Chapter 26: Provocation

In the Zhuanshui Small Tower, Ji Ning, Tiannong Quge, and others were holding wine cups, drinking and watching a life-and-death battle taking place in the central arena.

Inside the sealing formation, the golden-haired giant and the lion-man, having burst out of their cages, raised their heads and roared. Although the roar was blocked by the sealing formation and couldn't be heard, the air could be seen exploding.

"This physical body is quite strong; it should be a relatively crude divine demon body-refining technique." Bo Yan the Fairy smiled, and her charm was irresistible, causing the golden-haired giant and the lion-man to stare blankly at the seductive woman outside the sealing formation.

"Bo Yan the Fairy's allure is hard for even foreign races to resist," Zhuanshui Xiaolou said with a laugh.

Soon the golden-haired giant and the lion-man regained their clarity.

Both stared intently at their opponent. From the day they were captured and brought to this Watercloud Tower, the people of Watercloud Tower had told them: "In every battle, one of you must die. If you survive nine consecutive battles, you can leave this place and become a soldier of our Zhuanshui clan."

In their homeland, a minor world, the golden-haired giant and the lion-man were top experts, usually surrounded by a group of servants and subordinates.

But ever since a group of powerful and terrifying cultivators came to their world, they quickly conquered it, and they became slaves... When they were sold to this tribe called 'Zhuanshui clan,' they were even more shocked to find that almost every servant in the Zhuanshui clan was stronger than them!

They despaired, no longer harboring hope of escape, and could only submit.

Their only desire was to survive nine battles and then become soldiers of the Zhuanshui clan!

"Golden Sea tribesman, accept your death!" The lion-man roared, then with a kick of his four hooves, he turned into a gust of wind and lunged straight at the golden-haired giant.

"It's you who will die!" The golden-haired giant also bent down and charged.

Bang!

The two clashed head-on. The lion-man's claw left a wound on the golden-haired giant's chest, while the golden-haired giant's fist heavily struck the lion-man's head, sending blood splattering.

Both wounds quickly healed, and they continued fighting.

...

"Indeed, it's divine demon body-refining," Ji Ning nodded.

"The cultivation methods of that minor world are all divine demon body-refining," Zhuanshui Xiaolou said. "But they are the crudest divine demon body-refining methods. It is said that the strongest in that minor world are three divine demon body-refining cultivators at roughly the Primordial Soul level, but their comprehension of the 'Dao' is too poor. In our Great Xia Dynasty, we could casually send a Primordial Soul Daoist with a magic treasure to easily deal with those three strongest in that world!"

Ji Ning nodded.

In the qi-refining path, one needs to reach an extremely high realm in the 'Dao' to control this primal energy.

In divine demon body-refining, the requirements for the 'Dao' are relatively lower. Of course, the top-tier 'Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens' has absurdly high requirements for the Dao. But some poorer divine demon body-refining methods, even some that can be called crude, have almost no requirements for the 'Dao.' However, with such a poor foundation, it's naturally difficult to reach a very high level. Cultivating to the Wanxiang level is about the limit; reaching the 'divine demon body-refining Primordial Soul level' is a stroke of luck.

"Their close combat skills have roughly reached the Unity of Heaven and Man realm," Tiannong Quge said with a smile.

"The outcome will be decided soon," Zhuanshui Xiaolou said.

The lion-man roared madly, charging again and again, trampling again and again, his hands trying to grapple.

But the golden-haired giant was clearly more agile, darting left and right, leaving huge wounds on the lion-man's body and depleting the divine power within him.

"Whoosh!" The golden-haired giant brushed past the trampling hooves, and his right hand, like a blade, plunged straight into the lion-man's chest.

Rip~~~

The chest was torn open, blood splattering.

"Bang." The lion-man swung his arms violently. The golden-haired giant barely blocked and was sent flying backward.

"Hahaha..." The golden-haired giant laughed wildly, continuing to circle the lion-man like lightning, leaving huge wounds on him again and again. Finally, the lion-man's divine power was exhausted; his wounds could no longer heal, and his speed began to slow.

"Crack."

The golden-haired giant, like a golden lightning bolt, whistled past, directly grabbing the lion-man's head and twisting it violently.

He twisted the head off directly.

Holding the head in one hand, the golden-haired giant raised it high like a victorious general. The lion-man's body crashed to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

"Whoosh." The sealing formation was lifted. Some servants of Watercloud Tower immediately came up, quickly cleaned the ground, and disposed of the lion-man's corpse. Soon the central arena was spotless again.

"Reporting to the young master." A Watercloud Tower steward in the central arena said respectfully, "This golden-haired giant has won nine consecutive battles. According to the rules, he is now a soldier of our Zhuanshui clan."

The golden-haired giant stood obediently beside the Watercloud Tower steward.

"Oh?"

Zhuanshui Xiaolou, sitting high up, smiled. "What a coincidence, he just happened to win nine in a row. I will grant you a pot of immortal wine. Serve my Zhuanshui clan well, and my clan will not mistreat its soldiers."

"Thank you, Immortal." The golden-haired giant knelt on one knee, his voice rumbling. Although his accent was a bit odd, it was the human language. After all, he was a foreign race comparable to the Wanxiang level, with high intelligence, and learning a language was quick.

