A thin elder slowly walked out from behind Ni Xueming. He looked calm as if he was indifferent toward everything.

In actuality, he was indeed qualified to act like that.

Ou Yangming and his companions were taken aback because they instantly sensed the obvious change in the person's aura. The elder in front of them was definitely a Supreme Great Ancestor.

Ni Yinghong's eyes wandered about before she greeted with a sweet smile, "Greetings, Great Ancestor, I'm Yinghong from the Ni family. May I know your name?"

The elder glanced at her and smiled. "What a clever young lady, you're indeed the Ni family's little princess. How's Older Brother Jingshen lately?"

"Great-grandfather is healthy, and he seems to have broken through during his recent cultivation."

"Oh?" The elder hesitated for a while before he expressed, "I must congratulate Older Brother Jingshen. I'm Zhang Tianshi, and I'm friends with your great ancestors from the Ni family and the He family, so I won't make things difficult for you."

He Liangce was relieved. Though he had not let down his guard, he clearly looked more relaxed.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong looked at each other with a bitter smile.

'Zhang?

'It can't be… A coincidence, right?'

Sure enough, Zhang Tianshi looked coldly at Ou Yangming and asked, "Are you Ou Yangming?"

Ou Yangming inhaled deeply. Since he was already faced with the situation and could not avoid it, he might as well face it with courage.

He did a fist salute and greeted, "Greetings, Great Ancestor Zhang, I'm Ou Yangming."

The young fellow was tall and strong. Apart from when he bowed, he was like a towering tree whose roots were firmly rooted in the ground. In a trace, he became one with his surroundings.

He Liangce's eyelids twitched, but his heart sank.

He immediately sensed that Ou Yangming had entered the combat state of the integration of Heaven and man. Although he could not understand why, he was almost sure of one thing; whatever happened today could not be settled easily.

Countless thoughts crossed He Liangce's mind at that instant. 'I heard Ou Yangming's an orphan, so how did he become enemies with the reputable Zhang family from the capital?'

Zhang Tianshi's eyes were bright, but he was not surprised that Ou Yangming had suddenly entered the integration of Heaven and man. The elder scanned the young fellow with interest and remarked, "You're really good to have a profound understanding of nature at such a young age—you're blessed by Heaven."

Ou Yangming was neither humble nor overbearing when he responded, "Thank you, senior, you're flattering me."

"Heh." Zhang Tianshi uttered slowly, "It'll be such a pity if a genius like you dies."

He spoke calmly, but a cold killing intent had already spread in the air.

He Liangce had a grave look on his face. "Senior, I don't know how Brother Ou offended you, but if it's possible, the He family is willing to apologize on his behalf."

Zhang Tianshi looked at the young master strangely and chuckled. "You cultivate the He family's orthodox techniques, so you're probably a disciple from the direct line of descent. That said, you're not enough to represent the He family."

With a solemn expression, He Liangce tidied his shirt, which was already unwrinkled. "I'm He Liangce, the eldest grandson from the He family's direct line of descent. Greetings, senior."

Zhang Tianshi and Ni Xueming were stunned, and they began to cast a serious and different look at the young master.

Everyone knew very well the difference between a disciple who learned authentic teachings and the eldest grandson from the direct line in the He family. In fact, even Zhang Tianshi could not ignore the majestic He family from Linlang County.

"Oh, you're He Liangce? I've heard a lot about you," Zhang Tianshi said with glowing eyes.

An ordinary person would dance and stay awake for three days and three nights due to the excitement of hearing such recognition from a Supreme Great Ancestor.

Nonetheless, He Liangce did not bat an eyelid as if he was not affected at all.

He replied to the great ancestor with respect, "I'm extremely blessed that you've heard of me, senior."

Zhang Tianshi hesitated for a while before he added, "You're a stallion from the He family, so I shouldn't refute you, but Ou Yangming has killed two direct disciples from my clan, and one of them is a Yang Grade successor. Heh, tell me, can I let him go?"

He Liangce was dumbfounded, and he turned to cast a strange look at Ou Yangming.

'Young fella, you're from Changlong County, but you provoked the Zhang family from the capital and even killed an important descendant from their clan. Aren't you… Too good at causing trouble?'

Ou Yangming grinned and defended himself. "Senior, I wasn't the one who wanted to kill them; they were the ones who wanted to kill me. Should I have resigned to death without resisting them at all?"

Zhang Tianshi questioned, "Since someone from my clan wanted to kill you, why couldn't you just wait for your death without doing anything?"

Ou Yangming stopped breathing at that moment, and he raged with fire.

It was such a tyrannical and impolite statement. Zhang Tianshi did not ask who was right or wrong because he only valued the Zhang family's interests. In his opinion, a person must die if someone from the Zhang family wanted to kill him or her. If that person dared to resist, it would be an offense against the Zhang family, and someone from the older generation in that clan would make a move if the younger disciples failed to take down that person.

Zhang Tianshi spoke so naturally even when the statement was unreasonable.

