"Thank you, thank you so much! You’re incredible!" Seeing the great black panthers scatter, the younger of the two women quickly thanked Zhaang Ye.

The older woman also spoke very politely. "Thank you. By the way, are you from one of the Zhaang Family branches? Why have I never seen you before?"

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. "I am from the Three Rivers Town branch of the Zhaang Family. It’s perfectly normal that you’ve never seen me."

The three then exchanged names. As it turned out, the older woman, Zhaang Yumei, was the Fourth Miss of the Cyan Mulberry City Zhaang Family Patriarch. The younger woman was Zhaang Yumei’s handmaiden, Shijian.

Zhaang Yumei was dressed in a yellow silk gown. Her skin was fair, her figure well-proportioned, and her demeanor gentle. She had an air of elegant beauty. Shijian was also quite charming and could be considered a little beauty herself. An ordinary person would surely lose their composure upon seeing the pair, but Zhaang Ye’s mindset had matured greatly since his memories had awakened. Though both women were quite beautiful, they had no effect on him.

Zhaang Ye’s composure greatly increased the two women’s favorable impression of him.

Shijian was quite talkative. After learning of Zhaang Ye’s origins, she quickly warmed up to him and said with praise, "Zhaang Ye, you’re so incredible! You scared off those great black panthers with just a dozen or so slashes. By the way, that Saber Technique you just used... was that the Basic Saber Technique? I never imagined the Basic Saber Technique could be so powerful."

Zhaang Yumei smiled. "Silly girl, Zhaang Ye has cultivated his Basic Saber Technique to the Great Success Realm. Of course it’s powerful. Across all of Cyan Mulberry City, very few people have managed to cultivate the Basic Saber Technique to the Great Success Realm."

Shijian clicked her tongue in astonishment. "It’s that difficult to cultivate the Basic Saber Technique to Great Success?"

Zhaang Yumei nodded. "Of course it’s difficult! The Basic Saber Technique is relatively simple, but it is easy to learn and hard to master. Reaching Minor Achievement requires significant effort. But to reach Great Success, one needs not only painstaking effort but also exceptional comprehension and natural talent—a personal understanding of the saber. Otherwise, you could practice for a lifetime and never even dream of reaching the Great Success Realm."

Hearing Zhaang Yumei’s words, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but see her in a more favorable light.

Shijian let out a "Wow!" "Does that mean you’re a genius, Zhaang Ye? Hey, you look pretty young. How old are you?"

Zhaang Ye hadn’t groomed himself at all in the past year. He currently had the look of both a bearded man in his thirties and a teenager, which is why Shijian had asked.

Zhaang Ye answered casually, "Thirteen."

"Thirteen!" Hearing his answer, both Zhaang Yumei and Shijian were utterly astonished. Shijian exclaimed, "Are you really only thirteen? A Martial Artist at the Third Layer of the Martial Dao at just thirteen years old? That’s unbelievable! It seems even in Cyan Mulberry City, there are very few who can advance to the Martial Arts Third Layer by the age of thirteen!"

"In Cyan Mulberry City, there are four great families: the Zhou, Zhaang, Luo, and Li. Nearly all the talent is recruited by them. Among these four families, only eight people have managed to become Martial Artists of the Martial Arts Third Layer by the age of thirteen." Zhaang Yumei sized up Zhaang Ye, her surprise evident. "To reach the Martial Arts Third Layer at thirteen and cultivate the Basic Saber Technique to the Great Success Realm... you’d be considered a genius even within our Zhaang Family. The Zhaang Family’s great competition is coming up soon. You must seize this chance to win a spot in the main family."

"Fourth Miss, are you alright?" A voice called out. "This was my miscalculation! I have allowed you to be frightened, my lady!"

Zhaang Ye turned to look. An old woman was skimming towards them from a distance, holding a honeycomb. Her speed was utterly astonishing, and a faint aura emanated from her body, sweeping across the area like a sharp rod.

The True Qi around her was like a rod. This was an ability exclusive to masters of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer: Transforming Flow into Rod. This old woman was actually an expert at the Fifth Layer of the Martial Dao.

