Seeing the two volunteer, Su Mo didn’t hesitate. "In that case, you two can stay with the Xiao Family for now," he said frankly. "When I return from the Beast Taming Sect, I’ll be sure to compensate you."
"Yes, sir!"
Huang Xu and the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley accepted his orders.
At this, Xiao Zhan could finally rest easy.
With the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley and Huang Xu guarding the Xiao Family, no one would be able to breach their defenses any time soon.
Not even the Heaven-Suppressing Royal Mansion.
They set off!
The group boarded the Cyan Cloud Sparrow. With a single beat of its wings, it soared away, quickly vanishing from the skies above Qingyang City.
"I hope the Young Master and the others return safely!"
the Second Elder prayed under his breath.
Huang Xu clapped the Second Elder on the shoulder and offered a comforting smile. "Don’t worry. With the Master there, they’ll surely return safely. Let’s begin setting up the formation."
"Yes, the formation,"
the Second Elder replied. "While the Young Master is away, we must guard the Xiao Family with our lives. Nothing can go wrong, or we’ll have no way to answer to him."
...
The Cangxuan Realm contained the Five Great Profound Domains: the Southern Profound Domain, the Northern Profound Domain, the Western Profound Domain, the Eastern Profound Domain, and the Central Earth Profound Domain.
Of these, the Northern Profound Domain was the weakest.
Besides the Eighteen Kingdoms led by the Beast Taming Sect, the Northern Profound Domain was home to over a hundred other powers, large and small, including many powerful Empires and Sects.
Among these forces, the Beast Taming Sect was merely average, unable to compare to the truly great powers.
At that moment, somewhere in the Northern Profound Domain.
A gray-robed elder stood silently atop a mountain peak, seemingly one with the world around him.
Before long, two Martial Artists dressed in black arrived from the distance.
"Greetings, Hall Master!"
The two Martial Artists in black came before the gray-robed elder and bowed respectfully. Their faces were masked with black cloth, and their bodies were shrouded in a dense, baleful aura.
Assassins of the Celestial Slaughter Hall.
Blood Cry and Ghost Skull.
"So, you’ve arrived."
The gray-robed elder, who had his eyes closed, slowly opened them to look at the two men.
Instantly, the two of them felt an immense, unprecedented pressure.
Hm?
Blood Cry exclaimed, "In the Hall Master’s eyes... I saw a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!"
"I saw it too!"
Ghost Skull said, his voice trembling.
At that moment, they were both utterly shaken, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
’Just how powerful is the gray-robed elder to create such a terrifying illusion in our minds?’
It felt as if their very souls were about to be ripped from their bodies.
Blood Cry asked respectfully, "Hall Master, what are your orders for us?"
The gray-robed elder’s voice was ice-cold. "Our Celestial Slaughter Hall branch in the Desolate Empire was annihilated a few days ago. I want the two of you to investigate."
"What? Someone dared to move against our Celestial Slaughter Hall?"
Blood Cry said in astonishment.
In the Northern Profound Domain, the Celestial Slaughter Hall was practically a taboo. No one had ever dared to strike at them, much less annihilate one of their branches.
This wasn’t just a simple provocation. This was a declaration of war.
’Who in the world has such a death wish?’
The gray-robed elder said icily, "Once you find out who is responsible, show no mercy. Exterminate their entire clan!"
"Yes, sir!"
Blood Cry and Ghost Skull accepted their orders.
Then, the gray-robed elder vanished.
Ghost Skull asked doubtfully, "Our man stationed in the Desolate Empire was an expert at the Grandmaster Great Perfection Realm, wasn’t he? Who in the Desolate Empire could possibly kill him?"
"Besides the Heaven-Suppressing King, no one has that kind of power," Blood Cry speculated. "But the Heaven-Suppressing King isn’t stupid enough to offend our Celestial Slaughter Hall... unless he has powerful backing."
