Chapter 1728: Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor
While Ling Feng was in seclusion, the ruined ancient city was anything but peaceful.
"Senior Brother Murong!"
"Senior Brother Gongsun!"
Several cries of alarm rang out, instantly stirring everyone in the temporary refuge of the Dongling Immortal Pool geniuses.
As the acknowledged strongest expert of the Dongling Region, Shi Haoxuan naturally had to step forward. What he saw caused his expression to darken.
Murong Bai, Gongsun Long, and several other geniuses of the Dongling Region had been severely injured and were lying unconscious.
"What happened?"
Shi Haoxuan frowned deeply and looked at the martial practitioners who had carried them back.
"It... it was the people from the Xijian Region!"
A disciple from Yunluo Sacred Land clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "They... they called themselves disciples of Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor!"
"The Xijian Region again!"
Anger surged in Shi Haoxuan's eyes.
He had already exercised as much restraint as possible when dealing with geniuses from the other regions. He had even kept everyone hidden in the outermost part of the ancient city, avoiding direct conflict with the people of the Xijian Region.
Yet despite all that, those people still came looking for trouble.
"Damn it!"
Shi Haoxuan clenched his fists and slammed one heavily into a stone pillar. The already dilapidated hall trembled violently, almost collapsing.
Ao Jue sighed softly and took out several medicinal pills from his storage spirit ring, feeding them to the injured disciples.
Among the three great sacred lands of the Dongling Region, Yunluo Sacred Land was indeed the most proficient in alchemy.
At this moment, Murong Bai and Gongsun Long's robes were torn and stained with blood. Their faces were pale, and they looked as though they were hanging onto life by a thread.
After quite some time, the medicinal effects finally took hold. Their eyelids trembled, and they slowly opened their eyes.
The surrounding geniuses of the Dongling Region were overjoyed.
Outside, the geniuses of the three great sacred lands might compete with one another and even have their share of friction, but under the oppression of geniuses from other regions, the disciples of the three sacred lands had become more united than ever before.
Ao Jue checked their condition once more, then shook his head with a sigh.
"Fortunately, their lives aren't in danger. However, they won't be able to recover enough to move around for quite some time. For the rest of their stay here, they can only lie in bed and recuperate until the Sunset Ancient City closes and they're sent back."
Murong Bai and Gongsun Long turned deathly pale upon hearing those words.
They had finally obtained the opportunity to enter the Sunset Ancient City in search of opportunities, only to end up bedridden like cripples.
As for opportunities, they could forget about them entirely.
At that moment, a burst of noise came from outside.
"What happened now?"
Shi Haoxuan's expression changed.
Only after entering the Sunset Ancient City had he truly understood the helplessness of being weak.
"Hahaha! You little nobodies from the Dongling Region actually found yourselves such a nice place? Tsk, tsk. And you even shamelessly moved right in. What, you didn't think to ask for Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor's permission first?"
Two young men walked in from outside.
One looked like a pampered young master, while the other was broad and sturdy, more like a bodyguard standing at the youth's side.
"People from Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor!"
Shi Haoxuan frowned and pointed toward Murong Bai and Gongsun Long, who were lying on a pile of straw.
"Was it you who injured our people?"
"So what if it was?"
The white-robed youth looked utterly arrogant.
"If I, Long Tengyuan, want to beat someone, do I need your permission first?"
"You!"
Shi Haoxuan's anger instantly flared.
In the Dongling Region, he was among the very top geniuses. Among his peers, he had almost no rivals. Never had he suffered such humiliation.
"Hehe."
A look of disdain flashed through Long Tengyuan's eyes. His gaze fell on Murong Bai and Gongsun Long, and he sneered.
"They're still alive? Their luck is pretty good."
Shi Haoxuan clenched his fists tightly and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger.
"Sir, aren't you going a little too far?"
"Too far?"
Long Tengyuan pointed at Murong Bai and shouted, "This lowly trash should be grateful that I thought highly enough of him to have him deliver a message for me. Instead, he didn't appreciate my kindness and even dared to attack me. Tell me, shouldn't he die?"
The moment those words came out, all the geniuses of the Dongling Region were so angry their teeth itched.
You beat him into this state and still have the nerve to say he deserved it?
You're the one who deserves to die!
"What message did you want them to deliver?" Shi Haoxuan asked through gritted teeth.
"Isn't this young master here personally now?"
Long Tengyuan grinned.
"You people from the Dongling Region have the nerve to settle down on the territory of my Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor. If you don't provide us with reasonable compensation, wouldn't that be rather inappropriate?"
"What do you mean, your territory?"
"When did the Sunset Ancient City become Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor's territory?"
The geniuses of the Dongling Region instantly exploded in outrage.
The people of Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor were simply too overbearing.
"Hehe. You trash from the Dongling Region wouldn't know this. The Xijian Region and the Beihan Region have already divided this territory between us. Even if this is your first time here, you still have to follow the rules."
Long Tengyuan swept his gaze across the crowd.
A terrifying aura pressed down on everyone, causing the geniuses who had been shouting in anger to shrink back and fall silent.
It was true that the people of the Dongling Region had entered the tenth layer of the Sunset Ancient City for the first time, but this place was clearly on the very outskirts of the ancient city.
How had it suddenly become Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor's territory?
In the end, it all came down to one thing.
The one with the bigger fist made the rules.
The weak were destined to be oppressed and exploited.
"Don't say this young master isn't giving you a chance. There are two paths before you."
Long Tengyuan spoke coldly, "The first path is simple. Every single one of you from the Dongling Region dies here. Not a single survivor. You should understand that Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor has the strength to do it."
Shi Haoxuan clenched his fists so tightly that they creaked.
"And the second path?"
"As for the second..."
Long Tengyuan narrowed his eyes and chuckled.
"My Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor is magnanimous. We aren't so petty that we can't tolerate others. As long as you offer sufficient compensation, you can stay here for as long as you like."
"Not only that, my Dragon Sword Heavenly Manor can even protect you in return and prevent other factions from casually making a move against you."
He smiled coldly.
"Well? Not a bad deal, is it?"
Not bad?
The geniuses of the Dongling Region were nearly coughing up blood from anger.
This was outright extortion.
Banditry.
Robbery.
Shi Haoxuan nearly exploded on the spot, but Ao Jue and several others hurriedly held him back.
A moment of impatience could ruin everything.
The Dongling Region was at a clear disadvantage in terms of strength. If they completely tore off all pretenses and went to war, then what Long Tengyuan said might actually come true.
Every genius of the Dongling Region could end up dying here.
At that point, even someone as powerful as Shi Haoxuan might not escape with his life.