On the White Jade Arena.
After teaching Bajie a lesson, the Bitter Bamboo Ruler slowly turned in midair, its purple-gold body pointing toward Little White Dragon from afar.
Little White Dragon stood where he was, holding the Silver Spear point-down at his side.
He did not retreat, merely gazing quietly at the Ruler suspended in midair.
After a moment, he slowly closed his eyes, his back ramrod straight.
The Ruler did not hesitate in the slightest.
Smack.
A crisp sound, clean and decisive.
The Ruler landed squarely on Little White Dragon's left shoulder.
Little White Dragon shuddered violently.
His handsome face, already pale, instantly went white.
His grip abruptly tightened, making the spear shaft tremble with a faint sound.
Immediately afterward, the few silver scales on his shoulder that had already cracked in the black sea crumbled into gray-white powder beneath that light tap and sifted down.
Several wisps of black energy buried deep within his body were forcibly jolted out by the Ruler.
The instant they left his body, the purple-gold light caught them. They hissed and were scoured away completely in the blink of an eye.
Once the black energy dispersed.
The true dragon water-spirit power that had been sluggish within Little White Dragon thawed like a stream frozen for ages.
Inch by inch, it began flowing through his meridians again.
He slowly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, then lowered his head and bowed respectfully to the Bitter Bamboo Ruler in midair.
He remained bowed for a long while without straightening.
No one saw the fine sheen of sweat that had already formed at his temples.
Clutching his still-aching backside, Bajie sidled over with his teeth bared in pain, looked Little White Dragon up and down, and exclaimed in astonishment:
"Well, well, White Dragon! Not