"Bang!"
With a punch, the Northern King stood firmly in place, not moving an inch. But the middle-aged man, on the other hand, was forced to retreat dozens of steps before finally regaining his footing.
The middle-aged man looked up and saw a towering figure, as thick as an iron tower, staring at him indifferently in front of Xiao Yan.
Upon seeing this, the middle-aged man's expression immediately hardened. In an instant, the disdainful sneer from a moment ago vanished, replaced by a deep sense of solemnity.
"A puppet at the level of Nine-Star Half-Emperor! Just who is this kid?!"
The middle-aged man stared at the Northern King with a solemn expression. The sight of Xiao Yan behind him shocked the man greatly. He never imagined that a mere Five-Star Half-Emperor would possess such a powerful trump card. Clearly, with the Northern King's intervention, he was no longer able to do anything to Xiao Yan.
"Hehe, I was mistaken. It seems you have no intention of serving me. Haha, in that case, I will not insist. Please, sir!"
Knowing he couldn't force Xiao Yan to stay, the middle-aged man stopped pretending and instead put on a rather amiable smile. At the same time, he took a step forward, making way for Xiao Yan and Luo Jin.
The middle-aged man's actions were naturally noticed by the surrounding crowd, and immediately, everyone's eyes involuntarily fell on the Northern King in front of Xiao Yan.
The fact that the Northern King was able to force back a Nine-Star Half-Emperor with a single blow could be barely explained by the fact that he had the upper hand and had the opportunity to launch a surprise attack. However, the fact that this middle-aged man immediately backed down to Xiao Yan made everyone suspicious.
After some investigation, some High-Level Half-Emperor in the crowd looked at the Northern King with increasing horror in their eyes.
With a puppet comparable to Nine-Star Half-Emperor, it's no wonder the middle-aged man dared not confront it head-on.
Seeing that the middle-aged man in front of him would actually make way for him, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He didn't expect the middle-aged man to be so decisive. But it was good, as it saved him a lot of trouble.
With the path cleared, Xiao Yan didn't stand on ceremony. He gave Luo Jin a wink, then strode off towards the end of the street where the crowd had parted.
Following closely behind was Luo Jin, with the Northern King coming in last.
With Xiao Yan's speed, he naturally wouldn't be afraid of this middle-aged man. However, Luo Jin, facing Nine-Star Half-Emperor, found it difficult to withstand his Eight-Star Half-Emperor strength. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean he might have some heaven-defying ability to protect himself.
The fact that the Northern King was covering the rear made the middle-aged man wary; as long as he was there, the middle-aged man dared not make a move easily.
Amidst the varied gazes of the surrounding crowd, Xiao Yan and Luo Jin, protected by the Northern King, gradually walked away, leaving behind only the middle-aged man and his group, their eyes fixed on the Northern King's retreating figure.
As Xiao Yan and his companions disappeared into the crowd on the street, a lean man clad in armor, standing beside the burly middle-aged man, finally looked at him. He first glanced in the direction Xiao Yan and the others had vanished, then turned to the burly man, his expression grim, and asked:
"Lord, should we give chase? If we let them continue, they'll be out of the city."
"Hmph! Chase him? Fine, go ahead and chase him. If you can stop him, I'll reward you handsomely. If you can't, I'll take your dog's life!"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man not only did not smile, but instead snorted angrily and looked at the latter with a cold expression, his sinister gaze sending chills down the latter's spine.
"Hmph, that kid has a puppet protecting him. Don't even mention you, even I'm a bit wary. With your strength as a Seven-Star Half-Emperor, you're not even as strong as the guy beside that kid. You want me to stop him? How am I supposed to stop him?!"
With a sharp shout, the lean man immediately shrank back, and asked again in a weak voice with a cowardly look on his face:
"Then... then, City Lord, are you just going to let them leave like this?"
"Then what else do you want? This kid is clearly no ordinary person. With our power, we can't easily touch him. Besides, our mission is merely to keep him in Lengcui City. As long as we stall for enough time, someone will deal with him."
