As soon as those words fell,
everyone from the Golden Elephant Kingdom was stunned, then their faces twisted into fury.
Hundreds of gold-armored guards stepped forward in unison. Their halberds crashed down, power enough to shake mountains, making the very earth tremble.
“Presumptuous!”
The yellow-robed elder bellowed, flinging out a slash of golden light that shot straight for Xiao Minghuang’s face, clearly intending to kill her on the spot.
Seeing this,
Xiao Minghuang didn’t dodge or flinch. She simply let the golden light rush toward her.
When the golden light was less than ten feet from her, a spear suddenly thrust out from the side, flicking the golden light apart with a single strike.
“Old cur, are you looking for death?!”
Lin Zhengquan roared. The spear in his hand blazed with golden radiance. The might of a top-grade Yellow-rank magic weapon was fully revealed. The sharp spear light was almost tangible; its aura alone seemed enough to pierce the yellow-robed elder’s protective true spirit.
Facing the menacing Broken Gold Spear, the yellow-robed elder’s expression didn’t change. Golden light surged over his entire body, accompanied by tiger and leopard roars and crackling thunder, “pa pa pa” resounding nonstop, as he forcefully pushed the spear light back.
The yellow-robed elder let out a cold laugh.
“I’m a body cultivator of Longhu Sect, born to battle heaven and earth. City Lord Lin, you and I are merely in the same realm. Once we really fight, who wins and who loses is far from certain…”
In truth, if he weren’t wary of the top-grade Yellow-rank spear in Lin Zhengquan’s hand, he wouldn’t have agreed to any so-called duel over the spirit vein at all.
As he spoke, his gaze slid back to Xiao Minghuang, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
“Little girl, you’re the so-called genius who caused that five-colored divine light phenomenon the other day?”
Xiao Minghuang’s gaze was calm as she replied evenly,
“You boast that Longhu Sect’s body cultivators battle heaven and earth. Yet all I see are a few useless chickens and stray dogs.”
At that,
the yellow-robed elder was so enraged he actually laughed, then said coldly,
“Little girl, you’re only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Do you understand that I could crush you to death with a single finger?”
Under his threat, Xiao Minghuang’s expression remained unchanged. She simply ignored him.
Lin Zhengquan’s eyes, however, went icy cold.
“Old bastard, try laying a finger on Her Highness.”
At those words, the yellow-robed elder frowned and, surprisingly, didn’t immediately snap back.
“Lin Zhengquan called this little girl ‘Your Highness’… could she be the Ninth Princess of the Xia Kingdom?”
As an elder of the Golden Elephant Kingdom—mortal enemy of Great Xia—he knew the Xia imperial clan very well. He knew the Xia Emperor had eight sons and one daughter. Could this little girl be his youngest?
“If she really is the Xia Emperor’s daughter, I truly can’t just kill her here…”
Right then,
a seventh-level Qi Refining aura suddenly flared and swept out from deep within the forest.
The aura was solid and heavy, full of fierce, domineering strength.
In an instant,
a figure wreathed in golden light flashed into view before everyone. He wore yellow robes, had a tall, burly frame, and looked to be in his early twenties, heroic and imposing.
Seeing him, the yellow-robed elder’s face showed a trace of joy.
The newcomer was an inner sect disciple of Longhu Sect, Wang Bao.
Though he was only an inner sect disciple, he had an excellent relationship with the top true disciple Xue Wushang and had already been internally chosen as the Grand Elder’s final disciple. His status was extremely high.
Wang Bao’s arrival was like sending charcoal in the snow. The elder hurriedly called out,
“Junior Nephew Wang, you’ve come at just the right time!”
Landing on the ground, Wang Bao completely ignored the yellow-robed elder. His gaze went straight to Xiao Minghuang in her red dress.
A flash of amazement crossed his eyes.
“This young lady, you must be the genius who triggered the five-colored divine light phenomenon the other day, yes? Your talent is quite good. I’ll give you a chance—join Longhu Sect as a true disciple. In the future, it’s not impossible for you to inherit the position of Sect Master.”
The yellow-robed elder had held high hopes for Wang Bao, but the moment he heard him invite Xiao Minghuang to join Longhu Sect, his expression became awkward.
