"Who is he to you?"
Ian Song glanced at the black-robed elder, then asked the boy again.
At these words, Ethan Zheng's face twisted in pure hatred. "He's the one who killed my whole family! I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood!"
Ian thought to himself, 'Just as I expected.'
Then he smiled. "I can help you capture him and leave his fate to you!"
"Really?!"
Ethan Zheng's eyes lit up. "If you can kill him for me, I'll do anything you ask!"
"It's simple. Just give me the jade pendant around your neck, and I'll capture him for you," Ian said.
Ethan froze, hesitation flashing in his eyes, but quickly made up his mind. He tore the pendant from his neck and handed it to Ian. "Sir, it's yours!"
"You're pretty straightforward!"
Ian chuckled and looked up at the black-robed elder.
"Die!"
Just then, the black-robed elder roared and suddenly transformed into a streak of black light, shooting toward Ian.
"Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"
Ian shook his head in disdain and casually slapped out with his hand. The black light instantly shattered, revealing the elder's figure again. Ian reached out, grabbed him, and the man flew helplessly toward him. With a palm to the chest, Ian scattered the energy in his body and tossed him at Ethan's feet. "All right, he's yours now. Do whatever you want with him!"
"You old bastard, you killed my whole family—today, I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Ethan couldn't wait—he lunged at the elder, punching and kicking him in a frenzy. Soon, he felt it wasn't enough and actually started biting him madly.
Seeing this, Ian shook his head to himself and quietly left the room. Then he dispelled the formation and left with Chloe Snow.
Back at the Dragonfolk Estate, Ian took Chloe into the Divine Temple and signaled for her to bring out her fused Secret Key.
Sure enough, as soon as the two Secret Keys met, they began to merge with each other.
This time, the remnant soul of the Radiant Emperor did not emerge. Instead, it desperately suppressed its aura, as if sensing some kind of danger.
"Come out!"
Ian Stone reached out and forcibly dragged out the Radiant Emperor's remnant soul.
"You wretch, what do you intend to do to Me?"
The Radiant Emperor's remnant soul roared.
"Heh heh!"
Ian let out a strange laugh and unleashed a beam of divine light. Instantly, flames ignited on the Radiant Emperor's remnant soul. After a while, when the fire died down, the remnant soul was refined into a ball of pure spiritual energy.
"Swallow it!"
Ian handed the ball of spiritual energy to Chloe Snow.
The next day, half an hour before noon, Ian and his group set out for the Imperial Dragon Arena.
The Imperial Dragon Arena is a special place. As long as you pay the required fee, you can fight here. The arena is protected by a grand array— even a ninth-tier War General cannot break it with full force— making it the perfect dueling ground.
On one side stood a prodigy of the Heavenly Spirit Race, and on the other, a prodigy of the Human Race.
So, many people came to watch. Nearly all ten thousand seats in the Imperial Dragon Arena were filled.
The Imperial Dragon Arena is divided into nine levels, with the first level serving as the battle platform.
Levels two to five are ordinary seats. For just a hundred gold taels, you get a seat and free tea.
Levels six to nine are private boxes.
Each box costs at least ten thousand taels, but the treatment is much better—higher-grade free tea, spiritual fruits, snacks, and most importantly, famous maids to serve you.
Yesterday, Drake Liu reserved a box on the ninth level.
The view from the ninth level is the best, and there are only nine boxes on this level. Drake was able to book one thanks to his status as the Third Prince of the Dragonfolk.
"By the way, Boss, you can place bets on the duel later. Are you interested in making a wager?"
After they entered the private box and took their seats, Drake Liu said excitedly.
"How do you place bets here?" Ian Song asked.
"All bets are even odds," Drake replied.
"Who do you think has the better chance to win?" Ian asked again.
Drake said, "I think Bohan Bai has the higher odds—Heavenly Spirit arts are super weird, and while Bohan isn't the absolute strongest, his power ranks in the top three among all the visiting prodigies. As for Gavin Ji, I've asked around too—he's pretty good for a ninth-tier War General, but just pretty good. Compared to Bohan, he's definitely a notch lower!"
"How much are you betting?" Ian asked with a smile.
Drake replied, "Big bets hurt your wallet, small bets are for fun. I'm putting down ten thousand spirit crystals, that's enough!"
Ian said, "Then I'll bet ten thousand spirit crystals too, but I'm betting on Gavin Ji!"
"Why?" Drake was genuinely puzzled.
Ian said meaningfully, "Because he's from the Ji Clan. If they met in a direct fight, Gavin Ji would probably lose, but after a full day of preparation, you never know...!"
Hearing this, Drake suddenly understood. For this duel, the Ji Clan wouldn't intervene directly, but behind the scenes they'd definitely give Gavin Ji plenty of support. If the Ji Clan backed him with everything they've got, Gavin Ji's odds really would be better than Bohan Bai's.
So, he decided to bet on Gavin Ji too.
There was still a little while before noon when Bohan Bai and Gavin Ji both appeared on the first-level platform.
Heavenly Spirit men all liked to shave their heads, since their hair was naturally green.
Bohan Bai’s name sounded gentle, but he was actually huge and burly—at least two and a half meters tall. His face, scalp, and even his bare arms were all covered in faint purple spirit-patterns.
The Heavenly Spirit Race’s markings were innate, and there was a lot of lore behind them. Supposedly, there were different grades of spirit-patterns too.
They were split into mixed-color spirit-patterns and single-color spirit-patterns.
Of the mixed-color patterns, two-color markings had the greatest potential, while five-color ones were the worst.
Among single-color patterns, purple, black, and white were considered the most prestigious.
Bohan Bai’s spirit-patterns were purple, marking him as one of the Heavenly Spirit Race’s top talents, with a strong chance of becoming a God someday.
Gavin Ji, on the other hand, was also tall—about 1.9 meters—but he looked small next to Bohan Bai’s two and a half meters.
He carried a huge black greatsword on his back and wore a long black robe—definitely top-tier spiritual gear, probably defensive treasure.
Even his boots and hairband weren’t ordinary items.
But what struck Ian Song most was the greatsword on Gavin Ji’s back—a nearly Immortal Artifact–level divine weapon. Clearly, the Ji Clan had spent big for this duel.
"Boss, you really are sharp!"
Drake Liu clearly noticed Gavin Ji’s impressive gear too.
Boom!
The grand array activated, isolating the first level from the other eight.
But people on the other eight levels could still clearly see everything happening inside the array.
There was no unnecessary chatter.
The two quickly began to fight.
Bohan Bai didn’t use any weapons—his fists alone were as strong as top-tier divine weapons.
At first, Bohan Bai had the upper hand. His attacks were fierce, forcing Gavin Ji to retreat again and again, but even on the back foot, Gavin Ji seemed totally calm and unhurried.