Chapter 446 - 15 in 1

Swoosh!

Chen Xiaobei did not dither but struck at the precise moment!

Ximen Hanfeng's attention was on Chen Xiaobei's left finger – the right time!

He was standing right next to Ximen Hanfeng, with almost no distance between them – the favorable position!

Most importantly, Ximen Hanfeng did not pay any attention to Chen Xiaobei. He was completely unguarded, unprepared! This was a golden opportunity for him to strike.

Time! Position! Opportunity! Chen Xiaobei had them all! There was no reason for him to slip up!

"Shatter all Right Directions!"

A purple-gold light illuminated from within Chen Xiaobei's right palm and dragon scales sprouted where his skin was.

His Chaos Ethereal Force developed into a Cold Ice Ethereal Force at maximum capacity, sending forth a thunderbolt!

BAM!

An explosion boomed as purple-gold claws collided with Ximen Hanfeng's Dantian.

"Blaaaaargh…" Ximen Hanfeng threw up a mouthful of blood as his body was sent slamming to the opposite side into the stone wall.

"Who… Who are you… Your combat power is not even 210,000… How did you manage to hurt me…" There was terror in Ximen Hanfeng's eyes as he spoke. "And… My Dantian is only wounded, not destroyed but why can't I stir up my Ethereal Force… Why… Why is this happening?"

"You don't have to know why! Just die like a good lamb!" Chen Xiaobei sprang towards the injured man with his dragon claws raised in the air.

"Shatter all Eight Directions!"

BAM!

The claws swung down and struck the top of Ximen Hanfeng's head with absolute force!

In reality, with Chen Xiaobei's combat power, he should not be able to break Ximen Hanfeng's physical defense but because he had used his Special Ability, the Shatter all Eight Directions skill, the results were different as well

It was as if a punishing earthquake ripped through the firm ground. Ximen Hanfeng's health could defend him against Chen Xiaobei's surface strength, but it was not enough to protect him from the skill's hidden force.

The hidden force entered Ximen Hanfeng's body and sent violent ripples into his head.

His brain, meridians, muscles, and bones shook violently.

His face was crumpled as thick globs of blood poured out of every orifice – his ears, eyes, and mouth.

In a matter of seconds, Ximen Hanfeng drew his last breath and died in a pool of his own blood.

"Effortlessly done!" Chen Xiaobei grinned, as he picked out a blue gemstone from Ximen Hanfeng's Dantian.

That's right! It was the Abyssal Ice that Chen Xiaobei found earlier on!

This ice was already in his palm when he launched his first strike.

Because the Shatter all Eight Directions skill impaired Ximen Hanfeng's Dantian, and the Abyssal Ice's extreme Yin cold was injected into his Dantian which prevented him from using his Ethereal Force!

If it had not been for this secret tactic, Chen Xiaobei's second strike would not have killed Ximen Hanfeng.

It would seem that Chen Xiaobei really did have the natural gift of an assassin.

Hide, plan, strike, kill! The entire process was executed to perfection, absolutely flawless!

Ding!

[You have received 10,000 merit points for eliminating a first generation villain]

Ding!

[You have received 50,000 merit points for eliminating a fifth generation villain!]

Ding!

[Your current merit points total are 34,560,000. You are 10,440,000 points away from the next level.]

[Charm: 3,456,000; Luck: 3,456,000]

Merit points for killing the Tenshou warrior and Ximen Hanfeng were deposited into his account.

The warrior was no one special, of course.

But Ximen Hanfeng, on the other hand, could have done it with his eyes closed if he really wanted to kill Chen Xiaobei.

In comparison to the warrior, Ximen Hanfeng was an evil man who indiscriminately killed innocent people. It was no surprise that he was worth 50,000 merit points.

Following that, a Tenshou warrior came running. "General Ximen! Did something happen? Was that you shouting?"

"Yes, that was me!" Chen Xiaobei replied using the True Sound skill. "I found something here! Go ask Prince Turtle to come down here and take a look!"

"You found something? That's great! I'll report to the prince immediately!" The warrior stopped running and took out his phone, excited to be the bearer of good news.

As he was doing that, Chen Xiaobei used the Special Ability again and altered his outfit to match Ximen Hanfeng's armor.

Of course! It was all just an optical illusion!

If someone were to physically touch his Nightstalker Outfit, they would be able to tell that it was fabric and not tough armor.

However, if a person were just to look at it and not touch it, they would not suspect it to be anything otherwise.

Chen Xiaobei was going to use the same tactic on Wugui Kojiro but with some minor adjustments.

Chen Xiaobei moved forward so that the bodies of his victims were out of sight.

Wugui Kojiro was already running towards Chen Xiaobei, an apparent excitement in his voice. "What did you find? What Tiancai Dibao is it? Hurry! Tell me!"

"There's a green light coming from here. I dared not touch it first. I waited until you came so that you can inspect it!" Chen Xiaobei was employing the same trick, pointing a finger at a crevice in a random rock.

"Good! Wait, I'm coming!" It only took Wugui Kojiro two steps to reach Chen Xiaobei.

"Look! It's here!" Chen Xiaobei pointed with his left hand while his right clasped the Abyssal Ice.

"Where? I don't see it!" There was an intense voraciousness in Wugui Kojiro's eyes as he focused them at the cleft in the rock where Chen Xiaobei was pointing at.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, purple-gold light exploded. At the trigger of Chen Xiaobei's right hand, the ability, Shatter all Eight Directions was launched directly at Wugui Kochiro's Dantian.

BAM!

Taking advantage of timing, place and opportunity, Chen Xiaobei landed his first strike!

The hidden force penetrated Wugui Kojiro's body and rocked his Dantian. At the same time, the Abyssal Ice's freezing Yin Qi permeated the injured meridian and muscles, freezing Wugui Kojiro's Dantian so that he could not use his Ethereal Force.

Now that things had progressed to this point, you might say that it was all going smoothly like when Chen Xiaobei killed Ximen Hanfeng.

But there was a slight difference here!

Wugui Kojiro's combat power was higher than Ximen Hanfeng's by 100,000!

On top of that, he was much more cautious!

When Chen Xiaobei launched his attack, Wugui Kojiro managed to throw a punch before his Dantian was frozen.

Swoosh!

The punch, reinforced by Ethereal Force, imparted 600,000 combat power, plunging towards Chen Xiaobei like a cannon!

Bam!

Chen Xiaobei's cultivation was in itself, very low. Combined with the fact that they were standing at very close proximity, meant that the punch was unavoidable, hitting him squarely in the chest!

Bam!!!

Chen Xiaobei slammed into the rock behind him, and humongous granite boulders collapsed on top of him, burying him under the rubble."Blaaargh…" Blood came sputtering out of Wugui Kojiro's mouth. His knees caved in and he crumpled to the ground.

The Dantian was the core, the most important position in every cultivator's body.

With their Dantian damaged, not only would the cultivator be prevented from using his Ethereal Force, but their blood circulation and breathing cycles would be greatly affected too.

"Brrrrr… So cold… What happened…" Wugui Korijo sat on the floor with an ashen face and purple lips. There was a piercing yin cold stabbing at his Dantian. His veins and muscles were beginning to freeze.

"Who was that… Only 210,000 combat power… That's not Ximen Hanfeng… Why did he attack me… And what's with this cold… Someone help me…"

Wugui Kojiro's body was trembling from the cold.

As the cold began to spread, his breathing and blood flow grew weaker. He did not even have the strength to shout out for help.

BAM!

The rocks which piled on top of Chen Xiaobei burst open all of a sudden and Chen Xiaobei walked out of it, unscathed.

"You… You're not dead… This… This is impossible…" Wugui Kojiro's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Your combat power is only 210,000… I punched you… You should be dead… How are you unharmed…"

Right now, Wugui Kojiro was like a tiger with its claws and teeth removed, maimed and harmless

Chen Xiaobei addressed the wounded man with a smile. "I have a really delicious piece of biscuit here! Eat it and I'll answer all of your questions."

Chen Xiaobei took out the Heavenly Dog Biscuit as he made his way to the prince.

Terror filled Wugio Kojiro's eyes as he protested, "No… I won't eat it… That's poison… I will not eat it… Warriors… Help… Come and help me, quick…"

Unfortunately for him, he was too weak, and his voice was too soft to reach his men's ears.

Moreover, Chen Xiaobei was already standing in front of him, prying his mouth open with one hand.

With his free hand, Chen Xiaobei forced the dog biscuit into Wugui Kojiro's mouth.

"Mmmmmrmmm…"

Wugui Kojiro struggled with whatever energy was left in his body. But with his mouth clammed shut by Chen Xiaobei's hand, the dog biscuit began to melt and take effect.

Soon after, Wugui Kojiro acknowledged Chen Xiaobei as his master.

Chen Xiaobei took the Abyssal Ice back and threw some Spiritual Medicine to rectify the cold and also a Taiyi Life Enhancement pill at Wugui Kojiro's feet. "Get rid of the cold Qi first, and then take the pill. Your body will be able to recover quickly!"

"Yes… Thank you, master…" Wugui Kojiro's voice shook as he ate the Spiritual Medicine.

With the cold qi expelled from his body, the color gradually returned to his face.

After that, he swallowed the Taiyi Life Enhancement pill, and his Dantian began to heal.

In a short few minutes, Wugui Kojiro had completely recovered. No one would be able to notice that anything was amiss.

"Master, I've sort of figured out how my Dantian was injured, but theirs is still something I'm don't understand…" Wugui Kojiro said.

"Go ahead and ask," Chen Xiaobei answered.

"I don't understand how you were able to survive my punch," Wugui Kojiro enquired. "My fist had struck your body, yet you were unscathed. It just doesn't make sense…"

"That's simple!" Chen Xiaobei answered. "The protection of the clothes that I'm wearing is close to peak Spiritual Instrument level. Strikes below God-Ascension cultivation cannot hurt me!"

If Chen Xiaobei had used the Ultimate Protective Puppet, the prince's fist would have struck an invisible barrier.

However, as the puppet wasn't used, Wugui Kojiro's fist did make physical contact with Chen Xiaobei's body.

Chen Xiaobei's health alone would not have been able to shield him from that punch. The real reason why he did not sustain any injuries was all thanks to his recently upgraded Nightstalker outfit.

"Peak… Spiritual Instrument… That's almost as powerful as an Earth-God instrument!" Wugui Kojiro swallowed. "Master, you are truly amazing! I didn't know that you have such a powerful item with you!"

