Most of the others felt nothing in particular.
They merely saw an unfamiliar True Lord walk in. He looked young, but his bearing was steady. The qi mechanism around him remained concealed, yet faintly carried a cutting edge.
Some gave him a second look; others withdrew their gazes after a glance, discussing him through voice transmission:
"His aura is a little strange. He doesn't seem to be from the Nine Netherworlds."
"The head of the Linghu Household brought him in personally. Interesting."
Linghu Xuanji walked forward a few steps with a smile and cleared his throat. His voice was quiet, yet reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity. "Everyone, this is the leader of the Demon Lotus Sect, Sect Leader Qing, Qing Chen."
Some frowned slightly, some looked thoughtful, and some were unimpressed-they had never thought much of the powers of the Gouwu Sea. In the eyes of these Nine Nether Aristocratic Clans, the leader of an unorthodox sect was nothing much.
Having finished speaking, Linghu Xuanji was just about to continue forward.
"You're Qing Chen?" a somewhat rough voice suddenly rang out.
Qing Chen looked toward the voice.
A tremendously burly middle-aged man strode out of a stone hall in the distance.
He stood a full twelve feet tall, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist. He wore beast-hide armor emblazoned with the totem of a savage beast roaring at the heavens.
With every step he took, the ground shook.
His eyes, like copper bells, stared straight at Qing Chen with an unfriendly gaze.
Tuoba Shanhai.
Head of the Tuoba Household, one of the Nine Nether Aristocratic Clans, and eighty-fifth on the Heavenly Gang Ranking.
"You're Qing Chen?" Tuoba Shanhai stopped thirty feet in front of Qing Chen and looked him up and down. "Hmph. Are you proficient in