Unsurprisingly, the old lady's face turned unsightly when she heard Xiang Shaoyun's words. The high priest was a Great Saint. Even their Dragon Monarch had conceded. What else could she say? But since this was still extremely humiliating, she looked at the Dragon Monarch and waited for his decision.

"Just pay it. It's not much anyway. In the future, everyone will mind their own business," said the Dragon Monarch.

With that, the old lady and Jin Junyi grudgingly paid 20 million high-grade spirit crystals before leaving with the Dragon Society people.

But Xiang Shaoyun called out to them yet again, "No rush. I need to talk to you about something."

"Don't go overboard!" warned the Dragon Monarch in a displeased manner.

"No, you misunderstand me. I only wish to discuss something. I have an old friend among your people. I hope to have a chat with him. Don't worry, we're not enemies, so I won't make things hard for him," said Xiang Shaoyun honestly.

"Who?" asked the Dragon Monarch.

Xiang Shaoyun pointed at a certain young man and said, "Chen Zilong."

The young man stepped out with a helpless smile and said, "Long time no see, Xiang Shaoyun. I never imagined that you were actually the Ziling Sect's young sect master. I have truly been rude in the past."

When the Dragon Monarch looked at Chen Zilong and saw that it was only an Emperor, he stopped caring. He ordered everyone else to leave, abandoning Chen Zilong. The others were now looking at Chen Zilong differently, as though they were now filled with distrust.

As Chen Zilong looked at his departing fellow disciples, his emotions turned complicated. In recent years, he had cultivated hard after joining the Dragon Society. He had won the favor of the society elders and had even been accepted as the last disciple of a certain elder.

However, the crown princes of the Dragon Society were greatly prejudiced against him. Even when he subsequently became a crown prince himself, he still lived a hard life in the Dragon Society due to his lack of connections.

He might look impressive being a crown prince and all, but he alone knew the bitterness of his life. With Xiang Shaoyun publicly admitting that they knew each other, he was placed in a hard position. The Dragon Society would only start suspecting that he was a spy.

In truth, Xiang Shaoyun wasn't really trying to scheme or anything. He just wanted to have a nice chat with Chen Zilong since it had been a while since they last met. Only when he noticed Chen Zilong's discomfort did he realize just what he had done. But since it had happened, he could only go along with whatever was to happen next.

"Chen Zilong, why don't you come be a guest at my Ziling Sect?" offered Xiang Shaoyun.

After all these years, Chen Zilong was now a second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. Reaching such a level at his age signified that his talent compared to the geniuses in the four academies.

He had merely been unlucky to miss out on entering one of the four academies. Back when the two had met, Chen Zilong was still in the Skysoar Realm. To reach the Dragon Ascension Realm in seven years, his advancement speed was extremely admirable.

"What else can I do? Let's go," said Chen Zilong. He knew that he couldn't do anything to change the Dragon Society's opinion of him, so he agreed. He had also wanted to have a nice chat with Xiang Shaoyun.

Xiang Shaoyun nodded. He then asked Old Urchin to help monitor the Dragon Society's retreat in case they tried to play any tricks. Old Urchin was very cooperative and hurriedly went after them.

As for the others, they were all sent back to the sect. Some were tasked to announce at Ziling City that they had successfully fought off the Dragon Society's invasion. As a result, the morale within Ziling City and the Ziling Sect surged.

After several tribulations, the Ziling Sect finally gained a relatively stable foothold. Fighting off the Dragon Society had probably earned them a period of peaceful growth.

The entire Ziling City started celebrating and hailing the dawn of peace, something incredibly rare. This dawn of peace signified that the city would enter a new stage of growth.

Xiang Shaoyun returned to the sect with the high priest, Chen Zilong, and the others. A feast was held to welcome the high priest and Chen Zilong. Additionally, the sect's victory over the Dragon Society was celebrated.

After the feast ended, Xiang Shaoyun personally arranged the angels' accommodation. He then had Chen Zilong's accommodation prepared as well. Between the high priest and Chen Zilong, he naturally needed to place more emphasis on the high priest. He also needed to properly talk with the angels about their previous plan.

The high priest was basically the angels' guardian. With him coming personally, one could see just how high his opinion of Xiang Shaoyun was.

Xiang Shaoyun and the high priest went to an uninhabited mountain ridge. There, they stood facing the night view and the gentle breeze, standing erect like pine trees.

"High priest, thank you for coming in time. I can't imagine what would have happened without you," said Xiang Shaoyun gratefully.

The high priest replied, "I would have arrived even sooner. However, I could only leave without worry after I finished handling my race's affairs. After you left the Dragon Phoenix Academy, I severed our relationship with the academy."

His words only served to increase the pressure on Xiang Shaoyun's shoulders. Originally, the angels and the Dragon Phoenix Academy had a relationship of mutual assistance. Now that the angels had severed the relationship, it could only show how much importance the high priest attached to Xiang Shaoyun.

"High priest, is this worth it?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.

"I wondered the same, but after seeing you, I think it's definitely worth it," said the high priest firmly.

Xiang Shaoyun had taken such a short time to reach his current cultivation level. His advancement speed was astonishing. After 100 years, just how strong would he be?

Looking at the high priest's expectant eyes, Xiang Shaoyun said solemnly, "I will not disappoint your expectations, high priest. You will not regret your choice!"

He realized that he was shouldering the burden of guarding not only the Ziling Sect but also the angels. His responsibilities had only grown heavier.

However, if he was being truthful, he did not mind taking on all responsibility. Regardless of whether he was doing it to return the kindness they had shown him or to obtain help to fulfill his goals, he would be more than willing to protect those who had shown him kindness.

"Um. It's good that you know it. None of us know the future," said the high priest. "Pudi told me about the teleportation formation you proposed. It's a decent idea, but it won't be easy. Our two places are too far from each other."

"What should we do to make it happen?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

The high priest replied sternly, "Only a Saint Realm formation grandmaster can lay out a teleportation formation. Additionally, the grandmaster requires the assistance of several Saints. We don't lack Saints, but a Saint Realm formation grandmaster is hard to find. Also, we need a large amount of materials. This can only be a long-term plan. For now, it will be hard for us to meet all the requirements."