Chapter 634 436: Inheritance (Part 2)

'Could Nangong Zhi be looking for this Ghost Cultivation Small World?'

'If that's the case, then the Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Great Zhou Academy must have the same goal. I just don't know what role the sole Nascent Soul from the Beast Taming Sect is playing, or what side he's on.'

The distance was too great and the information too scarce for Fang Qingyuan to do anything but speculate. Besides, this matter didn't concern him for now. His most pressing task was to win this duel.

"Fellow Daoist He, thank you for the information. This is the magical artifact Meng Dian left with me. Please take it back to him."

Fang Qingyuan took out the Bronze Ancient Mirror that had belonged to Meng Dian. This was Meng Dian's most prized magical artifact. As long as He Yu returned this, he would surely be able to complete his mission ahead of schedule.

The depth and breadth of He Yu's information made Fang Qingyuan consider working with him. Thus, he generously returned the magical artifact he had obtained for free, hoping He Yu would feel indebted to him.

Indeed, upon seeing Fang Qingyuan produce the Bronze Ancient Mirror, He Yu's expression turned to one of pleasant surprise. He had originally thought it would be good enough if his three pieces of information could get him half of Meng Dian's things back.

He never expected Fang Qingyuan to be so generous as to return everything.

Well, not everything. Some of the Elixir Pills and Spirit Ores had already been disposed of by Fang Qingyuan. The remaining items were difficult to sell but held great personal significance for Meng Dian.

With their business concluded, He Yu turned to leave. Before he left, he looked at Fang Qingyuan seriously.

"Back then, you asked for my name. Do you still remember the lines I recited for you?"

Fang Qingyuan was taken aback for a moment. He recalled that time long ago, when he was just a Junior Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Level. He smiled and repeated the explanation of the name that the young He Yu had recited:

"A gentleman is like jade, warm and lustrous. A gentleman is like water, benefiting all things without striving..."

It was a short passage, only a few dozen words long, but He Yu listened, captivated. Finally, the two of them met each other's gaze, smiled, and let the matter drop.

...

After He Yu left, Fang Qingyuan began to adjust his battle plan based on the new information he had received.

'Of the four Companion Beasts I currently have, Yinbao and Nanli absolutely cannot enter the fight. Not even as a distraction. They would be killed on the spot, serving no purpose, and I would have to divert my attention to save them.'

'The four Companion Beasts have different roles. Yinbao is a mount, for show and prestige. From the very beginning, he was never raised to be a War Beast.'

'The same goes for the Bee Queen, Fang Ruoxi. Initially, the Bee Queen's main functions were to produce bees to pollinate the flowers in the Immortal Mansion and, in the process, create Golden Jade Flower Honey.'

'After evolving for over a hundred years, the Bee Queen never awakened any powerful combat Talents. Her only two combat-related Talents, [Pigeon Poison] and [Ten Thousand Luminous Illusion Eye], are just run-of-the-mill abilities.'

'[Voice of All Things] and [Destiny] aren't direct combat Talents either. So even though the Bee Queen, Fang Ruoxi, has reached the Golden Core Realm and her massive body looks intimidating...'

'...Fang Qingyuan knew that if Fang Ruoxi really had to fight, she probably couldn't even defeat a Late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic beast, let alone fight to the death against a Golden Core Perfection Cyan Flood Dragon.'

'What a waste of such a huge body. I guess she evolved to be this massive just for heat dissipation.'

'As for Nanli, she was a source of some comfort for Fang Qingyuan. Ever since the Great White Bear died in front of her, Nanli had devoted herself to cultivation. Her current realm was Late-stage Foundation Establishment. Given the circumstances, she might even be the first of the three younger Companion Beasts to undergo Core Formation.'

'But Nanli's natural talent was limited. Although her combat strength was formidable among those at the same level, if Fang Qingyuan threw her into the upcoming duel, she would likely be killed in an instant.'

'So, of his four Companion Beasts, only Jinbao was strong enough to enter the battle and protect himself.'

'However, the gap between Late-stage Foundation Establishment and Late-stage Golden Core wasn't something that Talent and aptitude alone could overcome. Fang Qingyuan worried that if Jinbao entered the fight, he wouldn't play a decisive role and would instead be targeted as a weakness.'

'It wasn't that Jinbao's combat power was insufficient; it was that the level of Fang Qingyuan's enemies was rising far too quickly.'

'Back when Fang Qingyuan was at the Qi Cultivation stage, he could rely on Jinbao for combat, but he was so focused on paving his way with Spirit Stones that he rarely fought himself.'

