That finger…

Li Changshou’s forehead was covered in black lines, his eyes swallowed by shadows, sitting there like a clay statue.

Why did this world harbor so much malice toward him?

There were at least seven or eight thousand cultivators present, and among the young disciples, his cultivation wasn’t particularly high or low—many disciples from smaller immortal sects hadn’t even reached the Return to Void realm.

How did this Dragon King’s Second Prince pick him out of this vast sea of people?

Li Changshou couldn’t understand, truly couldn’t understand, but he knew this wasn’t the time to space out—he had to do something to escape this predicament.

Countless gazes converged on him, immortal and spiritual senses probing…

Fortunately, as long as no one held his hand to probe his body directly, his hidden cultivation level shouldn’t be exposed.

But he couldn’t guarantee that the powerful figures on the high platform above hadn’t seen through his facade…

At this moment, Li Changshou wanted to rush up and pin this young dragon called Ao Yi to the ground, pry open his mouth, and stuff in several Immortal Melting Pills and Demon-Corroding Bone Pills!

“Junior Uncle Changshou? Junior Uncle Changshou?”

A female immortal from the Degree Immortal Gate transmitted urgently. Li Changshou immediately composed himself and looked up.

“Ahem!”

A male True Immortal from the Degree Immortal Gate cleared his throat, stood up, and bowed to Ao Yi who stood proudly in the vast arena, smiling as he said, “Prince Ao Yi, you wish to spar with our Junior Brother Changshou?”

“Correct,” Ao Yi said somewhat impatiently. “Send him up.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several voice transmissions reached his ears.

“Your Highness, you’ve made a mistake—that person just reached the second stage of Return to Void.”

“Your Highness! Choose that woman in the fire-colored dress, she’s at the eighth stage of Return to Void!”

Ao Yi’s mouth twitched slightly, but he remained completely unmoved.

Li Changshou also stood up at this time, bowing to his sect’s True Immortal, saying: “Elder Uncle, this disciple’s cultivation is shallow, not even ranking in the top hundred within our sect. I fear I am no match for this Prince. Rashly entering the arena might damage our Degree Immortal Gate’s dignity.

Perhaps the Prince could choose another fellow disciple from among our present Degree Immortal Gate members, one who ranks in the current top ten…

This disciple should not go up and make a fool of himself.”

The other ten Degree Immortal Gate disciples also stood up in succession. Qin Xuanya even walked several steps to the side, positioning herself in front of Li Changshou.

Ao Yi frowned—this person was not only weak in cultivation but also so troublesome.

The Dragon Palace’s Second Prince declared in a clear voice: “I have chosen you specifically!

What, does the Degree Immortal Gate hold my East Sea Dragon Palace in such low regard?”

Li Changshou immediately frowned deeply. This little fellow was determined to spar with him.

Where exactly had things gone wrong?

Meanwhile, on the high platform, two to three hundred human Celestial Immortals looked down observing the situation below, and over a hundred Dragon race experts also frowned as they watched.

Only on the high platform, did that dragon-headed human-bodied old Dragon King wear a smile, as if asleep; the old Dragon King paid no attention to what was happening below as if he already knew what would transpire…

As Li Changshou hesitated, his sect’s Elder Uncle turned to him with a helpless smile.

“Junior Brother Changshou, why don’t you go exchange a few moves with the Prince.”

This male True Immortal, fearing Li Changshou would be embarrassed, directly said: “I originally intended to bring you here to broaden your horizons, never expecting you would be chosen by the Prince to spar.

Junior Brother, just demonstrate what you’ve learned in your daily practice, there’s no need to strive for victory—don’t spoil the Prince’s mood.”

Immediately after, Li Changshou heard another Elder Uncle’s voice transmission:

‘Junior Brother Changshou, don’t worry, go up and exchange a few moves with him, we’ll watch closely from behind.

This young dragon is a Dragon Palace Prince with formidable abilities. If you see things going poorly, immediately concede. Self-preservation comes first.

With your insufficient cultivation, losing is no shame—our Degree Immortal Gate’s face doesn’t need disciples’ blood to maintain!’

Li Changshou sighed inwardly, showed a slight smile, and bowed to the elders and peers who looked at him with concern, then stepped down the stairs toward the arena.

He would do what a Return to Void Second Stage disciple could do.

Today Ao Yi was the main character; choosing him probably meant wanting to ensure a stable victory.

So he would help fulfill the other’s wishes, and exchange a few moves before admitting defeat—he just needed to avoid losing too pathetically…

“Changshou! Junior Brother!”

Jiu Jiu suddenly called out, untying the large gourd from her back. She winked at Li Changshou and shouted: “You forgot your Evil-Vanquishing As-You-Wish Sword!

Your Senior Aunt has almost finished comprehending it, so I’ll return it to you now!”

Li Changshou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he genuinely felt his little Senior Aunt’s concern.

