"A young lady in the bloom of her youth."

Lin Shenghuang’s eyes lit up as she watched Su Xi’s beautiful figure retreat into the distance.

But a moment later, she shook her head with a light laugh and thought, ’It’s good that you want to intercept Fang Yang, but your status is special now. You’re practically outsiders. Before you make a move, we need to set the stage.’

After all, a youth like Su Xi, who had traveled far to the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life to seek immortality, naturally lacked the same closeness with ordinary clan members.

If Su Xi were truly the first to face Fang Yang and defeated him with ease...

...the outcome would be good, but the optics would be terrible.

They were the righteous path!

And the righteous path had its rules. They not only had to win, but they also needed a just cause.

Otherwise, even in victory, they would be subject to gossip and give others leverage against them.

Of course, Su Xi, Su Dao, and the others could simply wipe their hands of the matter and return to the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life.

But she, Lin Shenghuang, and her people still had to cultivate here in the end.

RUMBLE...

Before long, thunder rumbled across the sky, and a water-mirror screen materialized.

The screen reflected two youths in brocade robes, facing each other in a standoff.

It was a scene from the final stage of the Tier One path.

During this final duel, all other confrontations on that path were forced off-screen, leaving only the dueling screen visible.

"Sen Xiaoyao, Su Zhansheng..."

On the cliff, Fang Lanxi gazed at the water-mirror screen and slowly uttered the names of the two youths in brocade robes.

These two were the prodigies of her generation who had made her feel the depths of despair.

It was because she had faced them that her dreams of being a top prodigy had been shattered.

...

The long path of Tier Three.

The thirty-sixth stage.

Fang Yang was like a carp, roaming through the vast waterfall of thunder and rain pouring from the sky.

At that moment, he lightly patted his beast pouch.

A flash of violet-green lightning flickered, and an electric python instantly appeared to his left.

"Seize this opportunity. Don’t waste it."

With a push of his right palm, Fang Yang sent the python forward, letting it also receive the tempering of the vast thunder-rain waterfall.

Waste was a shame, and he was unwilling to miss any chance for his battle pet to grow stronger.

"HISS~"

The electric python let out a sharp hiss and immediately charged toward the thunder beasts.

In the process, its Bloodline Power burned wildly as it unleashed its two bloodline Magic techniques one after another, crushing the thunder beasts in the form of lightning spears.

After each kill, its scales absorbed the fresh lightning.

Visibly, its aura was steadily growing stronger!

’Devour and grow...’

Fang Yang’s gaze sharpened, but his hands didn’t stop. He casually slapped a thunder bull to death and seized its Thunder Marrow.

At this moment, his thoughts turned to his White Feathered Eagle.

The White Feathered Eagle had accumulated enough power, but it lacked a catalyst.

This catalyst was the transformation of its Nether Glow Flame!

Fang Yang estimated that as he refined various Anomalous Flames and formed successive phantoms of the Fire Realm, the White Feathered Eagle would likely be triggered to advance.

After all, with enough samples for the White Feathered Eagle to learn from, even a pig could fly if it stood in the right spot during a hurricane.

With a CRACK, Fang Yang killed another thunder beast, obtaining a piece of Thunder Marrow the size of a chicken egg.

He even began refining the Thunder Marrow, aiming to break through the bottleneck of his Thunder Sea technique and evolve it from the level of a stream to that of a river.

...

The sky shook, and a torrential rain poured down on the small town.

A sharp, imposing aura surged from outside the town.

Someone had passed the thirty-fifth stage and was about to reach the thirty-sixth!

Feeling this presence, Fang Yang immediately recalled his electric python and tightened his grip on his war spear.

Like a silver vase shattering, like a mountain flood erupting, the newcomer burst in with extreme arrogance.

He was powerfully built with disheveled hair, and the ink-black longspear in his hand hummed with the ceaseless roar of a dragon.

Desert Dragon!

But compared to his former high spirits, his face was now world-weary, as if he had been ravaged by the hardships of life.

Fang Yang was surprised. "Desert Dragon? I didn’t expect you to be the first to arrive."

