A Timely Arrival

On the northern border of White Stone Town, where the former Wang Family's mines were located.

Several teams of soldiers were orderly retreating from the interior.

They all belonged to White Stone Town and were responsible for guarding the mines here, preventing any thieves from illegally extracting resources.

But now that the Zhang Family's cultivators had arrived, they knew that mortals were powerless to resist. Following Gao Hui's previous instructions, they wisely retreated.

Three cultivators from the Zhang Family had come this time, leading a group of people and conversing in front of the mine entrance.

"Father, the scale of this mine is indeed much larger than the one in the valley."

The speaker was thin and somewhat pale, his voice light.

He was the eldest son of the Zhang Family, named Zhang Yao, at the Second Level of Qi Gathering.

"Hmph, if that Qinghe Town chief hadn't stopped me, I would have brought my men to take this place down long ago!"

The latter was not tall but had an arrogant expression, speaking in a very domineering tone.

This person was Zhang Yao's cousin, Zhang Chen, at the First Level of Qi Gathering.

In front of them stood a tall, middle-aged man in a grey robe.

He stood upright, his gaze sharp, and his aura was much stronger than the two young cultivators combined. This was the Zhang Family Patriarch, Zhang Tianqi.

Hearing the conversation of the two juniors, he smiled faintly.

"What belongs to my Zhang Family will not escape. Whether it's sooner or later makes no difference."

With that, he waved his hand gently, and the miners and laborers behind him prepared to enter the mine for extraction operations.

Whoosh--

Just then, a whistling sound of strong wind could be heard. The upper edge of the mine was struck by a blurry phantom, and the falling rocks instantly blocked the entrance.

"Who dares to be so presumptuous in front of my Zhang Family!"

Zhang Chen was startled and quickly shouted.

"Hahaha, honored guests have arrived, we apologize for not welcoming you sooner. Please forgive our oversight."

Hearing this, Zhang Tianqi's eyebrows twitched slightly. He turned to look in the direction of the voice, a cold and stern expression appearing on his face.

Soon, three figures emerged from the woods.

Yang Guanfeng, with a smile on his face, cupped his hands towards the other party.

"Yang Guanfeng of the Yang Family, greetings, Brother Zhang."

Yang Guanfeng did not hide his cultivation level at all, revealing his Sixth Level of Qi Gathering cultivation as he spoke.

"The Songshan Yang Family? This person's aura is so powerful, just like Father, he's also at the Sixth Level of Qi Gathering!"

"How is this possible! Didn't they say the Yang Family Patriarch only had Fifth Level cultivation?"

The two juniors of the Zhang Family frowned upon seeing this.

They had thought there would be no competition, but unexpectedly, the Yang Family Patriarch had also broken through to the Sixth Level.

This meant the ownership of the mine was now up for debate.

"Honored guests?"

Zhang Tianqi curled his lips. "I've been guarding here for three months, only seeing soldiers guarding and no miners extracting. It's clearly ownerless land. Where does Brother Yang's statement come from?"

Before he finished speaking, Yang Lingrui and Yang Linghu felt a powerful aura pressing down on them.

Yang Guanfeng chuckled and dispersed the pressure with a wave of his hand.

"Brother Zhang, you may not know, but this place was originally the Wang Family's mine. Their family suffered a disaster during the beast tide and was unable to manage it, so they traded it to my family."

Yang Guanfeng glanced at Yang Linghu beside him. "As for why we didn't come here for three months, it was to protect this child during his breakthrough."

Zhang Tianqi then looked at Yang Linghu. From the aura emanating from the child, he could tell that he had only recently condensed his Qi Mansion.

As a cultivator at the Sixth Level of Qi Gathering, he naturally couldn't see through Elder Yu's concealment methods. Yang Lingrui currently only displayed the Second Level of Qi Gathering.

"Now that his realm is stable, I've come to this place. It just so happens that I've encountered Brother Zhang and his party. I can only say that it's better to be early than late, and it's a fortunate coincidence."

"Heh heh..."

Zhang Tianqi looked at Yang Guanfeng with a fake smile.

The previous clash of auras was a test. Judging by the result, Yang Guanfeng was indeed at the genuine Sixth Level Realm.

However, in terms of strength, he was still slightly stronger.

But this kind of gap in strength was difficult to manifest unless they resorted to life-or-death combat techniques.

Zhang Tianqi, as the Patriarch of the Zhang Family, was not a fool. Fighting to the death over a mine was not worth it.

But if he were to back down because of a single sentence from the other party, where would the Zhang Family's dignity lie?

"Yang Guanfeng, let's not beat around the bush. Since I'm here, I won't give up easily."

Zhang Tianqi said loudly, "This area is located at the border between two towns, with no clear demarcation. Since the Wang Family couldn't protect the mine, its ownership should be redefined."

"Does Brother Zhang mean you want to have a fight with me?"

As he spoke, Yang Guanfeng stepped forward, his face devoid of any fear.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the arena tensed, an invisible pressure filling the air.

The four younger disciples were fine, as they were already cultivators at the Qi Gathering stage.

However, the miners and laborers brought by the Zhang Family, as well as the approaching soldiers who came to watch the excitement, were not so fortunate.

Some felt difficulty breathing, while others collapsed directly.

Fortunately, the confrontation between the two did not last long, and no casualties occurred.

This exchange made Zhang Tianqi even more certain that taking down Yang Guanfeng would not be easy, and even if they fought, it would likely end in a draw.

"Father."

At this moment, Zhang Yao approached and softly called out, giving his father a meaningful look.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Tianqi had an idea.

"Yang Guanfeng, we are both elders, and it wouldn't look good if we fought. Today, with both our families' younger generations present, why don't we let them spar to decide the ownership of this mine? What do you say?"

Zhang Tianqi believed his son was at the peak of the Second Level of Qi Gathering, so he felt victory was within his grasp.

He never expected that his suggestion would play right into the Yang Family's hands.

This was because neither Yang Lingrui nor Yang Linghu had revealed their true strength.

Yang Guanfeng was waiting for them to propose a challenge.

"Excellent idea. With the two of us overseeing, there won't be any real harm done to our harmony," Yang Guanfeng said.

Upon hearing that he could spar, Zhang Chen became excited.

"Uncle, I..."

He was about to volunteer when Zhang Tianqi stopped him with a raised hand.

"Zhang Yao, you go."

"Yes, Father."

Seeing Zhang Tianqi choose Zhang Yao, Zhang Chen felt a bit resentful.

He was only a few years older than himself, and in terms of cultivation talent, he was much stronger than Zhang Yao.

Moreover, that young man from the Yang Family, who was at the First Level of Qi Gathering, had only just broken through. Wouldn't he be easy prey for himself?

"As expected, there's favoritism. They always want their own son to show off at times like these!" Zhang Chen thought to himself.

This showed the difference between the Zhang Family and the Yang Family. In fact, most families could not achieve the unity of the Yang Family; internal strife was almost inevitable.

The Yang Family's current prosperity was due to Elder Yu's dedicated assistance and Yang Guanfeng's outstanding leadership skills and charisma.

Zhang Yao walked to the open space in front, and from the Yang Family's side, Yang Lingrui also stepped forward.

"Zhang Family, Zhang Yao."

"Yang Family, Yang Lingrui."

After introducing themselves, the two took their stances.

Neither of them was impulsive; they wouldn't act rashly before understanding the other's capabilities.

Roar!

Bang!

Zhang Yao flipped his palm, summoning a fire snake that lunged at Yang Lingrui.

Yang Lingrui raised his hand and conjured a wind shield to block it.

"Fire technique."

"Wind technique."

After this initial probing move, both knew the other's background and began a new round of confrontation.

"Flowing Fire Bomb!"

Zhang Yao initiated the attack first. After casting a few hand seals, clusters of crimson flames ignited around him.

With a flick of his finger, these fire bombs shot towards Yang Lingrui.

"Well done!"

Yang Lingrui let out a light shout and waved his arms, a gale wind swirling around him.

The spinning gale wind nullified the fire bombs, and he used the momentum to counterattack.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh--

Three gusts of wind shot out, heading straight for Zhang Yao.

"So fast!"

Zhang Yao's pupils constricted slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

This wind technique from Yang Lingrui was significantly faster than ordinary wind techniques.