"Have you looked for him?"
Ning Beichen frowned, having no recollection of this Eighth Master.
"We have, but it was unsuccessful. He has experts by his side."
replied the subordinate.
Ning Beichen frowned. He knew the capabilities of his subordinates. While he wouldn't say they were the best, they were certainly not easily dealt with. For even his subordinates to fail indicated that Eighth Master indeed had experts around him.
"Were any brothers injured?"
Ning Beichen's gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over him as he asked.
"Five brothers were injured. We failed in our duty, please punish us, Brother Chen."
The subordinate dared not conceal anything.
"Take me to see the injured brothers first."
Ning Beichen had no intention of blaming him. Victory and defeat were common occurrences. Ning Beichen did not believe he was the King of Darkness and that his subordinates were truly invincible.
Anyone who dared to underestimate the ancient Eastern country would meet a bad end, including Ning Beichen himself.
Even though he was a Grandmaster, who knew how many Grandmasters the ancient Eastern country possessed.
If it were people of his generation, around his age, Ning Beichen was confident that few could surpass him.
However, this did not include those older than him, nor some reclusive old monsters.
Regardless, Ning Beichen knew that even after reaching the Grandmaster realm, he likely wouldn't be a match for his master.
After all, his master had reached the Grandmaster realm many years ago. He had no idea how advanced his cultivation had become in the intervening time.
Not long after, Ning Beichen arrived at a certain place and met his injured subordinates.
He had initially thought Ning Beichen's men had only suffered minor injuries, but to his surprise, all five were severely wounded, and one was in critical condition. This made Ning Beichen's expression extremely grim.
Ning Beichen examined their injuries, and his face darkened further.
All five had been injured by internal force, affecting their internal organs. Had Ning Beichen arrived any later, all five would have lost their lives.
Injuries sustained from internal force were beyond the scope of hospital treatment.
It took Ning Beichen over two hours to force out the residual internal force from their bodies, managing to save their lives.
However, these five men were now crippled. Practicing martial arts was out of the question. It was likely that from now on, whenever the weather changed, they would suffer from pain, and could only do light work.
As Ning Beichen emerged from the room, his face ashen and radiating an aura of menace, his subordinates were so terrified they dared not even breathe. Everyone knew Ning Beichen was extremely angry.
"Your subordinate has failed in his duty, please punish me, Master Ning."
With a rustle, over a dozen people knelt down.
In normal times, they dared to call Ning Beichen "Brother Chen," which implied familiarity. But this did not mean they dared to be presumptuous in his presence.
"Get up. It's not your fault. You did your best."
Ning Beichen dropped his deathly serious expression and told his subordinates to rise.
He was indeed very angry, but not with his subordinates. He was angry with the person who had injured them.
"An expert, is it!"
Ning Beichen gritted his teeth. He had enjoyed smooth sailing for the past two years, and it had been so long since anything like this had happened.
"Send him an invitation. I will go and meet this Sixth Master tonight."
Ning Beichen commanded his subordinate.
"Yes, Master Ning."
Seeing that Ning Beichen was not blaming them, the subordinate breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Ning Beichen appeared cheerful and mingled with his subordinates during normal times, once he became angry, no one dared to utter a word in his presence.
Ning Beichen waved his hand, dismissing his subordinates. He wanted to be alone and rest, as he had to deal with this Han Xin, known as Sixth Master, tonight.
After his subordinates left, Ning Beichen began to regulate his breathing. Expelling the internal force for his subordinates had consumed a significant amount of his own power.
Although Ning Beichen had not directly sparred with Sixth Master's expert, he could infer from the internal force left in his subordinates' bodies that this person's martial arts were indeed formidable, likely not much weaker than his own before he reached the Grandmaster realm.
Ning Beichen had not encountered a matching expert for a long time, which was also related to his low-key approach in the past two years. Even with his Grandmaster-level strength, he dared not be too careless.
By the time Ning Beichen emerged from his room, it was already evening.
Ning Beichen ate a simple meal and, when the time was right, set out.
Not long after, Ning Beichen's car stopped before the iron gate of a manor.
Two five-meter-tall stone lions stood on either side of the manor, exuding an aura of intimidation from a distance.
Although Ning Beichen was not knowledgeable about Feng Shui, he could tell that the manor had undoubtedly been designed with the guidance of a Feng Shui master.
"Please come inside, esteemed guests."
A man in a Tang suit came out to receive Ning Beichen and his entourage.
"Sixth Master puts on quite a show. He doesn't even come out to greet our Master Ning."
Ning Beichen's subordinate's expression turned unpleasant upon seeing that only a steward had been sent to receive them, and his words carried a hint of hostility.
"Hmph! A bunch of defeated generals dare to demand Sixth Master greet you? Utterly preposterous!"
Before the steward could speak, a tall man with prominently bulging temples strode over, speaking with an air of authority.
Upon seeing this man, Ning Beichen's subordinates immediately bared their teeth and stepped forward, the two sides tensed like a primed oil barrel.
Had Ning Beichen not been present, they would have already lost their tempers and clashed, as one of the men who had injured their brothers was this very individual.
"Hold!"
Ning Beichen sternly reprimanded his subordinates, who immediately retreated.
The steward, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes into slits.
"Obeying orders" sounded simple, but it was not easy to achieve. This made him dare not underestimate Ning Beichen.
"Master Ning, it would be best to discipline your dogs well when you are out, lest they bring you unpredictable trouble."
The steward said to Ning Beichen, looking up at him.
Though his tone was outwardly polite, he was subtly mocking Ning Beichen's subordinates for their lack of discipline.
"My people will be disciplined by me. You need not worry, but perhaps Sixth Master's dogs should also be kept in check. They shouldn't bark at just anyone, it's quite annoying!"
Ning Beichen said expressionlessly.
Although Ning Beichen did not explicitly state it, everyone understood who he was referring to.
"You seek death!"
The man with the bulging temples, upon being likened to a dog by Ning Beichen, flew into a rage. He took a step forward and threw a punch at one of Ning Beichen's subordinates.
Despite his anger, he was not completely devoid of reason. He knew he could not attack Ning Beichen at this moment, but he would not incur Sixth Master's displeasure by merely disciplining his subordinate.