Spare a Life, or Spare a Life?

As the Ninth Prince signed the written pledge, Chen Guan arrived before Yaoye as well.

He had rushed to the Imperial Palace and happened to witness that infuriating scene. Any loyal citizen of the Jia Ma Empire would have flown into a rage after seeing it, much less Chen Guan, who had always been close to Yaoye.

After squeezing through to the front of the crowd, Chen Guan made a gesture in response when Yaoye spotted him at once.

Even though they had not seen each other for over a year, their tacit understanding remained unchanged. Yaoye quickly understood the young man's meaning, which led to the current scene.

It had to be said, her trust in Chen Guan was truly immense.

"Remember to spare a life," Yaoye softly instructed.

This was not the place to reminisce. They could talk after dealing with the urgent matter.

The Jia Ma Empire was beset by troubles both within and without. The problem was severe, but the solution was simple—another person capable of carrying the burden was all it needed.

The moment Chen Guan returned, these problems were no longer major problems. Before Jia Xingtian reached the end of his lifespan, Chen Guan should have grown strong enough.

Yaoye had confidence in this, and so did Chen Guan.

Thus, many of their misgivings were gone.

Chen Guan nodded in agreement.

Soon, the square was cleared. Only Chen Guan and the Ninth Prince remained standing far apart in the field. At that moment, ninety percent of the audience was scrutinizing Chen Guan, wanting to see where Yaoye's confidence came from. Yet very few could truly see through him.

"Kid, consider yourself unlucky. Under these rules, I am invincible in your eyes. Remember to be born into a better family in your next life."

The Ninth Prince's entire body was covered by Dou Qi Armor Transformation, his Six-Star Great Dou Master aura fully on display. Those with sharp eyes could also tell that his aura was not at all unstable.

Setting everything else aside, he did have some talent.

Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit. The Ninth Prince looked down on the young man, but he did not hold back. He struck first to seize the initiative, reaching for the young man's throat with the intent of killing him in one blow.

Yet while he came quickly, he was sent flying back even faster.

The sudden shift in the situation left everyone dumbfounded.

He had risen, then been instantly defeated in one move. What was there left to say?

Sensing the aura leaking from the young man, Mitel Teng Shan could not help rising to his feet on the spot, his face filled with shock.

The Mu Family, the Nalan Family, and even Yun Yun all had undisguised surprise in their eyes. Yun Leng, seated beside Yun Yun, flashed with a trace of killing intent.

At twelve or thirteen, no more than fourteen at most, he was already a Da Dou Shi. Compared to this, the so-called geniuses they had once admired suddenly seemed like clowns.

The imperial family had hidden itself deeply indeed!

Many people could not help changing the way they looked at the Jia Ma Emperor. He might have seemed somewhat weak and incompetent, but he was quite scheming and truly could not be underestimated.

What they did not know was that the Jia Ma Emperor was no less astonished than they were.

Sure enough, Yaoye and the others had made the right decision.

In the field.

Chen Guan stopped deliberately concealing his aura and walked toward the Ninth Prince with an icy expression.

"Who dares call themselves invincible? Are you worthy?"

"You're a Da Dou Shi too?!"

Too stunned to respond to the mockery, the Ninth Prince scrambled to his feet and shouted in disbelief.

In an instant, he understood. This was Yaoye's confidence—he was the one who had been fooled! With no time to curse, the Ninth Prince took a deep breath and revealed a solemn expression. Without Hesitation, he took out two pills and tossed them into his mouth.

The Windwalk Pill was a third-grade medicinal pill. It could temporarily heighten the user's sensitivity to Wind Attribute energy between heaven and earth, thereby increasing their speed.

The Beast Strength Pill was a fourth-grade medicinal pill. As its name implied, it could greatly increase one's strength.

After swallowing both pills, the Ninth Prince's Aura surged sharply, and his combat strength nearly doubled. The powerful effects of the pills gave him the confidence to turn the battle around.

"You are strong, but I will be the one laughing in the end. Mysterious Heaven Ice Wheel, die!"

This fellow actually possessed the rare Ice Attribute.

The Mysterious Tier Mid-Grade Dou Technique, Mysterious Heaven Ice Wheel, activated. An ice wheel roughly two zhang wide howled toward the young man. Even the scorching venue seemed to grow a little damp, and its might was indeed impressive.

But to Chen Guan, it still posed no threat.

