When Ou Yangming returned to the city from the lonely mountain with the goshawk and the big yellow dog, everyone else was relieved.
Nobody asked why he left because as long as the blacksmith master, who could identify parasites, was in the city, they felt assured. If that was not the case, the people would have been frightened and lost their morale because of the parasites.
As soon as Ou Yangming gained a firm foothold on the wall, Yu Jinshuang welcomed him with smiles.
The governor did not pay much attention to Ou Yangming in the beginning as he focused on the princess.
Nonetheless, after knowing that Multi-armed King Kong and the goshawk were Ou Yangming’s pet beasts, Yu Jinshuang attached more importance to the young but legendary figure in the smithing industry. When the goshawk even displayed its mightiness by spotting a parasite, the young fellow became more important than Her Highness.
“Master Ou, you’re finally back. We seized the ones that were absent from the previous test, and we’ve been waiting for you to… distinguish them,” Yu Jinshuang expressed impatiently. He glanced at the goshawk in the air but dared not call its name.
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. “Governor Yu, are they all gathered?”
Yu Jinshuang answered after a moment of hesitation, “Five of them went missing; we couldn’t find them.” His face darkened when he said this.
The parasites and the spirit insect were connected to a certain extent. Although the spirit insect could not control the parasites as it wished through telekinesis, it could sense if the parasites died, were severely damaged, or were harmed.
When the goshawk identified two parasites through its shrieks and eventually got them killed, the spirit insect naturally sensed it and ordered the other parasites to leave the city. It was not going to let the other parasites die just like that.
Therefore, the real identities of the five missing people were somewhat confirmed.
“Governor Ou, if that’s the case, the test won’t be meaningful this time.” Ou Yangming sighed. Given that the previous absentees had gathered, they had a clear conscience.
“Master Ou, I understand too, but the others won’t be at ease unless they’re tested.” Yu Jinshuang smiled bitterly.
“Okay. If that’s the case, let’s go.” Ou Yangming nodded. He waved at the goshawk, which understood him right away.
The goshawk had no preference for Ou Yangming’s orders. It was not the big yellow dog, which shared an unordinary relationship with Ou Yangming and could negotiate if it was unwilling to do something.
It must obey Ou Yangming’s orders even if it was reluctant.
Big Yellow shook its head and followed behind the young fellow. Yu Jinshuang looked strangely at the big yellow dog. The people were alarmed as well when it entered the city, but it was not worth mentioning as compared to Multi-armed King Kong and the goshawk. Hence, the people had subconsciously neglected it.
Moreover, Big Yellow was not eye-catching before this because it always kept a low profile. Nevertheless, tit followed Ou Yangming openly this time as though they were inseparable. As such, people began to feel suspicious. Ou Yangming smiled and noted, “Governor, Big Yellow’s my partner. It can come with me, right?”
Yu Jinshuang immediately responded, “Master Ou, of course, it’s fine.”
As long as Ou Yangming was willing to identify the parasites in the city, not to mention being Big Yellow everywhere, even if he wanted the king kong to come to the front of the city, the governor could not say no.
Needless to say, it would be impossible to let Multi-armed King Kong enter the city. Yongxiang City was massive, but it was a city for the Humans, thus it could not accommodate the humongous creature.
By the time they arrived at the martial arts field, it was already packed with hundreds of people.
Ou Yangming asked with a frown, “Governor Yu, were there so many absentees the last time?”
If so many people disobeyed Yu Jinshuang’s order, he no longer needed to remain as the governor anymore.
Yu Jinshuang explained with a bitter smile, “Master Ou, your performance was too astounding. Since Hero Goshawk can test many people in one go, we figured that we shouldn’t waste the opportunity, so…”
Ou Yangming understood him at once. He smiled faintly at Yu Jinshuang, whose face was red. Despite that, the governor could only smile apologetically because he had to make sure if there were other parasites in the city.
After Ou Yangming looked up and glanced at the people in the martial arts field, he nodded at the goshawk in the sky.
A horrific shriek was heard without warning. Under the goshawk’s control, its sound was only released in a fixed direction. Consequently, everyone in the field was equally impacted by the sound, but none of the people outside the field were affected. It was worth noting that the Birds were the only ones with great control over soundwaves.
Most of the people in the martial arts field held their heads in pain.
Yu Jinshuang and several Supreme Great Ancestors looked around with bright eyes. Their cultivation bases could not be compared by ordinary people, so they were not much affected by the goshawk’s soundwave, which was weakened by the time it hit them.
