Chapter 456: Half-Saint Xuanjing — "In Front of the Holy Son, You Dare Pretend?"
Arrogant. Truly arrogant.
Everyone present stared at the young man before them, whose face carried open disdain, and the same thought flashed through their minds instinctively.
Half-Saint Heiming of the Nine Nether Holy Land was also stunned. This brat—why didn't he play by the rules?
He had originally intended to use his aura to intimidate the youth and seize the initiative. Never did he expect that the boy's first reaction would be to ask if he wanted a fight.
"Haha."
Half-Saint Xuanjing, seeing Heiming's expression stiffen, felt an indescribable satisfaction and burst out laughing. "Heiming, of all people to put on airs before, you just had to choose my Holy Son."
"You should know, my Holy Son once followed Half-Saint Qiankun in the reverse slaughter of two Saints—he personally subdued Half-Saints himself. What kind of grand scenes has he not seen before?"
"For a minor figure like you, who only ascended to the Half-Saint Realm less than a hundred years ago, to act arrogant before him—isn't that like an old fool seeking death by swallowing poison?"
Hiss—
Everyone present involuntarily drew in a sharp breath at the words "reverse slaughter of two Saints."
Especially the Half-Saints of the two Holy Lands—they had personally witnessed the might of Saints and knew full well how terrifying they were.
Yet this Holy Son of Wendao Academy had taken part in a battle against Saints, even personally suppressing a Half-Saint himself. But… he was only at the King Realm!
The four Half-Saints exchanged glances, all frowning slightly. At this point, they were riding a tiger and could not dismount.
Cao Youqian, seeing their silence, spoke calmly. "What, are you afraid now?"
"Brat, stop bluffing here. I don't believe you can actually suppress a Half-Saint."
Half-Saint Heiming's tone remained stubborn, but his confidence was clearly wavering.
Cao Youqian smiled. "Old black face, I still prefer the aggressive attitude you had earlier. But are you sure you truly wish to see me suppress a Half-Saint?"
As he spoke, he took a single step forward.
That casual step released a terrifying divine radiance. Behind him, a massive dharma image manifested in the air.
Heiming instinctively took half a step back. The aura from this youth was simply too dreadful—it actually stirred a trace of fear in his heart.
Was this young man truly only at the King Realm?
At that moment, Half-Saint Wufeng, who had remained silent, finally spoke, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.
"Holy Son, please don't be angry. Daoist Heiming meant no offense."
Hearing this, Cao Youqian withdrew his aura and pressure, smiling slightly. "Then perhaps you can tell me, Senior, what exactly are you trying to do, coming here in such a formation?"
Half-Saint Xuantie replied, "Holy Son, this campaign against the Fire God Cult was a joint decision of our three factions. You can't expect your Giant God Academy to take all the spoils while leaving us with mere scraps, can you?"
"Senior speaks truly," Cao Youqian said unhurriedly. "To tell the truth, I haven't fully plundered the entire headquarters of the Fire God Cult. I only suppressed the Fire God Cult Master and took what was inside his treasury. That's not too much, is it?"
"Not at all," Half-Saint Xuantie said seriously. He naturally understood the Fire God Cult Master's strength; the spoils rightfully belonged to whoever subdued him.
"So then, it seems the Holy Son has left plenty for us?"
Cao Youqian shrugged. "Of course. I only took a tenth of the total treasures from the Fire God Cult headquarters. The rest will be evenly divided among the three factions. I wonder if Senior finds this arrangement satisfactory?"
"If what the Holy Son says is true, this old man is willing to accept it."
Half-Saint Xuantie had already gained enough—he had suppressed a Half-Saint himself, and his disciples had slain many of the Fire God Cult's members. Their casualties were minimal, and the profit abundant. To press further now would be unwise.
Cao Youqian nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze toward the two Half-Saints of the Nine Nether Holy Land.
"And what about the two of you?"
