"Xiao Ting, you're not allowed to say another word."
Zhu Ding warned him in the sternest tone. By now, he knew Xiao Ting wasn't truly kind—he was merely feigning kindness.
That, of course, wasn't the problem. The problem was that if he kept indulging Xiao Ting, Lotus Sword Emperor might very well change her mind.
Xiao Ting couldn't understand why his master was so angry.
After thinking it over on his own, he decided his master was afraid of offending Lotus Sword Emperor.
But he was helping Lotus Sword Emperor get rid of Xiao Yao, that good-for-nothing. How could that offend her?
As he puzzled over it, Xiao Yao's powerful voice reached his ears.
"Holier-than-thou? Ha!"
"I, Xiao Yao, wasn't being holier-than-thou just now. I truly don't need this Profound Dry Fruit."
Even though Xiao Yao had said so, the people around him still didn't believe it.
In response, Xiao Yao silently said, System, stop hiding the Chaos Body.
[Beep! The Chaos Body has been unlocked!]
The next instant, the aura of his bloodline burst forth from within him.
The Three Thousand Great Daos spun around Xiao Yao like a symphony of notes.
Then, a surge of chaotic mist poured out, shrouding his entire body and blurring his figure until he looked like an immortal descending to the mortal world.
At the same time, his features—made even more handsome by the Chaos Body—and his sturdy build were revealed.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Countless people dropped to their knees of their own accord, as if bowing before a noble emperor.
Ye Feng and Xiao Ting struggled to stay upright, but before long, both of them dropped to their knees with a thud, their postures full of submission.
Within Ascension Avenue, only Shātu Demon Sage Zhu Ding and Lotus Sword Emperor Dongfang Xuetong remained standing.
Even Venerable Lingyu, who had looked down on Xiao Yao earlier, was now on both knees.
"Is this the Innate Chaos Body?" Zhu Ding murmured in disbelief, his eyes wide.
Dongfang Xuetong smiled radiantly. She had never imagined Xiao Yao could give her such a huge surprise.
The Innate Chaos Body was the strongest bloodline of the Emperor Tier—or, more accurately, the strongest bloodline in the Human Realm.
That Wang Teng who supposedly possessed the Emperor's Bearing was trash before her disciple, utterly unworthy of mention.
After calming her excitement, Dongfang Xuetong's eyes narrowed.
Why hadn't her disciple revealed that he possessed the Chaos Body earlier?
Thinking it over, she realized Xiao Yao must have been afraid others would snatch him away.
But when she'd said not long ago that she wanted to take him as her disciple, he should have revealed it then!
Then, at last, Dongfang Xuetong understood completely.
In other words, her disciple hadn't trusted her earlier.
Having seen through everything, Dongfang Xuetong parted her rosy lips and declared coldly, "Everyone present, Xiao Yao is my Direct Disciple. Anyone who dares lay a hand on him will make an enemy of me. I will hunt them down without rest until one of us is dead."
At once, Zhu Ding, who had just been thinking of making a move, sucked in a breath of cold air.
If only he'd taken this good-for-nothing as his disciple just now!
But he couldn't be blamed, either. Who could have guessed that a boy with no cultivation aptitude, who hadn't even begun cultivating at twelve, could conceal the Chaos Body?
Most importantly, his Lord had spent a thousand years searching and still hadn't found a peerless genius who could hide his true aptitude like this.
And...
Lotus Sword Emperor had encountered one in less than a quarter of a day!
This was so absurd that even absurdity itself would have opened the door and welcomed it in!
[Beep! Congratulations, Host, on completing the task: Reveal the Chaos Body. You have received the Venerable Tier Grand Formation: Heavenly Net.]
[Heavenly Net: Can kill Venerable Realm cultivators and trap Half-step Saint Realm cultivators. Requires 1,000 Low-grade spirit stones per day.]
[When activated in burst mode, it can kill Half-step Saint Realm cultivators and trap Saint Realm cultivators. Requires 100,000 Low-grade spirit stones per day.]
"Damn! That's a huge drain!" Xiao Yao complained inwardly.
[Beep! You don't need to activate burst mode under normal circumstances. The 100,000 Low-grade spirit stones you obtained earlier can sustain it for 100 days. And during that time, won't you be able to earn rewards by checking in? As long as your luck is normal, you don't need to worry about running short of Low-grade spirit stones.]
