300: One defeat of the eighth level of the Divine Venerable Realm

Bai Tianhao drew his sword and said, "ant! I'll give you a three-move head start, lest you don't even get a chance to strike!"

"Overlord Shakes Heaven!" Boom!! Jiang Ye's terrifying Power of Thunder erupted instantly. The sha long spear, carrying a powerful force, thrust directly at Bai Tianhao!

"Hmm?" Bai Tianhao's eyes were filled with the terrifying flash of thunder. Sensing things were going south, he hurriedly summoned a protective Magic Treasure to block the strike!

Bang!! The sha long spear struck directly against a piece of armor. The spear didn't pierce through at first, held back by the armor. But just as everyone thought it had been blocked, the armor suddenly shattered under the destructive Sky-Shattering Power!

"What!" Bai Tianhao was shocked, his eyes filled with terror!

"Die!" Jiang Ye shouted!

"Show mercy!" Just as the sha long spear was about to run Bai Tianhao through, a God Tribulation Realm expert intervened urgently, separating the two.

A middle-aged man appeared; he was Shangguan Tianhong's father—Shangguan Broadsword.

"Hahaha, young friend, you have great skill! To Cultivate thunder arts to such a peak, you possess the combat power to kill an opponent despite a gap of nearly an entire major Realm!"

Shangguan Tianhong said, "This is my father, Shangguan Broadsword. This is my new friend, Jiang Ye, and these two are his brothers."

Jiang Ye cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Senior Shangguan!"

"I've just witnessed your skills, young friend Jiang. Your two brothers also possess pure and thick Divine Power; they are quite extraordinary as well! Since you've just arrived at our Shangguan Family, let us show you some hospitality. Rest well for a day, and then we will arrange whatever Tianhong promised you. How does that sound?"

"Very well, then I shall gratefully accept!"

"Hahaha, Tianhong, you are responsible for hosting your friends today."

Shangguan Tianhong said, "Understood. Let's go, the food and wine are ready. Let's have a good drink!"

After the four left, Shangguan Yunzhu and Bai Tianhao were left stunned on the spot. If Shangguan Broadsword hadn't intervened just now, Bai Tianhao would have been pierced through by Jiang Ye's black spear.

Shangguan Yunzhu walked up to Shangguan Broadsword and said, "Second Uncle, what was that guy's deal? Even if the thunder arts he Cultivates are strong, it shouldn't be so exaggerated that he can fight someone nearly an entire major Realm above him, right?"

Shangguan Broadsword looked at Bai Tianhao and said, "Young friend Bai, there's only a month left until the slot competition. You know very well how important this is to our Shangguan Family. For now, please trouble yourself to Cultivate within our Shangguan Family. We will certainly meet your needs for Spirit Stone resources."

Bai Tianhao snapped out of his daze and said, "Fine! I will definitely do my best in the battle when the time comes."

"Yunzhu, go inform your father and your eldest uncle to go to your grandfather's place. Tell them there are important matters to discuss."

"Understood!"

Inside a secret chamber.

Shangguan Broadsword's father Shangguan Startling Tiger, eldest brother Shangguan Daijian, and third brother Shangguan Daiying were all present.

Shangguan Startling Tiger asked, "Daodao, what's going on?"

Shangguan Broadsword said, "Tianhong brought someone back who just defeated Bai Tianhao in a single move. The important thing is that his Realm is only the ninth stage of the Divine Sovereign Realm."

"What did you say?" The three were shocked simultaneously!

Shangguan Startling Tiger asked, "What's the situation with that person?"

"He Cultivates thunder arts, and his Thunder Body is very strong, but I can't figure out what's going on with his power. With one spear strike, he shattered Bai Tianhao's Flood Dragon Armor and almost killed him."

"Such powerful thunder arts? Have you found out which faction he belongs to?"

"I just received some intelligence from Tianhong. He comes from a lower Realm. In less than two months since arriving in the Divine Realm, he has already unified the Outer God Realm. He established an organization called the Jiang Alliance and forcefully suppressed all factions, large and small, into submission."

Shangguan Startling Tiger pondered for a moment and said, "It seems this kid is not simple. What conditions did Tianhong promise him?"

"Three slots for the Ancient God Emperor Secret Realm, and enough Spirit Stone resources for the three of them to Breakthrough to the God Venerable Realm within a month. His promise is to take first place in the five-Family competition for us. If he fails, he is at our disposal, including his life!"

Shangguan Startling Tiger was shaken and couldn't help but feel some admiration. "Good lad! To dare stake his life on a military pledge, it seems he has absolute confidence. He hasn't even reached the God Venerable Realm yet; if he breaks through in a month, his combat power will likely reach another level. Arrange it: give them our best cultivation rooms and prepare ample Spirit Stone resources for him."

"Understood!"

On the other side.

Jiang Ye and the others were drinking and chatting. Jiang Ye asked, "Aren't you looking for three people? Is the other one also an eighth-stage God Venerable Realm?"

Shangguan Tianhong said, "It's like this: our Family has two main branches. For this search for external aid, each branch is guaranteed one slot, while the third person is recommended by each branch for a competition. If the recommended person wins the duel, that branch gets two representatives. When the slots for the secret Realm are secured later, that branch will receive an extra third of the share."

Jiang Ye nodded. "That counts as healthy competition within the Family. By the way, my Breakthrough in seclusion will require quite a lot of Spirit Stones. I need one million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones prepared for the initial stage, and I might need more later."

Shangguan Tianhong was startled. "You need that many?"

"Yes! This is related to the Cultivation Technique I practice; the required Spirit Stones are quite high. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gathered the factions of the Outer God Realm together—the goal was to collect more Spirit Stones."

"Fine! No problem. As long as you can Breakthrough to the God Venerable Realm, taking first place for our Shangguan Family will be a sure thing."

The next day.

Jiang Ye and the other two entered the cultivation rooms to begin their seclusion, preparing to Breakthrough to the God Venerable Realm with all their might!

The other branch of the Shangguan Family was very surprised to learn about Jiang Ye. Shangguan Jinglong was the current Clan Chief. Under him were a son and a daughter, Shangguan Lei and Shangguan Qian. The three were discussing in the living room.

Shangguan Lei said, "Father, if the person Tianhong brought back is truly that strong, then the third slot will definitely go to Second Uncle's side."

"Not necessarily. It depends on the strength of the person we find. For the sake of the Family getting more slots, Jinghu won't be so foolish. I heard that Bai Tianhao couldn't even withstand one move. If the Hu Linghe on our side can defeat Bai Tianhao, there's still a chance. When the time comes, we'll just yield a few slots to the branches under Jinghu."

Shangguan Lei said, "It all depends on whether Tianfang can Breakthrough to the ninth stage of the God Venerable Realm during this seclusion. If he can, our chance of squeezing into the top three will be secure."

"Tianfang and Tianhong are one Realm apart in strength, but Tianhong was able to interrupt his Breakthrough to go out and find such a person for the Family. In the future, he is more suitable to succeed as Clan Chief. Tianfang's heart is entirely on Cultivation."

Shangguan Qian said, "Father, Xuanyi has also broken through to the eighth stage of the God Venerable Realm now. Could we give him a chance to compete for the third external aid slot as well?"