Mindy, let's go back to Sun Sect now, Austin said.
They had just left the Mysterious Ancient Well, and Austin thought that he should begin to make
preparations for the Top Ten Outer Disciples Ranking Challenge.
"No, Austin, you go ahead. I have something more important to deal with. I've waited for years for this,
and the day has finally come."
Mindy shook her head as she looked to the northeast. Determination was written all over her face. It
was obvious that she had made a significant decision.
"Something more important?"
Austin was confused by Mindy's words.
"Austin, you've done me a great favor this time. I'd like to share my past with you."
Mindy found a clean, flat rock not far from the well, and gestured for Austin to sit on it.
"My name is actually Mindy Zhang, not Mindy Wu," she began.
She stared blankly into the distance, her mind swamped with painful memories. Austin listened to her
story quietly.
"I came from Valley Town. It is a remote town, no match for Peace Town in scale or prosperity.
There were two well-matched clans in Valley Town, the Zhang Clan and the Li Clan.
On the surface, the two clans were on good terms. But in private, they were business rivals. As they
were equally matched in strength and power, neither of them dared to openly start a fight.
But after a while, the peaceful facade was shattered.
As luck would have it, the head of the Zhang Clan found an ancient book called 'Elixir Foundation' in a
cave. The book was a down-to-earth and easy to understand introduction to pill refining. Valley Town
was backward in everything, including cultivation, so all the natives looked forward to becoming pill
refiners.
The head of the Zhang Clan decided to have the youths of the clan study pill refining so that there
would be more pill refiners in the clan. After all, pill refining is a respected career. Once the Zhang Clan
had more pill refiners, it would become more powerful.
The discovery of the book was supposed to be a secret, but somehow, the head of the Li Clan found
out.
He spent a large sum of money on bribing a butler and several guards of the Zhang Clan. One night,
with the help of the traitors, the whole Li Clan launched a surprise attack on the Zhang Clan. All the
members of the Zhang Clan were killed or caught, and the clan was wiped out.
That night, a couple from the Zhang Clan held off their enemies long enough to secretly send their little
daughter away with a servant.
After the girl escaped, she didn't dare to go back to Valley Town again. She changed her family name
and wandered from place to place.
She had practiced martial arts with the martial artists in her clan, so she successfully passed the Sun
Sect's entrance exam and joined the sect."
She paused and looked at Austin, who realized that she was telling her own story.
"You're the little girl, aren't you?" he asked.
Mindy nodded. Her eyes turned red and watery as she recalled her family.
"Are you going back to avenge your family?" he asked.
"Yes. It has been about seven years since I escaped, but not a day has gone by without thinking about
my parents and my other clansmen. I fled the town in a hurry, so I don't know whether they are still
alive. The members of the Li Clan weren't that strong back then. Most of them had only reached
Energy Gathering Realm. It was said that the head of the Li Clan had reached the preliminary stage of
Earth Realm."
Mindy began to look nervous.
"How about this? I'll go to Valley Town with you. If the head of the Li Clan was at the preliminary stage
of Earth Realm seven years ago, it's possible that he has made a breakthrough since then. I don't think
you can deal with a whole clan on your own," Austin suggested.
Of course, Mindy knew Austin's words made sense. In the past seven years, she had been tortured by
the thought that her parents and her other clansmen might be living in hell. Since she had finally
reached the Earth Realm, she didn't want to wait any longer to go back to Valley Town to avenge her
family.
Austin knew what was on Mindy's mind, but it would be really dangerous for her to do it alone. And he
knew he couldn't talk her out of it, so the best thing to do would be accompanying her and help her
avenge her family.
After all, after spending the last few days with Mindy, he thought of her as a friend. And hearing about
her past had made him sympathize with her situation.
Austin, Violet, and Mindy had all reached the preliminary stage of Earth Realm. The Li Clan might be
powerful in a remote town, but three cultivators at Earth Realm would be able to deal with the clan.
Mindy was thrilled when she heard Austin offer her his help. Two days ago, he had only been at level 9
of Energy Gathering Realm, yet he had successfully wiped out more than ten cultivators from the Blood
Wolf Team, including one at Earth Realm.
Now that he was at the preliminary stage of Earth Realm, he must be much stronger.
She was sure that she could avenge her parents and her clansmen with Austin's help.
After a moment's hesitation, she said, "But you wanted to attend the Top Ten Outer Disciples Ranking
Challenge. Will you be able to make it?"
"There are more than ten days left for the challenge. I think we'll have plenty of time. Let's go."
Mindy gave him a grateful look and led him to her hometown—Valley Town. . . . . .
The next day, a man and a woman arrived at a small village more than ten miles away from Valley
Town.
The village was quiet and peaceful. Every now and then, light clouds floated across the sky.
Birds were singing in the trees. Dogs were barking as they smelled strangers. At the entrance to the
village, a few children were playing under a big tree.
The villagers looked at the two strangers with curious expressions on their faces.
The man and the woman came to a stop outside a house in the east of the village. The house had a
small courtyard with bamboo fences on all sides.
A middle-aged woman was watering the plants in the courtyard. There were vegetables and fruits.
The man and the woman were none other than Austin and Mindy. They had come here to look for
Mindy's family.
They had both reached the Earth Realm and demonstrated a mastery of bodily movement skill, so they
were capable enough to handle anything that lay ahead of them.
They approached the courtyard so quietly that the woman watering the plants didn't notice them at all.
Mindy's eyes reddened at the sight of the woman. Obviously, she knew her.
"Nanny Wu!"
Mindy called out in a choked voice.
Shocked to hear the familiar voice after so long, the woman dropped the watering can in her hand. The
watering can hit the ground and water spilled onto her shoes.
Paying no attention to any of that, she turned around to look at Mindy.
"Mindy, is that really you? Am I daydreaming?" she murmured.
"Nanny Wu, it's me."
Overcome by emotion, Mindy immediately ran toward the woman and threw herself into her arms. She
burst into loud sobs, and at this moment, she seemed like the little girl that she had been seven years
ago.
The woman patted Mindy's back to console her, but she was in tears too.
Austin was touched when he saw the affection between them. He stood outside the fence, not wanting
to disturb them.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda