Nine Tripod Commerce.
In the main hall, Fei Hou was laughing as he reported to Huang Xiaolong, "Young Lord, by now, everyone in Big Dawn County is spreading the news about Mei Pengliang and the Clear Cloud Pavilion's disciples being stripped naked and hung on the streets!"
Li Bin also joined in, "That's right Young Lord– I even heard Mei Sen was angered until he vomited blood."
Huang Xiaolong nodded.
"Young Lord, it is rather unexpected that this Mei Sen could restrain his temper." Fei Hou said in a serious tone, "It seems Young Lord's guess was correct."
Huang Xiaolong turned towards Li Bin and instructed, "Tell the Nine Tripod Commerce disciples not to go out for the next few days."
His son, Mei Pengliang, was caught, stripped of the last shred of his clothing, and hung high up in the streets for public viewing. With this degree of humiliation, Mei Sen being able to hold everything in was definitely something out of ordinary.
That meant there must have been a demon lurking if things were happening out of ordinary; once Mei Sen made his move, it would be on a grand and devastating scale.
"Yes, Young Lord!" Li Bin acknowledged the order respectfully with a heavy expression on his face because he knew the gravity of the situation.
Despite that, three days later, everything was still calm and peaceful.
The streets of Big Dawn County City seemed quieter than usual. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the big and small forces of the city caught a whiff of the scent of gunpowder in the air. Hence, each had passed an order warning their disciples and families not to venture out.
The brewing storm was so obvious that even the common folk detected it.
As for Huang Xiaolong, he remained in one of the Nine Tripod Commerce courtyards, practicing these past three days.
Even as he concentrated on Asura Tactics, he had never relaxed in training the Body Metamorphose Scripture.
Standing in the middle of the yard, Huang Xiaolong's feet spread out. His fists were in a guard position at the sides of his waist. Then, his right hand stretched out towards the left, and with clenched fingers, he loosened them into the shape of a hook as his upper torso turned to the left while his waist moved to the right from left. His right wrist then returned to fist form, turning in endless circles, all while controlling his breathing.
In the past year, Huang Xiaolong's Body Metamorphose Scripture had reached Stage Nine: The Azure Dragon Flexing Its Claws. He was at the peak late-Tenth Order. If he could breakthrough to Stage Ten, then Huang Xiaolong's internal force alone would be equivalent to the strength of a Xiantian realm expert.
Stopping a moment for a short rest after practicing the Body Metamorphose Scripture, Fei Hou came in to see him.
"Still no movements from Clear Cloud Pavilion's side?" Huang Xiaolong asked.
Fei Hou replied respectfully, "Yes, Sovereign. Mei Sen, this old fellow, really has patience."
A light rippled in Huang Xiaolong's eyes, "They are waiting."
"Waiting?" Fei Hou looked inquiringly at Huang Xiaolong.
Huang Xiaolong's solemn voice sounded, "Since it is so, we shouldn't let people wait too long. In a while, you're going out for a stroll with me."
"Go for a stroll at a time like this?" Fei Hou was dumbfounded. The hour was basically in the dead of the night.
Huang Xiaolong's head tilted up as he looked at the night sky; the moon tonight was a beautiful sight– it was farther away than usual, and even the night breeze seemed colder. This made Huang Xiaolong remember a saying: dark nights where strong wind blows are the best for killing.
"The moon's beautiful tonight, and we've come to Big Dawn County for a few days now, but we haven't taken a look around." Huang Xiaolong's sentence contained a double entendre as he smiled mysteriously at Fei Hou.
Watching Huang Xiaolong's mood, Fei Hou finally understood what he meant, and joined in the laughter, "Sovereign is right. Tonight, the moon is truly beautiful."
Moments later, Huang Xiaolong and Fei Hou stepped out from the Nine Tripod Commerce building and strolled casually in the streets.
Stopping in a deserted alley, Huang Xiaolong's footsteps suddenly halted, and his clear cold voice rang out in the night, "Since you've come, why don't you people come out and show yourselves? Or could it be those from Clear Cloud Pavilion are all cowardly sons of turtles?"
Just as Huang Xiaolong's voice sounded, shadows shifted and suddenly, several dark silhouettes appeared from above, landing right in front of Huang Xiaolong and Fei Hou.
