Just as she had said, she took Tie Daoku with her.
Fang Yuan knew full well what kind of person Tie Daoku was.
He had fought Bai Ningbing to a prolonged standstill — clearly a formidable fighter whose combat strength could not be underestimated. Now he had also been recruited under Tie Ruonan's banner.
"This Tie Ruonan must be eliminated. Leaving her alive is absolutely a massive hidden threat." Fang Yuan felt a strong premonition, all because Tie Ruonan, like himself and Bai Ningbing, shared one thing in common —
They had all found the path of their lives.
People like this possessed immense willpower and tremendous courage. As long as they did not perish prematurely, they were bound to achieve great things.
Tie Ruonan also possessed Grade A aptitude, and on top of that, had the Iron Family backing her.
She was one of the Iron Family's Eight Young Masters. Compared on that basis, even though Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing each held a Bauhinia Token, it hardly counted for much.
"If things continue developing at this pace, both Bai Ningbing and I will be gradually left in her dust. The only way to close the gap is to rely on the Three Kings Inheritance." Fang Yuan had it all mapped out.
At the normal rate of development, neither Fang Yuan nor Bai Ningbing would be a match for Tie Ruonan. The latter was one of the Iron Family's Young Masters, backed by vast resources — something Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing simply could not compare with.
Only by deviating from the conventional path, taking risks, and cutting corners could there be any possibility of narrowing the gap.
And the Three Kings Inheritance, along with the great Righteous-Demonic battle at Yitian Mountain, were precisely those "shortcuts" and "detours."
Spring came and spring went, autumn departed and autumn returned.
The River of Time flowed ceaselessly onward, and another year and a half slipped by.
Nanqiu Garden, secret chamber.
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, sweat droplets continuously seeping from his forehead, teeth clenched tight as he endured and persevered.
He was refining a Gu.
It had reached the critical stage.
A ball of light — crimson, orange, and green — hovered in midair, roughly the size of a bushel basket. It cast a kaleidoscope of colors across his face.
Four tasks at once!
"Stone Turtle Carrying Strength Gu. Go."
With a thought from Fang Yuan, a pale ink-colored streak of light shot out from his Empty Orifice and plunged straight into the three-colored sphere.
The addition of the Stone Turtle Carrying Strength Gu immediately provoked a violent reaction in the light ball.
Where the sphere had previously contained only crimson, orange, and green, a streak of black ink was now added.
The four colors clashed and writhed against one another, none able to overpower the rest, plunging into a chaotic free-for-all.
In an instant, the four-colored ring of light spun wildly — like water suddenly boiling over, or as though a giant hand were violently stirring the contents within!
Boom.
Without warning, a faint explosive crack rang out.
The light ball burst apart, scattering into a rain of four-colored light. The light rain came fast and went fast — in the blink of an eye, the secret chamber sank into total darkness.
Everything had dissipated into nothing.
"Failed again…" In the gloom, Fang Yuan let out a quiet sigh.
Two trickles of blood slowly flowed from his nostrils. At the same time, his soul suffered backlash from the failed Gu refinement, leaving Fang Yuan feeling wave after wave of dizziness.
By his count, this was already the fourth failure.
"Over this past year and a half, I've fought my way from the Fourth Inner City all the way to the Third Inner City, yet the Hard Labor Gu remains impossible to buy."
Fang Yuan knew the reasons.
First, the Hard Labor Gu was genuinely exceedingly rare. Moreover, its price was steep — even in Shang Family City, they seldom appeared.
Second, Shang Yazi, who controlled the shop district, had been secretly working against Fang Yuan behind the scenes.
Shang Yazi was one of the Shang Family's Young Patriarchs and currently held control over the shop district of Shang Family City. Whenever Fang Yuan tried to purchase a Hard Labor Gu, Shang Yazi would pull strings and do everything in his power to block him.
Two years ago, when Fang Yuan had first come to Shang Family City, he had extorted Shang Yazi. That was how the grudge between them had started. After passing the family examination through the White Bone Inheritance, Shang Yazi had managed to keep his position as Young Patriarch. Though the Poisonous Oath Gu prevented him from launching any lethal attacks against Fang Yuan, this kind of petty retaliation was still well within bounds.
After all, Shang Yazi was Shang Yanfei's son — he learned from his losses. After his setback, he had buckled down, shaken off his颓废 ways, restrained himself from wine and women, and grown ever more shrewd.
He leveraged the family's institutional rules against Fang Yuan, wielding hidden blades. Even with the Bauhinia Token, Fang Yuan could do nothing about it.
Holding a Bauhinia Token made one a honored guest of the Shang Family. But in the end, one was still an outsider — nothing compared to Shang Yazi's status as a Shang Family Young Patriarch.
Unable to buy the Hard Labor Gu, Fang Yuan had no choice but to refine it himself.
But the success rate of synthesizing the Hard Labor Gu was simply too low.
Counting today's attempt, Fang Yuan had now tried to synthesize it a total of four times. He had lost the Brown Bear Native Strength Gu, the Steed Speed Strength Gu, the Green Ox Labor Strength Gu, and the Stone Turtle Carrying Strength Gu, one after another.
On top of that, there were the precious supplementary materials and a massive quantity of Yuan Stones.
Fortunately, Fang Yuan had never lost a bout at the martial arts arena, which allowed him to accumulate enough capital to absorb the losses from these failed refinements.
"Sigh. This time I've failed, so I'll have to wait until my injuries heal before I can try again." Fang Yuan sighed.
Gu refinement demanded caution.
A failed Gu refinement would inflict backlash on the Gu Master's body and soul alike. Physical injuries were easy to deal with. But because multi-tasking refinement damaged the soul, that was an exceedingly troublesome matter.
The higher a Gu Insect's transformation stage and the rarer it was, the more severe the consequences of failure.
For this reason, even master Gu refiners were frequently left bedridden by failed refinements, and some even died from the backlash.