Liu Yubei and his daughter Liu Xiwei paid no mind to the coldness in Fan Hanlin's eyes.
They were solely focused on aligning themselves with the Governor's Mansion, a mighty tree to cling to. As for the feelings of others, they cared not a whit.
Ahead, the scene within Shahu suddenly shifted. The terrifying, all-encompassing yellow wind showed signs of calming, the flow of sand slowing as if the force driving it all was steadily weakening.
A host of powerhouses and prodigies immediately drew closer.
Chu Tiange, forgetting his attempt to charm Liu Xiwei, let out a hearty laugh. "It seems the Star Sand Lake ruins are about to open! Are all the important people here?"
Xiong Kuang exchanged a look with Xiong Daying, who, catching the hint, deliberately raised his voice. "Not yet, Young Master Chu!"
Chu Tiange's expression immediately soured.
He had deliberately timed his arrival to be the grand finale, a fitting entrance for his esteemed status as the Seventh Young Master of the Governor's Mansion.
To his annoyance, someone dared to appear after him. What arrogance!
"Who is it!"
Chu Tiange asked, displeased.
Xiong Daying replied, "Reporting to Seventh Young Master, this person is named Ling Fan, from Jiangnan City. He's a live-in son-in-law of a minor family!"
Upon hearing this, everyone became curious.
For an opportunity like the Star Sand Lake ruins, it was unlikely that even the City Lord's Mansion of Star Sand City would have the qualifications to interfere, let alone a minor family from Jiangnan City.
When did it become the turn of a minor family?
Only from the Yunmeng City side did City Lord Yun Wanshan's eyes suddenly narrow, a sharp glint shooting out.
Ling Fan!
This person had actually come to Star Sand City, and it seemed he was about to enter the Star Sand Lake ruins.
His son, Yun Rui, and Vice City Lord Yun Qianlang had died in Jiangnan City, and this Ling Fan was undeniably involved.
This time, he was determined to capture Ling Fan and thoroughly interrogate him about the identity of Ling Qingyun.
While everyone was filled with curiosity.
Chu Tiange, however, was in a fit of rage.
"Damn it! What kind of insignificant minor family from Jiangnan City, and what sort of dog-sh*t live-in son-in-law! To dare act more high and mighty than I, I want to see how many heads this brat has, how many lives he possesses, and if it's enough for me to kill him!"
Xiong Daying deliberately said with a sneer, "Seventh Young Master, please calm your anger! Seventh Young Master, you absolutely must not. This Ling Fan is not to be trifled with. Although he himself is a cripple, he is accompanied by a very powerful expert. Ordinary Xuan Gang realm cultivators are no match for them."
"Furthermore, this Ling Fan is incredibly arrogant, owing allegiance to no one, trampling on whoever he pleases. Before, at our Star Sand City martial competition, he brazenly killed two Xuan Gang realm commanders from our City Lord's Mansion, snatched four of our City Lord's Mansion spots, and forced us to apologize!"
"Seventh Young Master, with your noble status, there's no need to stoop to the level of such a madman. This person is truly difficult to deal with. It's best to just let him have his way! If he were to go berserk and injure your invaluable person, it would be a loss far outweighing any gain."
After Xiong Daying's embellishments, Chu Tiange's face darkened, and he roared, "Nonsense! I am the dignified Seventh Young Master of the Governor's Mansion of Tianchu Province. Within this Tianchu Province, no one has yet been born whom I cannot provoke! How could I fear a live-in son-in-law of a minor family!"
"If he doesn't come, so be it. But if he does come, I will make him pay!"
Chu Tiange was furious, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Xiong Kuang and Xiong Daying exchanged glances. Xiong Kuang gave Xiong Daying a thumbs-up, silently praising him.
He hadn't expected Daying to have such a skill.
Truly a talent.
This tactic of using a borrowed knife to kill was executed perfectly!
They couldn't afford to offend Ling Fan and Liang Hutou, but the Governor's Mansion could.
The atmosphere before Star Sand Lake suddenly became heavy.
The curiosity of the major forces from the outer cities was piqued to the extreme.
They all wanted to witness this Ling Fan.
To see if he was truly as arrogant and difficult to deal with as Xiong Daying claimed.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Soon, a gray-clothed youth, about seventeen or eighteen years old, walked from the distant street, holding a thirteen or fourteen-year-old young girl, Liu Xiran, by the hand.
Behind him followed Liang Hutou.
The bare-chested, wild-looking Ji Hong followed silently at the very rear.
The gray-clothed youth was not particularly tall, certainly not as tall and imposing as prodigies like Chu Tiange and Fan Hanlin.
There was no fluctuation of true qi emanating from his body.
Even Elder Han, a revered elder of the Governor's Mansion, could not discern any abnormality.
Yet, such an ordinary-looking, refined youth was respectfully followed by a powerful, one-eyed burly man.
Nong Chengji, the Great Elder of the Farmer's School, Ding Kainan, an elder from the Ding family, and Jiang Shiqing, an elder from the Jiang family, all became serious.
Even the elder from Miyun Mountain and the elder from Seven Stars Cave were the same.
The respectfully following burly man behind the youth was actually at the peak of the Xuan Gang realm!
No wonder Xiong Daying said Ling Fan was incredibly arrogant; it turned out he had a peak Xuan Gang realm expert as his backing.
It was no wonder the Star Sand City Lord's Mansion was trampled under his feet!
Only Elder Han remained calm, as if a peak Xuan Gang realm expert was not enough to move him.
"Could this person be that Ling Fan!"
Chu Tiange's expression was extremely displeased, and he snorted coldly.
Xiong Daying quickly nodded. "Reporting to Seventh Young Master, this person is indeed Ling Fan!"
Sharp light shot from Chu Tiange's eyes as he stared intently at Ling Fan and shouted, "Ling, stop right there! I hear you're quite the hotshot. Get on your knees and speak to me!"
Everyone's expressions tensed.
The show was about to begin!
This Chu Tiange truly lived up to his status as a direct descendant of the Governor's Mansion of Tianchu Province, opening his mouth with a demand for Ling Fan to kneel.
How domineering.
Xiong Kuang chuckled inwardly, his eyes flashing with glee.
This brat's retribution had finally arrived!
Xiong Daying was also excited.
After all, this was all his doing, secretly fanning the flames; it could be considered his masterpiece.
Liu Yubei snorted coldly.
He clearly remembered that day when Ling Fan had shown no respect to their Liu family.
He had even said that if it weren't for Liu Xiwei, he would have casually crushed their Liu family!
Heh, let him be arrogant!
Little did he know that arrogance invites disaster.
Liu Xiwei couldn't help but shake her head. Looking at Ling Fan, she thought, you're only relying on a peak Xuan Gang realm guard to be so arrogant and act so recklessly. This kind of life, depending on others' strength, cannot last forever.
When you encounter a more powerful force, will you still be able to be so arrogant?
Martial artists still need to be powerful themselves!
Like Chu Tiange, Fan Hanlin, and Luo Qi, these peerless prodigies.
The powerhouses and prodigies from other factions watched with amusement, leisurely awaiting the unfolding of events.
Just as everyone was anticipating Ling Fan's response.
Ling Fan finally slightly raised his gaze, his two indifferent eyes falling upon Chu Tiange, and he softly uttered a sentence: "What are you?"
Boom!
This sentence was like a thunderclap, striking everyone dumbfounded.