Before long, the assembly ended. A month later, they would reconvene before heading to the outside domain to fight against the aliens. That one-month period was the time for all the candidates to muster their forces for the upcoming expedition.
The more help they could gather, the stronger they would be. As a result, they would also be able to kill more aliens and better protect themselves. After all, nobody knew if they would be able to return alive. Thus, ample preparation needed to be made.
After all the young Gods left the hall, Qin Jiu and Gongsun Sanyang used their identities as locals and offered to host the various young Gods at the city's most popular palace. There, they would be able to drink and chat.
Qin Jiu and Gongsun Sanyang were among the strongest and most prestigious of these young Gods. They had high chances of becoming the young guild master, so many young Gods couldn't afford to refuse their invitations. Their only point of consideration was which of the two invitations they should accept. After all, the two had each thrown their own feast.
As for Xiang Shaoyun, he couldn't be bothered to entertain the two. He directly made to leave with Yu Caidie.
Unfortunately, some did not wish to let him go so easily. The Celestial War King, whom Xiang Shaoyun had offended, stood before him and said, "You must be Xiang Shaoyun. Why are you leaving? Are you looking down on the two young masters?"
It turned out that the Celestial War King was no fool and was pretty good at inciting trouble. He spoke loudly, making sure everyone present heard his words. Many toying gazes landed on Xiang Shaoyun, curious as to how he would answer.
"I don't enjoy gathering around with strangers. Since you love it so much, feel free to go and lick their spit on the ground. But please do keep me out of it. Thank you," Xiang Shaoyun shot back with no trace of politeness.
He could not afford to back off, as backing off would only result in his prestige dropping. His words were too rude, to the point the Celestial War King's face turned green from anger. He clenched both his fists tightly, looking like he was about to attack. The other young Gods also had unsightly expressions because Xiang Shaoyun's words made it seem like they were all about to fawn on Qin Jiu and Gongsun Sanyang.
"You're trying to sow disunity among us! We are expected to work together against the aliens. It is necessary for us to gather and talk about our upcoming battle, yet you twist our gathering into something entirely different!" said the Celestial War King after taking a deep breath.
"That's right! Xiang Shaoyun, that was uncalled for!" said someone else while pointing at Xiang Shaoyun.
"We might be competitors, but we should work together against the aliens. Someone like you who has no teamwork will not be able to go far," said someone else with a sneer.
"I see. Sure, I hereby invite everyone for a gathering. Is everyone willing to come?" said Xiang Shaoyun with a smile.
Everyone was stunned. They had not expected Xiang Shaoyun to be so shameless. Did he think that he commanded more prestige than Qin Jiu and Gongsun Sanyang?
With no reply, Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand in a carefree manner. "I knew nobody would show me any respect. Thus, I don't plan on giving any respect either."
He then left with Yu Caidie.
By the time the others recovered from their speechlessness, the two were gone.
"Damn it! That fellow is too shameless! Who is he to even invite us to a gathering?"
"He's quite an eloquent one, to the point he made all of us confused. I sure hope his cultivation is as great as his mouth."
"Just ignore him. He will regret it when we're at the outside domain."
"He has thoroughly offended the two young masters. Nothing good will happen to him."
...
Everyone started complaining to each other, and Xiang Shaoyun's reputation among them dropped. As for Qin Jiu and Gongsun Sanyang, their disgust for Xiang Shaoyun increased. However, some of the young Gods also agreed with Xiang Shaoyun. Everyone here was a competitor. What was the point of abiding by these social niceties like some hypocrite?
After meeting up with the three freaks, Xiang Shaoyun rushed over to meet Huang Baiwu and the others. Huang Baiwu, Scarlet Flame Monarch, Devouring Ghost, and the others were all staying in a tavern. They were aware that Xiang Shaoyun had left the assembly, so they had gathered together to wait for him.
After meeting up with them, Xiang Shaoyun first brought them all out of the Divine Dominion City. He moved so fast that nobody had seen it coming. After all, they still had ample time—one whole month. Even if he had something to take care of, there was no need for him to leave so urgently.
However, leaving was something Xiang Shaoyun had to do. He did not want to give anyone the chance to make a move against him. Unfortunately, his plan still failed. Not long after he left the city, an expert rushed after them.
That expert moved as a barely detectable shadow. He was incredibly proficient at concealment, and not even Xiang Shaoyun could immediately detect the approach. Only when the shadow was about to attack did Xiang Shaoyun sense the thick killing intent.
Hidden Buddha!
A shadow came out of the void between space and surrounded Xiang Shaoyun with a layer of baleful energy. The attack was quick and violent, arriving before anyone could react. By the time Huang Baiwu and the others realized what was happening, it was too late. They could only watch on blankly as the baleful attack assaulted Xiang Shaoyun.
The energy attack drove the space around them into chaos. It was so powerful that Huang Baiwu, Scarlet Flame Monarch, and the others felt a chill creep up their spines. They knew that they stood no chance against such an attack. The assassin was most definitely a powerful God.
The energy undulations lasted for quite a while. Suddenly, the roars of dragon and tiger rang out as a stream of primal chaos energy broke out of the energy layer and shot toward the attacker.
The aura of dragon and tiger tore space apart, and the primal chaos energy advanced with an unstoppable destructiveness. The attacker appeared shocked, hurriedly swinging his god-grade sword repeatedly. Each slash was powerful enough to give even a ninth-stage God trouble.
Soon, Xiang Shaoyun's counterattack was overcome. Several sword strikes landed on his body, causing his blood to flow.
"Die!" The attacker was not about to spare Xiang Shaoyun. He attacked mercilessly, using his strongest attack. The terrifying profundity of darkness carried a thick aura of death that severed all life.
Ultimate Death Sword!
Huang Baiwu, Scarlet Flame Monarch, and the others sank into despair at the sight of that attack. They frantically charged the attacker, hoping that they could be of help to Xiang Shaoyun.