Chapter 919: Worthy
Everything happened in just an instant.
Before the audience could process what was going on, they saw the white tiger illusion disappear. Even the Xuan formation began to show signs of cracking, which appeared all over it in just the blink of an eye.
Zhao Zicheng’s heart sank, and he quickly retreated. Just as he moved away from his spot, the gigantic silver Xuan formation completely shattered into pieces and exploded into countless blinding rays of light that scattered all over the place along with its terrifying impact.
Even though his chest felt stuffy and his shoulders felt heavy as if two mountains sat atop them, he was in no mood to pay attention to his condition. He stared at Rong Xiu in shock. H-how was that possible? All he did was summon a fiend, and the Xuan formation that I created with painstaking effort was destroyed just like that!
To make things worse, what Rong Xiu said made him feel even more embarra.s.sed. His face became flushed, and he was boiling mad on the inside. I thought I could end the compet.i.tion with just one move, but I ended up being the loser instead…
Despite his shock and anxiousness, he couldn’t resist glancing at the menacing white lion with ice-blue eyes sitting quietly in front of Rong Xiu. A layer of frost had actually formed on the ground where it was sitting.
“I-is this your fiend?!” asked Zhao Zicheng in disbelief. Based on that attack, this white lion must at least be an eighth-grade fiend and is very likely higher than that!
Zhao Zicheng had seen his share of high-grade fiends before. After all, Chu Liuyue’s Nine-Colored Heavenly Pheasant used to be a ninth-grade fiend. He had also come across a couple of them during the past few years when he traveled.
I don’t know if I’m imagining things, but based on this lion’s aura… it seems to be even more powerful than any of the ninth-grade fiends I’ve seen before! The moment this terrifying thought appeared in his mind though, he immediately shot it down. That’s absolutely impossible! There are conditions in place when a fiend agrees to be contracted with a human. Generally speaking, fiends will only willingly agree to submit to humans if the latter is powerful and capable enough. If this white lion really is… Then, Rong Xiu…
Zhao Zicheng shut his eyes tightly and tried to rid these thoughts from his mind. Still, it didn’t stop him from breaking out into a cold sweat. Rong Xiu… is most likely much stronger than I thought!
…
Chu Liuyue—who was leisurely watching the compet.i.tion—slightly raised her eyebrows when she saw Xue Xue appear. It seems that Xue Xue is almost on the same level as a ninth-grade fiend… From what I remember, Xue Xue was just a seventh-grade fiend when I first met it. How did it become so strong all of a sudden?
It should be noted that a fiend’s grade was decided at birth, and extremely few of them could raise their grades with repeated breakthroughs. These were the fiends that had extremely strong bloodlines.
Even if Xue Xue has the potential, it’s somewhat impossible for it to reach this level in such a short time. Chu Liuyue rubbed her chin, her eyes narrowing slightly. Did it… deliberately hide its true power, or perhaps it hasn’t even unleashed all of its power yet?!
Rong Xiu smiled and nodded right then. “That’s right. I guess I should be considered worthy of Yue’er in this aspect.”
…
Dead silence ensued as everyone present stared dumbly at Rong Xiu, pondering the meaning of his words. It was well-known throughout the entire Tianling Dynasty that Chu Liuyue had returned to Xi Ling with a legendary fiend—a red-tailed phoenix—and ascended the throne after experiencing a great ordeal. Hence, they wondered if he meant that his fiend was also a legendary fiend.
Unable to hold back his burning curiosity any longer, Shangguan You turned to his daughter and asked, “Yue’er… I-is that white lion also… a legendary fiend? Why didn’t you mention it before?” This would’ve earned Rong Xiu a lot of brownie points since Yue’er is the only person in the Tianling Dynasty to own a legendary fiend!
But Chu Liuyue was utterly speechless herself, for she had no idea either.
Shangguan You’s eyes were fixed on Rong Xiu as he stroked his beard, so he didn’t notice his daughter’s expression. “When have the princes of Country Yao Chen become so capable? No wonder he was so confident in himself!”
Chu Liuyue couldn’t answer the question, and she was, in fact, more curious than her father himself. Countless images flooded her mind all of a sudden. I just thought that Xue Xue was smart and adorable, and it has never crossed my mind that it might be a legendary fiend. Most importantly, I’ve never heard of a white lion being a legendary fiend… Rong Xiu has never mentioned it to me before!
Her heart thumped hard just then. If Xue Xue is so strong, then what more of Rong Xiu?!
…
Never did Zhao Zicheng ever imagine that Rong Xiu could summon a legendary fiend so easily, and it showed on his face, seeing how he was staring at Xue Xue incredulously. What sort of person can make a legendary fiend become their contracted fiend? Isn’t he just an ordinary prince from a lesser empire? Then, how did this legendary fiend come about?!
Unease started to creep in. However, as there was no way they could stop the compet.i.tion since they had placed their bets and were still in the middle of it, Zhao Zicheng forced himself to calm down and adjust his breathing before he started constructing another Xuan formation.
I previously thought that I could easily win against Rong Xiu with just a random move, so I didn’t give it my best shot. But now, it’s time for me to get serious.
…
Just as Zhao Zicheng began constructing his second Xuan formation, a few people suddenly flew in from outside. “Your Majesties!”
Chu Liuyue and Shangguan You turned their heads at the same time, only to see Elder Chen Ke and the rest of the elders heading their way.
Elder Chen Ke—who was the person to land—swiftly walked over to their side and asked nervously, “What’s going on, Your Majesties? Why was there such a huge commotion just now?”
Things were still pretty tense after what happened at the palace a few days ago, so the elders thought that something had happened again when they heard the commotion over on this side. However, Elder Chen Ke and the others soon realized that nothing seemed unusual over here after quickly surveying their surroundings. All they saw was the two people on the training ground.
“It’s no big deal. These two chaps are just dueling.” Shangguan You waved his hand to indicate to them that they didn’t need to worry.
It was only then that Elder Chen Ke and the rest heaved a sigh of relief, although they were all taken aback again when they saw the two young men’s faces. W-what’s going on? That’s Zhao Zicheng. Based on his aura, it appears that he was the one responsible for that commotion. Who’s the man in white though?
They wanted to ask about it, but they kept their silence and looked over at the training ground instead when they sensed that the atmosphere wasn’t right.
Zhao Zicheng had just finished constructing his second Xuan formation, and it was clearly much stronger and more powerful than the previous one. He took in a deep breath and then sent out the Xuan formation with all his might. “Sun Formation!”