The Effect of the Marquis of Sui's Pearl

Having witnessed the power struggles between one emperor and two kings, Zhang Xuezhou, though he may not have eaten pork, had seen pigs run.

He was a novice in the art of combat, and the first rule in novice battles is always to run.

Whether the imposing old man was watching him or not, Zhang Xuezhou had no intention of fighting; his only action was to flee.

He could only be thankful that the contest of techniques was completely different from real combat. For example, he would feel pain, but Zhang Xuezhou's body would also heal, thus eliminating the pain he perceived.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't sure if the imposing old man couldn't lock onto him, or if he couldn't release his Law Power during the battle, thus eliminating the possibility of Law Power lock, or if his black fish skin provided a concealment effect, allowing him to dodge many attacks by running around and hiding.

"Demons and monsters!"

The imposing old man would shout loudly from time to time, and then raise his hand to strike.

Zhang Xuezhou was initially puzzled by the confrontation, but after only a short while, he realized that the other party was likely one of the ancestors of the Great Han Dynasty royal family, or a guardian, or some kind of divine projection of Emperor Gaozu.

The other party somehow identified him and then launched an attack against him.

Zhang Xuezhou had witnessed similar situations before; treasures such as the Sage Kong Decree and portraits of Sage Kong fell into this category.

"As long as I can hold on, I should be able to get through this!"

Items like the Sage Kong decree have a casting time, and Zhang Xuezhou didn't believe that this mighty old man could chase him and hack at him for more than eight days.

As for eight days later, that will be the time for Zhang Xuezhou to return to reality. If the other party continues to harass him, then Zhang Xuezhou may take the risk of retaliating.

"Sir, you've hit the wrong person!"

"I am a scholar-official awaiting imperial orders at the Golden Horse Gate!"

"I also often help His Majesty!"

Occasionally, Zhang Xuezhou would find a moment to shout back, but to his disappointment, the Zhang Xuezhou old man seemed mentally deficient, only cursing and chasing after him.

This forced Zhang Xuezhou to stop his verbal attacks and obediently flee.

His calculations were correct. This kind of spiritual protection is ultimately not as effective as the consciousness of a normal person. As long as one can escape from the opponent's grasp at the beginning, it will become easier and easier afterward.

Zhang Xuezhou could sense that the power of the old man's attacks was gradually decreasing after he continued to strike.

"Once you've exhausted your stamina, it'll be my turn to counterattack!"

Zhang Xuezhou hardened his heart. Only when he was almost struck by the golden light from the powerful old man's finger did he calm down and keep dodging and hiding, trying to exhaust the power of this Law Artifact as soon as possible.

He rolled and leaped from time to time, using the dark side of his body to hide in the darkness. Zhang Xuezhou didn't know how much time had passed. When he leaped, he felt as if the gray world was rushing towards him.

His hands and feet still lunged forward with momentum, while Zhang Xuezhou's body twisted and swept across with a non-existent fish tail.

Why did you hit me?

How did you get in?

"Is this the treasure you found in the secret realm?"

Only when a series of questions came did Zhang Xuezhou realize that Li Shaojun, whom he had slapped, had stumbled.

He rolled to the ground and then quickly got up.

After examining himself, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he was in good physical condition and had not been riddled with bullets.

How did you get in?

Zhang Xuezhou asked a question, then looked at the Suihou Pearl that Li Shaojun was holding.

At this moment, the Suihou Pearl was no longer black as before, but had countless specks of golden light, making it look extremely mystical.

Then, a blue light emanated from Li Shaojun's hand, as if he wanted to study the Suihou Pearl.

"Don't even mention it! I went through all that trouble to cross mountains and valleys to get here, only to find you standing here in a daze," Li Shaojun said, equally bewildered. "Did you crawl in from the underworld?"

"You guessed right," Zhang Xuezhou nodded in response.

"You're really lucky!" Li Shaojun said. "You even found a treasure!"

"This isn't something I found," Zhang Xuezhou corrected, "This is something I already had with me!"

"Don't lie to me. Treasures should be shared. I just took this bead from your hand and saw countless golden lights being absorbed into it. This bead must be extraordinary," Li Shaojun said.

"This is Kong Anguo from the Kong family, the son of Kong Zhong, the head of the prestigious Confucian School school. He gave me the pearl as a token of gratitude," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I have witnesses, named witnesses, and you can ask them anytime you want to verify!"

Zhang Xuezhou would never consider adding anything if he couldn't find the item.

He angrily snatched the Suihou Pearl back from Li Shaojun, knowing that Li Shaojun's arrival had ruined the contest of magic.

He had been hoping that the withered and mighty old man would then give the defeated dog a good beating, but unexpectedly, the Suihou Pearl played its role and interrupted the fight.

"Tell me about what happened back then in detail," Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"What do you mean 'then'? It was just now that I..."

After Li Shaojun spoke for a while, Zhang Xuezhou roughly understood the situation.

If he guessed correctly, Sui Houzhu may have intimidated the mighty old man, and might even have absorbed him like water from the underworld.

"The Suihou Pearl had no effect on Bai, probably because Bai had only lost his physical body but was still alive in reality. The Suihou Pearl worked on the old man because he was already dead, leaving only a remnant of his soul guarding the place. The Suihou Pearl is specifically designed for spirits!"

Although Zhang Xuezhou faced extremely high risks at first, he was well aware that this was only a portion of the old man's abilities.

If the opponent is at full strength, it would probably only take one hit to kill him.

This immediately extinguished Zhang Xuezhou's little bit of satisfaction from cultivating his techniques.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that anyone who got beaten up after mastering their martial arts would lose all their pride.

Zhang Xuezhou then behaved himself and shook the Suihou Pearl, which was full of golden light, again.

It was a good thing that Sui Houzhu helped him escape danger, but the lack of a powerful old man to suppress him in this place might bring some potential hidden dangers.

"Hey, did you find something great here? Otherwise, someone like you wouldn't be spacing out like this," Li Shaojun said resentfully.

He dug a hole, waded through water, and climbed mountains, finally managing to circle this secret place, only to find Zhang Xuezhou already standing there waiting for him.

If he had discovered some treasures, that would have been fine, but the problem was that Li Shaojun hadn't found anything at all, only Zhang Xuezhou staring blankly at a bead.

The Beast Taming Sect group received nothing in the agreed-upon distribution. If the bead had been Zhang Xuezhou's own possession, Li Shaojun felt this trip would be a disaster for him too.

Ever since he started working with Zhang Xuezhou and others, Li Shaojun felt that he had gained nothing and had even died several times over.

"I've discovered... yes, I've discovered a huge benefit!"

Zhang Xuezhou came to his senses and looked Li Shaojun up and down again.

Zhang Xuezhou was extremely cautious during his exploration, not daring to touch or rub anything recklessly, simply because he only had one life.

But Li Shaojun is different.

Zhang Xuezhou looked at this guy who could live and die ninety-nine times. He felt that someone like Li Shaojun had at least a few dozen more lives to squander.

Therefore, it wouldn't matter if Li Shaojun risked his life a few times.