Ghost Skull sneered, "So what if he has backing? Hmph. Anyone who dares to move against the Celestial Slaughter Hall will die. We’ll wipe out their entire bloodline!"
...
The Beast Taming Sect.
The young prodigies of the Eighteen Kingdoms had already gathered early at the back mountain of the Beast Taming Sect. They had staked out prime positions before Qu Luo’s Tomb, waiting for it to open.
The moment it did, they would rush inside to seize their fortunes.
WHOOSH!
A Cloud Ship tore through the air from the distance, arriving before Qu Luo’s Tomb. More than twenty young prodigies stood upon its deck.
"Look, it’s the people from the Daqian Empire!"
"I hear the Daqian Empire has produced several prodigies this time. The most famous is Qian Yi. He’s only eighteen, but he’s already at the Samurai Perfection Realm."
"Qian Yi is certainly incredible. You could call him the Daqian Empire’s number one prodigy. If he weren’t, National Preceptor Roger wouldn’t be leading their group!"
"I hear Qian Yi is National Preceptor Roger’s personal disciple."
"To be taken as National Preceptor Roger’s personal disciple, Qian Yi must be truly gifted. But I’ve also heard that the Xuanqing Daoist Temple has a young prodigy named Fan Jian... Look, here they come now."
Just as the crowd was buzzing, dozens more figures appeared on the horizon. The group was led by Daoist Xuanqing himself, accompanied by his close friend, Pingyangzi.
Fan Jian, a handsome youth with sharp, piercing eyes, followed closely behind Daoist Xuanqing with a longsword strapped to his back.
"Look, more people are arriving!"
"I think it’s the Du Family from the Celestial Cyan Empire. The man in the lead is their Patriarch, Senior Du Feng."
"It is! It’s Senior Du Feng!"
As more and more groups arrived, the area before Qu Luo’s Tomb grew completely abuzz with activity.
The prodigies from the Eighteen Kingdoms sized one another up, each silently identifying their rivals.
"Sect Leader Chu!"
Du Feng, Roger, and the others approached Chu Tianxiong to greet him.
Daoist Xuanqing glanced around and asked curiously, "Has that senior not arrived yet?"
"Not yet."
Chu Tianxiong shook his head. "However, I sent him a message a few days ago. I’m sure he is on his way and won’t be late."
"You know, it’s only been a few days, but I already miss that senior’s impressive presence,"
Daoist Xuanqing chuckled.
Pingyangzi sighed with emotion. "Indeed. That senior is a once-in-a-generation talent, far more brilliant than any of our disciples."
"Forget our disciples. Even all of us put together can’t compare to a single hair on his head!"
"Isn’t that the truth!"
Du Feng and Roger shared a wry smile.
Behind them, Qian Yi asked curiously, "Master, who is this senior you’re all talking about? Is he that powerful?"
"Powerful is an understatement!"
Roger said, "Let me be frank. Compared to him, your ’genius’ status means nothing. It’s like a firefly trying to outshine the brilliant moon. There’s simply no comparison."
"Am I really that inadequate?"
Qian Yi frowned, a look of indignation on his face.
As the Daqian Empire’s top prodigy and the future heir to the Royal Family, he was always the center of attention wherever he went. When had he ever been so thoroughly disparaged?
Roger sighed. "I can understand why you don’t believe me. But once you meet that senior, you’ll understand the true gap between you."
"Senior Roger, I don’t mean to contradict you, but I refuse to believe there is anyone in this world more outstanding than myself and Brother Qian," Fan Jian couldn’t help but step forward to declare.
Daoist Xuanqing snapped, "Fan Jian, be quiet! Stop spouting nonsense. With your level of talent, you can’t even be mentioned in the same breath as that senior."
"Master, why can’t I speak my mind?"
Fan Jian retorted, full of defiance, "No matter how powerful this prodigy is, I am confident I can cut him down with a single strike of my sword."