"This is discrimination! Why not protect us too?!" Peter shouted with tears in his eyes and a 'wronged' look on his face which pissed Sixth off even more and he shouted back, "When you have thighs like that, come talk to me," he said pointing at Lois's legs which made her mad and embarrassed at the same time.
Meanwhile, a throbbing vein appeared on Hao Xuan's forehead.
"I only came out to here buy a few things and enjoy the day, why do these fuckwads keep crawling out of the woodwork?" he mumbled. Sixth heard him and laughed awkwardly.
"Brother, calm calm. Don't let it get to you," he said coaxingly.
"Sixth brother, I'm getting…hungry," Hao Xuan said while closing his eyes. Soon as sixth heard him, his expression turned deadly serious.
"I've been holding back a lot you know, earlier with those idiots, and then with the peacock royal guard. Why do they think they can keep pushing me around like this?" Hao Xuan mumbled but this time it wasn't directed at anyone and instead sounded like he was talking to himself.
"Aha, whatever. Guess I'll play a little," he smiled and looked at Ning. Sixth's eyes dilated instantly and he turned towards Ning and shouted, "RUN!"
"Eh? Why the hell would I run?" he asked with a frown, but before Sixth could answer, he understood why.
Hao Xuan looked over at him like a wolf looking at a chicken, which sent cold shivers down his spine. "Yeah, why would you run?" he asked before the smile disappeared of his face.
Hao Xuan lifted his foot as black lightning covered his legs and whispered, "Heavenly Blare!"
*BOOOOM*
The entire hallway shook and everyone other than Sixth and the girls that were under his barrier was hurled away like a piece of paper in a storm.
"Dumbass. Should have made a run for it, might have survived," Sixth shook his head. There was a cloud of dust and nothing could be seen clearly, but he knew what happened. There was only one result.
A few seconds later the dust settled and Hao Xuan was seen standing in Ning's place, but there was no sign of Ning himself. Not even a drop of blood. Hao Xuan had his eyes closed and was smiling with his face facing upwards.
"Like a fine wine, the taste really is different," he mumbled and the smile on his face changed to one of contentment, but only for a few seconds.
The girls were left speechless. They were mortals and if not for Sixth's barrier they might've already died from the sheer force of Heavenly Blare, which was even more powerful now with Hao Xuan's 'upgraded' body and physique.
He licked his lips a few times and then opened his eyes. The smile was replaced with a grin as he looked at the guards.
"This will be fun," he mumbled turning around and started walking towards them.
"Ninth brother, please don't ea- Uhm, 'fight' them. It was just a misunderstanding, I'll talk to the elders," he shouted at Hao Xuan's back but his words fell on deaf ears. Hao Xuan was too far gone to give a damn about something like that. Right now, he just wanted to eat.
"Who dares fight in the Den!?" a loud voice echoed throughout the entire building and two figures appeared on either end of the hallway.
On the entrance was the 'Li' Hao Xuan met after coming to the Den with First all those months ago, and on the other side was an old man with a white beard. He looked really kind but the energy that was coming off his body was terrifying.
"What's going on here?" Li asked when he saw the guards, Peter and the boys lying on the ground.
"Fifth Elder!" the guards, Beatrice and Lois bowed at once, not even daring to lift up their heads.
"Explain," Li regained his composure and waved his hand as the pressure vanished and the guards could breathe again.
"Yes. Senior brother Ning called for help when he was attacked by those people over there. We tried to stop them but they attacked us for no reason and I suspect even killed brother Ning," the leader stepped out and explained pointing at Hao Xuan and co.
"Hmm?" the old man with the white beard frowned and looked around but couldn't find Ning anywhere.
"Animal! What have you done with my disciple?!" he shouted at Hao Xuan who was the only one still releasing Qi.
"What disciple?" Hao Xuan didn't mind the harsh words and asked calmly as if it had nothing to do with him.
"You!" the old man released some pressure and everyone other than Sixth and Hao Xuan fell down to their knees.
"Elder! It wasn't their fault, I brought them here to do business but brother Ning started shouting for no reason and then vanished!" Beatrice shouted through the shield that wasn't able to completely block the old man's pressure. The girls were just mortals and couldn't even breathe properly with the little bit of pressure that leaked through Sixth's shield.
"Elder Lu, Please calm down. I will call in the observers and they can find out exactly what happened," Li waved his hand and the pressure vanished, making the crowd let out a breath of relief.
"Harumph," the old man didn't do anything after that and quietly stood where he was.
About 3 minutes later two men covered in black gowns from head-to-toe came in while holding a giant snail's shell with strange markings on it.
They bowed in front of Li and raised the shell up. Li put his hand on it and a screen appeared above the shell. He clicked a few times on it and it started playing the events of a few minutes ago.
It clearly showed Beatrice and Lois leading the group towards the old man's room and knocking and Ning coming out, and everything that happened after.
Elder Lu looked like he had just been forcefully fed some rotten fruits. Hao Xuan on the other hand smiled and looked at him provocatively, trying to get a reaction out of him.
"This young friend, how do you know elder brother Ming?" Li asked after watching the video once again. He clearly heard Hao Xuan ask for Li Ming by name, and unless he had dealt with him before, it was impossible to know that.
"Don't you remember me? It hasn't been that long. I thought cultivators were supposed to have good eyes," Hao Xuan smiled and turned around to meet his gaze. As soon as Li saw his green eyes he got a faint idea who he was and after hearing his voice it was confirmed.
"Brother Hao! You have changed so much since the last time we met. What a nice surprise this is. I see now, my apologies for the misunderstanding this time," Li suddenly smiled like he had met a long lost friend and came forward to give Hao Xuan a hug which shocked everyone including the other Elder, girls, and even Sixth.
"Hahaha, so you do remember. I just came here buy a few cruisers and have some weapons made but some retard started screaming as soon as he saw me. The Den sure has lowered its standards, letting any random dog off the street join its ranks. I'm a bit disappointed," Hao Xuan went with the flow and started spouting BS, trying to make himself look like a valuable customer.
"Ah, that's on me. I apologize. Please, come with me, I'll show you to the VIP areas," he gestured towards the main hall and smiled at him in a friendly manner which surprised even Hao Xuan himself. But just as he had taken his first step, Elder Lu shouted from behind.
"Elder Li! The matter of my disciple has yet to be settled," he said somberly.
Li frowned and coldly replied, "Elder Lu, your disciple attacked a VIP member without being provoked and even lied about it. This matter is not yet finished. Brother Hao is Senior brother Ming's VIP member so he will follow up about this matter with you himself. Please don't worry."
Elder Lu's expression turned sour but there was nothing he could do. He was only a guest elder working for the Den for a commission.
Li led Hao Xuan and the group to the other side of the building. Hao Xuan had been here before but this time he was brought to a much larger room.
As usual, it was surrounded by formations on all sides and glowing letters and numbers could be seen moving around on the walls. There were two large and two small sofas in the room in a rectangular formation.
In the middle was a 6-feet wide screen that looked different than any Hao Xuan had seen before.
"Please, have a rest. I'll call Senior brother Ming.. Refreshments will be served shortly," Li bowed slightly and quickly left, leaving Hao Xuan and the group in the room alone.
