I Am Overlord c1-962

by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu

  "Forget it. I have no interest in you," Xiang Shaoyun refused flatly.

  He already had 10 recruits. Although they seemed slightly lacking when compared with Shang Jifeng, they were still decent recruits. The questions he had asked them might seem simple, but he was judging their souls with his filthless soul. Through their soul undulations, he was able to detect their lies.

  And that was how he had selected the 10 recruits he had here. Of course, further observation was required to see if they were really truthful.

  After a short thought, Shang Jifeng finally decided to speak his true thoughts, "Actually, both of us are special-recruits of Elder Xiao Wei. That is the reason for my challenge. Of course, if you insist on refusing the duel, I have nothing to say."

  Xiang Shaoyun smiled. "Ok. That is a decent reason. I accept your challenge, but we will fight in a different way."

  "How so?" Shang Jifeng asked.

  "I can sense that you cultivate the power of wind. Let's compete in speed. If I win, you will join the Overlord Legion and serve me. If I lose, I will give you 10 drops of dragon liquid. Of course, you can even snatch the Overlord title from me if you want," said Xiang Shaoyun confidently.

  Shang Jifeng roared with laughter and said, "Hahaha, very well. I accept."

  If they had to compete in terms of combat prowess, Shang Jifeng felt it could go both ways. But if it was a competition of speed, he was confident he had a 90 percent chance of winning.

  After all, he was a wind cultivator who had also comprehended footwork intent. In fact, he was also known as the Wind of Destruction. Just his nickname made it clear his comprehension of the power of wind surpassed that of many others.

  "Ok. Let's do it outside," said Xiang Shaoyun. He could see Shang Jifeng's confidence, but he was filled with confidence as well. He wouldn't have suggested such a method of competition otherwise.

  The two headed toward a location within the academy with sparse people and selected a random mountain as their destination. The first to arrive would be the winner. After Shang Jifeng voiced his agreement, the two began.

  Like two arrows let loose from a bow, the two shot forth at an astonishing speed. Initially, they were shoulder to shoulder. But as Shang Jifeng displayed his top speed, he started pulling away.

  "Xiang Shaoyun, if this is the limit of your speed, that will be very disappointing of you," said Shang Jifeng with a provocative tone before his entire person seemed to blend into the wind. His ethereal figure continued flying forward at a speed so fast his body blurred, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.

  Xiang Shaoyun did not dare to hold back, and he quickly stirred the power of the yin devil wind within him. Using the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps and footwork intent, he gave chase.

  When Shang Jifeng sensed Xiang Shaoyun catching up to him, a look of astonishment covered his face as he thought, He has actually comprehended footwork intent? Well, it still isn't possible for him to defeat me in speed.

  All eight of his stars erupted with power at the same time as he used wondrous footwork to once again pull ahead of Xiang Shaoyun. His cultivation base was higher than Xiang Shaoyun, and he focused only on the power of wind. He had also perfected the first stage of footwork intent, and it worked alongside his high-level footwork technique. He believed that apart from Feng Xiaosha, nobody in Dragon Phoenix Academy could compete against him in terms of speed.

  Looks like I need to use my real strength, thought Xiang Shaoyun when he saw Shang Jifeng approach the finish line. Lightning rippled out from his feet, increasing the strength of his legs as his speed went up another notch.

  The lightning was a sign that he was pushing the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps to his limit and enhancing the technique with lightning power to create a unique effect. However, he was only able to slightly shorten the distance between him and Shang Jifeng. At present, the two were moving at even speed. If he didn't take his heavy armor off, catching up seemed impossible.

  With victory in reach, Shang Jifeng's face was full of smiles as he turned his head back and looked at Xiang Shaoyun with a toying look. "Xiang Shaoyun, your defeat is already certain."

  However, he had barely uttered those words when a change occurred with Xiang Shaoyun yet again. A pair of white energy wings sprouted from his back. With a gentle flap, his speed increased yet again.

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  In a flash, Xiang Shaoyun caught up with Shang Jifeng. He then went ahead of Shang Jifeng, placing his foot on the mountain. Shang Jifeng, who was only a step behind, stared at Xiang Shaoyun blankly. Evidently, he had yet to recover from the shock of defeat.

