Half a day’s journey had brought the group to the hidden location of the Guo family. Compared to the Hidden Wang family’s remote and desolate mountain wilderness, the Guo family’s domain was somewhat reminiscent of a paradise on earth…
Surrounded by lakes on three sides and backed by mountains on the fourth, only a narrow passage led to the central island where the Guo family resided. Normally, this passage was submerged underwater, giving the island an ethereal, mirage-like quality.
At this moment, the Hidden Guo family’s domain was bustling with activity. Although the Ancient Martial Arts Conference was still two days away, many had already arrived early.
“No wonder they’re considered one of the Hidden Clans since the revival of ancient martial arts—every person passing by here is no ordinary individual!” Xiao Yufan remarked with a smile. In this world, inner energy experts were usually rare, yet here, even those with the lowest level of inner energy cultivation were at the mid-stage of condensation. Some of the younger generation had even reached the advanced stage of condensation.
Experts at the condensation stage were not unheard of, but they were rare exceptions. For many, reaching the condensation stage was already a limit—after all, the post-natal realm was not something everyone could attain…
“The Hidden Guo family sure likes to show off. Even the people they send to greet guests are inner energy experts at the condensation stage. It’s obvious their real strength isn’t that impressive!”
Beside him, Hong Zhong scoffed. It was clear this was just a display of power meant to impress others. If the Hidden Guo family truly consisted entirely of experts at the cultivation stage, no one would believe it.
Xiao Yufan merely shook his head with a smile, saying nothing further. He glanced at the path that seemed to float atop the water and stepped forward first.
“Excuse me, friends, please show us your invitations…”
Two men approached from the side. Upon seeing the four women who appeared almost divine, they were momentarily stunned, but quickly regained their composure and asked.
“Invitations?” Xiao Yufan hesitated. Although the Dark Gate had received invitations, he had been in seclusion recently, and Xiaodao hadn’t handed his over. As for Xian’er’s invitation, it should have been with the Hidden Huangpu family. As for Yinluo and Hong Zhong, their invitations were likely in the possession of the elders.
In short, none of their six companions had any invitations at all…
Seeing Xiao Yufan’s expression, the two men immediately grew wary. Without invitations, they would never allow outsiders in—especially not during such a chaotic time as the martial arts conference. If anything went wrong, they would be held accountable.
“If you don’t have invitations, then I’m afraid you’ll have to turn back. This is no place for you!”
One of them stole a glance at the breathtaking beauty before him, hastily withdrawing his heated gaze. Though Xiao Yufan and his group lacked invitations, he could sense they were no ordinary inner energy experts.
“Our invitations are simply not on us at the moment. You’ll have to let us in before we can retrieve them…”
Hong Zhong furrowed his brow. Though his expression was calm, the two men felt a chill run down their spines. It wasn’t the truly vicious people that were the most frightening—it was the smiling tigers, the ones who could ruin you without warning.
Clearly, Hong Zhong had been added to their mental list of dangerous “smiling tigers” not to be trifled with.
“We’re only following orders. Please don’t make this difficult for us!”
In recent days, many had arrived at the Hidden Guo family’s domain, but few had dared to cause trouble. Though the two men appeared polite, a trace of disdain flickered in their eyes—they couldn’t imagine these two men and four beautiful women actually resorting to violence.
“Without invitations, you have no right to enter our Hidden Guo family. If they dare harm you, they will have the entire Guo clan to answer to. I doubt they’d dare!”
Just as Hong Zhong was about to speak, an untimely voice interrupted. The two men’s expressions brightened as if seeing a savior. Xiao Yufan’s gaze also shifted toward the newcomer.
Behind the speaker were four individuals of no small strength—each just a step away from reaching the condensation stage. They were clearly among the more outstanding young members of the Hidden Guo family. As for the speaker himself, he had already reached the peak of the condensation stage.
As he approached Xiao Yufan’s group, his eyes lingered greedily on the four women’s alluring figures, even licking his lips unconsciously.
“Are all the people from the Hidden Guo family this foolish…”
From their expressions, it was clear this speaker held a relatively high status within the Hidden Guo family. But Xiao Yufan had never liked arrogant people, especially not one who dared to desecrate his women.
“What did you say?”
The proud expression instantly darkened. Guo Qi thought he had misheard. How dare this man insult him in public? Worse still, he had insulted the entire Hidden Guo family!
“Are you deaf, or do you enjoy being insulted? Let me repeat it for you!”
A flash of coldness flickered in Xiao Yufan’s eyes. He had come here looking for trouble and had no qualms about giving the Hidden Guo family a taste of his strength. Besides, the Heaven’s Alliance experts would likely arrive for the martial arts conference as well. He wondered whether his grandfather had already dealt with the trouble from the Guardian Temple.
“Fine, fine, fine! You’re the first person to dare speak to me like this!”
Guo Qi was an arrogant man by nature. Within the Hidden Guo family, his status was high, and among the younger generation, he was considered an elite. Never had he been so humiliated before, especially not with so many spectators watching.
“And what of it? You should consider yourself lucky I haven’t struck first!”
Xiao Yufan’s lips curled into a disdainful smile. He had no intention of making the first move—not yet. He didn’t want to give others an excuse to criticize him. Though the Hidden Guo family had the upper hand here, there were still people from other factions watching.
Because of the commotion, many eyes had turned toward them. Upon recognizing Guo Qi, many onlookers wore expressions of disgust. Clearly, this arrogant young man was not well-liked among them.
However, this was the Hidden Guo family’s territory, and even if others were displeased, they didn’t wish to offend them at this time.
“Fight me? That’s exactly what I want! Who do you think you are, strutting around like you’re someone important? If you don’t have the strength, don’t pretend to be strong—just leave now!”
Stepping forward, Guo Qi’s anger was fully ignited. He wanted nothing more than to knock this arrogant man down. With the beautiful women watching, he naturally wanted to show off. Yet from beginning to end, Huangpu Xian’er and the other three women never even deigned to look at him once…
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