Zhang Longhu found himself in a predicament, unable to agree or refuse, which naturally led to tears.
If he agreed to let Chen Xiao represent the True Martial Sect in the Heavenly Pride Competition, and if Chen Xiao's identity remained hidden, it would be fine. However, if it were exposed, the entire True Martial Sect would be branded as traitors and turncoats!
It would be difficult for them to gain any footing in the entire Immortal Hidden Realm thereafter.
But if he refused, Zhang Longhu had no doubt that Chen Xiao would demolish the True Martial Sect on the spot.
Thus, choosing the lesser of two evils, Zhang Longhu tearfully agreed.
He issued a document of authorization to Chen Xiao and said with a troubled expression, "Immortal Master, please participate in the Heavenly Pride Competition as our True Martial Sect's Holy Son. We apologize for the imposition."
Chen Xiao waved his hand dismissively, "No imposition. It is my honor to represent the True Martial Sect in the Heavenly Pride Competition. Haha… Alright, I have no further issues. I shall take my leave now, Sect Leader Zhang. Farewell, and may we meet again!"
Finally, Chen Xiao cupped his hands in a salute to Zhang Longhu.
Zhang Longhu thought it best never to meet again, but outwardly, he said, "Immortal Master, allow me to see you off!"
And so, Zhang Longhu personally escorted Chen Xiao to the mountain gate before bidding him farewell.
Witnessing this scene, Su Meinan, who had been waiting outside the mountain gate, was filled with surprise and bewilderment. "Brother Chen, what's going on? Didn't you say you were going to help me get revenge? Why are you..."
She wondered if the Taoist priests of the True Martial Sect were so close to Chen Xiao that he had been corrupted by their enticements.
With this thought, Su Meinan's heart tightened, and she became vigilant.
She worried that Chen Xiao might turn against her.
Chen Xiao said nonchalantly, "Who said I didn't help you get revenge? That Li Beiwu was the Holy Son of the True Martial Sect, and I've already killed him. Your great revenge is thoroughly avenged!"
"What? That Li Beiwu actually became the True Martial Sect's Holy Son? And you killed him?"
Su Meinan was so shocked by this news that she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, leaving her charred inside and out.
"You killed their Holy Son, and they're still treating you so politely?"
Chen Xiao might not have known, but Su Meinan understood that the Holy Son was the face of a sect.
It was no exaggeration to say that if the sect leader was the most important person in a sect, then the Holy Son was the second most important.
Generally, this role was filled by the most potential-filled individual in the sect, or the sect leader's offspring.
For example, in the Sleeve-Waving Sect where Su Meinan had once been, the Saintess was the sect leader's daughter.
As Su Meinan stood there, stunned and bewildered, she heard Chen Xiao say, "Although I killed their Holy Son, I am willing to participate in the Heavenly Pride Competition as their Holy Son."
"Ah? Brother Chen, you've become the True Martial Sect's Holy Son? And you're going to participate in the Heavenly Pride Competition?"
Su Meinan exclaimed in surprise.
"What? Is there a problem?"
Chen Xiao asked with a frown.
"No, no..."
Su Meinan thought to herself, You're really not afraid of your identity being exposed, are you? And you're going to participate in the Heavenly Pride Competition! I really don't know what you're thinking!
Chen Xiao ignored Su Meinan's astonishment and directly stated his next plan, "Let's return to True Martial Town first and find an inn to stay. I need to go into seclusion to cultivate, so don't disturb me these few days! When I come out of seclusion, we'll head to Houtu City!"
Having just obtained five hundred thousand spirit stones, Chen Xiao decided to spend a few days refining and absorbing them all.
If nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to break through to the seventh level after refining these spirit stones.
And so it was. Two days later, Chen Xiao had refined all the spirit stones. The entire process was surprisingly smooth and uneventful, proceeding as naturally as water flowing into its course!
Chen Xiao successfully broke through, reaching the seventh level of the Nine Revolutions Azure Wave Art. With just two more breakthroughs, this cultivation technique would be perfected!
The seventh level of the Nine Revolutions Azure Wave Art was a new height for Chen Xiao; even in his past dreams, he had never reached this realm.
However, to his slight regret, the seventh level did not bring about a qualitative change.
Of course, his body, his Yang God, and his true essence had all seen significant improvements, but these could only be considered quantitative changes, not qualitative ones.
Yet, it couldn't be said that there was no change at all. After the breakthrough, a cluster of dark golden mist appeared in his mind.
His mind told him that it was called 'Intent,' but to harness it for his own use, he would need to slowly comprehend it.
Chen Xiao spent more than half a day comprehending, but the golden mist enveloping the Intent did not recede at all, so Chen Xiao had to give up.
It seemed that comprehending this Intent would require patience and could not be rushed!
More importantly, it couldn't be rushed!
Overall, this seclusion was very successful. Without experiencing any arduous trials or life-threatening dangers, he had significantly improved his strength. Chen Xiao was quite satisfied with this!