Huang Xiaolong's eyes swept across the faces of these people and in the end, it fell on both Mei Sen's and Ning Wang's face.
Although Huang Xiaolong had never seen Mei Sen before this, just from Li Bin's description, it was enough for him to conclude that this short and stout middle-aged man was Mei Sen. However, it was Ning Wang's appearance that surprised Huang Xiaolong. Baolong Kingdom's Martial Ning Family's Patriarch, Ning Wang!
During the Enlightenment Lake episode, Huang Xiaolong met Ning Wang face to face, but both pretended indifference at that time.
Ning Wang approached Huang Xiaolong, letting out a cold smirk, "How about it? Are you very surprised seeing me here?"
Huang Xiaolong nodded, frankly admitting "I'm a little surprised, but, it's a pity…" He shook his head, his voice trailing off here, leaving the rest of the sentence hanging in the air.
"Pity what?" Ning Wang scowled uncomfortably.
"Pity because I originally wanted to let you live two more years." Huang Xiaolong answered with honesty.
Ning Wang was stunned with the answer whereas Mei Sen's stern face cracked slightly from a laugh. Standing at the back, the other four experts that came with them also laughed. All four of them were experts of the peak late-Tenth Order with half a foot in the Xiantian realm.
Instead of getting angry, Ning Wang laughed, albeit dramatically, "Huang Xiaolong, don't you realize the current situation that you're in at the moment? Are you assuming that once you come here, you can still walk out alive? Truth be told, the reason why Clear Cloud Pavilion has been making troubles at the Nine Tripod Commerce was for the very reason of luring you over here. But, I did not expect that you would dive right in so fast, so anxious to die. Since you've come, then this Big Dawn County will be your grave!"
Mei Sen's eyes had eerie lights flickering in them, "Later on, after I have killed you both, I will reciprocate your kindness and hang your dead bodies across the street from the Nine Tripod Commerce. Of course, stripped bare naked. When everyone in Big Dawn County wakes up tomorrow, they can enjoy a good view!"
Huang Xiaolong and Fei Hou both let out a soft chuckle.
"Are you sure?" Fei Hou laughed, "Perhaps, the bodies being hoisted up high for viewing will be yours instead?"
Ning Wang sneered, "Huang Xiaolong, I know you deliberately came out to lure us out; however, I really cannot figure out what trump card you have. Do you think Fei Hou can protect you? Unless that Haotian knows how to teleport and can appear in an instant from Luo Tong Royal City to here?"
Without the patience to delay things any further, Mei Sen clapped his hands and the hidden silhouettes moved in the dark from all four directions, revealing themselves, amassing up to two to three hundred people. Moreover, each of them was equipped with bows and arrows, with the arrowheads gleaming in a dangerous, deep green color. Obviously, all of these arrows were dipped in poison.
Watching the big wave of men in black clothing appear, Huang Xiaolong's mask of calmness did not change.
He had practiced the Golden Linglong Body up to the third stage, and once activated, even if it was noxious poison, it wouldn't bring him any harm. As for the Xiantian realm Fei Hou… he had the protection of his Xiantian Vigor Qi, thus these toxic poisons had no effect on him.
After he summoned the surrounding Clear Cloud Pavilion disciples hidden in the dark, Mei Sen snickered conceitedly at Huang Xiaolong, "What do you think, is my present acceptable? You've arrived for a few days in Big Dawn County, and I took a long time and effort to prepare it for you."
In Mei Sen's opinion, as long as Huang Xiaolong was below the Xiantian realm, with his strength, he would turn Huang Xiaolong into a dead dog once he's hit with the poison.
Hearing this, Huang Xiaolong laughed out, "The present is not bad, seems like you've made a painstaking effort in recent days."
Mei Sen laughed with joy, "It's something I should do; after all, you are the famous Nine Tripod Commerce's President! Preparing this level of gift for you is nothing. I was afraid you might be dissatisfied with them."
"Enough, stop bullshitting with a little brat!" Ning Wang interjected abruptly, cutting off the conversation between the two, "You and I will kill Fei Hou, the rest will kill Huang Xiaolong."
"Fine!" Mei Sen agreed. In the blink of an eye, both of them had already leaped towards Fei Hou, commencing their attacks.
