Jiang Yao leaned over and placed a kiss on Luo Xiao's face. He was very pleased and incredibly proud of this young lover of his.
He did not stay for a long time. He had a lot of things to deal with, but he still felt that he had not seen Luo Xiao for long enough, and he wrapped his arms around him once more, dragging him into his embrace.
"Don't get too close to other people," Jiang Yingyue warned Luo Xiao once more, "I know I cannot tell you to have no friends, but be careful with whom you befriend. I don't want you harmed."
Having said this, he cupped Luo Xiao's cheek in his hand and stroked his lips with a finger before he finally placed a slight peck on his lips.
Sighing, Jiang Yao took a final glance at Luo Xiao who was looking at him with trustful and adoring eyes, and he could only smile wryly to himself as he knew how this young man held complete control over him.
Even now, when he had to leave, he could feel complete reluctance, but he understood that there was no choice, and with a sigh, he turned around and left.
Luo Xiao was standing rooted to the ground for a long time afterward. He touched his cheek that had been cupped by Jiang Yao, and he felt a warmth slowly spread in his chest.
Although Jiang Yao's jealousy had been a bit over the top, and also a bit unreasonable, Luo Xiao could not help but smile with sweetness. The jealousy only showed how vital Luo Xiao was to Jiang Yao.
After knowing that Jiang Yao was completely gone, Luo Xiao returned to the house and began cultivating.
The next few days repeated as all the others. He trained and worked, trained, and worked.
No one interrupted him, but he could feel that many were observing him from the shadows, not just the shadow guards but also weaker experts who were not able to hide their gazes.
Some of these were clearly working for Jiang Bai, the ninth demon prince, while others were still unknown.
Luo Xiao did not overthink about it. As long as they did not cause any problems for him, he would not create a situation, however, if they were to start causing trouble, then he was no gentle person and return the trouble tenfold.
Luo Xiao used much of his time in the Essence Tower training the different techniques that Jiang Yao had given him.
The Stalwart Shield Defense was incredibly easy to train, and he could train it at the same time as training another attack. He could use this to form shields all around him in varying shapes and sizes, and as long as the energy supply to the shield was maintained, he would keep being trained.
At the same time, he switched between the Soul Reaping Palm and the Devouring Starry Sky.
A few weeks went by like this, Jiang Yao did not come to find him, and Luo Xiao was too busy focusing on his training to notice it.
One afternoon after leaving the Essence Tower, Luo Xiao suddenly saw that a group of older students was waiting outside the tower in a group, observing everyone who exited, clearly looking for someone specific.
The group consisted of a full seven experts, where all of them were Heaven Ranked experts. Although that was not the highest rank, it was indeed a very high rank, and to reach the Heaven rank, one had to be incredibly talented.
For them to come out in a group of seven, it showed that whomever they were waiting for was of great importance to either them or their master.
Their demeanor was not gentle nor amiable; they looked angry and full of hostility. Were they there for a fight?
The moment Luo Xiao noticed them, they also saw Luo Xiao. At first, he thought nothing of them. He would never have guessed that they were there for him; however, the moment they saw him, they walked towards him.
Luo Xiao was puzzled. He had never seen these seven experts before, so why were they looking at him as if they wanted to tear him up into pieces?
Frowning, he was not too worried. He knew that the two shadow guards that Jiang Yao had left for him would be capable of dealing with seven Heaven Ranked experts, but he was curious as to what their plan was.
Not long after they reached Luo Xiao, a young man was walking at the front of the group. He was their leader, and he displayed an inherited arrogance and haughtiness that made Luo Xiao feel slightly uncomfortable.
The leader did not stop before he was in front of Luo Xiao. "You're nothing special," the man muttered to himself before he dislike in his eyes gushed out.
Luo Xiao heard his words but did not take them to heart. He was not willing to stand out too much just yet as he was still too weak, but he still raised an eyebrow in surprise when he heard the words.
"His Royal Highness Prince Jiang Luo has sent us to invite you to become one of his contracted warriors," the leader said with an awe-inspiring voice, and with a momentum that encompassed his Heavenly rank.
Everyone who stood in front of him would cover in fear, and some might even be forced to their knees, but Luo Xiao was wholly unaffected.
Although Luo Xiao was much weaker than this man who had been sent by the fourth prince, he was used to being by Jiang Yao's side, and he had seen what a true genius was like. This errand boy was nothing when compared to Jiang Yao.
Seeing that Luo Xiao was standing completely unaffected in front of him, his arms crossed in front of his chest and looking at him as if he was a dancing clown, the man felt a rage that he could not explain well up within him.
