Su Ming did not speak immediately but stood in the hall and stared at Chen Xiang. There was a sharp glint in his eyes, and when Chen Xiang saw that glint, she felt as if she had been seen through and her darkest secrets were revealed.

Chen Xiang shuddered and lowered her head because she did not dare look into his eyes. She took a few steps back once again.

"Speak. I’ll consider it," Su Ming said calmly, his words unhurried.

"If… if you’re willing to help me, uncle master Su, then it’ll definitely work…"

Chen Xiang bit her bottom lip. Her current look made her unconsciously reveal more of her feminine characteristics.

"Uncle master Su, please help me… make uncle master Sun Da Hu stop sneaking outside my room at midnight… to peak… I really can’t get used to it…" Chen Xiang whispered, finally managing to speak of her request in a more tactful manner. Once she finished speaking, she bent her body and bowed towards Su Ming.

"Uncle master Su, please help me…"

Su Ming’s expression instantly turned strange. He had thought of a lot of possibilities, but he absolutely did not expect Chen Xiang to give him the wooden blocks and tendons for this.

From this alone, it could be seen just how much trauma Hu Zi had left in the hearts of the people.

When he recalled what had happened when Hu Zi brought him here from the ninth summit up to the point he fell asleep, Su Ming could not help but laugh wryly.

Su Ming hesitated for a moment before he spoke his thoughts, "I’ll try my best to persuade him from it, but I can’t promise you success."

He too would not like someone crouching around him at night watching his every move. When he remembered the strange smile on Hu Zi’s face when he was peaking at his second senior brother, it was not difficult for Su Ming to think of that smile on Hu Zi’s face while he was peaking at other people as well.

He cast a pitying glance at Chen Xiang. When she heard Su Ming’s words, grat.i.tude instantly appeared on her face. That grat.i.tude was not a show but came from within the depths of her heart, which just went to show just how deeply affected she was by Hu Zi’s hara.s.sment.

Removing uncle master Hu Zi, whose presence was really just like that of a nightmare at night to her, was the most important thing to Chen Xiang at the moment.

Amidst her grat.i.tude and respect, Su Ming walked out of the Artifact Storage Hall. Chen Xiang followed behind him and gave a deep bow towards Su Ming. The eager look in her eyes made Su Ming instinctively look towards the snoring Hu Zi behind Zi Che, who were both located not too far away from him.

"I’ll try my best."

Su Ming nodded at Chen Xiang and walked towards Hu Zi. Once he had him in his arms, he took a step into the air and turned into a long arc that charged back to the ninth summit.

Zi Che quickly followed behind him and looked at Su Ming’s back before him. Resolution appeared in his eyes.

With Su Ming in front and Zi Che following behind him, the two of them soon arrived at the ninth summit from the buildings underneath Heaven Gate. On the way, Su Ming ran into some Freezing Sky Clan disciples. Once these people saw him, those who recognized him would immediately stop and wrap their fists in their palms to greet him. They only started moving again when Su Ming left.

The people who called him ‘uncle master Su’ were not many, but it was way different compared to how he had been treated previously.

If there were some who did not understand what was happening while they stood beside those who did, they would quickly ask in low whispers. Once they obtained the answer, disbelief would appear on their faces, and their gazes that followed Su Ming would become different.

After a moment, when the ninth summit appeared before Su Ming’s eyes, he and Zi Che quickly arrived to Hu Zi’s cave abode. Su Ming landed outside and brought Hu Zi inside before placing him down on the spot he usually slept.

As he looked at the loudly snoring Hu Zi, a smile appeared on Su Ming’s face. He grabbed a wine gourd by the side and placed it where Hu Zi could reach it before turning around and leaving.

Zi Che was standing respectfully outside the cave. When he saw Su Ming coming out, he immediately lowered his head, looking as if he was waiting for his orders.

"I originally wanted to turn you into medicinal liquid."

Su Ming’s gaze fell upon Zi Che.

Zi Che was silent. There was an awkward look on his face, and he kept silent with his head lowered.

"But if you can get me two people who are nearly dead, then I’ll get rid of that thought," Su Ming stated calmly.

He had already made his decision. The most important thing for him to do while he was in Freezing Sky Clan’s ninth summit was to train.

He must make himself stronger. Only by doing so could he win against Si Ma Xin in the short run, and in the long run, walk out of Sky Mist Barrier and out of the Land of South Morning.

All of these required him to be powerful!

The battle with Si Ma Xin may have made them seem as if they were equals, but Su Ming knew that he had lost during that battle. If his Master had not intervened and given him enough time to copy the power of the world contained within the sword stroke, he would have definitely lost when that sword struck down.

Even with Tian Xie Zi’s help, Su Ming still felt a strong sense of danger looming over his head when Si Ma Xin casted the Great Art of Heartless Berserker Seed, and that danger was not something he could dissolve with his current power!

Even if he still had one treasure left, not having brought out the fire ice his eldest senior brother had given him, that thing was still considered an external object and did not come from within him.

All these made Su Ming clearly understand that his power was still very weak… In his current state, he would not even be able to leave Sky Mist Barrier, much less go back home. He would not even be able to have an easy time in Freezing Sky Clan.

