“I am Ye Liangchen, pleased to meet Immortal Qin,” Li Xiaobai said as he cupped his fists in greeting, perfect in his manners.
“Young Master Liangchen, we meet again. I did not expect our next encounter to be on a dueling stage; it must be fate,” Su Yunbing said with a light laugh, hiding her face behind a hand.
“Just the thought of Liangchen about to brutally defeat Immortal Qin fills me with an indescribable reluctance. Immortal Qin, you should step down on your own,” Li Xiaobai, with his hands behind his back, feigned a sorrowful and compassionate expression.
Qin Lan’s face twisted with anger, “Young Master Liangchen must be joking. Although my cultivation has not reached the Nascent Soul Stage, I’m not someone to be trifled with. Such arrogance from the young master is a bit presumptuous.”
“Believe it or not, Liangchen has a hundred ways to make you lose, and you, powerless to do anything!” Li Xiaobai declared.
Hiss!
Such a statement caused an uproar among the cultivators in the audience. This might be the most arrogant display from any prodigy present so far.
Just now, he withstood the attack of a thousand cultivators without decline, which indeed shows some skill, but he doesn’t seem like a master who has cultivated the Primordial Spirit.
“Do you think Boss Ye could really be a match for Immortal Qin? She has practiced in Central Province and is not an easy person to deal with!”
“Indeed, when the great talents confront each other, we haven’t seen him manifest a Primordial Spirit.”
“If you ask me, Boss Ye must be extraordinary. To open such a miraculous shop, how could he be mediocre?”
“That’s true…”
The cultivators below the stage were engaged in heated discussions, and the remaining geniuses watched the situation in the ring more keenly. They were more perceptive than the crowd since Li Xiaobai previously withstood a hammer strike from Su Yunbing unharmed, an impossibility for an ordinary cultivator.
Perhaps, yet another prodigy of the same caliber.
Since when did the Northern Region become so strong?
“Then today, Qin Lan will experience it!” A cold glint flashed in Qin Lan’s eyes, accompanied by surges of murderous intent.
Two days ago, Inner Sect Disciple Xu Kun asked her for a favor, which was to cripple Li Xiaobai’s cultivation on the dueling platform.
Initially worried about how to fabricate a reason, she now sees that he has provided her with the perfect excuse. Such provocation means that even if she were to kill him in a blind rage, she could claim that her emotions clouded her judgment.
Ye Liangchen, do not blame me for being ruthless. If anyone is to blame, it is you, for being too flamboyant and for not knowing when to hold back.
Some people must not be offended!
Qin Lan conjured a roll of Silk Brocade in her hands, turning into a sky of curtains that enveloped the platform in layers, blocking the view of the Elders to create the conditions for her to kill her opponent.
“Come, let today’s Liangchen enlighten you.”
Li Xiaobai beckoned with his hand, indifferent to the Silk Brocade’s encirclement.
…
Below the stage, Young Master Xu’s face brimmed with excitement, knowing that Immortal Qin was about to avenge him and cripple Li Xiaobai’s cultivation.
The very thought of Li Xiaobai groveling at his feet filled him with uncontrollable excitement; he was eager to see the other’s pained and desperate expression.
Above the high platform, a few Elders furrowed their brows, sensing murderous intent emanating from Qin Lan.
“Elder Feng, do these two have a grudge?”
“Not sure, but looking at them, it seems likely.”
“Should we intervene to save him? This Ye Liangchen is a good seedling from our Northern Region.”
“No need for that; his strength is not much less than that of the prodigies,” Feng Qingyang said as he stroked his beard with a mysterious look. He joked to himself: Could someone who follows the ancient sages’ path of physical sanctity be killed by a mere Half-step Nascent Soul?
However, this fellow is also a troublemaker. We should pay extra attention in case he gets comfortable and accidentally kills Qin Lan.
After joining the forces in Central Province and becoming a Disciple, Qin Lan must not meet with misfortune within the Holy Demon Sect.