"You've asked to many questions! We don't have much time. It's your turn to answer my questions!" Chen Xiaobei said in a stern voice. "Tell me, why did Tenshou and Royal Dome send their soldiers here?"

"We're here to sabotage Saint Duke's betrothal contest! We were going to prevent the competitors from being able to complete the task of killing a Giant Barbaric Tiger within a month!" Wugui Kojiro answered honestly. "Tenshou and Royal Dome's second joint-attack is set to take place after one month! As long Saint Duke's plan to choose a Fuma is not realized within this month, they won't be able to receive external help. They would be completely destroyed in the joint-attack!"

"What? The second wave of attack in only one month away?" Chen Xiaobei gasped. "The people of Saint Duke are completely unprepared!"

Wugui Kojiro nodded. "To be precise, there are only 22 days left to the attack! When morning breaks, it would have been the eighth day of this operation!"

"That…" Chen Xiaobei shook his head worriedly. "No! I have to stop the attack or Saint Duke will be wiped out!"

"I'm afraid that's going to be very difficult…" Wugui Kojiro frowned.

"No matter how difficult it is, it has to be done!" Chen Xiaobei narrowed his eyes as he thought out loud. "If I stop the attack, the betrothal contest can continue! Now, I have to kill a Giant Barbaric Tiger and secure my place for the betrothal before terminating the attack!"

"That… That's impossible…" Wugui Kojiro looked at the ground despondently. "With what little time left, just finishing one of those tasks is not going to be an easy feat!"

"No! I cannot allow Saint Duke to fall and I also cannot give up my place in the contest!" Chen Xiaobei's eyes glimmered with determination. "For the remaining 22 days, I will be racing against time! You better coordinate with me and try not to give me any problems!"

"Yes, master! I will report everything to you! But as to whether or not we'll succeed, that is not certain…" Wugui Kojiro muttered. "This is because Tenshou and Royal Dome have sent a lot of God-Ascension elites here… and my brothers… They might not listen to me…"

"I know! Keep me updated. I will come up with a plan!" Chen Xiaobei said. "Can you settle Ximen Hanfeng's death?"

"He… He's dead?" Wugui Kojiro took a step backwards. "Don't worry, master. Everyone here is my trusted aide in this ravine. I will tell them what to say so that no one will find out the truth!"

"Good! That's that then! Remember my phone number and keep in contact!" Chen Xiaobei gave the prince his number and snuck out of the ravine.

…

10 miles west of the ravine, Chen Xiaobei located Ao Liancheng and the disciples of the Divine Tiger Faction."Zhufeng! Are you alright?" Ao Liancheng asked, anxious. "We were just planning on how we're going to save you!"

"I'm fine. Am I not in one piece?" Chen Xiaobei shrugged.

"Childe Chen! You really are incredible!" Su Xiaoman was starry-eyed. "Our Xiao Bai is a 500,000 combat power Spiritual Beast at the early phase of God-Ascension cultivation! The enemy injured Xiao Bai yet you were able to escape unharmed!"

"Oh, I'm just lucky." Chen Xiaobei said nonchalantly. "It's not safe in these mountains. You guys better leave as quickly as possible!"

"What actually happened?" Ou Yanghu asked. "Seven days ago, we were attacked by Tenshou Starfield. What do they want anyway?"

"Because there's some conflict going on among the Nine Zones… There's no time to explain now!" Chen Xiaobei said. "You need to get out of this place! If you meet anyone from Tenshou, reveal your identity immediately and let them know that you're not here to capture the Giant Barbaric Tiger so they won't attack you!"

"Capture the Giant Barbaric Tiger?" Su Xiaoman and Ou Yanghu, and all 100 members of the Divine Tiger Faction wore a peculiar expression on their faces.

"What is it? Is the tiger related to your faction?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"Yes!" Su Xiaoman explained, "Three thousand years ago, our faction's ancestor subdued a Giant Barbaric Tiger and made it his Spirit Beast. It helped him to defeat all his enemies and he finally managed to get himself to the Earth-God Realm! The Giant Barbaric Tiger is our faction's emblem!"

Chen Xiaobei posed another question, "So, do you still have the tiger in your faction?"

"No…" Su Xiaoman shook her head. "The Giant Barbaric Tiger has an Earth-God's strength… Ever since the last cat followed our ancestor to the Earth-God realm, no one in our faction has subdued another one…"

"Has anyone ever tried?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"Of course, we have!" Su Xiaoman said. "Subduing a Giant Barbaric Tiger is a dream that everyone in our faction wishes to achieve! The members of our faction had tried all kinds of ways to capture the tiger but we have never been successful…"

Chen Xiaobei shone with anticipation. "Then, all these must mean that you know how to quickly locate a Giant Barbaric Tiger, right?"

"Yes!" Su Xiaoman nodded. "We have a specific method to find the tiger. We've always been successful at tracking it but not subduing it…"

"That's great! That's awesome! Do you know how to do it? That would be a great help to me!" Chen Xiaobei was so happy he gave Su Xiaoman a big bear hug.

After his conversation with Wugui Kojiro, Chen Xiaobei found out that he only had 22 days left to stop the joint-attack on Saint Duke.

Every minute and every second was significant to Chen Xiaobei.

If he could find the Giant Barbaric Tiger in the shortest time possible, he would have quite a substantial surplus of time for his subsequent endeavor.

"I… How can I help you?" Su Xiaoman blushed. "We are indebted to you, Childe Chen. I… I'm willing to agree to anything…"

"I want you to bring me to find the Giant Barbaric Tiger! The sooner the better!" Chen Xiaobei answered.

"You… You want to subdue a Giant Barbaric Tiger?" Su Xiaoman asked.

"Subdue or kill. I'll figure it out when we find it!" Chen Xiaobei said eagerly. "Of course, if it's inconvenient for you to escort me, just tell me how I can find the cat. I'll track it down myself."

"I'm willing to be your guide!" Su Xiaoman nodded decisively.

"Great! That's great!" Chen Xiaobei was thrilled.

"Hang on for a minute, Childe Chen." Su Xiaoman turned away and found a few attentive members of her factions and urged them to look after the injured Gang Zi and Xiao Bai.

While she was gone, Ou Yanghu spoke up, "Childe Chen, I really sorry, but I have an assignment to complete. I would have gone with you, otherwise!"

"I understand!" Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Again, you'll just need to protect your faction brothers and my friend. Don't worry about everything else!"

"Don't worry, Childe Chen!" Ou Yanghu thumped his chest and declared, "Your friend is my friend too! I will make sure he leaves the mountains safely!"

Ao Liancheng protested, "No! What are you saying, Zhufeng? You're not bringing me with you?"

Chen Xiaobei answered, "Your wounds still need to heal! It's better for you to leave this place!"

"Who told you that?" Ao Liancheng objected. "It's the eighth day already! After eating that pill you gave me, my injuries are already 80% healed! I don't care! I have to go with you! If anything happens to you, I don't know how I can face my people!"

"I…" Chen Xiaobei exhaled. "Alright. Come with me then. There shouldn't be any danger anymore…"

Chen Xiaobei had only agreed to it for the hundreds of millions of merpeople disciples.

In the past seven days, Chen Xiaobei had been receiving notifications on his Netherspirit Battlescouter.

Chen Xiaobei's current total number of disciples had risen to a shocking one billion.

If Ao Lianchen went back, constantly worried about Chen Xiaobei, his other disciples would begin to fret too.

They would then discover that the Chen Xiaobei they worshipped was not as powerful as the legend led them to believe.

The disciples who were grateful to him would never forget him, but the disciples who worshipped Chen Xiaobei for his capacity might find themselves beginning to doubt him, which would gradually reduce his disciples.

Yanwang said that without the total amount of 100 million disciples, his Heavenly Path's reward would be taken back.

With 1 billion disciples, Chen Xiaobei could claim the Heavenly Path's reward ten times.

But if he was even one disciple short of 1 billion, that number would be reduced to nine.

At this critical juncture, Chen Xiaobei could not afford to lose any disciples.

Finally, when all the plans were finalized, Chen Xiaobei, Ao Liancheng, and Su Xiaoman went on a tiger hunt, whereas Ou Yanghu led his faction members out of the mountains.

…

Chen Xiaobei took out a Tenshou combat spacecraft and under Su Xiaoman's directions, flew towards the mountains.

They flew the whole night, and when it was almost dawn, Su Xiaoman told Chen Xiaobei to land on a mountain sheltered by an indigenous forest.

"I am sure that there is a Giant Barbaric Tiger in this mountain!" Su Xiaoman said. "From now on, we'll have to be extra careful! One wrong move and our lives will be at great risk!""There's no need to rush. There's no movement nearby!" Ao Liancheng kept the spacecraft, scanning the environment cautiously.

"By the time we sense any unusual activity, it might be our funeral!" Su Xiaoman said. "The Giant Barbaric Tiger is the king of the mountains. When the spacecraft landed, it already knows that someone has invaded its territory. Right now, it might even be making its way here to kill us!"

"That's right up my alley! We'll just wait for it here!" Chen Xiaobei toggled his storage bracelet, getting ready to take out his trump card to fight the Giant Barbaric Tiger.

"Are you joking?" Su Xiaoman hissed. "The Giant Barbaric Tiger may not be at Primordial Spirit cultivation, but it has the strength of an Earth-God! Unless you have a Two-Star Earth-God instrument, there's no way you could defeat it!"

"I don't understand what you're saying…" Chen Xiaobei looked genuinely puzzled. "If it's not at Primordial Spirit cultivation, then how could it have Earth-God strength?"

"You don't know this?" Su Xiaoman looked taken aback.

"Zhufeng is from a low-ranking starfield. He doesn't know the 'Giant Tiger's Strength' saying," Liancheng explained.

"Low-ranking starfield? How is that possible?" Su Xiaoman paused for a moment to process the information. "Childe Chen is really powerful – I thought he's from the land of Green Dragon!"

Apocalypse Starfield was made up of four continents: Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Turtle.

Green Dragon, being closest to the Earth-God realm, was superior to all the other continents.

Chen Xiaobei reviving all living things on the barren land with a wave of his hand was an Earth-God's move.

In fact, not only Su Xiaoman thought that Chen Xiaobei was from Green Dragon but so did the other 100 Divine Tiger disciples.