'Later, after he succeeded in Foundation Establishment, his status rose even higher, and he no longer needed to handle many things personally. Even in a lawless place like the Outer Sea, Fang Qingyuan rarely had Jinbao make a move.'

'This was because he believed that if Jinbao fought, his uniqueness might be discovered. It would be a disaster if he caught the eye of a Golden Core Cultivator.'

'And now, at a time when he needed Jinbao to fight, the enemy Fang Qingyuan faced was on a completely different level. On the surface, his opponent was a Golden Core Cultivator, but his actual combat strength was only slightly weaker than a newly formed Nascent Soul Cultivator.'

'What about sending Qiqi into battle instead? In duels between Beast Taming Sect disciples, one could bring several Companion Beasts. However, most disciples chose to bring only one. This was because raising Companion Beasts was incredibly expensive.'

Compared to Cultivators from other sects, the Beast Taming Sect had to spend a great deal of Spirit Stones on their Companion Beasts.

And rather than raising multiple Companion Beasts of roughly the same cultivation level, it was more effective to pour all resources into a single one.

Of course, Chunyu Hua didn't lack money and could afford to raise several beasts if he wished. But the result was obvious: his own Spirit Beasts were unremarkable, forcing him to rely on the Cyan Flood Dragon as his trump card.

"Jinbao, go get Qiqi."

Fang Qingyuan sent Jinbao scurrying off to find Qiqi. He wanted to discuss with her whether she should participate in the fight against Chunyu Hua. After all, her main purpose for being here was to deal with Hao Shi.

By the time Qiqi arrived at Fang Qingyuan's quarters, he had already made his decision. She would not be needed for the match against Chunyu Hua. She had to be saved for Hao Shi, to give him a surprise.

However, it was Qiqi who first gave Fang Qingyuan a surprise.

"I've contacted the old ancestor. When he learned that Elder Ya is also here, he decided to make his way over. The ancestor said he doesn't plan to cross into the White Mountain Territory, only to cast his Magical Power from a distance at the border."

Qiqi looked completely serious, clearly unaware that the Black River Daoist Palace was a full thousand li from the White Mountain Territory. 'How on earth could Bear Wind, a suppressed Nascent Soul Ancient Beast, project his Magical Power over such a vast distance to affect this place?'

Seeing the look on Fang Qingyuan's face, Qiqi knew his concerns. 'The old ancestor really did think of everything,' she thought, and proceeded to lay out the ancestor's entire plan.

"The ancestor said he can't do it alone. He needs Jinbao's cooperation. He obtained a scripture from Tu Wuzhao, and after some preliminary study, he has already gained some insight and wants to test it out."

'Tu Wuzhao? A scripture?'

'Isn't that a Divine Dao Technique? Is this old bear planning to follow in his big brother's footsteps and take that path? Ugh, wait, when did Bear Wind even get in contact with Tu Wuzhao?'

...

「In the blink of an eye, the day of the duel arrived.」

The Black River Daoist Palace's massive dueling arena, capable of holding thirty thousand people, saw only a few hundred Cultivators enter to take their seats and watch.

Because the duel between Fang Qingyuan and Chunyu Hua was a grudge match, and also involved the Beast Taming Sect, the Black River Daoist Palace naturally had to give some face to Chunyu Hua. They chose not to publicize the event or sell tickets.

The few hundred Cultivators who had come to watch were basically on good terms with both combatants. For example, there was Di Qing and Di Suhua from the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, as well as Lechuan and Zou Yu from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.

In addition, the Yan Gui Sect, which was on friendly terms with the Qingyuan Sect, heard about the matter and came along with several other Sealed Sects to support Fang Qingyuan.

And to Fang Qingyuan's surprise, even the Sect Leader of the Nanchu Sect, Chu Shen—who led one of the Sealed Nascent Soul Sects—had come to watch with several of his disciples.

Adding in the Beast Taming Sect Members on Chunyu Hua's side, the level of the Cultivators among these few hundred people was frighteningly high.

There were basically no Qi Cultivation Cultivators present; the lowest cultivation level among them was Foundation Establishment. All told, there were nearly fifteen Golden Core Cultivators.

There were even two Nascent Soul Cultivators: Elder Ya, who was with Chunyu Hua, and the guardian of this place, Nangong Meng of the Nangong Family.

"It's about time. You two, come over and sign the Life and Death Contract."

As noon approached, Nangong Meng sent someone to summon Fang Qingyuan and Chunyu Hua, producing a Life and Death Contract for the two to sign.