Ever since Si Qing captured Zhu Lie in the Mist province, he had admired his battle prowess quite a lot. He was basically a natural-born fighter, so Si Long wanted to take him on as a servant.
However, Zhu Lie was like a trapped beast, frequently trying to run away. Si Long gave him plenty of punishment and torture to wear away his feral nature. At the same time, he gave him delicious food or even seductive women that the Mist province lacked to erode at his willpower.
Now, it was finally time for his efforts to bear fruit.
Under Si Qing’s stern and eager gaze, Zhu Lie opened his mouth and spat out four words after quite a long while. “I want to live!”
Si Qing laughed aloud, overjoyed. He waved his arm.
Clank! Clatter! Jangle!
Zhu Lie’s shackles were removed, striking the ground loudly. The cage opened up.
With a whoosh, Zhu Lie turned into a ball of fire and charged out of the cage. Waves of heat swept out into the surroundings, the flames directly reaching towards Si Qing. The hot wind made his robes ruffle loudly.
Si Qing did not move at all. He stared into Zhu Lie’s blazing eyes, displaying unwavering determination. If you run away or attack me again this time, only death awaits you.
Before this determination, Zhu Lie finally lowered his head. “Where is my weapon and armour?”
This guy is going to be a tough opponent. If I don’t use the Demon Suppression Statuary, defeating him truly won’t be easy with just the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.
Li Qingshan thought. The abilities of otherfolk had always been stronger than regular people, and Fire Devouring folk were renowned for being battle-hungry among otherfolk. With his strength at mid Foundation Establishment alone, defeating an otherfolk who was equivalent to peak Foundation Establishment was almost impossible.
Gu Yanying said without looking back, “Li Qingshan, if you lose this round, I won’t spare you!”
Li Qingshan skewed his lips. “Victory and defeat are common in battle. Commander, are there any rewards if I win this final round?”
Gu Yanying smiled. “Kid, you have quite the appetite, don’t you. Aren’t you satisfied with these arcane artifacts?”
“I’m satisfied! I’m very much satisfied!” Li Qingshan said, but he communicated through his soul sense, Did I exchange for these arcane artifacts or did I win them?
“That’ll be up to you. A real man shouldn’t haggle over every single detail. The duel is about to begin. Get ready to fight!”
Li Qingshan looked at the Dragon Arena and thought, At least I’ll be able to explain their origins and avoid any suspicion with these arcane artifacts! If I lack anything in the future, I’ll just demand them from this woman!
The Dragon Arena immediately became a sea of fire. Golden-yellow and fiery-red lava flowed slowly on the ground as the ash shrouded the sky.
Yan Xixin made use of the time Si Qing spent conversing with Zhu Lie to catch his breath and recover some of his spiritual qi. He had no idea what had happened outside. Gazing at the sky, he thought, Looks like the final opponent is a cultivator who primarily practises the fire element.
He was in no hurry to admit defeat. At the very least, he had to understand the opponent’s origins and techniques to increase his final colleague's chances at victory as much as possible. Naturally, this final colleague was Li Qingshan.
Suddenly, light poured through a black cloud, and a huge fireball smashed through the cloud, rushing over from the horizon with a long tail like a meteor. It was still over five kilometers away, but it was already unstoppable.
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Yan Xixin’s expression changed; he said firmly, “I admit defeat!”
When he uttered those three words, the meteor was already less than three kilometers away. The waves of heat assaulted him, and Yan Xixin’s face was dyed red, but the meteor had no intentions of stopping.
Si Qing said, “Zhu Lie, do not forget about the iron rules of the arena!”
With a great boom, the meteor exploded loudly, turning into thousands of sparks.
Zhu Lie leapt out, lifting a fiery-red trident high into the air and stabbing down at Yan Xixin’s head. He completely ignored Si Qing’s order. Making him agree and submit was already his limit. Pent-up fury and killing intent to vent filled him, so why would he spare any opponent?
Yan Xixin was in no state to fight back. Just when he was about to die, the trident stopped right in his face, where the tip was only an inch away from his eye. The dense aura of flames it contained slowly erupted, about to turn Yan Xixin’s head to ash.
A pale, slender hand extended out from thin air, grabbing the scorching hot handle. Zhu Lie stared at the beautiful woman in white before him in surprise and anger. He poured all of his strength into his trident, but it would not advance even an inch further.
Gu Yanying waved her left hand gently. Zhu Lie and his flames flew backwards, tumbling away at a speed even greater than when he first arrived. In the end, he landed in a river of lava. She brought Yan Xixin out of the arena. “Let’s continue with the next round!”
Although Zhu Lie had tried to kill him without any consideration for the rules, it never ended up happening. If she allowed Zhu Lie to kill Yan Xixin, then not only would Zhu Lie pay with his life, but she would even directly win the next round and the overall duel. However, she did not want to sacrifice Yan Xixin.
“Yanying’s bearing is extraordinary as always. You have my admiration!” Si Qing forced out a faint smile. He had been in the wrong here. He secretly made up his mind to properly deal with Zhu Lie after winning the duel.
Zhu Lie leapt out of the lava. His face was twisted viciously, his anger intensified, and his killing intent burned violently like fire.
At this exact moment, Li Qingshan stood up and entered the Dragon Arena. Immediately, the sounds of waves rose up. The entire battlefield went from being a boundless sea of fire to a vast, deep-blue lake.
Li Qingshan could not help but smile, but he was also rather disappointed.
