Chapter 956: with translation of chapter title

After Gu Xun'er had comforted Xiao Yan, she then slightly clasped her hands toward Zhao Yuan, with a well‑behaved look, and said, "Earlier it was just the juniors being young and hot‑blooded, playing around; I never expected to disturb the seniors. Here, I, the junior, will first apologize."

Having finished speaking, Gu Xun'er glanced lightly with her peripheral vision at the elder on the left, signaling him to step forward.

As for the elder who had received the order, he immediately tapped his toe in the void, and his figure instantly appeared about ten meters in front of Lin Feng.

"This time we came, our ancient clan bears no ill will; we merely heard that on the Zhongzhou Continent another genius has appeared. Therefore we have come to invite Lin Feng to participate in our ancient clan's coming‑of‑age ceremony held once every twenty years. Incidentally, we also want our juniors to have more contact and exchange with the Zhongzhou genius."

"This way they will learn what 'there is always a higher heaven' means, so they won't stare blankly at the sky all day, arrogant and overconfident, thinking that a little strength lets them do anything. Even more, they will learn not to oppose beings that have existed for who knows how long, colossal entities."

While speaking, the elder gave Lin Feng a look as if pointing at something.

Then he made a grasping motion with his palm, and a black jade tablet appeared out of thin air, hovering more than ten centimeters above his palm.

"After taking out the jade tablet, the elder seemed worried that Lin Feng might refuse, so he quickly said, 'Of course, Lin Feng, you need not worry about time being tight; our ancient clan's coming‑of‑age ceremony will be held next May, giving you almost eight months to prepare. By then we can let the little rascals in our clan see that the Zhongzhou Continent's genius is also not a weak, incompetent wimp.'"

"Of course, our ancient clan will not let Lin Feng make the trip for nothing; when the time comes, we will certainly present him with a great gift."

"Hiss, I never expected that the ancient clan would actually invite Lin Feng to participate in its once‑every‑twenty‑years coming‑of‑age ceremony!"

Upon hearing the elder's words, those around who knew a bit about the ancient clan instantly sucked in a breath of cold air, their faces full of shock.

"But before the elder had even finished speaking, someone snapped, 'You idiot! The ancient clan's arrival this time is clearly hostile; they openly invite Lin Feng to the coming‑of‑age ceremony while belittling their own youth in their words. Yet who doesn't know that the Seven Ancient Clans possess the enviable Dou Emperor bloodline and virtually endless high‑level cultivation resources?'"

"'How could we ordinary people, who lack any advantage in every aspect, possibly defeat those geniuses of the ancient races?'"

Uh

The others hearing this exchanged glances, then said with a tone not entirely sure, 'What you say also makes sense; this time the ancient clan is so highly praising Lin Feng, perhaps they intend to invite him to the coming‑of‑age ceremony and then let their own juniors give him a good beating there.'

Upon hearing that, the person beside him stepped forward, lightly stroking his long beard, and said in a low voice, 'I think so; I've long heard that Xiao Yan and a high‑status woman of the ancient clan have an extraordinary relationship. Judging by her appearance now, she certainly won't let it go. Presumably knowing Lin Feng's identity is not simple either, if they directly summoned ancient clan experts to act, it would easily cause more trouble, so they staged this instead.'

"'After all, if the ancient clan's juniors defeat Lin Feng, they can thereby humiliate him thoroughly, crush his morale, and make him lose confidence. Even more extremely, in the sparring process an accidental 'oops' could kill Lin Feng. Then no one would dare to cause trouble for the ancient clan.'"

While speaking, the elder also cautiously glanced with his peripheral vision at Gu Xun'er above and the two elders.

"'Hiss!'"

Upon hearing the former's speculation, the surrounding crowd all sucked in a breath of cold air.

"'If that's really the case, then this move by the ancient clan is nothing but a blatant scheming plot!'"

"'These people of the ancient clan first invite you with smiling faces to participate in the coming‑of‑age ceremony, then later have their juniors challenge you, directly making you lose so badly you're left speechless, only able to swallow your resentment.'"

