Chapter 739: 739, you still dare to talk back?
"He’s... unharmed?!"
Seeing the figure of the young man still standing upright and his breath undisturbed, both the cultivators watching below the stage and the many commerce bigwigs on the high platforms were almost dropping their jaws to the ground.
At this moment, there were doubtlessly other spirit battles ongoing on the other stages, but now, all eyes were fixated on the Qi Seeking No.1 stage.
Because compared to the dull fights on the other stages, perhaps the incident on this stage could be a hundred times more interesting. That young man named Yun Xiao seemed to have a fighting power that was not just at the Qi Seeking Realm Early Stage as it appeared to be on the surface.
"Chairman Xu Huang, is this what you call fairness and justice at the Spirit Fighting Conference? It seems rather disappointing!"
After withstanding Xu Huan’s strike, Yun Xiao didn’t pay attention to the somewhat doubtful young master of the commerce. Instead, he directly turned his head towards the high platform in the north, his loud voice not at all concealed, thick with sneering ridicule.
Hearing this, the watching crowd and the contestants who had just claimed victories all slowly nodded their heads in agreement. If spirit battles all ended up like this, with the loser fighting using their true form, then what was the significance of holding the Spirit Fighting Conference?
Even some contestants felt relieved that they hadn’t encountered Xu Huan in this round. If they won, they’d face the fate of offending Douling Commerce, and they likely didn’t have the boldness of Yun Xiao to question the deputy chairman to his face.
Suddenly being stared at by tens of thousands of eyes from below, even Xu Huang, with his thick skin, found it hard to maintain his composure. However, at this moment, no matter how angry he was inside, he could not admit in public that the Spirit Fighting Conference was unfair.
Because the Special Envoy from the headquarters, Xia Yong, was watching. The Spirit Fighting Conference had always been a special means for Douling Commerce to enhance its reputation. If the event were to be tarnished, it would be a significant blow to the commerce itself.
Originally, Xu Huang thought that his son, who was in the Qi Seeking Realm Late Stage, would be able to kill Yun Xiao with one blow. Then, for the sake of a dead person, presumably, no one would dare to stand out and accuse Douling Commerce of negligence.
At most, Xu Huan would be accused of reckless manslaughter, punished moderately, and everything would end on a happy note. But what was happening on the stage now was starkly different from Xu Huang’s previous complacent calculations.
That young man named Yun Xiao had not only withstood Xu Huan’s powerful strike but had also questioned them as if he was an unaffected bystander. This made Xu Huang’s mood incredibly complex in an instant.
Yet being watched by so many pairs of eyes, Xu Huang couldn’t not give an explanation. As he saw his rolling eyes, he suddenly stood up from his chair, his face filled with extreme rage—whether genuine or feigned was unknown.
"Insolent brat, won’t you roll off the stage?"
A roar erupted from Xu Huang’s mouth, and as the crowd felt something amiss, Xu Huan’s face was filled with disbelief. Was this really his father who had always cherished him?
At this moment, Xu Huan couldn’t help but recall the slap he had received a few days ago. Somewhat losing his sanity, he yelled out, "Father, are we, the grand Douling Commerce, afraid of a little bastard?"
At this moment, Xu Huan really let everything go, speaking without filtering his words. As the sound of his voice faded, many sighed and shook their heads. Even the Special Envoy from the commerce headquarters, Xia Yong, frowned slightly.
"How could Xu Huang, who seems rather shrewd, give birth to such a foolish son?"
As the Special Envoy from the headquarters, Xia Yong was highly covetous of Yun Xiao’s Meridian Spirit, but he wouldn’t show the slightest bit of it. Right now, Xu Huan on the stage, in his eyes, was no different from a shrew scolding on the street, simply embarrassing Douling Commerce.
"You little beast, dare to backtalk?"
Seeing the displeased expression in Xia Yong’s eyes, Xu Huang felt a heavy jolt in his heart. His anger was far from trivial, wondering if the special reminder he had given that day had been cast aside by that unfilial son.
The rare visit of the Special Envoy to Yuyang City coincided with the Spirit Fighting Conference was undoubtedly a chance for Xu Huang to further advance. Therefore, he would not allow any accidents to occur. He had to ensure that this Spirit Fighting Conference went smoothly to leave a profound impression on the Special Envoy.
In Xu Huang’s heart, he wanted his son to perform well and make a good impression in front of the Special Envoy. Yet he had never expected that the face shown would be in such a sarcastic way.
"Yun Xiao, I will kill you!"
Unsupported by his father, the already irrational Xu Huan became even more reckless. Hearing his loud roar, he charged towards Yun Xiao once again.
