A Lesson

That sight scared Bright Rabbit and the other two half to death!

"Your Highness! You mustn't!"

As for Li Xuan, he calmly watched Qi Ying charge toward him.

He saw the world around him slow down in his eyes.

Qi Ying flew toward him in slow motion, drawing back a fist to strike him.

"Ding."

"Choice System activated."

"Choice One: Kill the offending Qi Ying. Completion reward: a ten-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll, a Life-Giving Creation Pill, and one drop of Taotie blood essence."

"Choice Two: Teach the offending Qi Ying a lesson. Completion reward: a five-thousand-year cultivation experience scroll."

As everything moved slowly, a prompt sounded in Li Xuan's ear.

Kill him, or not?

Li Xuan tilted his head and looked at Qi Ying, then suddenly chuckled.

"You little brat, you're asking for a beating..."

As he spoke, he slapped out.

In Qi Ying's eyes, the unruffled young man before him suddenly grew as tall as the heavens!

Boundless, terrifying power pressed down on him, filling him with dread!

An immense figure, more terrifying than his father or grandfather, swung a palm down at him. In an instant, the entire sky went dark!

You little brat!

"Ah! Don't kill me!"

The overwhelming fear of death and endless illusions shattered Qi Ying in an instant.

It was a thousand times more terrifying than being hunted by the Golden Dragon!

He dropped to the ground at once, utterly terrified, and shrieked as he begged for mercy.

But the slap still came down.

"Smack!"

With a sharp crack, Qi Ying was sent flying, half his face swelling up.

"Roar!"

Though Li Xuan was only a Mystic Immortal, the power behind his slap was immense.

Qi Ying screamed as he flew through the air, reverting to his true form before he had gone far.

A several-hundred-zhang-tall Kirin, flames covering its body, twisted and rolled through the sea of mist, roaring incessantly.

"Great one! Spare his life!"

"Great one, please spare him!"

"Great one! Please spare his life! He didn't mean any harm!"

After all, they had been together for thousands of years, and Bright Rabbit and the other two were deeply attached to Qi Ying.

Seeing that Li Xuan was about to beat him to death, they immediately kowtowed repeatedly, their voices trembling as they begged for mercy on his behalf.

In their eyes, Li Xuan had merely waved a hand at Qi Ying as he charged.

The great one wasn't a Mystic Immortal!

He simply didn't want to reveal his true strength!

The great one... the great one was a mighty being who could even kill the ferocious beast Qiongqi!

How could Qi Ying offend him...

Tears glimmered in Bright Rabbit's eyes, and her heart clenched.

As for the great one, perhaps when she was younger, she had entertained some fondness for him, or foolishly imagined she might grow attached to him.

But now, she felt only reverence, awe, and admiration for the man before her!

She understood all too clearly the gulf between her status and strength and those of the great one.

It was a chasm between heaven and earth—one that made affection both presumptuous and impossible!

Only then did Li Xuan say calmly, "Being young and ignorant is no excuse for offending me at will. But for your sake, I won't kill him. He still needs to learn his lesson."

With that, Li Xuan raised a finger and pointed at Qi Ying.

"Roar!"

Qi Ying cried out again, then finally escaped the endless illusions.

His aura had fallen by more than half. He was drenched in sweat, and even the flames on his body had gone out.

"Your Highness! Come over and apologize!"

"Your Highness, hurry and apologize!"

At last, Qi Ying could see the mountaintop again. He saw the Mystic Immortal still sitting calmly on the lotus throne, as well as Bright Rabbit and the other two calling to him anxiously.

"G-great one..."

The experience of dying once, and the overwhelming terror that was even more dreadful than being hunted by the Golden Dragon, had shattered Qi Ying's mind.

He shifted, shrinking down to three zhang tall.

He hurried to the mountaintop without taking human form, remaining a Kirin as he prostrated himself before Li Xuan and growled, "I was wrong. Thank you for sparing my life, great one! Thank you for not killing me!"

"Ding."

"Lesson taught to the offending Qi Ying. Reward: five-thousand-year experience scroll."

Hearing the prompt and feeling his cultivation finally rise to level ten of the Mystic Immortal realm, Li Xuan was in a very good mood.

As for killing this Kirin?

There was no need. He hadn't done anything deserving death.

Besides, the gains from keeping a living Kirin would be far better than killing it for meat and choosing that reward.

Seeing Qi Ying kneel with all four hooves on the ground, trembling slightly from head to toe, Li Xuan could tell he was truly afraid. He said calmly, "You've been spared the death penalty, but not the punishment. I'm in need of a mount. You'll serve as mine to make amends!"

Qi Ying trembled all over, but didn't dare resist. He could only nod and say, "I'm willing to be your mount, great one. I'm willing..."

Li Xuan nodded. "All right, get up. I'll let you off this once, since you're still young. Remember from now on: treat all things with reverence."

"Thank you for teaching me, great one..."

Only then did Qi Ying's overwhelming panic gradually subside.

He kowtowed in acknowledgment, then stood and shifted back into human form.

His face, once proud and fierce, was now deathly pale.

The arrogance had vanished from his eyes, replaced by fear and caution. He didn't even dare look Li Xuan in the eye.

Li Xuan turned to Bright Rabbit and the other two. "You can get up too. Don't keep kneeling."

"Thank you, great one."

The three rose, all of them moving with extreme caution.

That was the trouble with learning the rules.

Before, they hadn't dared act recklessly around him, but they'd been nowhere near this restrained. They'd been much more at ease.

Ah, thousands of years had gone by.

The brutal society of the Primordial Wilderness had taught them how to behave—or, well, how to act like demons.

Seeing them like this, Li Xuan smiled. "You don't have to be so formal. Come on, we rarely get together like this. Let's have a good meal to celebrate. Hmm, five of us... Let's have a barbecue."

"Ah?"

Bright Rabbit, the other two, and Qi Ying, who had only just calmed down, all froze.

A good meal? Barbecue?

Li Xuan smiled and waved his hand.

The boundless mist slowly parted, revealing a ten-thousand-zhang-long Golden Dragon lying in the valley, long since lifeless.

Its body was entirely unmarked, and it looked as though it were still alive. The only thing missing was its three souls and seven spirits.

In the illusion, the Golden Dragon had killed itself.

"The Golden Dragon?!"

Bright Rabbit, Little Purple, Little Blue, and Qi Ying all looked shocked at the sight of it.

The Golden Dragon was dead, but its aura remained. The might unique to a Grand Unity Golden Immortal was more than the four Golden Immortals could bear to face.

But then they sensed that the Golden Dragon really was dead!

At once, Qi Ying let out an angry roar.

He sprang toward the Golden Dragon's corpse, transforming into his several-hundred-zhang-tall Kirin form and bellowing as he began to savage its body.

This Golden Dragon had killed several Kirins, all elders and older brothers of his!

Li Xuan raised an eyebrow. "It's fine to take out your anger on the corpse, but don't tear it up. I'm about to make a whole charcoal-roasted dragon!"

A whole charcoal-roasted dragon...

Bright Rabbit and the other two stood frozen in place.

So the great one's feast was this Golden Dragon?!