89 To Starblood city.

The next two teams quickly stepped onto the stage and started their battle, but most of the surrounding gazes were still lingering on Yin Long's team. These upcoming battles were far from as important as the battles taking place during the actual Clash, but their performance here still decided what team they ended up in and when they would get a chance to battle. And the better their team, and the quicker they got to show themselves, the greater the chances that they would be recognized and appreciated by either strong individuals or organizations, which could be integral to their future growth.

It was impossible for most of them to get onto the first three teams, they were reserved for only the strongest cultivators present. But the fourth team was still perfectly possible for most of them, and with everyone else here being mostly normal, it was only this strange anomaly that they had to figure out how to deal with and counter.

Yin Long didn't bother with the surrounding gazes, closely observing the battle that was currently taking place. He no longer had to hide most of his strength, only leaving a minor 20% or so hidden since he couldn't use his Netherworld Energy. With that being the case, he was eagerly looking forwards to these upcoming battles and what sort of strategies people would bring out against him.

One reason was that it was much easier to learn something new when he was actually using most of his power, another reason was that seeing what they brought out would help him see some of his weaknesses so that he could cover them up. If possible, he hoped that there would once come a day where he could not only use an entire universe as his sword, but simultaneously also be without weaknesses.

At that point, there wouldn't be a single thing that could halt his sword, it would prove that he had reached the peak and sharpened his sword as much as he could. But his wandering thoughts were quickly interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to him from the side.

"Junior Brother Long."

Yin Long's faintly excited expression sank slightly when he heard this voice, the extremely close Lan Yun's gaze also turned rather frosty as they both turned their heads. The raven-haired and yellow-eyed younger sister of Xue Qiuling stood not far from them, having easily pushed her way through the surrounding people to reach them. Xue Shuiye wore a cordial and pleasant smile, not showcasing a single hint of anger or displeasure as she chatted with Yin Long.

"I'm glad that you've returned, Junior Brother Long, I was quite worried that my sister had lured you into a trap when you lunged at her like that. But looking at your display, it seems like it was foolish of me to ever worry, you've hidden yourself quite deeply."

She didn't say a single thing about Yin Long killing her sister, acting as if he hadn't just strung her up for everyone to see. But thinking about how Xue Qiuling had acted and how she interacted with her sister, he was confident that Xue Shuiye would probably have done things in a rather similar matter if she could get her hands on Xue Qiuling.

The only thing that mattered to them was their own position, the notion of familial ties had never existed in their family, and it was why they were doomed to mediocrity. As for her obvious attempts to get closer to him, Yin Long was already far beyond bothering with them and just gave her the simple truth.

"Xue Shuiye, I already told you both in the past, but seeing that your sister didn't listen and preferred to act on her inane paranoia, I'll repeat myself. I have no interest in positions or your battles for them, I just want to train my sword skills and keep those close to me safe, nothing else. Leave me out of your schemes and competitions, I won't participate. And above all, do not drag in those close to me, this once was already one time too many. And should it happen again, then I can't promise that I won't string up every single person responsible, starting with the lowest mouse and stopping with the highest king."

A stern reminder, or more accurately a bare-faced threat, that was the only response he had to Xue Shuiye's cordial words. Xue Qiuling's actions may have allowed him to see how soft he had gotten, as well as allowing him to see just how deep his feelings for Lan Yun had unknowingly gotten. But allowing him to realize these things was far from enough to excuse her actions, and he would rather not learn about these things if he had to risk losing someone close to him to figure it out.

So he warned Xue Shuiye to just leave him alone, otherwise, it wouldn't be just her that would end up sharing Xue Qiuling's final fate. The light in Xue Shuiye's eyes flickered once, the only sign that a threat to her entire family had just been uttered. She might have much higher cultivation than him, but she still didn't give a comment on his threat, mainly because she didn't know his bottom line.

He showed a bit more strength each time he actually fought, making it impossible to know exactly how high or low his strength was. And to make an enemy of someone whose full strength you didn't know was foolish, especially when you also didn't know that person's personality. She originally thought that Yin Long was a carefree and slightly detached person, closer to being kind than cruel.

Yet here he was, not even batting an eye after stringing 11 people up in the midst of the city so that they could slowly die while being devoured by birds. It didn't look like it had been his first time enacting cruelty, so it only made it harder for her to pinpoint him, leaving her with no choice but to waver slightly when it came to how to handle him.

But once again, Yin Long showed that he really was done dealing with the Xue family. He returned his gaze to the battle taking place on the stage, Jin Wang shifting his position so that he was lying on the ground between Yin Long and Xue Shuiye, snorting coldly once before using his maned head to cover Yin Long.

Xue Shuiye wanted to talk a bit more with Yin Long, but Jin Wang would just interrupt her with a growl whenever she opened her mouth. She was eventually forced to admit that trying to interact with him here was practically impossible, retreating to her own team without a single change in her pleasant expression.

Yin Long turned his head slightly to gaze upon her departing figure, his eyes narrowed softly. A person like Xue Shuiye was much trickier than Xue Qiuling, she was much better at reining in her emotions. This could mean that she would be sensible and not make a move, but it could also mean that she would be able to hide her moves much better.

