Chapter 422

Shen Haizhou felt his scalp tingle with fear. Xu Yan had just barely escaped from Dai Sheng, a Refining God Heavenly Man, and now he was planning to take down the Dai Family stronghold?

Anyone who managed to escape from a Refining God Heavenly Man would undoubtedly keep a low profile, hiding and fearing that their whereabouts would be discovered.

Yet, here was Xu Yan, planning to take down the Dai Family stronghold!

What incredible bravery!

Shen Haizhou was taken aback. Xu Yan was so audacious – the Dai family was a reputable family, even though they were only a second-tier one!

Xu Yan raised an eyebrow, “Is there a problem?”

“Brother Xu, the Dai family is a reputable family,” said Shen Haizhou, breaking out in cold sweat.

“So what? If someone offends me, they must pay the price. I, Xu Yan, will never put up with it. If Dai Sheng wants to kill me, I will take down his stronghold,” Xu Yan said matter-of-factly.

Yu Xiaolong was frightened. Xu Yan was really planning to destroy the Dai family stronghold?

“Calm down, calm down. Don’t be impulsive!”

Yu Xiaolong’s whole body was trembling.

He found that ever since he started following Xu Yan, his life had become increasingly thrilling. They had just been chased by a Refining God Heavenly Man, and now they were planning to annihilate a reputable family?

“Shut up, I know what I’m doing!” Xu Yan glared at Yu Xiaolong.

Shen Haizhou swallowed, “Brother Xu, are you serious?”

“Of course!” Xu Yan nodded, his face breaking into a cold smile. “While Dai Sheng is away, I will take down his stronghold. Tell me, where is the Dai Family stronghold and do they have any other Refining God Heavenly Man?”

Shen Haizhou too, grew serious, “The Dai Family is a second-tier reputable family in Yuzhou. Officially, they only have Dai Sheng as a Refining God Heavenly Man, but in reality, they must have two.”

“The other Refining God Heavenly Man must be guarding the Dai Family’s treasury. Even if weaker than Dai Sheng, they would not be too far behind him,” he added.

Xu Yan’s eyes lit up, “The Dai Family treasury?”

Imagine how many treasures a family’s treasury would house.

Shen Haizhou’s forehead broke out in cold sweat again as he hurriedly said, “Brother Xu, don’t be impulsive. The Dai Family’s treasury does contain treasures, but it’s guarded by a Refining God Heavenly Man.”

Xu Yan pondered. With a Refining God Heavenly Man guarding it, taking down the Dai Family would be difficult.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible. He would stand no chance in a fair fight against a Refining God Heavenly Man, but what about a sneak attack?

“While treading the path of Martial Arts, one must know when to advance and when to retreat. Do not act blindly, do not be obstinate…”

Xu Yan already had a plan in mind.

As his master had taught him, he couldn’t be a rash brute. He needed to understand when to advance and when to retreat, and make the best use of his strengths.

“Explain to me in detail about the Dai Family. Why are you so certain that they have another Refining God Heavenly Man?” Xu Yan asked seriously.

Shen Haizhou took a deep breath. Xu Yan seemed to have made up his mind to take down the Dai Family stronghold. Even though he didn’t know where Xu Yan got his confidence from, if Xu Yan dared to do it, it meant he had some assurance.

“The Dai Family is a second-tier reputable family in Yuzhou. The criteria for a second-tier reputable family of a region is that they have one Refining God Mid-level powerhouse, or two Refining God Early-Level powerhouses. This is the definition of a second-tier reputable family.

“Dai Sheng is a Refining God at the peak of the early level and has yet to break through to the mid-level. The Dai Family being a second-tier family means that there is another Refining God Heavenly Man.”

“These are matters known only to the Spirit Sects and reputable families. Loose cultivators from the outside world are oblivious to the categorisation of the Spirit Sects and reputable families,” Shen Haizhou began explaining to Xu Yan.

The rankings of the Spirit Sects and reputable families weren’t assigned arbitrarily; they were related to their strength and heritage.

Firstly, to be considered a reputable family, the lineage must span over ten thousand years. This is the bare minimum.

For a third-tier reputable family, there must be at least one Refining God Early-Level powerhouse.

For a second-tier reputable family, there must be either one Refining God Mid-level powerhouse or two Refining God Early-Level powerhouses.

For a first-tier reputable family, there must be at least one Refining God Mid-level powerhouse, with the number of Refining God Heavenly Men not less than five.

Otherwise, even if the number of Refining God Heavenly Men exceeds five, if there is no Refining God Mid-level powerhouse, it can only be considered a second-tier reputable family.

This was the bare minimum.

“The Dai Family is one of the weaker families in the second-tier, having two Refining God Heavenly Men should be their limit,” Shen Haizhou said seriously.

Xu Yan raised his eyebrows, so this was how the Spirit Sects and reputable families were categorised.

“What about the Jade God Sect? How strong are they?”

The strongest group Xu Yan had offended so far was the Jade God Sect, the famous top sect of Yuzhou.

“The Jade God Sect is the best in Yuzhou and a truly top-tier Spirit Sect of the Ling Domain, although they are on the weaker side. However, in Yuzhou, they are the strongest.

“The rankings and requirements I mentioned earlier pertain to a single region. As for the requirements for a top-tier force in the Ling Domain, they must have at least one Refining God Late-Level powerhouse and more than two Refining God Mid-level ones.

“Throughout Yuzhou, only the Jade God Sect has a Refining God Late-Level powerhouse, that’s why they are the top sect in Yuzhou and the only top-tier Spirit Sect in Yuzhou that is part of the Ling Domain,” Shen Haizhou explained seriously.

Now that he’d begun talking about the divisions between Spirit Sects and reputable families, Shen Haizhou decided to provide Xu Yan with a more detailed explanation.

Even within the top-tier, there could sometimes be a significant gap in strength.

To be considered a top-tier force in the Ling Domain, a sect must have at least one Refining God Late-Level powerhouse. This was the bare minimum.

Certain powerful top-tier families and Spirit Sects even had five or six Refining God Late-Level powerhouses, which was not unheard of.

And the ultra-top-tier Spirit Sects and families had at least one Refining God Peak-level powerhouse.

As for the Transcendent Spirit Sect, it was an existence that could only be looked up to. Its depth was unfathomable and there were only a few such sects throughout the entire Ling Domain.