The Evil-Vanquishing As-You-Wish Sword was a superior-grade magical artifact forged by Immortal Wangqing, said to have the potential to evolve into a spirit treasure, with extremely powerful might.

This was his little Senior Aunt’s life-bound magical artifact, yet now she used this pretext to lend it to him…

“This disciple is going to spar with the Second Prince,” Li Changshou said gently, “sparring is not a life-or-death battle, so there’s no need for such lethal artifacts.”

With these words, Li Changshou stepped into the arena, not taking his little Senior Aunt’s large gourd, his gaze meeting the Dragon Palace Prince’s for the second time.

Ao Yi’s mouth revealed a slight smile, his eyes full of eagerness.

‘Very good, come on.

Defeat me, this Dragon Palace Second Prince, head-on!

Use your full strength to strike me with a spell or fist! I will surely cough up three shengs of blood!’

But Li Changshou’s heart twitched—the other’s gaze…

What did he want? So aggressive!

‘This Dragon Palace Prince, does he intend to kill me, a Degree Immortal Gate disciple, on the spot?

Is it because I’m not a celestial seedling, so killing me outright won’t provoke too strong a reaction from the Degree Immortal Gate, while still letting the Dragon Palace vent their frustration?

Tch, that must be his calculation.

This match requires careful handling.’

Thus, Li Changshou became three times more cautious.

The immortal armor around Ao Yi burst forth with brilliant light as he stepped forward, his momentum rising from the ground!

Li Changshou stood over thirty zhang away, able to sense that Ao Yi’s energy had completely locked onto him;

He immediately circulated his power, concealing his energy, focusing on operating his self-created [Turtle Breath Calming Technique], making his current power fluctuations perfectly match what a Return to Void Second Stage cultivator would show when exerting full effort.

Then, Li Changshou stepped forward half a step, and the energies of man and dragon fully connected!

‘Come on!’

Blue light flashed in Ao Yi’s sapphire eyes. He gave up attacking from afar with magical artifacts, immediately preparing to charge forward along the ground, delivering his delicate face right to this weakest Degree Immortal Gate disciple’s fist!

“Wait!”

Li Changshou shouted. Ao Yi’s foot faltered, nearly face-planting directly onto the clean ‘ground’ of the Water Lotus Platform.

What now?

Ao Yi frowned as he looked over, the gazes of everyone in the arena carrying slight confusion;

They were about to start fighting, why call for a wait?

Then they heard Li Changshou say: “Since this is a sparring match, we should establish some rules first.

We should have a respected referee to judge victory and defeat and clearly define the sparring area boundaries that we cannot fight beyond.

Starting to spar directly without any rules would seem inconsistent with the Dragon Palace’s typically rigorous conduct and fair principles!”

Why was this person so troublesome…

Black lines appeared on Ao Yi’s forehead, but the turtle minister beside him felt Li Changshou’s words were reasonable and irrefutable.

It was their Dragon Palace that hadn’t prepared thoroughly for this segment.

At once, the turtle minister stepped forward to personally serve as the ‘referee’ for this match, using immortal power to draw a large circle two hundred zhang in diameter.

“In the sparring between His Highness and this talented one from the Degree Immortal Gate, stop when contact is made, neither side may use lethal artifacts…”

With the arena marked and three rules established, the sparring immediately became more formal.

Li Changshou and Ao Yi faced each other again, separated by over thirty zhang, their energies once again connecting.

Ao Yi stamped his foot slightly, and several diamond-shaped mystical ice crystals immediately appeared around him, with jumping flames contained within the ice.

‘Must build up the momentum, must lose miserably!’

Gathering qi and focusing his breath, Ao Yi made his second preparation, about to charge forward!

“Wait!”

Li Changshou shouted again, causing Ao Yi to slip and stumble forward two steps.

This fellow kept shouting “Wait” at every crucial point of his power circulation!

Then they heard Li Changshou say: “Second Prince, why don’t we have a battle of wit instead…”

“Too much talking! Take this!”

Ao Yi gave a low roar, suddenly stamping his foot and charging forward along the ground!

His form was like an arrow leaving the bow—the mystical ice around him burst with light, even leaving an afterimage of where he had been, yet he deliberately exposed an extremely obvious opening in front!

Li Changshou held a stack of talismans in his hand. The moment Ao Yi charged close, his feet shifted, his form somewhat ‘ disheveled’ as he dodged to the side, yet amid the fluster revealed a touch of grace.

[Dragon Exploring Cloud Step]—a superior Degree Immortal Gate movement technique he had already actively revealed before, but still just a movement technique, not some powerful divine ability.

Ao Yi frowned, studying Li Changshou’s slightly panicked face as they passed each other.

Ao Yi thought to himself:

‘What’s going on, is it so difficult to counterattack head-on?

I see, I’m too fierce, I must have scared him.

