After he sent Cheng Gaoji there, and his fifth clone was with them, Zhang Fei immediately went to the Hong Clan to meet Hong Xinxin and the others. "Show me the weapon design." Duan Zhao took it out and handed it to Cheng Gaoji, who immediately looked at the details seriously. "For a blacksmith from the middle realms, I must admit that your design is quite interesting. However, this design is still too ordinary and lacks efficiency, and you can improve it in some areas." "Please tell me, Senior." "Let’s talk inside, and I will teach you to perfect it. Once the design is perfect, the effect of this weapon will increase significantly." Duan Zhao happily led Cheng Gaoji into his residence, where they had a serious discussion. Gang Zhishou then asked Zhang Fei [5]. "Where did you meet that senior?" "Cheng Gaoji comes from the Xianjin Realm, which is the most advanced realm in our universe." Gang Zhishou and the other three were surprised by Zhang Fei [5]’s answer. "Honestly, I have never been to that realm because its location is at the edge of the upper realms, and I have only heard about it from some of my wives and acquaintances, so I cannot explain to you guys in detail about it. If all of you are curious about that realm, you should focus on your cultivation, and you can go there when your cultivation reaches the Divine Manifestation Realm or above." Gang Zhishou and the other three let out heavy sighs because their cultivation was still at the Divine Transcend Realm and the Divine Expansion Realm, and they had already experienced heavy obstacles to breaking through to the next stage, which made them feel that the Divine Manifestation Realm or above was still far from their reach. "Why are you guys so pessimistic?" Zhang Fei [5] shook his head in response. "Nothing in this life is easy, okay? Some people have advantages and can cultivate quickly, and others need hard work to achieve their best. I do have many advantages compared to all of you, but that doesn’t necessarily make me instantly great, and I still have to work hard to improve myself. By the way, which floor have you guys reached in the Star Tower?" "Ah Hu and I have reached the third floor, but we failed there." Lu Zhong replied while pointing to one of his friends. Xian Xian also answered him. "I’ve reached the second floor, but I failed the last challenge." "Does that mean you failed the first floor, Old Gang?" Gang Zhishou responded to Zhang Fei [5] with a bitter smile. "I failed five times in the natural challenge because I always had the bad luck to meet different elements." "I see." Zhang Fei [5] nodded in understanding. "In four months, I will bring all my closest people to the Star Tower, and I want the four of you to join us to challenge it once again." "Eh?" The four people were surprised by that. Zhang Fei [5] directly told them. "I am confident that I can break through to the Heaven Realm in four months, and I will challenge the second floor of the Star Tower after that. I already know more or less the challenges on the second floor, and my old party would have had a difficult time facing them with our previous numbers. Thus, we need more party members to challenge them, and you guys are the most ideal to join us." "Four months, right? I don’t think that’s a problem, so I’ll join you." Ah Hu was the first to decide. Lu Zhong thought for a moment before agreeing. "All right, I’m in." "Since those two are coming with you, I’ll join in too." Xian Xian then asked Gang Zhishou. "What about you? Have you given up on challenging the Star Tower?" "To be honest, I’m tired of dealing with those challenges." With a deep sigh, Gang Zhishou responded. "However, I realize that I will reach a dead end if I give up, and I will never be able to improve further, so I will join you guys." Xian Xian and the others smiled with joy at Gang Zhishou’s decision. After all, they’ve known each other for decades, and they’re like family, so they don’t want him to give up. Zhang Fei [5] then distributed several bottles of pills to the four of them, which were the Core Refining Pill, the True Dantian Pill, the Yin Purifying Pill, the Yang Purifying Pill, and several other pills. "Since you guys have swallowed my basic pills, you can use these pills. Two of them will increase your core and dantian strength, and the others will increase the Yin and Yang Qi in your bodies, which will accelerate your cultivation speed." After obtaining those pills, the four of them hurriedly entered their master’s residence to swallow them, making Zhang Fei [5] smile in amusement at their antics. Since he had learned the correct way to forge earth-grade equipment, Zhang Fei [5] immediately entered the training space, where he began forging. . . . In the Shang Clan, Shang Huaqiang and Fei Qinyuan looked gloomy, especially after they received news of Xi Hongyan and her Xi clan’s actions in subduing all the clans in the western region. "What about Shi Wuxian, wife? Why isn’t she here yet?" "I contacted her two months ago, but she