Xiao Chen believed that the other party would choose to retreat in the face of difficulty, not seeking trouble where there was none in the first place. After all, with Old Man Feng having lived for so long already, Old Man Feng could not be unaware of the principles that he, a youth, knew.

However, if the other party still dared to continue, Xiao Chen would not hold back.

After arriving in this oceanic world, Xiao Chen had experienced great battles in every sea region he visited. Their cultivation grades did not differ by much, and he had never feared another before.

Old Man Feng shook his body, destroying the sand on it in the process. As he looked at Xiao Chen with the many dragons soaring behind him, rage blazed in his eyes.

Rationality told Old Man Feng that continuing to fight at this point would not lead to any good result.

However, he could not bear to be humiliated by a youth while in this circle.

“Green brat, you really do not know what is good for you. Today, I’ll show you the true strength of a half-step Martial Emperor,” Old Man Feng shouted angrily, and small tornadoes appeared behind him, each of them only the size of his fingers.

However, as the tornadoes spun around, small tears appeared in space. These tornadoes clustered together densely, making it seem like the space behind him would crumble and shatter.

“That’s enough. OId Man Feng, there’s no need for you to cause a ruckus here for no reason!”

Just at this moment, a cold snort resounded.

An old man sat cross-legged, nearly touching the stone stele, as close as he could possibly get. He looked very ordinary, not radiating any aura.

This white-robed old man was the one who spoke. The moment he opened his mouth, he immediately attracted the attention of countless people.

This reprimand startled Old Man Feng, who had been called out. He had not expected to attract the attention of this white-haired old man.

“He already proved that he has the strength to stand here. If you want to try and regain your face, do it after you enter the Human-Demon Paradise. If not, scram farther away. Don’t disturb the others here.”

The white-haired old man’s tone was relatively aggressive and impolite. However, Old Man Feng, the target of the scolding, did not dare to rebut.

After glaring at Xiao Chen, Old Man Feng obediently withdrew his aura and stood at the side.

Xiao Chen stopped circulating his energy for the Thunder Dragon Steps and looked at the old man before the stone stele. He felt startled. He had not noticed this old man before this.

However, the moment this old man spoke, no one dared to say a word. Even the raging Old Man Feng did not say anything at being scolded.

Without great strength, this white-haired old man would definitely not have such influence.

The hidden talents of the Human-Demon Sea might be within this circle. Perhaps there might be more of such people like this white-haired old man concealed here. They might look ordinary with nothing extraordinary about them. However, in actual fact, they were incomparably strong.

Brother Xiao, this way!

A voice appeared in Xiao Chen’s ears. Dugu Ao had sent a voice projection to him. Xiao Chen looked over and nodded to indicate acknowledgment. Then, he went over with Ao Jiao.

In the small circle of the ten outstanding talents, Dugu Ao and the purple-haired girl stood together, separated from the others by a certain distance.

Seeing Xiao Chen and Ao Jiao heading for Dugu Ao, the other eight of the ten outstanding talents all revealed strange expressions.

This was because Dugu Ao possessed a fiery temper and a proud temperament. Aside from the purple-haired girl, he did not have many other friends that could get along with him in the same age group.

Aside from this, there was also one particular reason. Everyone knew that although Dugu Ao was a mixed-blood, he cultivated the Quintessence of the humans instead of the Death Qi or Demonic Qi of the Deep Abyss Demonic World’s Demon Races. It was like he had a pathological aversion to such Qi and did not have many friends because of it.

Even so, such a reclusive person seemed to know this white-robed person. Naturally, his familiarity incited the interest of others.

“Interesting. Unexpectedly, aside from Mu Xiyan, there is someone else who can make friends with Dugu Ao,” a handsome red-haired man who looked firm and resolute muttered.

This person was called Pei Yan. He was the top ranker of the ten outstanding talents and had defeated half-step Martial Emperors several times before.

As a mixed-blood between humans and Fire Demons, he possessed great comprehension ability regarding the will of fire as well as a unique understanding of it.

Seeing Xiao Chen and Ao Jiao walk over to Dugu Ao, Pei Yan started thinking to himself, Will these two additional people pose a variable in my plan?

“What’s wrong? It is just two more trash. You think that Dugu Ao can triumph over us?” a person at the side asked.

This person showed a frosty expression, appearing extremely arrogant, proud, and aloof.

Pei Yan smiled and said, “In your eyes, anyone who is not as strong as you are is trash. However, even if it was a dog, if you got bitten, it would still be problematic. Your mentality is unacceptable.”

The two clearly stood out from the rest. They both gave off a strong aura, proclaiming their extraordinariness.

In fact, that was not wrong. This frosty-faced man was Han Feng, the second ranker of the ten outstanding talents, who was also known as the Cold-Blooded Swordsman. He was cold and emotionless, vicious and merciless.

Of the ten outstanding talents, the remaining six were led by Ye Ziheng and formed another group.

With Pei Yan, Dugu Ao, and Ye Ziheng as the leaders, the ten outstanding talents formed three circles. It appeared that they all had a common target.

Xiao Chen and Ao Jiao’s arrival disrupted some kind of balance, causing a commotion in this little circle.

“Hehe! Xiao Chen, right? This is the first time we are meeting. This little lady is Mu Xiyan.”

Seeing Xiao Chen walk over, the purple-haired girl immediately stepped forward with a smile and introduced herself. Her coquettish glances were electrical, soul entrancing as she batted her eyelashes and tried her charms on him.

