Chapter 172: Tempering

  "What?" Leng Xiangyao brought the unicorn to the foot of the mountain, and was shocked by what he saw before him. It wasn't until now that he understood why his body had almost been blown up by the power of the soul back then. Had the Northern Kingdom really been destroyed?

  Only the foot of the mountain was piled up with dense corpses, and the clothes on these corpses all had the northern country logo, which explained that these corpses were all northern soldiers. And these corpses were obviously moved here by someone, could it be that the northern country had fallen?

  All the way, the cold and desolate road was quiet, without a single cry or shout. The battlefield that had shaken the sky with killing sounds just ten days ago was now eerily still, as if it was suspiciously quiet. If not for the lingering smell of blood in the air, he would have doubted whether he had taken a wrong turn.

  The earth is no longer yellow, at this moment the earth on the battlefield has turned dark red, under the sunlight, it looks particularly eye-catching. The ground is littered with weapons scattered all over the place.

  Looking at the flag on the gate of the northern border city, he shook his head. The Northern Country had fallen, and it was ironic that one of the four major powers couldn't withstand a ten-day attack.

  "A gurgling sound" came from Leng Xiang's belly.

  "Go find a restaurant to fill your stomach first." Leng Xiao Yao sneered to himself, then led the unicorn into the city. Perhaps because they had just finished fighting, there were fewer soldiers guarding the city gate, and no one asked any extra questions, so Leng Xiao Yao safely entered the city.

  "Ah!!!! Wuuu... Father, quickly wake up! Mother!!! Open your eyes and look at your child!!!"

  "Ahh!!!" A disheveled man suddenly flew into a rage and charged at the soldiers patrolling the street.

  "With a 'chi' sound, a long spear directly pierced through the chest of this man with disheveled hair."

  He walked all the way with a cool and carefree attitude, these scenes were everywhere to be seen, he didn't take action to rescue or anything like that, because he knew this was an inevitable thing after war, even if he could save people, how many could he save? A fallen country had to prepare for being slaves.

  On the Maya continent, once a small country was occupied, the remaining strong men or soldiers in that small country would be gathered together by the victor and then wait to be sold. Yes, they were sold to various corners of the Maya continent. Those with some cultivation were bought by nationalities to guard their homes, while those without cultivation were used as laborers. Many were also bought by mine owners specifically for mining until they died of old age.

  Because of this reason, when a country on the Maya continent is at war, the wealthy people leave the country immediately and flee to a distant place to avoid disaster. Those who are poor hide in the mountains and forests, waiting for the war to pass before returning. The soldiers, however, fight bravely because they believe that if they don't kill the enemy, they will be killed themselves. They would rather die on the battlefield than be taken as slaves by the enemy.

  Because of this logic, wars between small countries are often fought to the death. If a country initiates war without sufficient military strength to defeat its opponent, it will be vulnerable to attack from other countries when it is weakened. Other countries will not show mercy and will launch a direct attack.

  For these reasons, there are rarely any countries on the Maya continent that initiate wars. After all, one must consider that there are many countries on the continent, not just one's own. Therefore, this time, the Dragon Heaven Country's initiation of war has shocked the entire Maya continent, big and small countries alike.

  He calmly listened to the wailing, crying, pleading and screaming sounds coming from beside his ear, all sorts of voices constantly entering his ears, but for some reason, his heart was extremely calm, as if these sounds by his ear did not exist.

  "Huh?" Leng Xiang suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at the wine house that had appeared before him. A strange expression emerged on his face because the sign above the wine house read four big words: "Ruyi Wine House."

  Ru Yi Wine House? It actually has a branch in the northern country, it seems that this wine house has a strong backing, otherwise, in the northern country where war is so rampant, it can still open for business as usual. Moreover, looking at the soldiers patrolling around, no one dares to make trouble, and the large hall of the wine house is crowded with people consuming, as if they have taken this wine house as a talisman.

  "It's interesting." Leng Xiao Yao's mouth curled up into a slight smile as he walked towards Ruyi Wine House.

  "Are you here to dine or lodge? If it's for a meal, the first floor is full, you'll have to go up to the second floor. However, the consumption on the second floor..."