Fang Yang couldn’t help his surprise; the Swallowing Whale Skill, which was of great help to him now, had been obtained from Desert Dragon.

Although it had only been the Tier Three version, the Little Whale Swallowing Skill, it had still helped him a great deal.

Hearing this, Desert Dragon’s lips curved into a bitter, wistful smile. "Long time no see. Heh, to be honest, I never thought I’d fall this far either."

"But without becoming a Saint, it’s impossible to transcend. You might laugh, but I’m just a pawn who has crossed the river."

’A pawn who has crossed the river?’

Someone had paid a hefty price to make Desert Dragon take action.

Fang Yang’s eyes flickered as he recalled the medium-low fortune he had drawn.

According to that fortune, if he lost to Desert Dragon, he would be targeted by a pack of wolves.

In other words, this "pack of wolves" had to be the people backing Desert Dragon.

Fang Yang replied, "A pawn who has crossed the river? In the turbid torrent of this world, just managing to stand firm is difficult enough. How could I laugh at you for that?"

"The turbid torrent of this world... the turbid torrent..." Desert Dragon murmured, the light in his eyes growing brighter. "Come. If you defeat me, I will tell you who is targeting you."

「Elsewhere.」

The crowd on Broken Cloud Cliff stared wide-eyed as they saw Desert Dragon appear on the long path of Tier Three, directly confronting Fang Yang.

Among them, Su Dao narrowed his eyes, while Lin Shenghuang revealed a faint smile.

It was a win-win situation for them whether Desert Dragon succeeded or not.

If he succeeded, it would prove that while Fang Yang was exceptionally talented, he still needed more tempering.

If he failed, it would make it perfectly logical for Su Xi to step in.

They had no choice. Their situation was awkward, so they could only resort to actions akin to a whore demanding a monument to her chastity.

After all, as long as they had a pretext to serve as a fig leaf, everyone could save face.

Under their watchful eyes, Fang Yang and Desert Dragon began to fight.

RUMBLE...

A series of dull thuds echoed as the war spear and longspear clashed relentlessly, sending shockwaves rolling through the air.

But to everyone’s astonishment, Fang Yang, who had erupted with a sky-soaring blood qi, was actually suppressing Desert Dragon!

Desert Dragon was a Great Cultivator qualified to undergo the Saint Tribulation. Although he had ultimately failed to become a Saint, the fact that he had survived was a testament to his power.

How could it not be shocking that he was now being steadily suppressed by Fang Yang?

Now, Desert Dragon rallied, fiercely swinging his longspear in a downward slash. A vast azure light swept forward like a tidal wave, pressing down on his opponent.

But Fang Yang was even more ferocious. Black waves appeared behind him, within which a Black Kunchen Illusion rose and fell.

In a single breath, he easily pierced through Desert Dragon’s momentum and swept him out of the sky.

BOOM! Desert Dragon’s body shot backward, crashing through one small hut after another, leaving a part of the town in ruins.

Before the eyes of Su Dao and Lin Shenghuang, he had suppressed Desert Dragon with incredible ease!

At this moment, Desert Dragon’s body was covered in wounds, and he was on the brink of death.

He floated in a small river, the blood flowing from his body gradually turning the water red.

But his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Fang Yang had beaten him to his senses.

"The ones who want to cause you trouble are Lin Shenghuang, Su Dao, and their people..." Desert Dragon’s lips moved slightly, transmitting the message.

Then, his eyes closed, and he fell unconscious.

At the same time, a mass of cyan divine light descended from the sky, enveloping him, condensing into a cocoon, and carrying him away.

A moment later, only Fang Yang remained.

As Fang Yang watched, another ray of cyan divine light swept over the town, restoring it to its original state.

’The mighty power of a Saint?’

Fang Yang’s gaze was profound. ’...Lin Shenghuang, Su Dao, and their people... I’m being targeted because I’m too close to the Sen clan.’

Despite this, his heart remained calm.

To not be envied is to be mediocre. Any rising star will inevitably encroach on the interests of others, thus inviting their jealousy, hatred, and even suppression.

Even Sen Wei and Sen Yue could not avoid this process.