"Hehe, Brother Yi obtained a special permission and has been in closed-door training all these years, so it’s normal that he doesn’t recognize that person. His name is Li Feiyu, and he’s a Xuan Warrior who was recently sent here. Although he has only opened forty-odd Xuan Apertures, his strength is not bad. He once defeated Fellow Daoist Poison Dragon. Plus, being a human, he has some fame. However, since five years ago, he seems to have also obtained special permission and has been in closed-door training ever since." Tu Gang glanced at Poison Dragon next to him and laughed.

"Hmph, the situation was special back then, and I was just careless for a moment. Why bring up things from the past!" Poison Dragon snorted and glared at Tu Gang.

"A human? That's a novelty. Could it be that he also plans to go to Xuan City to participate in the Martial Gathering?" Upon hearing this, a hint of contempt flashed in the golden-haired youth's eyes.

"Perhaps, otherwise why would he be in closed-door training for so many years?" Tu Gang said with a chuckle.

As soon as Han Li sat down, a maidservant immediately brought him a cup of tea.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"Fellow Daoist Li, long time no see." A voice sounded, and it was Gu Qianxun who walked over and greeted him with a smile.

Yao Li followed beside her, as cold as before towards Han Li, looking up at the sky with an indifferent expression.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, long time no see." Han Li ignored Yao Li and nodded to Gu Qianxun.

"I guessed that with Fellow Daoist Li's strength, Fellow Daoist Chenyang would definitely invite you. I've heard that Fellow Daoist Li has been in closed-door training these past few years, and your strength seems to have greatly improved." Gu Qianxun looked Han Li up and down, her beautiful eyes flashing with light as she smiled.

"Fellow Daoist Gu is too kind. If we're talking about improvement in strength, I'm afraid you also truly deserve the title. Congratulations." Han Li glanced at Gu Qianxun and curled his lips.

Gu Qianxun's smile froze slightly.

She had relied on two treasures obtained from the treasure vault to break through a cultivation bottleneck, and her strength had indeed improved greatly.

She had kept this a secret and had not mentioned it to anyone. Moreover, as long as she didn't show it, it was extremely difficult to see her physical cultivation from the outside. Han Li was actually able to see through her strength at a glance!

Unbeknownst to Gu Qianxun, Han Li's physical cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years, and his perception was naturally more sensitive. In addition, his divine sense was extremely powerful, which allowed him to see through Gu Qianxun's true strength at a glance.

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Li to not only be powerful, but also have such sharp eyes. I admire you." Gu Qianxun's expression immediately returned to calm, and she sat down next to Han Li.

The golden-haired youth in the distance frowned when he saw this.

"Alright, Fellow Daoist Gu, let's not flatter each other. Fellow Daoist Gu has stayed in Qingyang City for much longer than I have, so you must know more about the Five Cities Martial Gathering. I wonder if you could explain a thing or two to me." Han Li said with a smile.

Gu Qianxun smiled and was about to speak.

"Haha, sorry to keep you waiting, it's my fault." A hearty laugh came, and Chenyang, wearing city lord attire, walked in from a side door in the depths of the hall and sat down in the main seat.

Crab Daoren, as before, followed silently behind him.

Han Li's gaze swept towards Crab Daoren, but Crab Daoren lowered his eyes and ignored him.

Seeing this, Han Li frowned slightly, then relaxed.

"Greetings, City Lord!" Everyone in the hall stood up and bowed.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun also stopped talking and stood up to salute.

"Everyone here is a pillar of Qingyang City, there's no need to be so polite, please sit down." Chenyang said with a smile, gesturing with both hands.

Everyone sat down upon hearing this, but no one spoke, and the hall was so quiet that a pin could be heard.

"The purpose of gathering everyone here today, I believe you all already know, is for the Five Cities Martial Gathering. The date of the gathering is approaching, and it will take a lot of time on the road. We will depart later, but there are some things that need to be explained to everyone before we depart." Chenyang said in a loud voice.

"May I ask, City Lord, is there any change in the Martial Gathering?" The golden-haired youth asked.

"Who is that Fellow Daoist?" Han Li looked at the golden-haired youth and asked softly.

"That is Yi Liya. He has been in closed-door training all these years, so Fellow Daoist Li, you don't recognize him." Gu Qianxun replied softly.

Han Li's eyes flickered upon hearing this. He had heard of the name Yi Liya for a long time. This person was the chief Xuan Warrior of the Second District, and his strength was recognized by everyone. He could be considered the second strongest in the Xuan Fighting Arena, second only to Gu Qianxun.

"There are no changes, but I received news that City Lord E Kui attaches great importance to this Martial Gathering and has set an unprecedented reward. The other three cities also attach great importance and have sent their strongest lineups to participate." Chenyang said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone present was moved.

Han Li's heart also stirred. City Lord E Kui set such a heavy reward, could there be any other secrets to this Martial Gathering?

"Qingyang City, as one of the Four Subsidiary Cities, must not fall behind in this Martial Gathering. Everyone must strive to live up to expectations and not lose face for our city!" Chenyang said in a solemn tone.

"City Lord, rest assured, we will never lose face for Qingyang City!"

