There were 10 particular Emperor Realm cultivators in the Cloud Margin City that were no regular Emperors. Even in the entirety of the Soaring Dragon Province, they were among the top Emperors.
The Western Desert was the name of this vast region formed of numerous provinces. This region had a population of trillions of people. Numerous organizations filled the region, and in such a vast region, there were naturally a lot of powerful geniuses as well. The Soaring Dragon Province was merely a small province within the region, yet it already had a population of over 10 billion people.
One could say that the Cloud Margin City was doing very well for them to have 10 Emperors considered powerful even among the entirety of the province. The man speaking to Xiang Shaoyun was none other than the Saber Emperor, Du Xuanhao, who was ranked in the top three among the Emperors.
The Saber Emperor Du Xuanhao was a legend. Since he had started cultivating, he had slaughtered a path to Emperorship with his saber and had obtained a certain amount of reputation in the Soaring Dragon Province as a whole. If it wasn't because he had cultivated for slightly less time than the other top 10 Emperors, he would be ranked even higher.
As for why Du Xuanhao was here, he was here for Xiang Shaoyun. Xiang Shaoyun had managed to comprehend the saber intent at the Green Bamboo Academy, which was a saber intent he had left. He once planned to accept whoever was capable of comprehending that saber intent as his disciple. After waiting for many years, someone had finally comprehended the saber intent.
However, he did not show himself and take Xiang Shaoyun as his disciple immediately. Instead, he observed Xiang Shaoyun's nature in the dark before finally making his choice. In other words, ever since Xiang Shaoyun had comprehended the saber intent, Du Xuanhao had been secretly observing everything Xiang Shaoyun did.
Xiang Shaoyun was completely unaware of it all. The only thing he knew was that not even an Emperor was worthy of being his master.
"You must be kidding, senior. How would this kid dare toy around with you?" Xiang Shaoyun replied deferentially. He paused slightly before speaking again, emanating a unique sort of grace this time, "Although this kid has a low cultivation level, not many people are actually capable of being my master."
What he said was right. With his heaven-defying physique, even the strongest of the strongest within the Nine God Provinces would want to take him as a disciple. Although an Emperor was strong, they were still nothing in his eyes.
He was no longer the same Xiang Shaoyun who would act shamelessly just so he could be accepted into the Martial Hall Palace. He already had his cultivation foundation built and had a direction to strive for. Thus, he would be able to continue his cultivation even if he was all alone. After all, he still had an unimaginable number of battle techniques in his head. More importantly, his comprehension ability far surpassed an average person's. He would be able to comprehend the intricacies of cultivation even without guidance. Because of that, he did not have any intention to get a master for now.
When Du Xuanhao heard Xiang Shaoyun's words, he roared with laughter and said, "What a boastful kid. Do you think you can look down on everyone just because you are somewhat talented? Do you think this Emperor is just an ordinary King?"
A supreme power then erupted from Du Xuanhao's body before it pressed down on Xiang Shaoyun. Xiang Shaoyun was left unharmed, but he could clearly see that the rocks and pebbles around him had all been reduced to powder from the pressure. That was a terrifying presence, one that an ordinary King would not be able to release.
Xiang Shaoyun took in the pressure with complete calm. Not a trace of panic could be seen on his face. Rather, he waited until Du Xuanhao withdrew the pressure before unhurriedly saying, "I know senior is at least an Emperor, but still, that is not enough to be my master."
If someone else heard those words, they would most likely think that Xiang Shaoyun had gone crazy. Even an Emperor was not worthy of being his master? That was a tad bit too boastful, wasn't it? Even Du Xuanhao started to wonder if Xiang Shaoyun was actually mentally challenged.
"Tell me then, kid. What type of person is worthy of being your master?" Du Xuanhao asked with a frown.
He started wondering if Xiang Shaoyun was not as simple as he looked. Inwardly, he started questioning himself, Knowingly rejecting an Emperor like me as a master...is he the disciple of some major organization? Then again, even the kids of a tier-4 or tier-5 organization will still kneel down when meeting me.
"At the very least, one has to be a top Sovereign to be my master," Xiang Shaoyun answered seriously.
King Realm, Emperor Realm, Sovereign Realm, each realm was much more powerful than the realm before. The so-called Sovereign Realm was a realm after the Emperor Realm.
Even Du Xuanhao was visibly alarmed when he heard that. He sighed and said, "A person like that would be a supreme existence in tier-6 organizations. Do you think people like them would accept a mere second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator like you as a disciple? At your age, you need to at least be a King to catch their attention."
"I believe if they are not blind, they will come to the same conclusion as you, senior," Xiang Shaoyun replied confidently.
"Haha, I'm getting curious now. Where do you get all that confidence?" Du Xuanhao roared with laughter.
When Xiang Shaoyun saw Du Xuanhao's burning gaze, he quickly asked, "Senior, you aren't thinking of forcing me to be your disciple, right?"
Du Xuanhao immediately felt like a shameless person forcing a young man to be his disciple when he heard that. He quickly blurted, "Countless people are waiting to be my disciple. Since you are not interested, it's your loss. Just don't regret it in the future."
Right after saying that, he vanished.
"Hey, senior, you're not dumping me here, right? Come on! At least take me down the mountain!" Xiang Shaoyun cried out. Unfortunately, Du Xuanhao was nowhere to be seen.
Emperor my ass. Such an irresponsible person, Xiang Shaoyun grumbled inwardly. He stood on the mountain peak, not in any hurry to return to the stronghold. Instead, he lay down on a clean patch of grass and stared at the sky, thinking about his next step.
Apart from growing strong without stop, he really had no other options. But when he thought of the enemy he had to face in the future, he did not think that his strength alone would be enough.
I need to start building my own army. I need all sorts of people, and no matter the type of person they are, so long as they are useful, I will have a use for them. It is too tiring fighting alone. It's not like I stand a lot of chance fighting alone anyway, Xiang Shaoyun reached a decision.
After making up his mind, he got back up and headed to the Redwolf Bandits stronghold. The bandits there were already dispersing, and the stronghold was much more desolate compared to before.
After sending everyone on their way, Mo Mo went looking for Xiang Shaoyun. When she couldn't find him, she became extremely dispirited. Her initial plan was to live on with a decent backer. Unfortunately, that new backer did not seem to care about her at all. Thus, she was overjoyed when Xiang Shaoyun returned.
"Well done. You may stay by my side in the future. If you do well, I won't let you down," Xiang Shaoyun said.
"Thank you, y-young master!" Mo Mo said happily.
"Um. Pack up and come with me to Cloud Margin City," Xiang Shaoyun said with a nod.