"I observed their patrol arrangements—there weren't many flaws, and I also tested them... you know about this, which also proves one point: their organization is very tight with few defensive loopholes," Xiaoyao said.

"This can't prove..." Luo Juntao seemed to want to continue discussing.

"Actually, this doesn't need to prove anything. You'll know the results soon. Tomorrow, see whether these Flowing Stone Kingdom family forces can return, and you'll understand," Xiaoyao didn't want to continue this topic with him. Time would prove everything.

"Let me ask you—if they suffer heavy losses this time, what would you do?" Xiaoyao suddenly asked.

"I'd feel sad."

"I'd be happy!"

Two completely different answers—one from Luo Baochai, who felt sad for her companions, while Luo Juntao and others felt they could mock them back.

"Those are emotions. I'm asking what actions you'd take?" Xiaoyao asked.

...

...

"I'd go comfort my sisters!"

"I'd go mock them..."

"Luo Baochai is on the right path. You should go comfort people and help them," Xiaoyao said seriously. This made Third Master feel strange too—why would Xiaoyao say this? According to this logic, he should be teaching these juniors to know that at this time they should seize the other party's power and preferably swallow them up.

This was what he was preparing to do, and he believed Luo Yunqing would do the same!

"Why?" Everyone was puzzled except Luo Baochai.

"As friends, of course you should comfort others and help them," Xiaoyao still looked sacred, as if teaching people how to be human.

"Xiaoyao, did staying inside make you stupid? Why are you saying such foolish things?" Third Master asked strangely.

"Third Master, you don't understand—friendship is priceless. Don't destroy friendship for temporary benefits," Xiaoyao said, looking down on Third Master slightly.

"What people need most is help in times of need, not icing on the cake," Xiaoyao said with a smile.

"??" Everyone looked at Xiaoyao, seeming increasingly unable to understand what kind of person he was. He seemed very righteous, but also not quite right.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I said friendship is priceless. With true friendship, however much you give isn't a problem, and if it's not true friendship, giving won't make you lose out..." Xiaoyao said with a smile.

"...I think I understand," Luo Juntao frowned, seeming to figure it out somewhat.

"Me too..."

"What what?" Luo Baochai was still confused, but she quite liked Xiaoyao's saying that friendship was priceless and that with true friendship, giving however much wasn't a problem.

"Luo Junjie would understand this very well. You should learn more from him," Xiaoyao said with a smile and shake of his head.

"..."

After Xiaoyao returned, he peacefully took a bath, then went upstairs to cultivate. Although Lingling had many questions when she saw Xiaoyao appear, she didn't disturb him and cultivated on the side.

Until the next day, when both awakened from cultivation...

"Morning, Lingling," Xiaoyao greeted with a smile.

"Morning your head. Tell me, what was the situation with your spring outing? How did you cause such a big commotion?" Lingling gave Xiaoyao a look and asked with apparent concern.

"How would I know? I was just a victim in this matter," Xiaoyao waved his hand. "Fortunately, they didn't really care about us people."

"You were lucky this time. This group of people also has problems—making such a big deal over nothing," Lingling said.

"They're not afraid of making big deals. Perhaps for them there's not much difference. Forget it, this has nothing to do with us. Try to avoid getting involved with these people," Xiaoyao shook his head and went to wash his face and brush his teeth.

"Right, these people can't be provoked..." Lingling also followed Xiaoyao in.

"Hey hey, don't treat this place like your own home, okay? Your courtyard is on the other side. Don't always compete with me for things," Xiaoyao said helplessly. This Lingling had always treated this place as her own courtyard, washing up here and competing with Xiaoyao for things.

"It's all the same—what's the difference?" Lingling said nonchalantly.

Xiaoyao was too lazy to lecture Lingling further. After washing his face, he went out for breakfast. As usual, everyone was there, and Lingyu and others also asked about Xiaoyao's situation—whether he was scared, injured, etc.

After answering these questions, Xiaoyao asked Third Master: "Did those people come back yesterday?"

"They came back, but lost quite a few people, especially some old fellows. They're really pitiful," Third Master replied with a smile. Fortunately he hadn't gotten involved—he hadn't expected another group of experts to appear afterward.

Later, five more Saint Level martial artists appeared—seven Saint Level martial artists total. This kind of force could even destroy Flowing Stone Kingdom if the Luo family wasn't involved.