A broadsword appeared in his hand. With the force of Mountain Splitting Strike, it carried Crimson Sword Qi as it slashed directly at the ice wheel. It was a simple, unadorned move, one he had long since mastered to the bone.

Yun Yun and the others in the guest seats only felt their shock continuing to mount. Only they could see that in that instant, the young man had actually slashed seven times in succession! It was merely that the Speed Was Too Fast for the naked eye to discern.

Yaoye, who was in the best mood, was also surprised. She did not possess Yun Yun's strength and naturally could not see through the intricacies. Compared to that, she cared more about the color of the young man's Dou Qi.

Deep crimson Dou Qi. It seemed he had switched to a higher-grade cultivation technique. Perhaps it had something to do with his disappearance over the past year?

Sizzle~ Ice and fire countered each other. The moment their attacks collided, an intense physical reaction erupted. The enormous ice wheel only lasted for an instant before Completely Erupting into fragments. Which was stronger was obvious at a glance.

Boundless Ocean continued onward, carrying astonishing killing intent as it attacked the Ninth Prince.

Under normal circumstances, the Ninth Prince would have found it extremely difficult to avoid this strike. However, bolstered by the Windwalk Pill, his speed had increased greatly. He activated his movement technique and narrowly evaded it.

Just as the Ninth Prince was reeling in shock and preparing to use his speed to wage a hit-and-run battle, a hand suddenly landed on his Dantian. The Next Moment, a vast and condensed stream of Dou Qi surged into his body, completely destroying his foundation.

Before powerful Soul Perception, so-called speed was nothing more than self-deception.

Like a deflated ball, the Ninth Prince flew backward and slammed heavily into the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Excruciating pain spread through his body, but compared to the agony in his flesh, the Ninth Prince found it even harder to accept the fact that he had been crippled.

"I told you, you aren't worthy."

Those brief words were like oil poured onto a fire. The Ninth Prince, who had always believed that nothing could shake him, completely broke down and lost his reason.

"You crippled me! You dare cripple me?!"

As though he could not feel the pain, the Ninth Prince actually dragged his heavily injured body back to his feet. He approached with heavy steps, roaring out question after question.

"Take one more step, and I'll cut off your dog life," Chen Guan warned.

But how could the Ninth Prince, who had already lost his reason, heed him? He continued forward regardless, looking determined to demand an explanation.

A gentleman's promise weighed a thousand pounds.

Chen Guan kept his word. Without Hesitation, he flung the longsword in his hand.

It was actually very slow, but to the Ninth Prince, who had lost the support of his Dou Qi, it was like the Reaper claiming his life. There was nowhere to run.

At the brink of life and death, the Ninth Prince finally regained some clarity. His face turned deathly pale as he shouted, "Why aren't you saving me yet?!"

The Guard who had accompanied him had already been about to act, but someone in the guest seats had firmly pinned him to his chair. Only now, when he Completely Erupt, did that suppression finally disappear.

A Dou Ling could condense Dou Qi into tangible forms, and all aspects of their abilities were greatly enhanced. At his speed, it was possible for him to save the Ninth Prince.

However, his hopes came to nothing.

A black shadow suddenly appeared in his path. A fierce punch not only forced him back, but also left him with serious internal injuries. Someone had launched an underhanded sneak attack!

When he steadied himself and looked back into the field, his master had already been nailed to the ground by the longsword, blood splashing five paces away.

Chen Guan recalled that Fourth Tier Puppet and glanced at the Guard. Seeing that he did not immediately explode in vengeance for his master and was merely standing there in a daze, Chen Guan could not be bothered with him. The imperial family would handle this person themselves.

In any case, Chen Guan was satisfied.

The anger in his chest had been vented. He returned to Yaoye's side in high spirits, only to receive a somewhat coquettish glare as his reward.

Yaoye was utterly speechless. When she said to spare a life, and when he left two people with one life between them, those were completely different things, all right?

She seriously suspected Chen Guan had done it on purpose.

But since things had already come to this, she could not be bothered to say more. In her original plan, the Ninth Prince would only have lived a few more days anyway.

"Big Sister, you look beautiful today."

"Hm?"

"Your brows are graceful as mountains, your eyes hold frost and stars. You sit close to the mortal world yet remain untouched by mundane clothes; you have tasted all worldly smoke and fire, yet wear the shell of an immortal guest."

"No matter how sweetly you flatter me, don't think you can gloss over what happened this past year," Yaoye replied with a soft huff, knowing full well what he was trying to do.

Chen Guan's smile froze.

Fine, his words had been wasted.