  "Is it ten gold coins? I'm going to the third floor to eat, do you have someone here who takes care of horses?" Leng Xiao said, picking up where the shopkeeper left off.

  "Ah!" The shop assistant, who was busy with his work, was taken aback for a moment. The next instant, his face was all smiles as he said: "This young master, please follow me."

  A groom appeared at the door, so he patted the unicorn's head and whispered a sentence. A gold coin appeared in his hand and was tossed to the groom: "My horse only eats fresh grass, don't use that good feed of yours, remember, this is a reward for you."

  The groom who had just received the gold coins from Leng Xiang was still puzzled, but when he heard what Leng Xiang said, his face lit up with joy. He hastily bowed and said: "Young master, please be at ease, our tavern has just received a new batch of fresh hay this morning, I will definitely take good care of your horse."

  "En" nodded calmly and instructed again: "My horse doesn't like others touching it, remember that."

  "Yes, sir." The groom replied with a bow, jokingly. The man in front of him was rich, how could he not be respectful?

  The shopkeeper glanced at the groom's hand, where a shiny gold coin was flashing, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes. He hastily bowed to Leng Xiao Yao and said: "Sir, please come inside."

  "En." Leng Xiao Yao nodded and stepped into the wine house.

  "Ah!" Just as Leng Xiao Yao walked into the wine house, he felt three powerful auras present. Primary Sword Saints' cultivation, Leng Xiao Yao's mouth corner revealed a hint of a smile. It seemed his guess was absolutely right, otherwise, such a small wine house would have three Primary Sword Saints sitting in array. Presumably it was due to the war in the Northern Country!

  Whoosh! At this moment, three divine senses simultaneously swept onto Leng Xianyao's body. The latter, however, continued to walk towards the staircase with a smile on his face, ignoring these three divine senses examining him. He believed that at his current Third Layer of the Copper Body realm, even if it were Sword Saint Tianfeng at the peak of his cultivation, he might not be able to see through his own cultivation, let alone these three initial-stage Sword Saints.

  He stepped up the stairs with a calm and leisurely pace, but when he reached the second floor, his expression slightly froze. It turned out that the second floor was also packed to capacity, except that everyone on this floor was dressed in extremely luxurious attire, looking like they were all nobles who had come to take refuge here. But what kind of people would be on the third floor?

  "Dang dang dang" Just as Leng Xiao Yao walked to the third floor, two auras rushed towards him. Then, two figures appeared in front of Leng Xiao Yao, blocking his path.

  "Two gentlemen, this gentleman is here to dine." The shopkeeper immediately squeezed out from behind the cold dish and spoke to the two men with swords at their sides.

  Leng Xiangyao's eyes scanned the third floor, finding that there weren't many people, only three tables of customers. One table had a middle-aged man and a beautiful woman, with over ten guard-like men standing behind them. Another table had a middle-aged man wearing white clothes drinking alone, with two middle-aged men standing behind him, giving Leng Xiangyao a familiar feeling that he couldn't quite place. The third table had three old men sitting together, emitting an oppressive aura, seemingly the source of the three divine senses from earlier.

  "Haha! There are still many people who aren't afraid to die these days! Each and every one of them thinks they're in the right, haha!" Suddenly, the young man by the window burst out laughing, and after finishing his sentence, he seemed to be holding back some excitement, his eyes shifted to Leng Xueya, revealing a mysterious smile.

  "Master." Leng Xiao's pupils contracted, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, because he felt that the young man's gaze seemed to be able to penetrate his own heart.

  Swish, swish, swish! The middle-aged man's bodyguard heard the young man's words and dozens of pairs of eyes with anger looked at the young man. It seemed that as long as their master gave an order, they would immediately draw their swords and take him down.

  The guards behind the young man seemed to feel the angry gaze, and one of them, a relatively robust middle-aged man, showed an unpleasant expression on his face and hummed softly.

  A series of "puffing" sounds erupted, and the guards who had just glared at the young man spat out a mouthful of blood, their faces suddenly turning pale, but what was seen on their faces was more shock.

  "Ah!" The three old men saw this scene, and the three old faces changed in an instant. The three of them looked at the middle-aged man who had just let out a low hum with shocked expressions.