Ao Jiao frowned tightly before her little lips curled up, and she snorted with a cold expression.

After Mu Xiyan saw this, she smiled faintly, and the charm on her face intensified even further.

The Charm Technique of this girl evoked some of Xiao Chen’s memories, very distant memories. He wondered if he would ever meet that girl again.

After a moment’s distraction, Xiao Chen nodded politely and headed directly to Dugu Ao, relegating the other party to the side.

Mu Xiyan’s smile froze. What is this? He’s immediately ignoring my Charm Technique?

When Ao Jiao saw this, she smiled cockily at Mu Xiyan. Little Yellow Feather, who was on her shoulder, stamped its feet and showed an equally cocky expression.

This person and bird frustrated Mu Xiyan to the point of wanting to vomit blood—especially given Little Yellow Feather’s snarky appearance.

“This is very surprising. You are a human cultivator. How come you are interested in this Human-Demon Paradise?” Dugu Ao asked.

Xiao Chen retorted indifferently, “Actually, I wanted to say the same thing to you too. You also cultivate Quintessence. Why are you here to join the liveliness as well?”

Dugu Ao smiled and said, “I suddenly have a feeling that my target is the same as yours.”

Xiao Chen suggested, “In that case, how about we write down our targets on our palms and reveal them at the same time, see whether they are the same?”

“Good.”

The two raised their palms to their eyes, and words appeared out of nowhere on their palms. After writing those words, they clenched their palms into fists and extended them.

The two exchanged glances, then revealed their palms at the same time.

The words “mutated Flying Dragon Snake” flashed on Dugu Ao’s palm while the words “Flower of Life” flashed on Xiao Chen’s palm.

“It is indeed the same.” The two smiled faintly and dispersed the words on their palms.

Standing upright with his hands clasped behind his back, Dugu Ao said, “Although we have the same target, our purposes are still somewhat different. I owe that woman a favor and need to help her obtain the mutated Flying Dragon Snake’s Dark Demonic Core.”

When speaking of the favor that he owed Mu Xiyan, an uncomfortable expression clearly flashed across his face.

This made anyone who saw it curious about how exactly Dugu Ao ended up owing Mu Xiyan a favor. There had to be a thought-provoking story behind it.

However, Xiao Chen was not a gossipy person, so he did not ask about it. As for the cooperation that Dugu Ao suggested, Xiao Chen immediately agreed without needing much thought.

The reason was none other than having more strength with every additional person. The cooperation would provide more benefits than loss.

The Flower of Life was essential to Xiao Chen. It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that he could not advance to Martial Emperor without the Flower of Life. If there was any possibility that could increase his chances of obtaining the Flower of Life, he definitely would not pass it up.

Dugu Ao smiled faintly and revealed joy on his face. With Xiao Chen’s help, he was much more confident about this trip.

After settling the collaboration, Dugu Ao pointed to Ao Jiao, who was beside Xiao Chen, and asked, “Who is this? You still have not introduced her. Is she coming with us?”

Ao Jiao gave Dugu Ao a feeling of inscrutability. Furthermore, there was a sense of being apparently right but actually wrong. This made him doubt Ao Jiao’s strength, so he needed Xiao Chen to provide a definitive answer.

Hearing this question, Ao Jiao smiled cockily. Her little face was as proud as it could be. She glanced at Xiao Chen, waiting for him to speak.

Xiao Chen thought back to the experience of that night. Then, an embarrassed look flashed on his face. After thinking for a moment, he finally gave an answer to the question that nagged at him that night.

“This is my little master, Ao Jiao. There is no need to worry about her strength. Regular half-step Martial Emperors would be of no problem to her. Furthermore, her combat experience is much richer than ours.”

Strictly speaking, Xiao Chen was not wrong. Ao Jiao had indeed taught Xiao Chen a lot of things in the past. This was especially so when they were in the Sky Dome Realm, when Xiao Chen was still extremely weak. At that time, he received much guidance from her.

Although Xiao Chen introduced Ao Jiao as a master, the atmosphere between the two appeared somewhat strange.

However, Dugu Ao did not overthink this. He believed that given Xiao Chen’s character, Xiao Chen would not joke about this. Furthermore, Ao Jiao did indeed give off a somewhat unfathomable feeling.

After hearing this, Dugu Ao immediately greeted Ao Jiao respectfully. He performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “So it is Senior Ao. Dugu Ao was impolite.”

Ao Jiao smiled, making her face look bright like a flower. “Hehe! I don’t dare to be addressed as Senior; just call me Elder Sister Ao Jiao.”

“Right, I’ll listen to Senior. Elder Sister Ao Jiao!”

Seeing Dugu Ao’s serious expression, Xiao Chen felt like laughing. However, he endured in the end.

“Are you sure? This little girl is a senior? I can’t believe this even if you beat me to death.”

Shock appeared on Mu Xiyan’s face. She was of the same generation as Dugu Ao. That meant that she would be of a lower generation than this little girl. When she thought about it, this little girl and that little bird had mocked her, so she could not restrain her frustration.

Dugu Ao’s expression turned stern as he demanded, “What are you saying? This is a senior that is here to help you. Quickly apologize. Address her as elder sister.”

Mu Xiyan seemed to fear Dugu Ao somewhat. She gave him a wronged look but saw that he still had his stern expression. So she could only go over to Ao Jiao and whisper an apology. Then, she addressed her as Elder Sister Ao Jiao reluctantly.

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