"Right!" Xiao Yao agreed inwardly.
Then he realized he might not need to use the Heavenly Net at all—or worry about running short on Low-grade spirit stones—because he had an Empress as his master, one with a deep foundation.
"Disciple, I already know you possess the Chaos Body. You don't need to keep displaying it," Dongfang Xuetong reminded him.
Xiao Yao came back to himself and immediately stopped revealing the Chaos Body.
At once, the people on their knees felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted and hurried to their feet.
Xiao Ting, who had been itching to make his escape, shouted, "Brother Xiao Yao, I'll head back to the Xiao Clan first and tell everyone the good news!"
By the time Xiao Yao turned to look, Xiao Ting had already vanished, leaving only Zhu Ding behind with an awkward smile.
[Beep! Xiao Ting, who mocked the Host earlier, has slipped away. In accordance with the rule "If others don't offend me, I won't offend them; if they do, I'll strike back," the system is issuing a task: In seven days, the Host must seek out Xiao Ting and have a contest with him. Upon completing the task, the Host will receive an incredibly awesome reward.]
"Have a contest? Are you sure?" Xiao Yao thought, feeling utterly helpless.
He felt like the system was a bulldozer, forcing him to go looking for trouble at every turn.
That wasn't the problem, of course. The problem was that Xiao Ting was at the peak of the Ninth level of the Mortal Transformation Realm.
He hadn't even started cultivating yet. How could he possibly beat Xiao Ting in seven days?
Unless...
Xiao Yao came up with a good idea: he could use the Heavenly Net to have a contest with Xiao Ting.
[Beep! Host, don't you think you can reach the peak of the Ninth level of the Mortal Transformation Realm in seven days?]
"Heh! Even if I could reach it in seven days, I still couldn't compare to Xiao Ting's nearly six years of cultivation."
In Xiao Yao's view, reaching the peak of the Ninth level of the Mortal Transformation Realm in seven days would make him little more than an empty shell, with no real strength.
[Beep! Host, you're a young man with a system!]
In an instant, Xiao Yao saw the light!
All this time, he'd been thinking as though he didn't have a system.
Now he had to change his way of thinking. With a system, anything impossible could become possible.
"By the way, that Ye Family Young Clan Leader, Ye Feng, mocked me earlier, too. Why didn't you issue a task?"
[Beep! You destroyed his Dao Heart. He's now so furious that his qi and blood have surged, and he'll be dead before long!]
"This... His tolerance is way too low!" Xiao Yao found it hard to believe.
But it wasn't difficult to understand. From the moment he was born, Ye Feng had been a peerless genius, renowned throughout Xuanzhou City and the surrounding ten thousand li.
Now Xiao Yao, a peerless good-for-nothing, had revealed that he possessed the Chaos Body and instantly surpassed him.
The imbalance in Ye Feng's heart made him angrier the more he thought about it. On top of that, he'd always had everything go his way, so when adversity finally struck, his mentality instantly collapsed!
Dongfang Xuetong looked down at Ye Feng, who lay on the ground twitching, her eyes cold.
It wasn't that she was indifferent to life. Ye Feng had simply kept mocking Xiao Yao earlier.
As Xiao Yao's master, she was furious.
If Ye Feng weren't about to die, she would have loved to teach him a good lesson and show him what happened to anyone who mocked her disciple.
Soon, Dongfang Xuetong's gaze settled on Xiao Yao's straight-backed figure. Her tone softened, and her voice turned sweet as she said, "Disciple, come. Take your master home!"
Xiao Yao froze for a moment. Once he was sure he'd heard right, he opened his mouth and said, "All right!"
The Xiao Clan had once been a den of dragons and tigers to him, but with his master by his side, it was no longer so.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yao headed straight for the exit of Ascension Avenue.
Dongfang Xuetong silently recited a spell, returned her sword to the Magic Treasure Space, and followed close behind Xiao Yao.
Just as the two were about to leave Ascension Avenue, Zhu Ding, who had only just finished reporting the latest developments to his Lord, realized Xiao Yao and Dongfang Xuetong were no longer there.
He hurriedly turned around. When he saw them walking away, he shouted, "Wait for me!"
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