Confrontation

Hovering in midair, they fixed their gazes on Li Dao opposite Shi Yi, a host of different emotions in their eyes.

There was greed and appreciation, but more than anything, wariness.

A sweep of their divine senses told them what had happened, and they could not help thinking:

Heaven Mending Pavilion really stepped in dog shit and struck gold! To think they found such an outstanding prodigy.

He fought Yi to this extent despite being at a lower cultivation realm. Truly terrifying!

This boy will surely become Yi's great enemy someday! We must guard against him!

Seeing the three Elders of Martial King Manor looming over the sky, their auras as vast and weighty as mountains and seas, Xia Youyu could not help panicking.

She immediately sent Elder Liu Yun a voice transmission. If she did not come soon, something bad might happen.

Li Dao was also somewhat surprised to see so many Elders appear. He had not expected to alarm even the Elders deep within Martial King Manor.

His might, which had been erupting like a volcano, slowly subsided. Shi Yi opposite him did the same.

"So you are Heaven Mending Pavilion's prodigy disciple. Heroes truly do emerge from the young. You seem slightly older, yet your cultivation realm is lower. Why not join Martial King Manor?"

"We will certainly give you ample cultivation resources!"

"What do you think, young friend?"

Seeing the tension ease slightly, the old man in blue robes with a three-foot sword on his back stepped forward first. He smiled at Li Dao, looking exceedingly amiable.

His eyes were full of anticipation. If he could coax such a prodigy into joining them and make him Shi Yi's helper in the future, how could Martial King Manor fail to rise to greatness?

Feeling the old man's scorching gaze upon him, Li Dao could not help shuddering with revulsion.

Nonsense like this was only worth listening to. Actually believing it would be true stupidity.

He was not some six-year-old child who knew nothing. In a little while, he would be seven!

Though he grumbled endlessly inwardly, none of it showed on his face. He merely cupped his hands toward the old man and said with some regret:

"Senior, I belong to Heaven Mending Pavilion. If I switched allegiances, wouldn't I be betraying my master and dishonoring my predecessors?"

"Please forgive me, but I cannot agree."

Although he had not formally joined Heaven Mending Pavilion yet, that did not stop him from using it as his reason.

As soon as Li Dao spoke, the blue-robed old man's smile faded slightly, and the fervor in his eyes slowly ebbed away.

When he looked at Li Dao again, a trace of wariness had entered his eyes.

Only a dead genius could truly set one's mind at ease. That was what he was thinking now.

But since the boy had invoked the towering mountain that was Heaven Mending Pavilion, he could only suppress that thought for the time being.

He said nothing more, merely nodding as though the matter had already been put behind them.

The others behind the two had not given up, however. In particular, the middle-aged man whose expression brimmed with ruthlessness was ready to threaten Li Dao into submission after hearing his refusal.

But just as he was about to speak, a powerful pressure came hurtling straight toward them from afar.

A streak of light landed before him first, revealing Liu Yun's figure.

As the golden light slowly dispersed, Liu Yun saw the three men surrounding Li Dao in a triangular formation and sneered inwardly.

How could she fail to understand their intentions? They were silently threatening Li Dao. It certainly fit her impression of these clans.

Though she sneered repeatedly inwardly, she did not show it. Divine power surged within her, unleashing the might of the Inscription Pattern realm, which collided directly with the pressure of the three Elders of Martial King Manor.

Boom-

Though no dark clouds blanketed the sky, peals of muffled thunder rang out beneath the clear daylight.

Ignoring the astonishment in the three men's eyes, Liu Yun stepped directly into their line of sight, shielding Li Dao behind her, and spoke calmly:

"Thank you for your generous regard, fellow Daoists of Martial King Manor. But our business here is finished, so we shall take our leave!"

Liu Yun's expression remained calm. After shielding Li Dao behind her, she instinctively spread her divine sense, and in an instant, it was as though a meteor had plunged into the lake of her heart.

Though neither joy nor anger showed on her face, towering waves of shock had already risen within her.

When she received Xia Youyu's message saying that Li Dao and Shi Yi had begun fighting, she had felt little surprise.

In her view, although Li Dao's talent was no worse than Shi Yi's, he was still at a disadvantage in terms of years spent cultivating.

She had assumed he would not last long against the long-renowned Double Pupils One.

Yet when she stepped onto the battlefield and saw the utterly devastated training ground, she could no longer restrain the turmoil in her heart.

She knew Li Dao's true identity, and that made her expectations for him rise even further.

After she finished speaking, Shi Li, who had learned of the commotion here, also transformed into a streak of light and appeared in midair. He spoke to persuade her to stay:

"Fellow Daoist, you have traveled such a long way. If we let you leave without fulfilling our duties as hosts, wouldn't others laugh at us?"

"Why not stay a little longer?"

Feeling the disordered auras of Shi Yi and Li Dao, Shi Li's heart sank.

From their auras alone, he could tell that the battle between them had been fierce, and that was not what he had wanted to see.

In his expectations, Shi Yi should have been the ultimate victor, winning without the slightest doubt!

But that was not the situation before him, and the importance he attached to Li Dao rose another level.

Although a storm of thoughts had already swept through his mind, his face still wore an amiable expression.

Liu Yun naturally would not agree. Every extra moment spent in Martial King Manor meant another measure of danger.

Besides, she kept feeling that the smile on Shi Li's face was rather strange, setting alarm bells ringing in her heart.

Only by returning to Heaven Mending Pavilion quickly could she feel somewhat assured now. She swept her sleeve and said:

"Thank you all for your kindness. However, our business here is finished, and the Pavilion Master has summoned us back at once, so we will trouble you no further."

"Fellow Daoists, we shall meet again if fate permits."

Without any attempt at tact or circumlocution, Liu Yun made her decision forcefully.

Even if Heaven Mending Pavilion had fallen somewhat into decline, it was still not something a mere Martial King Manor could provoke. She had no fear of them coming to their doorstep.

The four Elders of Martial King Manor exchanged glances in midair, but they had no good solution.

Martial King Manor's true strength lay in its future. Moreover, the Martial King had yet to emerge from seclusion, so they did not dare stop her.

Standing behind Liu Yun and taking it all in, Li Dao felt very satisfied.

Seeing Heaven Mending Pavilion act so forcefully proved that he had made the right choice.

The three of them then left Martial King Manor under everyone's watchful gazes. Not a single person stepped forward to stop them.

Watching Li Dao's departing figure slowly disappear, Shi Yi's gaze grew distant. He had a premonition that when they next met, his opponent's strength would surely have risen to another level!