The voice broke the tense silence. Leon Wong frowned, secretly thinking, "Who’s bold enough to meddle in my affairs?" The other candidates for the selection looked curiously up the slope. A young woman, about fifteen or sixteen, was approaching. When Leon recognized her, he quickly regained his composure and even smiled, saying, "Oh, it’s just Sister Lana."
As the girl walked past Evan Yang, she glanced at him briefly before stepping forward and sneered, "I wondered who dared use private punishment here. Turns out it’s just an ignorant child from the Wong Clan."
Her words made Leon Wong’s face turn ugly. He hated being called immature more than anything. Ever since he could remember, his clan treated him like a precious jewel, always shielding him from trouble. So whenever he caused problems outside, the Wong Clan would clean up after him, making him even more reckless. As a result, he became the laughingstock of many, often called an ignorant child.
Seeing Leon’s expression, Lana Situ smiled again and said, "What? Are you planning to do something to me? Don’t forget, this isn’t your Wong Clan’s territory!" Her words struck Leon hard once more.
"Sister Lana, the Situ Clan and the Wong Clan have always been friendly. You’d better stay out of today’s business!" Leon Wong, always concerned with his pride, glared as he spoke.
Anyone who knew these two would be shocked, because Leon Wong was the thirty-second generation son of the Wong Clan, pampered by his elders as a little ancestor. Wherever he went, no one dared to speak to him in such a tone—though that’s only relative; there’s always someone stronger. Most avoided provoking the Wong Clan because rumor had it they sheltered a Core Formation expert. In cultivation, Core Formation is the third stage, after Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment. Qi Refining has ten levels, while the later stages each have four: early, middle, late, and peak. The further you progress, the harder it gets. Very few reach Core Formation, so the Wong Clan’s old monster is considered a local "peak."
The other girl was Lana Situ, a member of the Situ Clan. She happened to be coming up from the foot of the mountain today to see what kind of people the Rising Sun Sect was recruiting.
Lana Situ spoke bluntly, "A child is a child—so easily angered. But today, I’m definitely getting involved." As she finished, she glanced at Evan Yang out of the corner of her eye. Under her gaze, Evan felt as if she could see right through him, but he stayed calm and looked back at her. Lana was briefly surprised by his composure, then gave him a reassuring smile.
Seeing Lana Situ and Evan Yang interact like this, Leon Wong couldn’t help shouting, "Lana Situ! I only call you Sister because you’re friends with my brother, and you dare treat me like this today!"
Hearing this, Lana Situ’s smile vanished. Her eyes flashed coldly as she stared at Leon Wong, as if she might strike him down at any moment. Leon Wong trembled under her gaze. Seeing this, his two hirelings hurried forward to shield him from Lana’s aura. Evan Yang, standing nearby, couldn’t help shivering and thought, "Is this the power of immortal cultivation?" A strong desire to cultivate welled up in his heart. Even with Leon Wong’s men blocking him, he could still feel that soul-chilling fear. The crowd had already backed away, not daring to look directly at Lana Situ and the others.