Chapter 13: The Four Great Realms of Warriors

After finally calming down, Ouyang Shanshan was once again startled by Grayson Hawk. Putting the matter of the Severing Clan aside, the fact that someone from the Eastern family was a traitor was truly unexpected.

If Grayson Hawk had known her thoughts, he would have scoffed. Understanding the true nature of the Eastern family, Grayson knew that during the war of resistance, the Eastern family had been full of traitors. It was only when the situation turned against them that they aligned with the nationalist forces. As the civil war neared its end, seeing that the nationalist forces were losing, they switched sides again, aligning with the current ruling party. That's how they kept their positions intact. However, at their core, these people were nothing but backstabbers and born traitors.

Ouyang Shanshan calmed herself for a moment before saying, "You stay hidden for now. I'll be there soon."

Just as Grayson Hawk was about to hang up, something occurred to him. "Wait, don't hang up. Whatever you do, don't come alone. Make sure to bring Ruox Wendol with you, and on the way, tell her everything that happened."

"Got it, I'm hanging up now." After ending the call, Ouyang Shanshan quickly changed clothes and called Ruox Wendol.

Unlike Ouyang Shanshan, who was initially calm, upon hearing the events unfold from the phone, Ruox was so shocked it felt like she could swallow two duck eggs whole.

"Is it really that surprising? Didn't I tell you before that Grayson Hawk is very capable?" Ouyang Shanshan felt her best friend was overreacting. Wasn't she defeated by Grayson earlier? So why was she surprised on hearing what Grayson did?

Ruox Wendol shook her head. "You... You really are fearless because you're ignorant."

"Do you know who that Matsonos is? Do you know how strong he is?"

"I wouldn't know," Ouyang Shanshan replied with a hint of frustration. "You never told me anything about the ancient martial arts world. How was I supposed to learn about it?" As best friends, Ruox Wendol had never shared anything about the world of martial arts, and Ouyang Shanshan didn't feel comfortable asking, so her curiosity had been eating away at her, like a persistent itch.

Ruox sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this, but since you're already involved, I guess I should. In the world of ancient martial arts, there are two major realms, besides the low-level warriors. They are the inner essence and acquired realms, and these are called the Mortal Realms. The acquired realm is divided into two stages: body refining and bone refining. The inner essence realm is split into two stages: Subtle Entry and Meridian Connection. Each of these stages further divides into four smaller stages: early, mid, late, and peak stages.

As for the realms above the innate stage, I don't know much. Only those who reach the peak of the Meridian Connection stage have the right to access those higher realms."

As for Matsonos, he is a top-tier inner essence master from the Severing Clan of Maruko country. Although he is only in the early stage of the Subtle Entry realm, even if you tied four or five of us together, we wouldn't be able to stand a chance against him."

"I can't believe Grayson Hawk was able to drive him away. He got injured, but fought nobly.

In Ruox Wendol's eyes, Grayson Hawk had lost to Matsonos not the other way around. But even so, she still admired Grayson Hawk greatly.

"You know, in this world, it's almost impossible for a later-stage warrior to defeat someone in the innate stage. Even a draw is extremely rare. But Grayson Hawk achieved what seemed impossible. So when I say his loss was still an honor, I truly mean it."

"Really? That Subtle Entry stage is that powerful?" Ouyang Shanshan was dumbfounded. In her mind, Ruox Wendol was already incredibly strong, so how could someone at the Subtle Entry realm be even more formidable?

Ruox looked at her with a hint of envy and longing. "Of course! Once a warrior reaches the inner essence stage, they begin to cultivate a trace of inner essence true qi within their body. However, in the Subtle Entry stage, they can't use it efficiently yet. When they reach the Meridian Connection stage, they can release their true qi and even fly with it."

"Wait, you mean really fly?" Ouyang Shanshan's eyes lit up as she imagined soaring through the skies herself.

"Not exactly flying. It's more like using true qi to glide through the air for several dozen kilometers."

"Wow, that's amazing! You could fly over 100 miles!" Ouyang Shanshan exclaimed, her face gleaming with excitement at the thought of flying.

"Hey, hey, watch the road!" Ruox Wendol snapped, startled. "You're driving and daydreaming? Focus!"

"Hee-hee, I know, I know!" Ouyang Shanshan smiled mischievously, then quickly focused on driving.

By the time Ouyang Shanshan and Ruox arrived at the villa, Grayson had already lost the strength to speak. He picked up his phone and played a song, cranking the volume up to maximum to catch their attention.

"My God, how did you get hurt like this?" Ouyang Shanshan gasped, horrified by Grayson's appearance.

Grayson smiled weakly and shook his head. The blood on his body wasn't from injuries; it was a side effect of ruptured blood vessels, causing some of his qi and blood to seep through his pores.

Though not from an injury, it was still a serious condition. His current weakness from excessive blood loss wasn't the real problem. The real issue was the damage to his meridians. Even with his incredible recovery abilities, it would take at least ten to fifteen days to recover from this injury.

Ruox Wendol, raised in a family of ancient martial artists, recognized the symptoms. With uncertainty, she asked, "Is this the side effect of a blood qi technique?"

Grayson Hawk didn't answer, just nodded silently.

Ruox's face shifted with concern, and she carefully asked, "Is it the Seven Kill Technique? The Greedy Wolf Technique? Or the Breaker of armies Technique?"

Grayson gently shook his head. "Is this really the time to talk about that? Do you want to see me drop dead right here?"

Ruox blushed and awkwardly said, "Shanshan, let's help him back inside quickly."

Looking at her designer casual clothes, Ouyang Shanshan sighed in resignation, muttering under her breath, "If I had known, I would have worn something old and shabby."

The two of them helped Grayson Hawk to the car. As they headed back, Ruox Wendol contacted a special department to handle the situation at the villa.

As soon as Grayson sat down in the car, he fell into a deep sleep, too exhausted to think about anything. All he wanted now was to rest.

Seeing that Grayson had already fallen asleep, Ouyang Shanshan hesitated for a moment, then carefully asked, "Ruox, do you think we can rely on this guy to help us solve that problem?"