Jiang Bao's enthusiasm made Jiang Xuan feel somewhat uncomfortable. The two of them weren't that familiar with each other before.

Before the life-and-death battle, the Jiang tribe had nearly two thousand direct descendants. Before the servants were dismissed, the tribe had sent personnel to all forty-seven villages, and the number of people stationed in the Jiang tribe’s earth city exceeded a thousand. The earth city itself was a "trade hub" in the region, with a permanent population of four to five thousand people.

So, even though they were of the same tribe, the degree of familiarity between individuals could vary greatly.

"Jiang Bao, do not be disrespectful to the tribe leader. You haven’t paid your respects yet, haven’t you? Why don’t you kneel and greet the tribe leader?" Granny Jin Hua suddenly spoke, her tone serious.

This made Jiang Bao, who had enthusiastically hugged Jiang Xuan, feel a bit awkward. He was furious in his heart but dared not show it. He quickly released Jiang Xuan and stepped back, kneeling on one knee. "Jiang Bao, pays respects to the tribe leader!"

"Uncle Bao, please rise," Jiang Xuan said as he stepped forward to help Jiang Bao up.

"Ai!" Jiang Bao stood up, his face filled with shame. "I am a coward! At that time, I was scared! I didn’t dare go up to the arena and only wanted to survive, so I fled... I am not a man! I am not worthy of the title of a tribe warrior!"

"Coming back is good enough," Jiang Xuan said, his tone flat, as if "official" in nature.

Because they weren’t close, Jiang Bao’s return didn’t move Jiang Xuan, nor did it make him despise him.

After all, Jiang Xuan himself had once thought of running away with his mother.

"Jiang Bao!" Granny Jin Hua suddenly shouted, "Why did you come back?"

"I..." Jiang Bao turned to face Granny Jin Hua. "Over the past year and more, I’ve been restless, unable to sleep or eat in peace. Every time I heard that another warrior from the tribe had died in battle, I felt guilty. Recently, I heard about... I heard about Xiao Xuan’s deeds. I couldn’t bear it anymore! A fifteen-year-old child, able to step into the arena and fight to the death for the tribe! Yet here I am, a grown man, how can I just survive? That’s why I came back! I must make up for my past mistakes! Even if I die, I want to die in the arena! The men of the Jiang tribe can only die standing! Not kneeling to survive!"

His words were heartfelt, and by the end, he even shouted passionately, full of blood and fire.

"Uncle Bao is a true hero!"

"He is a true warrior!"

"Why bother? Why bother? It's all about to end."

Some of the soft-hearted women of the tribe were already tearing up.

"Alright!" Granny Jin Hua still had no expression, "Then in the first battle next month, you will fight!"

"I’ll come! I’ll come!" Jiang Bao answered decisively.

After some small talk and pleasantries, Jiang Bao decided to go back to his old house. Granny Jin Hua dismissed everyone, telling them to go about their tasks. Jiang Xuan was about to leave for his training in the back mountain when Granny Jin Hua stopped him, her face showing a loving expression. "Xiao Xuan, don’t leave yet. I’ve made glutinous rice cakes. Take them with you and eat them while you practice..."

A moment later, only the two of them were left in the room.

"Xiao Xuan, be careful of Jiang Bao," Granny Jin Hua said seriously.

"Be careful of him?" Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Grandma?"

"A person who has been gone for over a year suddenly comes back to seek death—this is rare, but not impossible to understand," Granny Jin Hua continued. "But what I don’t understand is how he could win your trust. He’s older than you, his cultivation is higher than yours. Originally, you were the last man of the tribe, but now that he’s back, you’re not anymore. When I asked him why he came back, his answer was too perfect, too flawless. Maybe he truly meant it, but in my experience, he’s not the kind of person who can say such things so convincingly... In short, something’s off!"

Jiang Xuan understood now. Granny Jin Hua was merely suspicious.

"Since you suspect him, why not..." Jiang Xuan gestured with his hand.

We could just arrest him, lock him up!

"No!" Granny Jin Hua shook her head. "Your prestige is not enough! And he is also a man, a man who is stronger than you! You saw it just now, how the women of the tribe reacted to him. Before, you saved the tribe, so you’re the tribe leader now, and no one dares to defy you. But if Jiang Bao just returned and you arrest him, remember he is in the congenital realm. That could cause a direct split in the tribe... Your mother isn’t here, and not all the congenital female warriors may support you!"

Jiang Xuan listened carefully, pondering this carefully.

In terms of managing the tribe, he had no experience.

However, he could understand the significance of a man to the tribe! The life-and-death battle only allowed men to fight. That battle determined that men would always be the priority for the survival of the tribe! This had been the case for thousands of years!

Some concepts had already seeped deep into the bones.

Although Jiang Bao had fled, he hadn’t done anything to harm the tribe. His departure was acceptable, so now that he had returned, he could easily regain a high status, especially since there were no men left in the tribe.

Granny Jin Hua was highly respected.

But when compared to Jiang Bao, unless Jiang Bao had the stain of his previous desertion, he could immediately command the tribe, and even Granny Jin Hua would have to take a step back.

"Be careful, as long as you don’t find yourself alone with Jiang Bao, there shouldn’t be a problem!" Granny Jin Hua advised Jiang Xuan. "I’ll arrange for people to keep an eye on him!"

