128: The Zhao family's strong men are coming

Juyan City outskirts.

Ye Xiao stood on a tall tree in a Dense Forest, gazing at the high stone wall ahead.

This was the main base of the Zhao family's Dragon Abyss Legion in the 702 Novice Zone.

At this moment, outside the city, there were Dragon Abyss Legion members stationed every three steps and every five steps, all on patrol. A quick glance revealed no less than 200 people.

This was just the patrol outside the city; the situation inside the city was unknown, but it was certainly more, not less.

In the Novice Area, level 90 was the peak combat strength, and it was said that there were three thousand such Professionals in the Dragon Rock Group.

Excluding the 1000 people previously killed by Ye Xiao on the Path of Exile, it meant the Dragon Abyss Legion still had at least 2000 top-tier level 90 Professionals.

This force was enough to sweep through any town in the Novice Area.

If it were anyone else seeing this situation, they would probably choose to retreat far away.

But having benefited from the Yunhai Legion members, Ye Xiao was even more excited now.

He wished the more enemies, the better, saving him the trouble of running around.

Thinking of the dense experience points inside, a smile appeared at the corner of Ye Xiao's mouth.

“I wonder if there’s enough experience here to get me to level 90.”

At this moment, Little Gold, fluttering its small wings, floated beside Ye Xiao and said impatiently, “Good person, let’s go kill people quickly. This weak state is very awkward.”

Clearly, through the previous battles, Little Gold, whose level had increased rapidly, was now somewhat addicted.

However, hearing talk of 'killing people' from a cute, cuddly pet always gave Ye Xiao a sense of incongruity.

But he didn't think much of it, just smiled slightly.

“Let’s go! I’ll take you to level up.”

“Alright! But, good person, can I make the first move this time?”

“Hmm? You?” Ye Xiao looked at the slightly fatter Little Gold with some suspicion, but then, thinking of its abnormal attributes, he didn't dwell on it.

“Fine! You’ve eaten so much of my experience, it’s about time you pulled your weight.”

Little Gold cheered upon hearing this and, without waiting for Ye Xiao, its chubby golden body suddenly vanished.

The next moment, it had already appeared outside the gates of Juyan City.

It happened to encounter a team of Dragon Abyss Legion members on patrol.

Ye Xiao, witnessing this, was a little exasperated; this fellow was truly impatient, not even waiting for him.

After a moment of thought, Ye Xiao decided not to rush forward, taking the opportunity to observe Little Gold's combat prowess.

At this time, the patrolling Dragon Abyss team outside the city were all startled and on guard when Little Gold suddenly appeared.

However, when Little Gold's full appearance was revealed to them, someone couldn't help but exclaim.

“Huh? What is that? Where did that demon beast come from?”

“Wait! Look at this demon beast, doesn’t it look like a dragon?”

“Don’t say that, it really does resemble the legendary dragons a bit, but I’ve been here for three years and have never seen a demon beast like this.”

“It looks like it’s lost. Should we try to capture it? Perhaps the commander will be pleased and give us a reward.”

At this moment, one of the Dragon Abyss team members stepped forward with a chuckle and said, “Good point, this guy looks a bit dumb and fat like a ball, it probably doesn’t have much destructive power. Let me handle it.”

The others didn't say anything, just watched the show.

However, just as that person was about to approach Little Gold, Little Gold suddenly opened its mouth and said angrily, “Despicable low-level creatures, how dare you call this exalted one fat and stupid? You are courting death.”

“Huh? This demon beast can talk?” The member was stunned.

And it was at this moment that Little Gold spewed out a large breath of dragon fire.

Caught off guard, the Dragon Abyss Legion member in front of him was instantly melted into dregs.

This sudden and terrifying scene stunned everyone else.

“No! Gangzi is dead, this demon beast is dangerous, attack together!”

As soon as the words fell, this small team of Dragon Abyss members all made their move.

Unfortunately, the strength of these people was completely negligible in front of Little Gold.

Little Gold opened its mouth and spat out another breath of dragon fire.

The dragon fire instantly enveloped this team of Dragon Abyss members. Ye Xiao, watching from not far away, didn't even hear them cry for help before they, too, became dregs.

And throughout this entire process, there was strangely no major commotion, coupled with Little Gold's position perfectly avoiding the sight of others.

As a result, after Little Gold finished killing these people, the other Dragon Abyss members inside and outside the city did not detect any abnormality.

Little Gold, however, upon seeing these people die, proudly raised its large head and disdainfully said, “Humans are too weak.”

Having said that, Little Gold flapped its small wings and flew towards the nearest other Dragon Abyss squad.

Soon, the Dragon Abyss squads outside the city disappeared one by one under Little Gold's powerful dragon fire.

