Dispute

Ao Xie was a lawless soul by nature. Faced with the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, while any other cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm would have been trembling with fear, he dared to point his halberd directly at the heavens.

Deep down, Ao Xie held no respect for Chen Xiao. What he displayed now was merely the appropriate attitude a Tribulation Disciple should show toward his Master.

In other words, Ao Xie had suppressed his true nature and stifled his personality to assimilate into the role of a disciple. For someone as distinct as him, if this were to continue, he would likely develop inner demons and succumb to a cultivation deviation.

Chen Xiao did not want such a thing to happen.

"I understand."

Ao Xie nodded and straightened his posture, his face returning to a cold, indifferent expression.

"That is more like the talented Crown Prince of the Dragon Clan, Ao Xie." Chen Xiao nodded, taking the bottle of Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill—a sacred healing medicine of the Dragon Clan—from Ao Xie's hand and placing it into his storage ring.

"From now on, stay by my side. There is no shortage of battles here, which will be highly beneficial for your growth."

"Understood." Ao Xie nodded.

Chen Xiao smiled faintly, took a jade talisman from his robes, and handed it to Ao Xie. "This is the Heaven-Concealing Talisman left behind by the Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal. It can conceal your true aura."

Ao Xie's eyes lit up. Without a word, he merged the Heaven-Concealing Talisman into his body. Instantly, the intimidating pressure radiating from him vanished, his cultivation fluctuations dropped to the Nascent Soul Realm, and his appearance underwent subtle changes. While some features remained, no one would be able to tell that this Nascent Soul cultivator was the prestigious Crown Prince of the Dragon Clan.

Chen Xiao was now capable of using the Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman, so the Heaven-Concealing Jade Talisman was of little use to him; giving it to Ao Xie was a perfect fit. Ao Xie's identity as the Dragon Prince could not be exposed, or it would spell major trouble.

Chen Xiao did not know the exact limits of the Heaven-Concealing Talisman, but he understood that as long as one's cultivation did not exceed that of the Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal, they would be unable to see through the protection it provided.

However, one thing caught Chen Xiao completely by surprise. Ao Tianchen, the Dragon Emperor of the Worry-Free Sea's Crystal Dragon Palace, had already announced that the Ninth Prince, Ao Xie, had been reduced to ashes due to interference from the Sea Ghost Clan during his tribulation.

Currently, the Dragon Clan of the Worry-Free Sea had already launched a war against the Sea Ghost Clan. This made Chen Xiao secretly admire Ao Tianchen; he was truly playing the victim while reaping the benefits. It was a golden opportunity, though. Because of Chen Xiao's interference, seventeen Profound Immortals of the Sea Ghost Clan had fallen directly into Ao Tianchen's hands, severely crippling the clan's strength. This provided the perfect pretext for war.

It allowed them to strike at the Sea Ghost Clan while ensuring the safety of the wandering Ao Xie by letting him "die" to the world—killing two birds with one stone.

Chen Xiao called for a servant to prepare quarters for Ao Xie and lead him away, then sat down once more to begin his own healing.

His spirit had suffered a significant blow, but the Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill was exactly what he needed to mend the damage to his consciousness.

After swallowing the pill, Chen Xiao felt his true essence surge as he refined the medicinal power. A faint, cyan-green light slowly merged into his divine sense, repairing the backlash he had suffered from the lightning tribulation.

The Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill was a third-grade immortal pill; it did not take long to treat a minor Golden Core cultivator like Chen Xiao. After only half an hour, two beams of emerald light shot from his eyes. His damaged divine sense was fully restored, and furthermore, with the aid of the immortal pill, his mental cultivation had broken through into the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Not bad, not bad. Cultivating true essence is easy, but cultivating the spirit is far too difficult. In my past life, although my cultivation reached the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, my divine sense could not be reborn; it had to be cultivated back slowly."

Chen Xiao was very satisfied with the results.

He did not continue to summon more Tribulation Disciples. Having been in seclusion for three days, he needed to understand the situation in the outside world to make further plans.

When Chen Xiao stepped out of his room, he couldn't help but freeze.

He saw Cai Di, beard bristling and face flushed with indignation, glaring at the cold-faced Ao Xie. He hadn't expected this white-haired brat to dare argue with him. Although Cai Di's cultivation was masked as the Nascent Soul Realm by Chen Xiao's Breath-Concealing Talisman, he was a genuine powerhouse at the Late Stage of the Body Integration Realm.

"What is going on?"

Chen Xiao walked over and asked with a frown.

"I want that courtyard. Tell those two to move out," Ao Xie said, pointing at Cai Di's courtyard.

Every time a cultivator meditated, they disliked being disturbed by others, so having an independent courtyard with formations and barriers set up was ideal.

Chen Xiao's original intention had been to have the servants prepare an independent courtyard for Ao Xie, but the servant had misunderstood and prepared a guest room instead, which had infuriated Ao Xie.

When he arrived, he had noticed Cai Di's courtyard. He hadn't expected that, despite both being subordinates of the Young Master, their treatment would be so different. For this reason, he had confronted Cai Di directly.

"Young Master, who is this brat? How dare he be so unreasonable?" Cai Di looked at Ao Xie, his beard twitching, while Mengmeng stood to the side, looking at Chen Xiao with a grievance-filled expression.

"Give me a reason," Chen Xiao said, raising an eyebrow at Ao Xie.

"I am stronger than them, so I should have better living quarters," Ao Xie said bluntly. "The strong deserve corresponding treatment."

Hearing this, Cai Di felt a surge of frustration.

"That is true. How about this: the two of you have a spar. The winner gets the courtyard."

Chen Xiao arched a brow.

"Fine." Ao Xie already had his Star Halberd in hand.

"I don't spar," Cai Di shook his head.

"Hmm?" Chen Xiao's eyes widened.

"I only kill." Cai Di lifted his chin, looking down at Ao Xie. "Since the Young Master chose you, your strength shouldn't be weak, but I can tell you this: unless you reach the Immortal Realm, you are no match for me."

The halberd in Ao Xie's hand rose, his expression growing colder. He looked at Cai Di as if he were already a dead man.

"Young Master, count me in. Staying in your shadow all the time not only prevents me from cultivating but also disturbs you."

Suddenly, another voice echoed in Chen Xiao's mind, giving him a headache.

Everyone around him now was unruly and rebellious; getting them to live in peace seemed like a tall order.

Cai Di went without saying—he was a guy who could kill immortals. As for Ao Xie, he was a once-in-ten-thousand-year genius of the Dragon Clan. And the Shadow hiding in Chen Xiao's silhouette was the shadow of a fallen powerhouse, having absorbed the essence of that expert to manifest into form; his strength was not to be underestimated.

Chen Xiao smiled helplessly. Having one genius was a blessing, and two was fine—competition bred progress—but three or four... that was a recipe for trouble. If he wasn't careful, they might blow up the entire City Lord's Mansion.

Without waiting for Chen Xiao's command, the Shadow stepped out from his silhouette. However, he did an excellent job of concealing his true form, not appearing directly in front of everyone, but instead walking in from outside the courtyard gate.

Even Ao Xie had not detected his presence; after all, the Shadow was a born assassin.

The Shadow's current appearance was identical to the corpse that had fallen in the desert, only scaled down countless times. His face was cold and stern, he wore a cyan robe, and an ancient bronze sword was strapped to his back.

"Count me in. If I win, that courtyard is mine." A smile tugged at the Shadow's chiseled, knife-sharp features.

The first update of the day is here! The early bird catches the worm!