"Great Elder, won’t you capture that little beast for me?"
Seeing Xu Huan’s action, the furiously raging Xu Huang himself became quite thoughtless with his words. If the former is a little beast, what does that make his father who bore him?
However, when Xu Huang spoke these words, he gave a meaningful glance to the Great Elder who had darted out. The latter understood immediately, and his speed noticeably slowed down at that moment.
It turned out that although Xu Huang was furious at his son’s loss of composure, he hated the youngster named Yun Xiao even more. He thought to himself, if it hadn’t been for this boy, how could Xu Huan have ended up in such a state?
Yun Xiao had managed to take the earlier blow impressively, but in Xu Huang’s heart, he still didn’t believe that Yun Xiao could be a match for his son, and perhaps with this strike, his son could make a great achievement.
After all, Xu Huan was his son. Even though Xu Huang cursed him as a worthless creature, he still hoped that his son could be the first to kill Yun Xiao. Without the plaintiff, everything else would be easy to deal with.
Due to the Great Elder’s slowed movements, it appeared that Xu Huan’s first strike couldn’t be stopped by any means, and at this moment, everyone’s gaze was once again fixed on the platform, all eager to see whether the youngster named Yun Xiao could create another miracle like before.
Swish!
But this time, the crowd saw a rather bizarre scene, because the boy in coarse clothes did not stretch out his fist to meet Xu Huan’s attack head-on; instead, he simply raised his hand, and a blood-red flame appeared before him.
This flame did not seem to emit much heat. Apart from its strange color, when compared to the fiery red bird’s flames earlier, it was not even worthy to be mentioned.
However, it was this blood-red flame that caused Xu Huang’s face to change dramatically on the high platform, especially when he saw his son’s face reveal a cold smile, and his movements continued unwaveringly toward the flame.
"Huan’er, don’t touch that flame, get away quickly!"
At this point, for the sake of his own son’s life, Xu Huang could no longer care about anything else and shouted a warning. After all, in his heart, his only son was the most important thing.
Xu Huang’s sensing ability was much stronger than his son’s; even from such a distance, he could subconsciously sense the heart-palpitating power within the blood-red flame.
Even as a cultivator in the Seeking Origin Realm, sensing danger from the flame, despite the blood-red flame’s aura not being very powerful, Xu Huang knew that it was extraordinary; hence he voiced a warning.
Having already lost his senses, Xu Huan suddenly heard his father’s warning, and it somehow brought him to his senses. He also heard a hint of panic in that voice.
In Xu Huan’s memory, the last time his father had such a tone was because they had offended a powerful individual from Xuanyin Hall who had disguised themselves. He never expected that such a tone would reappear today.
Due to his unwavering trust in his father, in that moment, even though Xu Huan did not sense the special energy in the blood-red flame, he instinctively shifted his arm slightly, brushing past the flame. The gust of wind raised made the flame waver slightly.
"What a pity!"
Seeing that Xu Huan hadn’t touched his Ancestral Vein Fire, a hint of disappointment flickered in Yun Xiao’s eyes; this was his trump card against high-rank cultivators.
Yun Xiao believed that if Xu Huan had touched the blood-red flame, his fist would likely have been destroyed, and a moment’s delay might have even cost him his entire arm or even his life.
But all these terrifying consequences were averted with the shift of Xu Huan’s arm, and with this moment’s delay, the Douling Commerce Great Elder could not keep dragging his feet and finally leaped onto the Qi Seeking No. 1 platform.
"Young Master Huan, please stop making a scene. The Chairman is already angry!"
The Great Elder was still very polite to the young master of Douling Commerce. At this moment, whether Xu Huan had calmed down or not, he no longer made an unreasonable fuss.
"Yun Xiao, I, Xu Huan, have lost this time, but... you better watch out!"
Xu Huan, who had calmed down, reverted back to his status as the young master of Douling Commerce. However, the threat in his last sentence was clear to everyone.
It seems that Xu Huan could no longer trouble Yun Xiao in the Spirit Fighting Conference, but once the conference was over, it was likely that this grudge would be reignited and not so easily settled.
At this moment, many people looked at Yun Xiao with a peculiar gaze. This person, who had shone so brightly in the Spirit Fighting Conference, had offended Douling Commerce as a result. Whether it was worth it or not was a matter of opinion.
Despite the apparent scolding Xu Huang directed at his son at the moment, everyone knew that blood was thicker than water. Perhaps in the Chairman’s heart, his hatred for Yun Xiao was the deepest.
A previously unknown youngster, who had offended Douling Commerce overnight, would probably find no place to call home in the Southern Domain of Tenglong Continent.