These thoughts had been circulating in Su Ming’s mind all the way back.

"Uncle master Su, it won’t be difficult to obtain people who are nearly dead. I promise you, within three years, I’ll definitely be able to obtain two living corpses with incredible power for you.

"The Shamans outside Sky Mist Barrier are the best choice," Zi Che quickly said with a respectful tone.

While Zi Che was speaking, Su Ming had already walked into the distance with his back towards him, as if he did not hear the other’s voice. As he continued walking forward, it made Zi Che anxious and worried. When Su Ming was about to disappear from his sight, the man’s slow voice reached his ears.

"I’m lacking a person guarding my cave abode at night. If you want to, then come with me."

Zi Che felt his spirits lift and immediately shouted loudly, "I want to!"

He was already moving when the words left his mouth and immediately followed behind Su Ming. They disappeared from Hu Zi’s place.

Su Ming returned to his cave abode. The simple cave now looked different in his eyes. There was now a slight hint of warmth there, and even a feeling of home.

The platform outside the cave was covered with plants that could grow in ice and snow. However, there was a small spot on the platform that was left empty. That was the spot Su Ming had asked his second senior brother to leave empty for him to meditate.

The green gra.s.s swayed in the freezing wind, as if struggling to survive in this biting cold environment. There was a resilient life force within it, and when he looked at it, Su Ming had a vague feeling that he was looking at his second senior brother.

He suddenly understood why his second senior brother planted so many plants in most of the areas in the ninth summit. It was because he treated the mountain as his home, and his presence was just like the plants in the mountain. As long as there was a spot where his plants grew, that place would be labeled as his protected area.

Take for example this place. There were no plants here before he came here, but once Su Ming built his cave abode, his second senior brother dropped by with his plants and covered the place with them.

A silent heartwarming feeling seeped into Su Ming’s heart as the plants and flowers swayed in the wind. He crouched down and looked at them with a smile on his face. This was a warmth he rarely felt after he arrived in the Land of South Morning.

The smile on his face was a reflection of the warmth he felt when he was in Dark Mountain. It had always been kept hidden in Su Ming’s heart, but now, it appeared once again on his lips.

Zi Che stood not too far respectfully as he kept an eye on Su Ming. When he saw that smile on his face, he was baffled. It was as if the person before him was no longer the person he respected, the one who had enough power to fight against Si Ma Xin, and the uncle master Su who was filled with a murderous aura, but instead a young man who had just reached adulthood and was still a little wet behind the ears.

Yet that bafflement only lasted for an instant. When Su Ming stood up, that smile was gone, and the feeling Zi Che had which might have been just his misconception immediately vanished.

The young man who had just become an adult was gone. In his place was the usual uncle master Su who had a murderous aura beneath his calm demeanor.

"Without my orders, do not enter the cave abode. Stay outside and wait for my orders."

Su Ming’s cold voice fell into Zi Che’s ears as he walked towards his cave abode, which was still lacking a door.

"Aye!"

Zi Che immediately obeyed respectfully. He took a few steps back and retreated to a spot that had no wind before sitting down. A look of uncertainty and confusion appeared in his eyes for a moment before it was quickly replaced by resolution.

‘Three years… Perhaps these three years won’t be a disaster for me, but a form of serendipity… Let’s hope that’s the case…’

Zi Che closed his eyes and sank into a meditative state. Nonetheless, his mind remained alert of his surroundings. Just like a guard, he performed his duties.

Su Ming was also sitting inside his cave abode. The sky was gradually darkening outside. He slowly brought out the pieces of Solid White Wood he had obtained from the Artifact Storage Hall and placed them in front of himself before also bringing out the beast tendon.

The tendon had extremely great ductility. Even if he held only a small section of the tendon in his hand, he could still make it stretch out to incredible lengths.

The pieces of Solid White Wood were not cut in the same length and size. Some of them were longer while some shorter. Some of them were about three fingers tall, and some at only the height of two fingers. Su Ming stared at those wooden pieces, and after remaining silent for a moment, he quickly lifted both of his hands and grabbed a piece of wood. With a flick of his wrist, many wooden sc.r.a.ps flew into the air. After a moment, he placed the piece of wood down and picked up another one.

After a long while, once Su Ming had trimmed all of the wooden pieces, nine wooden pieces lay before him. All of these blocks were about the length of his arm, the breadth of five fingers, and the height of two fingers. They all looked the same and were all white. With just one glance, it was difficult to determine whether they were wood or white jade.

Once Su Ming placed the nine pieces of wood together, a big drawing board appeared before him. There may have been very fine cracks between the wooden pieces, but if he used force and pressed against them, he could cover them up.

Su Ming then brought out the beast tendon and green light shone at the center of his brows. The small sword flew towards the beast tendon and cut it up into several sections which he used to tie up the wooden pieces on his drawing board. Due to the ductility and flexibility of the tendon, the cracks on the drawing board disappeared, but if he used force to roll up this drawing board like he would do a piece of beast skin, then it would turn into a cylinder under that force.