Chapter 1453: Chapter 1453: The Position of the Number One Family Belongs to the Mu Family Alone

"Sigh, if back then the Young Master hadn’t stubbornly gone his own way, dead set on following that idiot Dan Tai Xuan, and had instead broken out of Qingyang Pass like Fang Zhe, things wouldn’t have ended up like this, right." The Changsun Family, Song Qu and several other families’ disciples looked at the high‑spirited Zhang Family crowd opposite them and spoke in unison.

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as regret medicine in this world; whatever you say now is already too late.

Mu Hanyan led a group of noble families’ sons out of Beining Pass and set off on the return journey. At the moment of parting, she looked once more at that mist‑shrouded gorge.

Suddenly, a black shadow sprang out, and from afar, seeing Mu Hanyan, it let out a series of beastly roars.

"Clang!" Seeing an Exotic Beast again, nearly all the noble families’ sons drew their Longswords at the same time.

"Don’t make a move." Mu Hanyan instead waved her hand to stop them.

Qiongqi—the Exotic Beast running from afar—wasn’t it exactly Xia Youchen’s Qiongqi Divine Beast, that one which only ate vegetables, not meat, loved peace, didn’t fight, and wouldn’t kill? How could it be here?

Although this Little Qiongqi was all false reputation and was simply a disgrace to the Four Great Fierce Beasts, even Mu Hanyan often felt sorry for Xia Youchen because of it, still, as a Sword Pet, under normal circumstances it absolutely would not stray far from Xia Youchen, unless Xia Youchen was dead, or something major had happened.

At her side, Ye Yanran had clearly thought of the same thing; her face turned pale.

"Why did you run over here, where’s my great‑grand‑ancestor?" Ye Yanran grabbed the Little Qiongqi that had pounced up to her, asking frantically.

"Awoo..." Little Qiongqi ignored her. It first let out a long howl, then grabbed Mu Hanyan’s hem and babbled out a stream of beast language.

"What is it saying?" Ye Yanran froze for a moment and looked to Mu Hanyan for help; she couldn’t understand beast speech.

"Senior Xia is still alive, he’s just besieged and can’t break free. We’re going to rescue him immediately." Mu Hanyan said quickly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Although when she first met Xia Youchen they had been more enemies than friends, later at Flying Peak, Xia Youchen had gone to every length to shield Tang Bufan and Fen Qianji, risking his life to save them, which greatly changed her impression of him, and the two could be considered friends despite the age gap. Later, after she learned of the grudges and entanglements between Xia Youchen and Ye Yanran’s maternal great‑grandmother, Mu Hanyan felt even more sympathy for him. Even if only for Ye Yanran’s sake, she would step in to save him.

Hearing Mu Hanyan’s words, Little Qiongqi let out a few cheers, then turned and ran back toward Longyan Mountain. In just the blink of an eye, its figure was already dozens of zhang away.

Mu Hanyan paused slightly. At this speed, it was almost no slower than a Sword Saint expert using Wind Control Skill. So this fellow wasn’t completely useless after all; at least its escape ability was first‑rate.

Although she could rely on those Five Great Magical Instruments to forcibly raise her strength to the Sword Saint realm, she couldn’t stay boosted all the time, and in terms of pure speed she really couldn’t catch up to it.

Huayue and the others had already taken a step out, but seeing this, their bodies also halted and they smiled wryly at the same time. With this kind of speed that even Mu Hanyan couldn’t match, they had no way at all.

"I’ll go with you." Ye Lanfeng said as he formed a Hand Formation.

Mu Hanyan, Huayue and the others only felt their feet grow light, and their bodies floated up.

"You go back to the Capital on your own. I still have some matters to attend to." Mu Hanyan gave a brief instruction to Mu Chengxuan and the others, then chased after Little Qiongqi.

With just a few rises and falls, several figures disappeared from sight.

