Victory or Defeat

Despite his surprise, Zhang Yao didn't panic. Instead, he wore an expression of absolute confidence.

Pfft—

Boom!

As three Gale Winds surged towards him, Zhang Yao calmly raised his hands, instantly conjuring a pillar of fire half his height.

The Gale Wind attacks struck the pillar, causing it to sway briefly before burning even more fiercely.

"Hahahahaha!"

Zhang Yao laughed heartily. "Little Brother Yang, I admit your wind techniques are quite something, but do you know the principle of wind fanning flames? The outcome of this spar was decided from the very beginning."

Seeing this, Zhang Tianqi also wore a smug expression. However, when he looked at Yang Guanfeng, he saw him talking to another child from the Yang Family.

Yang Guanfeng's expression remained calm, as if he wasn't worried at all that Yang Lingrui would lose.

Heh, pretending to be calm won't help. If you don't honor the bet after losing, I'll make you pay dearly!

Zhang Tianqi thought to himself.

"Spiritual Tiger, if it were you, what would you do?"

Yang Guanfeng asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Old Ancestor, if it were me, upon seeing the opponent use fire magic, I would approach as quickly as possible, even at the cost of getting injured, to achieve a swift victory," Spiritual Tiger replied softly.

"Hmm, that's a good method. But what if it wasn't a one-on-one duel, and you encountered them in the wild?"

"In the wild?"

Spiritual Tiger paused for a moment, then his eyes glinted with cunning.

"Of course, I'd run first, use my advantages to create distance and hide, then strike when the opponent lets their guard down!"

"Heh, that's right. When you're out and about, your mind needs to be sharp."

With that, the two looked back at the arena.

At this moment, a bizarre scene was unfolding between the two combatants.

Zhang Yao was controlling the pillar of fire, while Yang Lingrui, as if losing his mind, continuously hurled Gale Winds into it.

The pillar of fire, originally half his height, had now grown taller than him.

"Has this Yang Family brat lost his mind? He knows this will only benefit the opponent, yet he's attacking like a madman."

Zhang Chen was speechless. But when he looked at Zhang Tianqi, he was shocked to see the Patriarch frowning at this moment.

"Hm?"

He suddenly sensed something was wrong. Upon closer inspection of Zhang Yao, he realized the man was already drenched in sweat.

As Yang Lingrui's attacks continued, the pillar of fire grew more ferocious, threatening to reach a height of ten feet!

"This!"

Zhang Chen finally understood. The young cultivator from the Yang Family intended to "stuff" Zhang Yao to death!

It was true that the pillar of fire had the ability to absorb sorcery, especially wind techniques. It could not only absorb but also strengthen itself.

However, Zhang Yao only had the cultivation of the Second Level of Qi Gathering. The current size of the expanding pillar had already exceeded his control limit.

"Damn it!"

In the arena, Zhang Yao gritted his teeth, desperately trying to maintain the stability of the fire pillar.

He cursed inwardly, yet he was also puzzled.

"Doesn't this kid's spiritual power run out? How can he do this?!"

In a normal fight, he was confident he could gain the upper hand, but it would take time.

Thinking he could force the opponent to retreat, he unleashed this pillar of fire, expecting a sure win. He never imagined he'd end up in such a predicament.

Due to excessive expansion, the fire pillar was almost out of control. Whether it exploded or he forcibly withdrew it, he would suffer severe injuries.

His only chance of winning now was to pray that Yang Lingrui would exhaust his spiritual power first.

However, when he looked at his opponent, although the howling Gale Winds were not as fierce as before, there was still some distance before the opponent's spiritual power would be depleted.

Looking at himself, his muscles were trembling, and his consciousness was starting to blur.

To the onlookers, Zhang Yao's defeat was only a matter of time. Only he himself was still unwilling to give up and continued to endure.

Zhang Tianqi's brows were tightly furrowed, his expression extremely grim. He had thought this mine would be easily secured, but he hadn't expected the situation to turn out this way.