Ao Liancheng shrugged in response. "To be honest, I don't believe that Zhufeng is from a low-ranking starfield either. But that's not important! Zhufeng is a good friend! A good brother! A hero's origin doesn't matter!"

"Mm… Childe Chen is a good person indeed!" Su Xiaoman smiled. "Alright, I'll explain to you. The Giant Barbaric Tiger is a very special kind of Spirit Beast! Legend has it that they were born with divine strength because they are the descendants of the Heavenly Realm's Divine Beasts! A newborn cub has 100,000 combat power! The most interesting thing would be the Giant Barbaric Tiger's combat power, which is not connected to its cultivation but with its age! To put it simply, regardless of how high or low their cultivations are, once the tiger reaches adulthood, it would possess a One-Star Earth-God combat power!"

Chen Xiaobei exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! This talent is amazing! Does its combat power continue to increase as it ages? If the tiger lives up to a hundred or a thousand years, can it actually dominate the heavens?!"

"Talents are endowed by the heavens. How could it be used to dominate them instead?" Su Xiaoman replied. "Although the heavens may have granted them a remarkable talent, they also deprived them of the opportunity to become limitless! Once they had reached adulthood, their combat power would stop increasing! They would be forever stuck at Earth-God level!"

"What…" Chen Xiaobei raised an eyebrow. "Their combat power won't increase for eternity? That's problematic…"

Su Xiaoman nodded. "Because their combat power remains constant, it had turned into a unit of measurement!"

"Unit of measurement? What do you mean?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

Su Xiaoman explained, "Take an Earth-God who had just broken through to Primordial Spirit cultivation for example. Their combat power is not measured by how many tens or hundreds of thousands. We would say that he or she is 'one tiger-strong'! A Two-Star Earth-God is 'two-tigers strong', and so on. A nine-starred apex Earth-God is 'nine-tigers strong'!"

"There really is such a thing?" Chen Xiaobei's smiled. "Back home, we have a saying '*the strength of nine bulls and two tigers'!"

"The strength of nine bulls and two tigers?" Su Xiaoman repeated quizzically. "In the Earth-God realm, it's the opposite – two-tigers-and-nine-bulls strong represents a two-starred apex Earth-God!"

"Bulls' strength is also a measuring unit?" Chen Xiaobei was very fascinated.

"Yup! The Green Spirit Wild Ox is also a type of Spirit Beast that doesn't experience a change in combat power once they become adults. That's why it has also become a unit of measurement!" Su Xiaoman explained. "That saying in your hometown may have been passed down from the Earth-God realm!"

"That… Maybe…"

Chen Xiaobei put a finger on his chin.

The Earth-God realm's saying of 'two tigers and nine bulls' had existed for 10 million years. There was a good chance that on earth, it was gradually modified into Nine bulls and two tigers.

Of course, the regular bulls and tigers on earth could not compare to the Green Spirit Wild Ox and Giant Barbaric Tiger!

The strength that they represented was also naturally poles apart!

"Alright, let's go! We talked for this long just so that you're well informed on just how powerful a Giant Barbaric Tiger is!" Su Xiaoman said. "Right now, it's in hiding and we're out here in the open! It won't be stupid enough to come charging at us! It will observe us quietly from afar, and then attack when we're not paying attention! The moment when the Earth-God strength is unleashed upon you, there's nothing you can do even if you have your trump card with you!"

"What is your plan then?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"We'll have to exchange positions with the tiger!" Su Xiaoman answered. "Once we locate it, it'll be the one in the open! We'll be at an advantage and we'll be safe!"

Before Chen Xiaobei could answer, a snobbish voice called out, "That makes a lot of sense! Who knew, that there would be an expert around here! Hey, missy! Take me to find a Giant Barbaric Tiger! What did that Chen moron promise you? I will beat his offer by tenfold!"

"Who… Who are you?" Su Xiaoman asked.

Not far away from where they were standing, a dozen men led by two young men approached them.

One of the young men walking in the front had a blank, glacial look about him. He was the young master of Royal Dome's most powerful faction, Ximen Shuoxue!

The other one, the one who had spoken, was the pompous-looking young master of Saint Duke's most powerful faction, Yumen Yuanqing!

"Ugh, what is that putrid smell?!" Chen Xiaobei said in a mocking voice. "Oh, it's that shit-eating young master Yuwen! You could've at least gargled before you left the house. The air stinks when you speak!"

"Hey, Chen! Do you want to die?" Yuwen Yuanqing hissed, his face now darkened in a shade of red.

"I don't want to die; I want to find a tiger!" Chen Xiaobei retorted. "Little Man here is my guide. I will not agree to lend her to you!"

"Hmph! If you have money, you can even make the devil push the millstone for you*!" Yuwen Yuanqin jutted his chin. "Hey, miss! I think you heard me well enough. I will pay ten times what Chen is paying you!"

"No!" Su Xiaoman refused. "I will not help you even if you pay me one thousand times, one million times more! Also, don't blame me for being unkind to you if you keep badmouthing Childe Chen!"

Footnote:

*the strength of nine bulls and two tigers: tremendous strength or effort.

If you have money, you can even make the devil push the millstone for you*: Money makes the world go round. You can do anything as long as you have money."You stupid girl! Watch what you say! I, Yuwen Yuanqing, am the young master of Saint Duke's most powerful faction! Are you sure you won't give me face?" Yuwen Yuanqing said through gritted teeth. In his circle, he was a person of status and prestige and many people were desperate to serve him!

But then again, here was a defiant Su Xiaoman turning down his grand offer! She even defended Chen Xiaobei who was against him!

The worst part was, of course, losing face in front of his subordinates and his good friend Ximen Shuoxue.

"Hmph! I am not from the nine zones. Why should I give you face?" Su Xiaoman had been so nice and polite all the while but she now displayed a feisty side of her.

"What the f*ck! A lion is a lion even when he is sleeping!" Yuwen Yuanqing was snappish. "Let me give you a taste of my medicine!"

"Young master, don't!" A middle-aged man behind advised.

From the way he was dressed, one would assume that he was a core elder of Saint Duke's most powerful faction. His senior rank and high cultivation were not to be overlooked.

In spite of everything, Yuwen Yuanqing was so used to being unbridled in his barbarity – why would he listen to anyone's advice?

Subsequently, Yuwen Yuanqing invoked his Ethereal Force which had reached the peak of Ethereal Force. All 330,000-combat power was unleashed at full force towards Su Xiaoman.

Despite the full-throttle attack, it was an unwise move as Su Xiaoman who although looked very much younger than him, was a lot more powerful than he was.

Smack!

Su Xiaoman placed one hand on her tiny waist, while the other moved faster than lightning towards Yuwen Yuanqing's face.

"Arrrrghhh…" Yuwen Yuanqing screamed as he was flung past a large number of trees.

"Ah… Hack hack… How…" Yuwen Yuanqing was lying on his back ten meters away, screaming and throwing up blood and snot.

"Young master! Are you alright?" The middle-aged man rushed over to check on him.

"Alright? My head nearly exploded… and you're asking if I'm alright? Hack hack…" Yuwen Yuanqing's face was crumpled in pain. "Elder Yan! Avenge me… Hack… Retaliate…!!!"

"Retaliate?" Elder Yan looked doubtful.

Su Xiaoman gave him a stony look, "Retaliate? Come on then! I'm more than happy to oblige!"

"Elder Yan… What are you waiting for?" Yuwen Yuanqing was furious. "That Earth-God instrument you have… Take it out and kill them all… We're being bullied by a little girl. Where will our faction hide our face?"

"Simmer down, young master! Don't you forget that this is Apocalypse Starfield, not Saint Duke…" Elder Yan said in a grave tone. "Apocalypse Starfield is hidden with elites everywhere! There are just too many people we cannot afford to offend… That young lady may be young but her combat power is already 600,000. I believe that she has someone more powerful behind her!"

"What?! She… 600,000…" Yuwen Yuanqing licked his lips nervously.

"Yes… 600,000 combat power!" Elder Yan said. "That slap just now… if she hadn't held back, your head really would have exploded…"

Yuwen Yuanqing sucked in a deep breath. It looked as if he was going to throw up.

"I tried to tell you not to fight her but you didn't listen…" Elder Yan frowned. "This is not our domain… We cannot do as we please…"

"Is there anything else?" Su Xiaoman sniffed scornfully. "If not, I'll be leaving!"

Chen Xiaobei and Ao Liancheng could not help but smile at this, secretly giving the girl a thumbs up.

She was loyal to her people and ruthless to enemies.

This girl was very likable!

"Wait!" Ximen Shuoxue suddenly spoke. "Childe Yuanqing is like a brother to me. I will not watch him get beaten and do nothing about it!"

"You mean you'd like to get a good beating too?" Su Xiaoman raised a palm, a threatening look playing on her face.

"Positions!" Ximen Shuoxue called out. His face still a blank canvas.

The men behind him immediately assembled into a battle formation.

Half of these men belonged to Ximen Shuoxue and the other half to Yuwen Yuanqing! They were from different factions, yet they were extremely well-coordinated! They had clearly practiced this many times beforehand!

"Childe Shuoxue… No!" Elder Yan said nervously. "The enemy is not some run-of-the-mill person… and Neptune's Ao Liancheng is here too… If a fight breaks out, the ramifications would be too much for us to bear!"

"I don't understand! What is there to be afraid of, elder Yan?" Ximen Shuoxue said. "Your combat power is 700,000! So is Elder Han's! On top of that, both of you each have an Earth-God instrument! Also, there's this powerful combat formation! If we're not afraid of the Giant Barbaric Tiger, why should we be afraid of these three incompetent fools?"

There was a look of uncertainty in Elder Yan's eyes. "You mean…"

Elder Han walked up to his comrade, a smug smile on his face. "Our young master is saying that there's no one around and we should take this opportunity to kill the three of them. No one will be the wiser!"

"That… That's not wise…" Elder Yan stammered. "Chen Zhufeng and Ao Liancheng are both contestants of the betrothal. If the Saint Duke Emperor finds out…"

"Are you mad?" Elder Han was still smiling. "Do you know why your young master became sworn brothers with our young master?"

"I.. don't…" Elder Yan shook his head.

"One month after this, there will no Saint Duke imperial family!" Elder Han smiled. "Your entire faction will be shielded when war breaks out because your Childe Yuanqing and our young master are both sworn brothers!"