Seeing the old woman arrive, Zhaang Yumei and Shijian both called out, "Granny Mei."

After the three exchanged a few words, Zhaang Ye pieced together the situation. Apparently, this Granny Mei was protecting Zhaang Yumei during her training excursion in the forest. Knowing Zhaang Yumei liked honey, she had gone into the dense woods to fetch a honeycomb. She hadn’t expected that just moments after she left, Zhaang Yumei and Shijian would be targeted by a large pack of great black panthers. If Zhaang Ye hadn’t arrived in time, the two would have likely ended up in the maws of the beasts.

After getting a clear picture of what happened, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly. ’This Granny Mei is really something else. To think she’d dare to leave two young women alone and run off to grab a honeycomb, knowing full well how dangerous this forest is.’

Just then, Granny Mei whirled around, fixed her gaze on Zhaang Ye, and barked, "Who are you, boy?"

Zhaang Yumei started to speak, but Granny Mei silenced her with a hand gesture. "My lady, when we are out in a treacherous place like the outer forest of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range, we must be extremely careful. We cannot trust anyone easily..."

As she spoke, her powerful aura locked tightly onto Zhaang Ye, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

This was only because Zhaang Ye had come into contact with that Blade Tip; his Heart Spirit was far stronger than an ordinary person’s. A typical Martial Artist at the Third Layer of the Martial Dao would have likely been drenched in a cold sweat on the spot from the pressure of a Fifth Layer expert.

Zhaang Ye sensed the old woman’s hostility. His spirit tensed, but his expression remained unchanged. "I am Zhaang Ye, of the Three Rivers Town Zhaang Family."

"The Three Rivers Town Zhaang Family? Oh, that’s one of the Branches of our Cyan Mulberry Zhaang Family." Granny Mei glared at Zhaang Ye. "You’re from a branch. When you see someone from the Cyan Mulberry Main Family, why aren’t you on your knees?"

According to the Zhaang Family rules, members of the Branches were required to perform a grand salute upon meeting someone from the main family. However, this rule wasn’t strictly enforced, especially when their cultivation levels were the same. In such cases, members from the Branches were generally not required to perform the rite.

Granny Mei knew perfectly well that Zhaang Ye and Zhaang Yumei had the same cultivation level, yet she still demanded he kneel. She was clearly trying to make things difficult for him.

"Kneel?" Zhaang Ye’s expression remained unchanged, but anger flared in his heart. ’You old hag. I saved your miss, and not only are you ungrateful, but you’re hostile and trying to pick a fight with me at every turn. What is your problem?!’

At that moment, Zhaang Yumei spoke up. "That’s enough, Granny Mei. I was in danger, and Zhaang Ye saved me. He is my savior, so please don’t make things difficult for him."

"My lady, the hearts of men are treacherous. Don’t assume someone is a good person just because they saved your life," Granny Mei said. "Many use the classic ’hero saving the damsel’ ploy to get close to people with ulterior motives. You are still young, my lady. You wouldn’t understand such things."

Listening to the old woman’s bossy, self-righteous, and lecturing tone, Zhaang Ye felt a growing sense of discomfort. He spoke up, "Fourth Miss, since Granny Mei has returned to your side, you are safe. I won’t impose any longer. Farewell."

Zhaang Yumei said, "Zhaang Ye, this forest is fraught with danger. You should stay with us. I haven’t even properly thanked you for saving my life."

Zhaang Ye shook his head. "There’s no need."

He simply turned and walked away.

Seeing Zhaang Ye tactfully taking his leave, the look on Granny Mei’s face softened slightly.

After Zhaang Ye had disappeared into the distance, Zhaang Yumei sighed. "Granny Mei, Zhaang Ye has a cultivation at the Third Layer of the Martial Dao at only thirteen. He is the most outstanding individual among all of the Zhaang Family’s Branches, and his combat strength is far greater than mine. You shouldn’t have made things difficult for a person like that."

"A thirteen-year-old Martial Artist at the Third Layer of the Martial Dao?" Granny Mei was taken aback. No one knew what she was thinking, but for a split second, a hidden, murderous glint flashed in her eyes.