"We'll go along with what was said," Half-Saint Guili replied. Though he very much desired the Fire Demon God's demonic crystal, the current situation left him no choice but to swallow his frustration.
"Good. Then, please—this way."
Cao Youqian spoke as he stepped aside, clearing a path for them.
"Hmph."
Half-Saint Heiming snorted coldly and was the first to stride into the headquarters of the Fire God Cult.
After a brief discussion, the six Half-Saints divided the areas they would each plunder. This was to prevent their disciples from clashing with one another.
With the Holy Son of Wendao Academy present—a dangerously unpredictable figure—none of them wished to provoke the Giant God Academy.
Seeing that the cultivators of the two other forces had departed, Half-Saint Xuanjing waved his hand. "Children, go search for treasures on your own."
"Many thanks, Patriarch!"
The disciples of the Giant God Academy were all brimming with excitement.
That scene earlier—when the Holy Son had displayed his power at the gates of the main altar—had filled them with pride. If not for the agreement between the Holy Son and the two other factions, they would have seized all the Fire God Cult's treasures for themselves.
Half-Saint Xuanjing clasped his hands and said, "The Holy Son's divine might truly opened this old man's eyes!"
Cao Youqian replied, "You old man, stop trying to flatter me. Why aren't you off treasure-hunting?"
Half-Saint Xuanjing chuckled. "This old man already suppressed a Half-Saint earlier and obtained plenty from him. I'll leave the rest to the juniors."
Cao Youqian smiled. "Didn't expect you to have such restraint."
———
While they chatted idly, Half-Saint Heiming said gloomily to Half-Saint Guili, "Senior Brother, why did you compromise with that Holy Son of Wendao Academy? You have a Half-Saint-class spirit entity under your control."
"Hmph."
Half-Saint Guili snorted. "Do you truly think that Holy Son is just an ordinary cultivator of the King Realm?"
"Not only could he easily crush the likes of you, a useless Half-Saint, but even my spirit entity—the Half-Saint-class one—felt a trace of fear from his guardian. If we were to make a move, neither of us would leave this place alive."
"How is that possible?"
Heiming was well aware of how powerful Guili's spirit entity was. It was a being close to the Saint Realm.
If that spirit had not been Guili's own brother, he would never have been able to control it.
"As the saying goes, there is always someone stronger, and there are heavens beyond the heavens. This time, we'll just have to swallow our loss."
Half-Saint Guili spoke helplessly. "Besides, we didn't leave empty-handed. We managed to suppress two Half-Saints without suffering a single injury. That's far better than we expected."
Though still frustrated, Heiming couldn't argue. If his senior brother refused to act, and he went after the Holy Son himself, he would most likely never return alive.
Elsewhere, Half-Saint Xuantie was conversing quietly with Half-Saint Wufeng.
"Senior Brother, what do you think of that Holy Son of Wendao Academy?"
"Unmatched in his generation," Wufeng said solemnly. "He appears arrogant, but he's cautious and deliberate. Once we return, instruct the disciples of the Heavy Sword Holy Land to be careful when traveling outside. Do not provoke the Holy Son of Wendao Academy. Otherwise, we'll face great trouble."
"Understood."
Half-Saint Xuantie did not object. Their sect bore no grudge against the Giant God Academy, and they had already profited handsomely from this campaign.
After three days and nights of plundering the Fire God Cult, the three great powers finally parted ways and returned to their respective sects.
"Holy Son, what are your plans next?"
Half-Saint Babao, having reaped great rewards by following Cao Youqian, asked obsequiously.
"To settle down and cultivate. This time in the Barbarian Continent, I intend to make further breakthroughs. I absolutely cannot let Senior Brother surpass me."
When Cao Youqian mentioned his Senior Brother, his eyes grew unusually serious.
Both Babao and Xuanjing noticed the change in his gaze and could not help but wonder—just how powerful was the Senior Brother he spoke of…
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