still has a lot of other things to do, so I don’t know when she will arrive." Fei Qinyuan’s answer made her husband even more anxious because many of their plans had failed miserably. "What about Ziyuan? Have you asked her to come back? She’s been gone for quite a while, and it’s hard for us to carry out our other plans without her." "I already told Ziyuan about Xi Hongyan’s actions, but he was more concerned about Shang Baishi and Shang Xiaoyin’s affairs than ours. She has arrived at the lower realms and searched several realms, but she still hasn’t managed to find them, and she wants to find them as soon as possible." Fei Qinyuan scowled in response to Shang Huaqiang’s answer. "Shang Chongyun and the others should have arrived at the Netherworld Realm by now, but they haven’t given me any updates yet, so I don’t know if they’ve installed the teleportation device or not." "Forget about the Netherworld Realm and the Sky Jade Realm’s affairs for now, and we should focus on the matter at hand." Fei Qinyuan then took out a piece of paper with many notes. "Currently, there are three camps in this realm, with Xi Hongyan’s camp being the largest. However, if Hong Quan successfully persuades Ren Dongcheng and Jin Ruyue, the Hong Clan has the potential to surpass her group. Fortunately, those two old people are stubborn, and they haven’t made a decision. However, I heard that they are considering joining the Huo Clan, especially since that clan has the support of Tian Shuixiang and Lin Jingxia. If they join that clan, our toughest enemy will be the Xi Clan, and they will probably attack us first before the Hong Clan." Shang Huaqiang nodded with a solemn expression. "Xi Hongyan hates us so much because her parents died at the hands of my parents, and I’m sure she will target our clan first rather than the Hong Clan. However, I’m sure she won’t dare move carelessly to attack us, especially with my ancestors around. The only solution we have now is to convince the Jin and Ren Clans to join us, and we can use them to push her back if she attacks us." "I will go to the Ren Clan now, and I will force Ren Dongcheng to submit to us. As for Jin Ruyue, we can only wait for Shi Wuxian to arrive." After she said that, Fei Qinyuan immediately stood up and left, and she rushed towards the northern region. Meanwhile, Shang Huaqiang went to the back of his clan to meet his two ancestors, Shang Yanhan and Shang Yanjun, to discuss the matters with them. . . . Zhang Fei, together with Hong Xinxin and the Hong Clan members, discussed Shang Chongyun and the others. "I originally thought you would kill them, but you spared them and revealed your identities to them." "Haha." Zhang Fei laughed at that. "I did want to kill them at first, but you said that Xi Hongyan managed to unite the western region by force, so I decided to spare them because we needed more people to fight her and the Shang Clan. Moreover, they had a deep grudge against Shang Huaqiang, especially Shang Chongyun and Shang Tinglong, so I intended to use them against him." "Are you going to let Shang Chongyun and Shang Tinglong die in their hands?" Yan Yizhen asked him. Zhang Fei shook his head. "I haven’t decided on my plans for them yet, and I’m still thinking about a few things before making a decision." "Fei Qinyuan has just left the Shang Clan and headed to the northern region." Zhang Fei and the others turned to Hong Chong directly. "I’m sure Xi Hongyan’s actions forced her and Shang Huaqiang to plan some countermeasures against her, especially since she hated them so much due to her parents’ deaths at their parents’ hands. Currently, all the clans have taken sides, so only the Ren and Jin clans are left, but I don’t know which clan they will target first." Hong Xinxin immediately conveyed her thoughts. "I think Fei Qinyuan will meet Ren Dongcheng first, so Zhang Fei and I are going to the Ren clan now, and we will go to the Jin clan to meet Jin Ruyue afterward." "How long will it take for Fei Qinyuan to arrive at the Ren Clan?" "With her cultivation and speed, she should be able to arrive at the Ren Clan in five hours, so you two still have plenty of time to get ahead of her." Hong Quan answered Zhang Fei. "I see." Zhang Fei then lifted Hong Xinxin to her feet. "In that case, I will take Xinxin to the Ren Clan now, and I will set up a trap for Fei Qinyuan there." "What do you plan to do with her?" Zhang Fei just smiled at Cai Yinzhi and took Hong Xinxin to leave directly, leaving them sighing to themselves. "Judging from his evil smile, I’m sure Fei Qinyuan will suffer a terrible fate." Hong Quan nodded in agreement with his wife. "Let them deal with Fei Qinyuan and the Ren Clan, and we will wait for the results." . . . Zhang Fei effortlessly transported Hong Xinxin to the northern region with his Level 5 Nine Cloud Steps, and they arrived at the Red Clan within minutes. However, they refrained from entering the clan immediately and instead observed it from a distance, with Zhang Fei closely monitoring the situation