The vehicle traveled all the way into the Core Area.
"Guest Elder Su truly has incredible talent! At just � years old, you've already become a Senior Quasi-Warrior. That's truly enviable!"
Yuan Qi sat beside Su Xiaobai and said with a smile, "No wonder the family head was so eager to cherish your talent and make you a Guest Elder of our Zhang Family."
To avoid attracting attention, Su Xiaobai deliberately reined in his spiritual energy fluctuations to the level of a Senior Quasi-Warrior... A 17-year-old Senior Quasi-Warrior was rare, but not unheard of. However, those who reached such a level at that age were generally members of great lineages. It was practically impossible for an ordinary person.
"It was only a stroke of luck!"
"By the way, you said you were from the Zhang Family. How come I didn't see you when I went to the Zhang Family before?"
Su Xiaobai asked despite already knowing the answer.
"I was previously dispatched outside the base and was never inside it, so it's perfectly normal that you didn't know me!"
Yuan Qi's explanation was polished and airtight.
"Oh, I see~"
"Huh? We seem to have taken the wrong road, haven't we? I remember that this should be the route to the Zhang Family!"
Su Xiaobai suddenly pointed out the window, puzzled.
"This meeting is extremely important. To prevent people from other lineages from investigating or eavesdropping on us, the family head deliberately changed the location!"
"This is inside the Core Area. No one would dare run wild here. Don't you agree?"
Yuan Qi smiled slyly.
"That's true!" Su Xiaobai nodded as though it were only natural.
A moment later, they arrived.
Yet the place they reached was none other than the Yuan Manor!
Yuan Qi and the others had already investigated. Su Xiaobai had only entered the Core Area once, and there had been no trace of him afterward. Thus, there was a very high chance that he had no idea what the Yuan Manor looked like.
"Guest Elder Su, please!"
After getting out of the vehicle, Yuan Qi led Su Xiaobai into the manor. Su Xiaobai looked completely relaxed and not the least bit wary, further confirming Yuan Qi's guess.
In fact, even if Su Xiaobai recognized the place, it would not matter.
The moment he got into the vehicle, Yuan Qi had already locked onto him firmly... A Intermediate Martial Master dealing with a Senior Quasi-Warrior—wouldn't that be as easy as turning over his hand?
Soon, they entered the Yuan Family's Reception Hall.
Inside the Reception Hall, Yuan Feihe and all the Yuan Family's high-ranking members were already present, waiting.
When they saw Su Xiaobai, their gazes all sharpened!
"He really is a Senior Quasi-Warrior!"
"Truly, heroes emerge from the young!"
"The Zhang Family's luck is pretty good... What a pity this little fellow isn't so lucky!"
"..."
All the Yuan Family's high-ranking members were speculating inwardly, with murderous intent hidden deep in their eyes.
"Why don't I recognize a single person here?"
"Did you bring me to the wrong place?"
As soon as Su Xiaobai entered the Reception Hall, he put on a puzzled expression.
"Guest Elder Su, he didn't bring you to the wrong place. I was the one who wanted to meet you!"
"Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Yuan Feihe, the Yuan Family Head!"
Yuan Feihe announced with a smile.
The instant he finished speaking, the doors of the Reception Hall slammed shut.
"The Yuan Family?!"
"What are you trying to do?"
Su Xiaobai's "expression changed drastically," and he put on a "panicked look."
"Guest Elder Su, please remain calm!"
Yuan Feihe sat upright in the seat of honor and said with a chuckle, "I imagine you've heard something about the grudge between our Yuan Family and the Zhang Family, haven't you?"
"I won't hide it from you. The Yuan Family and Zhang Family are indeed as incompatible as fire and water... Ever since that Zhang Henglong broke one of my third brother's arms, I swore that the Yuan Family and Zhang Family would fight to the death!"
"Guest Elder Su, you're a genius!"
"At only � years old, you've already reached the level of a Senior Quasi-Warrior. Your Cultivation Aptitude far surpasses that of ordinary people!"
"Zhang Henglong is indeed deep and calculating enough to make a Senior Quasi-Warrior a Guest Elder, clearly intending to invest in the Zhang Family's future... But I'd like to advise you, Guest Elder Su: the Zhang Family is at the end of its road. The Yuan Family is the one with a truly glorious future ahead!"
"Guest Elder Su, why not think it over? Abandon the darkness and turn toward the light. Join my Yuan Family, and together we can pursue glory and wealth. How does that sound?"
Yuan Feihe stared intently at Su Xiaobai.
The reason he had not killed Su Xiaobai outright was precisely because of this plan... If he could recruit such a genius under his command, then once the Zhang Family found out, they would surely be even more furious and humiliated!
"Join the Yuan Family?"
Su Xiaobai deliberately repeated the words.
"That's right. Whatever the Zhang Family promised you, my Yuan Family can give you twice as much!"
"Whatever the Zhang Family can't give you, my Yuan Family can give you all the same!"
"In this world, the strong are revered. With Cultivation Aptitude like yours, Guest Elder Su, you ought to stand alongside the strong, don't you think?"
Yuan Feihe smiled.
"Oh? So you're saying you can give me more money?"
"Guest Elder Su, you can name any conditions you have!"
Yuan Feihe's face was full of confidence.
"Fine, I don't want too much. How about you give me � billion Spirit Coins first?"
The moment Su Xiaobai said this, Yuan Feihe's expression collapsed.
The other Yuan Family members present also turned frosty. In an instant, the entire atmosphere in the Reception Hall froze, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
"Guest Elder Su, that joke isn't funny at all!"
Yuan Feihe's tone gradually turned cold. "I invited you with complete sincerity, yet you toy with me like this. Isn't that a little inappropriate?"
"I'm toying with you?"
Su Xiaobai changed from his earlier pretense and gave a soft laugh.
He walked straight over, pulled out a chair, and sat down naturally.
"I just told you that reaching the level of a Senior Quasi-Warrior at my age means my Cultivation Aptitude is exceptionally high and that I'm a moldable genius... So you're willing to offer me a sufficiently generous reward! Am I right?"
The corner of Su Xiaobai's mouth lifted. "But what if I told you I'm not a Senior Quasi-Warrior?"
Not a Senior Quasi-Warrior?
What did he mean?
Just as everyone was baffled, the spiritual energy fluctuations around Su Xiaobai suddenly began to surge!
"Beginner Warrior?!"
"He... He broke through and became a Beginner Warrior?"
Someone cried out in alarm.
But soon, someone else sensed that something was wrong.
"Wait! This is... the spiritual energy fluctuation of an Intermediate Warrior!"
"Are you kidding me?! He broke through two realms at once?! That's impossible!"
In an instant, he had crossed from Senior Quasi-Warrior to Intermediate Warrior... Every Yuan Family member present was utterly shocked, their faces filled with horror!
However.
Something even more terrifying appeared before them.
"Hiss—"
"Advanced Warrior!! That's the aura of an Advanced Warrior!!"
"Heaven... Oh heavens... An... an Advanced Warrior?!"
"I'm not sensing it wrong, am I... He's only � years old!"
Even Yuan Feihe was so horrified that the hairs on his scalp rose one by one. His mouth hung open, and he stared dumbfounded, tongue-tied, and utterly petrified. His face held nothing but shock!
In the span of merely two breaths.
Su Xiaobai had actually gone from Senior Quasi-Warrior all the way to Advanced Warrior!
The difference of a single word, yet worlds apart!
"Yuan Family Head, do you still think that when I said � billion just now, I was joking with you?"
Su Xiaobai said flatly..
Before you continue