"I understand." Jiang Xuan nodded.

Back in front of the transmission stone at the back mountain, Jiang Xuan resumed his sword practice.

An hour later, Jiang Qinghong came to deliver Jiang Xuan’s meal. While accompanying him, she mentioned Jiang Bao’s request: "Xiao Xuan, Uncle Bao asked me to tell you that he wants to have dinner and drinks with you tonight. He also wants to invite a few more people for a gathering. It seems he invited Granny Jin Hua as well."

"He invited everyone?" Jiang Xuan looked at Jiang Qinghong and paused before saying, "We’ll talk about it later. If I don’t go, I’ll let Sister Huan Zhu know..."

"Mm, okay." Jiang Qinghong nodded. Then, she reached out and touched the corner of Jiang Xuan’s mouth, where there was some rice. She made sure Jiang Xuan saw it so he would understand what she had done.

Just as Jiang Xuan was about to wipe it off, he bent down and ate the rice grain from Jiang Qinghong’s fingertip.

"Don’t waste it," Jiang Xuan said, taking a bite of the beast's leg.

"Mm, don’t waste it," Jiang Qinghong echoed, acting as if nothing unusual had happened.

After finishing their meal, Jiang Qinghong packed up the lunchbox and left.

Jiang Xuan continued practicing his sword.

Not long after, the transmission stone emitted a soft, ethereal voice: "Little fellow, have you mastered the Thousand Threads Technique?"

"I have!" Jiang Xuan paused and said, "Thank you, senior, for your guidance. The Thousand Threads Technique is indeed powerful. Just having a basic grasp is already amazing!"

"Good to hear," the ethereal voice replied. "Now, go ahead and continue practicing your sword. I also need to..."

It seemed like she was just making small talk, and she likely had things to do.

"Senior, wait, I have something to ask," Jiang Xuan said.

"What is it? Speak!" the ethereal voice asked.

"It’s about a tribe member named Jiang Bao. More than a year ago..." Jiang Xuan began explaining.

"I remember. You told me about him. He fled the tribe, right?" the ethereal voice interrupted.

"Yes, senior, your memory is excellent," Jiang Xuan replied quickly. "Then, today, he came back and said..." Jiang Xuan continued to recount the situation, including Granny Jin Hua’s suspicions about Jiang Bao and the dinner invitation for later that evening.

"So, I’m not sure what Jiang Bao’s intentions are..." Jiang Xuan finished.

"He wants to kill you," the ethereal voice said directly.

"Huh?" Jiang Xuan was taken aback.

"He must have been bought off by the Shentu tribe."

"Wait..." Jiang Xuan was confused.

"Don’t believe me?" the ethereal voice asked.

"It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just... how do you know? How can you be so certain? Did you deduce it?" Jiang Xuan asked.

"If you’ve seen this kind of thing often, you’ll easily spot the flaws. From the moment he saw you, he was trying to gain your trust and avoid suspicion. For him, returning is a death sentence. There are people who willingly go to their deaths, but he clearly isn’t one of them! He’s acting very urgently, trying to meet with you but hesitates to meet alone, fearing you’ll get suspicious. I expect he’ll ask to meet you alone by tomorrow morning at the latest and try to ambush you... Do you understand?" the ethereal voice explained.

Understand? How could he understand?

Jiang Xuan felt like the senior’s words were so vague that they couldn’t possibly be a conclusion.

"Senior, you wouldn’t be... lying to me, would you? You’re so powerful, do you have some kind of fate-predicting method? Did you directly deduce that he wants to harm me? I know it’s a far-fetched idea, but you’re too mysterious..." Jiang Xuan asked.

"How could there be such a method..." the ethereal voice denied.

But Jiang Xuan had a strange feeling that this statement wasn’t entirely true.

He couldn’t tell how the ethereal senior knew that Jiang Bao was going to kill him, but he believed that since the senior dared to say it, it must be true.

"Senior, then what do you think I should do?" Jiang Xuan asked humbly, understanding that learning how to handle situations from this powerful figure was his good fortune.

"What is Jiang Bao’s realm?" the ethereal voice asked.

"Early congenital, probably not yet in the mid-congenital stage," Jiang Xuan answered.

"Then he can’t beat you!" the ethereal voice responded quickly. "Before you practiced the breathing technique, you were already a half-step congenital warrior, but with the Black Abyss Skill, you could already fight with those in the early congenital realm! Now that you’ve practiced Desireful Breathing and the ninth style of Chasing Wind Blade, not to mention the Thousand Threads Technique, you could even fight someone in the mid-congenital stage. Jiang Bao is nothing to you. Killing him will be as easy as flipping your hand."

"So..." Jiang Xuan hesitated. "Should I kill him now? Just kill him directly?"

"No!" the ethereal voice responded, "He invited you and everyone to dinner, didn’t he? And Granny Jin Hua said your prestige isn’t enough. So, kill him tonight. Kill him in public! The more people who see it, the better! Expose him! Kill him in a grand manner! Establish your authority!! Understand?"

"Understand... I understand!" Jiang Xuan nodded in comprehension.

In the blink of an eye...

It was night.