Mu Chengxuan and the others looked at one another. At first, when they heard Mu Hanyan say she was going to save someone, whether Mu Family’s Disciples or disciples from the other families, their blood all boiled, and some had even drawn their Longswords in uncontrollable excitement. But when they subsequently saw the speed of Mu Hanyan and the others under the blessing of Wind Control Skill, they could only helplessly sheathe their blades again.

"Brother Mu, what should we do now?" He Qingzong asked Mu Chengxuan somewhat at a loss.

They didn’t know when it had started, but the disciples of the major families, including each family’s Young Master, all took Mu Hanyan as their one and only leader. Now that she had suddenly left, they felt as though they had lost their backbone; their minds were unexpectedly blank.

"The Young Master told us to head back first, so let’s go back first." Mu Chengxuan thought for a moment and said.

"Oh right, Young Master Mu told us to return to the Capital ourselves, so let’s head back first." He Qingzong finally woke up as if from a dream, slapped his forehead hard, and nodded repeatedly.

Immediately, everyone followed Mu Hanyan’s instructions and returned to the Capital on their own.

Before leaving, Zhang Chihua couldn’t help but glance again in the direction Mu Hanyan and the others had gone, his heart filled with emotion. Although the ranking of the Eight Great Families still had to wait for the elders of the various Capital families and His Majesty the Emperor to deliberate, at least regarding the ownership of the First Family title, their deliberations weren’t all that important. Just looking at how everyone followed Mu Hanyan’s orders without question, one could tell that the position of First Family could belong to no one but the Mu Family!

Meeting Mu Hanyan must be the luckiest thing in my entire life. Zhang Chihua glanced again at the high‑spirited Zhangchi’s descendants behind him, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

...

While the group of noble families’ sons was returning to the Capital, Mu Hanyan’s party was gradually entering the depths of Longyan Mountain.

Little Qiongqi was worried about Xia Youchen’s safety. It stretched out its four legs and sprinted wildly, its speed as swift as the wind. Though this fellow was often unreliable, it truly cared a great deal about the safety of its "dad," Xia Youchen.

Although Ye Lanfeng’s strength was great, he couldn’t continuously bless everyone with Wind Control Skill. Fortunately, Mu Hanyan herself carried the Green Cloud Feather, which could also greatly increase speed. Relying on Ye Lanfeng’s intermittent blessing of Wind Control Skill and the Magic Artifact power of the Green Cloud Feather, they were able to stay right behind Little Qiongqi.

Unknowingly, several days had passed. In these few days, apart from occasionally resting briefly to replenish some dry rations and water, they had practically not stopped at all as they raced after Little Qiongqi.

Though Mu Hanyan and the others’ strength had greatly improved by now, after running wildly for days on end, they still couldn’t avoid feeling somewhat exhausted.

Fortunately, they had Ye Yanran. Whenever everyone was utterly exhausted, Ye Yanran would once again activate her Heavenly Rain Divine Healing Innate Divine Ability. Under that golden rain of light, everyone’s fatigue immediately vanished, even more effective than taking a Ten-Complete Replenishing Pill. It turned out that besides its miraculous healing effect, this Heavenly Rain Divine Healing Technique could also rapidly replenish Qi and restore stamina.

As for her, she remained spirited and brimming with energy. Even when Mu Hanyan was so tired she could barely endure, there wasn’t the slightest trace of fatigue on Ye Yanran’s face.

The only regretful thing was that her strength hadn’t improved much; up to now she was still only a Second-level Sword Master. But that was normal—the Heaven and Earth Rules are fair to everyone. Even if she was borrowing the hidden power in Mu Hanyan’s body, her Innate Divine Ability was simply too heaven‑defying. Strictly speaking, even Huayue and the others’ Innate Divine Abilities might not compare to hers. If her own cultivation also advanced by leaps and bounds, then even Mu Hanyan would have to keep her distance when facing her.

Judging by the distance, they had now penetrated hundreds of thousands of li into Longyan Mountain. Although they had not yet entered the very core region, they were already deep within its heartland.