelly. The meat jelly suddenly stopped talking and looked at Fang Xi. Both of them seemed to be somewhat at a loss at first, but soon, bright glows appeared in both of their eyes.
“Killing intent!” gasped Meng Hao, backing up as he sensed the aura building between the meat jelly and Fang Xi.
“So, finally a worthy opponent!” said the meat jelly, leaping up into the air and landing next to Fang Xi, an expression of unprecedented solemnity on its face.
“It seems I’ve met my match!” replied Fang Xi, having sensed the energy within the meat jelly. It was an explosive energy that only he could sense, and from it, he knew that the meat jelly could continue a conversation for days on end.
“It seems I need to warm up a bit first,” said the meat jelly, clearing its throat. “Ahem. Look kid, Lord Third is going to tell you a story that took place three three three three three… well anyway, countless three years ago. This was back in the early days of Heaven and Earth….”
“Cut the crap! All you know is three? Three three three three three. What a disgrace!” Fang Xi hadn’t even begun speaking when all of a sudden, the parrot flew out from Meng Hao’s bag of holding. It landed on a nearby tree branch and looked at Fang Xi with a look of disdain.
“Kid, don’t listen to his jabbering,” said the parrot. “You study with Lord Fifth. Look at my mouth, is it sharp or not? From that, you should be able to imagine how sharp-tongued I am!”
Meng Hao quickly left the courtyard and fled into the Immortal’s cave itself. In his opinion, the battlefield occupied by the meat jelly, the parrot and Fang Xi, was a place he shouldn’t remain in. He had already experienced some of Fang Xi’s gift of the tongue on the way here. He had talked the entire way, telling stories from the day he was one year old all the way to the present, and tales from the founding of the Fang Clan all the way to modern times. When he had run out of conversation topics, he had then begun to introduce the different members of the Fang Clan to Meng Hao.
Of course, it wasn’t an introduction made in person, just his own opinions….
Inside his residence, Meng Hao looked around and saw extreme luxury. Even the furniture was made of spirit stones, which caused his eyes to grow wide.
“The Fang Clan… is really rich! And I’m the eldest grandson! Yet… I’m so poor….” Sighing at the injustice of it all, he waved his hands, causing all of the spirit stone furniture to be sucked into his bag of holding.
The once luxurious residence was now simple and stark, and as he looked around, he felt much better. Finally, he sat down cross-legged on the ground, his eyes glittering.
“Father wanted me to get my Nirvana Fruits. It goes without saying that reason is because he wants me to rise to prominence in the Fang Clan….
“It won’t be incredibly difficult to do that, but as for the Nirvana Fruits… the Fang Clan… will they actually be able to give them to me?” Frowning, Meng Hao considered the ambush he had experienced on the way here, and how they had tried to kill him, and his eyes glowed with coldness.
“I wonder if Fang Wei’s branch of the clan sent the assassins….” Meng Hao had learned of how the clan’s direct bloodline was currently in a very poor situation. On the other hand, Fang Wei’s branch of the clan was on the rise. Not only did they have the support of many of the clan Elders, but they had even occupied some of the ancestral mansion. Some branches of the clan remained neutral, but for the most part, Fang Wei’s branch had completely eclipsed the direct bloodline.
“The Grand Elder was acting strange,” Meng Hao thought. “He seemed kind, but in my opinion, it was just an act.” He smiled coldly. Other people all assumed that he had been taken care of by his father and mother from the time he was young. They believed that, although his life had not been what it might have been had he stayed in the Fang Clan, surely he had not experienced the twists and turns of a dangerous life.
The truth of the matter was that from the age of seven onward, Meng Hao had been completely alone. In the mortal world, he had struggled hard during his youth, and had developed a spirit of independence. Then he had entered the cultivation world, and had experienced many things, and had survived numerous deadly crises. Step by step, he had advanced through life to reach his current situation. The help he had received from his parents had been scant, to say the least.
Although he might not be a perfect judge of character, he rarely made mistakes when sizing people up. He had quite a bit of experience in contending with others, and naturally, had become quite good at it.