Watching the Northern King's figure disappear into the crowd, the middle-aged man spoke in a cold, low voice.
On the other side, Xiao Yan and Luo Jin did not leave the city as the middle-aged man had imagined. Instead, they walked slowly towards a pavilion in the center of the city, which was a branch of the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion.
Before they arrived, Luo Jin had told Xiao Yan that there was a branch of the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion in Lengcui City in the Western Region, which they were about to reach. This was their destination.
During their journey, Xiao Yan asked Luo Jin about the Four Great Sects.
Of course, unsurprisingly, when Luo Jin revealed the overall strength of the Four Great Sects, Xiao Yan's expression immediately turned serious.
Indeed, as Xiao Yan predicted, the Four Great Ancient Sects of the Western Region are all super sects with true Dou Di level experts!
As for Dou Di level experts, Xiao Yan admitted that even now, the only ones he had truly encountered were Qing Feng and others from the Ginseng Spirit Clan. The Thirty-Two Spirit Guards of the Ginseng Spirit Clan were all super strong experts with strength above the Dou Di level.
Despite having witnessed it, he had only glimpsed the power of Dou Di Dou Di in the Ge Thunder Mountain Range, and even that was enough to leave Xiao Yan powerless.
According to Luo Jin, the sect leaders of the Four Great Ancient Sects had already advanced to the Dou Di level hundreds of years ago. After so many years of cultivation, their strength is truly top-tier even in the Western Region!
This statement alone is enough to demonstrate the strength of the four of them.
After all, this isn't just a comparison of a small group of people; it's based on the entire Western Region, whose strength is truly at its peak!
Among the Four Great Sects, the strongest is Chen Zhen, the sect leader of the Spirit Refining Sect. His strength is that of Eight-Star Dou Di expert. In addition, his sect is mainly composed of array masters. With the support of these masters, the strength of his sect can be considered the most powerful among the Four Great Sects.
The arrays set up by their sect leader are said to have terrifying defensive power that even Dou Di powerhouse cannot break through!
The second is the Zhanwu Battle Martial Sect, known for its domineering martial prowess. Its sect leader is named Wu Jitian, whose physical body is so well-cultivated that it is practically indestructible, as solid as a rock and indestructible. His strength is terrifying, and he is also an Eight-Star Dou Di powerhouse. His combat power is the most terrifying among the four sect leaders!
Legend has it that he once used his bare flesh and blood to forcibly kill a Xuan Rock Beast at the level of One-Star Dou Di without using Dou Qi.
The Xuan Rock Beast's defensive capabilities are among the best in the entire Beast Realm, but even so, it could not escape death when facing Wu Jitian.
The third is Jian Ming, the sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect Wu Jitian. One is known for his physical prowess, while the other is known for his powerful sword intent.
Jian Ming's sword intent was so strong that with a single thought, countless swords would crisscross within a radius of ten thousand miles, leaving no place for anyone to escape. Those who fought against him usually ended up having their flesh and soul pierced by those countless sword intents, dying in an extremely gruesome manner.
Jian Ming's offensive power is almost on par with Wu Jitian's, but the latter's physical strength is so formidable that Jian Ming is usually helpless against him. As for whether he is afraid of Wu Jitian, no one knows.
As for the fourth of the four sect leaders, his sect is called the Withered Leaf Sect. The sect as a whole is the weakest of the Four Great Ancient Sects, and even the sect leader is much weaker than the first three.
To this day, the sect leader of the Withered Leaf Sect is only Seven-Star Dou Di, but for Xiao Yan, he is still an incomparably terrifying existence.
However, among the Four Great Sects, this is truly the lowest ranking, and for this reason, the Withered Leaf Sect is often ridiculed by the other three sects.
However, Xiao Yan also realized from Luo Jin's words that among the Four Great Sects, Luo Jin knew quite a bit about the first three, but as for the Withered Leaf Sect, it seemed that even his explanation was pitifully little.
As the two walked and talked, Xiao Yan looked up and realized that they had arrived at the branch of the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion in Lengcui City.