Coughing up blood, Yu Guang tumbled through the air like a withered leaf in the wind. He was severely injured in an instant!

However, people from these hidden families and sects, no matter how arrogant, were also highly intelligent and decisive. Knowing he would lose his life if he lingered, he used the momentum from the giant’s immense blow to flee. Risking the aggravation of his injuries, his body shot away like a bolt of lightning, rapidly disappearing into the distance.

After flying a great distance, he could no longer see the giant who had injured him—only the ancient city, now a small speck on the horizon. With monstrous hatred blazing in his eyes, he snarled, "Ling Xiao! I will repay today’s humiliation in full!"

Seeing him flee, Tiger’s face twitched violently, the corners of his mouth spasming. The runic tattoos on his bald head seemed particularly distinct in that moment as he glared malevolently at the few fellow sect members Yu Guang had brought with him.

When those men saw that the great Steward of their Outer Hall had fled, they panicked. The strongest among them was only a Demon Sword Master. While they might be considered experts in the Mortal World, they were like ants before this giant.

"Blame the one who wronged you! Friend, we never offended you!"

A man in his thirties shamelessly pleaded. The men and women in their forties beside him turned their faces away. ’Since when did messengers from the hidden families and sects need to speak so meekly to someone from the Mortal World?’

Tiger eyed them through half-closed lids. It didn’t matter what they said; whether they begged for mercy or tried to placate him, Tiger couldn’t be bothered. The problem was, they were all far too weak. It was like a group of children standing before a giant, trembling as they spoke.

"You’re a grown-up... You can’t just bully little kids..."

’Whatever. The master only told me to make the man in yellow get out of Penzes City. He’s gone now, so my mission is complete!’

Tiger wrinkled his nose and sniffed a few times, then squeezed a single word through his teeth: "Scram!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Not daring to show the slightest hint of indignation, they fled in a panic like dogs with their tails between their legs.

The remaining great hidden families and sects were stunned by the power Ling Xiao had displayed, and their arrogant attitudes subsided considerably. Even if Ling Xiao himself wasn’t terrifying, and the giant wasn’t terrifying, one had to remember that these thousand-year-old hidden families all had their own proxy families in the Mortal World to act as their representatives. They asked themselves, aside from the first-tier or super-families, could even a second-tier family afford to dispatch a Sword Emperor to serve as an enforcer for their representative in the Mortal World? To call that an extravagance would be an understatement!

It was downright prodigal!

Among the crowd, Qing Yu was the most pleased with herself. She had taken the initiative and successfully befriended the powerful, up-and-coming Great Lord Ling Xiao. When Ling Xiao had resisted Yu Guang’s spiritual pressure, everyone had been shocked, and Qing Yu was no exception. ’No matter how you look at him, Ling Xiao is a young man of only seventeen or eighteen—it would be more fitting to call him a boy. Yet he can withstand the pressure of a High-tier Sword Sect!’

Qing Yu herself was known as a genius in her family. At eighteen, she was already a Sixth Rank Mad Swordsman. Her family had a Trial Land, and once her current mission was complete, she would earn one chance to enter it. After a year inside, she would emerge at nineteen, and at best, she might break through to become a second or third-rank Demon Sword Master. Yet she couldn’t sense the slightest fluctuation of power from the man before her. ’This can only mean one of two things: first, he knows no martial arts at all, which is why there’s no power fluctuation. Second, his strength is so far beyond mine that I can’t sense it!’

Judging by the situation, it was clearly the latter. This made Qing Yu feel a bit crestfallen, but it also raised her estimation of Ling Xiao considerably. Her family had sent a young woman like her as their messenger precisely because she was clever, tactful, and articulate, and wouldn’t easily offend others. She wasn’t like most disciples from the hidden families, who would wear a look of disdain at the mere mention of the Mortal World, as if anything related to the mundane was beneath their notice.

Perhaps this was related to her somewhat humble origins. ’But no matter,’ she thought, ’after today, my status in the family is going to skyrocket!’

In truth, her family’s mission was simply to bring back a single Beauty Pill. There was an addendum, of course: "the more, the better." But no one, not even the person who said it, let alone Qing Yu, had taken that part seriously. As powerful and wealthy as the hidden families were, even they wouldn’t dare make the outlandish claim of eating Beauty Pills like candy.

’As a thousand-year-old family, we certainly have some good things stored away, including many treasures we either can’t use or don’t understand. If I can trade for more Beauty Pills, first, I can curry favor with the family’s matrons. Second, I can establish a connection with Ling Xiao. From now on, if any other Top-Grade Elixirs appear, then I, Qing Yu, can get a piece of the pie!’

Qing Yu’s calculations had been perfect, and she had succeeded! When Yisha had unhesitatingly pulled out a porcelain vial, tipped out an elixir, and fed it to the maid, Qing Yu clearly saw the others freeze in shock. Their gazes burned as they stared at the small vial, and when they looked back at her, their eyes were filled with envy!

Without a doubt, the mysterious hidden family backing Ling Xiao possessed an incredibly high level of skill in refining elixirs!