After emerging from seclusion, Chen Xiao, along with Su Meinan, headed directly for Houtu City.
Upon setting out, Chen Xiao discovered that having Su Meinan as a follower was a mistake.
He had initially thought that Su Meinan, being a native of the Immortal Hidden Realm, could remind him of rules he was unaware of in this world... and the most important of these was that Su Meinan could act as a guide and lead the way.
However, in reality, Su Meinan's knowledge of the Immortal Hidden Realm's geography was not much better than Chen Xiao's... in fact, it was worse.
This was because she had lived in the Immortal Hidden Realm for twenty years and had only visited three places.
One was True Martial Town, where she was born and raised.
Another was the location of her sect, the Sleeve-Waving Sect, by the shores of Guanlan Lake.
The third was the True Martial Sect, which Chen Xiao had taken her to... although she had guided Chen Xiao to the True Martial Sect, in truth, she only knew the general direction of the sect.
Actually, Su Meinan's situation was considered good. For most ordinary people in this world, their entire lives were spent without ever leaving the town they lived in.
Chen Xiao couldn't help but sigh at this, realizing that ordinary people in this world were even more insignificant than grass.
Chen Xiao had planned to set off first, flying in a general direction, and then asking for directions when they encountered other towns along the way.
However, to his surprise, Su Meinan didn't even know which direction Houtu City was in.
In the end, Chen Xiao was at a loss and had to return to the True Martial Sect to seek help from Zhang Longhu.
Chen Xiao's sudden visit once again sent a cold sweat down Zhang Longhu's spine.
Only after learning Chen Xiao's purpose did he finally relax.
To send this distinguished guest on his way, Zhang Longhu produced a magical artifact.
It was a sheepskin map, but it was no ordinary map.
After a drop of blood to establish ownership, the location of the map's owner would be displayed as a red dot on the map, instantly visible, much like GPS positioning in the secular world.
This was a valuable treasure for Chen Xiao. After thanking Zhang Longhu, Chen Xiao planned to leave Su Meinan at the True Martial Sect and set off alone.
After all, this little follower couldn't even recognize the way, so she had little practical value.
However, the True Martial Sect did not accept female disciples, and Su Meinan clearly did not wish to remain in a place where her former enemies had resided.
Seeing her pitiable state, Chen Xiao's heart softened, and he made space for her on the Yitian Sword, taking her with him to Houtu City.
Houtu City was located at the core of the entire southern region, tens of thousands of miles away from the True Martial Sect.
It was the largest city in the entire south, the core of economic, trade, and inter-faction exchanges, and a large city directly controlled by the super sect, the Earth Sect.
After nearly a full day of travel, Chen Xiao and Su Meinan finally arrived near Houtu City.
To avoid attracting attention, Chen Xiao landed in a deserted mountain hollow several dozen miles away from Houtu City and put away the Yitian Sword.
He then rejoined the main road and proceeded towards Houtu City on foot.
Compared to other regions, the road leading to Houtu City had significantly more pedestrians.
Moreover, most of these were young talents, traveling in groups of three to five. They were likely young people heading to participate in the Heavenly Pride Competition... more precisely, the preliminary selection for the Heavenly Pride Competition.
This was because the Heavenly Pride Competition stipulated that only one hundred and fifty people could participate, and the Immortal Hidden Realm had countless sects, possibly thousands.
If each sect sent a Holy Son or Saintess, that would be thousands of people, clearly exceeding the stipulated upper limit for the Heavenly Pride Competition.
Therefore, before heading to the Immortal Sect City, the Holy Sons and Saintesses from various regions of the Immortal Hidden Realm would first go to the main cities of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Sects in their respective regions for preliminary selections.
The preliminary selections in the three regions would each choose fifty Heavenly Talents to participate in the final Heavenly Pride Competition.
Most of the young talents on the road were merely cannon fodder for others to ascend, but this did not dampen their enthusiasm; they continued to participate with gusto.
After all, even if they failed to pass the preliminary selection, it was a rare martial experience.
Furthermore, before the preliminary selection officially began, no one could guarantee that a miracle wouldn't happen... what if, just what if, good fortune fell upon them!
Holy Sons and Saintesses were all proud individuals, and psychologically, they would not admit inferiority to others!
Although there were many pedestrians on the road, most, like Chen Xiao and Su Meinan, were traveling on foot.
Those who rode flying swords were rarely seen.
There were a few who rode horses, but not many.
This was because horses were rather useless in the Immortal Hidden Realm.
Of course, the horses here referred to real horses, not those conjured by combat energy.
Due to the unique illusory environment of the Immortal Hidden Realm, horses that could survive here were exceptionally outstanding steeds.
Ordinary people, and even some minor sects, could not afford these precious horses.
And those who could afford them were large and medium-sized sects. The disciples of these sects had no need to ride horses, as their cultivation levels were already high. Even using pure footwork was better than riding a horse.
"Giddy up!"
However, at this moment, a figure riding a horse suddenly caught Chen Xiao's attention.