  "Thank you for taking it easy on me," said Xiang Shaoyun with his hands cupped. One could say that he had to do all he could to win the race.

  Inwardly, he lamented, I was still too careless. If I had taken the armor off at the start, the victory wouldn't have been this close.

  When Shang Jifeng recovered, he stepped toward Xiang Shaoyun and bowed in a straightforward manner, "Shang Jifeng greets the Overlord."

  Chapter 619: Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao

  Xiang Shaoyun was in a good mood after recruiting a powerhouse like Shang Jifeng as his subordinate. He brought Shang Jifeng inside the villa and gave the 10 new recruits a drop of dragon liquid each before solemnly saying, "I don't care what your background is. The moment you join the Overlord Legion, you will be required to obey my leadership and the rules of the Legion. Don't blame me for being merciless if I find anyone violating our rules."

  He then allowed them to make their self-introductions, allowing everyone to know each other. Of the 10, 2 of them were worth Xiang Shaoyun's attention. One was Zhuge Zhantian, and the other was Ma Qihao. Zhuge Zhantian was a slightly chubby young man who wasn't very good looking. He looked to be 30 years old, and he had only recently reached the Dragon Ascension Realm.

  He did not have the look of an outstanding martial cultivator, and he definitely didn't have the looks to match his name, "Zhantian", which meant "heaven battler". However, he gave Xiang Shaoyun the feeling he was an extremely shrewd person. He was also the only person who had been kept behind from the first batch of applicants.

  Ma Qihao had a steadfast face and a sturdy body. He looked like a carefree, straightforward, and generous person. Of the 10, he had the strongest combat prowess. He was only a tiny bit away from reaching second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm and was in urgent need of some dragon liquid to help him advance to the next stage. He was also in the top 100 on the Serpent Fowl List, but since he had offended the Fengsha Gang, he had no choice but to seek protection by joining the Overlord Legion.

  The Fengsha Gang was the faction founded by Feng Xiaosha. As for the other eight recruits, each of them had their own unique characteristics, and they were all first-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivators. He split the eight under the commands of Tang Longfei and Shang Jifeng, while Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao were kept under his direct command.

  Although the recruits had joined the Overlord Legion, they weren't subjected to any restrictions and were allowed to focus on their own cultivation and works. Of course, when the Legion required help, they had to provide it.

  For example, when a member took a mission, they would prioritize working with fellow members. Or if a member was bullied by someone and wanted to take revenge, the other members would need to provide help.

  For now, Xiang Shaoyun did not have the time to focus on the eight new recruits. As for Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao, he had the intention to personally develop them and see if he could make them his capable assistants.

  That did not mean that he didn't attach any importance to Shang Jifeng. Rather, he couldn't provide Shang Jifeng much help apart from giving him five drops of dragon liquid. So for now, Shang Jifeng was under observation to see if he could get used to his new status as a member of the Overlord Legion.

  Currently, only Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao were left in the villa. The others had all left.

  "Zhuge Zhantian, are you inte
rested in being the butler of 1 Dragon Villa?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

  Zhuge Zhantian gave it a thought and answered, "Sure. But when you are not around, Overlord, I hope I can use your cultivation room."

  He was quite gutsy to make such a request.

  Xiang Shaoyun smiled. "I'm fine with that. Of course, the premise is that you can do your job well."

  Zhuge Zhantian's eyes brightened as he said, "I used to have a dream to become the strongest butler, supervising all the affairs of a powerful clan or sect. I shall start with a villa. I will definitely do the job well!"

  Ma Qihao gave him a mental thumbs-up when he heard his response. He thought, This is truly a unique ambition!

  The Strongest Butler.

  The title had a nice ring to it. Of course, it also gave the impression that the person holding the title was a servant, and a regular person would definitely not wish to be a servant. Zhuge Zhantian was most likely a descendant of a big clan and was a genius cultivator in his own right. For someone like him to have such an ambition, it was truly odd. On the other hand, Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling Zhuge Zhantian had more than one meaning in his words.

