In a quiet park not far from River City Airport.
A handsome young man with delicate features and a sharp gaze sat quietly on the stone bench in the small pavilion of the park. He was wearing a white shirt, sleeves slightly rolled up.
He was Xiang Mantang, who had just arrived in River City and had just made contact with Mu Jinyu.
Compared to Mu Jinyu's playful, laid-back demeanor, Xiang Mantang was entirely serious and strict. Even without the constraints of military regulations, he sat as straight as a spear on the stone bench in the pavilion, his eyes exuding a fierce and commanding presence.
Xiang Mantang put away his phone and a slight smile appeared on the corners of his mouth as he murmured, "Senior brother is still the same as ever, not a bit of change."
"Commander Xiang, here is the information I've just collected, please have a look."
At this moment, a youthful and vibrant woman approached along the cobblestone path outside the pavilion, documents in hand, striding towards the interior of the pavilion.
After speaking, she handed the documents she was holding to Xiang Mantang.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Xiang Mantang took the documents and spoke softly to the vibrant woman.
After saying this, he carefully began to read through the material his subordinates had just gathered.
The spirited woman did not speak to disturb him, standing beside him, gazing at him with an enchanted look.
After about ten minutes.
Xiang Mantang finished reading the detailed account of Mu Jinyu's experiences in River City since coming down from Yinlong Mountain.
As well as the information on the several women who had been at Mu Jinyu's side.
The information was very detailed, recording almost everything save for some extremely secret matters.
The fact that such information could be gathered in just half an hour showed the extent of the power in Xiang Mantang's hands!
Upon finishing the documents, the smile on Xiang Mantang's usually stern face grew thicker, until he couldn't help but let out a chuckle, shaking his head and laughing, "My senior brother really is something. He always said he wouldn't follow Master's example of finding so many wives, but in the end, he still... found it 'delicious'! Hahaha..."
The spirited woman standing by could not help but smile at Xiang Mantang's words.
At the same time, she became even more curious about Mu Jinyu.
After all, a smile from Xiang Mantang was an extremely rare sight at the military department.
Having accompanied him on horseback for many years, this was the first time she saw Xiang Mantang laugh so happily.
It seemed the bond between the two brothers was indeed very strong.
After laughing, Xiang Mantang casually flicked his wrist, and with an outburst of inner strength, he instantly turned the documents to powder. With the wind, the powder drifted into a nearby trash can.
His joyful smile now subdued, he regained his solemn and stately composure, remaining silent, lost in his thoughts as he quietly waited for Mu Jinyu's arrival.
About five minutes later.
Mu Jinyu finally arrived at the park, bringing with him a somewhat coy Gu Xiyan, and soon found the small pavilion where only Xiang Mantang sat.
"Ah-Xiang!"
Seeing the resolute figure sitting on the stone bench, upright as a spear, Mu Jinyu, holding Gu Xiyan's hand with a smile of reunion, called out excitedly.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's greeting, Xiang Mantang, who was seated with his back to them, suddenly turned around, his eyes on Mu Jinyu as a slight smile once again lifted his lips.
"Senior brother, long time no see."
"Yeah, it's been more than a decade just like that!" Mu Jinyu said, quickening his pace as he went in, raising his hand and sending a punch straight towards Commander Xiang at Xiang Mantang!
The spirited woman waiting by the side, seeing Mu Jinyu's action, her gaze sharpened and she brimmed with killing intent, immediately preparing to strike down the audacious individual who dared to attack Beidou Tianshu!
"Hmm?" Commander Xiang hummed lightly, stood up and gestured with his left hand at her, signaling her not to act rashly.
Following that, he too raised his fist, sank his waist and lifted his buttocks, channeling energy into his dantian, exerting all his strength to throw a punch that, like a cannonball, created a sonic boom and charged straight against Mu Jinyu's fist!
"Boom!!"
A roaring sound, like thunderbolts tearing the sky, caused the small pavilion to tremble slightly a few times, almost collapsing from the trial exchange of blows between the two brothers.
Gu Xiyan was so frightened her face went pale, utterly puzzled as to why her brothers would start fighting upon meeting each other; could it be that they harbored grudges?
"Tatatata..."
Mu Jinyu stood his ground, his body as steadfast as a boulder, while Commander Xiang's face turned a shade paler, retracting his fist and stepping back three moves.
The difference in strength was immediately apparent!
Commander Xiang shook his numbing arm, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
He was Mu Jinyu's senior by seven years, at twenty-five this year; because he joined the sect later on, he became Mu Jinyu's junior brother. However, with far less talent than Mu Jinyu, he had always been unable to catch up in cultivation.
And he knew well that Mu Jinyu was always quite lazy and hardly trained rigorously; if he cultivated for three days in a month, just for two hours each day, their master would be beyond pleased.
Whereas he would devote himself to cultivating whenever he had free moments, but even so...
More than a decade had passed, and within Dragon King Hall where he had almost no equals, becoming the Beidou Tianshu of the Northern Dipper Seven Dragon Guards, he was still no match for Mu Jinyu!
Indeed, the gap was just that—a gap!
No wonder their master, back at the orphanage, had taken a fancy only to Mu Jinyu and never saw much in himself. If it hadn't been for Mu Jinyu's insistence and his willingness to advance or retreat alongside him, he reckoned the master wouldn't have taken him in the end.
But the master was also very responsible; whatever he taught Mu Jinyu, he also taught him without holding anything back.
He recalled how after scolding Mu Jinyu, the master had once lamented that if Mu Jinyu were willing to cultivate earnestly, his achievements would be something even the master himself couldn't hope to match in his lifetime.
Regrettably, Mu Jinyu never heeded their master's words!
Thinking of this, Commander Xiang, who once doubted the master, now held complete respect in his heart.
After shaking his arm a few times, the numbness gradually subsided, and Commander Xiang said with a wry smile, "Brother, do you still refuse to cultivate properly? Over a decade has passed, and to think, I've nearly caught up to your level of cultivation."
The spirited woman, originally already stunned by Commander Xiang stepping back three steps, upon hearing his sentiments, her eyes now intensified with a deep disbelief.
Who was Commander Xiang?
In Dragon King Hall, he held the top position among the Northern Dipper Seven Dragon Guards, the Beidou Tianshu, second only to one and above tens of thousands.
In just five years after joining Dragon King Hall, surpassing his predecessor Tianshu, he took over and pressured the other six Northern Dipper Dragon Guards, a testament to Commander Xiang's extraordinary talent!
Yet now, he who had hopes to become the new Dragon King, the Tiance True Dragon, was barely catching up to the young man before him, who appeared to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old?!
What, then, was the true extent of this young man's terrifying strength?
And by Commander Xiang's implications, this was with Mu Jinyu hardly putting in any effort in cultivating, slowly letting him close the gap...
The woman was immensely shocked, realizing that if she had attacked Mu Jinyu just now, how dire her situation would have been!