The Immortal Road Chamber's accommodation in the Immortal Capital was currently filled with peak Saints. The place was actually an independent space isolated from the outside world.
Within a courtyard, several young experts of the Immortal Road Chamber were seated around a stone table. Each of them was shrouded by a divine radiance that gave them a majestic appearance.
One of them was Fairy Zi Xiang, whom Xiang Shaoyun had met before. She was still as beautiful as ever, causing one's heartbeat to accelerate just by looking at her. Lan Shenyong was also among them. He looked dejected as he didn't even dare to raise his head among the group.
"The Immortal Road Chamber has been embarrassed. We have to win our glory back," said a young man in gold. He looked at Lan Shenyong and said, "Junior Lan, you must take full responsibility for this."
"We can't fully blame Junior Lan. He only fought for the sake of the chamber. Unfortunately, the opponent is too strong. It isn't surprising that he suffered defeat," said a man with red hair.
Lan Shenyong took a deep breath and said, "Xiang Shaoyun is truly stronger than me. I acknowledge my defeat since I am weaker than him. However, we need to avenge the deaths of our outer overseer. If we don't do anything, the Guangling Palace and Celestial Alliance will only look down on us."
"The Heaven Battling Ranking Competition is starting soon. Are you trying to make us act during such a time?" questioned the man in gold unhappily.
"I can have Guardian Lu make a move. I believe that with Guardian Lu's strength, he can definitely seize Xiang Shaoyun," said Lan Shenyong with a ruthless look in his eyes.
"Guardian Lu is your man. Naturally, it is good that you're willing to have him act," said the man with red hair.
"That's it, then. If those fellows ranked above us hear of this when they arrive later, all of us will suffer," said the man in gold with a nod.
Fairy Zi Xiang said, "Why don't I try recruiting him again? If he refuses—"
"Senior Zi Xiang, stay out of this. We'll decide after Guardian Lu captures him," said Lan Shenyong.
"Hehe, sure," said Fairy Zi Xiang with a sweet smile.
...
Elsewhere in the city was another similar independent space. Several outstanding youths were gathered there as well. From their outfits, they were clearly members of the Celestial Alliance.
The strongest ones among the Immortal Road Chamber's younger generation were known as the immortal children, whereas the Celestial Alliance's equivalent to the immortal children were the celestial children. In terms of numbers, there were even fewer celestial children than immortal children; there were only 88 of them. However, the 88 celestial children were definitely no weaker than the Immortal Road Chamber's 108 immortal children. These gathered youths were none other than some of the celestial children.
They had extraordinary origins and were the most talented monsters the Celestial Alliance had recruited from all around the world. Under the Celestial Alliance's nurture, they were even stronger than the geniuses of the four ancient academies.
"That kid called Xiang Shaoyun is going to get 100 victories soon. I heard that an outer guardian once tried to recruit him to our Celestial Alliance but was rejected. Is that true?" asked the leader of the group, a young man with an ordinary appearance.
The young man might not seem special, but if one focused on him, one would notice that there wasn't an oppressive glint hidden in his eyes.
"That's right. That kid is Ge Yi's sole disciple, and he's extremely arrogant. He has already grown to a considerable level. If we don't suppress him, he will probably challenge us in the future as well," said a youth clad in ancient armor with a look of derision.
"If not even Lan Shenyong is that fellow's match, he is truly quite capable. We need to properly consider our stance. Do we rope him in or do we suppress him?" said a different youth.
"There's no rush. The Heaven Battling Ranking Competition is coming soon. Nobody will create trouble at this time. Since he enjoys the fame so much, let him have it. We'll settle things after entering the ancient battlefield. If he's smart, we can consider granting him a spot in the Celestial Alliance. If not, he can't blame us for being rude," said the ordinary-looking young man.
"If the Heaven Battling Ranking Competition isn't so near, I truly wish to challenge that Primal Inception Physique," said the youth in ancient armor.
...
In the Immortal Arena, Xiang Shaoyun was facing a third-stage Heaven Battling Realm cultivator. With his strength, he could suppress his opponent with his aura alone. Why wasn't he doing so? Was it because he had fallen for the beautiful woman who was his opponent? Or was it because of a different reason?
The main reason was that he had been holding back against many of his challengers. As time went by, more and more Heaven Battling Realm cultivators started challenging him as a way to seek his guidance. He did not refuse these challengers and gave each of them a certain degree of guidance in their cultivation. That was his way of sowing some good karma.
After all, making an additional friend was always better than making an additional enemy. As a result, Xiang Shaoyun had built a good reputation for himself. More and more people challenged him, but in truth, most of them were there to ask for some pointers from him. As for the third-stage Heaven Battling Realm cultivator before him, she wasn't there to challenge him. Rather, she was there to seduce him, hoping to win his heart.
"Young Master Xiang, what do you think of this technique," said the woman with a giggle as she threw her entire body at Xiang Shaoyun, unhesitatingly pushing a certain part of her body against him.
Rather than calling what she just did a technique, it was more apt to say that she was throwing herself into his arms.
Xiang Shaoyun was slowly losing patience. As he made a grabbing motion, a gust of force captured the woman and tossed her off the ring. He said, "Next. If the next challenger is also here to waste my time, don't blame me for being rude."
He was clear that if he kept holding back, he might invite even more trouble. Before long, he reached 99 victories. He was one victory away from getting the strand of energy. He had taken only seven days to reach this far, setting a new record for the Saint Realm energy in the arena. For his 100th match, an old man with a green face appeared on the ring.
He was clad in the purple guardian's gown of the Immortal Road Chamber, and he did not hide his thick killing intent. This was none other than Guardian Lu, a follower of Lan Shenyong. He was an eighth-stage pseudo-God and was only a step away from the God Realm. Someone with his strength could easily defeat anyone in the Great Saint Realm.
"Get lost from the ring or die," said the guardian rudely.
"You're not qualified to utter those words to me," said Xiang Shaoyun as he wagged his finger.