"So, do you dare to bet?" Qin Chuan asked with a meaningful smile.
The demon elders exchanged glances, their faces twisted in frustration, but none dared to speak lightly.
There was something off about Qin Zi! He had just broken through but easily crushed the Golden Giant Ape, Xiu Nian. With his unstoppable momentum, no matter how confident they were in Zhu Huan, they couldn't assume Zhu Huan could suppress Qin Zi.
After a long pause, a dragon-bearded elder calmly said, "It's not a matter of daring or not. It's a matter of necessity."
"We are the elders of Starshatter Academy, not gamblers. We have nothing to gain from you, so why would we bet?"
The other elders immediately perked up, as if they had taken a refreshing sip of cold water on a hot day.
They felt reinvigorated!
The elder had turned a confrontation of pride into a matter of principle—it's not that they didn't dare to gamble; it was simply that they didn't see the need. They were not greedy and thus had no desire to gamble. Principles over greed!
The other elders quickly voiced their agreement.
As a result, Qin Chuan's plan to make money from betting collapsed. He sighed inwardly, realizing that not everyone was so easily swayed.
Meanwhile, the battle had already begun.
"Boom!"
Two beams of light shot into the sky, colliding violently, radiating an explosion of light as dazzling as the sun.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In the blinding light, two figures clashed fiercely, exchanging punches and kicks in a brutal melee.
The scene was magnificent.
The two fighters battled from the sky to the ground and from the nearby area to the horizon, their figures flashing and the power of laws erupting with every strike.
"Dragon Soars in the Sky!"
"Vermilion Bird Annihilation!"
With two loud shouts, two massive phantoms appeared in the sky, clashing with a deafening roar.
Zhu Huan was indeed powerful.
He fought Qin Zi to a standstill. Although Qin Zi had just broken through, this was still an impressive feat.
"Kill!!"
Seeing the stalemate between the dragon and the vermilion bird, Qin Zi decided to end the fight with brute force.
He activated both the Witch Sovereign Body Refinement Sutra and the Sun-Swallowing Emperor Sutra, his body growing larger and blazing with heat, transforming him into a golden giant as he charged forward.
Zhu Huan had the same idea.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The two of them broke through the phantoms, shattering them as they went, meeting in the center with a colossal collision.
"Boom—"
The violent shockwave caused many onlookers to feel their internal organs churn. Some even had their eardrums ruptured, blood flowing from their orifices.
After a long while, the light dissipated.
In the center of the plaza, a crater half a meter deep and ten meters wide had formed. In the middle of the crater stood two figures, facing each other.
"A tie?"
"It's a draw?"
The disciples of Starshatter Academy were astonished. Surprisingly, they felt no disappointment; instead, they breathed a sigh of relief.
At least they hadn't lost.
Thank goodness they hadn't lost...
"You're strong."
Zhu Huan looked at Qin Zi and said gravely, "Across the Ziyun Human Domain and the Starshatter Demon Domain, there are few who can match me in the same realm."
With that, he turned and walked away—on foot, not flying.
His pace was hurried.
The further he walked, the faster he went.
Outside the plaza, the disciples of Starshatter Academy swarmed him, showering him with admiration and questions.
"Senior Brother Zhu Huan, I felt like you still had strength left. Why didn't you suppress him?"
"Senior Brother Zhu Huan, neither of you were injured. You could have fought for hundreds more rounds! Why did you stop?"
"Senior Brother Zhu Huan, your aura was stable, but the other guy was clearly panting. If you had kept going, you would've won! So why did you..."
One disciple, full of excitement, stood directly in front of Zhu Huan, blocking his path. Zhu Huan tried to move around him, but the disciple persisted, like a reporter shoving a microphone in a celebrity's face.
Before he could finish speaking, though, there was a sudden "splat," and a gush of hot blood sprayed over him as Zhu Huan collapsed at his feet. Blood pooled under his face, staining the ground red.
"Uh..."