As they scanned the crowd with their sharp eyes, they suddenly fixed their gazes on a person.
Unlike the others, the person was dazed as if he was not affected by the soundwave from the sky at all.
Ou Yangming looked strangely at the person too. Right after the goshawk’s sound filled the field, he knew there were no parasites present. However, he was rather surprised by the person’s reaction.
The person’s cultivation base was only at Yin Grade Class Four.
On the other hand, the Yang Grade powerhouses and those that were at the peak were in immense pain. The person was the only one looking at his surroundings in confusion because he could not understand why his comrades had gone mad.
The goshawk’s shriek only lasted for a brief moment. It faded away in no time.
Ou Yangming flashed and approached the person.
Yu Jinshuang and the others were taken aback too. They followed suit without any hesitation to surround the person, and the governor even stood in front of Ou Yangming to stare at the person.
If the person really turned out to be a parasite and hurt Ou Yangming, the world would be in disorder.
By then, the person had turned pale. He was only a Yin Grade cultivator, so the mental pressure from the Supreme Great Ancestors was unbearable for him.
“S-sir, I-I’m innocent…” He stammered.
This was the only thought he had at the moment.
The other people stayed away from them and looked at the person in fear.
They knew the reason they were gathered in the martial arts field, so they knew what was going on when they noticed the looks on Yu Jinshuang and the others.
The thought of their comrade being a parasite gave them chills, so much so that they almost froze.
Ou Yangming was stunned. He quickly said, “Governor Yu, you misunderstood; he’s not attached by a parasite.”
Yu Jinshuang and the other great ancestors exchanged glances and sighed breaths of relief. They found it strange too because this person reacted differently from the previous parasites, but they did not have the power of discourse and could only listen to Ou Yangming. Even if the young fellow ended up killing the person by mistake, it had to be done.
“Brother, how should I address you?” Ou Yangming cleared his throat and asked.
The person’s knees had become weak, but he forced a smile and answered, “I’m Mao Ruiyi. Greetings, Master Ou.”
Ou Yangming flashed a friendly smile and asked, “You know who I am?”
“Everyone in Yongxiang City knows who you are, Master Ou.” Mao Ruiyi instantly flattered the young fellow.
That said, he was right. Ever since Ou Yangming killed two parasites, he had gained quite a reputation in the city.
“Since you know me, that’s great. I notice that you have some talent in mental power cultivation, so it’ll be quite wasteful if you continue to focus on martial arts only…” Ou Yangming stated.
He slowed down at the end and stared at Mao Ruiyi quietly.
Given that Mao Ruiyi advanced to Yin Grade and held some responsibilities in the city, he was obviously not a fool.
He fell to his knees without any hesitation after he heard Ou Yangming. “Master Ou, I’m willing to acknowledge you as my master. Please teach me your learnings.”
The other people had different looks in their eyes. They were previously afraid, disgusted, and ended up gloating over his misfortune. Now, they were envious, and they somewhat began to loathe him.
What would it mean to be valued by Master Ou?
The answer was clear if one thought about Multi-armed King Kong outside the city and the goshawk in the sky. ‘Why wasn’t I valued by Master Ou instead?’ The others wondered.
Even so, they dared not express their envy and hatred.
Yu Jinshuang was dumbfounded, but he immediately smiled. “Master Ou, congratulations for taking an apprentice under your wings.”
Ou Yangming grinned. “I’m too young to have an apprentice.”
“Master Ou, one’s superiority doesn’t depend on the amount of time he has learned. Based on your status and abilities, you could’ve accepted an apprentice long ago.” Yu Jinshuang waved his hand and added, “If you’d like to establish a clan in the future, it’s best to start preparing in advance.” “Okay, I’ll try,” Ou Yangming responded after some thought.
He looked strangely at Mao Ruiyi as though it was a meaningful look.
As a result, Mao Ruiyi had unknowingly felt a chill, to the extent that he almost wanted to go back on what he said. Nonetheless, he quickly cast aside the thought because it was such a rare opportunity. If Mao Ruiyi did not seize this opportunity, he might not be able to succeed at all for the rest of his life.
Even if it was merely for the sake of the status, it was worth the risk.
With that, Ou Yangming and his companions left with Mao Ruiyi, who was envied by the others. The rest of the people stayed in the martial arts field to discuss the lucky one that was born.