"Pan Jiao, when did you arrive? I've been monitoring this place the whole time and haven't seen anyone enter or exit," Yang Xiu said with some confusion. She was certain she was the first group to arrive here, and no one else had entered just now. How had the other party appeared here?

"I've been here for a long time. When they arrived, I was already here," Pan Jiao said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Yang Xiu asked in confusion. Already here for a long time?

"It's not just you who calculated they would be here—we figured it out too. We also calculated several places they might defend and sent people to infiltrate them in advance, looking for opportunities to strike," Pan Jiao continued with a smile.

"..." Yang Xiu fell silent. Why hadn't she thought of this? She had only thought of coming afterward, but one could infiltrate and make arrangements in advance.

"So you're saying the item is already in your hands?"

This sentence should have come from Yang Xiu, but it wasn't spoken by her. The voice seemed to come from the sky, and when everyone reacted, several more people descended from above.

"Zhao Boxuan?" Both Yang Xiu and Pan Jiao exclaimed in surprise. Clearly, this person's appearance greatly shocked them.

This seemed to be yet another group. What exactly was this item that so many people were competing for it, and all of them were extraordinary?

Although Xiaoyao didn't know what forces Pan Jiao and the newly arrived Zhao Boxuan belonged to, their strength already explained everything—they were not simple.

People who could reach Saint Level were naturally not simple. Although Pan Jiao wasn't as strong as Yang Xiu, she wasn't much weaker. Plus, given her younger age, her future achievements would definitely surpass Yang Xiu's. Any force capable of cultivating such a person was definitely not a simple one.

The newly arrived Zhao Boxuan was even more impressive—he was stronger than Yang Xiu.

Speaking of people above Saint Level, they were inherently very rare. Xiaoyao might not feel this way because the people he encountered were all at the top of the pyramid, so having more Saint Level people was quite normal.

Having more of them didn't mean these people could be underestimated. Xiaoyao knew all these people were extraordinary. At least when he saw them, he would avoid confrontation and wouldn't provoke them unnecessarily.

Moreover, regardless of what level people were at, the younger they were, the greater their potential, and the more they needed to be avoided. The same applied to Saint Level, and among the people present, even though Yang Xiu was the oldest, being able to enter Saint Level at her age was very, very rare—she was an exceptional genius who might even reach God Level in the future.

One could imagine how powerful the forces these people possessed were. Among Yang Xiu's six people, two others were also at Saint Level, which further demonstrated the Yang family's strength. The Pan family and this Zhao family, knowing Yang Xiu's background yet still facing her so casually and opposing her, also indicated they had power to contend with hers.

This was much stronger than the Luo family. Even if the Luo family was hiding some strength, they still couldn't compare to these three families. These three families should be among the super families, similar to the Xuanwu and Zhuque families.

Xiaoyao's guess was generally correct, but Zhao Boxuan wasn't from any Zhao family—he came from a sect. However, this sect wasn't weak either; it was one of the ten great sects.

The Yang and Pan families were mortal enemies, with this feud lasting over a hundred years. Originally, the two families just had disagreements that couldn't be called a feud, but later someone from the Yang family accidentally killed the Pan family's young master, and the grudge began to form. Afterward, the Pan family schemed to frame the Yang family, and the two families had large-scale conflicts.

Since then, this enmity had continued for over a hundred years, and now both sides still harbored hatred for each other. This kind of resentment would probably continue indefinitely.

People were like this—hatred would persist, but gratitude was easily forgotten. Ingratitude might be a human instinct.

"That's right, it's me. Although I'm not as clever as you, I know one principle: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind," Zhao Boxuan said, gesturing to the people beside him to surround Pan Jiao.

The current situation was clear—the item should be in Pan Jiao's possession. He just needed to deal with Pan Jiao to achieve his goal.

"..."

At this moment, Li Yihun realized how ridiculous his so-called wisdom was. Watching others make arrangements one after another, even if there wasn't much wisdom involved, they went straight to the core.

The most ironic should be Zhao Boxuan—his arrangement was simply to watch others, but currently, he was the most advantageous party.

Sometimes methods didn't need much wisdom or complexity. The simplest and most conventional approach might be the most effective.

"Yang Xiu, you're a pig! How could you let people know your arrangements?" Pan Jiao immediately shouted, though she didn't seem very nervous.

