The maid's smile at the corner of her mouth grew even richer, and after pondering for a moment, she nodded gently and said, "Aunt Qing's assessment of him is about the same as Miss's. However, Miss once said that people who are so lawless and look down on everything, who are selfish and self-serving, are the most terrifying, but also the most useful. If we could truly subjugate him and make him work for us, it might be of tremendous help to our current situation in the Holy Church. Initially, I had some doubts when I heard Miss say this, but after just meeting him, I've started to believe her."
"You start to believe after just one meeting, you little flirt, don't tell me you've taken a fancy to him? This stinky boy does look quite handsome, but don't blame Aunt Qing for not warning you—most good-looking men are no good, don't get blinded by his face."
The maid's face turned red from being teased, and she said hurriedly, "I haven't, please don't talk nonsense, Aunt Qing."
Zhan Taiqing saw the maid's blushing face, and could not help but let out a few soft chuckles.
The maid, seeing her reaction and fearing she'd been misunderstood, immediately defended herself, "Peony, Fu Ling, and Peony Herb, the three sisters, met him at the end of the year before last in Zhaoyang. They mentioned him to me afterward. Three years ago, this person had just broken through to the Gang Qi Realm, and the entire Hou Clan comprised of only around a thousand people, with just two to three hundred martial artists."
After saying this, Ding Xiang finally regained her composure and continued, "I've just come over from Tongling. Now, the Hou Clan controls the land of the Hexi Four Counties, boasting over a hundred thousand martial artists in their clan, with over half of them at or beyond the five levels of body refinement, and hundreds of experts in the Gang Qi Realm. In short three years, to develop such a small clan into this scale is something I've never seen or even heard of in all the years I've been following Miss through the lands!"
By now, Zhan Taiqing's expression had changed slightly. She was well aware of these circumstances, her knowledge was, to a certain extent, even broader than Sikong Yue's and Ding Xiang's. Naturally, she understood just how astoundingly fast the Hou Clan's development was.
"I remember on Great Jin's list in February this year, it was said that he was at the Grandmaster Third Energy Realm, but just now, I saw that he has broken through the Dike Shenxue."
On hearing about the breakthrough of the Dike Shenxue, Zhan Taiqing's face changed once again, seemingly in disbelief, and she repeated the question. Seeing Ding Xiang nod in confirmation, her expression turned somber at once.
"Taking into account what I've observed about the situation at the Baiye Camp, Hou Yuxiao's ambition is indeed great. Miss's assessment of this man is quite accurate. I just don't know what method Miss plans to use to subjugate this man for the Holy Church?"
Zhan Taiqing recalled the details reported by Ding Xiang upon hearing these words, her already grave expression darkened further. Looking in the direction of Hou Yuxiao's cabin, a slow gathering trace of murderous intent appeared in her eyes.
After leaving Zhan Taiqing's cabin, Hou Yuxiao immediately found the person responsible for arranging cabins on the ship, and after stating his identity, he was quickly led to a cabin above the deck. His cabin was only separated by six others from Zhan Taiqing's, clearly marking him as one of the more important individuals on this voyage. Seeing these arrangements slightly improved his mood.
At You Hour, as the sky just turned dark, the ship officially set sail. Watching the slowly shrinking eastern shore until it finally disappeared from sight, Hou Yuxiao didn't feel much melancholy, just slightly packed away his parting emotions, and turned back to his cabin.
Now, he would have to stay on the ship for a month...