Shirong was brought to the courtyard of the Lu Clan. It was perhaps the largest building in the entire Deer wood city and took up around ten percent of its entire area. There were a lot of separate buildings in the courtyard for the different members of the clan and they all lived according to seniority.

Shirong looked around for a moment before looking straight. The courtyard was nothing fancy to him as he had lived in the Ji clan's ever since he was born. The Ji clan's home was more near to the size of a city rather than a courtyard.

There were multiple luxurious palaces in there and the level of resources used to make it could never compare to Deer wood city. Even the capital of the Ling kingdom would not be able to compare with it and would barely come to 1% of its cost.

Very few people had the fortune of seeing the home of the Ji clan and there were a lot of rumors about it. Even if the Ji clan was the second rank, it was considered to be more mysterious than the Long clan which was considered the first.

At least the location where the Long clan lived was well known, and a lot of people had seen it. Whereas the Ji clan's location was hidden and was secret.

Soon Shirong was guided to the main hall where the clan head and the other important people of the clan were waiting with bated breaths. When he finally entered, a collective breath of relief was taken by everyone.

Shirong looked around and could see that clan head Mu was also here for some reason.

"Greetings clan head Lu, clan head Mu," Shirong said while cupping his hands.

"Ahaha! Young Master Shirong is healed, good… good… good." Clan head Lu said with a joyous tone.

"Young master has the will of a tiger, there is no way he would be harmed by something so small." A voice came from the back.

Shirong turned around and saw that it was none other than clan head Xiong that had entered.

'Looks like he got the news too…' Shirong thought.

"How are you feeling now, Young Master?" Clan head Mu asked with concern.

"I am quite fine, clan head Mu. You need not worry." Shirong answered.

"That's a relief. We are happy that you were able to come through." Clan head Lu said.

Shirong nodded and then spoke, "I am thankful for all that you did, in order to help me."

"You do not have to thank us for that. The Ji clan has supported us before thus this is our duty." Clan head Lu replied.

"Well then, on a happy occasion like this, I believe it's time for a feast!" Clan head Lu said out loud.

The corner of Shirong's lips twitched hearing this.

'Dammit, they'll waste more of my time.' Shirong thought.

"Clan head Lu, I would like if we postpone this feast for later." Shirong stated.

"Why young master, is there a problem?" Clan Head Lu asked with concern in his voice.

"No, it's not exactly a problem. It's simply that I have gained a few insights into my cultivation and would like to train for a bit." Shirong replied.

"Ahh! Is that so? Then that is all fine and well. We can always have a feast later." Clan head Lu agreed.

"Then, if the clan heads may give me permission; I'd like to head back." Shirong stated.

"Yes, yes, leave." Lin Wu urged inside the ring.

The three clan heads agreed immediately and Shirong swiftly left the courtyard. After he was gone though, the expression of clan head Mu turned serious.

"It is as I expected." Clan head Mu said in a straight tone.

"Is there really a problem with Young master Shirong's physique?" Clan head Lu asked.

"There are certain changes I was able to perceive from his aura and the spirit qi fluctuations but I cannot exactly tell what the effects of that will be. But one thing is sure, the energy that attacked him certainly did something to him." Clan head Mu answered.

~Sigh~

"We can only hope it will be fine…" Clan head Lu replied.

Meanwhile Clan head Xiong simply looked on without a change in his expression.

***

Shirong headed straight to the exit of the city. He had thought of getting his two followers Ye Dai and Bei Wen first, but then changed his mind. He reckoned that it would be better for him to check the abilities of the green crystal spear on his own, alone.

About an hour later, he had left Deer wood city and was now in a part of the Millennium forest. While coming here he had to hide from the people that had been assigned here. The clans had made this arrangement after the fainting incident and wanted to be kept aware about anything that was happening.

It caused Shirong a bit of displeasure, but there wasn't much he could do. He landed in a small clearing that was wide enough for him to test out some moves. The trees covered a 360 degree angle, thus there was less chance that he would be discovered.

He wanted to set up some formations too, but didn't know how they would interact with the spear, thus chose not to.

"Now let's see what you can do…" Shirong muttered as he withdrew the green crystal spear from his spatial storage ring.

The spear gleamed slightly which put a slight smile on Shirong's face.

He closed his eyes and felt the connection with the spear. There was something that he could feel it was telling him but it seemed to be very vague.

"Looks like I'll have to directly test it out." Shirong said.

He then held the spear in his right hand and stood in a proper stance. Waves of spirit qi emanated from him as the dust on the ground was kicked up. He tilted the spear forward and stabbed with force.

~Bang~