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**
North Desolate City of the Chu Yun Empire was the destination for Xiao Lin and his group.
This was also the largest city in the northern part of the Chu Yun Empire!
At this moment, Xiao Lin's group had arrived at this location, which served as the hosting venue for this session of the Four Great Empires' Sect Grand Meeting.
"Sigh~, it seems that for this Sect Competition, we really can't count on Hai Bodong anymore."
Looking at the gates of North Desolate City not far away, Yun Shan couldn't help but let out a sigh. Their group had already reached the destination, yet there was still no sign of Hai Bodong.
The last shred of hope they held for him had completely vanished.
"We are short one Dou Huang expert for the competition. Sect Master Yun Shan, the pressure will likely fall entirely on your shoulders."
As he spoke, Fa Ma cast a glance toward Yun Shan, who was at the very front of the team.
In response, Yun Shan merely nodded silently. As the leading figure for the Jia Ma Empire in this Sect Grand Meeting, the pressure he carried due to Hai Bodong's inability to participate was imaginable.
Within the crowd, Xiao Lin simply looked at Yun Shan.
It was unclear what he was thinking, but he did not speak. Soon, the group arrived at the city gates of North Desolate City. However, just as they reached the gates, they were blocked by the defending soldiers.
Seeing this situation, Yun Shan did not panic in the slightest.
"We are the participants from the Jia Ma Empire for this Sect Grand Meeting. What? Is this how your Chu Yun Empire treats its guests?"
Yun Shan's gaze bypassed the soldiers and landed on a middle-aged man standing further back.
As Yun Shan's gaze swept over, the middle-aged man finally looked up composedly, scanned Xiao Lin and the others, and then slowly walked over step by step.
"Oh my~, I was wondering who it was. So it is Sect Master Yun Shan of the Yun Lan Sect. What a distinguished guest!"
Upon approaching, this middle-aged man actually focused solely on flattering Yun Shan, acting as if he completely failed to see Xiao Lin and the rest.
This sinister intention was obvious to anyone with clear eyes.
It was nothing more than an attempt to drive a wedge between the Yun Lan Sect and the other people of the Jia Ma Empire.
Xiao Lin and the others hadn't expected that before even entering North Desolate City, they would be greeted with a show of authority from the Chu Yun Empire!
Furthermore, the words of this middle-aged man from the Chu Yun Empire were incredibly fake.
One must know that under normal circumstances, the moment their group from the Jia Ma Empire entered the borders of the Chu Yun Empire, the other party should have known.
How could they wait until they reached North Desolate City to put on such a performance?
It could be said that this was purely meant to be disgusting.
However, considering the relationship between the Chu Yun Empire and the Jia Ma Empire, plus the fact that both major wars ten-odd years ago ended in the Chu Yun Empire's defeat.
It seemed reasonable for the other party to find the people of the Jia Ma Empire unpleasant to look at.
"Xia Che, is there any point in playing such a trick? Or is it that your Chu Yun Empire's Imperial Family all share your same virtue? Also, where is your Old Ancestor? He hasn't died of old age yet, has he?"
Since the other party had given him a show of authority, Yun Shan naturally wouldn't be polite and shot back directly.
This middle-aged man named Xia Che was precisely a member of the Chu Yun Empire's Imperial Family, and furthermore, he was a Dou Huang!
As for the Old Ancestor Yun Shan mentioned, he was the other Dou Huang of the Chu Yun Empire's Imperial Family—Xia Yuan Gui.
Yes, the Chu Yun Empire's Imperial Family possessed two Dou Huang experts.
Xia Che wasn't angry after being retorted by Yun Shan; he merely spread his hands casually.
"The Old Ancestor is doing very well. He even wants to have another battle with you, Sect Master Yun Shan!"
It wasn't hard to hear from Xia Che's words that Yun Shan had previously exchanged blows with that Old Ancestor of the Chu Yun Empire.
As for the outcome, that remained unknown.
"Humph, I'll be waiting! Now then, can we go in?"
With a cold snort, Yun Shan asked indifferently.
"Naturally. Everyone, welcome to my Chu Yun Empire!"
At this time, Xia Che suddenly opened his arms and made a "please" gesture toward the group.
Yun Shan wasn't polite either, leading Xiao Lin and the others directly into North Desolate City. Through that brief encounter just now, Xiao Lin could see that this Xia Che was a typical smiling tiger!
Don't be fooled by the constant smile on his face; if he were to stab you in the back, he certainly wouldn't be polite about it!
After entering North Desolate City, Xiao Lin did not show any signs of abnormality, simply following the main force of the Jia Ma Empire to the center of North Desolate City.
At this location, the people of the Chu Yun Empire had already set up a massive martial arts arena.
Clearly, this was the site for the upcoming Sect Grand Meeting.
Under the arrangements of the Chu Yun Empire, Xiao Lin and the others from the Jia Ma Empire were positioned in the southern area of the arena.
Meanwhile, in the western and northern areas of the arena, groups of people were already present. Because they had waited for Hai Bodong, the Jia Ma Empire group was the last to arrive.
The group to the west was from the Luo Yan Empire, the same ones who had previously fought with the Jia Ma Empire over the secret realm.
As for the northern side of the arena, it was naturally the people of the Mulan Empire, whom Xiao Lin and the others had not yet encountered. As the hosts, the people of the Chu Yun Empire occupied the eastern area of the arena!
Currently, these four major areas could be described as being clearly demarcated.
At this moment, the people of the Four Great Empires were all waiting.
If one were to ask what they were waiting for?
It was naturally for the referees!
One must understand, why did the Four Great Empires hold this Sect Grand Meeting with such mutual understanding?
Wasn't it precisely to divide resources?
Direct warfare between empires could easily result in heavy casualties.
Therefore, this kind of martial arts competition was the best way to allocate resources. However, this also made it easy for certain empires to refuse to acknowledge the outcome after losing!
To prevent this from happening, authoritative referees were naturally needed to judge the victories and losses of each party.
In the entire Northwestern Region, the most authoritative referees could either be found from the Jia Nan Academy or the Sky Serpent Empire.
Jia Nan Academy rarely involved itself in such matters.
So every time the Four Great Empires held a Sect Grand Meeting, they sought referees—or one could say, notaries—from the Sky Serpent Empire to judge the outcomes between their four empires!
Speaking of which, it was very clear.
What the people of the Four Great Empires were waiting for at this moment were naturally the notaries from the Sky Serpent Empire!
The wait did not last long.
After approximately half an hour, the people of the Four Great Empires raised their heads one after another, gazing into the distance. At this time, in the northern sky, two figures were rapidly flying toward this location.
"Swish," "Swish."
In the blink of an eye, these two figures had already landed right in the center of the arena.
These were two Dou Huang experts!
Among them, Xiao Lin, who had previously visited the Sky Serpent Empire, immediately recognized from the clothing of these two Dou Huang that they belonged to the Sky Serpent Mansion.
Thinking about it, it made sense; the Imperial Family of the Sky Serpent Empire had already been reduced to puppets of the Sky Serpent Mansion, so the people who came were naturally members of the Sky Serpent Mansion!
**
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