Chapter 1254: Not a Big Deal

“Remove the word ‘dare’. I don’t like your tone when speaking to me. You don’t need to know my identity, nor are you qualified to know it. Go back and deliver a message to your clan’s king for me: I will personally visit them soon.

Only then will it truly become clear whether your ancestors and our team are friends or foes.”

As soon as Xu Yang finished speaking, the Scorpion Clan General before him let out a deeply cold, sinister laugh.

“Do you think this Barren North belongs to you? That you can just meet anyone you wish? You clearly don’t know your place.”

The general never dreamed Xu Yang’s power was so immense, to a degree he couldn't even imagine. As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful force erupted from beneath his feet, sending him flying into the air without warning.

Completely detached from the Scorpion Clan’s formation, isolated from his team, and without the support of his warriors, the Scorpion Clan general could no longer act so arrogantly.

He crashed to the ground in a panic. When he looked up, he found himself at Xu Yang’s feet.

“What did you just say? I didn’t quite catch it. Could you repeat that?” Xu Yang smiled as he gazed at the Scorpion Clan General, little did the general know that the blade in Xu Yang’s hand was already pressed against his forehead.

With just a blink of Xu Yang’s eye, the sword would effortlessly sever the Scorpion Clan general’s head. The general couldn't comprehend what force had propelled him to Xu Yang's feet moments ago.

“I…” The opponent was completely flustered, no longer daring to act as arrogantly as before.

However, his previous actions had already offended Xu Yang. The sword descended without hesitation, its edge incredibly sharp. There was no chance for the opponent to hesitate; in an instant, the Scorpion Clan General’s head was separated from his body.

“This fellow just displeased me, so my anger now extends to the entire Scorpion Clan. You have ten seconds to disappear from my sight, or everyone from the Scorpion Clan who remains in my view will suffer the same fate as this one.”

Xu Yang’s actions were fluid and swift, completed within mere seconds. Most of the Scorpion Clan’s formidable members present hadn’t even fully registered what happened before their leader was already slain. When Xu Yang’s words echoed again, the Scorpion Clan members could no longer remain calm. Without hesitation, they decisively retreated from the battlefield as Xu Yang commanded.

At that moment, a series of over a dozen loud explosions erupted from the Scorpion Clan’s ranks. This was an illusion-like escape technique, utilizing the collapse of surrounding energy to buy them time to withdraw from the battlefield. The Scorpion Clan inherently possessed the natural ability to burrow through sand, making this evasion method highly effective when combined with their natural talent.

In no time, hundreds of Scorpion Clan members vanished without a trace.

Xuan Wu’s clone and others approached Xu Yang, asking, “Didn’t you just say you wanted to explore various options? Does this mean you’ve already decided to help the Serpentmen Clan?” Xu Yang’s smile remained as he slowly opened his other palm, revealing a dark blue crystal floating within it.

“This is the essence crystal I just extracted from the Scorpion Clan General. From it, a trace of his unique spiritual energy fluctuation can be extracted. Following this spiritual rhythm will help you locate the Scorpion Clan’s main encampment. Before their aura completely fades, you few should act immediately. The Scorpion Clan investigation is now your responsibility.”

After Xu Yang gave his instructions, Xuan Wu’s clone instinctively glanced at Qing Long beside him. His meaning was clear: he worried Xu Yang was using this opportunity to deliberately send away the Four Divine Beast Emissaries to conspire with Xiao Hua alone about other plans.

Xiao Hua was incredibly shrewd. Understanding the concerns of the Four Divine Emissaries, she voluntarily offered to join Xuan Wu’s clone and their group, temporarily separating from Xu Yang to pursue the Scorpion Clan’s whereabouts.

“I’ll go with you all. If our sister has no concerns, then I’ll trouble you to stay with Ah Yang.” The masked woman in red, who had not spoken a single word throughout, exchanged glances with Xiao Hua, then nodded gently.

With this arrangement, Xiao Hua immediately led Xuan Wu, Qing Long, and Bai Hu in pursuit of the Scorpion Clan’s escape direction. On the surface, the Scorpion Clan’s strength clearly far exceeded that of the Serpentmen Clan, which was why so many people were sent to deal with them. For the Serpentmen Clan, since Xu Yang was playing the role of a savior, the danger was naturally not as high. Furthermore, Xu Yang’s strength was sufficient to dominate the entire wilderness, so it was enough for him to have just one young woman symbolically following him.

Watching Xiao Hua and the other three Divine Beast Emissaries quickly depart, Xu Yang withdrew his gaze and turned it to the Serpentmen warriors he had just saved. Among the Serpentmen warriors, more than half were women, and they were all polite and well-mannered. Although they still didn't understand Xu Yang's true identity, he was, after all, a benefactor to the Serpentmen Clan.

The Serpentmen warriors gathered around Xu Yang, pressing their palms together and nodding silently, expressing their respect in their clan’s traditional manner. Soon after, the leader among these Serpentmen warriors—the one whose lower serpent body ended in a dark red tail—displayed a special three-colored flame glowing on her forehead. Xu Yang immediately recognized that she was using her spiritual energy to communicate remotely with her clan’s headquarters.

Not wanting to disturb her, Xu Yang waited. After about ten seconds, the beautiful Serpentwoman slowly opened her eyes, the three flames vanishing. She then gently smiled and respectfully pressed her palms together toward Xu Yang.

“Thank you, honorable sir, for saving our lives. The King of our Serpentmen Clan invites you for a meeting.”

Xu Yang had been waiting for just such an opportunity: to meet the leader of any barbarian tribe. Having just done them a favor, it was undoubtedly the perfect progression of events.