It was approaching noon and the day was reaching its peak. Wanderers and locals mixed amongst the crowded, bustling streets while the merchants were yelling at the top of their lungs to attract sales, as the rowdy atmosphere of commerce was in full swing.

In the eastern district's most central area, there was a significant mansion with a large courtyard comparable to that of the Feng Residence. It was a space with only one massive building and a large patio surrounded by tall walls with an extremely domineering gate and two giant tiger statues on both sides.

This place was the home of the Xiang Clan, another of the four large family clans, in Machen Town.

Inside the building in a huge room, there was a constructed battle platform on which two figures were currently engaged in heated combat. Off to the sides, two characters were seated on a higher platform chatting while observing the combatants.

The two individuals fighting on the battle platform were Xiang Shu and Huan Shan. Xiang Shu was being pressured by Huan Shan.

Huan Shan had unleashed a barrage of kicks hitting Xiang Shu's underbelly and sending him flying towards the edge of the platform while coughing up a bit of blood. Seeing such a great opportunity to perform a finishing blow, he then leaned forward and started to sway side to side as if transformed into a snake slithering towards Xiang Shu.

"Brutal Snake Style - First Form: Staggering Snake Steps!"

He roared and within a moment, quickly arrived at the edge of the platform behind the still airborne form of Xiang Shu and promptly unleashed his finishing blow.

He crouched his body down on the floor assuming running posture, pushing all the power he had into his lower body. Then he unleashed a kick that lashed out quickly towards Xiang Shu carrying with it the force of the wind because of its extreme speed.

Sreeecccchhhh! A sharp cry resounded as he shot through the air like an arrow with his focus entirely on controlling the force of his kick.

"Brutal Snake Style - Second Form: Brutal Snake Strike!!!" Huan Shan cried out loudly.

"Haha! Brother Tian! It looks like my Shan'er will be the one winning this time around. After all, he has already achieved small accomplishment over his ." The figure observing the match on the right was getting excited as he saw that his son was gaining the winning edge over his opponent.

"Don't be so quick to judge Brother Mang. Look, the situation is about to change." said the figure on the left with a smile on his face and a confident appearance.

"Ha! I don't believe he can make a comeback at this point!" Said the figure on the right not feeling convinced.

The figures observing the match were none other than two of the significant Family Clan Leaders in Machen Town. Located on the right was Huan Mang of the Huan Family and on the left, was Xiang Tian of the Xiang Family. Huan Mang was a slim man wearing decorated loose clothing while Xiang Tian was a robust man with an unshaved beard and decorated robes.

On the battle platform, when all seemed to have been decided, there was a sudden change.

Whoosh! As Xiang Shu was about to be defeated, a strange light shone intensely inside of his eyes, it was as if he could see the kick approaching towards him from behind. Quickly, he began to maneuver his body while remaining airborne. As if transforming into a kite, he started to glide in the air swaying to the side effortlessly to avoid the potentially fatal kick.

"What! How could?" Momentarily shocked by witnessing an impossible stunt. Huan Shan lost his balance and fell towards the ground due to the excessive wind pressure.

Thud! Quickly doing a roll on the ground and regaining his balance, Huan Shan tried to make a counter-attack but was hindered slightly due to an injury to one of his legs. Sadly, Xiang Shu would never give him another chance for an advantage.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Jade Wind Arts - Movement Style: Aerial Gliding Steps!"

Like the gust of the wind itself, he swiftly appeared behind Huan Shan using the same strange gliding motion and then raised his right hand forming a palm strike which he directed towards Huan Shan's unguarded back.

"Jade Wind Arts - Combat Style: Aerial Palm Strike!!"

Suddenly, an intense burst of wind followed the direction of the palm strike and the wind gathered from the momentum of the technique was now unleashed pushing Huan Shan away like a leaf blowing in a strong wind.

He flew out of the platform and crashed into the sidewall creating a deep impression on the surface behind; he then pushed himself up off the ground and began to work on balancing himself as he panted heavily.

