Yu Huayan was a pseudo-God. Nobody present could react to her sudden movement. Before Yu Caidie knew it, she was already captured.

"Release her!" Xiang Shaoyun's face turned gloomy when he saw that Yu Caidie had been captured.

"Don't worry. I won't harm her. At the very least, she will be safe until this is over," replied Yu Huayan. "After leaving the Saintforce Realm, if you can defeat Di Mie, I will help facilitate your marriage with Caidie. If you lose the fight, everything will be over for you. Even Caidie will land in Di Mie's hands."

Yu Caidie wanted to say something, but she had been sealed by Yu Huayan and couldn't even make a noise.

After some hesitation, Xiang Shaoyun said, "I hope you can keep your words. Otherwise, I won't mind paying your Yu Clan a visit."

He then left after looking at Yu Caidie one last time. He was confident he could take Yu Caidie with him if he wanted, but this wasn't the time. After entering the Saintforce Realm, his cultivation would definitely rise rapidly. At that time, he would have even more confidence in dealing with the Yu Clan. In any case, he was sure he could win against Di Mie no matter how strong Di Mie became.

"Kid, after ruining the marriage between our clan and the Di Clan, do you think you can leave just like that?" said Yu Youcheng. Unwilling to spare Xiang Shaoyun so easily, he decided to attack.

Xiang Clan's Saint naturally wouldn't allow Yu Youcheng to prevail. Not only did he block the incoming attack, he even counterattacked.

"Fight me!" challenged the Xiang Clan's Saint.

"You think I'm afraid of you?" replied Yu Youcheng as he flew into the sky with the Xiang Clan's Saint.

Xiang Shaoyun ignored the fight and continued leaving. He was confident that the Xiang Clan's Saint would be fine.

"Little ancestor, I think we should let the clan send the marriage proposal on your behalf. That might be a better idea," suggested Xiang Chenxi cautiously.

"This is my private affair. The clan does not need to be concerned with it. In any case, the clan is still not strong enough to face the Yu Clan," said Xiang Shaoyun as he waved his hand. He then tossed the saintforce token toward Xiang Chenxi and said, "Take this. Your strength might not be much, but entering the Saintforce Realm will allow you to grow rapidly."

Xiang Chenxi was stunned.

"Little ancestor, th-this is too valuable for me!" said Xiang Chenxi.

Everyone knew how valuable a saintforce token was, yet Xiang Shaoyun had so nonchalantly tossed one to him. He couldn't even believe what he was seeing. Nobody would be so generous.

"Just take it. Grow as fast as you can. The clan needs more strength. Otherwise, the clan won't be able to face the potential enemies we might face upon leaving seclusion," said Xiang Shaoyun with a heavy tone.

With the Celestial Alliance and the Di Clan appearing one after another, Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling that the world would not remain peaceful for long. Sure, the Xiang Clan wasn't weak, but it wasn't strong enough either. Xiang Chenxi stopped hesitating and kept away the saintforce token. Inwardly, he was filled with gratitude toward Xiang Shaoyun.

Originally, Xiang Shaoyun wanted to give the token to someone closer to him. But after thinking it through, he decided to give it to Xiang Chenxi instead. With this contribution, he hoped to erase some of the guilt he had toward the clan.

...

At the Di Clan's encampment, Di Mie wore a gloomy expression as he said, "Uncle Ning, why did you stop me from killing that kid immediately? With his strength, killing him is as easy as a walk in the park."

Di Ganning clasped his hands on his back and asked, "Between short-term satisfaction and long-term benefits, which is more important?"

Di Mie answered, "Long-term benefits are naturally more important. But I don't think he's even worthy of being my rival."

"It's good to be confident, but I can clearly sense a strength that can't be underestimated in that kid's body. He wouldn't have been able to surpass you in the ranking otherwise," said Di Ganning.

Di Chuan also chimed in, "That's right. I saw his fight with Xue Buyi. That kid has a lot of secrets."

"Do I really need to wait until the Saintforce Realm closes before I can kill him? I need to obtain the phoenix physique," said Di Mie.

"Of course. Therefore, it's best we don't give that kid the chance to survive until the Saintforce Realm's opening," said Di Ganning with a sharp glint in his eyes.

"I'll go deal with him," Di Chuan offered.

"No. It's better to let those assassins deal with something like this. What's the point of doing it ourselves?" said Di Ganning. "We can put the marriage with the Yu Clan on hold for now. After the prince leaves the Saintforce Realm and enters the Heaven Battling Realm, the time to complete the marriage will arrive. After 100,000 years of seclusion, our Di Clan will finally emerge again."

"The great emperor of our clan has awakened. Nobody can stop us," said Di Mie.

"The Western Desert used to belong to us. Now that we are leaving seclusion, it is necessary to join hands with the Yu Clan. However, they aren't pushovers either. They have remained low-profiled for so many years not because they are gathering strength but because they are too shrewd. They will forever not stand at the front lines of any conflict. Therefore, they are definitely planning to have us be the vanguard even though we're going to share what we conquer with them. They can keep dreaming about that," said Di Ganning.

"What does the clan plan to do for now?" asked Di Mie.

"The clan intends for you to become the brightest cultivator among your peers. With your name, we will recruit more talented young cultivators and form a youth army. You can then take the throne. With the clan's support, you will become the number one emperor of the Western Desert after hundreds of years. For now, your focus should be on entering the Heaven Battling Realm, not wasting time bickering with that kid. Only by becoming a Saint will you have a chance to step into the Rebirth Realm," said Di Ganning solemnly.

"That's right. Prince, your noble self bears an important mission. Do not disappoint the clan. You can't afford to make even one mistake moving forth," said Di Chuan.

Di Mie nodded. "I will live up to the clan's expectations."

"Good. In the coming year, you don't have to stay in the Devil Domain. I'll take you somewhere and further strengthen your foundation so you can break through more easily after entering the Saintforce Realm. If you can break through while still in there, you can even take some time consolidating your cultivation and grow even more," said Di Ganning.

Di Chuan asked, "What should we do about the Yu Clan?"

"They will solve this issue themselves. I believe they won't miss this chance of allying with us," said Di Ganning confidently.