The reason why Ling Xiao wanted to recruit Liu Xu was because his combat strength was still abnormally strong. His value was still very high, and his future was relatively broad.
Unlike the group of old men he had recruited before, even if he used medicinal pills to help them become stronger, their advancement would be very slow, and their future achievements would ultimately be limited.
Beside him, Xuan Yao, Ye Yunfeng, Solitary Eagle, Li Kuanghu, Leng She, Poison Scorpion, and the Eight Generals were still young, and they still needed more time to grow.
Each of them had a strong Tenbin, but compared to Liu Xu in front of them, there was still a lot of difference.
Moreover, Ling Xiao liked the feeling of those so-called geniuses submitting to his feet. For people like Liu Xu who were naturally unwilling to submit to others, Ling Xiao wanted to trample him under his feet.
After defeating Liu Xu, the Flowing Sun Sect surrendered to the Proud Smiling Palace, and Cruel Leopard, Yang Xianfeng, and Ye Yunfeng each successfully conquered several forces.
Now, the Proud Smiling Palace controlled five fifth grade forces and eleven sixth grade forces, occupying a total of more than three hundred and fifty cities.
The territory of this force seemed very large, but it was only equivalent to the scope of a fourth grade force. Compared to the territory occupied by the eighteen forces, it was far from enough.
Ling Xiao brought Liu Xu, Liu Qun, and Guan Chang back to the Proud Smiling Palace.
Liu Xu's Dantian and meridians were sealed, and his injuries were not completely healed. There were still many bruises on his face, and his eyes were full of unwillingness.
However, Ling Xiao turned a blind eye to all of this. He had already told Liu Xu that as long as he did not submit, then he would be a cripple.
Liu Xu needed to think about this carefully.
Liu Xu naturally did not want to be like this for the rest of his life. He was indeed unwilling to submit to Ling Xiao like this, but he also thought of a way out. He would pretend to submit for a while, and then after a while, he would pretend to submit. In the future, when he became stronger, he must wash away the shame of this defeat.
However, when Ling Xiao brought Liu Xu back, Xuan Yao's expression changed when he saw Liu Xu, and immediately asked Ling Xiao, "Young Master, this is?"
Ling Xiao replied, "The son of the Flowing Sun Sect's Sect Leader, Liu Xu, a future general that I brought back!"
Liu Xu turned his head away unhappily and thought to himself, "I'll let you be cocky for now. One day, you'll be crying!"
Xuan Yao immediately said very seriously, "Young Master, this person cannot be left alive. He must be killed immediately!"
Xuan Yao's tone was unprecedentedly firm, causing Ling Xiao and Liu Xu to jump in fright.
Ling Xiao was surprised that Xuan Yao was so hostile towards Liu Xu, while Liu Xu was afraid that Ling Xiao would really listen to the words of this person in front of him. If that happened, he would die in vain!
"Why do you say that?" Ling Xiao asked.
He knew that under normal circumstances, Xuan Yao would not speak carelessly. Since he said this, then he must have his reasons.
"This person has a dignified appearance and has a bit of awe-inspiring righteousness. He should have been a righteous and benevolent hero, but the awl in the back of his head destroyed his fate, turning him into a naturally rebellious person. No matter who takes him in, he will eventually betray his master, raising a tiger will only invite calamity. So Young Master, this person cannot be left alive!" Xuan Yao was not afraid of offending Liu Xu and directly said to Ling Xiao in front of him.
Xuan Yao, as the son of the heavens, knew the fate of the heavens, and understood the principles of fate. He was very proficient in divination, feng shui, formations, and people he knew.
He could tell at a glance that Liu Xu was an ambitious person who was unwilling to submit to others. He was the kind of person who was born to be a traitor.
Therefore, he asked Ling Xiao to immediately kill Liu Xu to prevent future troubles!
After hearing Xuan Yao's words, Ling Xiao's gaze fell on Liu Xu.
To be honest, he had always believed Xuan Yao's words, but judging Liu Xu to be a disloyal person based on his appearance made him feel a bit rash.
It was not easy to find a good helper with a good future, but to kill him just like that really made Ling Xiao feel a bit conflicted.
Liu Xu was immediately very guilty after hearing Xuan Yao's words, but the strange look in his eyes only flashed for a moment. He immediately pretended to be righteous and said, "If you have the ability, then kill me now!"
"Hmph, drag him out and kill him!" Xuan Yao ignored the presence of Ling Xiao and coldly gave the order.
With his perception of people, he would definitely not be wrong about the person in front of him.
However, Ling Xiao waved his hand and said, "Forget it, fraud. In front of me, he can't do anything. Keep him alive, I still have a use for him!"
"Young Master, could it be that you don't believe my words?" Xuan Yao said anxiously.
Ling Xiao said, "You think too much, I have my own ideas on this matter!"
Xuan Yao saw that Ling Xiao was firm, so he lightly shook his head and said nothing more.
However, Liu Xu secretly looked at Xuan Yao and firmly remembered Xuan Yao's appearance. In his heart, he secretly said, "If there is a chance in the future, I will kill you first!"
Ling Xiao indeed had some love for talent, but after hearing Xuan Yao's words, he couldn't help but be on guard against Liu Xu.
However, he still didn't use a high-level spirit curse on Liu Xu, which led to a big mistake in the future.
…
The opening ceremony was getting closer and closer, and the entire Laughing Sect was busy from top to bottom.
More than ten main peaks were decorated with lanterns, and it was a scene of jubilation.
Now that there was a lack of manpower, Ling Xiao had already asked Xuan Yao to transfer a large number of people from Wind Cloud City to be responsible for this opening ceremony.
