At this moment, the young commander of the Tiger Legion stood astride his tiger in the void, silent, his gaze fixed on the stone gate as if ignoring everyone else.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Not long after, five more figures flew towards the scene.
What shocked everyone most was that among these five, two were elders. One rode on vital qi wings, exuding a pressure akin to the Tiger Legion’s young commander, while the other had no trace of vital qi wings beneath his feet yet soared through the air.
This sent a jolt through the crowd— flying without vital qi wings? Could it be a Martial Lord?
A Martial Lord had arrived?
“That’s a fourth-tier low-level spirit controller, not a Martial Lord!” a Martial King elder spoke up, revealing the truth. Spirit controllers, with their exceptional spiritual power, held revered status and could fly by controlling it.
“I see— gave me a fright! If a Martial Lord came, how could we compete?” someone sighed in relief.
“Though it’s not a Martial Lord, the one beside him is a mid-tier Martial Venerable, with an aura matching the Tiger Legion’s young commander— his strength is definitely not weak,” another cautioned.
“And those three youths are impressive too— Martial Kings at such a young age. They must be from a major power,” someone else added.
Only then did the crowd shift their focus to the three youths beside them.
All in their early twenties, they were striking in appearance and extraordinary in aura, each standing on vital qi wings.
That meant all three were Martial Kings— stepping into the Martial King realm so young.
What’s a genius? This was true genius— Martial Kings in their twenties, with limitless potential!
This darkened the expressions of Ji Mo, Qi Mubai, Liu He, and Gong Feiyun. As the region’s top geniuses, half-step Martial Kings with few peers, they now faced three genuine young Martial Kings— a blow they struggled to accept.
The gap between half-step and full Martial King was just a half-step, yet fundamentally different.
“Could they be from the Holy City? Within tens of thousands of miles of this chaotic region, only that place could produce such talents,” someone speculated.
“The Holy City’s far— how could they get here? Did they set out early too?” another wondered.
Shock and doubt fueled heated discussion. Martial Kings were rare here, and ones so young were even rarer.
Amid the crowd’s astonishment, Lin Xiao’s face grew cold, his icy gaze locking onto the white-robed elder nearly mistaken for a Martial Lord.
He knew this man well— the fourth-tier low-level spirit controller who refined beast transformation pills, Master Yuling.
After escaping that day, he’d brought this group of powerhouses. If recognised, Lin Xiao would be in immediate danger.
He’d stolen Master Yuling’s beast transformation pill and nearly killed him.
Master Yuling surely hated him to the core.
Hu Yue beside him also glared coldly.
Master Yuling’s eyes scanned the crowd, searching for something.
Hearing the murmurs, the three youths grew even more arrogant. A sword-browed, starry-eyed youth in grey robes stepped forward, his disdainful gaze sweeping the crowd, “This region’s truly barren— not a single decent young fighter in sight!”
The crowd tensed, and the four top geniuses— Liu He, Gong Feiyun, and the others— looked grim, their pride wounded.
Yet they couldn’t argue, especially with a mid-tier Martial Venerable present— they dared not provoke him.
The grey-robed youth added scornfully, “And don’t compare us to the Holy City’s rubbish. If one of their lot were here, I’d beat them in ten moves!”
This stunned the crowd. The Holy City— a hub of genius— and this youth called its talents rubbish?
Defeating a Holy City genius in ten moves— wasn’t he too arrogant?
Still, they didn’t retort— his talent was undeniably exceptional.
Ignoring their reactions, the youth’s sharp eyes scanned the crowd, shouting, “Where’s the one who opened Junzang?”
The crowd jolted, realisation dawning— yes, where was the opener?
They’d overlooked something— focused on Junzang, they’d forgotten its trigger.
A while back, a youth took the key, used a fake to pit the Liu and Gong families against each other, and was hunted relentlessly.
Now that Junzang appeared, they’d lost track of him— they didn’t believe it could emerge without that youth.
At this, Liu Yan and Gong Hongyun erupted in fury, their murderous gazes sweeping the crowd.
That brat had humiliated them, sparking a deadly clash over a fake key with their elite forces.
In truth, their families’ current plight stemmed from him.
Unbeknownst to them, Lin Xiao was the one who’d thrown the Liu family into chaos— or they’d be raging now.
Lin Xiao’s eyes narrowed— these people still hadn’t forgotten him.
Master Yuling scanned everyone, finally fixing on Lin Xiao and Hu Yue, masked and veiled. He studied those around them, pondering.
Then he pointed at Hu Yue, commanding, “You lot— remove your veil and mask!”
Lin Xiao’s face darkened.
Hu Yue’s娇躯 trembled, fists clenching as killing intent brewed.
Though their auras were altered, their faces remained unchanged— unveiling would expose them.
“What are you waiting for? Courting death?” the grey-robed youth barked.
“Fellow daoist…” Lin Xiao stepped forward to speak, but the youth cut him off, “What are you? You think you’re worthy to speak to me?”
The crowd marvelled— these people were domineering indeed.
“Isn’t this a bit unreasonable?” Lin Xiao stood firm, meeting the youth’s gaze in the void.
“Insolent!” The youth flared with killing intent.
“No need to unveil— he’s the one! He used aura-mixing powder to change his presence!” Master Yuling stepped forward, pointing at Lin Xiao with certainty.
A thick wave of killing intent poured from him.
Lin Xiao’s expression shifted drastically. What kind of man was Master Yuling to know about aura-mixing powder and still recognise him?
“Rat, you dared ruin my plans— today, I’ll take your life!” Master Yuling roared, vast spiritual power surging from his brow into a giant palm print, crashing towards Lin Xiao and Hu Yue.
“Ruthless!”
Lin Xiao cursed under his breath, grabbing Hu Yue and charging forward.
Their disguises had failed.