"Uncle, Brother Yao looks like he can't hold on anymore..."

Zhang Chen stood beside him, his face full of worry, though in his heart, he was secretly gloating over Zhang Yao's predicament.

Serves you right for not letting me go. You lost, didn't you!

Zhang Tianqi ignored him. He cast a deep glance at Yang Guanfeng, then his figure flickered as he appeared beside Zhang Yao.

He reached out towards the fiercely burning pillar of fire and, as if extinguishing a small flame, dissolved it.

At the same moment, Yang Guanfeng also landed in the arena, placing a hand on Zhang Yao's shoulder and dispelling the Gale Winds surrounding him.

"Father, I haven't lost yet!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yao became anxious and quickly spoke.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Tianqi stopped him.

"Silence! Are you not embarrassed enough yet? If I hadn't shown up just now, you would have been seriously injured by your own spell!"

After being reprimanded, Zhang Yao deflated and didn't dare to say another word.

"Brother Zhang, the winner and loser are decided, and the ownership of this place is clear. I won't see you out."

"Patriarch Yang, I have learned a lot today, Mr. Zhang. We shall meet again."

With that, Zhang Tianqi left the mine with his family.

"Father... I'm sorry."

On the way back to Sanglu Valley, Zhang Yao calmed down and apologized to his father.

Zhang Tianqi didn't blame him further and said, "This is not entirely your fault. It's mine too. I thought the Yang Family was too simple."

"Too simple? Father, do you mean the Yang Family has some background?"

"It's hard to say if they have a background, but their cultivation technique is definitely not ordinary."

Zhang Tianqi continued, "We need to make a long-term plan for the mine. Once we open that cave mansion in the valley and obtain the treasures and inheritance within, it won't be too late to deal with the Yang Family then."

"Yes, Father." Zhang Yao nodded in agreement.

Zhang Chen, walking beside them, also nodded silently. However, he couldn't help but feel that if it were him today, he would have definitely won.

"How powerful are the restrictions on that cave mansion? It hasn't been opened for twenty years, who knows how much longer it will take. And we're just letting the Yang Family take advantage of the mine for free?"

"Clearly our family is stronger, why should we yield!"

"Uncle is biased after all. He doesn't see me as his own child and always lets Zhang Yao take the lead."

"Since he doesn't want me to step forward, I'll find my own way. We'll see!"

He was, after all, too young and saw things too simply, only on the surface. He didn't understand Zhang Tianqi's protection and training for him.

Although his talent was outstanding, his disposition held him back.

Compared to each other, Yang Lingrui, who was in the same situation, was more than a little bit better than him.

The dispute over the mine came to an end. Three days later, the Yang Family's mining team arrived at the site.

Most of this team consisted of people from the South Bank who were from outside the clan. Ever since they heard about the benefits on the North Bank, they had been eager to get a spot. Now that they heard about the remote mine, they all signed up to go.

Yang Linghu was left behind to guard it and might have to stay for a while until the situation stabilized.

Having spent a long time with Lingqing, he had also grown and learned a lot from her.

He had already roughly understood his future arrangements when Yang Guanfeng spoke to him earlier.

The Yang Family was constantly developing and expanding its influence, and it was a time when they needed people.

Lingrui cultivated, Lingqing managed the household, and these external matters would naturally fall on him.

He had no complaints about this; instead, he felt it was a good assignment.

Given his personality, it was more like quiet cultivation that would be a thankless task.

That evening, after Yang Linghu finished patrolling the mine and returned to his residence, he found Yang Guanfeng had arrived.

Just as he was about to step forward to pay his respects, Yang Guanfeng stopped him with a raised hand.

"No need. I just came to give you something and I'm leaving. Guarding the mine is hard work, get some rest early."

After Yang Guanfeng left, Yang Linghu looked at the small bottle placed on the table.

He stepped forward and opened it. The moment he felt that aura, he understood.

"Hahahaha, Lingrui, this kid, is always so humble. It makes me, his older brother, feel so embarrassed."