Peerless Little Immortal Doctor

Chapter 896: Chapter 899 Ignorance

On the way downhill, Xia Liu faintly heard a cacophony of voices.

The Guo Family must be busy preparing for tomorrow’s family competition.

The annual competition mainly allocates resources for the Guo Family’s three strongest lineages.

In the past, the results were always the same: Guo Gang’s lineage took first place, Guo Yan’s second, and Guo Xiao’s third.

However, any discerning person could see it.

Today, the situation was about to change.

It was highly likely that after this year’s competition, the Guo Family’s three strongest lineages would become one.

Guo Gang’s lineage had been coveting Guo Xiao’s lineage for a long time.

Given Guo Gang’s petty nature, it might not be long before even Guo Yan’s lineage was forced to become a side branch.

When that day came, the Guo Family might integrate entirely into one faction.

However, such integration would bring a significant change in its essence.

It might even result in a division reminiscent of an imperial court of the old era, with rulers and subjects.

None of this concerned Xia Liu in the slightest.

The changes in the Guo Family had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Right now, he just wanted to know where the Guo Family’s alchemy workshop was located.

As they walked through Morning City in the Guo Family’s domain, Xia Liu and Guo Man’s presence attracted countless stares.

Guo Man had shed her usual calm demeanor, her face icy cold, ignoring all the gazes.

Xia Liu was the same.

Guo Man had given him a warning.

On their way back to the residence,

they might encounter martial artists from Guo Gang’s lineage or Guo Yan’s lineage.

Undoubtedly, these people would not be polite.

No matter what was said or what happened, he must not be impulsive; he simply had to ignore it and pass through.

“Oh! Isn’t that Guo Man? So beautiful!”

“Hey, it really is! Quick, call the sisters over to take a look. Guo Man brought a man home!”

“And he’s just an ordinary man!”

“Hahaha! Birds of a feather flock together. Snakes and rats belong in the same nest. Seems about right…”

…

First, a group of female warriors pasting directional signs on a wall mocked Xia Liu and Guo Man as they passed by.

Their words were cruel to the extreme.

Not only did they ridicule Guo Man, but they also didn’t spare Xia Liu.

Guo Man completely ignored them.

And as for Xia Liu, even more so—who was he? A cultivator!

These mere worldly women weren’t even worth a glance from him.

The rest of the journey was rather challenging for the two of them. This was because to reach the residences of the three lineages, they had to pass through the training ground.

The male martial artists in the training ground regarded Xia Liu with undisguised hostility.

No matter how Guo Man changed, she was still the beautiful Guo Man they knew, and they could tell at a glance.

But Xia Liu was completely unfamiliar—a clear outsider.

The fact that he could be so close to Guo Man—

there could only be one explanation. The two of them were a couple.

The thought that the most beautiful woman in the Guo Family now had a boyfriend—

the young men in the training ground couldn’t stay calm.

If Xia Liu were a Heaven-Rank Warrior, they might have accepted it. But he was just an ordinary man.

“Some people are shameless enough, but bringing someone with no strength at all back to the family? Truly humiliating to the Guo Family!”

“Indeed. I can’t imagine what she’s thinking. Where does she even get that audacity?”

“Hey, did none of you notice the foundation on her face? Thicker than cowhide!”

As Xia Liu and Guo Man were passing by the training ground, a group of young men sitting on the railing laughed and joked loudly, their eyes glued to Xia Liu and Guo Man.

“Ignorant fools!”

Guo Man muttered, not giving these people even a second thought.

“What did you say?!”

Suddenly, a young man leapt down from the railing.

An oppressive aura quietly spread from him—a Mysterious Rank Peak cultivation!

Guo Man’s breathing faltered for only a moment before returning to calm.

“I wasn’t talking to you. No need to take it personally.”

Not wanting the pressure to harm Xia Liu, Guo Man glanced aside nonchalantly and spoke indifferently.

“Damn it!”

The Mysterious Rank Peak young man clenched his teeth. He realized he’d been outmaneuvered.

What puzzled him even more was that despite releasing his aura, Guo Man seemed entirely unaffected.

Was it because of Xia Liu?

But no matter how hard he tried to sense it, he couldn’t detect any energy from Xia Liu.

Even the Earth-Rank Warriors observing from afar were baffled, unable to understand how Guo Man avoided the pressure.

The only explanation was that a strong family member hidden in the shadows had intervened.

“Let’s go, Xia Liu.”

Guo Man thought the same thing. This was within the Guo Family’s domain, where in-family fighting was strictly forbidden unless it followed a formal challenge with a duel in the ring.

“Hmph! Guo Man, don’t get cocky. In a few days, you’ll have that pitiful expression I’m waiting for. I’m looking forward to it.”

Guo Feng, widely regarded as a prodigy among the younger generation,

was the same age as Guo Man. With his cultivation already at Mysterious Rank Peak, he was just shy of advancing to Earth Rank.

Judging by these qualifications, how could Guo Man have any right to humiliate him?

If not for her being from Guo Xiao’s lineage, she would be nothing but insignificant in his presence!

Xia Liu glanced around intentionally or unintentionally. This was nothing like the families he had seen before.

In those ordinary families, the members were highly united.

How could such things possibly occur?

It seemed that there was a lot of intrigue within the Guo Family.

“Sorry, Xia Liu, for making you witness such a spectacle.”

After putting some distance between them and the training ground, Guo Man stopped, turned her head awkwardly, and spoke to Xia Liu.

“It’s nothing. I think I understand now why you don’t like this place.”

If one had to deal with such situations every time they stepped out, anyone would be furious.

Yet Guo Man had learned to ignore it and remain calm.

This showed that her heart was already numbed.

One could only imagine the heavy shadows this had cast on her.

“Haha, maybe that’s why.”

Guo Man mocked herself sarcastically, then continued walking forward.

Watching her lonely figure, Xia Liu felt a sudden pang in his heart.

A strong impulse surged within him—the desire to protect this fragile girl with everything he had.

But reality rendered him powerless.

He had come to Harbor City entirely for the Youth Preserving Pill.

Getting to know her had been deliberate.

Xia Liu never expected that one day, he would have such thoughts.

Perhaps this was a tribulation; it would depend on whether he had the strength to overcome it.

After following Guo Man for over ten minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

Crossing a bridge, they finally reached the residential area of the Guo Xiao lineage.

Above the bridge hung a plaque with the character “Xiao,” signifying that this area belonged to Guo Xiao’s lineage.

From Guo Man, Xia Liu learned

that Guo Xiao was her great-grandfather, a senior figure of extraordinary standing and age.

Her mother was nearly fifty. As Guo Fanghua’s grandfather, Guo Xiao might already be close to two hundred years old.

As a Path-Entering Martial Artist, his lifespan far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Moreover, his body was robust, enhanced by inner strength and inner origin. Without reaching his limits, death would be a nearly impossible event.

“Hah! Ha!”

After crossing the bridge, Xia Liu and Guo Man heard sounds of exertion coming from a nearby courtyard.

It was the sound of martial artists practicing inhaling and exhaling breath…