"'Furthermore, they do not rule out, as that person said, having the ancient clan's juniors strike a killing blow during the match and directly take out Lin Feng.'"

"'In that case, no matter who it is, it would be hard to say anything more.'"

"'After all, combat techniques are merciless; even when peers spar, it's hard to guarantee that releasing a technique can precisely control its power, defeating the opponent without injuring them.'"

"'I said earlier that when Gu Xun'er saw her brother Xiao Yan injured, she didn't immediately shout and call for me to take revenge; originally, she was playing this trick.'"

Looking at the elder who had produced the jade tablet ahead, Lin Feng sneered in his heart.

Up ahead, the reason Gu Xun'er did not get angry was that she feared he would refuse on the grounds of their rudeness or related excuses.

"'After all, if Gu Xun'er had come straight up to take his life, his refusal of the ancient clan's invitation would have been justified, and no one could find fault.'"

"'But now, their doing this clearly shows they are betting that he won't yield and refuse.'"

"'Presumably, once he later goes to the ancient clan, those people will immediately challenge him, and what follows need not be elaborated.'"

"'In this short span of time, countless thoughts flashed through Lin Feng's mind.'"

Immediately after, he curled the corner of his mouth with a hint of a smile and said, 'This invitation can be put on hold for now, but right now Xiao Yan has abducted my wife without cause and wants to take my life; we can discuss that first.'

"'This Lin Feng really is thick‑skinned and shameless, not a nice person at all!'"

"'Seeing the other's reaction, the elder who had produced the jade tablet immediately turned his expression somewhat gloomy, a flicker of displeasure passing through his heart.'"

"'He, a venerable elder of the ancient clan, personally came forward to hand you the invitation, yet you, you bastard, didn't even take it right away, and now you're negotiating terms.'"

"'Meanwhile, Gu Xun'er in the distance, upon hearing those words, also had her little face instantly sink slightly.'"

"'That attitude clearly shows they are using this matter to threaten them.'"

"'If they cannot come up with suitable terms, then the other side will surely refuse the ancient clan's invitation.'"

"'However, thinking of her brother Xiao Yan, who still needs a great deal of different fires to boost his strength.'"

"'Gu Xun'er gritted her teeth and said in a deep voice, 'Right now Brother Xiao Yan is injured; I need to take him for treatment. These matters are hard to settle quickly, so let's do this: I promise here that when you go to the ancient clan, we will sit down and settle everything clearly. By then, the compensation will certainly not fall short.'"

"'Her words also make it clear that I cannot give you the items now; if you really want them, accept our invitation and go to the ancient clan to get them.'"

Upon hearing that, Lin Feng slightly raised the corner of his mouth and continued, 'This time I have invited many experts to assist; the cost incurred is likewise not small.'

"'We will reimburse it, and it will not be less than your share.'"

"'Gu Xun'er directly agreed to each of those demands.'"

"'Upon hearing that the former had agreed to all his conditions, another half‑saint immediately became somewhat unsettled.'"

"'After all, having the ancient clan bear all of this, the elders' council will certainly not approve this resolution, for after all, our ancient clan is wealthy but not a sucker.'"

"'Thus he hurriedly whispered a reminder: "Miss, the other side has invited so many experts this time; the cost will definitely not be small, elders' council…"'

"'But in response to his reminder, Gu Xun'er directly turned her head and glared at him, displeased, saying, 'I have my own discretion in this matter; don't forget the previous deal between our clan and Brother Xiao Yan. If something happens to him now and he can't reach the Tian Mu tomb, will the things inside Senior Xiao Xuan's tomb be given to us? Are these present items more important, or the remaining resources of the Xiao clan that Senior Xiao Xuan hid away?'"

This

"'Upon hearing Gu Xun'er's words, the ancient clan's half‑saint elder was momentarily at a loss for words.'"

