The voice clearly belonged to a young man. Upon hearing it, Lin Xiao frowned slightly, abandoned the idea of continuing to refine human pills, stood up, and slowly walked out.
As expected, disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect had come looking for trouble.
He opened the door and stepped out calmly. Five young men appeared in his line of sight.
Lin Xiao had never met any of them before.
From the aura they emitted, every one of them was extremely powerful. The white-robed youth in the centre who held a folding fan was particularly inscrutable; Lin Xiao could not even gauge his cultivation.
Of the other four, three had reached the Fifth Layer Martial Emperor realm, while one had reached the Sixth Layer.
All of them were under twenty-five years old.
Lin Xiao was rather shocked. At this age, each of them had already attained such cultivation, and these were merely second-tier geniuses, probably only a portion of them.
The Azure Dragon Sect was truly terrifying.
If these people were placed in the Southeast Domain, they would all be apex powerhouses.
Of course, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the resources in Central Province far exceeded anything the Southeast Domain could offer. Comparing them using the standards of the Southeast Domain was simply unfair.
Take himself, for instance. If he were still in the Southeast Domain now, even Dongfang Kaiyuan and Sikong Jian would probably no longer be his match.
“May I ask what business the senior brothers have with me?”
Lin Xiao swept his gaze across them and asked calmly.
“It is not a big matter. We heard that the peak masters of all nine veins of our Azure Dragon Sect came personally to recruit a certain genius, yet were refused. We merely wished to see for ourselves what kind of stunning prodigy would dare reject the nine peak masters.”
The white-robed youth fanned himself lightly and spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Senior brothers will be disappointed. This junior simply already belongs to a sect and cannot join the Azure Dragon Sect, that is all.”
Lin Xiao replied evenly.
“Hmph. Even so, I am afraid you do not have the qualifications to refuse.”
At that moment, a burly Fifth Layer Martial Emperor youth stepped forward, his aura erupting as he said coldly, “We came today precisely to see what qualifications you possess to reject the nine peak masters!”
“Kong Hongjun, what do you think you are doing?”
Just then, a somewhat rough female voice rang out. A figure flew lightly over and landed heavily on the ground, causing it to tremble.
The figure was none other than Bi Yao, who placed herself directly between Lin Xiao and the burly youth, blocking both their lines of sight.
“What is the matter, Bi Yao? Do you intend to stop us?”
The burly youth showed no intention of backing down. “Others may fear you, but I do not!”
“Try me then!”
Bi Yao shouted angrily, stomping forward. The ground trembled faintly once more.
She turned back, smiled gently at Lin Xiao, and said softly, “Little brother Lin Xiao, do not worry. I will not let them bully you.”
“…” Lin Xiao was speechless.
Inwardly, he sighed. Bi Yao probably still had no idea that this trouble had been arranged by her own brother.
The nine peak masters were surely adding fuel to the flames behind the scenes.
They were most likely testing his potential, weighing whether he was worth the Azure Dragon Sect befriending, and whether he deserved a spot on the inter-province teleportation formation.
Although he did not actually need the Azure Dragon Sect to grant him one, from their uninformed perspective, this was perfectly reasonable.
It was just that Bi Yao was a little too innocent.
Bi Yao turned back around, glared fiercely at the five, and shouted coldly, “Kong Hongjun, Xuan Hua, he is a guest my brother brought. If you want to make things difficult for him, you will have to get past me first!”
“Hmph. Even if your brother were here, he could not stop us, let alone you!”
The burly youth named Kong Hongjun snorted coldly, brimming with confidence.
“Who says I cannot stop you lot?”
At that moment, a scolding voice sounded. Immediately afterwards, a short and skinny figure flew over and landed beside Bi Yao.
It was none other than Bi Zhuang.
“Brother!”
Seeing Bi Zhuang arrive, Bi Yao was instantly delighted.
The expressions of Kong Hongjun and the others, even the ever-calm fan-wielding youth Xuan Hua, changed slightly. Caution appeared in their eyes.
Still, although Bi Zhuang was strong, stopping all five of them would probably be beyond him.
Moreover, they had come prepared.
Kong Hongjun stepped forward, about to speak, but Bi Zhuang cut in first, “However, I will not raise a hand against you!”
With that, Bi Zhuang forcefully dragged Bi Yao to the side, turned his head toward Lin Xiao, and said, “Brother Lin Xiao, teach them a good lesson for me.”
“Brother, what are you doing?
Lin Xiao is a guest you brought yourself. How can you let them come here and slap our faces?”
Bi Yao was completely bewildered and refused to move.
“It is fine. He can handle it. Besides, they know where to draw the line. They will not kill anyone.”
Bi Zhuang said carelessly.
“But brother…” Bi Yao grew anxious. At that moment, Lin Xiao also spoke, “Let me handle it. I also wish to seek guidance from the disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect and see what they are capable of.”
“What arrogant words!”
Kong Hongjun roared coldly, “Follow us to the sparring platform!”
Lin Xiao shook his head slightly and said indifferently, “All five of you intend to fight, I assume?
Those at the Fifth Layer Martial Emperor realm can fight right here.”
“You!”
Kong Hongjun was instantly furious. Inviting the opponent to the sparring platform was already showing considerable face. In truth, he had wanted to teach the boy a lesson right here from the start.
However, since they had never crossed hands and he could not gauge the opponent’s depth, and to avoid causing damage to the area, he had conservatively suggested the sparring platform.
Yet the opponent, though always speaking politely, was extraordinarily arrogant.
Barely twenty years old, yet he dared claim that the three Fifth Layer Martial Emperors could fight him right here.
The other four were equally stunned. Fighting here meant he possessed the ability to easily defeat them without causing damage to the surroundings. This fellow actually dared to look down on them so openly.
Bi Yao was also dumbfounded. Only Bi Zhuang remained relatively calm.
A person who dared to kill even Ninth Layer Martial Emperors of the Ji family might appear low-key and reserved, but once he revealed his edge, he was overwhelmingly domineering.
Even here in the Azure Dragon Sect.
Let alone Fifth Layer Martial Emperors of the sect, he would probably adopt the same attitude toward anyone, showing his sharp edge without restraint.
“This brat is far too arrogant, is he not?”
In the dark, the Ninth Peak Master cursed under his breath.
“He is indeed a bit arrogant. Kong Hongjun and the other two are no weaklings. Defeating them easily will not be that simple.”
The Eighth Peak Master said.
“Do not forget, this fellow dared to kill a Ninth Layer Martial Emperor and remained perfectly calm in front of all nine of us, refusing without hesitation. Toward those of his own generation, he probably will not be so polite.”
The Second Peak Master said.
“I rather want to see whether he truly possesses the ability to fight across several major realms, as Bi Zhuang claimed.”
The Great Peak Master sighed.
“What Bi Zhuang said was only that he fought Ji Yang alongside both yuan and spiritual power. His strength should be around the Fifth Layer Martial Emperor level. Originally, we thought sending five people, including Zhuo Yifan and Xuan Hua, was already overkill. Who would have thought this Lin Xiao would actually show a bit of disdain? It seems this boy is still holding back somewhat.”
The Third Peak Master said.