"This… This, this…" Poor Elder Yan inhaled sharply.

"Listen to my young master and you'll still be an Elder after the war!" Elder Han smirked. "Refuse and you'll be killed along with them! That won't take up too much effort!"

"Is that true… young master…" Elder Yan wiped his sweaty palm on his shirt.

Yuwen Yuanwing nodded. "Yes, it's true. My father had formed a secret alliance with Royal Dome. Next month, Saint Duke will be eliminated, and we'll be safe…"

Ximen Shuoxue narrowed his eyes. "Elder Yan is a smart man! Should I have to tell you what to choose?"

"I… I understand…" Elder Yan's murderous Qi was unleashed. "I'm very much willing to serve Childe Shuoxue!"

Elder Yan and Elder Han stood in front of the combat formation, eyes locked onto Chen Xiaobei."Shit… That two men are the core elders of two powerful factions! Their combat powers are each 700,000! They even have two Earth-God items with them… There's no way that we can go against them!" said Ao Liancheng.

"Blame me for being too aggressive… I really shouldn't have beat up that guy… I should have known that it would have been impossible for them to come here to capture this Giant Barbaric Tiger without any solid backup!" said Su Xiaoman with her lips pursed.

The massive combat power shown by the enemies had managed to make Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman feel threatened by it. When it came to combat power and items, they knew that there was no way that they could win the battle. Once the fight started, the enemies would surely not show them any mercy.

"Both of you! Don't be afraid! Once the fight starts, I want the two of you to run as fast as possible! Just leave me here! Go and look for the tiger! I will contact the two of you later!" said Chen Xiaobei in a calmed manner.

"Zhufeng! What kind of joke is that?! Among all of us here, your combat power is the lowest! You are going to die if we leave you here alone! Let me stay back and buy you guys some time! You should run away with Xiaoman! After all, I'm after the prince of Neptune Starfield! Maybe! Just maybe they will not kill me…" said Ao Liancheng.

"Stop dilly-dallying! Just listen to me! There is still something I need to do! Don't worry! I will not die here! The two of you will only distract me if you guys continue to stay here!"

"But, you will not be able to defeat them even if you stay here!"

"Just stop talking! Come with me now! Quick!"

Suddenly, Su Xiaoman grabbed Chen Xiaobei with one of her hands and grabbed Ao Liancheng with the other. She then started to drag them to the rock nearby as fast as possible. Su Xiaoman's combat power was quite high, which caused Chen Xiaobei and Ao Liancheng to fail in resisting her tug.

"Thinking of running away?! Not so easy! Royal Dome Deity Sealing Formation! Up!"

Swoosh!

Immediately, the dozens of people behind the elder started to channel their Ethereal Force at the same time. Among this dozen people, half of them were at Ethereal cultivation and the other half were at Celestial cultivation. A terrifying energy wave was unleashed from the formation when all of them banded together to power up the formation.

"That… That is the Royal Dome's Deity Sealing Formation! There's no way that we can run from it…" said Ao Liancheng in despair.

"Is that formation really that powerful?" asked Su Xiaoman.

"That is an Earth-God level formation! As long as it is powered by an Earth-God Instrument, it can seal the movement of an Earth God with ease!" said Ao Liancheng.

"This is bad! They have two Earth-God Instruments with them! They can use one of them to seal our movement and the other one to kill us… Xiaoman! Let go of me! It will be too late if I don't bring out my trump card right now!" said Chen Xiaobei.

It was now clear that Chen Xiaobei no longer had the situation under his control. Though he had the item called Asura Mirror that could be used to break the seal of any formation, it could only work on formations that were below Earth-God grade! Considering that the Royal Dome's Deity Sealing Formation was an Earth-God grade formation, Chen Xiaobei would never be able to put his Asura Mirror to good use!

"Don't worry! We will be fine… Right now, all we need to do is to keep quiet… Like really quiet…" said Su Xiaoman with a trembling voice.

Swoosh…

Before they realized it, the white light that came from the formation had the three of them surrounded. While they were under the light, none of them could use their Ethereal Force and they could not move their bodies as well!

"Xiaoman! What the hell are you doing? We are so dead this…."

"Quiet!

At first, Chen Xiaobei and Ao Liancheng did not understand what Su Xiaoman was trying to do. Seconds later, their hearts started to beat ridiculously fast and the expressions on their faces changed. They did not dare say a word anymore.

Roar!!!

A deafening roaring sound could be heard from behind the giant rock. Following the loud roar, a giant creature charged out from the back of the rock. It was a giant tiger! Its at least 20 meters tall and at least hundreds of meters long! Its sharp claws and teeth were sharper than an Enigmatic Steel Blade and thicker than an adult's thigh! Also, the golden fur on its body made it look like a Fire Kirin!

The most terrifying part about it was its aura! Before it landed any attack on its prey, the pressure from the overpowering aura had already given a good shock to everyone's heart.

"Giant… Giant Barbaric Tiger…"

Elder Yan and Elder Han screamed at the same time. As for Yuwen Qinyuan, he fled the scene before anyone else could the moment he saw the tiger. Even the poker-faced Ximen Shuoxue's face was now slightly twisted.

"Xiaoman…. You are so smart…"

Chen Xiaobei's state of mind could be considered as the most powerful one amongst all of them. When everyone was left in a panicked state, Chen Xiaobei was the only one who could figure out Su Xiaoman's smart plan. Earlier, she had already noticed that a Giant Barbaric Tiger was hiding behind the rock. The spot under the giant rock was actually a blind spot. That was why the tiger could not spot them.

At the same time, the formation that the enemies triggered aimed at the rock. The Giant Barbaric Tiger that was hiding behind the rock felt threatened by it, which was why it came out from hiding and prepared to attack them. While the tiger fought with the enemies, Chen Xiaobei and the rest of them sat back and watched the whole fight unfold before them.

Swoosh!

The tiger then jumped on top of the formation with lighting speed!

"Shit! The ability of the formation has already been used on the three people earlier… We can't seal the tiger anymore… We are so dead…"

Everyone was left in despair.

BAM!

BAM!

The tiger leaped into the air and landed in front of its enemies like a giant mountain. With only a single swipe with its claws, 30 of them were sent to meet their maker.

The killing had finally begun!Roar!!!

The Giant Barbaric Tiger let out an earth-shaking roar and started to swing its front paw mercilessly as its enemies. Not only was the attack extremely fast, but its strength was also not to be underestimated as well.

Swish!

Swish!

Two giant claws swiped at its enemies. Like slicing through tofu, all 30 of them were easily shredded to pieces.

BAM!!

The Giant Barbaric Tiger stood up and leaped towards the remaining ten people. Landing from at least ten meters up high in the sky, the remaining survivors were squashed to death. When the tiger was done with them, the whole place was scattered with broken body parts, bloody flesh, and pools of blood. Within ten seconds, all 40 people that were assigned to the formation were killed by the Giant Barbartic Tiger.

Elder Yang and Elder Han were the only survivors left on the battlefield. Seeing that all their allies were being eliminated, they could not help but start shaking in fear. As for Yuwen Qinyuan and Ximen Shuoxue, the two of them had already retreated hundreds of miles away. They were preparing to board their spacecraft to flee the scene when they saw that their allies were killed within seconds.

"What… What should we do now?" asked Elder Yan with a quivering, terrified squeal.

"Fight… We still have an Earth-God Instrument with us… We might be able to defeat it if we work together… We will surely be killed anyway even if we run away from it!" said a very pale Elder Han.

Shiiing!

Immediately, Elder Han drew out a blue long sword that looked like it was made of crystal. This sword was the signature sword of Ximen Shuoxue. To win the fight against the Giant Barbaric Tiger, he had no choice but to bring out this sword. The Deity Sealing Formation earlier was powered by this very One-star Earth-God Item.

Roar!

Immediately, the tiger sensed that there was imminent danger coming at it. It then turned around and glared at the two elders that were holding their Earth-God Instruments.

Swish!

Swish!

Elder Yan and Elder Han took out 200 medium-grade Spiritual Stones to power up their Earth-God Instruments. The two of them were not an actual Earth God yet, which explained why they were not powerful enough to use the Earth-God instruments. Since the two of them were the core elders of the most powerful faction in a high-tier starfield, 200 medium-grade Spiritual Stones were nothing to them.

Swoosh!

Knowing that the two elders were going to attack it, the Giant Barbaric Tiger immediately pounced at its enemies to attack them first.

"Divine Frost Heavenly Slash!" shouted Elder Han while pointing his sword to the sky.

The blue light emitting from the sword lit up the entire sky. Immediately, the temperature around them dropped drastically. It was as if everything was about to be instantly frozen and shattered by the sword!

Shinng!

Both of the Giant Barbaric Tiger's front claws came in contact with the sword before a sharp noise could be heard echoing in the air. Seemingly, the tiger's claws and the longsword were just as powerful. That was why Elder Han could not defeat it with his attack.

"Demonic Flame Holy Explosion!"

Suddenly, Elder Yan let out a loud roar and used both of his hands to life up his Crimson Flame Fan.

Phissh…

A hundred-meter tall demonic overlord was summoned!

He had three heads, eight arms, and was burning with fire! The flames that came from him were so scorching hot, it was as if they could singe the entire world to ashes.

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

Seconds later, the demonic overlord landed all eight of his arms on the Giant Barbaric Tiger. Each arm packed the strength of a crashing meteor. The tiger had already mustered all its strength to hold off the attack of the Ice Crystal Longsword, so there was no way it could defend itself from the attack against the demonic overlord.

Wail…

Sob…

The Giant Barbaric Tiger threw up a mouthful of warm blood and had an agonized look on its face.

However!

The Giant Barbaric Tiger was after all a powerful beast with special talent. Apart from possessing the strength of an Earth God, it also possessed the toughness to withstand its attacks! Though the two elders managed to hurt it, it was still not enough to cripple it!

Swish!

It held on to its pain and attempted to launch another attack at Elder Yan. There was no time for Elder Yan to fill himself with Spiritual Qi to defend himself against the attack of the tiger.

BAM!

Elder Yan was turned into shredded meat by the tiger's claw.

Roar!

After that, the Giant Barbaric Tiger looked for the right timing and shot up into the sky to grab the Crimson Flame Fan. Once it got hold of the master-less fan, the entire battle had now taken a different turn.

"Divine Frost Heavenly Slash!"

