The smile Amber gave was as plain as they could come. She almost appeared bored about fighting a greater expert.
An indifferent voice leaked from her lips. "You. Take this."
Shadow tendrils suddenly shot out of Amber's fingertips. It soared in a dark streak of light, nearing Lee within a split second.
Lee's expression dropped. The stifling pressure took away his breath. He loudly roared and his body erupted with the same Extreme Purple Flames that Huo used.
All of the power within his Inner World and his Divine Fire Laws frantically released out.
In that instant, the surrounding faction members were forced to retreat hundreds of meters once again.
Lee's purple flames could only converge into a faint barrier in only a split second. But no matter how much strength Lee erupted with, it all was absolutely useless!
Amber's overwhelming might could genuinely surpass Early Stage Great Divine Sea prowess!
The Shadow tendrils penetrated through the purple flame barrier, instantly dispersing.
Without stopping, the Shadow tendrils shredded through Lee's protective Divine Aura, tightly wrapped around his body, binding him.
Lee couldn't even understand what was going on before he felt all the energies within his Inner World get sealed away!
The force from Shadow tendrils had a very peculiar ability. It could actually suppress the entirety of Lee's Inner World, sealing away every inch of his strength.
This was Amber's tiny result from briefly cultivating the Divine Seal Art. Though she hasn't even scratched the surface of it, what she had comprehended was enough for her to fuse soul essence into her Shadow tendrils which created the sealing effect.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtOf course, if Lee was stronger, he would be able to overpower the Shadow tendril force with his Inner World energies.
But unfortunately for him, that would only be a fantasy.
"Lee-Lee's energies...it completely left him..." One of the faction members helplessly muttered.
Indeed, everyone in the courtyard could specifically detect that Lee's strength completely left him. This means that also within one move, this girl easily dispatched a Great Divine Sea expert!
Though Lee was far weaker than Huo, the shock was no less great.
Lee, himself couldn't take his gaze off Amber. This all felt like some cruel joke from fate.
Since when random people with no previous background can have this kind of heaven-defying strength?!
In the face of everyone's reaction, Amber's lips didn't even twitch. Her face, which had a slight smile before, returned to indifference.
She recalled her prowess and the Shadow tendrils, allowing Lee's body to powerlessly collapse to the ground.
Pressing on this red-hot momentum, Cain suddenly said, "So? Does anyone else believe we're all for show?"
None of the faction members dared to speak out this time.
It was at this moment that Zhou Ping finally entered the picture with a calm smile. He told them, "Good. Now that we're all on the same page, Steward Que, can you show Sir Lee and Miss Xun to a vacant house? They will be living together."
The faction members glanced between each other, all of them seeing the same realization cross their faces.
"Of course, they are together. Geniuses usually tend to stay within their own crowd."
"I'm more surprised that they actually fit so perfectly with each other. I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen this."
"At the very least, we got more powerful allies on our sides. I wonder how far they can get in the battle arena...."
Whispers leaked out of the faction members. They all couldn't suppress their simmering curiosity.
But at the same time, they didn't want to boldly go up for a chat. Their previous attitudes crept through their minds like a sickening sensation.
All of them thought it was best to try to find an opportunity to remedy their mistakes.
At this time, an older, middle-aged man, Steward Que, neared the duo. He nodded with genuine respect and said, "Follow me. Do you two have a particular preference for your housing?"
Cain and Amber exchanged a glance before shaking their heads. All Cain said was, "Just something on the quieter side. We like to keep to ourselves."
Steward Que nodded and then lead the duo towards the various housings.
When that trio finally left the area, a collective sigh was released from all the faction members.
"It almost felt like he was living some weird dream..." One of the faction members uttered out, still in slight shock.
"I wonder...will this mean the battle arena will experience a huge shift soon? I mean, both of their prowess aren't anything to scoff at. But I feel that Sir Lee is the far stronger but was also massively holding back. Just how strong is he, really?"
"At the Late Stage Great Divine Sea, anyone would be able to control 35% of Divine Qi and around 50% of their Divine Laws. That kind of power is easily dozens of times stronger than any Early Stage. A Late Stage as well can instantly defeat an Early Stage. Perhaps Sir Lee is at this stage."