He was not happy with the task he had been given. Luo Xiao was a mere Sky ranked cultivator, but the fourth prince had placed such heavy emphasis on him. This did not make any sense.
As a Heavenly ranked expert, this man knew that everyone had to find a faction to join. That everyone needed some backing from a prince if they wanted to get their hands on cultivation resources.
Although the princes would fight for the more talented experts, no one would fight for a Sky ranked cultivator.
Although he had talent, he was far too weak. Even if he was a heavenly ranked soul, it was not a guarantee that he would be worth the resources that others put into them, and when he thought about the offer that the fourth prince was giving him, he wanted to kill him personally and take over the many benefits he would be promised.
"Sorry, I am not interested," Luo Xiao answered casually. His mouth was drawn into a sneer, and his eyes filled with ridicule.
Jiang Luo was the man who had created the corpse puppet who was responsible for slaying his home. He was also against his lover. How could he possibly become his contracted warrior?
Hearing him declining this simply, everyone was stunned and filled with wonder. Everyone knew that amongst the many factions, most wanted to join the seventh and the fourth prince's factions the most.
The reason someone wanted to join the seventh was because he was the strongest. Experts revered the strong and wished to side with him.
Those who were more eager to achieve glory and riches would instead join the fourth demon prince. Although he was not as strong as Jiang Yao, he had the biggest ambition within all the princes, and he was also the one who was doing most to become the new emperor.
Because of this, it was infrequent for the fourth and seventh demon prince to actively seek out people, and those they sought out were all peerless geniuses that no one could bear to let go.
But now the fourth demon prince had tried to recruit Luo Xiao. Everyone knew he was a Heavenly Soul, so although he was highly ranked, it was far from being a peerless genius.
So what did this young man have that Jiang Luo could want? No one knew, no one understood it, but everyone was watching with bated breath, curious about what exactly was going on.
"You dare decline?!" The man was filled with hatred, but when he erupted in anger, there was slight happiness in his voice. He did not want this young man to pledge his allegiance to the fourth prince.
"I declined," Luo Xiao said decisively and nodded his head. "I understand that His Royal Highness Jiang Luo wishes the best for me. However, I am unable to join his ranks. I have already pledged my allegiance to someone else, and can, as a result, not go back on my word."
Hearing this all were taken by surprise. This man that the fourth demon prince wanted to recruit had already joined a faction? Someone this young and lowly ranked had already entered a faction? Which faction had been silly enough to let him in, or did he still have some secrets on his body that'd let others take an interest in him?
Luo Xiao sneered in his heart when he saw the joy in the man's eyes, but he did not care and walked past him, yet the moment he took a step, the leader reached out his arm and grabbed Luo Xiao's wrist, pulling him back.
"Who gave you the audacity to leave when I am talking with you?!" he growled. He felt that although it was a good thing that Luo Xiao did not want to join the fourth prince, he had lost his face, and so had his brothers and the fourth prince. Hence he had to beat him up in revenge.
Luo Xiao grimaced when he felt the pain in his arm from being pulled at by a Heavenly ranked cultivator, and he frowned, "let go," he said with an ice-cold voice.
"Why would I?" The man snickered, feeling amazing now that he could beat this young man.
"Release me, or I will not take responsibility for what might happen," Luo Xiao said seriously, but his words made the group of Heavenly ranked cultivators laugh out loud.
"You can threaten us?" the man guffawed, "You are, but a high Sky ranked soul cultivator, what can you do to us?"
Just as a cold gleam flashed in Luo Xiao's eyes, a sudden black beam appeared from a tree close by.
The beam was so fast that no one could see it clearly; they just saw a shadow that flashed by.
Suddenly a blood-curdling scream erupted on the ground, and the man who had held onto Luo Xiao looked in horror at his arm, or more correctly, the remainder of his arm.
The hand that had grasped Luo Xiao was now laying on the ground, blood pouring out from the clean-cut, and the other hand was gripping the arm stump.
Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air and looked at Luo Xiao with horror. Who was he to be protected by someone so strong? Who was he to have even caught the attention of the fourth demon prince and even dare to decline?
No one had answers to this question, but Luo Xiao was looking at the man with cold eyes. "I warned you," he said gravely. "Do not touch me; I do not like to be touched."
After saying this, he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave, completely ignoring the others that were looking at him.
It was not before he arrived home that his face turned pale and he started trembling. He was still not doing good when he saw blood, but at least he did not vomit this time.
Sitting down, he looked at his wrist and saw the fingerprints from the time the man had gripped him. It was clear that it had already bruised from his tight hold.
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