  "It's actually the pinnacle of Sword Saint cultivation, no, this isn't a human aura." Cold Xiao thought to himself, because he felt that the aura emitted by the man who let out a light hum was completely different from humans, it seemed like a demonic beast's aura, what a strange thing.

  The young man seemed to be very familiar with this scene, and didn't stop his subordinates at all. He picked up the wine cup and smiled coldly towards the stairs, saying: "Little brother, drinking alone is quite boring, how about coming to keep me company for a drink?"

  Stunned, extremely stunned, the whole person seemed to be struck by lightning, standing still at the stairs, because he heard that the young man's tone was actually in the language of Huaxia country on earth.

  After a few moments, Leng Xiao Yao immediately gathered his thoughts and smiled as he cupped his hands in respect: "Since senior has invited me, junior naturally obeys."

  "Hehe!" A young man smiled faintly and waved his hand, and immediately a middle-aged man behind him quickly took a set of tableware from another table and placed it on the table.

  He waved his hand to dismiss the shop assistant, and under the gaze of everyone on the third floor, he walked up to the young man and sat down.

  Leng Xiao Yao had just sat down when a middle-aged man quickly came up from behind the young people and helped Leng Xiao Yao pour wine.

  Two young men thus clinked their cups together and started drinking, during which neither of them spoke a word or asked a question first. The entire three-story tavern suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of drinking filling the air.

  The dozen or so guards who had just suffered a loss were even more afraid to make a sound, as if they feared that the mysterious master would come and slaughter them. In the Maya continent, a swordsman of the Sword Saint level could kill people with ease, like squashing ants. Who would dare to offend such a master for the sake of their subordinates?

  "Heh heh." The young man burst out laughing, his face full of admiration. "Young fellow, you really have a lot of patience. Don't you want to know why I can speak your native language?"

  "Native language?" Leng Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "If you want to tell me, I don't need to ask, you'll say it. If you don't want to tell me, no matter how I ask, you won't tell me. Most importantly, your cultivation is too high. If I'm not mistaken, you shouldn't be in this interface."

  "Oh!" The young man's eyes lit up when he heard Leng Xiangya's words, as if he had found his favorite toy. He smiled and asked, "Where did you see that? Why are you so confident?"

  "It's simple, first: your two guards' cultivation has reached the peak of Sword Saint, and I can see their attitude towards you, it's not just ordinary respect, but a kind of respect that is deeply ingrained. Second: because I simply cannot see through your cultivation, if you say you have no cultivation at all, I wouldn't believe it, so there's only one possibility, that is, your cultivation is far beyond mine, and has already surpassed the Sword God level."

  "Young people are indeed not simple, no wonder the Primordial Pearl chose you as its master." Suddenly, a sentence popped out of Young.

  Leng Xiao Yao's face changed instantly upon hearing the young man's words, a defensive look appearing on his face as he stared at the young man opposite him. Could it be that this young man also wanted to snatch the Hun Dun Pearl?

  Young man, seeing Cold Skye's expression, smiled and said: "Young man, there is no need to be so guarded against me. Do you think it would be difficult for me if I wanted the Chaos Pearl within your body?"

  "It won't work." Leng Xiao Yao said this as a matter of fact, not to mention that the young man wouldn't be able to withstand even if he were to attack, because he could sense that the two guards behind him were extremely powerful physically, and were in no way inferior to his own Third Boundary of the Copper Body.

  "Alas!" The young man sighed, smiling: "If it were ten million years ago, I might have taken action to seize it, but now I've long since lost that idea. Ancient and mysterious treasures, those who are destined for them will obtain them; forcing it won't work."

  "Ten thousand years ago?" Leng Xiao was shocked again in his heart. If this young man wasn't lying, then what? This young man had lived for tens of thousands of years? How is that possible? Are there really so many divine spirits in this space? Why did he only see old monsters before? The previous elder of the spirit tribe had lived for ten thousand years, and this one was even more incredible, directly saying ten thousand years. Good heavens, Leng Xiao suddenly felt that this world was too crazy.

  "Excuse me." A sudden voice broke into Leng Xiang's meditation.

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