  The "supervise a big clan or sect" could also be understood as him wanting to become a clan patriarch or a sect master. If that was really the case, then his ambition was truly quite big.

  "Good. I'll be looking forward to your excellent performance," said Xiang Shaoyun.

  He was not afraid of Zhuge Zhantian's ambitious nature. Only someone ambitious would work hard. In fact, he was more afraid that Zhuge Zhantian would have no ambition and remain a nobody. He was confident he could control Zhuge Zhantian. He wouldn't have kept Zhuge Zhantian by his side otherwise.

  He then moved on to Ma Qihao. "Ma Qihao, I can provide you with a sufficient amount of dragon liquid to enter the second-stage. But I also hope you can stay here and become my main guard. What do you think?"

  "Sure. But first, after my advancement to second-stage, you will need to fight me and convince me with your strength, Overlord," answered Ma Qihao.

  Instead of battling now, he mentioned battling after his advancement. He knew that at the same cultivation stage, he wouldn't be Xiang Shaoyun's match. After all, Xiang Shaoyun had already defeated someone from the Serpent Fowl List's top 10 when he was still a Skysoar Realm cultivator. In fact, there were rumors that he had recently defeated Li Haonan from the Jiao Luan List. Thus, Ma Qihao would only have a hope of winning after his advancement. And if he won, Xiang Shaoyun would no longer be qualified to make him a guard.

  "Sure. I accept," said Xiang Shaoyun.

  And thus, Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao became temporary residents of 1 Dragon Villa. Since Ma Qihao was going to attempt his advancement, Xiang Shaoyun let him use the villa's cultivation room. When news of it spread, the outsiders lowered their evaluation of Xiang Shaoyun. He was actually giving his subordinate his own cultivation room? So was he going to let his subordinate be the overlord next?

  Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun did not seem to mind. He had agreed to let Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao use his cultivation room because he did not care about the concept of prestige that outsiders held so dearly. The Overlord Legion was newly established. Now was the time to instill loyalty in the new recruits, and by treating them nicely, their devotion might increase.

  Xiang Shaoyun was confident that before long, Zhuge Zhantian and Ma Qihao would no longer request to use his cultivation room. He was confident he could properly instill awe in them. At that point, the two would willingly stay by his side. In less than three days, Ma Qihao managed to advance. It had been quite a while since he had reached the peak of first-stage. Thus, it wasn't hard to reach the second stage with some dragon liquid in hand.

  After the breakthrough, he impatiently looked for Xiang Shaoyun for their battle. He was confident he could defeat Xiang Shaoyun and start challenging the Jiao Luan List. Alas, the ultimate result of the battle was that Ma Qihao would have to obediently become the guard of 1 Dragon Villa from now on.

  The battle was only witnessed by members of the Overlord Legion, so no outsiders knew the contents of the battle. The battle had also successfully caused all the members to approve of Xiang Shaoyun as their leader. But for Xiang Shaoyun, that much was not enough to awe his new followers. He made a shocking decision—to challenge Di Lin from the Dragon Phoenix List!

  Chapter 620: Di Lin Avoiding the Fight

  Xiang Shaoyun had Zhuge Zhantian deliver his written challenge to Di Lin. Di Lin occupied 39th place on the Dragon Phoenix List, and his cultivation level had long reached third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. Moreover, it was said that his strength had been growing rapidly recently and he would soon be able to charge into fourth-stage.

  Although Xiang Shaoyun had improved rapidly, the difference in their cultivation levels was still rather large. A battle between him and Di Lin seemed rather forced on his part. The news of his challenge shocked the academy.

  "Where does Xiang Shaoyun's confidence come from? He actually has the guts to challenge someone on the Dragon Phoenix List?"

  "He has been able to challenge those on the Jiao Luan List before he was even a Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. Now that he is already in that realm, I reckon he really has the strength to challenge the Dragon Phoenix List. Unfortunately, he has decided to challenge the 39th place Di Lin. He's forcing himself too much."