"If he really is, just imagine when he finally forms his Great Divine Sea? It'll be too high for us to imagine! He can probably raise our faction rank with that kind of cultivation."
The faction members were all becoming increasingly excited. Once the fear passed, all that was left was to look toward the future. And after what they just experienced, these faction members saw a bright road ahead of them.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAt this time, Lee could finally stand on his feet. A sigh of regret leaked from his mouth as he said, "Huo always had an attitude toward her, but this went far beyond teaching her some humility. I wonder if she'll be able to get over this..."
Lee shook his head. His attention then shifted to Zhou Ping, curiosity twisting his expressions. "Young master, did these two really come from nowhere? That kind of prowess can't possibly nurture at some small power or randomly in the wild."
"I wish I also know more about them." Zhou Ping helplessly shrugged. "But these two have their secrets, as one can expect. Now then, I need to report to my father. While I'm gone, I would advise all of you to remedy the relationship with Sir Lee and Miss Xun. And if you can, file them in the battle arena. I'm sure it will suit their interest."
"Yes, young master." Everyone in the courtyard dutifully saluted.
Zhou Ping took one last glance over at the duo's direction before quickly taking back towards the main manor.
....
The house search didn't take long. The duo chose one that stood a bit farther away from the others. But this area had a calming aura.
As the duo wanted, it was peacefully quiet here, suited to better anybody's mind when cultivating.
The house itself wasn't too terribly large. Although its design was still high-class befitting for a family like the Zhou's.
As Steward Que showed the house off, he had given Cain a badge with a unique crest engraved upon it, explaining, "Simply interject your soul energy into this, and nobody but yourselves will be able to access your house. Over here, the Spiritual Veins running through the ground are a bit more concentrated. Your cultivation speed will see some slight improvement."
Before going inside, Cain stopped to ask, "Anything else we should know about it before getting settled in?"
Steward Que's glinted at this moment as if he was waiting for this very question. He first threw out a probing question, "As great young geniuses of this generation, I'm sure that both of you have the desire to quickly advance on your cultivation in any way possible, right?"
Seeing that Cain and Amber silently nodded, Steward Quo continue to say, "Well then, we have a perfect opportunity then. If the young master hadn't explained it before, I will say now that the Zhou Family constructed a great way for talents to raise their cultivation. That is, through the Zhou battle arena. This battle arena will reward anyone with various great cultivation resources and comes from a wide selection. Unless your Divine Laws are very rare, the Zhou Family will have your specific Inner World resource. If not, they will have the information on how to obtain it."
"Oh? So guessing it, we pit ourselves against other Zhou faction members who are under different direct bloodline descendent. I'm also assuming this is ay for the Zhou family to gather the very best of cultivators?" Cain inquired.
Steward Quo nodded. "Indeed. The Zhou Family head has a number of 25bloodline descendants, each with their own considerably large faction under them. The bloodline descendants compete with their faction members, showcasing their leadership skills and talent scouting by gaining allies far stronger or more talented than them. To see the true distinction between factions, the Zhou battle arena is the perfect medium. As of now, young master Pei is at the head of the bloodline descendants. The members under him are all terrifying in their own rights. And what's shocking, he has the least amount of faction members. He only has around 30 members. As for our young master, he's ranked at 15th with around 100 members. The others you didn't see are currently out on a mission. With Sir Lee and Miss Xun's prowess, I'm sure our rank can rise a few more levels."
At this moment, Amber, who's been quiet this whole time, suddenly spoke up to ask, "So winning against other faction members will grant us great prizes. But, I'm sure that's not the end, right? Since this is supposed to be a way to strengthen the family, I'm also assuming that the most special of battles will be recorded and broadcasted to the rest of the city."
"That's right. Your reputation among the whole Sky Bless City can soar from the battle arena. It could possibly rise to the point you can gain attention from the Holy Lands here or even a Divine Decree Lord. Although, for that to happen, you will need to face the most powerful of Great Divine Sea Warriors."
When Steward Quo finished his sentence, his expression quickly turned somber. He continued to say, "But remember this: you should avoid the top ranks in the battle arena at all cost. Those people are genuine Divine Star experts! For many years and still, now their positions are unshakable. Unless you reach the Divine Star realm, it is impossible to face them."