"Okay, I learned something new today." Ou Yangming was so mad that he laughed instead. He said coldly without any emotion, "If I become successful in the future, I'll certainly thank you in person!"

"In the future?" Zhang Tianshi burst out laughing. "Do you actually think you'll have a future? You're such a presumptuous fella who doesn't know the immensity of Heaven and Earth."

The elder suddenly took a step forward. It looked like a slow movement, but it was so quick that he arrived roughly 3.6 meters in front of Ou Yangming in a flash. Following that, the great ancestor reached out his hand to grab the young fellow.

Nevertheless, He Liangce took half a step back at once and thrust his folding fan without any hesitation.

Almost at the same time, Ou Yangming turned his wrist, causing sparks to be seen around his spear as he stabbed it out from the side of He Liangce's body.

Zhang Tianshi sneered and was about to seize hold of the spear tip, but he somehow became afraid of it. As such, he evaded the spear but was faced with He Liangce's folding fan.

The elder growled and flicked his finger.

"Pow!"

He Liangce took a step back but managed to gain a firm foothold right away while Ou Yangming took half a step sideways and stood diagonally away from him. The two of them had not cooperated many times, but they were both martial artists who had apprehended the integration of Heaven and man. With that, they were so deeply connected that they seemed to be the same person.

Zhang Tianshi flew far away with a grim look on his face. "He Liangce, I don't want to incur hatred between our clans, so please back away!"

"Senior, please forgive me. I clicked well with Brother Ou during our first meeting, and I've since become close friends with him. We made narrow escapes together throughout our journey in the dense forest, so I mustn't abandon my close friend." He Liangce sighed.

Ou Yangming's face twitched, and he instantly had goosebumps.

'What do you mean by we clicked well during our first meeting, and that you won't abandon your close friend?

'We're rivals in love, okay…'

Despite cursing in his head, Ou Yangming kept a straight face.

He would not reject He Liangce's help like a fool at this crucial moment.

Zhang Tianshi looked deeply at He Liangce and asked, "Will you not hesitate to become enemies with the Zhang family for this young family?"

He Liangce was undecided for some time before he finally explained, "Senior, Brother Ou is extremely precious, so he mustn't die here. During our adventure in the dense forest, the three of us killed a great-ancestor-leveled half-spirit beast. If you're willing to resolve the grievance between the two of you, we're willing to offer you the beast's carcass."

Ou Yangming's eyelids twitched. He was reluctant to part with the big multicolored tiger's carcass, which he was still carrying on his back, but he could only keep quiet because He Liangce had made the offer.

Zhang Tianshi was struck dumb, and a cold-intent was vaguely seen in his eyes.

He Liangce sounded like he was begging for mercy, but he was also warning the great ancestor.

Since the young men could slaughter a half-spirit beast, which was equivalent to a great ancestor, could they also emerge victorious against a Supreme Great Ancestor?

Zhang Tianshi glanced at the big multicolored tiger's carcass on Ou Yangming's back.

While the big tiger had been handled with medicine, and it became smaller in size after several days, its scary head still gave off a feeling of fear.

Zhang Tianshi could tell the truth due to his excellent vision.

Even if the half-spirit beast was not on par with a great ancestor, it was almost at that level.

He curled his lips into a smile. "Heh, do you think you're able to kill me by joining hands?"

"We might not be able to, but we can only give our all when death is near!" He Liangce smiled bitterly.

He was unyielding, and he made it clear that there was no room for negotiation.

Ou Yangming was not fond of the young master, but he was secretly grateful for him.

It was incredibly rare that He Liangce was willing to do this for him, but he felt that the young master's efforts were useless.

'Brother He, I appreciate your kindness," Ou Yangming said with a deep voice, "Take care of Elder Sister Ying—you don't have to care about anything else."

He Liangce furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about? We were able to fight together back there, so we can do the same now!"

There was a look of chill in his eyes. He was confident that they stood a chance against the Supreme Great Ancestor because they managed to slaughter an equal-leveled half-spirit beast when they worked together.

However, Ou Yangming shook his head. "Brother He, they're not the only ones here."

"What?" He Liangce was stupefied.

"Heh, this young fella has a trick indeed. I can't believe he spotted me too." A deeper and stranger laugh filled the air. The voice drifted and could be heard from all directions, so nobody could grasp the person's specific location.

He Liangce's face finally took on a ghastly expression.

If Ou Yangming and He Liangce were only up against one Supreme Great Ancestor, they could resist him by joining forces, and they might even defeat the great ancestor; if there were two great ancestors, there was no need for them to fight anymore.

As a matter of fact, Ou Yangming and his companions might not be able to escape at all if Zhang Tianshi and his people were not afraid of the He family and the Ni family.

Ou Yangming lowered his voice and requested, "Brother He, please!"

He Liangce was a decisive person, so he instantly understood everything.

"Be careful." He nodded at Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming turned to look at Ni Yinghong.

The young lady clenched his fists and nodded slightly, but she gritted her teeth without saying a word.

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming exerted force on the tip of his toes and zoomed far away.