"Sister Moon, when I leave the Sect, I’ll need you to take care of my friends for me. Now that Chang Yueli, Chang Yueying, Elder Jin, and the Demonflame Celestial have formed an alliance, they seem well-behaved on the surface, but who knows what they’re up to behind the scenes."
Ling Xiao chuckled. He wasn’t worried about himself at all, but he still felt uneasy about his friends.
"Leave it to me. As for those people, if they faithfully serve the Moon Hua Sect, they might spare their lives. Otherwise, I’ll personally take action to eliminate them!"
Sister Moon nodded and said.
"With your word, Sister, I’m relieved. But it’d be a pity if you killed them. I want to compete with them personally!"
Ling Xiao said with a smile.
"You sure are ambitious, but with your ability, it shouldn’t take long. I’ll try my best to leave them for you," Sister Moon said, nodding.
"Sister Moon, don’t you want to send me off now that I’m about to leave?"
Having said everything serious, Ling Xiao suddenly flashed a mischievous smile.
Blushing, Sister Moon quickly pecked Ling Xiao on the forehead and moved away, scolding, "There, are you satisfied now, you little pervert?"
"How about another one? That was too quick, I didn’t even feel it."
"Hehe, Sister, I’ll see you after a while!"
Amidst laughter, Ling Xiao soared into the sky.
He had tucked away all his valuable and useful things in the Mountain and River World and his Storage Ring, so there was no need to return to his cave dwelling. He headed straight for the outskirts of the Sect.
Less than a shichen after Ling Xiao left the Sect, the Sword King Sect sent over an official invitation to the four-Sect martial arts tournament.
The Sect’s upper echelons gathered together.
"This is interesting, aside from the Divine Sword Sect, which only has two slots, our three Sects all got one additional slot, going from four to five!"
Seeing the invitation, Wu Xiang revealed a smile.
If there were only four slots, then Dai Yuling wouldn’t have been able to compete, which would have been a loss.
After all, sparring with disciples from other Sects is very beneficial for improving one’s cultivation level.
"Why the increase in slots? Could it be that the Sword King Sect’s talent has grown?"
Golden Light Heavenly Lord asked with a frown.
"It should be so. I’ve heard that in this trial, the Sword King Sect had five disciples receive the Martial Soul Inheritance, two of whom are from the ancient lineage, no less remarkable than Tantai Lingzi and Dai Yuling," Wu Xiang had already conducted some investigations.
"The Beast King Palace isn’t far behind either, with six disciples receiving the Martial Soul Inheritance, and three of whom got the ancient lineages, even stronger than the Sword King Sect!"
"Hmph, it’s all Ling Xiao’s fault. If it weren’t for him meddling, our disciples would have gotten more than just four inheritances!" Elder Jin said with a cold snort.
"Nonsense, if they hadn’t targeted Ling Xiao, how would they have gotten eliminated? In the end, they had ill intentions and got what they deserved," Golden Light Heavenly Lord retorted.
"Enough, this isn’t the place to argue."
Wu Xiang waved his hand and said, "What’s the use of having more people? Strength is the King’s Path. Our one Ling Xiao can match their five disciples!"
Clearly, this martial arts contest between the four sects was turning out to be more difficult than anticipated.
However, Wu Xiang seemed to have a great deal of confidence in Ling Xiao, having staked everything on him.
The morning sun drenched the entire city, and after a night’s rest, people had begun their day’s work.
At this moment, a figure silently landed within the city walls, unnoticed by the guard martial artists.
His figure was well-proportioned, and he was quite tall, with black hair cascading over his shoulders. His eyes emitted a strange black and gold light, giving him an air of mystery.
"It seems that Divine Sword Sect has developed well. Tianfeng City has been rebuilt from ruins and is now more prosperous than before. Even the guards at the gate are Martial Meridian Realm Sixth Layer martial artists."
Ling Xiao couldn’t help but be surprised.
Back when Divine Sword Sect was first established, martial artists at the Sixth Layer of the Martial Meridian Realm were a rare sight in Tianfeng City. Now, they were merely gatekeepers.
Ling Xiao, compared to the last time he had returned to Tianfeng City, apart from becoming more mysterious in temperament, hadn’t changed in other aspects.
Even so, as he walked the streets, very few could recognize him.
Bai Feifei had been thrown directly into his Beast Ring; although the woman constantly protested, Ling Xiao didn’t pay her any attention.
As he approached the Divine Sword Sect, Ling Xiao was surprised to find that the sect’s protective array formation was activated, and many young people in various attires were entering the Divine Sword Sect, accompanied by others.
"Could there be some event happening?"
Ling Xiao took a few steps forward with curiosity and, as he got closer, he could overhear people discussing.
"This time, Divine Sword Sect is recruiting disciples from abroad, and many genius martial artists from other cities have come here, including many from Yunkong City, all seeking to learn at the sect!"
"Isn’t that the truth? Divine Sword Sect is now the strongest sect under the Sacred Dynasty’s Twelve Sects. Moreover, they have no requirements regarding the cultivation level of the disciples, as long as you have the heart to learn martial arts and the willingness to work hard, you can apply to become a disciple, so naturally, many people have come."
"I heard that Divine Sword Sect is also going to participate in the Eastern Quadrant Sect Contest. It seems very impressive. Are all the martial artists participating in the Sect Contest at the Ninth Layer of the Martial Vein Realm?"
"Idiot, what’s so great about the Ninth Layer? The martial artists in the Sect Contest are definitely Transcendent Realm martial artists!"
Listening to these conversations, Ling Xiao roughly understood that the annual recruitment ceremony of Divine Sword Sect was about to commence.
Calculating the time, he had been away from the Divine Sword Sect for exactly one year; now, according to his nominal age, he was already fifteen years old.
Following the crowd into the Divine Sword Sect, Ling Xiao didn’t announce his presence; he was also quite interested in what exactly the recruitment ceremony of Divine Sword Sect entailed.
After all, this was his own sect, a feeling completely different from that with Moon Hua Sect, a very intimate, blood-bound connection.
The so-called recruitment ceremony was somewhat similar to the past events held by Moon Hua Sect, first examining the disciple’s aptitude, then their overall qualities, and finally, combat testing.
Ling Xiao really did have a lot of free time, watching the event from start to finish, as if he had traveled back to the days when he joined Moon Hua Sect.
Just as the recruitment ceremony was concluding, all of a sudden, the gates of Divine Sword Sect were kicked open forcibly.
An older man and a younger one.
With everyone watching, the young man sneered and said aloud, "I hear your Divine Sword Sect is the number one sect under the Sacred Dynasty’s Twelve Sects. Seeing it today, it doesn’t seem all that impressive. Today, this young master has come to challenge your sect. If you lose, then there’s no need for Divine Sword Sect to keep its signboard!"
The young man speaking had actually achieved the Martial Vein Realm Ninth Layer Peak, which was considered to be the strongest in commoner sects.
"We welcome challenges, but if you’ve come to cause trouble, don’t think that Divine Sword Sect can be easily bullied!"