Tang Yan rather liked Uncle Mo's eldest grandson, and he smiled. "Big Brother Mo. You were looking for me?"

"In the past my eyes were poor, and I was always disrespectful toward Eldest Young Master. Only now do I see how thoroughly wrong I was. After this month together, Eldest Young Master surpasses the finest sons of every other family in every way. Given time, the foremost of Yun City's younger generation may well be our own Tang Family's young master." Mo Yanjun's praise was heartfelt.

"If you've got something to say, Big Brother Mo, just say it. We're family. No need for the polite dance." Tang Yan waved a hand.

Mo Yanjun gave a wry smile. "You brat... I mean to step down as captain and set my mind to cultivation. Everyone's advancing fast now, and they're disciplined enough that they hardly need me leading them. They look up to you, too. I'll report it plainly to the old master: from now on, the guards should be under your own command."

Tang Yan fell quiet, turning it over. He understood Mo Yanjun's heart well enough. Watching so many guards advance so quickly weighed on the man. He feared that, in time, his own strength would be outstripped by theirs, and that he would no longer deserve the captain's post.

"Big Brother Mo, your surname may be Mo, but you're bound to my Tang Family all the same, and my grandfather regards you no differently. The burden of guarding the Tang Family still needs you to carry it." Tang Yan's expression turned earnest. "I've spent more than a month at the training grounds myself, yet I rarely stepped in while you drilled the guards. That was on purpose, so as not to undercut your standing.

"If enemies ever press the Tang Family from outside, you'll be able to command the guards smoothly and defend our home."

"Wouldn't it be better if you commanded them yourself?" Mo Yanjun asked, puzzled.

"My ambitions lie elsewhere. Sooner or later I'll leave Yun City. The weight of protecting the Tang Family will still rest on you, Big Brother Mo." He paused, then drew out several bottles. "These are Initial Spirit Pills. Among the Pills that boost True Qi, nothing within the second grade ranks higher. Hand one to each man tonight. By tomorrow, more than a few should step into the Yellow Rank."

Mo Yanjun took the Pills, somewhat dazed, and asked thickly, "Better than the Qi Gathering Pill?"

"Of course better than the Qi Gathering Pill. Keep three for yourself. Take one tonight and you'll feel the difference. Your aptitude is first-rate, Big Brother Mo. Push yourself hard enough, and the Heaven Rank isn't out of reach!"

"I understand." Mo Yanjun looked at Tang Yan in earnest. "Rest easy."

Their eyes met. Tang Yan smiled, clapped him on the shoulder, and turned to go.

Watching Tang Yan's retreating back, Mo Yanjun stared blankly for a moment. Just who was the elder here? Why did that fellow feel like his own senior?

That Tang Yan had him hand out the Pills to the guards moved Mo Yanjun deeply. He understood it for what it was: a way to let him win over the men's hearts.

Yet power mattered little to him. What kept circling in his mind were Tang Yan's words. Push hard enough, and even the Heaven Rank held hope.

The old Mo Yanjun would never have believed it, but Chang Tie's advancement had given him real confidence.

As captain of the Tang Family's guards, he knew every man under him well. He had assumed Chang Tie would need years just to reach the Yellow Rank. Yet after Tang Yan arrived, Chang Tie broke through in a single month.

Tang Yan's way of drilling the men had, without doubt, opened a clear road of cultivation for them all.

......

The Liu Family's main hall.

The family's senior members had gathered, and the air in the hall hung heavy.

Old Master Liu Wuhui sat at the center. "Liu Quan, tell us everything that happened today, from start to finish."

"Your grandson saw Xiao Yuan humiliated by Tang Yan, our Liu Family's name dragged through the mud, so I went to win back our face. Tang Yan had his Dantian crippled by Elder Brother Liu Zhi, yet when I traded blows with him, the brat turned out to hold Origin Rank Eighth Grade strength!" Liu Quan said, his face twisted miserably.

"Hmph. From the time you were children I taught you all: even a lion hunting a rabbit strikes with its full strength. Underestimating your foe is the greatest cause of defeat. Every one of you, mark it well!" Liu Wuhui slammed the table and roared, and the hall fell silent as winter cicadas.

"No one imagined the brat had hidden himself so deeply. Even before his Dantian was crippled, word everywhere had it that he held only Origin Rank Second Grade strength. And when Zhi'er crippled the Tang boy's Dantian back then, several renowned physicians of Yun City confirmed it. So how did he restore his Dantian and come to wield Origin Rank Eighth Grade strength?" Liu He said, brows knitted.

As the Liu Family's second strongest expert, Liu He was also Old Master Liu's eldest son, heir to the seat of family head.

With his words, the tension that had filled the hall finally eased a little.

"My guess is the brat was cultivating all along, then mastered some secret art that left his Dantian broken for a time, slipping past everyone's notice," said Liu Jing, the second master. His own son, Liu Quan, was extraordinarily gifted and, given time, would become an expert in his own right. Yet that scoundrel Tang Yan had badly wounded the boy's Dantian. The thought of it sent hatred surging through him.

"I'll admit it. The strength Tang Yan suddenly displayed is no good news for our Liu Family. Wait a few more years, let the brat come into his own, and he'll be another grave threat to us." Liu Wuhui sipped his tea, his voice turning cold and grim. "Besides, the Tang boy has cost our family face twice now. Better to be rid of him."

"In twenty days it'll be the Mid-Autumn. The sons of Yun City's great families will gather at Bright Moon Lake for the Mid-Autumn Conference.

"If Tang Yan enters the Mid-Autumn martial contest, well, fists and feet have no eyes. Finish the brat off in the thick of it, and wouldn't that be satisfying?" Liu Jing said coldly.

"Second Brother's plan is excellent. Tang Yan is still only a martial artist; his wings haven't hardened yet. Zhi'er humiliated him before the City Lord's daughter not long ago, so the brat is certain to nurse a grudge. When the time comes, we stir up the crowd, push Tang Yan to challenge Zhi'er, and Zhi'er can do away with him in passing." Liu He said.

A scheme aimed at Tang Yan was quietly brewing within the Liu Family.

......

Of the Liu Family's so-called clever scheme, Tang Yan, its target, knew nothing at all.

Refining Pills the night before had cost no small sum, and the silver on him was running thin again.

Now, three Initial Spirit Pills in hand and his appearance disguised, he made his way toward the Heavenly Treasure Auction House.

After today, the Tang Family would likely gain several dozen more Yellow Rank martial artists, and the monthly cost of keeping them would be far from small. He needed to build a store of wealth for the family too, if its future was to be secured.

"Young Master, may I ask what business brings you?" An old man asked with a smile as Tang Yan stepped into the Heavenly Treasure Auction House.

"To auction Pills."

"Oh? And what Pills would the Young Master wish to auction? Of what grade? Ordinary Pills aren't entered onto the auction listings." The old man explained, "Common Pills, those below the second grade, can be bought easily enough at the Myriad Pill Pavilion."

The old man had spent years in Yun City and prided himself on knowing the sons of every great family by sight. Even that Tang Family wastrel he could pick out at a glance.

But run through the great families as he might, he couldn't place the fellow before him. He must hail from some minor family, then. And what worthwhile Pills could a son of a minor family possibly bring?

What the old man absolutely never guessed was that the young man before him was none other than Young Master Tang himself, the very wastrel he'd been silently sneering at.