"What!?" Zhao Weichun and Zhao Luing were shocked.
"A-are you serious?" they both asked excitedly.
Zhao Mingxi nodded. "Yes, I'm not joking!" The corners of his mouth curled into a mocking grin.
"Without cultivation, this brat has no abilities! He's become trash! And with that, his necklace surely won't work!" Zhao Mingxi continued, laughing loudly.
Zhao Luing and Zhao Weichun joined in the laughter, as if they had already won and surpassed the one they hated most.
Even worse, that person couldn't move forward anymore, but was instead being dragged back in the most miserable way.
On Zhao Long's side.
The young man struggled to get up, coughing and vomiting blood.
Zhao Mingxi was a Ninth Stage Core Formation cultivator, while Zhao Long was nothing but a mere mortal—without protection or strength to withstand a full-force attack from Zhao Mingxi.
His ribs were broken, and his internal organs were starting to fail. However, even with all this, Zhao Long did not cry or look sad.
The pain he felt seemed to be nothing compared to what could bring him to tears.
After sitting on the ground while enduring continuous pain, he raised his eyes and stared sharply at Zhao Mingxi.
It was a gaze without fear or hatred. Just sharp—without any killing intent.
Swoosh!
With a crazed grin, Zhao Luing dashed forward, preparing to slap Zhao Long.
However—
Swish!
A faint emerald-green light shot out from Zhao Long's necklace, forming a spiritual protective dome around him.
Bang!
As Zhao Luing closed in, he was instantly sent flying hundreds of meters back with immense force.
"Gah!"
Zhao Luing coughed up blood.
"Y-you!?" Zhao Luing's eyes turned red with fury.
Zhao Mingxi and Zhao Weichun were stunned. They had assumed that the necklace wouldn't activate since Zhao Long had lost his cultivation.
But in reality, it did. In fact, the protection it offered now was even stronger and more solid than before.
Seeing this, Zhao Mingxi was furious. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.
Zhao Weichun, on the other hand, was left speechless. He couldn't say a word.
In a flash, both of them rushed to the unconscious Zhao Luing.
Then, they quickly left—throwing a murderous glare at Zhao Long as they departed.
Watching the three of them go, Zhao Long let out a deep sigh. His eyes dimmed, and he collapsed, unconscious.
After that, the spiritual protective dome around him began to resonate, then dissipated into glowing specks of light, leaving behind a single emerald-green spark.
That spark shot straight back into the necklace.
Moments after Zhao Long's spiritual barrier vanished, a middle-aged man appeared.
That man was Zhao Yuan.
Seeing his son, Zhao Long, lying unconscious and covered in blood on the ground, Zhao Yuan was overcome with rage. He could already guess that Zhao Long had been bullied again.
He clenched his fists tightly and carried Zhao Long back into their residence.
Zhao Yuan had just returned from several merchant guilds, searching for a way to restore a destroyed cultivation base. But it was all in vain. No one could repair a shattered cultivation foundation.
Instead, he found his son unconscious, bleeding, with several broken ribs.
As a cultivator, of course, he could see the damage inside the body of a mere mortal.
**
Far away in the Zhao clan residence.
Inside the main hall of the Zhao Clan.
A group of people had gathered. They were the high-ranking members of the Zhao Clan—the clan leader, the deputy leader, and the clan elders.
Zhao Penmiu, the clan leader, stared sharply at all the elders and the vice-leader.
"How could this happen!?" he roared in anger as his aura erupted wildly. Late Stage Soul Transformation.
The Zhao Clan… was facing an incredibly dire crisis.
The clan's reputation had dropped drastically—by 40%!
The clan's resources were being rapidly drained.
Their businesses were collapsing one by one.
Because of this, the Zhao Clan's standing plummeted. They might no longer be qualified as a mid-tier force in the Dark Wind Crater Region.
In this world, each region is divided into 81 territories.
This world was the Ancient Spiritual World.
A world consisting of three continents: Yen Continent, Yon Continent, and Yan Continent.
Yen Continent was inhabited by two races: the Demon Race and the Beast Race. Yon Continent was home to Spiritual Beasts and Demonic Beasts. Yan Continent was inhabited by humans.
Yen and Yon each had 26 territories. Meanwhile, Yan Continent had 29 territories.
The Zhao Clan resided in the Dark Wind Crater Region, a territory in the western part of Yan Continent.
The Dark Wind Crater Region divided powers into three classes: Lower, Middle, and Upper. Each class had between 10 to 15 ranks, depending on the strength of the main force.
For example, the Zhao Clan.
A clan that was once ranked as a Mid-Class Level 5 force had now dropped drastically to Level 10. If it fell any further, the Zhao Clan would be demoted to a lower-class force.
Naturally, this greatly impacted the person leading the clan.
Currently, that leader was Zhao Penmiu—one of the greediest men in the clan, who cared only about himself and his family rather than the welfare of the clan.
Now, he was seething with anger because the clan's resources were nearly depleted—over 80% gone—preventing him from using them to attempt a breakthrough into the Spiritual King Realm.
**
Everyone's body trembled in fear, especially as Zhao Penmiu's aura grew stronger and stronger.
The deputy clan leader, Zhao Weimu, stood and said, "We don't know either, Clan Leader. For some reason, every year our businesses continue to plummet. And this year, the decline is even worse."
He shook his head. "If this continues, the clan won't just fall to the lower ranks—we'll lose our status entirely," he added with a shaky breath.
Hearing that, Zhao Penmiu's expression turned dark and grim.
Falling to the bottom with no status?
That was every clan's nightmare!
Such groups were ignored by all the great powers. Even worse, those without status were forced to work day and night under the influence of the major forces in the Dark Wind Crater Region.
Of course, Zhao Penmiu refused to let that happen.
He clenched his teeth so hard they bled. Clearly frustrated.
"Clan Leader!" the first elder, Zhao Liu, raised his hand and stood.
Zhao Penmiu glanced at him, nodded, and then sat back down.
Zhao Liu took a deep breath before speaking. "To reduce the clan's crisis and prevent our businesses from collapsing further, how about we send our younger generation into sects, academies, or organizations?"
Everyone froze.
What Zhao Liu said made sense.
If they sent the clan's younger generation into such places, they would gain access to resources without needing to rely on family businesses.
Everyone nodded enthusiastically, then looked to Zhao Penmiu to make a decision.
Zhao Penmiu fell silent. A cunning smile appeared on his face. He then looked at everyone and nodded. "Very well, send the most talented members of the younger generation to participate in the disciple recruitment in Golden Wind City, which belongs to the Golden Wind Sect," the old man declared.
Coincidentally, the Golden Wind Sect was holding a disciple recruitment event the next day, so this opportunity couldn't be wasted.
The Golden Wind Sect was one of the powerful sects in the Dark Wind Crater Region. A force like this had a leader who had already surpassed the Divine Overlord Realm.