"How is it my fault? It was clearly yourself!" Yang Xiu said angrily.

"He obviously saw you preparing the Flying Wings, so he prepared accordingly. Otherwise, how would he have prepared these?" Pan Jiao immediately pointed out a key question.

"This..." Yang Xiu was momentarily speechless. Perhaps other matters could be deflected, but these Flying Wings seemed to be something only she had prepared. Zhao Boxuan should have prepared following her lead.

"Save your quarreling for later. Pan Jiao, hand over what you have," Zhao Boxuan said coldly.

"What do I have? Do you think I have anything?" Pan Jiao said with a smile, shrugging her shoulders casually.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Boxuan was a bit confused. Was she lying? Or was she lying?

"I don't have anything on me. If I did, would I appear in front of Yang Xiu? She alone could take me down, let alone with her helpers," Pan Jiao continued smiling, looking at Zhao Boxuan and Yang Xiu as if they were idiots, her mocking expression quite obvious.

Thinking about it carefully, this seemed right. Pan Jiao's strength was much inferior to Yang Xiu's. If she had obtained the item now, she would definitely leave quietly or never appear, not show up so openly in front of Yang Xiu while mocking her.

"You mean you also haven't found that item?" Yang Xiu said. "Then why did you just say you succeeded? You couldn't be deliberately confusing us while the item is already in your hands?"

Yang Xiu was very suspicious, and Zhao Boxuan shared this suspicion. They couldn't just abandon their doubts based on Pan Jiao's words alone. Even if the possibility was small, it was still possible—maybe Pan Jiao was just being mysterious.

"I searched through their things, but it seems we don't have what we're looking for. Either we've been deceived, or they've hidden it very well," Pan Jiao said. Whether this statement was true or false was unclear, but Zhao Boxuan and the others would definitely monitor Pan Jiao and not let her leave before obtaining the item.

"Hand over everything you took, without any omissions," Zhao Boxuan said. He now had the strength to speak like this, not only because he was the strongest here, but also because his subordinates were very strong. Overall, his team was the strongest.

Soon, Li Yihun and his group handed over everything, and while some items were carried on their persons, after they produced everything, Zhao Boxuan and the others didn't find what they wanted.

"Is everything here?" Zhao Boxuan asked. Among this pile of items before him, what he wanted wasn't visible on the surface. Could it be hidden inside? Or had these people not handed over everything?

"Yes, everything's here. See for yourselves what you want," Li Yihun nodded.

"Check these items—perhaps the thing is hidden inside," Zhao Boxuan said after looking at Li Yihun for a while, having people examine everything thoroughly, cutting things open when necessary.

But after careful examination, they still didn't find what they were looking for, which made them look suspiciously at Li Yihun's group and Pan Jiao.

At this time, Pan Jiao had already sat down in Xiaoyao's pavilion and was mooching food there...

Examining those items required time, and if Pan Jiao left, she would definitely attract Zhao Boxuan's attention, so she walked toward Xiaoyao's side.

"May I sit down?" At that time, Pan Jiao came to Xiaoyao's side and asked with a smile.

"Please sit."

"No way!"

The first sentence was spoken by Xiaoyao, while the latter was naturally from Hei Xue. Xiaoyao didn't mind having one more person sit here—this was, after all, a public place, not his property.

Hei Xue's reason for refusal was simple: she didn't like others coming to disturb them, especially another woman.

"Hehe..." Pan Jiao ignored Hei Xue's refusal and sat down. She didn't know this would make Hei Xue very unhappy and that she had offended this female demon head.

Although Hei Xue wouldn't kill people or destroy families, she would definitely retaliate and create some trouble for her.

"I've been watching you two for a while. You know Li Yihun, but it's just a coincidence—at least that's how it appears on the surface," Pan Jiao said with a smile. She had been hidden before, and when Xiaoyao arrived, she was already there, so she naturally knew what had happened.

"You don't need to suspect anything. We're just passing through—don't waste time on us," Xiaoyao said casually. Whether the other party believed this or not, he didn't care. If she wanted to investigate, let her investigate.

"I'm not suspicious, just a bit curious. Your identity doesn't seem to be that of a scholar," Pan Jiao said.

"Of course I am—I read books every day," Xiaoyao said, taking out a book from his book basket to prove his point. "Books are good things. In books there are houses of gold, in books there are beauties like jade..."

(End of Chapter)