  "Isn't that right? If he challenges someone at the bottom of the Dragon Phoenix List instead, he might stand a chance. It won't be an easy fight against someone ranked so high. Don't forget that Di Lin is now a personal disciple of a previous generation elder. That elder has been nurturing him wholeheartedly, whereas Xiang Shaoyun has no master. The gap between the two is quite big, to be honest."

  "Regardless, this will still be an intense fight. We will soon know who is the better of the two."

  ...

  A large number of Di Alliance members had gathered at Di Lin's villa. They were all there to find out if Di Lin was going to accept the challenge. They naturally hoped that Di Lin would wipe away Xiang Shaoyun's arrogance. But at the same time, they also felt that Di Lin would be lowering his status to accept the challenge of someone like Xiang Shaoyun.

  In the villa, Di Lin was seated on the main seat, radiating the bearing of a tyrant. Seated beside him was the beautiful and graceful Xia Yunxi, whom nobody would ever tire looking at. With the written challenge in hand, Di Lin asked indifferently, "Do you think I should accept this challenge?"

  Di Tong answered, "Little brother, I think we should put this fight on hold."

  Di Tong was one who had headed to the Devil Domain alongside Xiang Shaoyun. He knew that Xiang Shaoyun had some unique tricks up his sleeve that could unleash a rather fearsome might. Di Tong was worried that Di Lin would suffer losses against those tricks.

  Di Lin swept a resentful gaze at his elder brother and said, "Please address me as the alliance master here. You think I'm not his match?"

  Di Tong had not expected that his little brother would actually put on airs in front of him. With a frown, he said, "I only think it's better for you to be cautious. I went to the Devil Domain with Xiang Shaoyun, so I know about some powerful tricks that kid has. He's not an easy opponent."

  At this time, a person standing in front of Di Tong offered, "Alliance master, why don't you let me fight on your behalf? If he can't beat me, how is he qualified to challenge you?"

  He had dark skin, looking like human charcoal that made him stand up among his peers. His sharp pair of eyes gave off the feeling that he was an extraordinary individual. He was Zhu Changchuang, a high-grade seven-star physique holder and the number one expert under Di Lin. He was also a top 100 expert on the Jiao Luan List, and his cultivation level was early third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm.

  Di Lin gave it a thought and said, "Ok. Changchuang will be in charge of putting down Xiang Shaoyun."

  Although he was confident he could defeat Xiang Shaoyun, he believed that his current status was much higher
than Xiang Shaoyun's. There was no need to put himself at risk by lowering himself.

  More importantly, he had no interest in doing something when he didn't have absolute confidence in succeeding. Thus, it would be a good idea to have Zhu Changchuang test Xiang Shaoyun's strength first. Done with the matter of Xiang Shaoyun's challenge, Di Lin sent everyone away, leaving only him and Xia Yunxi in the room.

  "Yunxi, do you think I can defeat Xiang Shaoyun?" Di Lin asked.

  Xia Yunxi pursed her lips and answered, "Your cultivation level is two stages higher than him. It won't be hard for you to defeat him."

  "Is that what you really think?" Di Lin pressed on, locking his gaze on Xia Yunxi's eyes.

  After a slight hesitation, Xia Yunxi said, "I don't think he is a rash individual. Without some confidence, he won't challenge you. As the seventh brother said, perhaps he really has some hidden tricks up his sleeve. It's better for us to be cautious."

  "You're right. We grew up together. He might seem rash at times, but a lot of the things he had done were done after deep considerations. This must be a challenge he made after thorough preparations. I can see that you still know him well. Do you regret betraying him now?"

  Xia Yunxi shivered slightly before quickly replying with a coquettish voice, "How can you say that about me? He has always been a disappointment since he was a child. He is not the person I like. You are the one I like. If I actually regret what I did, I won't be here with you."

  Di Lin smiled. "It's just a joke. Don't take it so seriously."

  He then pulled Xia Yunxi into his arms and said, "Yunxi, do you know? As a kid, seeing him having you for himself had always filled me with deep sadness. I had vowed that I would obtain you one day. Now, my wish has been fulfilled. A day will come when I send him to the afterlife as well. The future belongs to us!"

  Xia Yunxi leaned into his chest and replied, "Um. I am confident you will be able to do that."