After Third Master retreated, there were actually still several Saint Level martial artists there—almost all Saint Level martial artists from Flowing Stone Kingdom except the Luo family's. Originally, they could have easily taken down Bai Da, but after Bai Da came Bai Qi, then Bai Wu, Bai Liu, etc. Flowing Stone Kingdom's Saint Level fighters fell, with only one left nearly dead.

Not only did Saint Level fighters fall, but a large number of Emperor Level martial artists also perished. This made the forces that participated in the siege cry to heaven and earth—if they had known this result, they definitely wouldn't have continued.

For the Luo family, this was naturally good news. Although the Luo family's position here was already transcendent, there were always people causing trouble. While it was harmless, it was always somewhat annoying.

"Seven Saint Level martial artists—what are they trying to do? They could have just come and robbed directly. Who would dare resist... but doing it this way seems most straightforward too," Xiaoyao was also somewhat surprised. Although he thought the other party would have backup, he never imagined so many Saint Level fighters would appear—one or two more would already be a lot.

"Yes, this group is very frightening. Fortunately they weren't targeting us, or we'd die miserably. Even though the Luo family has some foundation now, it's not enough," Third Master frowned.

The Luo family could now contend with any major force—even the Xuanwu family might not be able to compete—but the problem was this group's background should hide even more power. That was absolutely strong force, top-tier strength on the continent.

The ten major orthodox sects might be able to contend, but this group probably wasn't orthodox—perhaps heterodox or even demonic.

Heterodox and orthodox had many sects, but the demonic path had only one sect. While heterodox sects were at most excluded by orthodox ones and not destroyed, the demonic path was different—if they appeared, they would definitely be besieged by orthodox sects, and demonic practitioners would immediately kill orthodox practitioners they encountered.

The demonic path sect was called the Demon Sect, but this was just a general term—there were some sub-sects within, very similar to the Demon Cult of the Divine Martial Continent. The definitions seemed similar too, but some demonic practitioners here were more cruel, killing at will and sometimes massacring innocents.

The Demon Sect here was much worse than the Demon Cult, which was why orthodox sects worked harder to besiege it. Being associated with Demon Sect people basically meant being bad and subject to condemnation and siege.

This line was quite clear in this world, unlike the blurred situation on Divine Martial Continent—after all, Divine Martial Continent's Demon Cult was just a misunderstanding.

Of course, this only referred to part of the Demon Sect. Most Demon Sect members cultivated very quietly, but some Demon Sect techniques were very evil, harming others' interests and even lives—this was the main reason the Demon Sect was targeted.

If it was the Demon Sect, then this matter was completely a small incident—the Demon Sect definitely had this strength. But the Demon Sect's way of doing things was definitely not like this—they would directly attack. This seemed more like heterodox methods. Heterodox practitioners always acted strangely—not following orthodox ways but also not as cruel as the demonic path.

Among heterodox sects, several matched this strength—all the strongest heterodox sects. The number one heterodox sect was quite connected to Xiaoyao, named the Carefree Sect. The Carefree Sect had three God Level existences, enough to make them one of the strongest sects, even surpassing the top orthodox sects.

Heterodox practitioners were actually people who disliked being constrained. Such people couldn't stand orthodox rules or demonic cruelty, so could only choose heterodox sects. Such people often didn't pursue fame and fortune and were most likely to reach martial arts' highest realm.

Therefore, purely in terms of martial force, the heterodox path should be strongest. It's just that heterodox organization was insufficient and they didn't like managing things, so their power and influence were far inferior to orthodox sects.

Plus, although orthodox martial force was inferior to heterodox, the difference wasn't too great. Becoming orthodox could also bring honor to one's ancestors, naturally making it most popular.

Back to the point—was this heterodox doing? This couldn't be confirmed either. Xiaoyao could only confirm one thing.

"Now the other families' losses are all very severe," Xiaoyao asked.

"Yes, except for the Luo family, basically all are severely damaged. They might even be devoured by some originally smaller families," Third Master said.

"The Luo family only wants a stable environment in Flowing Stone Kingdom. I think the family head should help stabilize this situation," Xiaoyao said.

"We won't bother with them. Our position can't be shaken even if they all unite. We'll just watch the show and let them fight like dogs," Third Master shook his head. This wasn't just his own idea—family head Luo Yunqing also didn't plan to deal with this situation.

(End of Chapter)