Chapter 90: The Ghost Clan

“You two should not follow me for the time being.” Seeing the Hao brothers about to come after him, Xiao Yang suddenly spoke. At once, their expressions changed dramatically.

“Master, I know my crimes deserve death, but please give me a chance to redeem myself.” Hao Hua Hu fell to his knees once more.

Yet, even so, Xiao Yang did not agree.

“After something so serious has happened, do you think I dare use you anymore?”

At those words, both brothers were stunned.

Xiao Yang turned and departed, not stopping for a moment.

“Ah! That person clearly came prepared. If we fail, the fewer casualties, the better.” If someone could spirit people away right under Hao Hua Hu’s nose, then he could certainly take Hao Hua Hu’s life as well. Hao Wen Long might be stronger, but the two brothers were not much different. Bringing them along might only make matters spiral out of control. The safest course now was to go alone. Besides, the fact that the perpetrator openly left an address showed absolute confidence in his own strength—even the Lord of Northern Desert City was beneath his notice.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yang quickened his pace and prayed silently in his heart, “Yan’er, please be safe…”

The scenery on both sides flashed past. Soon, Xiao Yang arrived at the city gates.

“Who goes there! Stop at once for inspection!” A city guard, seeing Xiao Yang charging wildly toward him, grew suspicious and tried to block him.

But Xiao Yang was too fast. A gust of wind swept past, and he had already dashed through the gate. All the guards were stunned, only regaining their senses after several moments.

“Not good! Someone’s breached the checkpoint!”

In an instant, more than a dozen guards began to assemble, preparing to pursue the intruder.

Yet a woman approached.

“Wait, that man is my friend. He has urgent business, so please let him pass.” As she spoke, she produced a dozen banknotes, each worth a thousand taels, handing them to the guards.

Faced with such a profit, and knowing the woman well, they all smiled and replied, “Oh, so he’s Miss Nalan’s friend. That’s fine by us.”

“Disperse, disperse!”

As they spoke, they took the banknotes.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Nalan Fangya replied with a smile.

At once, the guards were utterly captivated by her.

Yet Nalan Fangya watched Xiao Yang’s departing figure with some confusion, murmuring quietly to herself, “What could have happened to make him so anxious?”

Her curiosity was hard to suppress, and since she had nothing else planned for the day, she decided to follow and see.

Xiao Yang ran at full speed. From afar, he spotted an ancient tree, its crown stretching over a hundred yards. Beneath it, he could vaguely see two figures. One was his childhood friend, Zhou Yan’er.

“He’s here!” As soon as he stopped, a voice rang out beside him.

But Xiao Yang had no time for the young man; he carefully examined Zhou Yan’er. At once, he relaxed. The girl was curled up, occasionally emitting soft snores—clearly fast asleep, enjoying a sweet dream.

Yet Xiao Yang felt both amused and annoyed. He’d been worried sick, and she was sleeping soundly!

Once he confirmed Zhou Yan’er was unharmed, his gaze shifted to the culprit.

“I don’t care who you are. Release her, and we can still talk.”

Xiao Yang could tell the other party merely wanted to lure him out, not harm Zhou Yan’er. Still, there was a fire in his heart that would not be extinguished.

“Heh! A mere Martial Master like you—what qualifies you to negotiate with me?” Guan Xiu’s brows furrowed.

Since mastering his various techniques, no one had dared speak to him this way. Relying on his strength, he had earned the title Marquis Tianxiu. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t even bother with someone like Xiao Yang, but seeing the worried faces of three teachers, he decided to make an exception.

“What qualification do you want?”

A flash of murderous intent appeared in Xiao Yang’s eyes.

This made Marquis Tianxiu pause for a moment, then break out in laughter.

“Ha ha ha!”

“If you want to stand as my equal, at the very least you should be a Martial Marquis.”

He spoke mockingly.

Xiao Yang did not reply. He silently opened his backpack with his mind, clicking open a seven-colored gift pack.

At once, a prompt sounded in his ear: “Ding! You have obtained a Martial Marquis Peak Experience Card.”

With the item in hand, Xiao Yang revealed a slight smile.

A Martial Marquis Peak Experience Card was more than enough for the current situation. Even if the opponent was also at the Martial Marquis Peak, he had no fear.

“Let her go, and get as far away as you can. I’ll pretend none of this happened.”

If Zhou Yan’er suffered even the slightest harm, Xiao Yang would cut the other down without hesitation.

Yet since Guan Xiu had not harmed Zhou Yan’er, Xiao Yang was willing to give him a way out.

As his words fell, silence descended.

Guan Xiu stared intently at Xiao Yang, saying nothing.

After several moments, he erupted into a raucous laugh, echoing for miles.

“It seems you misunderstand what it means to be a Martial Marquis. Very well! Marquis Tianxiu will let you witness true Martial Marquis power!”

Black smoke began to rise in streams, their hazy outlines slowly forming. Soon, behind Marquis Tianxiu Guan Xiu, an enormous black shadow appeared. It was more than thirty feet tall, and its arrival sent a chilling wind through the area. The sky above was shrouded in dark clouds.

“A small place like Beidou has probably never seen a martial idol over thirty feet high. You, I think, are the first to witness such a thing. You should be proud!” Guan Xiu declared with pride.

These years, he had not only trained in secret techniques but also witnessed true Martial Marquis power and true prodigies. He was fortunate enough to be guided by a genius whose martial idol was ninety feet tall. Thanks to that opportunity, he now possessed a martial idol of thirty feet. Combined with the unique power of the Heavenly Ghost, he was nearly invincible among peers. His battles were almost always one-sided massacres.

Xiao Yang gazed up at the black shadow, lost in thought.

“What kind of martial idol is this?”

In Guan Xiu’s eyes, this scene meant Xiao Yang was frightened—intimidated by the thirty-foot martial idol. In such a place, it was enough to be considered a prodigy. Xiao Yang must have been scared witless.

With this, Guan Xiu’s displeasure faded somewhat.

“I’ll give you a chance now—become my slave, and perhaps I’ll spare your life.”

His shout snapped Xiao Yang out of his reverie.

Xiao Yang quickly scanned the martial idol, learning its general attributes—it was a rare ghost tribe type. He also understood why Hao Hua Hu could not sense Guan Xiu’s whereabouts: the idol’s abilities were probably intangibility and penetration. Moreover, Guan Xiu must have learned techniques for suppressing his aura, enabling him to abduct someone silently.

In truth, his actual strength was not particularly formidable.