One example would be if she was in Xue Qiuling's position from earlier, there was no way she would have tossed out the rings and alerted Yin Long to what she had done, making it far harder for him to learn of it and prevent it. She could be better or she could be worse, Yin Long could only hope that she would choose the first option rather than the latter, he would prefer it if he didn't have to act again.

The battle taking place on the stage ended only a few minutes after Xue Shuiye left, another two teams quickly ascending the stage and starting their battle. A new battle would take place each time one ended, the teams forced to stay around the stage at all times so that they didn't risk being absent when their battle started. Some could still easily get some sleep and rest in a situation like this, those who couldn't adapt ending up tired and irritable, far more prone to making mistakes during the battle.

And Lan Yun was swiftly proven correct in her statement that they couldn't stick around until Xue Qiuling and the others bled to death, a process that was likely to take at least three or more days after she woke up. Only two days after Yin Long returned with Lan Yun, the competition here ended, the elders confident that they had seen enough to form proper teams.

And as the teams were announced, no one was too surprised by the line-ups they saw. Each team here was split up into 10 people, one of each cultivation realm in the Immortal Door realm and one extra person, but that wasn't an actual rule in the Three-Fold Territory Clash. After all, it was only 'preferred' if that was possible. As a result, the first three teams consisted of the 30 strongest people, 28 of them being at the 9th Immortal Door. As for the final two, one was at the 1st Earthen Door while the other was at the 2nd Immortal Door.

The Three-Fold Territory Clash didn't have a cultivation limit, only an age limit. Anyone below 100 years of age could take part in it, the age limit becoming a bit more stringent for the final Province Championship. But even with such an age-limit, that seemed somewhat high to Yin Long, only two people had reached the Earthen Door realm, and they were both at the very edge of the age-limit.

Not everyone was like his younger sister, who had been blessed with such transcended talent and such a suitable cultivation manual that she could approach the peak of the Immortal Door realm at the tender age of 20. It would normally take decades of training and struggling, as well as some luck. Xue Shuiye was actually reaching the end of her 70's right now, and that was already considered a good time to reach the peak of the Immortal Door realm.

This was, of course, another reason that Yin Long was quite attractive to Xue Qiuling and Xue Shuiye, as well as Thousand Blades Hall. He was only twenty years old yet had reached the 1st Immortal Door, he might stand a chance of reaching the Earthen Door realm before he turned 50 if he kept going at this rate. And reaching that realm before 50 was entirely different from reaching it when you were 100 or older, it was almost a qualitative difference.

Of course, this was just a hope that they harboured, whether or not he actually managed to accomplish that was an entirely different topic that required a lot of events to line up in his favour. Only time would be able to tell if he had that fortune, or if he could even survive up to that point. But should he manage it then he would certainly become a force to be reckoned with.

The first three teams were just as everyone expected, none of the territories were willing to look bad during the clash so it was common for them to bring out three teams like this. It went against the unspoken agreement, but that didn't matter in the slightest when they considered the profit and honour they could gain from doing it.

Of course, the remaining teams all followed the normal procedure of one person per cultivation realm and one extra person. And with the things Yin Long had displayed, his inclusion in the fourth team was something everyone accepted, there was no way they would find a cultivator at the 1st Immortal Door that could beat him.

Lan Yun received the position for the 3rd Immortal Door in the same team, she cultivated very strong cultivation manual so there weren't many complaints about this. Some wanted to complain when Bai Mu received the spot as the extra member, but a sweeping glance from the head judge silenced everyone, they clearly had their reasons for giving him this spot.

But other than these two, everyone else in Yin Long's team was different. Kuan Xiao had been moved to the second team and Xue Shuiye had been moved to the first team, both had shown that they excelled in their own areas and thus received the honour of being placed amongst the strongest. With everyone quickly shuffling around to find their respective teams, the head judge who came from Territory Lord Bloodgrass' lineage called out in a grand voice.

"I'm sure Territory Lord Bloodgrass has already told you this, but do not disgrace us when you reach Starblood city! Show the people from the Starsong and Winged-Blood Territories that we are the superior territory and that they can only eat our dust! The better you do, the more of them you crush, and the more thoroughly you crush them, the greater the rewards you will receive!"

The people gathered around the stage represented the strongest junior cultivators of the Bloodgrass Territory, many among them would end up becoming the future leaders of their various organizations. If they did well then it would bring pride and glory to their territory and organizations, but any failure would conversely bring dishonour and mockery onto them instead.

The youths understood this and nodded solemnly, lights flickering in their eyes as they started imagining what sorts of rewards they might get. The head judge gave a pleased snort at their solemn manner, gesturing for everyone to mount their carriages so that they could head for the spatial array that would take them to Starblood city.

And once they reached the city, they would only have five days of rest before the Three-Fold Territory Clash actually started, many of them probably losing their lives during the battles. As Yin Long remained seated on Jin Wang, Lan Yun wrapping her arms around his back, his mind couldn't help but drift slightly, a warm smile spreading on his face.

"Little Huo, are you also taking part in your clash? If you do, I look forward to hearing news about you spread out, you'll definitely shock everyone."