Elder Han saw that there was a chance for him to launch a surprise attack at the tiger. He immediately recharged himself with enough Spiritual Qi to launch his ultimate attack again.

Wail…

Knowing that Giant Barbaric Tiger had suffered from plenty of injuries earlier, it was forced to retreat to dodge Elder Han's attack… for now. As for Elder Han, he did not pursue the tiger. Instead, he wanted to control the Crimson Flame Fan first.

Swish!

Suddenly, a black shadow dashed to the Crimson Flame Fan with lightning speed and grabbed it before Elder Han could get his hands on it.

"Chen!!! You again!!!"

To his surprise, Elder Han did not expect that someone would snatch the Crimson Flame Fan from him.

"Good treasure! You are mine now!"

Immediately, Chen Xiaobei established Spiritual Connect with the Crimson Flame Fan.

"Hmph! You can't even use it even if you get your hands on it! Your cultivation is too damn weak! I can kill you with a snap of a finger!"

Again, Elder Han took out hundreds of medium-grade Spiritual Stones and prepared to launch his ultimate attack at Chen Xiaobei.

At the same time, Chen Xiaobei brought out this Blood God's Deity Killing painting, Chaos Blood Sword, and Ying Zhen's Black Coffin from his Infinite Space Ring. With all of them absorbing a total of 900 medium-grade Spiritual Stones, they could launch three strikes of an Earth-God level attack. Ying Zhen's Black Coffin had absorbed another 100 medium-grade Spiritual Stones earlier, which meant that the Black Dragon Riders would receive immediate healing if they got hurt in battle.

"You… You… You…"

Elder Han almost peed his pants when he saw what Chen Xiaobei was about to do to him.

"What now? Afraid of me? Weren't you trying to kill me earlier?!" asked Chen Xiaobei with an untroubled voice and squinted eyes.

At the same time, the Chaos Blood Sword, Crimson Flame Fan and Blood-God's Deity Killing paining were hovering around Chen Xiaobei. The crimson rays had colored the entire place in a ghastly blood-red. Their terrifying aura and pressure had landed entirely on Elder Han.

"I… I've made a mistake… I won't dare to do it anymore… Please spare my life… I beg you…" said Elder Han quietly while kneeling on the ground.

The blue light that came out from Elder Han's sword was slowly fading away. Though it had absorbed enough Spiritual Qi earlier, Elder Han had lost all his battle intent. That would mean the battle had come to an end.

"I like your attitude! Break your Spiritual Connection with the sword and hand it over to me right now. Do it and I will spare your life!" said Chen Xiaobei.

"About this…"

Elder Han hesitated.

"Elder Han! This Divine Frost Sword belongs to my father! He will kill you and your family if you give away this sword!" said Ximen Shuoxue.

"I… I will fight!"

Rendered with no other option, Elder Han had to fight Chen Xiaobei.

Shinng!

Seconds later, Elder Han's sword regain its power and was ready to land a powerful attack on Chen Xiaobei.

Swish!

Of course, Chen Xiaobei would not just sit there and let Elder Han attack him. Before Elder Han's sword reached him, Chen Xiaobei launched his Chaos Blood Sword first. As he was at close proximity, Elder Han did not have enough time to dodge nor defend against Chen Xiaobei's attack. Before he could realize it, he had already been decapitated by the Chaos Blood Sword.

Ding!

[You have eliminated a fourth-generation villain! You have been awarded 40,000 merit points!]

Ding!

[Your current merit points are 34,600,600! You will need another 10,400,000 merit points to proceed to the next level! (Charm: 3,460,000. Luck: 3,460,000)]

Swish!

Without wasting any time, Chen Xiaobei sent his Chaos Blood Sword flying to the spacecraft that was parked far away from him.

BAM!

The spacecraft exploded as Chen Xiaobei's Chaos Blood Sword penetrated its fuel tank. As for Ximen Shuoxue and Yuwen Yuanqin, the two of them were blasted out of their spacecraft and landed on the floor.

Blargghh…

Blargghh…

Though the two of them were quite tough, the surprise attack rendered them defenseless and severely injured by the explosion.

"You have ten seconds to crawl to me! Fail to do so and I will kill you!" said Chen Xiaobei in a dominant voice.

Earlier on, Chen Xioabei could actually kill them with ease. However, he figured out that he still had use for them which was why he kept them alive.

"Crawl?"

Ximen Shuoxue and Yuwen Yuanqin stared at each other and they felt that they were greatly humiliated by Chen Xiaobei. Considering that they were famous young elites from the nine zones, they had never experienced such humiliating treatment before in their lives.

"Let's crawl…"

Seconds later, both of them had made up their minds to crawl to Chen Xiaobei as fast as possible because the Chaos Blood Sword was hovering on top of them.

"Chen… Childe Zhufeng… We are here now…"

None of them dared to stand up when they finally reached Chen Xiaobei.

"Give it to me!" said Chen Xiaobei barked while pointing at the Ice Crystal Sword.

"Yes… Yes… Yes…"

Ximen Shuoxue then pushed away Yuwen Yuanqin, picked up the sword, and handed it over to Chen Xiaobei with both hands. If the two of them wanted to live to see tomorrow, they had no choice but to do whatever Chen Xiaobei demanded of them.

Right after Chen Xiaobei took over the sword, he established a Spiritual Connection with it.

He then said, "Open your mouth!"

"Huh?"

Feeling puzzled, the two of them opened up their mouths without any hesitation. Chen Xiaobei then tossed in two pieces of Heavenly Dog Biscuits.

Gulp…

Gulp…

Like the usual, the two of them were now Chen Xiaobei's loyal hounds.

"Eat this as well!"

Chen Xiaobei gave them one Taiyi Life Enhancement Pill each.

"Master! What kind of pill is this?! I can feel my injuries healing rapidly!"

"Master! I can feel that as well! Your pill is really amazing!"

"Cut the crap! Tenshou and Royal Dome are about to launch their second wave of attack! I need the two of you to help me stop it!"

"About this… I don't think I can do anything about it…" said Yuwen Yuanqin, gulping.

"Idiot! Don't you have a solution with you? Your dad says that he will attack all the planets that are located on the outer part of Saint Duke Starfield! He will also open all the portal that leads to the capital planet! You can actually destroy his plan from the inside!" said Ximen Shuoxue.

"Ahh, I see now! I understand! I can complete this task with ease!" said Yuwen Quanqin in a more confident tone.

"I will do something on my side as well! I'm just a young master from the powerful faction of Royal Dome, and it will be hard for me to interfere with the plan made by the royals! However, I can assassinate the new prince and cause chaos internally!" said Ximen Shuoxue.

"If that's the case, the crisis will be solved!" said Chen Xiaobei.

With the chaos that Ximen Shuoxue created, he would be able to delay the second wave of attack, giving Chen Xiaobei more time to figure out a permanent solution.

"Act now since the two of you know what to do! Update me from time to time!"

"Master! I still have a question! The first wave of the attack had caused a great deal of damage to Saint Duke! Even if Royal Dome can't attack them, Tenshou will still be able to get the job done!"

"Don't worry! I have planted a chess piece in Tenshou!"

"What?! You have someone in Tenshou as well?! Who is that person? Is he good enough for you? If he's just a normal person, I'm afraid that he might not be able to bring our plan to success!" asked Ximen Shuoxue and Yuwen Yuanqin.

"That person's name is Wugui Kojiro! I'm pretty sure he's more than qualified to help me!"

"How… How is that even possible? Wugui Kojiro is the youngest prince of Tenshou Starfield! He is also the emperor's favorite son! When it comes to position and power, he's definitely way better than us!"

"Is that so? It seems like my chess piece is a pretty darn decent one!"

"It is very decent indeed! As long as we can make good use of Wugui Kojiro, we will be able to make a huge mess in Tenshou Starfield!"

"Alright! I'm really glad to hear that! Right now, I'm going to capture the Giant Barbaric Tiger first! After that, we can make use of the remaining 20 days to come up with a more thorough plan!"

"You want to catch the Giant Barbaric Tiger? Do you need our help?" asked Yuwen Yuanqin.

"Are you really that stupid? Our master has four Earth-God Instruments with him! To him, catching an injured tiger is as easy as eating a piece of cake!" said Ximen Shuoxue.

"Right… Right… Right… I'm dumb…"

"Now that you guys have lost the Earth-God Instrument, what are you going to tell your superior?" asked Chen Xiaobei.

"That's not a problem! We will tell them that we were attacked by the Giant Barbaric Tiger and everyone who came with us was killed by it! In the process of killing us, all of our Earth-God Instruments were robbed by the tiger! No one would be able to testify that we are telling lies!" said Ximen Shuoxue.

"Right! Right! Right! That's what we are going to say!" said Yuwen Yuanqin.

"Alright! That would mean that all of our problems are solved for now! The two of you can take your leave now!"

"Yes, master!"

Ximen Shuoxue and Yuwen Qinyuan then took out another spacecraft and left the place. As for Chen Xiaobei, he took out his cellphone and called Ao Liancheng. After the Giant Barbaric Tiger saw that Chen Xiaobei had brought out his trump cards, it knew that it would never be able to defeat Chen Xiaobei. Hence, it fled the scene. When Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman saw that Chen Xiaobei had the whole thing under his control, the two of them left first to follow the tiger. It would be really difficult for them to look for it if it were to start hiding at some secret place.

"Hello… Zhufeng… have you settled the matter over there?" asked Ao Liancheng in a whisper.

"Settled! What about your side? Judging from the volume of your voice, I believe that you guys still have it in your sights, right?"

"Yes… You are right! Xiaoman and I are waiting outside the cave that it lives in… But… we don't dare to enter it… so we have no idea what's going on inside…"

"I remember Xiaoman once told me that the Giant Barbaric Tiger is not a real Earth God, right?"

"Yes. You are right… a Giant Barbaric Tiger is a special beast. Once it grows into an adult, it will possess the strength and health of an Earth God but doesn't possess its cultivation."

"What that being said, the Giant Barbaric Tiger doesn't have the Primordial Spirit Zone ability, right?"

"Right… The Primordial Spirit Zone is a unique ability on an Earth God! No one can possess this ability unless they are truly an Earth God… You have so many Earth-God Instruments with you. I believe you can bring it down even if it is a One-star Earth-God!"

"Hehe… The sweetest victory of a battle is the kind of battle that doesn't require a fight! Still, you can make the enemies surrender to you! Send me your GPS location, I will come to you right now!"