Even though Mei Sen had just broken through into the Xiantian realm not long ago, he was still a Xiantian expert. Ning Wang had also just advanced into Xiantian Second Order. Fei Hou's display of strength in the Enlightenment Lake shocked Ning Wang, but he believed that together with Mei Sen, they could definitely take Fei Hou's life.
As Ning Wang and Mei Sen leaped towards Fei Hou, both called out their martial spirits.
Ning Wang's martial spirit was a huge eight-legged spider, and on its body showed a reflected pattern of iridescent light. This was the Seven-stripes Rainbow Spider martial spirit, and it was one of the most toxic ones.
Its highly toxic poison could blend into the airflow, making it hard to detect. Even if a peak late-Tenth Order expert whiffed a tiny amount of the contaminated air, they would die from being poisoned within ten breaths' time.
Ning Wang acted quickly after calling out his martial spirit by soul transforming instantly. Both of his arms were shrouded with an iridescent glow and numerous poisonous tiny thorns that looked like spider stingers emerged on them. Striking a fist, the poisonous thorns stood up, ready to penetrate into Fei Hou's body.
On the other hand, Mei Sen's martial spirit was a type of black vine full of thorns. Obviously, it was another type of poisonous martial spirit. Following Ning Wang's actions, Mei Sen soul transformed and started attacking Fei Hou.
Watching the two of them coming at him at full force, Fei Hou did not dare to underestimate them. Calling out his Silver River martial spirit, Fei Hou soul transformed in an instant, and no longer held his strength back as he met Ning Wang's and Mei Sen's attacks head on.
At the same time, the four experts behind Ning Wang and Mei Sen charged towards Huang Xiaolong. These four people all had the same weapon: a martial spirit−sickle!
The length of the sickle's blade was long with zigzagged patterns resembling sharp, pointed teeth.
When attacking, the four of them created a formation, increasing the power of their attacks drastically.
All four were experts of the Tenth Order, but their power was enhanced by the fighting formation so their combined strength was not lower than an early Xiantian warrior, such as Mei Sen.
Yet the expression on Huang Xiaolong's face remained unchanged. The Blades of Asura appeared in his hands, and with a swing of his blades, the Tempest of Hell came spinning out to greet the four. Huang Xiaolong immediately shifted into the Asura Body, and sinewy wings of ebony erupted from his back. Combined with his martial spirit ability of Phantom Shadow, Huang Xiaolong maneuvered between the four people.
Every time they saw that their attack was about to hit Huang Xiaolong, he dodged them at the last second.
The longer they fought, the more shocked they became.
"You, you broke through to Tenth Order?!" One of the four couldn't help blurting out.
Didn't their President and Patriarch Ning Wang say this little kid was just a Ninth Order warrior? Or at most, at mid-Ninth Order? But now, the Huang Xiaolong in front of them had already broken through the Tenth Order layer!
The point that terrified these four the most was that their combined attack actually failed to kill Huang Xiaolong once and for all!
Ignoring that man's question, Huang Xiaolong leaped into mid-air, and his body started to spin faster than a top. Streaks of bright lightning flashed, turning into lightning flood dragons that shot towards the four people with every swing of Huang Xiaolong's blades.
The momentum of his attack frightened the four Tenth Order experts.
At this point, Huang Xiaolong floated back to the ground. A spectral with a black glow shrouded Huang Xiaolong, and a dragon's roar shook the sky, echoing in the surrounding streets. Before the confounded faces of these Clear Cloud Pavilion disciples, a majestic black dragon emerged behind Huang Xiaolong.
Although everyone knew that Huang Xiaolong's martial spirit was a top grade twelve one, a Primordial Divine Black Dragon from the information they had gathered, seeing it with their own eyes was still a horrible shock.
The majestic black dragon roared towards the sky, radiating the oppressive might of a dragon that swept out in all four directions. In the next moment, a bright light flashed and Huang Xiaolong soul transformed, becoming one entity with his martial spirit.
After Huang Xiaolong soul transformed, a layer of shiny armor-like black scales covered his skin, and his arms seemed one complete size bigger. His fingers turned into dragon claws, and unknown to anybody, a tattoo of a black dragon emerged on his back.
The Wings of Demon on Huang Xiaolong's back did not disappear even after his soul transformation.
