Xu Guang watched the falling snow on the street, his gaze drifting. They were entering the city to meet the City Guardian, yet Abnormal People had been allowed inside. Were the Abnormal People not afraid that Feiyun City would intercept and kill them within the walls? Aside from reaching an agreement, there was likely an element of demonstrating their might.
For some reason, Xu Guang couldn’t help but feel that Feiyun City was at a disadvantage in this so-called friendly agreement.
Since they were just waiting anyway, Xu Guang recounted the events that had taken place at the Immortal Institute a few days prior, hoping to hear Wang Ming’s opinion.
Hearing this, Wang Ming paused with his wine goblet suspended in the air and frowned.
"Your master is actually someone from the City Guard’s Mansion. In that case, the Cheng family..."
Xu Guang remained silent, but Wang Ming was no fool; he too had realized a great deal.
"Erlang, what are your thoughts?"
"Me? Master Zhao controls the formula for the Secret Medicine I need for Cultivation. If I don’t want to join the army, my only option is to switch allegiances," Xu Guang said pointedly.
"You can’t. A person’s Essence Blood is limited. If you switch to cultivating another Cultivation Technique, your body won’t be able to keep up," Wang Ming immediately objected.
Upon hearing this, a bright gleam suddenly flashed in Xu Guang’s eyes. "Wang Ming, do you mean... if one has enough Essence Blood, they can cultivate other Cultivation Techniques?"
Wang Ming nodded. "That’s natural. Every Cultivation Technique has its unique circulation path, and the flow of qi and blood corresponds to specific meridians. For example, your Golden Willow Skill specializes in the lower body. Thus, upon reaching Great Success in Bone Forging, the strength of your lower limbs will actually be somewhat greater than that of other Bone Forger Martial Artists.
"This can actually be seen in many aspects, such as Techniques. Every Cultivation Technique comes with a matching set of Techniques, many of which rely on the meridians opened up through the Cultivation Technique. You haven’t practiced other Techniques and methods, otherwise you would discover that the Cultivation speed of those Techniques is far inferior to those complementing the Golden Willow Skill.
"In fact, if you have enough Essence Blood, cultivating an additional Cultivation Technique is actually a good thing. At the very least, you will have more areas of strength. In a way, you will naturally have fewer weaknesses."
Xu Guang looked thoughtful, but his heart was pounding. Although he had held the Blood Eye in high regard, he now realized that his development and utilization of it were still far from sufficient.
Wang Ming’s words seemed to reveal an entirely new path to him. By relying solely on Cultivation rather than Bloodline Power, he could achieve dominance within his Realm and perhaps even surpass Heroic Level Combat Power. He genuinely marveled once again at the extraordinary nature of the Ancient Celestial Eye.
If that was the case... joining the army would actually benefit him. The battlefield was treacherous, and human life was cheap. Yet, precisely because life was cheap, his opportunities to harvest Essence Blood would multiply!
For the first time, he began to seriously consider enlisting. All living creatures possessed blood, but obtaining it required slaughter. This wasn’t something the Searcher could resolve for him. Previously, Xu Guang had planned to use the Searcher to hunt in Two-Arm Mountain, but now that he thought about it, joining the army was a far better option.
Moreover, enlisting and getting close to the Three Guards would allow him to gauge the city’s current attitude toward Abnormal People. If his concerns proved unfounded, he might even appropriately reveal his Stone Skin Bloodline.
"It seems I have no choice but to join the army," Xu Guang said softly.
Wang Ming hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth. "After the agreement is finalized today, there shouldn’t be any new conflicts for at least a year or two. Erlang, if you truly don’t want to go, take your mother and leave Feiyun City."
Xu Guang was somewhat moved. He knew very well that although Master Zhao had claimed enlistment was entirely voluntary, his own background was too lowly; his right to "volunteer" would naturally be stripped away. If he left, the City Guard’s Mansion might very well come after Wang Ming.
"Let’s just wait and see. Master Zhao also said they would wait until a critical moment, so I imagine it won’t be anytime soon. The City Guard’s Mansion isn’t running a charity. Why would they willingly let us enlist to collect salaries when we are Ping’an?"
Wang Ming found his reasoning sound and burst into hearty laughter.
While they were talking, a sudden commotion erupted on the street below. People emerged from wherever they had been hiding and looked toward the Inner City gate, as if witnessing something incredibly rare.
With his sharp hearing, Xu Guang could make out the distant shouts of the crowd yelling things like, "An Alien Species has entered the city!"
The people of the Yellow Heaven Sect had arrived.
The crowd inside Cang Mang Tower had also grown.
"The members of the Inner City’s three major families have arrived as well," Wang Ming told Xu Guang in a low voice.
Xu Guang immediately turned his head, following Wang Ming’s gaze toward the stairs on the second floor of Cang Mang Tower. Lines of people filed upstairs, guided by Maids toward the third floor. They were all dressed in identical white uniforms, with the character for ’Han’ embroidered on their chests.
Xu Guang’s gaze turned icy. Every one of these white-clad individuals was robust and burly, their faces bearing fierce expressions.
