Space Strangulation!

The elders looked at one another, too shocked to say a word.

Who on the Dou Qi Continent could achieve Dou Zun at barely twenty years old? Aside from Xiao Ze, they feared they couldn't find a second.

"Is your Xiao Sect still recruiting?" one elder suddenly asked.

"Xiao Sect is still growing, so we naturally need plenty of talent. If any Jia Nan Academy graduates are interested in joining, I'd be delighted to have them," Xiao Ze said with a smile.

After all, Jia Nan Academy was renowned throughout the Dou Qi Continent. Talented people like these were exactly what Xiao Sect needed.

To be honest, he didn't trust those lackeys from the Black-Corner Region alone.

Once he left, there was no telling whether they might rebel. Then all the hard-won territory in the Black-Corner Region would have to be handed over.

That was the last thing he wanted to see.

"That's good to hear." The elder nodded in satisfaction.

Though the Black-Corner Region couldn't compare to the Central Plains, it was still a fine destination for these youngsters just setting out into the world.

And with Xiao Sect backing them, the students would be far safer.

After all, plenty of students died each year amid the open and covert power struggles in the Black-Corner Region.

"Then it's settled."

After their conversation, Xiao Ze wasn't in a hurry to return.

Instead, he went to the room where Xiao Yu was staying.

By then, she had become a Heaven-Tier Instructor in the Inner Academy. On her very first day teaching, she had displayed remarkable talent, leaving the Inner Academy disciples below her utterly smitten.

When she saw Xiao Ze enter the room, a trace of reproach flickered in Xiao Yu's beautiful eyes. "You finally decided to show up. I thought you were going to disappear again."

Ever since he entered the Inner Academy, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him. If she hadn't heard from Xun Er that he'd gone to the bottom of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, she would have worried something had happened to him.

"Sorry, cousin. I've been a little busy lately." Xiao Ze apologized, then hurriedly pulled her into his arms.

Feeling the heat radiating from his chest, Xiao Yu's pretty face flushed. She coyly said, "I'll forgive you this time, but you have to stay with me tonight."

"Of course."

That night, Xiao Ze gave Xiao Yu a thorough reward, as a final farewell.

After all, he couldn't stay in the Inner Academy with her forever.

When Xiao Yu heard he was leaving, she immediately protested. She had waited and waited, and he was leaving again after only a few days.

"Be good. I'll come see you again after I take down the Black Emperor Sect and Demon Flame Valley." Xiao Ze kissed Xiao Yu's forehead, then got dressed again.

Xiao Yu could only watch him leave, her eyes full of resentment, like a young bride whose wedding had yet to come.

Xiao Ze didn't go straight back to Maple City. Instead, he spent the night in Xun Er's room, giving her a thorough reward too.

Not long after, Xiao Ze returned to Maple City.

After looking into matters, he learned that the Black Emperor Sect and Demon Flame Valley hadn't been idle. They had been recruiting on a grand scale, and quite a few people had been tempted to join them.

They seemed poised to square off against Xiao Sect.

Their side also had several Dou Zong experts. The Demon Flame Valley Master, Old Demon Earth, had even reached the Seven-Star Dou Zong level!

He was the leader of this Alliance.

As Yuan Yi explained the situation, Xiao Ze tapped his fingers on the table from the seat of honor, already knowing what to expect.

"I've already delivered the final warning. If they're still so confident, what have I got to fear?" Xiao Ze sneered.

Then he looked down at Yuan Yi and said, "Gather every Dou Wang and above at once. We'll attack Demon Flame Valley and the Black Emperor Sect together!"

"Yes!" Yuan Yi accepted the order and withdrew.

At the same time, Xiao Ze brought his three wives along.

This battle might well be the final one. Whether he could unite the Black-Corner Region would come down to this.

Soon, his subordinates had assembled.

Nearly a hundred Dou Wang and above experts rose into the sky, their combined momentum blotting out the sun.

Above Maple City, everyone stared at the terrifying sight, their hearts gripped by fear.

Faced with so many experts, they couldn't imagine how Demon Flame Valley and the Black Emperor Sect could possibly fight back.

Could they rely on just those few Dou Zong?

At that moment, Demon Flame Valley's master, Old Demon Earth, and the Black Emperor Sect's master, Mo Tianxing, received the news. Their eyes met, and both couldn't suppress a cold laugh.

They had been worried their opponents wouldn't come. They never expected them to be so impatient—it saved them the trouble of making the first move.

With nearly two hundred Dou Wang and above experts at their command, they truly couldn't imagine how they could lose.

"Old Demon Earth, let's make this clear first. After we take Maple City, I want half the profits!" Mo Tianxing's eyes flickered.

"Of course." Old Demon Earth smiled.

They had reached an agreement because they had their eyes on Maple City's location. How could they let such a juicy prize fall into Xiao Ze's hands?

That brat hadn't even grown his first whiskers, yet he dared to boast about uniting the Black-Corner Region. He ought to look in a mirror and see what he really looked like.

Just as the two were talking—

A colossal Space Rift suddenly appeared in the sky.

More than a hundred figures slowly emerged from it. At their head were Xiao Ze and his three wives.

Xiao Ze gazed down calmly, looking over the Black Emperor Sect from above.

With a mere thought from him, a vast, world-shattering pressure bore down like storm clouds, completely enveloping Black Emperor City!

Rubble trembled and rattled, while buildings shook violently. Crushed beneath that pressure, the entire city seemed on the verge of crumbling to pieces!

Everyone stared in horror at the Space Rift in the sky, their shock beyond words.

"Tearing open space—that's said to be a divine technique only Dou Zun experts can use. Could they have a Dou Zun expert?"

Since when had the Black-Corner Region had a Dou Zun expert?

As everyone wondered in confusion, Mo Tianxing and Old Demon Earth arrived late. They, too, frowned at the figures in the distance.

They're here already?

They had no idea how everyone else was reacting.

As for Dou Zun? If he was a Dou Zun, then I'm a Dou Di!

"Are you Xiao Ze?" Old Demon Earth asked first.

Xiao Ze ignored Old Demon Earth and turned his gaze to Mo Tianxing. "Hand over the Bodhi Body-Transforming Saliva!"

Feeling the terrifying pressure radiating from Xiao Ze, Mo Tianxing was utterly stunned. Wasn't the other man a Dou Zong?

Since when had Dou Zong experts become this powerful? Even he, a Four-Star Dou Zong, was having trouble staying on his feet.

Yet faced with Xiao Ze's unreasonable demand, Mo Tianxing forced himself to stay calm and said coldly, "What belongs to this sect isn't something we can simply hand over."

"Is that so?" Xiao Ze smiled. "I was going to give you a chance to make amends for your crimes, but it seems there's no need."

With that, Xiao Ze lost interest.

He reached out and clenched his hand toward the space where the other men stood.

"Space Strangulation!"

In an instant, the entire world seemed to be clenched by an invisible giant hand.

Space Rifts ripped open one after another. The terrifying energy fluctuations seemed capable of slicing this entire world apart.

"Dou Zun expert!"

Horror shone in Mo Tianxing and Old Demon Earth's eyes. Only now did they realize that Xiao Ze was already a Dou Zun expert!

Their ceaseless provocations had been laughable. The threat of death instantly brought them back to their senses.