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Short of directly conveying his meaning, he’d already made things as clear as he could. Ye Zichen trusted that bringing up the hundred-bolt tribulation was enough for Xiao Ting to realize what he was trying to say.

 

It seems Xiao Ting had never even considered the possibility that the youth he’d actively obstructed from ascending to the God Realm was standing right in front of him!  

He hadn’t merely been reborn beneath the lightning. Now, he was standing proudly before Xiao Ting as a challenger.

 

Ye Zichen smiled and faced Xiao Ting, as if he were seeing off a guess. Yang Jian gestured for Yang Jiain to follow him, then personally led the Lightning Emperor back to the Xiao Family’s gates. It wasn’t much of a walk: a few dozen meters at most.

 

Xiao Ting’s gaze shifted, but given his shrewdness, he naturally wouldn’t reveal anything out of the ordinary.

 

No matter how shocked he was inside, on the outside, he maintained his calm, collected demeanor, as if he weren’t surprised at all. He didn’t say any more either. He and Ye Zichen had already made their positions clear, and they both knew each others’ identities, and what their relationship would be like going forward.

 

The Lightning Emperor followed Yang Jian, his expression aloof. Yang Jian really had seen him back to his family estate.

 

But when they reached the gate, Xiao Ting stopped to chat with Yang Jian, seemingly without reservation. As he stepped inside, a smile flashed through his eyes. Yang Jian nodded and bowed, then watched his departure.

 

“Look at him! What a lackey he is,” sneered the Great Sage. “The two of them can’t have been talking about anything good.” 

 

The others chuckled and nodded. Before long, Yang Jian dashed back up to them. His obsequious smile had vanished, replaced by undisguised contempt. When he reached Ye Zichen’s side, he turned to the Great Sage and said, “Do you know what that geezer said to me just now?”

 

“He saw how fit you are, and decided to accept you as his pet?” The Great Sage launched a verbal assault right off the bat. Who knew who he’d learned to do that from?

 

“Is there something wrong with your brain?”

 

“Am I wrong? Back in the Heavenly Court, weren’t you happy to show off your physique to all those lady immortals? If you really become his pet, I’m sure he’ll take good care of you.” 

 

Listening to the Great Sage’s jeers, Ye Zichen couldn’t help but remember the days when he’d only just barely gotten acquainted with the Heavenly Court….

 

Back then, when they were recruiting general agents, all the immortals showed off their various skills. Yang Jian was the only exception; he’d treated it like a beauty pageant and showed off his physique instead. 

 

Looking at it like that, the Great Sage was right!

 

Yang Jian’s face went green, but although he wanted to beat the monkey up, he couldn’t. All he could do was glare, then explain, “Just now, he tried to surreptitiously invite me to his side. Also, I have to say, he offered quite the sweet deal!”

 

“Then he took advantage of your unsteady heart and offered you enormous incentives. Then you agreed to stick around us and act as a secret agent on his behalf. Based on that toadyish grin on your face just now, I’m sure I’m right!” Before he’d even finished speaking, the Great Sage summoned the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and his eyes flashed. “Take this! See if I don’t cripple you, you double agent!”

 

He swung his staff, and Yang Jian furrowed his brow and summoned the Erlang Lance. He swung it, blocking the staff. He couldn’t take it any longer, and directly started attacking the Great Sage.

 

“Why… are they fighting, just like that?” Pu Jingwan couldn’t quite follow what had happened.

 They seemed to fight out of nowhere, for no apparent reason. Everyone could tell that the Great Sage was mostly joking just now.

 So why were they fighting at the drop of a hat?

 

“Don’t mind them. They’re always like this,” said Ye Zichen. He’d known them for a while, so he wasn’t the least bit surprised.

 

“Always?” Pu Jingwan exclaimed, then grimaced. Those two are awfully… unique, huh?

 

She sighed and watched them fighting above Heavenly God City. It would be difficult to break them apart, but quite a few city patrols noticed them and hurried over.

 

However, both Yang Jian and the Great Sage were strong even among rulers. Even just the shockwaves of their battle were far more than the guards could bear.

 

Even the city’s rulers fell silent when they sensed their battle. They decided to simply let them duke it out.

 

“Xiao Ting really didn’t hold back.” As his friends fought, Ye Zichen recalled what Yang Jian had said, then shook his head. “It seems he’s really underestimated me. Did he really think he could buy my friends right from under my nose? I’m Skyspan Academy’s infamous Excavator! I’m the one who snipes talent! This is the first time someone’s tried to lure my allies away like this.”

 

This wasn’t just empty bragging. When Ye Zichen first entered the Anti-Upheaval Society, he’d lured away countless Grizzly Bear Society Members, putting them in a rather pitiful situation. This was the source of their grudge, although after Xuan Ji revealed his background, all of that was in the past. Pang Zheng and Di Long had buried the hatchet, and now acted quite friendly with him.

 

If Xiao TIng thought he could try and snipe Ye Zichen’s allies so openly, without even the slightest reservation, it was clear he really wasn’t taking Ye Zichen seriously.

 

“This is a good thing for you,” said Xuan Ji. “He doesn’t know you have the Outside’s support, and believes you’re relying on nothing but me and the Yao-Sealing Pagoda to challenge him. This is absolutely to your advantage.”

 

“Mm, I know.” Ye Zichen nodded.

 

When Yang Jian returned from the Xiao Family, Xuan Ji and Pu Jingwan joined forces to put a barrier around them. No sound could escape, which is why they felt comfortable discussing this openly despite their proximity to the Xiao Family estate

 

From such a close distance, it was entirely possible that the Xiao Family was eavesdropping, even in their recently purchased territory. It would be best to wait until their new headquarters were fully built. Then Ye Zichen could hire a formations grandmaster to put up various sound-proofing seals and ensure the Xiao Family couldn’t spy on them.

 

Perhaps she feared that Ye Zichen wasn’t taking what she’d said seriously enough, but Xuan Ji decided to reiterate her understanding of Xuan Ji. “Don’t underestimate the Xiao Family. No matter what else you say about them, they’re the Lightning Emperor’s clan, and they’ve passed their inheritance down for countless generations. Their reserves and insider knowledge are far more than you can see on the surface. If you asked me which of the god race’s clans are enough to give me reservations, there’s obviously the various Holy Lands. They’ve existed since the start of the Third Era, and it’s obvious how deep their roots run. But then there are the clans that Zhou Wu supported after ascending to the throne. I don’t know enough about them, which makes me nervous. Finally, there’s the Lightning Emperor’s Xiao Family.”

 

“I know I brought the Xiao Family last, but the way I see it, the Xiao Family is the most troublesome of all the factions I listed. Don’t forget; they’re in charge of every realm’s lightning tribulations, and heavenly lightning is under their control. Back then, when Bi’an underwent his tribulation, it was the Xiao Family that sent it. Do you get what I'm saying?”  

How could he not get it?

 

Xuan Ji was primarily trying to tell him that if the Xiao Family really wanted to, they could control the lightning pool, and by extension, heavenly lightning. In a fight, in addition to the Xiao Family’s attacks, they’d have to face lightning raining down from above!

 

What really scared people was that if the Xiao Family actively controlled punishment lightning, they could decide just how many bolts fell. 

 

Ye Zichen knew that during a tribulation, each lightning bolt was stronger than the last. If the Xiao Family kept firing them without end, not even the God Emperor could hold out forever!

 This was a hidden danger. But if that was the case, didn’t it mean the Xiao Family was unbeatable?