Even though he had told Bai Jin and Bai Li in their casual chat earlier about the price he needed to pay for asking Jiang Zhi for help, when the moment to pay the price actually arrived, Jiang Huai was timid and his head ached.
Jiang Zhi, standing before him, raised her snow-white, slender leg. Her white and tender, delicate little feet were slightly raised, her slender feet as exquisite as perfect works of art. Her toes were as cute and tempting as crystal grapes, and the ultra-thin, pearlescent stockings wrapped her little feet. If one looked closely, they could still see the veins on her insteps.
Jiang Zhi crossed her arms and stared at him, her eyes not blinking.
She did not urge Jiang Huai, because Jiang Huai’s current expression of extreme shame was enough to satisfy her greatly. Humiliating Jiang Huai like this brought her great pleasure, until Bai Li, lying on the bed with an innocent expression, suddenly asked in a very soft voice.
“Senior?”
“Hmm?” Jiang Zhi followed the source of the voice and looked towards Bai Li.
“Why do you want to reward him?” Bai Li tilted her small head innocently, showing her confusion.
At that moment, Jiang Huai, who had been hesitating, suddenly couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
Since he had asked Jiang Zhi for help, he had naturally been prepared to be humiliated for a long time. His dignity could be sold at a suitable moment, but when Bai Li’s words came out, he suddenly realized that as long as Bai Li and Bai Jin didn’t think he was embarrassing, then he… of course had nothing to care about.
Jiang Zhi’s toes lifted slightly, her white and tender little feet looking tender and tempting. Jiang Huai took a step closer and gently took her ankle. Just as he lightly grabbed it, Jiang Zhi’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
“What are you laughing at?” She looked up at Jiang Huai.
“Nothing, it’s just… I remembered something funny.” Jiang Huai immediately put on a look of being severely humiliated and wronged again, but Jiang Zhi felt as if she had been tricked. If Jiang Huai in front of her didn’t care about such humiliation, then her fun would disappear without a trace.
Instead, at the moment Jiang Huai grabbed her ankle, she suddenly had a strange illusion, as if she was being controlled, and that she was now Jiang Huai’s toy, forced to extend her feet in humiliation and let him play with them as he pleased. Thus, her body trembled slightly, she pulled her hand away from Jiang Huai, and her snow-white little feet were retracted. “Forget it, I’ll collect it next time. I don’t want it now.”
“Oh…”
Jiang Zhi suddenly realized that there was still a trace of regret in Jiang Huai’s eyes!
Jiang Zhi felt a bit antsy, but she couldn’t think of any other way to humiliate Jiang Huai. She glanced at Jiang Huai with a faint expression, leaning back against the chair, and asked, “You don’t mind if I sit here for a while, do you?”
“Of course not, please sit.” Jiang Huai acted obsequiously, leaning behind Jiang Zhi to gently knead her shoulders. This move was clearly very effective for Jiang Huai. Her cold expression softened a little, becoming more lazy.
***
The Snake Clan and the Fox Clan were not far apart. After an hour, the Spirit Boat arrived at the Fox Clan’s Imperial City. The elders of the Fox Clan had been waiting for a long time.
The Grand Competition between the two clans involved selecting five young juniors from each side to contend for victory, ultimately deciding the ownership of the forest located at the border between the Fox and Snake Clans, as well as several cities.
Jiang Huai saw a large number of beast-eared fox girls again. He quickly spotted Su Qiang and Su Qingyi, who were leading the group. Today, the Fox Emperor Su Qiang was wearing a large red palace dress, alluring like a wild fire. Su Qingyi, on the other hand, wore a white palace dress, her snow-white fox ears standing tall. Her eyes were still as cold and aloof as ever, but she had also cultivated the Overlord Art. Jiang Huai quickly sensed that Su Qingyi’s cultivation level had already reached the early stage of the seventh layer of the Overlord Art.
The sixth layer of the Overlord Art required the beginner stage of cultivators in the Seventh Realm and above. The early stage of the seventh layer required the saliva of the Eighth Realm. The latter half of the seventh layer required dual cultivation with a cultivator of the Eighth Realm or above more than fifty times. Clearly, the early stage of the seventh layer was the limit Su Qingyi, at her current level, could reach with the Overlord Art.
As for Jiang Huai, he was still a little short of reaching the perfected sixth layer of the Overlord Art.
His and Su Qingyi’s gazes met in mid-air for a moment before Su Qingyi quickly looked away. The two clans entered separately, the elders took their seats, and a擂台 (arena) had already been built in the center, with clusters of flames burning around its edges.
Jiang Huai’s current cultivation level was Void Refinement second layer. He scanned the younger generation cultivators of the Fox Clan. Apart from Su Qingyi, who had entered the Seventh Realm, the strongest among the rest were only at the Spirit Transformation tenth layer. None of them were Bai Li’s match. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Su Qiang and Bai Jin also exchanged glances, but their eyes were equally cold. They also took their seats together. The Fox Clan elder read out the rules of the Grand Competition once more and the allocation of resources.
The rules of the competition were not to the death; rather, it would end when one party conceded.
The first match was between the young juniors of the Fox Clan and the Snake Clan. Bai Li was still sitting next to Jiang Huai, and Su Qingyi remained motionless. The two juniors each held sharp weapons, and the atmosphere was tense.
The arena flickered with the glint of blades and swords. Beneath the shadows were streaks of crimson blood. Jiang Huai, having seen sparring matches between juniors in the Eastern Region, felt that what met his eyes now was like a battle to the death.
The rules clearly allowed for concession, but in an instant, Jiang Huai suddenly understood. Rules were rules, but these juniors would rather fight to the last moment to secure more resources for their clan, rather than surrender so easily.