On the stage, the red Silk Brocade had completely enveloped the entire platform, preventing the outside world from seeing what was happening within.
Qin Lan’s face brimmed with confidence, “Ye Liangchen, I didn’t want to hurt you, but you provoked someone you shouldn’t have. I have no choice but to eliminate you.”
“Are you working for Senior Brother Xu or Senior Brother Yue?” Li Xiaobai was somewhat astonished, not expecting retaliation to come so swiftly.
“You’ve also offended Senior Brother Yue, I really underestimated you. To dare offend a True Disciple, it seems even if I don’t make a move, you won’t live much longer,” said Qin Lan.
“It seems it was Xu Kun who sent you.”
Li Xiaobai nodded, understanding the situation in his heart.
“Rest assured, Young Master Liangchen, today Qin Lan will only cripple your cultivation and not take your life. As for your future, whether you can pass through safely will depend on your own fate,” she said.
Qin Lan let out a light laugh, her hands forming a spell, causing the silk brocade around her to suddenly blaze with red light.
Mysterious patterns appeared on the ground of the platform, tracing and forming an illusory formation.
Li Xiaobai felt a tightness all over, the System panel showed no fluctuating values, it seemed he was merely bound.
Qin Lan summoned a longsword in her hand, flicking her wrist and suddenly stabbing towards Li Xiaobai’s lower abdomen, the area of his Dantian.
“Xingtian Sword Technique!”
A wisp of blood-red light flashed at the tip of the sword, a chilling coldness seeping through.
Li Xiaobai tensed his abdominal muscles, using this skill for the first time, “Super Abdominal Muscles!”
[Super Abdominal Muscles: When tensing the abs seriously, defensive power is doubled.]
[Note: When I seriously tense my abs, even a Daluo Golden Immortal can’t move me.]
The muscles swelled and hardened, as tough as granite, and Qin Lan’s longsword shattered instantly. With the Reflect skill activated, her internal cultivation technique went into disarray, she grunted, a sweet taste in her throat as she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Qin Lan’s face was filled with horror; she had used eighty percent of her strength in that strike, and the opponent put up no resistance. But she was the one who ended up getting hurt!
What sort of heretic cultivation technique was this?
“What is this move? You are definitely not just an ordinary disciple; what kind of expert are you, appearing out of nowhere!”
“I am Ye Liangchen. Liangchen does not like to talk nonsense. If you step down from the stage now, I will still spare you,” Li Xiaobai said indifferently, the Attribute Points gained from that last strike not as high as he had hoped.
[Attribute Points: 1200.]
All on defense.
[Defensive Power: Indestructible Golden Body Seventh Turn (63200/70000) Ready for advancement.]
“Arrogant! I am the daughter of Xingtian Sect’s Sect Master from Central Province, Xing Mohan’s fiancée. I have learned more secret techniques than you have ever seen, and everyone gives me some deference. How could you, a nobody, defeat me!” Qin Lan’s face twisted into a snarl as she sat down cross-legged, her hands forming seals and directing them like sword fingers.
“Xingtian Sword Evocation, Primordial Spirit Projection!”
A hazy Primodial Spirit Phantom appeared behind her, resembling an old man in appearance. It was significantly smaller than a real primordial spirit, likely forcefully summoned through a secret technique.
“Ye Liangchen, even if you are a genius, you will die before my Sword Intent Primordial Spirit!” Qin Lan was confident of her victory, the opponent even giving her time to execute her technique, truly arrogant to the point of folly.
“Sword Demon, esteemed senior, take out this man for Qin Lan!”
The Primodial Spirit Phantom nodded slightly, lightly tapping in the air, and the shattered longsword instantly restored itself, returning to its hand.
With a flourish of the sword, a casual thrust sent out a storm of Sword Qi, turning into needle-like assaults, pouring down on Li Xiaobai like a torrential downpour.
The sky-shattering sword light immediately disintegrated the red diamond, revealing the scene on the platform…