In Cao Gang’s eyes, Mei Tianmo’s response was tantamount to admitting she was from the Xu family. To her question, he replied lightly, “Just a wager between juniors.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiao inwardly cursed the shamelessness. A wager between juniors? It was clearly forced by Cao Yuhua and the others; Xu Hao had never made such a bet.
The Cao family’s later announcement would hardly have been made without the elders’ approval.
Of course, while he cursed inwardly, Lin Xiao didn’t voice it. Both sides understood the situation clearly.
“Then, shall we let the juniors settle matters between themselves?” Mei Tianmo asked coolly.
“Naturally,” Cao Gang nodded faintly, in no rush. Once the juniors’ matter was resolved, he would “invite” the other party to stay as a guest at the Cao family.
The pretext for this invitation would be the rumour of the fall of Martial Lords from both the Cao and Xu families. Though they were eager to confirm it from this woman, there was no hurry.
In his view, this woman was likely not from the Xu family but rather from an affiliated force serving them.
“You wish to spar with our Cao family disciples?” At this moment, sensing that Lin Xiao was only emitting the aura of a Second Stage Martial Venerable, Cao Yuhua spoke with a face full of disdain.
Of course, this aura was deliberately projected by Lin Xiao. Otherwise, not only Cao Yuhua but even Cao Gang might not have been able to discern his true strength.
“Exactly!” Lin Xiao nodded calmly, saying, “Cao Yuhua, I’ll spar with your younger generation. If I lose, not only will Xu Hao stay as your guest, but I will too. If you lose, I take him away. How’s that?”
“Naturally!” Cao Yuhua nodded, glancing at Cao Zheng beside him, confident in Cao Zheng’s strength, which was rarely matched among Second Stage Martial Venerables.
But just as he was about to speak, Lin Xiao’s calm voice rang out, “Since that’s the case, let the Cao family send someone out. Any of your younger generation will do, hmm, any of the younger generation.”
At the end, Lin Xiao repeated himself in a casual tone.
“What?”
The Cao family members were stunned, then erupted in fury.
This guy dared to claim he’d challenge all of the Cao family’s younger generation?
Cao Yuhua’s face darkened slightly, caught off guard by the audacity. In his view, this talk of challenging everyone was mere bravado.
This guy must know the Cao family wouldn’t send anyone above Second Stage Martial Venerable, lest they be accused of bullying the weak.
“Heh, challenging all of our younger generation? This fellow has some guts, but he’d better watch his words, or he’ll just make a fool of himself,” Cao Yuhua sneered, then turned to Cao Zheng, “Cao Zheng, go meet this Xu family genius who claims to challenge our entire younger generation. Let’s see just how impressive the Xu family’s youth are.”
“Of course, feel free to go all out, since he’s the genius challenging all our younger generation.”
“Understood!” Cao Zheng grinned, licking his lips, a cold glint in his eyes. He activated his vital energy wings and soared into the air, facing Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao waved his hand, signalling Mei Tianmo to step back a bit.
By now, a large crowd had gathered around the Cao family’s residence, and the scene grew lively as they saw Lin Xiao and his companion standing in the void.
“That’s Cao Zheng, a Second Stage Martial Venerable genius of the Cao family!”
“Cao Zheng’s strength is formidable, rarely matched in his realm. I wonder how much ability this Xu family youth challenging him has?”
“This youth is also at the Second Stage Martial Venerable level, but he’s probably no match for Cao Zheng. The Xu family might lose face again this time.”
“I don’t think so. If the Xu family dared to send someone to challenge, they wouldn’t send a weak fighter. This battle should be worth watching.”
“If the Xu family carefully selected someone, they wouldn’t be weak, given they’re a major clan. But it’s only been a day—do you think the Xu family could’ve picked their strongest fighter already? The news probably hasn’t even reached the Xu family’s city!”
“Exactly. Look at Xu Hao’s example, thinking he could take on the Cao family’s youth and still losing.”
“This is the Cao family’s city. They can choose their strongest fighters of the same rank, giving them an advantage. The Xu family youth’s chances of winning are slim, but coming here despite that shows some courage worthy of a major clan.”
“Just coming to embarrass themselves—a foolish move.”
A flurry of discussions arose, with the onlookers largely pessimistic about the “Xu family youth.”
However, a few felt a sense of familiarity seeing the masked figure.
Hadn’t they seen him somewhere before?
“Wait, I remember! Isn’t this the youth who told me about the Cao-Xu family news yesterday? He’s from the Xu family?” one youth exclaimed in shock.
“Are you an idiot? Why would the Xu family spread such news? It does them no good and even got Xu Hao captured. If he was in the city yesterday, why didn’t he act then? Why wait until today? Plenty of people wear masks—you don’t think they’re all the same person, do you?” another youth retorted scornfully.
“Yeah, I must’ve overthought it,” the first youth said, shaking his head.
“Genius who challenges all our younger generation, make your move!” Cao Zheng said disdainfully, staring at Lin Xiao in the void.
To spout such bold words for mere verbal bravado, he didn’t mind hitting a bit harder.
Let this guy learn the consequences of arrogance.
“What? Cao Zheng said this Xu family youth claimed to challenge all the Cao family’s younger generation? That can’t be serious, can it?” The crowd buzzed with discussion.
“He must’ve said it knowing the Cao family would only send a matching opponent, just to sound tough. What a stupid move. Cao Zheng won’t go easy on him now.”
“Heh, this is getting interesting. Let’s watch the show.”
Voices chimed in, all dismissive of Lin Xiao, but he ignored them.
Lin Xiao nodded calmly at Cao Zheng, saying, “Alright!”
With that, Lin Xiao moved, charging straight at Cao Zheng. Clenching his fist, he threw a direct punch towards Cao Zheng.
Cao Zheng sneered inwardly. This attack was too simplistic—striking first or not made no difference.
Standing still on his vital energy wings in the void, Cao Zheng waited until Lin Xiao’s fist camerook was near before throwing a punch of his own, smashing it fiercely against Lin Xiao’s.
