After Ling Xiao defeated Li Xinghui, Ling Chen passed out.
Li Xinghui also suffered serious injuries and couldn’t rise.
Therefore, both the second and fourth positions became vacant.
After some contention, to everyone’s surprise, among the Four Young Masters of Tianfeng City, there were now two female Young Masters.
The rankings of the four were now Ling Xiao, Shi Yu Lian, Ling Yixue, and Ling Yihang!
The Young Masters of the past had all completely changed.
The Ling Family gained the most face, with three of their members becoming one of the Four Young Masters.
However, within the Ling Family, not many were pleased with this outcome because Ling Xiao and Ling Yixue were disciples who had been recruited from outside.
Ling Yihang, on the other hand, was a branch family disciple.
Not a single one of them was a direct descendent of the Ling Clan Main Family, which left many high-level members of the family feeling disgraced.
Especially the three Elder Supremes. If they had followed the list of four candidates they had initially recommended, by now, probably only Ling Chen would have made it into the Four Young Masters.
Of course, although they felt disgraced, these three were still disciples of the Ling Family, so there was nothing much to worry about.
But the situation was different for the other Three Great Families.
Seeing the rise of the Ling Family, they were naturally filled with anxiety.
In the pavilion of the Li Clan.
"Clan Leader, we just received the news that the one who killed Li Xingyun that day was none other than Ling Xiao!"
"What? Is the source of the message reliable?"
"Absolutely reliable. Moreover, our people had almost determined the result of the investigation, suspecting that Ling Xiao was the target. Now we are just more certain of it."
"Ling Xiao! Hmph! We mustn’t allow him to return to the Ling Family alive. This time, I shall take action personally!"
The hatred of the Li Clan Chief wasn’t just because Ling Xiao had killed Li Xingyun.
It was also because Ling Xiao had defeated Li Xinghui, causing the Li Clan to lose face.
Another concern was the terrifying potential of Ling Xiao; he absolutely couldn’t tolerate such a person continuing to grow more powerful. Otherwise, he would become uncontrollable in the future.
He firmly believed that with his Cultivation Level at the Martial Vein Seventh Layer, killing Ling Xiao would be as easy as flipping his hand.
All he needed now was an opportunity.
"Clan Leader, there are also people within the Ling Family who wish for Ling Xiao to die, so this opportunity should be easy to find."
The Li Clan Chief stood up, made a respectful gesture of farewell towards the Master of Tianfeng City, and left with his people to arrange their plan for the assassination of Ling Xiao.
The grand event of Tianfeng came to an end, and the top ten all received rewards from the Master of Tianfeng City.
Those ranked fifth to tenth agreed to serve the imperial court and were granted official positions. From now on, they would be regarded as individuals of status within Tianfeng City.
Ling Xiao, Ling Yixue, and Ling Yihang all rejected the ennoblement.
Their goals were not limited to the small Tianfeng City.
The world was vast, and they all wanted to venture out and experience it.
As for Shi Yu Lian, being the daughter of the City Lord, there was no question of her receiving a title.
However, they each received other rewards: a hundred Gang Qi Pills apiece, and ten Low-grade Spirit Stones each.
There is no need to elaborate on the Gang Qi Pills; below the Martial Vein Seventh Layer, these are the best pills for improving one’s realm and for recovering Gang Qi.
The City Lord’s Mansion was indeed very wealthy to award a hundred pills to each individual.
Regarding the Low-grade Spirit Stones, they are even more precious than the Gang Qi Pills. They are commonly used for transactions among Martial Artists, and many items can only be purchased with Spirit Stones, as a lot of Martial Artists do not accept Gold and Silver.
Furthermore, Spirit Stones are also treasures used by Martial Artists above the Martial Vein Seventh Layer, which is the Explosive Qi Stage, and by Martial Masters to enhance their Cultivation Level and restore their True Essence.
The inner strength at the Awakening Stage is True Qi.
The inner strength at the Gang Qi Stage is Gang Qi.
The inner strength at the Explosive Qi Stage is True Essence.