….

Around ten kilometers away.

Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman were hiding on top of a tree; looking down at a giant cave.

"Childe Liancheng… It's been almost ten minutes since you called Childe Chen. Why is he not here yet? Could something bad have happened to him?"

"I don't think so… Judging from his voice, I think he is pretty relaxed and calm! I believe he has everything under his control! Nothing bad will happen to him!"

"This is really weird… At the speed he can travel at, he should be here right now. Why didn't I see him?"

"Let me call and ask him again!" said Ao Liancheng in a nervous manner.

Rumble…

Rumble…

Suddenly, they could hear a loud rumbling noise coming out from the cave.

"What's going on…? I thought the giant tiger had suffered some serious injuries! Why is it moving again?!" asked Ao Liancheng.

"I have no idea as well… Judging from the noise, I think the tiger is slowly coming out from the cave…" said Su Xiaoman who was beginning to panic.

"What is it trying to do? We both saw that it ran back to its cave with blood coming out of its mouth! It should be resting right now. This doesn't make sense!"

"I cannot figure it out as well… There's no time now! Can you call Childe Chen and tell him that the tiger is about to move to another place? Let's continue to follow it!"

"Alright!"

Ao Liancheng nodded and proceeded to call Chen Xiaobei.

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

"Eh? Childe Liancheng, did you hear a cellphone ringing nearby, or did I hear wrong?"

"I heard it too!"

"The ringing sound came from that direction!"

Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman looked at the giant cave at the same time. After that, they saw something really shocking. The tiger strolled gingerly out from the cave slowly and it seemed it was in peace.

However, this was not the most shocking part!

Ring!

Ring!

The ringing sound got even louder now.

They saw a young man in jet black attire standing on top of the head of the tiger!

"I'm done with the big cat! You can hang up the call now!""Liancheng! Xiaoman! The two of you are God-Ascension level elites. Why are you so surprised?" Chen Xiaobei asked as he hung up the call.

The 20-meter tall Giant Barbaric Tiger walked to the tree and lowered its head to let Chen Xiaobei down, which was at Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman's standing height.

Ao Liancheng inhaled sharply as he struggled to find the words. "Even a Primordial Spirit cultivation Earth-God would find it hard to believe… A formidable Giant Barbaric Tiger lets you stand on its head… Zhufeng! You are phenomenal!"

Su Xiaoman raised her little hands to her eyes and rubbed them. She sounded very uncertain as she asked her companions, "Am I dreaming? Childe Chen… You… You've actually subdued a Giant Barbaric Tiger?"

"This is not a dream!" Chen Xiaobei shrugged. "This is just a really big cat. It's not that difficult to tame!"

Su Xiaoman's mouth fell open. "That's our Divine Tiger faction's dream! Everyone from the faction leader to the disciples had set their sights on this impossible task but no one has been able to do it since our ancestors… If our people were to find out about this, they would all go crazy!"

Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "Please keep this a secret for me. I don't wish for anyone to find out that I've subdued a Giant Barbaric Tiger yet!"

"I… I will…" Su Xiaoman nodded, a questioning look in her eyes. "But… Childe Chen, can you tell us how you did it?"

Ao Liancheng nodded eagerly. "Yeah! How did you subdue this super beast?"

Chen Xiaobei shrugged. "Remember how it was injured earlier? I gave it some healing medication, reasoned with it and appealed to its emotions! As its wounds began to heal, as an act of gratitude, it willingly submitted itself to be my Spirit Beast!"

"That's impossible…" Su Xiaoman did not believe him. "In our experience, the tiger finds humans very repulsive! It won't even allow you to get near it, much less eat the pills you give it!"

Maybe I'm different from a normal human." Chen Xiaobei answered calmly.

"Then when did you enter the cave?" Ao Liancheng asked. "Xiaoman and I have been watching the entrance but we never saw you enter!"

"Oh, I'm pretty fast. Maybe that's why you didn't see me." Chen Xiaobei answered.

"No…" Ao Liancheng rubbed his chin doubtfully. "At our cultivation, even if Xiaoman and I could not see you, we would've at least sensed something…"

There was only one explanation for this – Chen Xiaobei had used a High-tier Prosperous Monkey Fur to turn himself into a flying insect, allowing him to enter the cave undetected.

In their conversation over the phone earlier, Chen Xiaobei had again confirmed with Ao Liancheng that the Giant Barbaric Tiger was not an actual Earth-God, and did not possess the Primordial Spirit.

The severely wounded tiger did not notice the little insect Chen Xiaobei entering the cave.

All he needed to complete the task was to give it a Heavenly Dog Biscuit!

The biscuits were ineffective on Earth-Gods but since the tiger was not an Earth-God, the master-slave acknowledgment process went smoothly.

That was why Chen Xiaobei was allowed to stand on the tiger's head as they exited the cave.

However, this whole process involved too many secrets and Chen Xiaobei had to keep mum in providing the details.

Even if he did tell them about the mystical Prosperous Monkey Fur and Heavenly Dog Biscuit, Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman may not believe him.

Rather than wasting time explaining everything, it more convenient to make something up.

"Alright, let's not get too caught up with the process. The result is what's important!" Chen Xiaobei smiled. "Now that I've successfully subdued a Giant Barbaric Tiger, the Saint Duke task is settled. I will need to move on to the next operation!"

"Yes! Yes!" Ao Liancheng nodded. "We have to stop Tenshou and Royal Dome's second joint-attack!"

"I can help too!" Su Xiaoman volunteered.

"No! The two of you cannot come with me!" Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "Xiaoman, you are from Divine Tiger faction. You cannot be dragged into this Nine Zone feud!"

"But I really want to help you…" Su Xiaoman pouted.

"You can still help me when you return to your faction!" Chen Xiaobei took out a piece of paper. "There are five things on this list which are extremely important to me. I'm hoping you could help me learn where I could get them. You are from Apocalypse Starfield, after all, and you must have some special connections!"

"Alright!" Su Xiaoman nodded. "Since they are so important to you, I will do my best!"

"Liancheng! You have to return to Neptune!" Chen Xiaobei said. "There are only 20 days left. If I fail to destroy the enemy's plan, I hope that you and his majesty, the holy emperor, would honor his word in helping Saint Duke!"

Ao Liancheng crinkled his nose. "I can just call my grandfather. I don't have to go back to tell him!"

"No! You have to go!" Chen Xiaobei said. "My next plan is to enter Tenshou Starfield. I'm just a nobody. No one will recognize me but if I bring the prince of Neptune with me, we'll have eyes on us all the time!"

"That's easy, I can put on a disguise. No one will be able to recognize me… I won't be at peace unless I go with you!" Ao Liancheng said.

"Brother!" Chen Xiaobei said grimly. "I can understand that you did not have faith in me at the beginning but now that you've been with me for so long and seen all my trump cards, you're still not confident in me?"

"I…" Ao Liancheng started. He knew very well that Chen Xiaobei had the Chaos Blood Sword, Blood-God's Deity-killing painting, Crimson Flame Fan, Ice Crystal Longsword, and Yingzheng's Black Coffin.

Most importantly, Chen Xiaobei now had a formidable Giant Barbaric Tiger as his Spirit Beast.

These trump cards were all Earth-God level!

Except for the Emperor himself, no one could pose as a threat to Chen Xiaobei in all of Tenshou Starfield!

"Brother, have a little faith in me!" Chen Xiaobei said. "I don't need you to worry about me! In fact, I should be the one worried about you, who are still recovering from your injuries, following me around!"

"Alright! I understand!" Ao Liancheng nodded ponderously. "I will go back to Neptune and help my grandfather prepare for battle! After 20 days, you'll just need to give the word and our soldiers will enter the battlefield!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded. "You can get ready. But don't be so pessimistic. I may not return from Tenshou unsuccessful! As long as everything goes according to plan, this war may not have to start at all!""Don't worry, Zhufeng! I will not badmouth you when I return!" Ao Liancheng said. "In fact, I will tell the soldiers that your plan had been faultless! I will also tell them about how you miraculously subdued the Giant Barbaric Tiger! I want every Neptune Soldier to know that you, Chen Zhufeng, are an undefeatable superhero! We will all start fighting for you, and it'll be my greatest honor to do so! You have my word that after 20 days, regardless of whether your plan succeeds or not, all of our soldiers will be ready to fight – armed with the highest of morale and burning with gusto!"

Ao Liancheng spoke floridly and solemnly. His words were a strong indication that he would do everything he had promised and never let Chen Xiaobei down!

"Good brother!" Chen Xiaobei felt deeply touched. "With your strong support, I have nothing to worry about!"

With the plans laid out, the three of them parted ways.

Ao Liancheng and Su Xiaoman left on a spacecraft.

Chen Xiaobei sent his location to Wugui Koijro and waited for him to come.

"Master…" The Giant Barbaric Tiger said. "I won't be able to fit into a spacecraft… Not unless you have an aircraft carrier…"

"Don't worry! I have a solution for that!" Chen Xiaobei smiled. He took out a copper ring.

It was small but the intricate carvings on it were very realistic; the beasts embossed on the ring had a very feral, primal feel about them.

The ring was one of the things that Chen Xiaobei had received on the Qixi festival – the Myriad Beasts Ring from Bull Demon King!

Chen Xiaobei slipped it on his finger. The moment he had completed the Spiritual Connection process, he exclaimed, "What a gem! Its Spiritual Attribute is very powerful! It's almost on the same level as a One-star Earth-God instrument!"

Through the Spiritual Connection, the ring's uses and usage were transferred into Chen Xiaobei's mind.

Ding!

[Myriad Beasts Ring: Crafted by Bull Demon King. It can store up to 10,000 Spirit Beasts. Wave your hand and 10,000 beasts will charge out to slaughter powerful enemies! In the ring, the Spirit Beasts will be in a meditative state, which can increase cultivation and recovery rate!]

"Come on! Let me give it a try!"

Chen Xiaobei willed the Giant Barbaric Tiger into the ring.

It was exactly like storing things into his Infinite Space Ring. It was all very simple.

Of course, there was a big catch – the spirit beasts stored inside must have already acknowledged their masters.

Otherwise, whatever wicked beast, demonic beast or wild beast could not be stored inside.

"Now that the tiger is in the Myriad Beasts Ring, it'll be in a meditative state! I just need to inject Spiritual Qi into the ring to speed up the tiger's healing!"

