Miao Tian

The moment he saw Sanbao, Lei Yun's courage seemed to wane, and it took a great effort for her to say with a flushed face, "I want a fair duel with you. Do you dare to accept?"

"Not interested. If I win, I'll just have endless trouble, and if I lose, there's nothing in it for me. No, not doing it..." Sanbao put on the air of an aloof master, making Lei Yun grit her teeth in frustration.

"Fine, I'll bet you a hundred gold coins. Do you dare to accept that?"

"Do you think a Guest Elder of the Lei Mansion like me is short on that kind of pocket change?" Sanbao looked indifferent, but inside, he was blooming with joy. This was the "fish" he had been waiting for.

"Then what do you want to bet?" Lei Yun only wanted to get back at Sanbao now; other issues were no longer important.

"Two Spirit Replenishment Pills per round, any number of rounds. How about that?" Sanbao finally revealed his true objective. The Lei Family was a clan of alchemists; they might be short on other things, but they certainly weren't short on Spirit Replenishment Pills, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford those Guest Elders.

If he could win three or five rounds, that would be a Spirit Weapon. Thinking of how Lin Hai had sacrificed several lives just to obtain one, Sanbao's heart soared. He couldn't afford to miss out on this "deal."

Sure enough, Lei Yun didn't care about the details at all and shouted back:

"Fine, I'll bet with you!"

Lei Yun was a clever person and certainly understood Sanbao's provocation, but she had a lump of frustration in her chest that was hard to swallow. Besides, a few Spirit Replenishment Pills were no big deal to her; if she really lost, she could just act spoiled and ask her grandfather for more.

Of course, the most important point was that she had come prepared this time.

"Then let's go."

Sanbao "reluctantly" agreed, feeling secretly smug.

The two arrived at an open space in front of a pavilion. Sanbao held his hands like blades in front of his chest. Although Lei Yun was arrogant, her strength was not to be underestimated; even an average four or five-star Spirit General might not be her match.

If it weren't for his Nine-Turn Golden Body keeping his speed steadily above hers, Sanbao would never have dared to make this bet.

"Take this!"

Lei Yun had been waiting for a long time. She had already donned her Black Silk Gauntlets. Without using a Spirit Weapon, she had no confidence at all; even with one, if Sanbao decided to run, she wouldn't be able to stop him. But this time, it was a fair duel, so Sanbao naturally couldn't flee.

And when the two clashed head-on, the gap in their cultivation levels naturally became apparent, which was exactly what Lei Yun was relying on.

As several streaks of green light swept past, Sanbao slid his feet to barely dodge, then countered with a palm strike. Lei Yun sneered, lunged forward, and raised her leg for a kick.

Thud.

The two touched and separated, only to entangle again immediately.

"Take my palm!"

Sanbao spotted an opening and slammed a palm hard into Lei Yun's back, thinking to himself, Little brat, you're still too green to fight me!

Just as Sanbao thought Lei Yun wouldn't be able to handle the pain and was about to be sent flying several meters away, she suddenly spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick.

Thud.

Sanbao was kicked back several meters, his chest aching intensely. He coughed a few times, and a trace of crimson blood appeared.

What a ruthless girl, I've been tricked.

In an instant, Sanbao realized that she must be wearing special armor—most likely a piece of Spirit Armor. That was why she hadn't suffered any damage from his palm strike, while he, on the other hand, had suffered a major loss due to his own carelessness.

"How about that? I haven't even used my full strength yet!"

Lei Yun was triumphant after landing her hit. She thought to herself that her grandfather was truly brilliant; not only had he lent her a piece of Spirit Armor, but he had also advised her to defend first and attack later, focusing on the legs. It had truly worked wonders.

The vast majority of Spirit Weapons were offensive in nature. Like storage-type spirit items, Spirit Armor was extremely rare, as the difficulty of crafting it was even higher than that of weapons.

For a Spirit Weapon of the same grade, a piece of armor was worth at least ten weapons, which showed just how precious it was.

As the saying goes, "one inch longer, one inch stronger." Lei Yun's "defensive" attacking style made things very difficult for Sanbao. After all, she was a two-star Spirit General; both her spirit energy reserves and her endurance were superior to his. His only advantage was speed.

But with her wearing Spirit Armor, winning through a lucky strike was now impossible. Only then did Sanbao realize where Lei Yun's confidence came from.

In the eyes of the Lei Family's upper echelons, the grievances between him and Lei Yun were just children's play. They couldn't show their faces, but they could certainly support Lei Yun in other ways.

The preciousness of the Spirit Armor meant it clearly wasn't something Lei Yun could own; it must have belonged to someone important in the Lei Family.

"Again."

Sanbao was a man of firm character; he grew stronger as the pressure increased. Seeing his opponent's strength rise, his fighting spirit only intensified.

→

Whoosh, whoosh.