"The man leading them is the eldest young master of the Han family’s second branch, Han Po. The one who injured your father was his biological sister."
Knowing the true cause of his father-in-law’s death, Wang Ming reached out and firmly grasped Xu Guang’s hand on the table. "Erlang, don’t do anything reckless. The Han family is one of the three major families. You only have a chance for revenge if you stay alive."
Xu Guang exhaled heavily and nodded in silence.
Besides the Han family, the other two major families had also sent representatives, along with members of various smaller families. Wang Ming provided a brief introduction but didn’t elaborate further.
Xu Guang had never imagined that a relatively modest place like Feiyun City could harbor hundreds of respectable factions, both big and small. For a time, the vitality and qi within Cang Mang Tower surged into the sky. The vitality of Martial Artists was mostly vigorous and scorching; with so many of them gathered in the building, the intense heat actually melted the snow on the tower’s roof.
For eight years, he had been constantly on the move to ensure his family’s survival, and for the past few months, he had buried himself in Cultivation. He had never forgotten his father’s grudge, but he also knew in his heart that with his current strength, taking revenge would be extremely difficult.
He clenched his fists, producing a cracking sound as his knuckles turned stark white.
But he could only endure it. He was still... not strong enough.
A shout of "They’re here!" rang out from an unknown direction, and the crowd below immediately began to swarm together.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The sound of a massive object striking the ground echoed like a giant strolling through the city, the heavy impacts reverberating in the hearts of everyone present.
In the direction of the city gates, a colossal creature crouched down to squeeze through the nearly four-meter-high entrance. Xu Guang’s face was filled with shock as he laid eyes on the owner of those footsteps.
It was a massive White Elephant... nearly six meters long and almost as tall as the city gate itself! Its entire body was as flawless as white jade, reflecting a brilliant gleam in the glowing snow.
Possessing the Celestial Eye, Xu Guang could discern the finer details on the White Elephant’s body. Beneath its sparse hairs were scale-like textures, making it look like a masterpiece of art. Just looking at it was enough to convey a sense of its hopelessly impenetrable defense.
On the Jade Elephant’s back sat a figure draped in a black robe that almost completely concealed their body, making their face utterly indiscernible. The only noticeable detail was that their physique appeared somewhat slight compared to an ordinary Martial Artist.
Beside the giant, white jade-like elephant walked a figure nearly two meters tall. It was snowing outside, yet this person was half-naked, dressed in the attire of the Buddhist Sect. His bronze muscles resembled solid rock, reflecting an eerie luster in the snow. Before the snowflakes could even touch his body, they vanished into thin air, giving rise to wisps of white steam.
His imposing aura faintly rivaled that of the colossal Jade Elephant.
It was safe to assume that this half-naked man and the black-robed figure on the Jade Elephant were the two major leaders of the Yellow Heaven Sect’s expedition—the Vajra Canon Seat and the Jade Elephant Canon Seat.
Xu Guang narrowed his eyes as a bizarre sense of greed sprouted in his heart. He had never used the Blood Eye’s ability to plunder another person’s bloodline. He hadn’t encountered many Abnormal People to begin with, let alone any whose Realm was lower than his own.
He held a Dragon-slaying Treasure Saber, yet no young dragons were in sight.
Beside him, Wang Ming whispered, "The Jade Elephant Canon Seat possesses the Bloodline Power of a Spirit Binder of Alien Species, employing methods to evolve an Alien Species’ bloodline and continuously strengthen them. The Jade Elephant he’s riding is the strongest Alien Species he has cultivated. If it charged, even a Refining Viscera Martial Artist would have to retreat temporarily!
"The person beside him is the Vajra Canon Seat. Rumor has it that he is invulnerable to weapons, but few people know the specific details of his Bloodline Power."
As for the subordinates trailing behind the two Canon Seats, their appearance was far inferior. These skimpily dressed Martial Artists looked rather wretched; despite their vigorous vitality and steady auras, they gave off an undeniable impression of malnourishment.
The sound of footsteps drifted up, followed by a crisp and melodious voice echoing near the staircase. "So many people?"
Someone from the upper floor came down to greet the newcomer. It was none other than the eldest young master of the Han family who had made Xu Guang grit his teeth—Han Po.
At this moment, Han Po’s face bore a hint of sycophancy, a remarkably amicable smile plastered across his handsome, jade-like features.
"Junior Sister Su is here! Please, have a seat over here. Where are the staff of Cang Mang Tower? Serve Junior Sister Su some fine delicacies!"
His overly attentive attitude made him look less like the eldest young master of the Han family and more like a lowly servant of Cang Mang Tower.
Xu Guang cast a glance in that direction, a look of realization dawning in his eyes.
The woman who had just come upstairs was the Closed-door Disciple of the Cold Blade Sect, the mysterious lady from a prominent Ji State clan. Xu Guang had seen her once before at a matchmaking event in Cang Mang Tower.
This woman’s status and position were much higher than he had imagined.
Xu Guang pondered silently but didn’t stare for long. At that moment, the clattering of Weapons and armor echoed from outside the window, accompanied by the clatter of hooves and the neighing of horses emerging from the direction of the Inner City.