Chen Xiaobei took out 1 million low-grade Spiritual Stones.

Fuuuuuh!!!

The Myriad Beasts Ring sucked in all the Spiritual Qi.

Ding!

An interesting picture popped into Chen Xiaobei's mind – a cute tiger's head with a battery charging symbol next to it.

Only one third of the battery was charged. This meant that the injured Giant Barbaric Tiger could only wield a third of its combat power!

After the supplement of Spiritual Qi, however, the battery charge gradually increased, indicating that the ring was converting Spiritual Qi to heal the tiger.

When the battery was full, the Giant Barbaric Tiger would be completely healed, and at full capacity!

"This design is pretty interesting! Charge for 5 minutes and fight for 2 hours!" Chen Xiaobei grinned. "When I get back, I'll put Xiao'er, Xiao Bai, Sirius, Blackwater Mystical Snake, and the three Beast Kings inside as well! I have a lot of Spiritual Stones now, anyway. It'll be nice to use some for them to increase their cultivation rate!"

Chen Xiaobei had 99,000 medium-grade Spiritual Stones, and more than 160 million low-grade Spiritual Stones – not too many that it was excessive, and not too few that it was not enough!

Taking a portion of that to help his Spirit Beasts increase their cultivation was a very wise decision.

This was especially true for Xiao'er and Xiao Bai with one being an Immortal Beast and the other a Divine Beast. Increasing their cultivation would be very advantageous.

"Xiao'er!" Chen Xiaobei suddenly cried, plunging into his pocket to retrieve the little creature. "Wake up! Wake up! Aren't you a lazy little thing? All you do is eat and sleep! Are you a pig?"

"Mm…" Xiao'er raised its head slowly, muttering, "Bro Bei! What are you doing? Don't you know I'm cultivating? I'm going to break through to the next cultivation level soon but you disrupted …"

"You're cultivating?" Chen Xiaobei exploded into laughter. "I say you were dreaming! You can sleep all the time. Are you using the fats on your body to break through?"

"Hey… Bro Bei!" Xiao'er scowled. "Don't you know? I am a Primordial Beast! I have the most top-tier of talents! Even if I only eat and sleep all day long, as long as there's Spiritual Qi around me, I can break through to the next cultivation!"

"How… How is that possible…" Chen Xiaobei immediately used his Netherspirit Battlescouter.

Ding!

[Cultivation: Peak of Celestial Cultivation; Lifespan: 99,999,999; Health: 130,000; Combat power: 130,000]

"Wow! Wow wow wow!" Chen Xiaobei exclaimed. "You really have reached the peak of Celestial Cultivation!"

"I told you, as long as there's Spiritual Qi around me, no matter what I'm doing, my cultivation will slowly increase!" Xiao'er said. "I've been sleeping since you entered Northern Wilderness Starfield because the Spiritual Qi in the air is ten times more dense than earth. That way, my cultivation can increase faster!"

Chen Xiaobei swallowed, "Also, what the hell is with your lifespan? Why is it so long?"

Xiao'er answered, "I am one of the ten fiercest insects that would exist for as long as heaven and earth exists! The number that you saw is limited by your Netherspirit Battlescouter. That's not the actual upper limit of my lifespan!"

"Wow… Wow… okay…" Chen Xiaobei exclaimed. "You are seriously cheating ranks!. You don't even need to do anything to break through, and you have unlimited lives! How unfair!"

"I can't help it. Who made me a timeless spiritual being?" Xiao'er chuckled. "My ancestors were around since the beginning of time. They were on a similar level as the other highest-tiered Divine Beasts! My talent is thanks to my inheritance!"

Chen Xiaobei looked very impressed. "Incredible! Other people are Fuerdai* but you are Shenerdai*! Comparison really is the thief of joy…"

"Don't be sad, Bro Bei, no matter how strong I am, you will always be my Bro Bei!" Xiao'er said with a smile.

Chen Xiaobei felt a tinge of warmth in his heart. "That's more like it! Don't say I never took good care of you! I've found you a place with more Spiritual Qi so that you can cultivate even faster!"

Footnote:

Fuerdai*: Children of the nouveau riche in China. Affluent second generation.

Shenerdai*: Divine second generation.

Chen Xiaobei moved Xiao'er into the Myriad Beasts Ring.

An image of a beetle and a small but full battery appeared in Chen Xiaobei's head.

This meant that Xiao'er's health was at its optimum state. Almost instantly, Xiao'er's battery turned green, indicating that Xiao'er was cultivating and was at the peak of its current cultivation.

When Chen Xiaobei checked it earlier, Xiao'er was at the peak of Celestial Cultivation, approaching Ethereal cultivation.

So, when the full, green battery turned empty and red, it would mean that Xiao'er had broken through to Ethereal Cultivation.

"This is good! With me supplying Spiritual Qi, Xiao'er's cultivating speed would be much faster than before!" Chen Xiaobei thought out loud. "Xiao'er is a primordial ancient beast! Just wait until he grows 12 pairs of wings! By that time, he will be able to fight against one of those powerful deities! But, I might have to wait for a long time before it comes true! Right now, I think it will be powerful enough for him to just grow a pair of wings first!"

Swoosh…

Suddenly, a spacecraft landed not far from where Chen Xiaobei was standing.

Wugui Kojiro stepped out and ran towards Chen Xiaobei, calling out, "Master! I'm here!"

"Is there anyone else?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"No, it's just me!" Wugui Kojiro answered. "Why did you call me here? Do you need my help with the Giant Barbaric Tiger?!"

"No. I've already captured one!" Chen Xiaobei answered. "We only have twenty days left. I need you to get me to Tenshou Starfield immediately! We'll to start on our mission right away!"

"What?! You've already captured a Giant Barbaric Tiger? How is that possible?" Wugui Kojiro's beady eyes rounded significantly. "I had always thought that being able to capture a Giant Barbaric Tiger within twenty days was already impressive enough, and you only used a day to do it?!"

"Enough nonsense! Let's make a move now!" Chen Xiaobei did not have time to explain, making his way quickly to the spacecraft.

"Yes, master!" Wugui Kojiro followed behind.

With Wugui Kojiro flying the spacecraft, the two of them left the mountains.

On the way, they came across many Tenshou warriors and Royal Dome soldiers. Despite that, they all recognized Wugui Kojiro's spacecraft so they did not impede.

Since he had nothing to do on the spacecraft, Chen Xiaobei took out his two latest additions of Earth-God Instruments to study them.

He had only just taken them out when Wugui Kojiro screamed, "My god! That's the Ximen family's Azure Frost Sword and Yuwen family's Crimson Demon Fan… How did it end up in your hands?"

"You recognize these two Earth-God Instruments?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"Of course! How can I not?" Wugui Kojiro spoke in quick, excited chirps. "These Earth-God Instruments are very famous weapons. There's no one in the Nine Zones who do not know about it."

"Wow! Everyone knows it? Then what the hell am I using it for?!" Chen Xiaobei was very irritated.

"Why not?" Wugui Kojiro asked.

"Are you crazy?" Chen Xiaobei snapped. "What do you think will happen to me if someone sees me using these two instruments? Do you think that the Ximens and the Yuwens will just let me off the hook?"

"No… No…" Wugui Kojiro stammered. "These two priceless treasures are those families' pride and most prized items! If they find out that you have them, they will surely hunt you down and take it back from you!"

"Damn it!" Chen Xiaobei cursed under his breath. "It was not easy getting these two Earth-God Instruments, and now, I find out that I can't use them! It's like having the most beautiful woman in the world stand in front of you but are only allowed to see and not touch her!"

"They really cannot be touched!" Wugui Kojiro said, "The Ximen and Yuwen Families are extremely rich in resources. The masters of their houses are at the pinnacle phase of God-Ascension! If they have their eyes on you, you're either dead or you'll wish you were dead!"

"I don't need you to tell me that. I know that very well!" Chen Xiaobei frowned. "But right now, our aim is to stop the joint-attack. I'll just set these Earth-God Instruments aside first! Argh! How frustrating!"

"Don't be angry, master! I have a suggestion!" Wugui Kojiro said. "Since you can't use these two instruments, you might as well sell them. After you exchange them for Spiritual Stones, you can consider buying new Earth-God Instruments!"

"Sell?! What sort of bad joke are you cracking?" Chen Xiaobei shouted again. "Who would dare to buy Ximen Family's and Yuwen Family's things?"

"Master, don't forget that we are still in Apocalypse Starfield!" Wugui Kojiro smiled. "There are plenty of families more powerful than the Ximens and Yuwens in Black Tortoise Land! We'll just need to sell it, and there will definitely be a buyer!"

"Alright!" Chen Xiaobei agreed. "I've spent a whole day hunting that tiger. We should spend some time to get a good deal for these two hot potatoes!"

"No problem!" Wugui Kojiro grinned. "It just so happens that I know the manager of an auction house. He's an old friend of our family. If we go to him, he will only take a 1% commission from the auction sale!"

…

Chen XIaobei and Wugui Kojiro got out of the ten thousand mountains and went through a portal to return to Black Tortoise's capital city.

The place was so big that they had to rely on their spacecraft to get to their destination as quickly as possible.

Scarlet Moon Auction House

Wugui Kojiro was explained with enthusiasm, "Black Tortoise's capital city is humongous. There are thousands of Auction Houses, and Scarlet Moon is considered one of the top ten!"

"Auction houses have a ranking too?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"Of course!" Wugui Kojiro answered. "Auction houses are rated mainly according to their clientele! The richer their customers, the higher their purchase power, the higher the auction price! Items that are priced high would draw more people to auction off even more high-grade items. At the same time, they would also attract more deep-pocketed clients, forming a virtuous cycle!"

"There are not more than ten auction houses in Black Tortoise's capital city which were able to reach this level, and Scarlet Moon is one of them!" Wugui Kojiro smiled with pride. He was very confident with the auction house that he recommended.

"Take these Earth-God Instruments!" Chen XIaobei said. "You'll be in charge of contacting the manager. You'll decide how to auction it. I don't know how much they are worth anyway. There's no need for me to show my face!"

"Don't worry, master!" Wugui Kojiro thumped his chest and said, "I will do my best to sell these instruments at the highest price possible!"

"You've already eaten the dog biscuit, so I'm not worried at all!" Chen Xiaobei said. "On our way here, I saw a Taobao Market. I'll go look around there! Once the auction date and time has been decided, do inform me!"

