The two nodded in unison.

The trio arrived at the cave entrance. Xiao Yifei turned his head to look at the Chang Family's cave residence, feeling emotional. Although this journey with the Chang Family was fraught with difficulties, he managed to obtain what he desired and significantly increased his strength. Ultimately, he had to thank Chang Wutian.

"Do we need to carry extra weight?" Xiao Yifei turned back to ask Zhang Po.

"Of course." Zhang Po stood proudly, taking a sip from a wine jug, already carrying a giant stone on his back.

Xiao Yifei laughed heartily, "The one who falls behind is responsible for making the fire and cooking!"

"Afraid of you?"

On the side, Chang Wei looked bemused, "I'll pass on carrying it. As a Puppet Master, we don't need to focus much on physical prowess. Carrying weight would only slow you down."

"Just keep up, but don't fall behind." As they spoke, Xiao Yifei and Zhang Po had already darted off into the distance. Xiao Yifei turned around and made a face at Chang Wei, leaving him standing by the cave entrance, embarrassed.

"I almost regret boarding this crazy ship. These two are absolutely nuts." Chang Wei muttered a complaint, revving up his movement technique to barely keep up with them.

Amidst the vast ocean of forest, three figures weaved swiftly through the trees; it was Xiao Yifei and his companions. Each showcased their skills, executing movement techniques; Xiao Yifei led, with Zhang Po and Chang Wei slightly behind, forming a triangle as they sped towards the Xiao Family at an unimaginable speed.

At the forefront, Xiao Yifei occasionally stopped to urge his two companions, but his face was full of joy. Whenever this happened, Zhang Po would take out his sword to shave off some of the stone he carried and shout at Xiao Yifei, "Why don't you try carrying two hundred pounds?" All the while, Chang Wei looked at them like aliens while struggling to keep pace with them.

Sometimes marveling at the birds flitting among the treetops, sometimes immersed in the small lakes within the dense forest, breathing the fresh, cool air, and feeling the scenery swiftly pass by, the three's childlike laughter echoed throughout the mountain woods.

"'Martial Artists' Tournament', here I come!"

The three set off at sunrise, resting at sunset; after breathing in and circulating their True Qi in the morning sun, they hurriedly journeyed. By evening, they found a place where they weren't disturbed by wild beasts to camp and rest.

After two days of traveling, Xiao Yifei's cultivation of the Sparrow Step technique had reached its pinnacle, coupled with his gradually improving physical quality. At this moment, Xiao Yifei's speed had reached a height that even Zhang Po could not match.

'In all the martial arts under the sky, only speed remains undefeatable'; for Xiao Yifei, who practiced the Ancient Martial Arts cultivation technique of the Jin Family, this critical aspect of 'speed' had finally been mastered. What awaited them was a fierce competition at the 'Martial Artists' Tournament'.

Finally, on the evening of the last day, the three arrived at the outskirts of the volcanic cluster where the Xiao Family resided.

"Truly spectacular!" Xiao Yifei exclaimed as he gazed at the volcanic cluster before him.

Chang Wei also marveled at the sight, his mind exhilarated and refreshed.

Ahead, as far as the eye could see, the landscape was dotted with ash-gray volcanic clusters distributed along a fault line stretching from east to west. Xiao Yifei roughly counted over a hundred. These volcanoes were spread over a rocky plate platform about a thousand meters above sea level.

Each volcano was an active one, standing about a hundred meters high, with smokey vents dotted across their peaks, and occasionally red-hot lava would gush forth, resembling blazing giants roaring with fiery breaths against the sunset glow, evoking a scene straight out of an epic spectacle.

At the center of the volcanic cluster stood a colossal volcano. Compared to it, the others resembled children surrounding an adult. The giant volcano, like a mighty dragon standing amidst a flock of sheep, spewed flames a hundred meters high. Every eruption was accompanied by a billowing cloud of black smoke that blocked out the sky.

Xiao Yifei felt a noticeable rise in temperature around him, sweat streaming down his neck.

"Is this the Xiao Family?" Chang Wei wondered aloud, comparing this magnificent landscape to his family's cave dwelling, feeling ashamed and blushing.

Zhang Po had been here before; five years ago, the 'Martial Artists' Tournament' was a haunting memory. Revisiting the same place, his mind was set on nothing but avenging the embarrassment of five years ago.

"Let's go. The Xiao Family's people should be receiving contestants at the foot of the mountain," Zhang Po suggested.

The three of them quickly ran to the entrance of the volcanic cluster.

Ahead was a bustling crowd, shoulder to shoulder, unexpectedly lively in the Ten Thousand Mountains, reminding Xiao Yifei of the night markets in Beijing.

At the entrance of the volcanic cluster, there was an open space approximately one mile square, filled with people queuing in two long dragon-like lines. Zhang Po led the other two to the end of the line: "Those in line are probably the ones registering for the 'Martial Artists' Tournament'. Let's line up behind them."

With nothing else to do, Xiao Yifei began to observe the contestants in line. As Zhang Po mentioned, most of them were young men in their prime, representing their sects or families, wearing similar Taoist robes or fighting tights, each exuding formidable strength, not to be underestimated.

These young, charismatic individuals brimmed with confidence; apart from their comrades, they hardly acknowledged other contestants, whispering secretively among themselves occasionally.

Xiao Yifei sighed, "The atmosphere feels tense. I have a feeling a fight could break out."

"What?" Zhang Po turned back, puzzled at the remark.

"This unbearable heat could easily ignite tempers, especially for these young, hot-headed individuals. Standing in line in such sweltering conditions, it's no wonder tensions are high. Look, those two groups ahead are glaring at each other." With that, Xiao Yifei pointed to the two groups up front.

Following Xiao Yifei's finger, Zhang Po saw two groups, dressed differently, crowded together, shouting obscene words at each other.

"Why are you cutting in line?"

"Which of your dog eyes saw me cutting in? Listen, words can hurt, so mind what you say."

"What, want to fight?"

"Bring it on, scared of you? Might as well take out a team now; one less opponent tomorrow."

Hearing the quarrel, Chang Wei looked over as well, chuckling, "You were right."

Soon, the two groups rolled up their sleeves, ready to brawl. Just as the leaders of both parties prepared for combat, a group of people in red robes intervened, forcibly pulling apart the conflicting teams.

The troublemakers were still on edge, sneaking kicks at their opponents, who retaliated with reluctance. Thus, both sides began to struggle free from the red-robed individuals to fight it out.

Xiao Yifei noticed those in red robes were older and didn't seem like participants of this "Martial Artists' Tournament".

"Who are they?" Xiao Yifei whispered to Zhang Po.

"Xiao Family members, maintaining order here." Zhang Po took out a Hu Lu, taking a small sip before continuing, "Xiao Family folks have short tempers. The troublemakers won't get off easy; just watch."

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