Ling Xiao's goal was to make it grand and grand, so that other forces would know the power of the Laughing Sect.
While the others were working, Ling Xiao was carefully studying the Nine Sun Burning Heaven Art's incantation written by Liu Xu.
Two days ago, Liu Xu had already chosen to submit to Ling Xiao, and was willing to take the position of an inner court elder of the Laughing Sect.
He did this, of course, to numb Ling Xiao's attention. He was afraid that if the military advisor really wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have the strength to resist.
However, in order to dispel Ling Xiao's wariness towards him, he took the initiative to write the Nine Sun Burning Heaven Art for Ling Xiao.
He felt that even if others learned the Nine Sun Burning Heaven Art, they might not be able to understand the essence of it like he did. After all, he had the final inheritance, so he had a deep understanding of the Nine Sun Burning Heaven Art.
He wasn't stupid enough to change the mental cultivation method. If he did, it would arouse Ling Xiao's suspicion, and he wouldn't be far from death.
What he needed to do now was to endure. He had to increase his strength in the shortest time possible. He absolutely had to increase his strength by one rank before Ling Xiao became an Emperor. At that time, he would be invincible within the Emperor rank, and killing Ling Xiao would be as easy as turning his hand.
Ling Xiao, of course, had no way of knowing Liu Xu's various ambitions. He felt that with his ability, it wouldn't be a problem to suppress Liu Xu forever, so he didn't care too much about it.
In the next few days, Ling Xiao had roughly comprehended the Nine Sun Burning Heaven Art, and he had also comprehended seventy to eighty percent of its essence.
He didn't have time to cultivate for the time being. There were only a few days left before the opening ceremony, so he had to go out and greet the guests.
…
The first guest that Ling Xiao needed to greet was from the Maple Forest Valley's alchemy family, the Gu Family.
More than four years ago, Ling Xiao represented the Gu Family to participate in the Dan Alliance Competition, and thus became allies with the Gu Family. Furthermore, Gu Jiaojiao had already married Ye Yunfeng, and could be considered as Ye Yunfeng's maiden family, and Ye Yunfeng was his little brother. With these relationships, the Gu Family and Ling Xiao could be considered as loyal allies.
As the ancestor of the Gu Family, Gu Qin personally led the team and presented many high level Spirit Grass, which could be considered as congratulating the establishment of the Xiao Ao Palace.
"Congratulations, Brother Ling. I never thought that after not seeing you for a few years, you would already be a Palace Master. You truly make us old men blush with shame." After Gu Qin saw Ling Xiao, he said to Ling Xiao very enthusiastically and politely.
Thinking back to more than four years ago, not only did Ling Xiao help their Gu Family maintain their position in the top ten of the Dan Alliance, he had also helped their position improve by a lot, allowing their Gu Family to profit a lot in recent years. Gu Qin was extremely grateful to Ling Xiao from the bottom of his heart.
He didn't dare to treat Ling Xiao as a junior. With Ling Xiao's current fame, calling Ling Xiao "Brother Ling" was already considered to be him.
"Brother Gu, you're too polite. It's good that you came, why did you bring so many things?" Ling Xiao said politely.
"Haha, it's just a small gift. It's all thanks to Brother Ling's help that my Gu Family is able to have today."
Gu Qin laughed, then changed the topic: "Oh right, I heard that Brother Wu Fu has also come to seek refuge with you, why don't I see him?"
Before Ling Xiao could say anything, Wu Fu's voice came from outside the hall, "Brother Gu, how have you been?"
Gu Qin stood up to welcome him. Looking at Wu Fu, who was in high spirits, he already knew that Wu Fu's realm had increased by a level. He smiled and said, "Brother Wu has already become an emperor, this is truly a cause for celebration!"
Wu Fu bowed to Ling Xiao, who was sitting at the top, and said to Gu Qin, "All of this is thanks to Young Master. Otherwise, Wu Fu would not be here today."
Back then, Wu Fu was already a half-step Emperor, and it was quite difficult for him to rely on himself to break through to the Emperor Stage. After all, a lot of his cultivation had been raised by pills, and his foundation was not solid. Fortunately, with Ling Xiao's top-grade Emperor Xuan Dan, he was able to become an emperor in one fell swoop.
After Gu Qin and Wu Fu greeted each other, Ye Yunfeng also brought Gu Jiaojiao to greet Gu Qin and the rest of the Gu Family.
After Ling Xiao had set up a banquet for Gu Qin and the others, Wu Fu brought Gu Qin around the Proud Smiling Palace.
Gu Qin looked at the majestic palaces built on the peaks and sensed the auras that made him feel fearful. He was extremely shocked in his heart.
"Brother Wu, according to what you said, you are now the Pavilion Master of the Medicine Sect Pavilion in the Proud Smiling Palace?" Gu Qin asked Wu Fu.
Wu Fu revealed a happy expression and said, "That's right, this is all because of Young Master's love for me."
He was not happy because he had taken on a heavy responsibility, but because he had been accepted as an in-name disciple by Han Kai.
With the guidance of an Alchemist Saint, he might have a chance to reach that step in the future.
"I didn't expect Brother Ling to grow so quickly. It seems that our Gu Family has become a bit complacent," Gu Qin said with a sigh. He then asked tentatively, "Say, if our Gu Family is willing to become a subsidiary of the Proud Smiling Palace, would Brother Ling agree?"
When Wu Fu heard this, he paused for a moment before replying, "That is naturally good. Young Master will definitely agree. If Brother Gu is willing to do this, I believe that your Gu Family will definitely prosper in the future!"