Chapter 716: Provoking Hex Yan

‘Hex Yan really is an idiot. He still can’t see it. That kid’s aura has clearly reached the level of a Tier Four True God, at the very least. He’s probably a Tier Five Divine General. With that kind of strength, Nangong Miexian is likely the only one among us who can handle him. For Hex Yan to be so arrogant… I really don’t know how he plans to clean up this mess.’

‘Exactly. The kid is holding Guao Han’s corpse and his power is clearly immense. It’s very likely he’s the one who killed Guao Han. With Hex Yan being this stupid, the kid might just kill again.’

‘Him? Would he really dare? Comparatively, Guao Han’s background was ordinary. His family doesn’t even have a single Divine King; his standing was the lowest among us. But Hex Yan has a great-grandfather who’s a Peak Divine King. The kid might have dared to kill Guao Han, but I doubt he’d touch Hex Yan, right?’

As they waited for the show to unfold, the few of them exchanged thoughts via voice transmission.

Clearly, none of them took Yang Xiao seriously.

Even though nearly all of them had sensed that Yang Xiao was incredibly powerful—so powerful that only Nangong Miexian could likely deal with him—they still looked down on him.

After all.

They were all geniuses from the Hidden Dragon List.

They believed their potential and status were far superior to Yang Xiao’s.

Why would they ever take a so-called expert from some backwater region seriously?

Only Hex Yan, the one they were discussing—

—the blockhead who was surprisingly good friends with Guao Han, had yet to realize Yang Xiao’s true strength. He was still self-righteously demanding that Yang Xiao kneel and atone.

He probably hadn’t even considered the possibility that Guao Han was killed by the very man standing before him.

However,

speaking of Guao Han,

none of the people present actually liked him. Among those invited here this time, two individuals stood out.

One was Guao Han. He came from the humblest background but loved to put on a cold, aloof act. Everyone present knew what he was really like deep down.

That was why they had always excluded him.

And it was why Guao Han had ended up here all alone.

The other was Hua Qianbai. Unlike Guao Han, Hua Qianbai’s greatest passion was beautiful women.

Consequently, no matter where he went, his favorite pastime was to scout for local beauties.

Of course, compared to the low-born Guao Han, Hua Qianbai’s background was anything but ordinary. In fact, he was among the few with the most distinguished pedigrees.

It was just that his cultivation and talent were a bit lacking, placing him only in the nine-hundreds on the Hidden Dragon List.

But no one present dared to look down on him.

He was naturally far more popular than Guao Han.

This was also why they were so calm; the one who died was Guao Han. If it had been Hua Qianbai, these people probably wouldn’t be sitting back and watching the show.

They’d probably be swarming him, just like Hex Yan.

But as for Guao Han…

Heh.

Who besides that idiot Hex Yan would possibly stand up for him?

“What? You’re still not kneeling! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

And so,

as they watched Hex Yan continue to roar,

everyone shared a knowing smile.

This was turning into a great show.

Even Nangong Miexian

showed no intention of moving an inch at this moment.

He had been forced back by Yang Xiao earlier.

Fortunately, none of them had seen it.

Otherwise, who knew what they would be thinking of him right now.

Likewise,

he remained silent at this time,

because he hoped Yang Xiao would make the scene as chaotic as possible. Ideally, he would kill everyone here from the Hidden Dragon List.

That way,

he would have the perfect excuse.

‘Grandfather sent me here to give this kid a spot in the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm. Hmph. I was wondering how I could provoke him into giving up the spot on his own. Looks like I don’t have to bother anymore.’

Nangong Miexian chuckled to himself, pleased with this turn of events.

That was right.

As the foremost talent of the Nangong Family’s third generation, he had invited all these figures from the Hidden Dragon List here for a single purpose: to discuss the allocation of spots for the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.

The Hidden Dragon List had one thousand members.

Likewise, the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm also had only one thousand spots.

A single Hidden Dragon Order

could only grant entry to ten people.

Therefore, even being on the Hidden Dragon List didn’t guarantee entry.

This showed

just how precious the Hidden Dragon Order was.

Even the Star Emperor, despite all his efforts, had only managed to obtain a single Hidden Dragon Order, which he had, of course, given to Nangong Miexian long ago.

The ten spots that came with it were left entirely to Nangong Miexian’s discretion.

However,

just half a month ago,

Nangong Miexian had received a voice transmission from the Star Emperor. He was ordered to save one spot for a young man named Yang Xiao and was also tasked with protecting him.

Nothing could be allowed to happen to him.

The Star Emperor had also told Nangong Miexian of Yang Xiao’s current location.

That was what had brought Nangong Miexian on this trip to the Star God Continent.

However,

Nangong Miexian never explicitly stated that he was here for Yang Xiao. Instead, he invited all the candidates he had already chosen to this place.

His motive was simple.

He didn’t dare defy the Star Emperor’s command.

But he also didn’t want Yang Xiao to actually join his team and occupy one of the ten precious spots.

Especially now,

after seeing that Yang Xiao had even learned the Star-Picking Hand.

He was even more determined not to let Yang Xiao enter the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.

Because if Yang Xiao went in,

he would be reduced to being his babysitter.

How could Nangong Miexian, who was determined to become the heir of the Nangong Family, possibly accept that?

‘I gained Grandfather’s favor because of what happened to your mother. I won’t let an outsider like you walk all over me now.’

Nangong Miexian sneered inwardly.

The world said that the Star Emperor himself had changed his name as a sign of favor.

But few knew

that name…

He had changed it himself.

「Thirteen years ago.」

When the Star Emperor learned that his most beloved daughter, Nangong Xingyue, had been killed by an Immortal Daoist, he had charged into the Immortal Realm, but his quest for vengeance was unsuccessful.

He knew his chance had come.

He took the initiative to change his own name to Miexian!

And just as he’d expected,

he won his grandfather’s favor.

That favor had allowed him to rise all the way to his current position as ninth on the Hidden Dragon List.

And now, he was being asked to give up everything he had and become an attendant for Nangong Xingyue’s son.

Impossible!

‘Go ahead, turn this place upside down. When you do, I’d like to see what right you have to become the heir to the Nangong Family!’

He sneered inwardly again.

At that moment,

as if sensing his thoughts,

Yang Xiao stepped forward to face the roaring Hex Yan, seemingly eager to oblige.

With a casual flick of his wrist,

he tossed Guao Han’s corpse to the ground.

And then,

he stepped right over it.

He looked at Hex Yan and said coldly, “I won’t apologize to a dead man, and I certainly won’t kneel to an enemy I’ve killed. If you want to avenge him, I’d be happy to oblige!”

After being ignored and insulted time and again,

Yang Xiao was done holding back.

‘If these guys want to play, then let’s play this to the end!’

The moment he said this, combined with the act of stepping on Guao Han’s corpse,

the already reckless and witless Hex Yan’s

eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

“You… are courting death!”

With a furious roar,

Hex Yan, who was already enraged,

now charged toward Yang Xiao

like a maddened bull.