In Ling Tian's view, trading Chaos Qi for the right to enter the secret realm could only benefit the fire dragon, so it would surely agree. He hadn't expected it to refuse outright, leaving him baffled.
Seeing Ling Tian's expression, the fire dragon explained, "The Lord of the Universe ordered me to guard this treasure. If I watched you enter, I'd be neglecting my duty—and I might be erased on the spot. So I can't agree to that."
At that, Ling Tian finally understood. After a long pause, he said, "So it's your duty. I suppose that's why you wouldn't agree to become our companion, either. But what if we defeat you by force and place a soul restriction on you?"
"Exactly." The fire dragon nodded, then continued, "My strength is limited, after all. If you defeat me, I'll have nothing to say, and the Lord of the Universe won't punish me. After all, being able to defeat me would mean you meet the requirements to enter the treasure."
"Oh, that's true." Ling Tian nodded, then smiled. "So we just need to defeat you. But with our current strength, we can't do that yet. We'll have to wait a while longer."
At that, the fire dragon's eyes lit up. It realized it still had a chance to obtain Chaos Qi. It was disappointed that it couldn't get any right now, but as long as there was a chance, there was hope. It glanced at Ling Tian and said, "You can leave. Neither of us can do anything to the other, and letting you go doesn't violate my rules."
Ling Tian smiled but didn't leave. "How about we make a bet? One that can only benefit you and do you no harm. What do you say?"
The fire dragon grew curious.