With Xiao Minghuang’s talent, it wouldn’t take long before she left him far behind. Even if she didn’t become Sect Master, becoming an inner sect elder was practically guaranteed.
And he himself was only an outer sect deacon elder.
Facing Wang Bao’s olive branch, Xiao Minghuang spoke lightly,
“So what if I am? So what if I’m not? Longhu Sect? Never heard of it.”
Then she looked at the yellow-robed elder and said calmly,
“I came today only for the duel over the spirit vein. Yet you’ve been dawdling and wasting my time. If you refuse to fight, then leave at once and hand the spirit vein over to Beiyang City.”
Wang Bao was left hanging to the side, completely ignored. He didn’t get angry. He merely shook his head slightly.
“Youthful geniuses ought to have some pride. But if that pride goes too far, you’ll only ruin yourself.”
With the pressure shifting back onto him, the yellow-robed elder turned to Wang Bao, lowering his voice in supplication.
“Junior Nephew Wang, could you lend a hand and help us win this contest?”
Although his cultivation was higher than Wang Bao’s, he was only an outer sect deacon elder, his status far beneath the red-hot Wang Bao.
So if he wanted Wang Bao to act, he had no choice but to beg.
Wang Bao replied indifferently,
“Oh? This is a matter for your Golden Elephant Kingdom. Why should I act?”
The yellow-robed elder was stung, yet still refused to give up.
After all, today’s contest concerned the ownership of the spirit vein.
Forcing a smile onto his wrinkled face, he fawned,
“If Junior Nephew Wang is willing to act, I’m ready to offer thirty percent… no, fifty percent of the spirit vein’s income. Three hundred spirit stones a year, gifted to you. What do you say?”
At that,
the corner of Wang Bao’s lips curved in ridicule.
Three hundred spirit stones a year?
His monthly stipend alone was a thousand spirit stones. How could he care about a mere three hundred a year?
His real goal was that genius girl with the Five-Element spiritual root.
As long as he could bring this Five-Element genius into the sect, even aside from the sect’s rewards, his senior brother alone would not treat him poorly.
When the five-colored divine light anomaly appeared in the Wild Forest a few days ago, Senior Brother Xue Wushang immediately issued an order to find this Five-Element-rooted genius.
If it was a man, kill him on the spot.
If it was a woman, bring her into the sect and make her his Dao companion.
Wang Bao had accepted that order and come to the Wild Forest, never expecting to stumble upon this genius here.
His gaze swept over the people of Beiyang City. Aside from one martial artist at the peak of the Qi Spring Realm, the rest weren’t worth mentioning.
As an inner sect disciple of Longhu Sect, not only was his status noble, but the divine abilities and magic weapons he possessed were far beyond what any rogue cultivator in the outside world could compare to. Even if he were outmatched, no one here could stop him from fleeing.
He had escaped from peak Qi Spring experts more than once. How could he fear Lin Zhengquan?
Having been rebuffed twice in a row, the yellow-robed elder’s face was full of embarrassment. He glanced back at the young warriors from the Golden Elephant Kingdom.
All five were Golden Elephant natives who had joined Longhu Sect for cultivation; they were now outer sect disciples.
Their talent was top-tier within the Golden Elephant Kingdom, but in the vast Longhu Sect, they were nothing special.
Of the five, only one had reached Qi Refining. The others were still in the Body Tempering Realm.
If they were facing the old Beiyang City, they would have had absolute confidence in victory.
But with the Ninth Princess stepping onto the field, the outcome was far from certain.
Even so, they were riding a tiger now; there was no way down. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and step forward.
Besides, they were all from the same sect. Could Wang Bao really just stand there and watch them lose?
The yellow-robed elder looked at the five disciples, his face dark as he said,
“Go up and fight according to the original plan.”
The five disciples exchanged uneasy looks. The one at the first level of Qi Refining, the strongest among them, spoke up,
“Master, the Ninth Princess of Xia is at the fourth level of Qi Refining. I fear we won’t be her match…”
The yellow-robed elder’s face turned grim.
“When I tell you to go, you go. Enough nonsense.”