Several streaks of golden light flashed by. A large portion of Lei Yun's clothes had been torn away, revealing a pitch-black piece of soft armor underneath.

However, there were some things that soft armor couldn't protect. With her outer garment gone, Lei Yun's chest was now "heaving," a sight that made Sanbao's heart race and his face flush. He thought to himself:

Good heavens, she's developed so well. Isn't this just intentionally trying to provoke my desire to attack?

Glancing at her torn clothes and then at the flicker of heat in Sanbao's eyes, Lei Yun felt a surge of luck. Thankfully, she had the Spirit Armor on, or she would have been thoroughly humiliated by this scoundrel today.

"Take my palm!"

Sanbao was distracted for a moment, and five parallel bloody scratches instantly appeared on his chest, like five red rainbows that made his blood boil.

The two traded blows, both suffering injuries, but while Lei Yun lost only her clothes and her dignity, Sanbao was suffering real, physical damage.

As time passed, the Nine-Turn Golden Body consumed a massive amount of spirit energy. With his energy rapidly depleting, Sanbao began to falter. As his speed slowed, Lei Yun's advantage became even more pronounced.

"Take another kick from me!"

After kicking Sanbao into the dirt, Lei Yun shouted and lunged forward, determined to finish off her opponent in one go.

After all, at this moment, Sanbao was clearly at the end of his rope, his spiritual power exhausted and his movements sluggish.

However, a sudden change occurred; while lunging forward, Sanbao performed a mid-air somersault and, with lightning speed, suddenly turned back to strike.

With a flash of golden light, a large hand suddenly clamped onto the throat of Lei Yun, who froze in place, unable to move, her own offensive stance slowly retracting.

"You, you, you are shameless, you did that on purpose..." With her vital point held by Sanbao, Lei Yun was extremely furious.

"Hehe, do you admit defeat or not?"

Having succeeded with one move, Sanbao secretly thought it was a close call. The further the fight went, the more unfavorable the situation became for him. Fortunately, Lei Yun lacked experience, and with a bit of strategy, he had turned defeat into victory in the blink of an eye.

"I don't admit defeat! You cheated," Lei Yun said, pouting in anger.

"Then I'll have to be ruthless to a flower!" Sanbao shouted viciously, adding a bit more strength to his palm.

Lei Yun felt as if she were being strangled by a steel hoop, barely able to breathe. If she didn't admit defeat, she feared she would lose her life. With no other choice, she said, "I... I admit defeat."

"You liar, you shameless person, I'm going to tell my grandfather," Sanbao loosened his grip, and Lei Yun flew away, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't forget the Spirit Replenishment Pill," Sanbao added, dusting off his hands before planning to return to the pavilion.

"Little brother, wait."

At that moment, a short, stout old man with gray-white whiskers suddenly emerged from behind a large tree, calling out with a smile.

He had been so engrossed in the fight with Lei Yun that he hadn't even noticed when this old man had arrived.

Sanbao paused, then began to size him up.

The old man was short and stout with an ordinary appearance and tiny eyes that almost vanished into thin lines when he smiled, making them easy to overlook.

However, anyone appearing at the Elder Pavilion of the Lei Mansion was naturally no ordinary person; nine times out of ten, he was one of the Guest Elders of the Lei Mansion.

Although the other party did not reveal much of his aura, Sanbao could still vaguely sense the powerful spiritual fluctuations emanating from him—a Spirit King.

"Senior, what advice do you have for me?" Sanbao did not dare to be negligent, bowing slightly as a greeting.

"Hehe, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I am Miao Tian, also a Guest Elder of the Lei Mansion. I live in the pavilion next door. Seeing you and Second Miss Lei sparring just now was truly an eye-opener!" Miao Tian did not stand on ceremony; without waiting for an invitation, he sat down on his own.

Sanbao had no choice but to sit beside him. The man was a powerful Spirit King, and Sanbao dared not offend him.

However, Sanbao didn't take the old man's words to heart. In the eyes of a Spirit King, a fight between two minor Spirit Generals was no different from children playing in the mud; what kind of "eye-opener" could it possibly be?

"Elder Miao is too kind. In your eyes, our meager skills are nothing worth mentioning," Sanbao replied perfunctorily.

"Not so, not so. While your combat experience is still lacking, your footwork is top-notch. Especially yours—your movement is simply bizarre. I dare say that even when I was a Spirit Commander, I probably wouldn't have been able to do anything against you!" The old man shook his head quickly, seemingly holding Sanbao's footwork in high regard.

Only then did Sanbao understand. When it came to footwork, his Nine-Turn Golden Body was no joke; even ordinary Earth-grade Spirit Skills couldn't compare to it, and when combined with his family bloodline, it was like adding wings to a tiger.

"Elder Miao is too kind. I have been light on my feet since I was young; it is simply a natural talent!" Sanbao did not dare to reveal too much, attributing it solely to his innate gift.