Jiang Xuan leaned back, grinning as he watched over 300 young elites battle it out like headless chickens. He wasn't in a rush at all—in fact, he even pulled out a tiny wooden stool and a handful of roasted sunflower seeds, settling into a cozy hidden spot with a perfect view of the chaos.
Sure, he needed to reach the top of the leaderboard to get the Dao-grade medicinal herb and break through the bottleneck in his cultivation, but… why not enjoy the show while everyone else did the dirty work?
In fact, he was looking forward to it.
He hoped everyone took a turn beating Jiang Qiankun to death.
If they couldn't kill him, at least severely injure the bastard.
Then he could swoop in with a finishing blow and send that schemer packing to the afterlife.
They had no personal grudge—until Jiang Qiankun secretly sent people to assassinate him. That crossed the line.
He killed those assassins, of course.
Now it was blood for blood.
As the chaos in the canyon intensified, techniques blazed, sword light tore through the sky, and blood boiled. Deafening booms echoed. Ancient bronze beast statues shattered under stray blasts. The floor was littered with blood, rubble, and groans.
Wounded fighters piled up.
Maybe at first, the elites held back because they were of the same clan. But now, with injuries stacking and tempers flaring, not to mention the absolutely absurd temptation of a living true dragon cub, restraint was long gone.
The melee escalated further—and formed five main factions.
Jiang Qiankun, Jiang Haoming, and Jiang Feng each led a group of loyalists.
Then there was a loose coalition of weaker branches, with Jiang Bei as their temporary leader. They had one simple goal—take out the four main contenders first!
The last "faction" was… awkward.
It was Jiang Xuan's group.
Except they couldn't find their leader.
With no idea where Jiang Xuan had gone, they just awkwardly hung back and watched.
Meanwhile, as the real combat began, everyone finally realized how terrifying the "four prodigies" truly were.
Ten versus one? Easy work.
Their strength was so insane, it probably already rivaled Earthly Profound-level cultivators.
The battle had reached a deadlock.
Jiang Xuan, still spectating, was getting anxious.
Come on, someone injure Jiang Qiankun already! I've got a follow-up ready!
"Why the hell are you guys all spread out?" he muttered under his breath. "Just mob Jiang Qiankun and beat him down!"
Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud. That would instantly make him a target—especially since he was technically one of the four main rivals and still stuck at the Spirit Awakening level. Easy prey, they'd think.
Then—
"Daddy! What are you eating? I want some too!"
Jiang Xuan's eyes twitched. A chubby little hand reached into his vision.
"Just some roasted seeds… wait, huh?"
He froze.
A little girl with pigtails was floating beside him, eyes sparkling as she stared at his snack.
Floating.
No spiritual energy fluctuations.
Jiang Xuan's scalp went numb. Only Earthly Profound-level experts could fly without external help—or… freakish monsters.
He slowly turned his head.
"You're the... dragon cub?!" he blurted out.
The girl nodded enthusiastically.
Jiang Xuan was dumbfounded. He looked back toward the sky—yep, the golden dragon illusion was still swirling above the battlefield, roaring dramatically.
So… what the hell was that?
"That's just an illusion I made," the girl giggled. "Those bad guys want to take me away from Daddy. Let them fight! I hope they all die!"
Jiang Xuan: "…"
You're not a dragon cub… You're a demon in disguise!
No way an actual newborn dragon could be this cunning!
The girl pouted, "Daddy, I'm hungry!"
Jiang Xuan almost cried.
Of course, it had to be a trap. Nothing ever came easy for him!
Still, thanks to the ancestral bloodline restriction spell he inherited, the dragon girl was now bound to him—life and death under his control.
If not, he would've bolted.
Thinking fast, he said, "I'd love to feed you, but we can't leave yet. I need to collect enough beast blood to win the trial first."
The dragon girl blinked, "So, if we get all the beast blood, we can leave?"
Jiang Xuan nodded blankly.
"Then I'll go get it all!" she said proudly.
Jiang Xuan: "???"
Wait, what?!