Xiao Ming, benefactor, please accept Li's greetings.

“This old servant would not dare to hide anything from the City Lord. This journey back was actually fraught with danger,” Elder He sighed, saying faintly, “Soon after we started our return, we encountered a series of pursuits.”

“After finally repelling those pursuers, we then encountered a formation airship. On that airship were two powerful individuals: one was a Half-step Yuqi Realm, and the other was an Early Stage of the Yuqi Realm.”

“What? You actually encountered a master of the Yuqi Realm?!” Hearing this, Li Yunxiao was greatly surprised and quickly asked, “What happened next? How did you escape the pursuit of that Yuqi Realm expert?”

“This is where Brother Xiao, Xiao Ming, must be mentioned,” at this point, Elder He looked at Xiao Ming beside him, his tone complex, “It was Brother Xiao who took action and killed that Yuqi Realm expert, allowing Miss and me to turn the corner from danger.”

“If Brother Xiao hadn’t helped in time, I would probably already be a corpse, and Miss would have been captured long ago.”

Elder He said with a bitter smile.

Only then did Li Yunxiao notice Xiao Ming, who was standing beside them.

He scrutinized Xiao Ming from head to toe, showing a look of both surprise and extreme gratitude.

Xiao Ming awkwardly rubbed his nose.

He thought to himself, am I really that unnoticed?

If Elder He hadn't brought him up, Li Yunxiao might not have even noticed that there was a living, breathing person like him standing there.

However, this also showed that Li Yunxiao was a complete doting father, with his entire focus on Li Jianshi.

“Little brother, was it you who saved my daughter? Wait, your Cultivation Level…”

Li Yunxiao suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Because he was astonished to find that Xiao Ming’s Cultivation Level was only the Late Stage of the Divine Sea Realm.

He couldn't even compare to Li Jianshi, who was at the Great Perfection.

With such a Cultivation Level, he actually killed a Yuqi Realm expert?

Elder He, are you mistaken?!

Li Yunxiao subconsciously looked at Elder He, his eyes full of suspicion, as if asking, Elder He, are you taking me for a fool?

How could a mere Late Stage of the Divine Sea Realm kill a master of the Yuqi Realm?!

Such a Cultivation Level surviving at the hands of a Yuqi Realm expert would be enough to shock the world, let alone killing someone of a higher Cultivation Level!

Not to mention seeing it, he hadn't even heard of it.

It was simply a fantasy, unbelievable!

And Elder He again nodded with a bitter smile, saying, “City Lord, I can understand your suspicion and shock. To be honest, I can’t figure it out either, but that’s how it is.”

“Brother Xiao, with the strength of the Late Stage of the Divine Sea Realm, directly killed Worship Leader Ma, who was in the Early Stage of the Yuqi Realm.”

“Yes, I can vouch for it,” Li Jianshi, who was beside them, also quickly said, “Brother Xiao’s strength is extremely powerful. I personally saw him display a green lotus, and then Worship Leader Ma was blown into a bloody, mangled corpse.”

Hearing this, Li Yunxiao fell into a long silence.

Since his own daughter had witnessed it firsthand, it was naturally a certainty, but this matter was simply too hard to believe!

Fortunately, Li Yunxiao was not an ordinary person; he quickly accepted this fact, and then looked at Xiao Ming and said, “Brother Xiao’s strength is exceptionally formidable. Even just hearing about the process makes my heart tremble and my blood surge.”

“Brother Xiao saved my daughter. For such a great kindness, please accept my bow!”

Saying that, Li Yunxiao bowed slightly, respectfully cupping his hands towards Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming smiled and waved his hand, saying, “It was merely a small effort on my part. City Lord Li, there’s no need for such formality.”

Li Yunxiao raised his head, his face serious and earnest, saying, “Perhaps for Brother Xiao, it was a small, effortless matter, but for me, Li Yunxiao, and even for Lingxiao City, it is a matter of immense importance!”

“Brother Xiao, what are your plans next? If you don’t have urgent matters, please stay in my Lingxiao City.”

Xiao Ming tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then said, “Alright, I was just worrying about not having a place to stay.”

Hearing this, Li Yunxiao, Elder He, and Li Jianshi all rejoiced simultaneously.

They had either witnessed Xiao Ming’s strength firsthand or heard of it and believed it implicitly.

It was obvious that Xiao Ming was an unparalleled genius, for only then could his ability to destroy a Yuqi Realm expert be explained.

If Xiao Ming were given time to grow, his future achievements would undoubtedly be limitless.

If such a monstrous genius could join Lingxiao City, then Lingxiao City could practically take off instantly!

At this moment, Li Yunxiao and Elder He both felt a strong desire to recruit him.

Looking at their expressions, Xiao Ming chuckled inwardly.

How could he not know what these two were thinking?

However, he wouldn't be leaving the Qingtian Sword Sect for a short while, as Lingxiao City was still too weak compared to the Qingtian Sword Sect.

In fact, Lingxiao City was still within the Qingtian Sword Sect’s sphere of influence and had to offer enough cultivation resources to the Sword Sect every year to continue existing.

But no matter what, gaining Li Yunxiao’s trust was still very good.

After all, entering the Fire Domain Grotto-heaven still required the help of Li Yunxiao and Lingxiao City.

After Li Yunxiao thanked Xiao Ming, his gaze once again turned to Elder He, his tone chilling, “Elder He, did you find out which force the experts who pursued you came from?”

“I found out!” Elder He said in a deep voice, “When I was fighting the Bald Strongman of the same Cultivation Level, I probed his background. He, whether out of overconfidence or arrogance, revealed his identity without hesitation.”

“What identity?”

“They all came from Sunset City!” Elder He said, “They had planned to capture Miss alive a long time ago. According to that person, we were targeted by them from the moment we left the city.”

“If Brother Xiao hadn’t appeared unexpectedly, the consequences would have been unimaginable!”

“Sunset City… Sunset City!” Li Yunxiao gnashed his teeth in anger, his eyes practically spitting murderous intent!

“Damn Sunset City, to lay their hands on my daughter! I will make them pay a bloody price!”

After Li Yunxiao finished speaking, a powerful aura surged from his body, soaring into the sky and directly forming a storm that roared in mid-air.

“City Lord, don’t be impulsive,” Elder He quickly advised, “Sunset City is powerful and not so easy to deal with. If we rush into an all-out war now, I’m afraid we will suffer more losses than gains.”

“Please, City Lord, think thrice!”

Li Yunxiao was extremely furious but still nodded silently.

“Elder He, you are right. An all-out war involves too much. Without thorough preparations in advance, we cannot act rashly,” Li Yunxiao said, though the anger on his face showed no signs of dissipating.

“However, this does not mean that this matter is over!”

“Once we are prepared and have completed the exploration of the Fire Domain Grotto-heaven, we will begin to prepare for retaliation against Sunset City!”

When the Fire Domain Grotto-heaven was mentioned, Li Yunxiao’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Then he subconsciously looked at Xiao Ming.

“Brother Xiao’s strength is formidable; he can even kill a Yuqi Realm expert. If Brother Xiao represents our Lingxiao City in entering the Fire Domain Grotto-heaven, how could the other two cities be our opponents?!”

“Our Lingxiao City will sweep them aside!”

Li Yunxiao became more and more excited as he spoke, and by the end, saliva was practically spraying from his mouth.