Half a month hadpassed since Chu Mo left Yanhuang City.

The city remained as bustling as ever; an outsider wouldn't be able to notice any difference. Yet, upon entering the city, keen observer Chu Mo could sense the changes.

Firstly, the members of the various sects, once hidden among the crowds in Yanhuang City, had vanished.

An average person wouldn't notice their absence, but one of their own kind would see it clearly.

Strolling the streets of Yanhuang City, Chu Mo and the rooster drew many surprised stares. Not because they were recognized, but because the citizens of Yanhuang City had seen people walking dogs and birds before, but never a chicken.

A beautifully colorful rooster, tall and majestic, strutted alongside a young man with unmistakable arrogance. The sight was so peculiar that one might mistake the rooster as the one leading its human companion instead of the other way around.

"Mummy, mummy, look at that big rooster! It's so pretty!" A little girl tugged at a young woman's sleeve, full of curiosity.

"Yes, it's really beautiful!" The young woman responded with a gentle smile.

The rooster preened, casting a smug glance at Chu Mo. Realizing the potential consequences of speaking human languages in public, it chose to remain silent.

A ninth-level Primordial Beast could converse like a human, but how many had actually seen one? Even those in sects had rarely encountered such creatures.

To witness an animal suddenly speaking human language would indeed be a shocking event.

Chu Mo simply smirked and decided to keep quiet.

Then, a little boy pointed at the rooster in astonishment, exclaiming, "What a giant rooster! It's so big! We could fill a huge pot with it, without even needing to add mushrooms!"

"Don't be rude!" scolded the boy's mother, before muttering under her breath, "But it would indeed make a large pot of stew."

The rooster was instantly filled with indignation. Cook me? I'd eat you all first! Silly humans!

Chu Mo rolled his eyes before messaging the rooster, "Let's get moving. No need to cause a scene."

"Humans are so stupid!" The rooster grumbled back.

Soon, the peculiar pair disappeared into the crowd.

Chu Mo brought the large rooster back to the Fan Residence, and found out the Demon Lord hadn't returned. Chu Mo wasn't too worried; he understood that his master had his own matters to attend to. In this regard, Chu Mo was similar to the Demon Lord; neither of them liked prying into others' affairs.

However, the news of his return quickly spread.

Within less than two hours since his arrival, a few parties had already sent their invitations over.

There were even a few who paid personal visits to him!

This particular guest, however, took Chu Mo by surprise.

"Brother Wang, what brings you here?" Chu Mo exclaimed, to see Wang Dafa had indeed surprised him.

Considering Wang Dafa's position as a senior elder of the Azure Dragon Hall, his presence was quite sensitive. At the moment, the relation between Chu Mo and the Azure Dragon Hall was not exactly cordial.

"What, you're not happy to see me?" Wang Dafa asked, wearing a cheerful smile yet showing signs of exhaustion with his dishevelled hair and dark circles under his eyes.

"Ha ha, how could I not be glad? It's just that I didn't expect…" Chu Mo responded with a laugh.

"Didn't expect that I'd have the guts to show up at your residence, huh?" Wang Dafa joked, took a seat, and sipped the tea that a serving maid had just served. Noticing the rooster perched on the neighboring chair, he almost jumped: "Since when did you start keeping chickens? What an exceptional specimen... Wow, it's glaring at me! Ha! If you were to put this rooster in a cock fighting ring, it'd surely be unbeatable!"

The rooster, staring daggers at Wang Dafa, was suppressing the urge to pounce. Cock fighting ring? Are you kidding me? Wait till I awaken my phoenix bloodline, then I'll create a human fighting ring to teach you all a lesson!

Chu Mo cleared his throat before containing a laugh and said, "A cock fighting ring? Interesting… Maybe we'll give it a try someday."

Though surprised by the rooster, Wang Dafa quickly moved on to the true purpose of his visit.

"Brother, I have to admit, I've come looking to throw my lots in with you. Does your offer still stand?" asked Wang Dafa seriously.

"Oh? Didn't expect you to be so well informed!" Chu Mo replied casually.

"Well informed? I suppose you could say that. To be honest, I have no idea what happened while you were away. But you're back, safe and sound. That tells me everything I need to know," confessed Wang Dafa: "Thousands of soldiers, two allied continents... It seems your master has taken action."

"You're not aware?" Chu Mo asked, looking at Wang Dafa. He seemed genuinely clueless, which reassured Chu Mo that he wasn't faking it, so he said: "You're willing to stake everything on me without knowing exactly what happened? Aren't you afraid of losing?"

"Please, don't mock me," Wang Dafa sighed. "I may be a businessman, but I do have a sense of honour. I don't always play safe. Many people like to stick with sure bets, but sometimes, I enjoy a bit of a challenge."

He then looked at Chu Mo and said honestly, "I won't keep secrets from you, brother. I've been cleaning up the sect fighters in Yanhuang City since you left. In fact, I've been secretly protecting everyone who's come here from Piaomiao Palace."

"What?" Chu Mo exclaimed in surprise, "That would be a total betrayal of the Azure Dragon Hall!"

"They didn't seem to care about me as much as I thought," said Wang Dafa, revealing a faint sense of loneliness, "I've contributed a lot to the Azure Dragon Hall over the years. But in the end, I found out that in the eyes of the core members of the Azure Dragon Hall, I, Wang Dafa, have always been nothing more than a parvenu."

"Even so... is that reason enough for you to betray them?" Chu Mo asked.

Looking at Chu Mo, Wang Dafa calmly said, "Yes, if it was only that, I wouldn't have thought about betraying the Azure Dragon Hall. After all, the hall master has taken good care of me over the years. So I didn't take any action against Azure Dragon Hall at first." Wang Dafa smiled bitterly, "But five days ago, I suddenly received an order from the Azure Dragon Hall. The order, signed by the hall master himself, asked me to return to the headquarters of the Azure Dragon Hall and promoted me to a senior elder."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" questioned Chu Mo.

"Good thing?" Wang Dafa, on hearing this, snorted disdainfully, "Along with the order came a letter, also written by the hall master. It requested that I hand over all my existing assets to a replacement. In return, they promised to give me one-tenth of the net profit annually. Ha, what a generous offer!"

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