"Halt! This place is off limits!" said the leader of the group. The group looked powerful, and there were about 40 or 50 people. The leader was a peak Transformation Realm cultivator, and there were a lot of other Transformation Realm cultivators among their ranks as well. As for the other members of the group, they were regular Astral Realm cultivators.
"Impudent! What gives you the qualification to block this path?" berated a late-stage Transformation Realm cultivator from the Gong Clan.
"Qualification? Because we are from the Chen Clan!" said the leader haughtily.
The moment the Gong Clan people heard that, they grew wary. The Chen Clan was most certainly the number one clan of Cloud Margin City. Their ancestor was one of the 10 Emperors, and they had an extremely close relationship with the Cloud Margin Pavilion.
The likes of the Gong Clan and Wen Clan were completely incomparable to the Chen Clan, not even if the two clans merged. With only one Emperor, the entire clan would enjoy glory; that was the pride of a clan with an Emperor. Only those from the Chen Clan would dare seal the path to the Flame Mountain. Any other person trying the same would have been chased off long ago.
"The Chen Clan is the strongest clan in Cloud Margin City, and they also have an Emperor. Looks like we have no choice but to leave," whispered Gong Qinyin.
"Alright." Xiang Shaoyun made the decision to retreat without a second thought. It wasn't that he was giving up on the earthcore fire, but presently, he couldn't afford to act rashly. He had to plan his moves carefully.
Right as Xiang Shaoyun's group was retreating, a different group arrived. Xiang Shaoyun glanced over and saw that Li Yaxuan was among the group. She also looked to be one of the group's leaders.
Li Yaxuan was also looking over at Xiang Shaoyun, and their gazes met. An elegant smile formed on her face as she said, "What a coincidence. We meet again."
"Yes, what a coincidence." Xiang Shaoyun nodded.
"Sister Xuan, who is this?" asked a young man beside Li Yaxuan.
Like Xie Sanqian, that young man was about 17 or 18 years old. At such a young age, he was already a seventh-stage Transformation Realm cultivator, two stages higher than Xie Sanqian. Even at a place like Cloud Margin City, he definitely qualified as a genius among geniuses.
Even Xiang Shaoyun was astonished when he saw the young man. He thought, It is quite a surprise to see such a remarkable genius at a tiny city like Cloud Margin City. This young genius is already comparable to the geniuses of tier-5 organizations.
The young man wasn't breathtakingly handsome, but he looked decent and had a face that one would never get tired of looking at. He was dressed in a thin outfit, showcasing his robust body. It was obvious he was also a hardworking cultivator.
"Overlord Xiang," Li Yaxuan gave a short introduction.
"The one who defeated Xie Sanqian and killed Ye Xuan?" the young man cried out in astonishment.
"That's right." Li Yaxuan nodded.
The young man stared at Xiang Shaoyun with a burning gaze, like a predator that had laid his eyes on a delicious prey. The gaze caused Xiang Shaoyun to have goosebumps.
"I challenge you to a fight!" the young man challenged with a surging battle intent.
Xiang Shaoyun blanked out momentarily before saying, "Why should I fight you?"
"Because I am the only one who can help you get through this blockade, allowing you to go search for the earthcore fire," said the young man confidently.
A doubtful expression surfaced on Xiang Shaoyun's face. Seeing that, Li Yaxuan explained, "He is Chen Zilong of Chen Clan."
Right after she said that, the group that had blocked Xiang Shaoyun's path walked over and bowed to Chen Zilong. "Greetings, young master."
The people in the group moved in a uniformed manner. It was obvious they were all well-trained.
"Rise," Chen Zilong said. He then looked at Xiang Shaoyun and said, "So long as you can defeat me, I will tell them to allow you passage. What do you think?"
"I am not interested in fighting you." Xiang Shaoyun shook his head.
Still mounted on his qilin lion, Chen Zilong said unhappily, "What? Do you look down on this young master?"
"Of course not. But your cultivation level is higher than mine. It is obvious you are bullying someone with a lower cultivation level than you. That is not a fair fight," Xiang Shaoyun said calmly.
"My cultivation level is higher than yours? I thought you have been hiding your cultivation level?" Chen Zilong asked in astonishment.
He was clear on the strength of both Xie Sanqian and Ye Xuan. If Xiang Shaoyun had defeated both of them, it was only understandable that Xiang Shaoyun's cultivation level wouldn't be too low.
He could sense that Xiang Shaoyun only had a cultivation level of second-stage Transformation Realm, but he was also aware that some treasures could help one hide one's real cultivation level. That was why he was so sure Xiang Shaoyun had been hiding his cultivation level. But since Xiang Shaoyun was not admitting to it, he started wondering if Xiang Shaoyun was lying to his face.
Xiang Shaoyun merely released all his aura, revealing his peak second-stage Transformation Realm aura to everyone. To the side, Li Yaxuan clarified, "I can confirm that he is definitely a second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. He is not hiding anything."
"With a cultivation level of second-stage Transformation Realm, you defeated Xie Sanqian and Ye Xuan. You are a genius capable of punching many levels above your weight!" Chen Zilong immediately grew excited. He paused for a bit before adding, "Too bad you are a tad bit too old. But that doesn't matter. This young master shall allow you an opportunity to become my follower. What do you think about that?"
With the mask on, Xiang Shaoyun looked like he was in his twenties. Reaching the second-stage Transformation Realm at that age wasn't anything special. But since he could punch above his weight, Chen Zilong concluded that he definitely had a secret technique allowing him to do so.
Thus, Chen Zilong changed his mind and decided to make Xiang Shaoyun his follower instead. He felt that it would be very cool to have a follower that powerful. Xiang Shaoyun merely laughed at his offer.
"HAHAHAHA..." Xiang Shaoyun roared with laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
As a young master of a tier-7 organization who once had countless followers, even if he had fallen from grace, he was still not someone anyone could speak so haughtily against.
A young master of a mere Emperor clan dared to speak like that to him? How laughable! In truth, Xiang Shaoyun wasn't laughing at Chen Zilong's arrogance. He was only laughing at himself, laughing at how low he had fallen.
"Impudent! What is that attitude!" berated a young man beside Chen Zilong.
That young man was one of Chen Zilong's followers. He was no less talented than Xie Sanqian. He was one year older than Xie Sanqian and was also a fifth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. He was also an inner disciple of the Cloud Margin Pavilion, and his name was Ji Jiuhan.
Xiang Shaoyun completely ignored Ji Jiuhan and gazed at Chen Zilong before saying, "Since you want to fight me so badly, I shall grant your wish. If I beat you, you shall be my follower instead."
Everyone blanked out upon hearing that. None of them had expected that Xiang Shaoyun, who just a moment ago was claiming that he was being bullied, would suddenly accept the challenge.
At the same time, the people there wondered, Has he really never heard of the number one young master of Cloud Margin City?