Don’t be afraid, attack head-on, this Prince will let you win spectacularly!’

Charging forward twenty zhang, Ao Yi executed a handsome mid-air flip to stabilize himself, stamped his foot, and charged at Li Changshou again.

Li Changshou casually threw six talismans, his hands forming seals. The talisman patterns instantly lit up, spewing forth interweaving fire snakes toward his opponent!

Ao Yi didn’t even try to dodge, charging straight through, his form swallowed by firelight, yet instantly breaking through these ordinary spell fires!

Incredibly fierce!

Li Changshou’s mysterious footwork appeared again. Though more composed than before, he still appeared somewhat flustered, narrowly avoiding Ao Yi’s charge again while throwing two more talismans at him.

Ao Yi gave a cold laugh, immediately changing his tactics to chase Li Changshou at close range, yet actively accepting all the flames produced by the talismans!

Using Return to Void Second Stage power to execute the Dragon Exploring Cloud Step, Li Changshou retreated while attacking, quickly falling into a disadvantageous position, and ‘successfully’ circling toward the position he had chosen earlier…

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged dozens of moves!

Ao Yi’s frown deepened. Relying on his strength that ‘far exceeded’ this Degree Immortal Gate disciple’s, he continuously presented his openings and face to his opponent;

But whether intentionally avoiding his vital points out of fear of harming a Dragon Palace Prince, or truly being too weak to seize these now extremely obvious opportunities…

He just wouldn’t take advantage of the openings!

Still, though this fellow’s talisman techniques weren’t powerful, he had already endured many blasts of spell fire…

Later he could directly perform a ‘big explosion’ living dragon act!

Finally, Li Changshou and Ao Yi had their first physical contact…

By now Li Changshou had been ‘forced’ into a corner, with only three zhang to the boundary behind him. His eyes finally showed a trace of determination as he threw out over ten talismans, gathering power in his palm that transformed into lightning!

Heavenly Brightness Five Thunder Technique!

This was considered a somewhat advanced spell in the Degree Immortal Gate, mastered by half of the disciples who reached the Return to Void realm.

Lightning flashed, fire erupted!

Ao Yi’s form charged in, finally landing a punch against Li Changshou’s palm!

‘Hmm?’

Ao Yi frowned slightly because as his fist met Li Changshou’s palm, his naturally keen battle instincts made him sense a hint of danger.

‘Oh?’

At the same time, Li Changshou was confused.

This fellow’s punch had no strength at all?

Even so, Li Changshou still followed his script, his body leaning back, stumbling backward several steps, using subtle force to deflect Ao Yi’s punch to the side while continuing to retreat.

Ao Yi also seized this good opportunity, pretending to slip and stumbling several steps to the left, thinking to himself: ‘Should be about enough!’

Just then, Ao Yi heard coughing from beside him. His sapphire eyes shifted, looking with his peripheral vision…

Li Changshou lowered his head and coughed several times, his fingertips carrying traces of fresh blood. He raised his head with a long sigh, his expression very constrained, and said softly:

“Enough, I still lost. My skill is inferior—I’ll return to train outside the mountain.”

With that he retreated half a step, exactly crossing the boundary line drawn earlier.

The immortals and cultivators around the Water Lotus Platform, those of the Dragon race and Sea race, all showed slight regret.

The movement techniques, talisman techniques, and thunder techniques Li Changshou had just demonstrated were quite well-handled for a Return to Void Second Stage disciple.

He… he conceded?

Ao Yi was stunned, looking down at the glowing boundary in front of Li Changshou, momentarily unable to process what had happened.

What was with rushing to concede first?

What did it mean to concede faster than himself? Didn’t you want to win, human cultivator?

They heard the turtle minister call from the side: “This match, our Second Prince…”

Ao Yi’s eyes widened, his delicate features becoming somewhat fierce!

This- this wouldn’t do!

His perfect plan! The most important step in awakening the Dragon race!

How could you concede on your own? This Prince even stuck out his face for you to hit!

Really!

A hint of red suddenly surged across the Second Prince’s delicate face.

The turtle minister’s call continued: “is Vic…”

“Ah!”

Ao Yi suddenly threw his head back and roared, pale golden dragon blood suddenly bursting from around him, his immortal armor even showing tiny cracks.

This Celestial Immortal-level turtle minister was also stunned for a moment.

Ao Yi glared at Li Changshou with deep unwillingness, his voice trembling as he said: “Such… powerful… talisman… techniques…”

As he spoke, the Second Prince’s form slowly fell backward, lying in a ‘pool of blood,’ with a group of Dragon race experts immediately rushing forward—the scene instantly became extremely chaotic!

Li Changshou: …

This little dragon brother’s acting skills were subpar, barely at fresh meat level.

To the side, several True Immortals from his sect rushed over, protecting Li Changshou behind them.