"Uncle Biao! I've missed you so much!" Li Luo rushed into the main hall emotionally. With a single glance, he noticed the shiniest head in the room, which belonged to Ox Biaobiao. His exaggerated build had not changed and he still reminded one of a butcher... If he had a meat cleaver hanging on his waist, the look would be complete.

The sight of him also brought great relief and a sense of safety.

With the Housemeet looming over them, Ox Biaobiao could be considered the only combatant able to fend off a Duke. Perhaps this was his parents’ backup plan all along.

Ox Biaobiao had been speaking with Jiang Qing'e before he heard Li Luo call his name. He hurriedly stood up and glanced in the direction of the youth who was rushing towards him with a benevolent smile on his face. "Young Lord. It has been a while, and you've not only grown more handsome, you’ve even inherited some of your father's gravitas." 

"Uncle Biao! Let's not waste time on such trivialities. I am the strongest One Star Hall student in the East Divine Continent! Can you feel my greatness?" Li Luo grinned as he bragged without a care. 

"I've heard the news from Qing'e. Your outstanding performance in the Holy Grail Meet has brought House Luolan fame and repute!" Ox Biaobiao was all smiles as he spoke. Taking a moment to inspect him closer, he nodded approvingly. "You should have reached the Fourth Changing, and your resonant power is plentiful and robust. You should be able to push towards the Earth Fiend Stage now. It’s only been a few short months, and yet you've made great strides in your cultivation!"

"Well, I've only got, what, four years of life left? If I don't hurry up, it’ll be like I’m just waiting for death to take me, right?" Li Luo exhorted. 

"Hey! Don't speak of such awful things!" Jiang Qing'e frowned and chided unhappily.

"There's no need to worry, Young lord. With your heavenly talent, the Duke Stage doesn't seem like too high of a goal. Four years is more than enough time," Ox Biaobiao consoled. "However, before you break into the Earth Fiend Stage, you need to resolve the issue with your damaged foundation. The longer that wound is allowed to fester, the greater the impact on you in future. Inevitably, it will affect even your ascension to the Duke Stage." 

After making that statement, he removed a jade bottle from his robes. On closer inspection, there was a green liquid within that seemed to contain a glint of starlight, looking extremely mysterious. Despite the bottle being sealed, a dense and vigorous medicinal aura wafted from it, causing anyone who smelled it to feel extremely relaxed. 

"This is the miracle paste that I have refined for the Young Lord! It will be able to resolve the issues with your foundation." 

Li Luo gladly accepted the jade bottle and thanked Ox Biaobiao sincerely. Without his assistance, the sequelae from forming his second resonance might very well have been a hidden danger further down the road. If it truly prevented him from entering the Duke Stage, then this would undoubtedly be a literally fatal blow to him.

Jiang Qing'e also stood up to express her thanks. The miracle paste was absolutely critical for Li Luo. 

"Hey! Why are you all acting so courteous?" Ox Biaobiao laughed as he waved his hand. "This has to be applied over your entire body, and it's best catalyzed with restorative resonant power. This way, the medicinal effects can be utilized to their full potential. Perhaps it would be best for Qing'e to assist you with it. With her ninth-grade light resonance, you should be cured in a few days’ time." 

Li Luo was slightly taken aback by those words before he quickly chimed out, "Hey! I actually have water resonant power. Can’t I do it myself?" 

As an upright young man of great moral standing, the process of applying the miracle paste would be relatively private, and despite the special relationship he had with Qing'e, it still felt extremely embarrassing.

Ox Biaobiao stroked his chin as he pondered over it. "Well, I doubt the effects of your resonant power will be better than that of Qing'e's. You don't need to feel embarrassed, Young Lord. The two of you will eventually become husband and wife, so Qing'e is the perfect person for the job."

Before Li Luo could say anything else, Qing'e stopped him and nodded slightly. "You can rest assured, Uncle Biao, I'll take care of him."

As a result, he did not continue to struggle, immediately changing the topic. "Uncle Biao, there are only two months left until the Housemeet. That will also be when the defensive ward around House Luolan will be weakest. The wolves in the dark will definitely take the opportunity to bare their fangs." 