And refining elixirs was the one field of study that the thousand-year-old hidden families and sects had pursued relentlessly for millennia.

Thus, with Ling Xiao’s rise to prominence, the hidden families and sects had all been spurred into action—eighty percent for his elixirs, and twenty percent for his sword techniques!

The ones interested in Ling Xiao’s sword techniques were typically the third-rate families and sects, or lower. Those above third-rate, however, were all focused on his elixirs!

Clearly, the yellow-robed Yu Guang hadn’t grasped this. He had heard that Ling Xiao, the City Lord of Penzes City, possessed formidable sword techniques. When he saw that large numbers of hidden families and sects were gathering in Penzes City, he too had rushed over with his men.

After waiting a long time without seeing Ling Xiao, he grew anxious. Then he suddenly saw the daughter of the Master of Qishan Sect walking out of Lingxiao Mansion and heading out of the city. Not long ago, the yellow-robed Yu Guang had clashed with this girl, Windbell’s, father over a treasure. While he hadn’t suffered a loss, he hadn’t gained any advantage either.

Seeing the daughter of the Master of Qishan Sect, Yu Guang’s eyes darted about as a sinister and vicious idea came to him. ’If the daughter of the Master of Qishan Sect dies here in Penzes City, that bastard Sect Leader will surely come for revenge, right? When that happens... Ling Xiao will have no choice but to show himself!’ So he dispatched three disciples from the outer sect to follow Windbell and assassinate her. He never expected that she would turn the tables, fighting one against three and killing them all.

Yu Guang’s gambit had ended in a complete and utter failure. Moreover, he would now have to face the consequences when he returned to his family.

His heart seethed with monstrous hatred for Ling Xiao.

There were eight messengers from the remaining hidden families and sects: the East Sea Zhao Family, the Southern Border Wang Family, the Western Li Family, the Tianshan Sun Family, the Snowfield Zhu Family, the Dragon Valley Gou Family, the Qinghui Qing Family, and the Sea Domain Song Family.

With the exception of Qing Yu’s Qinghui Family, all the others were second-rate families and sects. The Sea Domain Song Family, however, was a mysterious first-rate family!

Among the hidden families and sects, there were indeed some who maintained a low profile, their true strength well-hidden from outsiders. The Sea Domain Song Family was one such case. Hundreds of years ago, they had shot to fame in a single battle during a great war for a treasure, distinguishing themselves from a crowd of powerful families. But after seizing the treasure, they had immediately vanished without a trace. Nevertheless, the power of the Sea Domain Song Family had been acknowledged by the other hidden families and sects, who tacitly accepted them as a first-rate family.

These hidden families and sects came from various nations, but in their eyes, the concept of a country was not particularly important. Thus, their family names were often simply related to their local geography. To them, a nation was merely a matter of who happened to be in power.

The messenger from the Sea Domain Song Family was a handsome man in his twenties who had remained exceptionally low-key. He was the very picture of a graceful, peerless gentleman in a sullied world. Even when the yellow-robed Yu Guang had been causing a commotion, he had simply sat and watched the spectacle with a faint smile, showing none of the arrogance typical of a first-rate family. His pleasant demeanor made it impossible not to like him on sight.

Combined with the powerful and mysterious family at his back, no one dared to underestimate such a person.

Qing Yu had just broken the ice, but after the unexpected turn of events, no one else was willing to be the next to speak. All eyes turned to the messenger from the Sea Domain Song Family.

The Song Family messenger smiled calmly. "Since everyone is looking at me, I will take the liberty." He gave the crowd a friendly smile before turning to Ling Xiao. "I am Song Mingyue of the Sea Domain Song Family. I have come today to ask for a single favor, Brother Ling. Three years ago, my father failed while attempting a breakthrough and suffered a qi deviation. He has been unconscious ever since, barely clinging to life. I have heard that Brother Ling had his Celestial Vein opened and that his strength has progressed at a pace rarely seen in this world. Therefore, I have come to request that the grand master who opened your Celestial Vein might examine my father. Regardless of the outcome, please accept this small token of my sincerity."

As he spoke, he drew a fist-sized Luminous Pearl from his robes. It was a cloudy, pale yellow, and it radiated a soft, gentle light that was exceedingly pleasant to behold.

The people present were clearly connoisseurs, and someone couldn’t help but cry out in astonishment, "Ah... It’s a dragon’s eye!"

Song Mingyue smiled faintly. "This is merely the eye of a Deep Sea Poison Dragon. It cannot be considered a true dragon’s eye."

The gray-robed old man who had spoken was the same one who had tried to dissuade Yu Guang earlier. He couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath and sigh, shaking his head. "Truly the bearing of a great family! Compared to them, we second-rate families are lagging so far behind!"

The others also stared at the Deep Sea Poison Dragon Eye with burning desire. For the first time that night, a bright light shone in Yisha’s eyes. As someone intimately familiar with the continent’s medicinal herbs and Magical Beasts, Yisha, of course, understood the immense value of a Deep Sea Poison Dragon Eye.

She couldn’t help but look toward Ling Xiao.

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