"That's right, this time we must let the people of the other three cities, and the main city of Xuan City see our strength!" The crowd in the hall clamored and shouted.

"Good, with everyone's words, I am also relieved. Without further ado, let's prepare to depart." Chenyang showed a smile on his face, then led the way out of the hall.

Everyone in the hall followed, and the group soon arrived outside Qingyang City.

The weather was quite clear today, and the ground was still sandy. Looking as far as the eye could see, the distance was a vast expanse of dim yellow, with sandstorms dancing wildly, sweeping towards the sky.

A dozen or so scaled beasts were parked here. Their bodies were unusually large and quite magnificent. The scaled beasts were all tied with saddles and other things for people to ride.

Chenyang took the lead in climbing onto the back of the foremost black scaled elephant, and Crab Daoren also climbed up.

The others each looked for scaled beasts to ride. There were many scaled beasts, and some acquaintances even rode the same beast, so it was not crowded.

Han Li looked at an unmanned horse-shaped scaled beast and was about to climb on it.

"Fellow Daoist Li, if you don't mind, how about riding with me?" Chenyang suddenly looked over and said with a smile.

Han Li's eyes flickered, he glanced at Crab Daoren next to him, and smiled: "It is my honor to ride with the City Lord."

As soon as he finished speaking, he tapped his feet on the ground and flew up.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, how about joining us as well? The journey is lonely, and it would be good to have more people to talk and relieve boredom." Chenyang looked at Gu Qianxun again and invited.

"I'll accept your kind offer." Gu Qianxun smiled sweetly and also climbed onto the elephant's back.

Chenyang waved his hand, and the black scaled giant elephant strode forward.

On the ground not far away, Yi Liya's expression was a little unsightly when he saw this scene.

He snorted coldly, turned around and climbed onto a giant deer scaled beast.

The group set off quickly, and those scaled beasts were extremely fast, soon disappearing into the distant vast horizon.

……

Time flies, more than two years have passed.

At the end of a dusty plain, a continuous mountain range with towering peaks appeared, like towering giants, lying across the earth.

More than a hundred miles away from the mountain range, a team composed of a dozen or so scaled beasts was slowly moving forward.

On the back of the leading black scaled elephant, three people were sitting cross-legged, namely Chenyang, Han Li, and Gu Qianxun.

At this time, Han Li was squinting his eyes, looking at the mountain range in front of him through the dusty plain. He saw a blurred outline in the shade of the mountain, which seemed to be a city with a large area.

"City Lord Chenyang, the city under the mountain range in front should be Xuan City, right?" Han Li retracted his gaze and asked.

"That's right. That mountain range is called Chongxuan Mountain Range. Xuan City is built on the mountain range, on the shady side of the mountain. This can both avoid wind disasters and combine the mountain and the city to enhance defense. Our Qingyang City's city-building idea is exactly the same, but unfortunately, the scale is too different." Chenyang nodded and said with a smile.

"With City Lord Chenyang leading, I think Qingyang City will change a lot in the future. I dare not say surpassing Xuan City, but becoming the head of the Four Subsidiary Cities is something to look forward to." Gu Qianxun said with a smile.

"Haha... then I'll take your auspicious words." Chenyang laughed loudly.

The three chatted all the way, and soon arrived at the foot of the city.

Compared to the blurry outline he had seen from afar, the hundred-zhang majestic city in front of him appeared even more majestic and magnificent.

On the city walls, which were entirely built of black rock, large pieces of white scaled beast star bones were scattered and inlaid, emitting a shimmering luster, which looked very peculiar.

Han Li knew that this thing was not used for decoration. The power of stars contained in it was similar to the city's protective magic circle, which could enhance the city's defense. Just this one hand was something that Qingyang City could not do.

There were three city gates in total. The middle one was tens of feet high, and the two on the sides were slightly shorter. Inside and outside the gates, there were armored soldiers wearing armor and holding weapons on duty.

Although all three gates were open, no one passed through the middle main gate. Only people entered and exited the gates on both sides.

Chenyang led Han Li and others directly to the main gate. After showing the city lord's token of Qingyang City to the guard soldiers, a black-robed, thick-browed young man immediately greeted them.

"So it's City Lord Chenyang and the distinguished guests of Qingyang City. Forgive me for not welcoming you from afar. I am Tong Song, and I am responsible for leading you to the City Lord's Mansion." The thick-browed youth introduced himself and said.

"Fellow Daoist Tong, you are too polite. I wonder if the people from the other three cities have arrived?" Chenyang returned a salute and asked.

"The distinguished guests from Tongyu City, Xuanzhi City, and Baiyan City have all arrived. After welcoming you to the City Lord's Mansion, the City Lord will probably meet with you." Tong Song replied.

"It's us who delayed the time, I'm really ashamed." Chenyang said.

"City Lord Chenyang, there is no need to be like this. You arrived within the scheduled time and did not delay the time." Tong Song waved his hand quickly and said.

"Without further ado, then I will trouble Fellow Daoist Tong to lead us to the City Lord's Mansion." Chenyang nodded and said.

Tong Song responded, and immediately ordered his subordinates to take a step ahead and return to the City Lord's Mansion to send a message, while he led the group from Qingyang City through the main gate and entered Xuan City.