The demons stood there, dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Ding! Your son has slapped the face of Zhu Huan, who possesses the Vermilion Bird bloodline, earning you 30 points of 'Father Value.' Your current balance is 118.6."
Qin Chuan received the system notification.
He took a deep breath. For the first time, his Father Value had exceeded 100 points, making him feel more confident than ever, his blood boiling with excitement.
At that moment, Qin Zi continued to provoke.
He looked around, smiling as he said:
"Is there anyone stronger? If not, I might as well keep blocking the gate. From the looks of things, I'll only keep getting stronger in the Second Heaven. I could probably block this gate for several years."
You rascal!!
Hearing this, the disciples of Starshatter Academy wanted to curse—they prayed for the heavens to take this scourge away!
Even the elders couldn't help but twitch.
But Qin Chuan sat calmly, as if nothing was happening.
"Sigh, name your terms..."
Suddenly, a weary voice echoed in Qin Chuan's ear.
Qin Chuan turned to look.
In the open space ahead, a burly figure had appeared. It was a middle-aged man with a purple "king" mark on his forehead, likely a member of the tiger clan. His aura was overwhelming, both wild and unfathomable.
"Palace Master."
The demon elders bowed respectfully. Their palace master was a terrifying Nether Saint Tiger, at the quasi-emperor level.
Qin Chuan cupped his hands with a smile. "Greetings, Palace Master of Starshatter Academy. I'm honored that you've personally come to negotiate. However... discussing terms with me won't help. That rebellious son of mine never listens to me."
A bald-faced lie.
Raising the stakes!
However, the palace master of Starshatter Academy didn't believe his nonsense. He calmly looked at Qin Chuan and said:
"Your son has already broken through once. A second breakthrough in a short period of time wouldn't be good for him, and you should know that."
"Your son has already proven his talent. He may be able to block our gates for several years, but if he keeps doing so, it won't do him much good."
"Instead, why don't you name your terms? We'll try to meet them, and that way, everyone benefits."
Qin Chuan's smile faded as he locked eyes with the palace master.
They exchanged silent gazes.
Qin Chuan quickly realized that the palace master was a clever man, and speaking in circles would only tire him out. After all, the palace master would just wait for him to stop circling and then negotiate directly.
"Fine. Sometimes that son of mine listens to me," Qin Chuan said, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, I don't have big demands. If possible, just give me an emperor-grade weapon."
"What?!"
"Are you insane?"
"Dream on!"
The surrounding elders erupted in anger, glaring at Qin Chuan. How dare this weakling demand an emperor-grade weapon? It was sheer greed!
Even the palace master's face twitched slightly, as if restraining his urge to strike.
He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "You know that's impossible. Even I don't have an emperor-grade weapon."
Qin Chuan smiled.
"Since that's off the table, I'll ask for something simpler... I want the blood of a Tianheng Clan emperor, someone at their peak, and it has to be fresh."
"Hmm?"
The palace master frowned, eyeing Qin Chuan suspiciously. "What do you need that for?"
"I was cursed by the Tianheng Clan in an ancient ruin. Only the blood of a peak emperor from their clan can break the curse," Qin Chuan replied nonchalantly.
"Very well. Our demon sanctuary holds several Tianheng Clan powerhouses and their descendants. I can pull some strings to get that blood."
The palace master spoke gravely.
Hearing this, Qin Chuan smiled with satisfaction.
He knew it wouldn't be a problem! The Nine Heavens Continent's three great races were internally united, and all of them had imprisoned some Tianheng Clan powerhouses.
As a public official in one of the three great races, it wasn't hard to get access to the blood, especially if you had the right connections. Even knowing someone who guarded the prisoners would suffice—just slice a few captives and fill a bucket with blood. Easy as that—after all, did prisoners have any rights?
Poor Ice Dragon Martial Emperor...
He would never have imagined that the seal he left on the Ice Dragon Spear would be defeated by someone with the right connections.