"'Although he wanted to say that our ancient clan has already fulfilled the other side's conditions, we have given the various strange fires, and likewise given the Spirit Dragon Heavenly Herb; these matters are not our responsibility!'"

"'Even so far, Xiao Yan has only signed the agreement, in the name of the Xiao clan chief, handing over the Xiao realm, the Tian Mu quota, and the Xiao clan's original resources to the ancient clan.'"

"'Although these things have given the ancient clan legitimate ownership of the original Xiao clan assets, silencing others.'"

"'But as for other substantive things, the ancient clan has gotten nothing at all!'"

"'However, he thought that if Xiao Yan were slain by Lin Feng, even if the ancient clan went to argue with Xiao Xuan until they were hoarse, they wouldn't get a single feather.'"

"'That ancient clan elder could only resentfully shut his mouth.'"

"'After all, he still knows which is more important: the inheritance of Xiao Xuan, the last clan chief of the Xiao clan and a pseudo‑emperor powerhouse, or these compensations.'"

"'Since Miss Xun'er is so straightforward, I won't delay either. For the ancient clan's coming‑of‑age ceremony next year, I will certainly keep the appointment.'"

"'Having said that, Lin Feng immediately extended his palm and made a grasping motion toward the front.'"

Whoosh!

Following the former's action, the jade tablet in the elder's hand ahead was instantly seized by a suction force, then it streaked across the sky and landed in Lin Feng's hand.

At the moment the invitation entered his hand, he felt a faint cool warmth spreading throughout his body.

Immediately afterward, Lin Feng gazed at the invitation in his hand and saw that its cover was inscribed with many mysterious patterns, giving a rather wondrous feeling.

As he reached out to open it, the text inside came into his view.

The gist of these words was to explain the time and place, the number of companions that could be brought, etc.

Gu Xun'er saw Lin Feng receive the invitation, and under countless gazes, she promised to go to the Ancient Clan next year to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony.

On her lovely face, a hint of joy instantly appeared.

Although the opponent's strength is not bad, she believes that when the time comes she can definitely rely on her clan's younger generation to resolve the trouble that is Lin Feng.

As for the Ancient Clan Half-Saint Elder who handed the invitation to Lin Feng, after the other party received it, he flickered and, with a cold expression, returned to Gu Xun'er's side.

Seeing this, it was obvious that he also felt extremely indignant about Lin Feng extorting their Ancient Clan.

However, regarding the former's reaction, Lin Feng simply chose to ignore it.

After all, he is not a member of the Ancient Clan, so he couldn't be bothered to care about their attitude toward him.

After putting away the invitation, Lin Feng glanced around the battlefield and saw that, under the siege of over a hundred Battle Saints on their side, Xiao Yan's side, which had not fled, now had only eight Battle Saints still surviving.

As for the Battle Saint experts of the Flower Sect and Meteor Pavilion, they had almost completely lost their forces.

Even the Flower Sect's Grand Elder, who had previously been heavily injured by him, had now vanished without a trace.

He must have been killed by someone, whose corpse was then collected, awaiting a reward later.

However, the Flower Sect's Second Elder, having never approached him and possessing great strength, although suffering considerable injury, managed to survive.

However, the Underworld Sect, due to lacking extra kill rewards and the opponent's lack of fighting spirit, later just went through the motions, resulting in relatively few casualties and survivors.

"Seniors, the matter is now settled; let the remaining people leave."

After scanning the field, Lin Feng immediately spoke, mixing his voice with Battle Qi so that it reached everyone's ears.

"Hmph, you're lucky!"

Hearing those words, the Battle Saints resentfully glanced at the "medicinal pills" inside the encirclement, then cleared a path.

After all, there are now far too many Half-Saint powerhouses gathered on both sides.

If the fighting continued, these Battle Saints would likely find themselves in a dilemma.

Therefore, no one proposed to continue fighting.

Those who had fortuitously saved their lives each exerted all their strength, hastily fleeing the place besieged by over a hundred Battle Saints.