However, this was, after all, the Zhao family's territory, and the members of the Dragon Abyss Legion were all battle-hardened and well-trained.

After only a brief moment, a sudden cry of alarm came from the city, followed by the blaring of various alarm bells.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

“All ten teams outside the city have been annihilated! Danger level: Red!”

...Amidst a commotion, Ye Xiao saw the originally tightly shut city gates suddenly open.

Then, densely packed figures rushed out from inside.

It must be said that the Zhao family's Dragon Abyss Legion was indeed an elite legion; even in a moment of panic, they maintained quite orderly formations.

Soon, Ye Xiao saw about five hundred members of the Dragon Abyss Legion come out of the city.

But when they saw Little Gold's appearance, they were all visibly stunned.

Seeing people emerge, Ye Xiao had no intention of delaying further. His position was less than 300 yards from the city gate, perfectly within the attack range of his skills.

So, before those people could react, Ye Xiao instantly raised his hand.

Hundreds of Fireball spells suddenly coalesced.

Then, before the group could even notice, the Fireball spells rained down like a downpour, wildly smashing down.

At the same time, he instructed Little Gold to retreat via their contract.

Although Little Gold was now quite tough, Ye Xiao knew the power of his Fireball spell.

He was genuinely afraid of accidentally injuring the little guy; if he accidentally killed it, he would be too late to cry.

At the same time, upon seeing the vast expanse of Fireball spells appear, the Dragon Abyss members' faces all changed dramatically.

Someone among them shrieked in terror.

“Fireball!!! It’s Night Shadow!!! Retreat!”

Clearly, the Dragon Abyss Legion had studied Ye Xiao.

But it was only a study.

Facing Ye Xiao's terrifying Fireball, they had no chance of resisting whatsoever.

In the blink of an eye, the Fireball spells fell, turning into a sea of fire.

One by one, the Dragon Abyss members fell, without even uttering cries of pain.

At this moment, Ye Xiao's experience bar surged wildly.

Watching this scene, Ye Xiao was in a great mood.

At this moment, Little Gold had already flashed and reappeared in front of Ye Xiao.

It shook its big head and said with a bored expression, “Humans are indeed a weak species, not fun at all. Can’t there be someone with some real strength?”

Ye Xiao heard this and immediately said in an exasperated tone, “Stop showing off. If a real Expert comes, be careful they don’t skin you alive.”

However, just as Ye Xiao's words fell.

Suddenly, several incredibly terrifying auras flew rapidly from Juyan City.

Feeling this extremely oppressive might, Ye Xiao's hairs stood on end, and his expression changed.

“You jinx, let’s go!”

Shouting at Little Gold, Ye Xiao was about to activate Phantom Void to leave here.

But at this moment.

A deep voice rang out.

“Heaven Sealing Demon Banning, form up!!”

The next instant, Ye Xiao found that the Phantom Void icon had turned gray.

In an instant, his expression changed.

At this moment, a harsh sneer came through.

“Hmph! I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Night Shadow!”

As the voice came, Ye Xiao saw more than a dozen figures suddenly appear above him, surrounding him completely.

Before Ye Xiao could clearly see who they were, someone among them shouted loudly, “Everyone, attack together and kill this brat!”

Immediately after, Ye Xiao sensed more than a dozen incredibly violent energies surging.

However, at this moment, another voice suddenly rang out.

“Wait! Don’t be so hasty.”

After this voice, the violent energy in the air clearly paused.

Ye Xiao looked in the direction of the voice and immediately saw a familiar figure.

Zhao Changlin?

He had seen this person before on the Path of Exile and knew something about him.

“Third Brother, what do you mean? The cost of our descent is not small. The sooner we resolve this and return, the more dimension dissociation stone we can save.”

At this moment, Zhao Changlin came to stand directly in front of Ye Xiao and said with a chuckle, “Don’t worry, compared to that small cost of dimension dissociation stone, this kid in front of us has quite a few secrets. He killed so many of my Dragon Abyss people, I must get something back.”

A middle-aged man in armor not far away heard this, a look of impatience in his eyes, but after a moment of thought, he still nodded and said, “I’ll only give you 10 minutes. If this kid refuses to confess, then eliminate him.”

Zhao Changlin nodded, then looked back at Ye Xiao.

“This counts as our first truly meaningful meeting, doesn’t it?”

Hearing Zhao Changlin's words, Ye Xiao casually said, “To be honest, I'm not very keen on meeting people from your Zhao family.”

Seeing Ye Xiao still looking around, a hint of mockery appeared in Zhao Changlin's eyes.

“Don’t waste your energy. This Heaven Sealing Demon Banning Formation was obtained by my Zhao family from a forbidden zone. Even Nine Revolution Experts who enter cannot leave, let alone a newcomer like you.”

