"A marriage proposal?" Han Xuhan blankly repeated the sentence. His mind couldn't form any connections between the vast collection of information he knew about Mu Ran and his paltry knowledge of the Abyss Guild. Where and how did a marriage fit into this scene?

Mu Ran, who was about to pass by the three of them suddenly stumbled and fell on all fours, retching horribly.

"Boss!" Han Xuhan's underling instincts took over his detective persona. He nimbly jumped forward to help the guy up.

Mu Ran's face was pale, and a stream of blood was running down his nostrils. Han Xuhan used his mental influence to sense the qi on the surface of Mu Ran's body as his hands checked his pulse.

"A minor qi deviation resulting from over-drafting one's mental capacity."

Yuen Zhou's diagnosis came before he could reach that conclusion.

"What exactly did he do?" Xiao Wu muttered, still sunk in disbelief.

"The Celestial Gateway Spell...did all of you forget?" Mu Ran gasped out between heaving breaths.

The clues clicked together suddenly. Han Xuhan briefly recalled the little manipulative stunt he had pulled back during the first week of their preparation for the tournament.

Their mission had been to construct formations according to the designs provided by the elders in each mountain peak. As a stub-type cultivation method, the Celestial Gateway technique had three layers, where the constructs made by first-level formations were the lowest type and the constructs created by third-level formations were of the highest quality.

Han Xuhan had manipulated Mu Ran into handling both of their shares of the workload. Mu Ran had gladly constructed countless second and third-level formations to form the highest-quality gateway designs on their mountain peak. Yuen Zhou and Xiao Wu had to barely add to the design, as Mu Ran's superior craftsmanship was better appreciated by Master Kong.

The specialty of the third-level formations was that the area of effect under them would become as responsive as qi to the controller's mental commands. One could make the material under the formation's control do almost anything he wished to. Of course, this power had its limits. One couldn't turn water into wine, or living wood into lifeless metal. But ordinary actions like flying, breaking apart, coagulation, reconstruction, etc. weren't impossible to accomplish through simple mental commands.

Following that clue, Han Xuhan finally understood the secret behind the six soaring mountains that formed the ruins in front of them.

These chunks of dirt were the 'material' under the control of Mu Ran's third-level formations!

Being the major shareholder of the overall formation designs of the Heavenly Hailstorm mountain peak, Mu Ran obviously could control a large portion of the soil of the mountain!

Han Xuhan recalled Mu Ran's eager proclamations that day. He had boasted that he'd impress the entire planet by using the high-level formations under his control...

"Boss, you didn't need to go that far with the spectacle, you know? Look at yourself now."

Han Xuhan sighed, his mind reeling from the shock. The disciples nearby also began to connect the clues and whisper among themselves in a frenzy.

"How powerful is his mental influence? He pulled out nearly half of the mountain peak he lives on!"

"A sevenfold control of one's mind! Unbelievable!"

"What level formations are these mountains under? Level three?! Such a huge area!"

Han Xuhan exchanged a troubled look with his martial siblings and decided to carry Mu Ran back to the hut, away from the commotion. If this guy fell sick, their chances of successfully invading another sect would dwindle by fifty percent.

On their way back, they noticed the four teams of the Abyss Guild rushing back toward the center of the havoc in panic. No matter how impressive a background they had, the sudden sight of six hopping mountains had to be a shocker.

"One thing I still don't understand...why did you send a marriage proposal to that girl? What's wrong with you, martial brother?" Xiao Wu made the inquiry for the rest of the team.

Hanging from Xuhan's shoulder, Mu Ran grinned sinisterly and said something that made Xuhan stumble.

"That girl is my childhood sweetheart."

"HER?! She's the one you told me about on our first day in the sect?" Han Xuhan asked.

"Yes. She was forcibly taken away from her family by the master of the Abyss Guild when we were young. Although she has changed a lot since that time, I recognized her when we faced each other in the air. I'm certain she has recognized me as well."

All three of them listened to his explanation attentively, fascinated by the twists and turns.

Han Xuhan couldn't help but interject.

"So what were you trying to do before you recognized her? Did you have another plan in mind when you were climbing the stacked mountains?"

Mu Ran answered slowly, "I was going to go up to her and call their sect master an ugly old hag. And then I would have issued a challenge against their sect, declaring that when I manage to land on their island, I shall fight my way through every disciple present, regardless of whether they are a member of the defending team or not! It'd be a slap to the face of that damned witch!"

"...."

"...."

"....."

Han Xuhan, Yuen Zhou, and Xiao Wu exchanged a complex look among themselves. On one hand, they were pissed at Mu Ran for planning a suicide schedule like that where he would have probably dragged them too.