The ebony wings flapped and Huang Xiaolong's silhouette vanished from sight, reappearing in front of the four peak late-Tenth Order experts of the Clear Cloud Pavilion. He raised both of his arms and aimed his attack at one of them. When the palm was about to land, every cell in that peak late-Tenth Order expert screamed danger so he raised his hand to punch out at Huang Xiaolong by reflex.
Bang! A loud blast resounded, and that peak late-Tenth Order expert was seen screaming in pain and his figure reeled back. His right arm that had collided with Huang Xiaolong's palm hung limply from the shoulder.
The forceful impact from just before had actually broken his entire right arm!
"You!" That peak late-Tenth Order experts looked at Huang Xiaolong with shock and dismay.
After soul transforming, Huang Xiaolong's attack power was beyond their comprehension!
Even someone that had half a foot in the Xiantian realm was pushed back, and from that single move, he discovered that Huang Xiaolong's physical defense was extremely horrifying, on par with President Mei Sen's strength that had just broken through to Xiantian realm!
At this point the other three also reacted and decisively attacked Huang Xiaolong together.
The three bellowed at the same time and with synchronized movements, their hands swung out and three sickles emerged in mid-air, combining into one large sickle. They spun endlessly in the air while releasing a layer of sharp sickle rays that shot towards Huang Xiaolong and the space around him.
As tough as Huang Xiaolong's defense may be, being struck by this move would guarantee that he would end up in several different pieces. After all, he was still a Houtian level warrior, and it was impossible for him to be invulnerable to every attack.
However, before the three of them had the chance to be delighted, Huang Xiaolong's silhouette disappeared before the sickles could touch a hair on him.
Innate martial spirit ability: Space concealment!
When Huang Xiaolong successfully stepped into the Tenth Order, his space concealment duration had increased to fifteen breaths of time. Furthermore, once he hid in the space pocket, even the lower level of Xiantian realm experts absolutely couldn't detect his presence.
Watching their glorious attack hit empty space, the trio's minds went blank for a moment, staring at the spot where Huang Xiaolong disappeared.
But, a glaring light suddenly flashed in their eyes, startling them. The three of them retreated swiftly, yet one of them was too late. The Blades of Asura slit that man's throat effortlessly.
Only then did Huang Xiaolong emerge from the hidden space.
Hearing screams again and again, Ning Wang and Mei Sen who were fighting Fei Hou, couldn't help but spare a glance over to Huang Xiaolong's side. What greeted their eyes was that peak late-Tenth Order warrior tumbling to the ground with one hand clutching his bloody neck. Both were aghast at the sight of what was happening.
Four peak late-Tenth Order warriors possessing the same kind of martial spirit were not enough to deal with Huang Xiaolong?!
With another flap of the ebony black wings, Huang Xiaolong reached the first peak late-Tenth Order with the broken right arm almost instantaneously. Unbridled fear filled his eyes when he suddenly saw Huang Xiaolong, and the tip of the Blades of Asura filled his vision. In the end, just like the peak late-Tenth Order warrior before him, his throat was slit by Huang Xiaolong.
Two experts down!
The remaining two warriors from the original four looked woefully at Huang Xiaolong. Fear and panic were written all over their faces as they lost the courage and spirit to fight with him.
"Mei Sen, you go kill that Huang Xiaolong!" Ning Wang's order came brusquely, "Just leave this Fei Hou to me!"
Mei Sen nodded. He punched at Fei Hou and used that as momentum to extract himself from the battle, pouncing onto Huang Xiaolong in the next moment. It was obvious to him that he couldn't rely on those wastrel subordinates since they couldn't kill Huang Xiaolong.
Mei Sen aimed a killing fist at Huang Xiaolong and used his green vines as he whipped them out to entangle Huang Xiaolong's movements.
Huang Xiaolong chose not to clash with Mei Sen directly. With a flash, he dodged Mei Sen's attacks.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong avoid his two-pronged attack smoothly, Mei Sen's eyes darkened as he approached Huang Xiaolong slowly, step by step: "Huang Xiaolong, it seems I underestimated you. The speed of your growth has exceeded my assumption. Not only have you broken through to the Tenth Order, you were actually able to advance to peak mid-Tenth Order!"
"But, I refuse to believe that a Xiantian like me cannot squash you today!"
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