The sect closest to Ling Xiao's area was the Dragon Sea Pavilion, which was ranked 19th in the northwest.
They were also the first to know that a Flood Dragon had appeared on the river.
The dragon's roar had already reached the Dragon Sea Pavilion, and many of the sect's elders had sensed its terrifying aura.
A dozen or so Kings and above appeared not far from Ling Xiao.
Among them, there were three Earth Emperors and thirteen Kings. This was practically the Dragon Sea Pavilion's strongest force.
None of the Dragon Sea Pavilion's experts dared to get too close, and their gazes fell on the blue Flood Dragon that was swimming in the river.
"It really is a Flood Dragon … it's already grown six claws! It's a Rank 6 Flood Dragon!" a white-robed middle-aged man exclaimed in shock.
He was the pavilion master of the Dragon Sea Pavilion, Long Haitian, and he was a mid-stage King.
Behind him was a white-haired old man. His eyes shone brightly as he spoke, "I didn't expect the legends to be true. There's actually a Class 6 Flood Dragon suppressed here, and from the looks of it, I'm afraid it's about to become a Class 7 Flood Dragon."
Another short-haired old man frowned, "This Flood Dragon has been at the bottom of the river for many years, and it's harmed countless lives. Now that it's free, I'm afraid it'll do harm everywhere."
"It'd be best if it could harm those bastards from the Great River Sect first," another black-robed old man said with narrowed eyes.
These three old men were the strongest elders of the Dragon Sea Pavilion, and they were two mid-stage Earth Emperors and one low-stage Earth Emperor.
"Now that it's appeared in my Pavilion River Region, I'm afraid it'll harm our sect first. What should we do?" Long Haitian sighed.
"Don't worry, I'm sure the Dong Family will get the news soon. The Dong Family's ancestor will definitely be interested in this Flood Dragon," the white-haired old man said.
"Hey, there's a young King over there. How dare he?" Long Haitian was surprised, and then he called out to Ling Xiao, "Young man, come over here! That's a Rank 6 Flood Dragon, and it'll go berserk and eat you at any moment."
Ling Xiao turned to look at Long Haitian and nodded slightly. "Thank you for telling me. I'm fine here."
"Youngster, don't overestimate yourself. Subduing a flood dragon also depends on strength," shouted the short-haired elder behind Long Haitian.
He was at the Earth Sovereign Realm, but even he didn't dare to get too close to the Flood Dragon. That young man was only at the Low King Realm, and it seemed like he wanted to subdue the Flood Dragon. This made him feel that this young man was undoubtedly throwing his life away.
Ling Xiao smiled and didn't say anything.
Following that, another dozen or so wind-breaking sounds came from several directions.
These tens of people were all powerful independent cultivators or mercenary kings living in the border between the Northwest and the Southern Wasteland. As soon as they heard the news, they immediately rushed over here.
"It really is a flood dragon. Did it really break out from the bottom of the river?"
"It definitely did. Why else would it appear here? I heard that a Level 7 flood dragon appeared in the Barbarian Desolation Region before. That one already had seven claws, but this one only has six. It's obviously a Level 6 flood dragon."
"Even if it's only Level 6, all of us combined wouldn't be a match for it. Perhaps only the Dong family's ancestor or the three sects' supreme elders would be able to contend against it."
"The Dragon Sea Pavilion is in trouble. With this flood dragon here, I'm afraid it'll turn the world upside down."
… …
These independent cultivators and mercenaries were all a thousand meters away, and no one dared to approach.
At the same time, they also noticed Ling Xiao's presence, and they all revealed looks of ridicule. They all thought to themselves, "He dares to get so close to a flood dragon? This kid is really retarded."
After that, more and more people gathered, and the surface of the river became extremely lively.
Ling Xiao looked at the hundred or so King Realm experts around him and thought to himself, "This is great. I can't keep a low profile even if I wanted to."
Just as Ling Xiao was about to open his mouth and summon the blue flood dragon, a dozen or so powerful auras shot over.
A mocking laugh rang out, "Haha, Long Haitian, your Dragon Sea Pavilion is really fated with dragons. This flood dragon actually appeared on your side. You're really lucky."
When the people from the Dragon Sea Pavilion saw the newcomers, their expressions all turned ashen.
The newcomers were from their mortal enemy, the Great River Sect.
The Great River Sect and the Dragon Sea Pavilion were originally in charge of the upper and lower reaches of the Dragonwave River.
Originally, the two sects had been living in harmony, each defending their own river region.
However, in the past few decades, the Great River Sect's new sect master had become quite domineering. He actually wanted to expand into the Dragon Sea Pavilion's river region, suppressing and annexing the Dragon Sea Pavilion.
The Great River Sect wanted to become the true overlord of the Dragonwave River and advance to become a Rank 8 sect.
The Dragon Sea Pavilion's strength was not much different from the Great River Sect's, so they naturally responded to the Great River Sect's provocation.
The relationship between the two sects grew more and more intense until they were now mortal enemies.
The laughing middle-aged man was the Great River Sect's sect master, Jiang Wusheng. He was already a high-level King, and behind him were the Great River Sect's elders and four elders from the previous generation.
"Jiang Wusheng, don't celebrate too early. Even if our Dragon Sea Pavilion is fated with dragons, it's a good one. It's just that when it comes to your Great River Sect, I don't know if it's a good one or a bad one," Long Haitian replied indifferently.
"Haha, we'll have to wait for it to reach us before we know. In a bit, I'll watch as it turns your Dragon Sea Pavilion upside down. Let's see if your so-called good karma can really protect your Dragon Sea Pavilion." Jiang Wusheng laughed.