"Since the matter is settled, this young lady will await Master Lin Feng's arrival in the Ancient Clan."

After the former released those remaining Battle Saints, Gu Xun'er immediately prepared to take Xiao Yan away.

After all, her purpose has been achieved; staying longer would be meaningless.

Qing Xiao and Yao Chen, seeing that killing Lin Feng was hopeless, also angrily flicked their sleeves, flickered to Xiao Yan's side, and prepared to leave together with him.

However, when Qing Xiao saw that the Flower Sect's original twenty-plus members were now down to just the Second Elder, he became so angry his lungs felt like they would burst.

He almost couldn't help but erupt and directly go kill Lin Feng.

After all, those who came were the Flower Sect's top Battle Saint strength.

Having suffered such massive damage, without several hundred years they could never hope to return to their former level.

"Wait a moment."

Lin Feng, seeing the other party about to leave, immediately spoke up to call them back.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xun'er and the others paused, turned their heads, and frowned slightly as they looked at him.

"Xiao Yan, if you want to take back the Bone Chilling Flame, bring a volume of Heaven-tier Fire-attribute Technique to ransom it."

Then, Lin Feng slowly spoke these words amid the other party's astonished and doubtful gazes.

To be honest, he had originally considered his agreement with the Yao Emperor and planned to simply toss the Bone Chilling Flame to Xiao Yan.

But that fellow is now playing this trick, so he doesn't mind extorting him a bit further.

As for the Bone Chilling Flame that Han Shanshan inhabits, he cannot possibly absorb it.

After all, he doesn't know whether the opponent could still hide in the River of Time, and if he absorbed it, whether Han Shanshan could later emerge to cause trouble.

The uncertainty involved is simply too great.

If, after absorbing the Bone Chilling Flame, Han Shanshan's soul could hide and then suddenly emerge during his fight with an enemy, that would be no fun.

Xiao Yan, hearing this, felt both surprised and doubtful, and muttered to himself: "This guy's cultivation method is clearly the same as my Flame Canon, yet he doesn't absorb the Bone Chilling Flame but wants to exchange it for me. What on earth is he scheming?"

Thinking of Lin Feng's earlier Battle Qi outburst, Xiao Yan was certain that the other party's cultivation method is indeed the Flame Canon.

But this maneuver left him utterly puzzled.

As for Yao Chen beside him, his aged face was likewise filled with doubt.

The other party even erased the soul imprint he left on the Bone Chilling Flame, so why is he now actively exchanging the Strange Fire back?

However, although he doesn't know what the other party is up to, he realizes that as long as he obtains the Strange Fire, relying on his status as the former master of the Bone Chilling Flame, he can quickly uncover any tampering the other party might have made within it.

Thus, he gazed at Lin Feng and said in a deep voice: "We agree to this. But how will we find you later to trade?"

"I will still be building a city in the Central State for a while; since you were able to follow the trail here, you surely won't be unable to find a new place."

Gazing at the astonished Xiao Yan and his disciple, Lin Feng gave a cold chuckle and slowly said.

After finishing his words, he then looked toward the Ancient Clan Elder who had earlier given him the invitation, smiling faintly and said: "You once said a colossal being cannot be offended, but I know that my strength may indeed be like an ant to some powers. Yet, affairs are like a chessboard—ever-changing and unpredictable. In the past, the Spirit-Swallowing Clan overwhelmed all tribes; now, only a few know whether you will not become the next."

"I think you've lost your mind! My Ancient Clan teems with talent; we are certainly not the Spirit-Swallowing Clan, and no matter what you say, this cannot be changed!"

Upon grasping the hidden meaning in his words, the Ancient Clan Half-Saint Elder immediately exploded with rage.

Gu Xun'er, hearing this, slightly furrowed her brows, but then smiled and said: "Since Mr. Lin Feng is so confident, I will eagerly await the outcome."

As soon as her words fell, she called the others to leave this place.

As for the other party's words, she didn't take them to heart at all.