Ox Biaobiao gave a cold snort. "Those prancing clowns! When your parents were around, they wouldn't even dare to let out a fart in their presence. Now that the two have gone missing, all sorts of unsavory characters have popped out of nowhere. Do they really think that House Luolan is a soft persimmon?"  

"Uncle Biao, did my parents leave behind any other protective measures? For example, are there a few hidden Dukes waiting to pop out and smash these pests to death?" Li Luo asked optimistically.

Ox Biaobiao responded with an awkward scratching of his nose. "Well... How do I put it? No? Umm, I'm the only Duke remaining in all of House Luolan. Also, I can't go too far from the house or my strength will fall drastically. However, you can relax. So long as we remain in the core regions, even a fourth-grade Duke will have to reconsider their actions if they want to face me and my knife."

As he spoke, he lightly patted his gleaming pig-butchering cleaver that emanated a terrifying air.  

"A fourth-grade Duke, huh..." Li Luo's gaze flashed as he had already known that the Duke Stage consisted of nine grades, similar to the secular world. First-grade was the weakest and ninth-grade was the strongest. A Duke had to establish nine Duke Platforms within their body during the Duke stage, and it served as their foundation and source of power.[1]

"Uncle Biao is still quite mighty. A fourth-grade Duke is considered a top-tier fighter in the Xia Kingdom. Based on what I understand, only Vice Principal Su Xin has reached that stage of cultivation within the college. The rest of the Violet Vibrance mentors are merely at the first or second-grade," Jiang Qing'e added from the side. Li Luo nodded. He had not paid much attention to this information originally as the grade of a Duke didn't matter to him. All of them could swat him into meat paste with a casual blow.

"The First Princess has informed me that she will be deploying a Duke expert to assist us during the Housemeet." Li Luo raised this particular topic at this time. 

"The First Princess...?" Jiang Qing'e sighed deeply. "Her assistance has tightly bound us to her ship. However, it doesn't really matter. If we can't get past this ordeal, House Luolan will be no longer. Other matters are of no concern." She clearly saw through the truth of the situation in a moment. The Regent wouldn't even be concerned with them with the destruction of their foundation and support.

"Well, we still don't know how many Dukes will have their eyes on House Luolan during the Housemeet." Li Luo sighed in tandem with Qing'e. Pei Hao was just a minor distraction now. The real crux of the matter lay with the danger that hid below the surface, the dark hands that used Pei Hao as a blade, those who had plotted for countless years in the dark. Their true target was the divine matter that was hidden away within the underground palace of House Luolan. 

That day's shocking confrontation would inevitably reverberate throughout the Xia Kingdom.

"No matter. Different situations call for different actions. We will react accordingly. If anyone wishes to break into House Luolan, they'll have to see if my blade here permits it. Speaking of which, it has not tasted the blood of Dukes in quite a while now." Ox Biaobiao laughed as he spoke. His fleshly and rotund visage coupled with that diabolical cackle only seemed to make him look even more ferocious. 

Yet to Li Luo, his savage appearance only brought him a greater sense of safety.

Ox Biaobiao continued to chat with the two for a while more. "Well, it's no longer early, so you should head back and rest. Qing'e can assist you with the medication." He beamed gently before he took his leave, shooting Li Luo a naughty wink as he closed the door behind him.

Li Luo stared at the tightly shut door before turning to face Jiang Qing'e and awkwardly speaking his mind. "I think Uncle Biao was just kidding. There's definitely no need for someone else to help me. I'm a grown man, I can do it myself!" 

Jiang Qing'e expressionlessly grabbed the jade bottle containing the miracle paste, her chin slightly raised as she commanded, "Back to the room. Take off your clothes. Lie down."

1. TL Note: Strictly speaking, a Marquis had 19 sub ranks in ancient China. The top 9 of which were ranks achieved through military prowess, which is what is referred to here. Also we've translated Marquis as Duke, but that was originally due to story related context (from the Author himself). As the novel is ongoing, we may or may not readjust this retroactively. ☜