Although their competition seemed like child’s play to Jiang Huai, a faint melancholy arose in his heart.
Among the juniors on stage, the fox cultivator’s fox tail behind him had been cut off by a blade. It lay on the ground, and blood continuously spurted from his back. The snake junior had his entire left arm chopped off, yet he seemed unaware, continuously drawing his sword. Streams of sword light appeared one after another on the stage, as if a rain of blood was falling.
“Aunt Bai…”
“Hmm?”
“Please ask him to concede and stop this match.” Jiang Huai said softly.
Bai Jin was slightly stunned for a moment, then, after a moment, she followed Jiang Huai’s suggestion. She spoke in a deep voice towards the stage. The snake junior retreated to the edge of the arena and looked at the Snake Emperor Bai Jin, but his eyes were filled with unwillingness.
“Concede,” Bai Jin said softly again.
The snake junior reluctantly jumped off the stage. Cheers erupted from the fox girls below. Even though the stage was covered in blood, it was as if they had all gone mad with killing. Jiang Huai was momentarily dazed. He suddenly realized that he still didn’t understand the Monster Clan well enough.
He stood up and slowly walked onto the stage, looking at the fox cultivator opposite him, who had already lost a tail. He said softly, “You are no match for me. Go down.”
But the fox girl with the severed tail did not leave. She slowly raised her hand, pointing her blade at Jiang Huai. It wasn’t until Su Qingyi stepped onto the stage and placed her hand on her shoulder, saying softly, “Go down.”
Then she left the stage. At this moment, on the stage, Jiang Huai and Su Qingyi stood firm. They looked at each other. Su Qingyi’s eyes were very cold, while Jiang Huai’s eyes were gentle.
“The Grand Competition between the two clans is a battle to the death. It’s not as simple as you think.”
“I can see that,” Jiang Huai nodded lightly. He unhurriedly took out the Yening Sword. The air was slightly humid at the moment, and the Yening Sword instantly condensed a cluster of water droplets. He shook off the droplets and stood quietly, saying softly, “But my goal is only to defeat you. After I defeat you, I will tell you something good.”
“Something good?” Su Qingyi glanced at him coldly. “What is it?”
“I’ll tell you after I win.”
“I will not hold back, Jiang Huai,” Su Qingyi said coldly. “If I have the chance to kill you, I will not hesitate for a moment.”
“Alright,” Jiang Huai gripped the hilt of his sword, and everything in his eyes instantly became extremely clear.
***
Jiang Huai could barely remember when he had last gone all out in a sword fight.
Many sword cultivators honed their skills through combat, constantly focusing on improving their sword techniques and cultivation. Jiang Huai, however, was only a half-hearted sword cultivator, rarely fighting anyone in a year. As a result, his hand felt a bit rusty when he first drew his sword.
Su Qingyi’s seventh-layer Overlord Art was much more ruthless than Jiang Huai had imagined. Although he had not let his guard down, in a moment of carelessness, after dodging Su Qingyi’s sword strike, she closed in on him and violently collided with his left shoulder. The immense force of the collision at that moment produced an explosive sound. Jiang Huai was sent flying a considerable distance. He spent a lot of spiritual energy to dissipate the force and stabilize his body, standing at the edge of the arena. He looked down and saw that his shoulder had caved in.
He did not blame Su Qingyi.
He saw this sword discussion very simply, but for Su Qingyi, it represented the future of the Fox Clan for the next decade. She could not have the slightest hesitation, nor the slightest reservation. This was her duty as the Grand Princess of the Fox Clan.
“Concede,” Su Qingyi said, sword in hand. She walked forward step by step, looking at him, and began to force him to concede.
Jiang Huai stood firmly, gripping the Yening Sword tightly. The simple patterns on the blade now faintly glowed. Spiritual Qi surged within his Qi sea, and the Yening Sword Spirit was awakened, adding a bit more power to the blade itself.
The moment he swung his sword, sword light rained down on the arena, making it impossible for Su Qingyi to discern where his sword strike was hidden within the downpour. The instant she sensed his presence, Jiang Huai’s blade was already an inch from her eyes.
This was Chu Xianning’s Silver Ray.
With just a slight push forward, the blade would pierce her eye, but Jiang Huai stopped there. A moment later, he also heard the system prompt indicating the completion of a mission, meaning that Su Qingyi could not dodge this strike, and he had been judged by the system as the winner.
However, Su Qingyi did not close her eyes, nor did she concede. In an instant, she twisted her body, and the Spirit Sword in her hand shone brightly, stabbing towards Jiang Huai’s lower abdomen. And in that moment of distraction, Jiang Huai was pierced through the body by the sword’s edge.
The benefit of cultivating the Overlord Art was that he had become accustomed to pain. Even with his body pierced by a sword, Jiang Huai no longer cried out as he used to, merely frowning slightly. He looked at Su Qingyi in front of him, at her slightly pale cheeks, her lips trembling slightly. Jiang Huai couldn’t hear what she was saying.
He saw the madness in Su Qingyi’s eyes, the same madness as when she had hurt him in the cave.
Only when Jiang Huai’s blood splattered onto her cheeks did the madness in her eyes instantly clear. She finally came to her senses, her pale cheeks devoid of color. Jiang Huai lowered his head slightly, casually grabbed her wrist, pulled out the sword, and then used spiritual energy to stop the bleeding. He looked helplessly at Su Qingyi and said, “You win.”
“I…”
“It’s okay,” Jiang Huai shook his head, casually producing two simple Healing Pills. A moment later, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar by Su Qingyi. He was already slightly weakened by his injuries, and caught off guard, he was pulled towards her. In the next instant, Su Qingyi leaned in and kissed his lips.
The fox saliva was warm and sweet.