On the other hand, they were just relieved to see that Mu Ran's plan hadn't gone the way he would have wanted it to. Now, they could be prepared for such cases in the future.

Their amazement at his stupidity was another matter. They were so tired of it that they didn't even express that emotion anymore.

Mu Ran suddenly coughed out another stream of blood and fell unconscious. Han Xuhan and Xiao Wu hurried to take him towards the but while Yuen Zhou made a sprint toward Kong Ye's residence for decent quality medicine.

Inside Xiao Wu's hut, Han Xuhan called Zhanxian out of his cultivation room to help Xiao Wu administer some first-aid to Mu Ran. As they busied themselves, Han Xuhan walked out of the hut and summoned Tun Shi Tian.

"Eh, master?" The owl yelped, surprised at having been interrupted during its crucial cultivation sessions.

Han Xuhan took out a scroll from his pocket and threw it at the bird.

"Open the scroll and fly in that direction. There's a huge flying ship at the edge of the island. Hide among the trees and try to get at close as possible to the ship. Then circle around it as fast as you can while keeping the scroll open. If the scroll shows any abnormality, stop and take a good look at it before returning here. And do not let anyone from the ship, or hanging around it approach you. It's better if you can do it undetected."

Tun Shi Tian gaped at him for a long dozen seconds before shaking his head in what appeared to be disbelief.

"What if someone from this...flying ship attacks me?"

"They won't if you do not initiate an attack. They're bound by rules."

"...Alright. Got it." Tun Shi Tian didn't look very convinced. Han Xuhan was certain that if he had ordered Zhanxian to handle this task, the skeleton would've outright refused without even entertaining the idea. But Tun Shi Tian was a much more adventurous minion. He loved taking risks as long as Zhanxian wasn't around to influence his decisions.

As the owl took off with the scroll in its claws, Han Xuhan went to his room and checked the armor parts he had purchased from his fellow disciples.

From what he could grasp in Mu Ran's actions, a hellish experience awaited the four of them. Last night, Mu Ran had proposed to invade the most powerful sects on the planet with a rather far-fetched, but almost smart rationale.

But today, he had ended up revealing a second reason behind that plan, a very personal reason.

Han Xuhan had a sneaky suspicion that this wasn't the only thing Mu Ran was hiding from them.

He needed to prepare for the worst!

The first and easiest one to purchase among the nine armor-parts was a...codpiece. That disciple had just been glad that he could get rid of it, as the armor wasn't unattachable by regular means.

Han Xuhan put it on cautiously after entering his qi into it. The principle behind the claim of ownership was simple. These armors fed on qi to function. So long as one filled the armor with enough of their own qi to activate it, they could form a weak mental link to it, opening the window to command its functions. Attaching, detaching, overdrive modes, deactivation, etc. were the common array of commands available for the wearers.

The second was a female breastplate. Han Xuhan put it aside. He had thick skin, but going out sporting two small peaks on his chest was still a bit too much for him. He'd only use it in case of an emergency...

The third one was just a shoe. He hadn't found the other of the pair. But one was good too. This shoe had a specialty. Its overdrive mode activated a strange function...which was to empower the leg it was on to kick with the full power of a peak Physique Transformation Realm expert.

Granted, he didn't have enough qi in his meridians to fuel a kick so powerful, but it would probably be better than the power behind his normal kicks.

The fourth, the fauld that would save his ass...literally. He looked ridiculous wearing it. Han Xuhan chose to cast it aside too for now. Moving through the spatial rifts in the Titanfall Archipelago was a troublesome task in itself. Weighing himself down with so many heavy armor parts wouldn't be a wise decision when he needed to stay airborne so frequently.

The fifth was a gorget to protect his throat.

The sixth was a poleyn, just like the knee-guard that he himself had received from the void. There were some differences between their craftsmanship, but Han Xuhan wasn't complaining.

The seventh part was an incomplete gauntlet covering only his fingers.

The eighth and ninth both appeared to be joint-protectors, rather than traditional pieces covering limbs. Han Xuhan didn't need them for now.

By the time he finished wearing those he chose for the upcoming mission, Mu Ran's coughs could be heard in the other room. Yuen Zhou had returned with the medicine.

Discreetly, Han Xuhan entered the room they were in and began to fuss over Mu Ran.

DONG!

DONG!

DONG!

The ever-elusive bells of the Crimson Snow Sect began to ring as Mu Ran sat up from his bed to take a swig of body-nourishing herb juice.

"The assembly is about to take place. Come, everyone. Can you walk, martial brother?"

The doubt in Yuen Zhou's tone seemed to anger Mu Ran, who leaped up unsteadily and walked out through the door before the rest of them could.

Han Xuhan and Xiao Wu sent her two thumbs-ups and followed him.