inside using the system map. "What do you say if we meet Ren Dongcheng now?" Hong Xinxin asked. "I think it’s no problem." Zhang Fei immediately took the concealment ring, which his third clone usually uses. Additionally, he used his body modification ability to change his bone age to thousands of years, and he also changed his appearance so Ren Dongcheng would not be suspicious of him. Hong Xinxin shook her head after she witnessed Zhang Fei’s changes. "I thought only you could do this in the universe, and people would never know your true identity." "Let’s go there now." When they arrived in front of the Ren Clan, Hong Xinxin showed her identity as a member of the Hong Clan to the two clan guards, and one of them led the two of them to the main hall of the clan. After they waited for a few minutes, an old man with white hair and a long beard finally met them. He was none other than Ren Dongcheng, the patriarch of the Ren Clan. Zhang Fei secretly activated his demon eyes and peeked at Ren Dongcheng’s soul, and the result surprised him. ’This old man! I know my heart is rotten, but his heart is even more rotten than mine.’ After Ren Dongcheng sat down in his seat, he immediately observed Zhang Fei and checked him out, but he did not manage to see through his disguise. He then asked Hong Xinxin. "What is your purpose in coming to my clan suddenly, little girl Hong? Who is the man next to you? Why am I not familiar with his face?" "Grandpa Ren, the man beside me is my future husband, Zhang Xiaolong." Hong Xinxin’s revelation surprised Ren Dongcheng, but he was confused because there was no Zhang Clan in the Red Sun Realm. "As you may have guessed, he is not a native of our realm, and I met him when I visited the Xianjin Realm with my mother a few months ago. As for our purpose of coming here today, we want to persuade you to join my Hong Clan, especially with the changes in the western region." "Hahaha!" Ren Dongcheng laughed as he stroked his long beard. "I have repeatedly rejected your grandfather, but he still doesn’t want to give up, and he sent you to me today. Unfortunately, I have already decided to join the Huo Clan, and my son should have arrived there by now, so your visit was in vain." Hong Xinxin really didn’t expect Ren Dongcheng to finally decide to join the Huo Clan, but Zhang Fei spoke to her directly. "What if I can give you a better offer than theirs? Are you willing to cancel your decision and join the Hong Clan instead?" "What offer would you like to make? Can it surpass something that only the Alchemist God and Goddess have?" Ren Dongcheng responded with a disdainful look. "The alchemy god and goddess are indeed great, but I believe they cannot help you fulfill your hidden desires." Ren Dongcheng frowned at Zhang Fei. "Others may not be able to read your heart, but I have the ability to know your heart, and I can help you realize some of your desires." "Hahaha! I have never met a shameless braggart like you! I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense, so you two can leave my clan now." Instead, Zhang Fei mentioned a few things, which made Ren Dongcheng’s expression turn serious. Even Hong Xinxin fell dumbstruck after she listened to everything. "How do you know all that?" Zhang Fei responded with a casual smile. "If you are willing to join the Hong Clan, I will help you make some of them happen. If you don’t want to, you can join the Huo clan, so the choice is yours." Ren Dongcheng glared fiercely and pressured Zhang Fei with his aura, but he countered the old man by unleashing his killing intent, causing him to tremble. *Drap... Drap...* A bunch of people from the Ren clan immediately ran into the room as soon as they sensed Zhang Fei’s killing intent, and they surrounded him and Hong Xinxin with weapons in their hands. "Stop it." Ren Dongcheng immediately stopped his people. "Leave now." "But—" "Leave!" Hesitantly, the people followed Ren Dongcheng’s orders and left the room, but they stood guard outside the main hall. "Hahaha! I don’t know your identity, but I have to admit that your killing intent is indeed terrifying. Your offer is indeed tempting to me, but my hidden desires are only fleeting, and they cannot be compared to the benefits I can gain from relationships with the Huo Clan. The future of my clan is much more important than my personal desires, so I have to reject your offer." Zhang Fei nodded in understanding and helped Hong Xinxin stand up. "Since you have decided so, we will not force you to join us, and we will take our leave now." Ren Dongcheng immediately ordered his people to make way for both of them, especially since Zhang Fei’s killing intent frightened him greatly. As he watched them walking away, he raised both of his trembling hands. "I have met too many enemies in my life, but only a few of them can make me tremble like this. What exactly is that man’s identity? Which realm did he come from? Since when did the Hong Clan have such a terrifying person by their side?" - To Be Continued -