Therefore, moving from Martial Meridian Sixth Layer to Martial Vein Seventh Layer is not just a leap in the realm, but a qualitative transformation.
Suddenly, Ling Chen, who was unconscious, cried out loudly.
Having just received his rewards, Ling Xiao frowned and looked over.
Ling Chen woke up, and with eyes as cold as ice, he looked at Ling Xiao and said in a blood-curdling voice, "Ling Xiao, don’t think for a second that just because you defeated Li Xinghui, you are stronger than me. Wait until I recover, and then you’ll know what true strength is."
Ling Xiao dismissively said, "People I’ve left behind will never have the chance to overtake me. If I can’t even do that, then I, Ling Xiao, would really be a piece of trash."
He had this confidence.
He must have this confidence.
With a trump card as powerful as the Mountain and River Martial Soul, if he could still be caught up and surpassed, then he really should just go bang his head against a block of tofu.
"You’ll see when the time comes, take me back!"
Ling Chen didn’t want to see Ling Xiao anymore; catching even one more glimpse of him would be too suffocating to bear. That suffocation could practically choke someone to death.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Four people who had blended in with a smaller clan were also preparing to leave.
"The grand event of Tianfeng City has ended, and from what I’ve seen, the Four Great Families of Tianfeng City are nothing special, apart from that Li Xingyun and Ling Xiao. There’s no need to persuade them to surrender; might as well just exterminate them all."
One of them said listlessly.
"Nonsense! Although the Human Race is in decline now, it has rich resources and a vast territory. The current situation is that the Ten Thousand Clans vie for supremacy, all coveting the Human Race’s land. We Ninja Clan have just arrived; we should try to foster our own strength as much as possible."
Another cautioned in a low voice.
"What if they refuse to submit?"
"Kill without mercy!"
The person from before said.
"Now that you understand, let’s move out. Each of us will handle one of the Four Great Clans of Tianfeng City, go!"
As the voice fell, the four people instantly vanished on the spot.
A moment later, the Li Clan was on its way back.
Suddenly, the Li Clan Chief raised his hand, signaling for everyone to stop.
There was a person standing on the road not far away, wearing a strange headband with a "Ninja" insignia carved on it.
This person’s attire and manner of speaking were completely different from those of the Human Race.
"With a cultivation level at the intermediate stage of Martial Pulse Seventh Layer, Li Clan Chief, you possess not a bad strength, but I wonder if you can withstand one of my moves?"
With that said, the person suddenly made a move, their body trembled, and True Essence erupted, with what seemed like steam rising around them.
This was a characteristic of a Martial Artist in the Explosive Qi Stage.
That which appeared like steam was actually the effect of burning True Essence.
The so-called Explosive Qi is indeed the burning of True Essence.
Martial Artists in the Explosive Qi Stage, once they burn True Essence, their combat power will multiply. The higher their realm, the greater the increase. This is the real reason why Martial Artists at the Martial Meridians Sixth Level stand no chance.
The key thing is that burning True Essence does not lead to negative effects, as long as it’s not excessive.
Li Clan Chief’s face changed, the person before him was only about twenty years old, yet also a high-level master of the Explosive Qi Stage, not weaker than himself.
He dared not take it lightly and also quickly chose to burn True Essence.
The next moment, the two moved almost simultaneously.
They clashed with one strike in mid-air.
The man with the Ninja headband had an extraordinary attack. Although he also used True Essence, his attacking style left the Li Clan Chief dumbfounded.
In his opponent’s hands, Gang Qi actually took the shape of gears, which then spun wildly as if to cut through everything.
Despite the Li Clan Chief’s valiant effort to fight back, he was ultimately one step behind and was sent flying, his chest bearing a deep, bone-revealing gash.
Both managed their True Essence with extreme accuracy, though powerful, they did not waste it through leakage.
"Who are you, exactly? My Li Clan has no feud with you. Why do you come to kill us again?"
The Li Clan Chief was in utter shock. He was clearly on par with his opponent in terms of cultivation level, but was completely overwhelmed, which was beyond his comprehension.