......
"Do you not remember me, good ol friend? I am Yang Xiao, and you surely know that all the stuff I said earlier was merely a joke, don't you?"
Yang Xiao's slimy voice entered the ears of Azmodeus as he turned his bored gaze up from the ground before saying, "I think I do remember you, but whether I care about your existence in the slightest is a whole other story. So, are you going to make the first move, or shall I?"
"You surely jest, good ol friend of mine! Why don't we go and have some lunch together while discussing the good days-!?"
SHING!
BOOOM!
A section of the fighting ring had a deep chasm spread throughout it, as the entire area left of Yang Xiao simply disappeared!
"!!!" He freaked out at this ludicrous display of power as he bounced away before shouting, "Wh-What was that for, you dirty bastar-!?"
However, he wasn't even given the chance to finish his sentence as another sword slash was launched in his direction.
"!!!" Yang Xiao narrowly dodged, barely missing the sword slash, resulting in another section of the arena being destroyed.
"It looks like you can still dodge even when I unleashed enough strength to kill a Viscera Training Large Success Stage Cultivator. Those spiritual items on your person are really working well in allowing your power to soar, huh?"
Azmodeus made his comment while staring at a few shiny pieces of equipment that the young, brown-haired boy was wearing.
They shimmered and sparkled a little, constantly giving boost after boost to his strength.
Yang Xiao realized that he would not be able to get through to this less naive version of Azmodeus as he sneered while saying, "You are lucky that I even befriended you for as long as I did, you dirty plebeian! And if you know what's good for you, then you will hand over all of your secrets to someone worthy of them—me!"
*Sigh...* A soft sigh echoed throughout the arena as a few more crisp sword sheaths were released in quick succession.
SHING! SHING!
This time, they were nowhere near the level that they were before, as there was enough power in them to kill multiple cultivators in the Altering Muscle Stage!
"!!!" Yang Xiao tried dodging out of the way; however, he was nowhere near strong enough, as his body was directly hit!
His armor broke and shattered less than an instant later!
Just as he was about to die, an Inner Sect Elder from the stands shot down and thwarted the advancements of the sword strikes.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, little boy! Going against our family is the same thing as going against me!" The elder shouted with an imperious disposition.
"..."
Azmodeus observed the antiquated appearance of the old man before him. After which, he said, "What if I don't care that I'm going against you?"
"!!!" The Inner Sect Elder practically erupted in fury as he roared, "You Dare!? Truly Courting Death!"
Flowing this outburst from the Inner Elder, he let loose all of his inner strength, quickly unleashing an aura well into the 60% Tempering Marrow Realm!
Azmodeus could care less about this little display of his as he asked, "Are you truly looking to take that last step into the grave? If so, then I think I will assist you in your endeavor."
FWIP!
Just as the two of them were about to fight it out right then and there, a sudden flash of light appeared as a middle-aged man with an indescribable aura materialized in between the two of them.
"!!!" The Inner Sect Elder and father of Yang Xiao immediately realized who this existence was and what he had accomplished. This caused him to fall to his knees and yell, "I congratulate the Sect Leader for successfully making it past his mental blockers and breaking through into the First Stage of Qi Condensation!"
Following this announcement, everyone in the crowd and even the other Outer Sect Disciples, Outer Deacons, Inner Deacons, Inner Sect Elders, and Outer Sect Elders erupted in praise!
Not a single one of them could believe that a member of their Yang Sect had successfully broken through into the Qi Condensation Realm!
This was a monumental occasion that would likely bring glory to the sect for hundreds of years to come!
In spite of all the cheers and such from those beneath him, Sect Leader Yang Fa only had his eyes focused on the young black-haired boy before him.
"So you are the one whom he was talking about. Well, you're definitely an interesting one," he mused while stroking a beard that was no longer there.
He swiftly put down his hand with a slightly embarrassed expression before announcing, "I have decided something!"
"....."
After which, all the chatter of the crowd immediately died out as everyone focused their gazes on their Sect Leader.
Upon acquiring the attention of everyone in the Yang Arena, Yang Fa continued by saying, "I've decided that Azmodeus will skip past the Outer Sect, Inner Sect, Core Sect, and Inherent Disciple Sect. He will directly become my Direct Disciple and be the one to represent the Yang Sect along with my daughter in the battle of the Sects!"
"..."
The Sect Leader's announcement put the entire crowd in a state of disbelief.
However, it didn't take long before all of the spectators—excluding the various elders—exploded out with a plethora of high-pitched sounds, practically breaking the sound barrier!
Even so, none of them were feeling anywhere near the level of shock that Amzodeus was feeling, as he had no clue what the f*ck was going on!
...
An undisclosed period of time later, inside an expansive mansion atop a hill, adorned with red and gold shillings on all sides, a few figures looked at each other with varying expressions.
Am I in some sort of dream or something... Because why the hell am I currently face-to-face with an old man and a 13-year-old girl...?
Azmodeus sat on a luxurious leather chair in the home of the Sect Leader, Yang Fa, looking at both him and his daughter, Yang Hua.
"So, what exactly am I doing here...?" He inquired with a slightly exasperated tone.
"Well, of course you're here because you are my disciple," Yang Fa replied with a friendly voice as he stretched his hands out, taking a few things from his storage ring.
"Here, this is what you get for being my one and only disciple. I noticed that your cultivation is a lot higher than you're willing to show, so I made sure to give you enough resources to reach the very peak of the Tempering Marrow Realm," he added.
BING! BING!
Dozens of items that would cost tens of thousands of silver taels plopped onto the wooden floor.
"!!!"
Yang Hua's eyes sparkled a little when she saw so many pretty things, a number of thoughts swirling inside her childish mind.
.....