"Aerial Gliding Steps! Aerial Palm Strike! How can this be? Did your brat finally achieve initial comprehension of your family's Advance Level Mortal Tier Skill !" Slamming his fist hard on the table, Huan Mang looked at the victorious Xiang Shu on the platform while shouting in surprise.

"Ha! What do you think? After five months of training, he's finally grasped initial comprehension away from small success stage by one pace." With a gloating expression on his face, he then waved at both Huan Shan and Xiang Shu to make their way over to them.

"Incredible! It looks like your Xiang Clan is truly a destined place for talented successors, first Xiang Fang and now Xiang Shu." Huan Mang praised while sighing to himself.

"Greetings Clan Leaders!" he said arriving in front of their fathers, Xiang Shu and Huan Shan then bowed respectfully.

Looking at his son proudly for a moment, Xiang Tian said in a strict tone "Did you accomplish the task given to you?"

Hearing his father's question, he quickly replied "Yes Father! We made sure to take care of that brat last night during the town event. Huan Shan also did some interworking behind the scenes which ensured that there were no witnesses in the old district as well."

"Good Work! Now that the nuisance is gone we can..." feeling excited Xiang Tian praised his son and then looked towards Huan Mang to discuss the next phase of their plans. But suddenly, he was interrupted by a loud commotion.

Slam!

The large door of the room was opened abruptly, rushing in was a man wearing black clothing.

"Who dares to come in here without my consent? You there, if you don't give me a good enough explanation for your actions, then you can forget about leaving from here today!" angered by being interrupted, Xiang Tian roared at the servant while oppressing him with his aura of an 8th Tier Aura Disciple.

Struggling to catch his breath due to the oppression, the servant started gasping and sweating while trying to explain.

"Cough! Cough! Sorry, Clan Leader, this servant is bringing urgent news. The Feng Clan leader just released an announcement saying that they will no longer provide weapons and resources to both our clan and the Huan Family Clan."

Boom! The table shattered to pieces as both Huan Mang and Xiang Tian got up in anger. Huan Mang walked over and shouted towards the servant "Explain to me what is going on here! Why did he do this?"

Quickly dispersing his oppressive aura, Xiang Shan also walked over and said, "Quickly Speak! And don't leave out any details."

Abiding by their commands, the servant began to explain what happened. Feng Yu was alive but severely wounded, and upon finding out the cause of Feng Yu's injuries, the enraged Feng Yunlong ordered that the provisions of weapons and equipment should no longer be sold to the two clans involved in the case.

Hearing that Feng Yu was still alive shocked Xiang Shu, he wanted to explain.

"Father we..."

"Enough!" said Xiang Tian waving his hand to cut off his son's, "It seems that you were not careful enough and did not ensure that the Feng clan kid was dead. Dammit! Now we have to delay our plans."

Looking at the door, Xiang Tian gripped his fists hard in fury.

"Brother Xiang! What are we to do now? We can't do any damage to the Feng Clan if we fight them directly." Huan Mang was getting anxious; he started to wonder if it was okay to carry on this plan.

"Hmph! No matter, even if he found out, it makes no difference. Even with his son's talent, it will still take him time to develop. With so little time left, what could he possibly accomplish? And on the likelihood he becomes a dazzling supreme being; don't forget my Xiang Clan also has Xiang Fang."

Hearing the name 'Xiang Fang', Huan Mang began to calm down. The two of them looked out of a large window staring deep into the sky, passing through the clouds, traversing the dangerous mountains that stretched across thousands of kilometers towards the distant horizon.

In a distant area, far away, a figure was journeying through these unknown lands. It was a young man, at the age of twenty-five at the prime of his youth, wearing a decorated robe while shouldering a giant blade on his back. The young man had a handsome face, but he carried with him a murderous aura as if he had slaughtered countless lives. He looked ruthless but divine at the same time giving an odd sense of balance.

As if he felt something, he looked towards the distance. Oddly enough, despite it being daytime, stars could be seen glittering in his eyes. He muttered in a soft voice that trailed off into the wind, "The Stars of Destiny have shifted. Fate seems to be beckoning me."