Soon the golden-haired giant withdrew.

In the central arena, a group of seductive dancing girls appeared, dancing gracefully, accompanied by music.

"In the Great Xia capital, these foreign races kill each other. When I first arrived in Anchi City, there were those gambling battles where I fought against demonic beasts and other humans. Those demonic beasts and humans had no power to resist; they had to fight as ordered. The weak don't even have the right to choose. Only by becoming strong can one have the right to choose. First, the right to choose, then one can control one's own destiny." Ji Ning pondered. Only by frequent introspection and examining his own heart could he strengthen his Dao-heart.

"The Immortal Feast is an opportunity for me to transform. Through the Immortal Feast, I will surely temper myself to become stronger."

...

Various performances took place one after another in the central arena.

Ji Ning and the others exchanged toasts and watched. Xiao Lang, who was aloof and displeased, seeing Zhuanshui Xiaolou and Tiannong Quge treat Ji Ning so courteously, became even more annoyed.

"Everyone." Xiao Lang suddenly spoke.

Immediately, Ji Ning and the other three looked over. Xiao Lang rarely spoke, so since he had, they all turned to listen.

"Those killing performances are not satisfying. In my opinion, how about Ji Ning and I have a sparring match?" Xiao Lang's eyes were full of battle intent and confidence. "I've heard that Ji Ning is incredibly powerful, even able to kill Shaoyan Nong, and especially that he killed a Primordial Soul level divine demon under his command. This makes me very eager. Today, Ji Ning and I will only spar. If anyone feels they can't hold on, they can immediately concede. We absolutely won't harm our friendship. What do you think, Ji Ning?"

Ji Ning was startled.

Why did he suddenly want to spar with him?

Although the divine demon Xiangliu was killed by him, it was a Primordial Soul level divine demon with top-tier Sanxian combat power. Anyone with a bit of sense would understand that Ji Ning must have used some special means to kill that divine demon. Otherwise, relying solely on real strength, how could he have killed it?

Zhuanshui Xiaolou, Tiannong Quge, and Bo Yan the Fairy all watched, observing Ji Ning's reaction.

"No need." Ji Ning shook his head.

Hearing this, Xiao Lang felt even more that Ji Ning lacked strength and confidence, after all, he had only been cultivating for thirty years.

"It's just a spar, not a life-and-death battle." Xiao Lang said discontentedly, "Ji Ning, you have a reputation, even killing a Primordial Soul divine demon, and now you don't even dare to spar with me?"

"Killing that Primordial Soul divine demon was just a fluke, not my true strength," Ji Ning said.

Xiao Lang sneered inwardly.

Everyone knew it couldn't be his true strength! But today, as long as they sparred, he would definitely make Ji Ning look very foolish.

"We are all participating in the Immortal Feast, where life-and-death battles come one after another. Today is just a spar. If you don't even dare to spar, why bother participating in the Immortal Feast?" Xiao Lang pretended to be angry and dissatisfied. "Is Ji Ning afraid?"

Ji Ning frowned. Why was this Xiao Lang so aggressive?

"I don't want to spar," Ji Ning shook his head. "If Xiao Lang really wants to fight me, we can wait until the Immortal Feast begins."

"The Immortal Feast? That's still over a year away! The Immortal Feast is about life-and-death battles. You don't even dare to spar, and yet..." Xiao Lang sneered, his disdain evident on his face.

"Enough." Zhuanshui Xiaolou frowned and spoke.

Xiao Lang nodded. "I won't force Ji Ning. Since Ji Ning doesn't want to spar, so be it. Bo Yan, how about you and I have a spar to liven things up?"

Bo Yan the Fairy frowned slightly, then smiled. "Please go easy on me, Xiao Lang."

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Xiao Lang said. "I'll stop once I knock away your magic treasure."

This angered Bo Yan the Fairy.

This Xiao Lang really was as twisted as the rumors said, speaking so arrogantly.

"Then come on." Bo Yan the Fairy immediately flew to the central arena.

"Alright." Xiao Lang's figure flickered, and he arrived in the central arena. The dancing girls originally there were all dismissed.

Ji Ning sat watching Xiao Lang and Bo Yan the Fairy in the central arena, frowning inwardly: "This Xiao Lang really thinks he's invincible. Now that I've just arrived at the Great Xia capital, the Shaoyan clan will try every means to deal with me. I need to be cautious in everything. Maybe this Xiao Lang was sent by the Shaoyan clan, perhaps carrying some terrifying treasures, like a 'Seal Scroll' or similar. I might suffer a great loss. Although I have a second true body, my original body is still more important."

At the Immortal Feast, talismans and other treasures are forbidden; one must rely on true strength to filter out the top geniuses.

But in a spar at Watercloud Tower, if Xiao Lang was secretly sent by the Shaoyan clan and suddenly used some terrifying exotic treasure, and his original body was destroyed, that would be too unjust.

"Zhuanshui Xiaolou actually took such a person into his residence..." Ji Ning glanced at Zhuanshui Xiaolou beside him, who was still smiling as he watched the central arena.

Zhuanshui Xiaolou knew full well that Xiao Lang had a strange temper and twisted personality, but even if it was a mad dog, as long as it obeyed him, a mad dog could be very useful.

Sometimes, what he couldn't do, a mad dog could.