He understood what Gu Yanying was trying to say. Truly, only victory was permitted with this round. If he still could not win even when possessed such an advantage, then he was better off hanging himself.
The three prior victories had basically followed Gu Yanying’s original plan, while the last round was basically a free win. However, exactly because it was far too easy, Li Qingshan instead felt rather disappointed.
On the other hand, Zhu Lie was unworried as if he had grown accustomed to this. Roaring flames ignited on his trident, and he swung it backwards. “Damn water, evaporate away!”
Si Qing said, “Don’t tell me you think you can defeat Zhu Lie with some mere geographical advantages! Water trumping over fire only holds for conventional thinking. In the Mist province of the south, the Fire Devouring folk and Merfolk also understand this logic, but they have waged war for years. Are you telling me that your subordinate’s talent for controlling water even surpasses Merfolk?”
Gu Yanying said, “You only really know for sure once you try it in this world.”
Li Qingshan parted his hands. The almost-transparent Gentle Wave gloves emitted azure light. The surface of the lake immediately began to surge violently as a water dragon whistled over, followed by a second one, a third one… In the blink of an eye, nine water dragons rushed into the air, coiling around and lunging towards Zhu Lie.
“Hmm?” Si Qing was mildly surprised. “Isn’t he only at mid Foundation Establishment? How can he do something like this?”
Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. This was already his current limit, and he had only achieved this with the amplification of the Gentle Wave gloves. Of course, this was merely the limit of his human cultivation.
He thought to himself, I already possess an advantage like this. If I still end up using the Demon Suppression Statuary and the Traitorous Demon sword, it’ll be meaningless even if I win, and I’ll reveal my trump card for nothing. I refuse to believe that I can’t defeat this measly fire devourer with all these arcane artifacts and the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.
Zhu Lie opened his mouth and spat out roaring flames. The flames reduced the nine dragons to clouds of white steam before they could even approach him, drifting over the surface of the lake.
“Interesting!”
Li Qingshan rejoiced instead of being surprised. He formed a seal and went with the flow, using a technique. Immediately, the mist became thick like milk, reducing visibility to a minimum. He hid his aura in the heavy mist, but he could clearly see Zhu Lie.
However, Zhu Lie was completely unaffected, charging towards Li Qingshan. He was not as swift and elusive as Gu Yanying, but he was still startlingly fast. He swung down with the scarlet-red trident violently. “Do you think you can disguise that stink of yours just like this? Die!”
Li Qingshan grabbed the tip of the trident with his left hand and twisted his body, throwing a punch at Zhu Lie’s chest with his right hand. Water spiritual qi coiled around his hand like a whirlpool. Zhu Lie punched back, and the fierce flames smashed through the whirlpool, colliding with Li Qingshan’s fist.
The two of them clashed with brute strength as water and fire collided violently, equally matched with one another. However, fire was far more destructive than water. Li Qingshan could feel his hands become red-hot, where even breathing became scorching.
Zhu Lie’s chest swelled, and Li Qingshan thought, Oh no, he’s going to spit fire again!
A single breath from Zhu Lie had nullified the nine water dragons he had summoned with his full strength, so he understood the power behind this attack. In his opinion, they should not be called Fire Devouring folk, but Fire Spitting folk.
Li Qingshan felt his body colden before heating up again. The cold came from his soft armour, which immediately lit up with inscriptions and formed a thick layer of ice armour. The heat came from the arriving flames.
Zhu Lie was surprised at first before grinning viciously. He never thought Li Qingshan would actually be bold enough to confront him directly, which was perfect for him to vent his fury. The flames he spat out became even more intense, becoming scarlet-red in colour.
Under the flames, the ice armour began to melt very quickly. Li Qingshan used the Arts of the Boundless Ocean to channel his spiritual qi, and only then did he gain control over the situation, but his spiritual qi depleted rapidly.
Suddenly, Zhu Lie shut his mouth and brought his head down in a headbutt. With a clank, most of the ice armour shattered. The scarlet-red horn pierced through bit by bit. It would not take long for it to pierce his defence.
With a thought, the waistband on Li Qingshan let out a ring of water. As soon as it came into contact with Zhu Lie, it all surged over to him, surrounding him in a ball of water.
The ball of water was different from regular water. It was extremely heavy and thick like glue. Zhu Lie immediately became immobilised like an insect trapped in resin, turning into amber over time. The flames on his body were suppressed as well.
Sure enough, these arcane artifacts can help me quite a lot in battle. If I could slash out with the Traitorous Demon sword right now, I’ll definitely be able to behead him!
Li Qingshan thought as he launched a palm strike. Although it contained the great force of the Cloud Parting Form, it was nowhere close to the power that the Traitorous Demon sword had in vanquishing foes.
With a bang, the ball of water was smashed apart, and Zhu Lie flew out. The ice armour around Li Qingshan shattered as well.
As it turned out, in the moment he sent Zhu Lie flying, Zhu Lie’s trident had emerged from the ball of water and struck the chink in the ice armour. Meanwhile, the fire-red armour had mostly blocked the force of Li Qingshan’s palm strike. Their fighting spirit surged.
“Let’s go for another three hundred clashes!”
“Alright!” Li Qingshan rushed over to receive him. His entire body began to spin, turning into a water tornado as he collided violently with the ball of fire.
Steam surged and obscured their figures. Fire and water raged as they flashed about. The sounds of collisions rang out constantly. Who knew how many times they had clashed in that moment!
Yan Xixin murmured to himself, “This makes no sense!”