Long Haitian's face was ashen, and he didn't reply.
He didn't have any confidence in the Flood Dragon. Although it seemed to be having fun in the water, who knew if it would turn into a savage beast and start slaughtering the Dragon Sea Pavilion's people?
At this time, the elder from the previous generation behind Long Haitian said to the wandering cultivators and mercenaries, "Everyone, why don't we join forces and kill this Flood Dragon first? Otherwise, it'll definitely bring disaster to the commoners of the two regions. At that time, it won't just be our Dragon Sea Pavilion that suffers!"
The wandering cultivators and mercenaries didn't dare to respond. Although there were close to a hundred of them, none of them had reached the Earth Emperor realm. Asking them to join forces and kill the Flood Dragon was like throwing an egg against a rock. They were basically sending themselves to their deaths.
"Long He's right. Let's join forces and kill this Flood Dragon first for the sake of the commoners of the two regions." A middle-aged man flew over from the distance at an astonishing speed.
When he stood still, a tyrannical aura spread out, and waves of divine light flashed around him.
"It's … it's the Emperor of Mercenaries, Lord Nangong!"
"It's actually him! No wonder he dares to call the Dragon Sea Pavilion's previous elder by name!"
"Lord Nangong's strength is extraordinary, but compared to this Flood Dragon, he's still quite lacking!"
"You don't know this, but Lord Nangong has a high-grade spirit weapon. If he works with the people from the Dragon Sea Pavilion, he might really be able to kill this Flood Dragon."
… …
Nangong Lie was the Emperor of Mercenaries in the Southern Wasteland. His achievements could be described as legendary.
It was said that Nangong Lie was a direct descendant of the Nangong Family, one of the four great families in the Southern Wasteland. He became a Xuan Practitioner at the age of thirteen, a Xuan Practitioner at the age of sixteen, a Spirit Master at the age of twenty-two, and a King at the age of thirty.
He was a rare genius of the Nangong Family.
Due to his outstanding performance in Tenbin, he was seen as the successor of the Nangong Family's Patriarch.
However, Nangong Lie wasn't the eldest son of the family. Above him was his older brother, Nangong Qi.
Originally, the two brothers had a very good relationship, but because Nangong Lie was too outstanding, he threatened Nangong Qi's position.
This also caused Nangong Qi to be dissatisfied with Nangong Lie. He wanted to get rid of him and take back the position of Patriarch that belonged to him.
When Nangong Lie found out that his brother, Nangong Qi, was secretly working with some of the elders of the family to deal with him, he resolutely announced that he would not take over the position of Patriarch and was willing to leave the Nangong Family.
He did this completely for his big brother, Nangong Qi. At the same time, he also wanted to walk his own path.
Nangong Lie's decision shook the entire Southern Wasteland.
Only now did Nangong Qi know that Nangong Lie had no intention of taking the position of Patriarch. He felt extremely ashamed.
Thus, before Nangong Lie left, he knelt in front of his brother to repent, hoping that Nangong Lie would stay.
However, Nangong Lie supported his brother up in fear and explained, "Although I, Nangong Lie, have left the Nangong Family, I am still your little brother. If there is a day that I need little brother's help, little brother will definitely do it without any hesitation."
After Nangong Lie left the Nangong Family, he created a mercenary group called "Raging Flame".
The Raging Flame Mercenary Group only had five people when it was first formed, but under Nangong Lie's leadership, it continued to grow.
Ten years after its formation, the Raging Flame Mercenary Group had become a terrifying mercenary group with over two thousand members. Their leader, Nangong Lie, was even more famous as the King of Mercenaries.
Due to the Raging Flame Mercenary Group's strength, the number one mercenary group in the Southern Wasteland, Cyan Fox, was jealous. They were afraid that the Raging Flame Mercenary Group would one day surpass them, so they wanted to eliminate the Raging Flame Mercenary Group.
At that time, the leader of the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group was already a powerful low-level Earth Emperor, and his subordinates were even more capable.
At that time, Nangong Lie was only a mid-level King, and the strength of his subordinates couldn't compare to the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group.
Everyone thought that the Raging Flame Mercenary Group would be eliminated by the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group.
At that time, Nangong Lie's big brother, Nangong Qi, had already made preparations to send the elders of the family to protect Nangong Lie.
However, that battle had exceeded everyone's expectations.
Nangong Lie had single-handedly eliminated the leader and five vice leaders of the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group, shocking everyone in the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group.
After that battle, the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group began to disband, and the Raging Flame Mercenary Group rose to the position of the number one mercenary group in the Southern Wasteland.
Nangong Lie's name shocked both the Southern Wasteland and the Northwestern Wasteland.
It was rumored that Nangong Lie had obtained a Venerable Rank inheritance in the Barbarian Region in his early years, and that he possessed a high-grade spiritual weapon and a high-grade mystical skill. He had relied on this to eliminate the leaders of the Cyan Fox Mercenary Group and become famous in a single battle!
Nangong Lie was only a little over a hundred years old, but he was already a peak Earth Emperor. This showed that the rumors were definitely true.
If he hadn't obtained a Venerable Rank inheritance, how could he have advanced so quickly?
Nangong Lie had only recently arrived in Nantian City. He hadn't expected to hear a dragon's roar today, and his subordinates had reported that a Flood Dragon had appeared here. That was why he had rushed over.
He had suggested killing the Flood Dragon partly for the sake of the civilians on both sides of the river, but a bigger reason was to obtain the many treasures that the Flood Dragon possessed.
With Nangong Lie's arrival, finally arrived in Nantian City.
The three elders of the Wei Family and the two elders of the Cai Family had come together.