The middle-aged man who had spoken with Zhao Changlin earlier also sneered at this moment.

“Hmph! Kid, you should feel honored. For my Zhao family to bring out this array scroll, you are truly something to be proud of.”

Ye Xiao understood upon hearing this.

He just hadn't expected the Zhao family to be so willing to spend so much to capture him, and he couldn't help but say, “It's not really necessary, a bit wasteful.”

Zhao Changlin glanced at Ye Xiao, then spoke again, “Don’t rush. Besides the Heaven Sealing Demon Banning Formation, to deal with you this time, my Zhao family has sent thirteen Eight Revolution Professionals. You must know how great the cost of that is.”

Without waiting for Ye Xiao to speak, Zhao Changlin suddenly sighed, saying with a hint of regret.

“If you had agreed to join my Zhao family originally, all these costs would have become your resources. It’s a pity you didn’t cherish that opportunity.”

Ye Xiao, having calmed down after his initial panic, couldn't help but tease him upon hearing this:

“Join your Zhao family and become a high-level thug with no freedom?”

Zhao Changlin didn't get angry, shaking his head and saying, “Being arrogant and being conceited are two different things. How many people want to become a member of my Zhao family but can't? Do you think they are all fools?”

“To gain something, you must give something. This is an equivalent exchange, and it is also the law of survival. Do you really think my Zhao family is a big spender, investing resources heavily in you without signing a contract?”

“My Zhao family saw you as a Talent and kindly wanted to recruit you, but you not only killed my Zhao family members but also publicly slaughtered over 1000 Dragon Abyss members. You have committed such monstrous crimes, do you know how you should be dealt with according to the Alliance Law?”

Ye Xiao smiled.

“How to deal with it, isn't it still up to your Zhao family to decide?”

Zhao Changlin laughed heartily.

“It seems you’re not that stupid. Since you know, I’ll give you a chance now.”

“What chance?” Ye Xiao asked curiously.

“Sign a contract with my Zhao family and tell me your secrets, and I can guarantee your life.” Zhao Changlin said quickly.

Hearing this, Ye Xiao suddenly understood. So, after all that, this guy still hadn't given up on him.

However, he had already rejected the Zhao family before, and now that he had killed so many of their people, how could he possibly agree to their recruitment?

Thinking of this, Ye Xiao smiled.

“What if I say no?”

Zhao Changlin's face turned cold upon hearing this, and he said in a chilly voice, “Whether you want to or not, it’s not up to you now. I’ll only give you 5 minutes. If you don’t agree when the time is up, then there’s only death.”

After saying this, Zhao Changlin stopped speaking.

He believed that no one was unafraid of death, especially those newcomers with stronger Talents and higher potential.

They hadn't truly realized their ambitions yet; if they died like this, they would certainly be unwilling.

He had seen countless such people in these decades; in the end, those originally arrogant geniuses, when faced with death, didn't they all eventually lower their proud heads?

Thinking that he would soon know the secret of Ye Xiao's rapid growth, a hint of smugness involuntarily appeared on Zhao Changlin's face.

And this subtle expression was captured by Ye Xiao, who also couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl slightly upward.

“I think, actually, there’s no need to waste time.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Changlin's smugness became even harder to suppress, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

“Oh? Have you come to your senses so quickly? Faster than I imagined. Indeed, no one is unafraid of death.”

“Since you’ve come to your senses, then come over and sign the contract.”

Watching Zhao Changlin pull out a contract scroll from his person, Ye Xiao couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. Then his expression turned indifferent, and he said word by word:

“Old man, you misunderstood. The only way I'll agree is if everyone in your Zhao family is dead.”

“Presumptuous!”

“Arrogant!”

...In mid-air, shouts of anger came through.

Zhao Changlin's face was even more ashen, his gaze fixed coldly on Ye Xiao.

“Good, good, good! It seems you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin. In that case, then you shall die!”

“Attack!”

With Zhao Changlin's angry roar.

The energy that had originally dissipated in the sky surged wildly again.

More than a dozen Eight Revolution Experts simultaneously activated their skills; such a display had not been seen in the Novice Area for a hundred years.

At this moment, all the Dragon Abyss Legion members in Juyan City also came outside the city, watching this terrifying scene, all holding their breath, not daring to even pant.

At the same time, their eyes also showed excitement.

That demon who had harmed their comrades was finally going to be punished.

This made a surge of pleasure rise in their hearts.

However, Ye Xiao, who was at the center of the storm, looked at the scalp-numbing roars of energy above his head.

His expression was calm, even indifferent, and Zhao Changlin could even see a hint of mockery in Ye Xiao's eyes.