Xiang Mantang reflected on the information obtained.
His feelings were somewhat complex.
Of course, he had not come to find the former Tianshu to settle accounts about Withered Tree Quest for Spring, nor did he intend to snatch the Spring of Life from him. Mu Jinyu now had enough Spring of Life for his purposes. What he wanted to know was how the former Tianshu had acquired the Spring of Life.
And most importantly, whether the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that gave birth to the Spring of Life had been obtained by him.
If not, Xiang Mantang would go and search for it himself.
But if it was already in the hands of this former Tianshu...
Although he and Xiang Mantang had some favors between them, there was no choice; to save Mu Jinyu, Xiang Mantang would stop at nothing!
About ten minutes later.
Xiang Mantang arrived at the entrance of the courtyard where the former Tianshu resided.
The several security guards at the entrance, seeing Xiang Mantang alight from a red flag sedan, initially wondered which important figure had come to visit the old leader, but upon seeing Xiang Mantang, they recognized his identity.
After all, as the security responsible for the safety of the former Tianshu, they naturally knew the major figures of Dragon King Hall.
"Greetings, Tianshu!"
"The old leader is in the yard playing chess with an old friend. I'll go in and inform the leader right away."
The security guards saluted Xiang Mantang respectfully, and then planned to go inside to notify the former Tianshu.
"There's no need for such formality; I'll go in myself."
Xiang Mantang waved his hand to them and then walked towards the courtyard of the former Tianshu, under their stiff expressions.
Xiang Mantang was not visiting for the first time and naturally knew where the courtyard of the former Tianshu was.
The security guards watched Xiang Mantang enter, his presence emitting a sharp edge that made them dare not stop him!
Once Xiang Mantang disappeared from their sight.
The security guards then looked at each other and said, "Don't you feel that Tianshu's aura has changed a lot, becoming somewhat more aggressive?!"
"Yes, indeed, it has changed. I've been a security guard here for several years. When Tianshu visited the old leader previously, he would not behave like this. He was very polite and would always wait at the entrance until the old leader was free to meet him!"
After all, Xiang Mantang was not a closely related student of the former Tianshu.
Yet, when he came over this time, without the former Tianshu's permission, he instead walked in directly, and they wouldn't blame him.
He could only say it was like he was once a subordinate of the former Tianshu; even though he had now become the Beidou Tianshu, he should not enter directly without waiting for them to inform him and the old leader's permission when visiting a former leader.
So, seeing that he was so impolite to just walk in directly today, they felt very surprised.
"Based on what you both are saying, why didn't you stop him from going in? Why did you let him go? Aren't you afraid the old leader will scold you later?"
At this point, a new junior security guard, hearing the words of the two older security guards, asked in surprise.
"Stop him? We wouldn't dare!"
They exchanged glances, showing a wry smile, and shook their heads.
"He is the current Beidou Tianshu, an important figure in Dragon King Hall second only to the Dragon King; how could we dare to stop him when he wants to enter?"
"Besides, I recently heard some rumors that the new Dragon King also met with an accident, and it was caused by this Tianshu. Although he does not claim to be the Dragon King, he has seized control of the Dragon King Hall and can now be called the true king without a crown! Who among us would dare provoke him?!"
They shook their heads and sighed, allowing the old chief to complain. At most, they would lose their jobs, but if they angered Xiang Mantang, a man ruthless enough to kill a brother-like mentor, they feared they might lose their lives!
...
Xiang Mantang was unaware of the security guards' gossip and the rumors spread by Di Yin and Qin Qiaochu, which had altered others' impressions of him.
As he entered the courtyard where the former Tianshu lived, he saw an elderly man dressed in a Zhongshan suit leisurely sitting in a bamboo rocking chair, watching two younger men playing chess, occasionally offering them advice.
Those two were the Sub-hall Masters of the Dragon King Hall, Qin Qiaochu and Di Yin.
Xiang Mantang's steps were soft; they did not hear a sound as they continued playing chess and talking.
"Old Yang, now that the new Dragon King is dead again, and with Xiang Mantang ambitiously assuming the role at the Dragon King Hall, we still think that you, once again taking over the leadership of the Dragon King Hall and becoming the new Dragon King, would be better than him!"
"Indeed, I heard some internal news that the new Dragon King was about to get married. He was planning to formally take charge of the Dragon King Hall and retrieve all his powers from Xiang Mantang, but then he received a message—a distress signal from Xiang Mantang. He went to Kunlun immediately, but the new Dragon King never returned, and yet Xiang Mantang came back alive and well. If there's no foul play involved, I could chop off my head and let you use it as a soccer ball!"
"Yes, and what's more, he has taken back some of our positions and is acting completely like the True Dragon King!"
Qin Qiaochu and Di Yin complained bitterly.
It seemed there was much resentment within the Dragon King Hall!
The elderly man was the former Tianshu, named Yang Guowei, now over eighty years old.
Upon hearing their words, a gleam flashed through his cloudy eyes, and then he shook his head, saying, "You guys should not believe in everything you hear. I have watched Xiaotang grow up, and he is not the kind of person to commit such acts, stop your baseless speculations!"
"Besides, I'm over eighty years old and retired due to injuries. Why would I still want to be the Dragon King?"
Yang Guowei shook his head.
"Being eighty years old is not really old. The Old Dragon King was still ruling at one hundred and twenty. And besides, being the Dragon King doesn't necessarily mean going to the battlefield!"
Qin Qiaochu persuaded.
They had come to Yang Guowei's that day partly to catch up with the old man, but partly because they were unhappy about Xiang Mantang becoming the new Dragon King!
If Xiang Mantang taking over the Dragon King Hall was one thing, him becoming the new Dragon King and taking away their powers and positions was something they could not tolerate.
So, they came specifically to persuade the former Tianshu, Yang Guowei, to fight for the position of the Tiance True Dragon!
After all, Xiang Mantang's position as the Dragon King was controversial and unconvincing, whereas Yang Guowei, whether by identity or status, was a more credible candidate for the position of Tiance True Dragon!
"Oh, if there's nothing suspicious, are you ready to have your head chopped off to kick around as a ball?"
At that moment, Xiang Mantang's voice, cold as a breeze from Hell, suddenly resonated throughout the courtyard.
Upon hearing this familiar voice, whether it was Qin Qiaochu, Di Yin, or Yang Guowei, their faces drastically changed.
It was one thing for Xiang Mantang to discover they had been speaking ill of him behind his back; what truly terrified them was how Xiang Mantang's power had reached such a level that he could arrive beside them unnoticed.
Xiang Mantang, with his hands behind his back, walked slowly from the doorway towards them.
Yang Guowei's pupils tightened instantly as he saw Xiang Mantang's approach.
Xiang Mantang appeared to be walking on the ground, but under his gaze, he was not actually touching the ground at all; he was literally walking on air.
It was just that the air he was stepping on was so low that it gave the illusion of a silent, seamless walk.