Wugui Kochiro carried the Earth-God Instruments and headed to the Scarlet Moon Auction Market. Considering he was quite familiar with the place and people here, asking him to do this job would save Chen Xiaobei a lot of time and trouble. As for Chen Xiaobei, he walked around the Taobao Market alone. The place looked exactly like the markets which Chen Xiaobei frequented back on earth. The sellers were selling a large variety of items. There were weapons, medicine, stones, animal skins, and decorative items. All these things that they sold shared a common trait – all of them were of a certain vintage!

They looked like they had been around for a very long time. In spite of that, the regular shopper would have mistaken this place to be a market that sold only antiques. Only the professionals would be able to spot priceless and invaluable items amongst all the old items. Sometimes, experts who got lucky would be able to purchase something valuable for an extremely low price.

The amateurs, on the other hand, would usually buy something useless with an unreasonably high price. Thus was the natural order of human nature; greed. Though they knew that the risk of getting scammed was high, a lot of amateurs would still rush into this particular marketplace to try their luck in getting their hands on some rare trinket.

"There are really some good things here!" exclaimed Chen Xiaobei while passing by all those stalls. In all honesty, Chen Xiaobei was actually an amateur as well. It was true that he knew a lot about medicinal raw materials but not the other stuff. However, he possessed a skill called the Eight Diagrams of Godly Prediction! Through that, he gained the ability to see each object emitting a different kind of aura. The ones which shone with golden-purple aura were the most valuable amongst all of them.

After walking for a while, Chen Xiaobei spotted at least three items that emitted golden-purple aura. Not to be fooled, the sellers of those items too, seemed pretty confident in the products that they sold. Clearly, they were going to ask for a hefty price if someone was interested in them, which was the reason why Chen Xiaobei chose to skip all of them.

Suddenly, he was attracted by a particular stall, of which, its seller was a rather pudgy man. He was staring at the woman that stood in front of him in a perverse manner. The woman in question had short hair and she was wearing a set of green attire. On her left arm, was a semi-hidden tattoo of a dragon tail. One could imagine that there was a tattoo of an entire coiling dragon tattooed on her entire arm. At first glance, one could have mistaken her as a guy.

If one paid close attention to her, she was actually very gorgeous. The close Chen Xiaobei paid led his eyes to notice a pair of voluptuous bosoms. This woman was the princess of Divine Dragon Starfield, Ling Qingfeng!

"My lady, how can I help you?" asked the seller while staring intently at her chest.

"Erm… Do you know where can I get all these items on my list?" asked Ling Qingfeng with her head drooped as she was looking at the list. Seemingly, she did not realize that the seller was staring at her in a perverted manner.

"Let me have a look…"

The fat man took the list and stared at Ling Qingfeng's body again.

"All these items are Three-star Earth-God items! Usually, ordinary people would never have the chance to get their hands on them! But, it would seem that you have come to the right person today!"

"So, you know where can I find all of them?"

"Not all! But, I know where you can find an Invisible Spirit Herb!"

"I knew it! There are so many experienced folks here! I knew that I would get some information here!"

"Look at your happy face! Business is business. I'm was not about to give out information for free!"

"I understand! Name your price! I will pay for the intel with my Spiritual Stones!"

"No… No… No… I don't need Spiritual Stones! Right now, I need a pretty lady like you! A masterpiece!"

"What do you mean by that?

Immediately, the smile was wiped off Ling Qinfeng's face.

"Hehe… Stop acting innocent over there! Just sleep with me for one night and I will tell you everything you need to know about the herb!"

"Do you have a death wish?!"

Ling Qingfeng was famous after her preference for women instead of men. All this while, she had always been disgusted by men. Being flirted like that meant that her final straw was broken. Right now, she just wanted to slaughter the disgusting man.

Unfortunately, she was now at Apocalypse Starfield!

"My lady, you do know that this is Black Tortoise's capital city, right? Using violence is strictly prohibited! If you dare to hit me, the soldiers will bring you in and decapitate you in front of everyone!"

"You…"

There were a lot of soldiers walking around the market to make sure that everything was in order. That was why, Ling Qingfeng did not dare to hit the fat man. Amongst the nine zones, Ling Qingfeng could do what she usually wanted but not in this place.

"Little lady! You don't have to hold on to your anger. I know you wouldn't dare to hit me here! There are only two options for you right now! Sleep with me for a night or get the hell out of here! Otherwise, don't interrupt my business!"

"You…"

Ling Qingfeng was so angry that she gritted her teeth but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Boss! What is this thing over here? It looks really special!" said Chen Xiaobei while holding a straw of herbs.

"You…"

Immediately, Ling Qingfeng managed to recognize Chen Xiaobei. But, she saw that Chen Xiaobei was subtly shaking his head at her. So, she did not say anything after that.

"That is Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb!" said the fat man, disinterested.

Clearly, this herb did not cost much. That was why the fat man was not happy that he could not take advantage of Chen Xiaobei.

"I knew it! This is the legendary men's treasure! I heard that it can strengthen a man's stamina on the bed!"

"You are right about that! This Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb is at least 500 years old! Half a piece of it can make sure that you can do at least eight times a night, and it only costs 100 low-grade Spiritual Stones! What a bargain, right?"

"Deal!""Here are 100 low-grade Spiritual Stones! Count it!" said Chen Xiaobei.

Strangely enough, Chen Xiaobei deliberately raised his voice so that everyone could hear it. Soon after that, everyone started to gather around to see what was going on. There were even two soldiers attracted by the loud noise.

"Great! Great! Great! Deal! This Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb belongs to you right now! I can guarantee that you will have a good night tonight! Hehehe…"

The fat trader was really happy that Chen Xiaobei did not try to bargain with him. Upon hearing that, everyone around Chen Xiaobei started to laugh.

"Youngsters nowadays are so damn weak… Look at him! He is still so young but he has to rely on supplements to have sex with other women! I think his junk will be rendered useless when he gets older!"

"It's not that he is weak! He has had too much sex! And now, he's run out of ammo! Hahaha…"

"He can do it eight times a night if he eats the herb! But, he can only last eight seconds if he doesn't eat the herb! Hahaha…"

Though they were speaking in a soft voice, Chen Xiaobei managed to figure out that they were all laughing at him. Feeling embarrassed, Ling Qingfeng was glad that she did not associate herself with Chen Xiaobei. She could not figure out why Chen Xiaobei would buy this kind of herb.

"Qin'er! Look! I just got myself a treasure!"

Chen Xiaobei turned around and said to Ling Qingfeng.

"Erm…"

Ling Qingfeng felt extremely embarrassed when Chen Xiaobei called out for her. Immediately, everyone had their attention focused on Ling Qingfeng and they laughed even louder after that.

"That short-haired lady is that kid's woman? Well, she does look rather lovely and her body is pretty voluptuous as well! No wonder she drained that kid so soon!"

"That kid knows no shame! I can't believe that he bought something like that in front of his woman and he even claimed that it's a treasure!"

"You know nothing about it! That herb is treasure to a man like him! I think they will have a real good time tonight… until the morning… Hehehe!"

Ling Qingfeng's face was reddened when she heard that everyone was laughing at her. Right now, she just wanted to look for a place and hide and never come out.

"The two of you know each other?" asked the fat man.

He felt like something was not right.

"Of course!" replied Chen Xiaobei.

It was too late for Ling Qingfeng to deny it.

"Just now, you mentioned that you got yourself a treasure. What do you mean by that?" asked the fat man nervously.

"Hehehe… This Taobao Market! And I just got myself a treasure at an extremely low price! As a seller, you should know about that!"

"You… What kind of treasure you got?"

Chen Xiaobei then swung the herb in his hand and said, "This is my treasure!"

Again, everyone laughed at him.

"Zhufeng! Stop kidding around! Come with me! I will not stay here and let you embarrass us!"

"Qin'er! Look closer! This is not Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb!"

"What?!"

Ling Qingfeng and the fat man shouted at the same time. Everyone around them stopped laughing and paid attention to the herb as well.

"This is Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb! Are you trying to scare me?!" asked the fat man.

"Look closer! This is Invisible Spirit Herb!"

"Invi… Invisible Spirit Herb?! How is that even possible?!!"

Left in bewilderment, everyone found it hard to believe the things Chen Xiaobei had just said.

"No way! No one knows about it? There are so many people here! Look at the leaves! Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb's leaves are supposed to be dark yellow, and the leaf's veins are supposed to be straight as well. Usually, you can see it with your naked eyes! As for the Invisible Spirit Herb, you aren't supposed to see the leaf vein! And the color of it is supposed to be gold!"

"Now, look at me and pay attention to the leaf vein!"

Immediately, Chen Xiaobei channeled his Water Ethereal Force.

Swoosh…

His Water Ethereal Force covered the herbs and cleansed it. Soon, everyone could see the leaf veins were indeed gold in color!

"This… This… This…"

Everyone was too shocked to say anything when they saw that.

"F*ck! This is really an Invisible Spirit Herb! This is not possible! Impossible! I have checked all my products thoroughly! No way that I will miss it!" said the fat man.

"To you, Six Flavored Yellow Herb is just a normal product! That's why you didn't pay much attention to it!"

Earlier, when Chen Xiaobei asked about the price of this herb, the fat man did not even care much about it. There was some dirt covered the top of the herbs. That was why the fat man thought that it was just an ordinary herb.

"There is something I don't understand… This is supposed to be a Three-star Earth-God herb, why do I feel like its Spiritual Attribute is weaker than I thought?" asked Ling Qingfeng.

"Invisible Spirit Herbs can be used to concoct Spiritual Pills! It can also conceal its Spiritual Attribute! A lot of people would have thought that it's just an ordinary herb that's worth nothing!"

"What that being said, you really did get yourself a rare treasure… And, this herb is listed on your list!"

"You are right! I was surprised that I managed to locate it so quickly! And someone was blind enough to sell it as a Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb! My gain! His loss!"

"This… This is really an Invisible Spirit Herb!"

The fat man was extremely upset by the mistake he made. He even thought of snatching back the herb by force. However, he remembered that Chen Xiaobei announced to everyone that he had just bought himself a piece of treasure and the two soldiers who witnessed the whole thing as well. He would be doomed if he dared to attack Chen Xiaobei. Rendered with no other options, the fat man had to accept the fact that Chen Xiaobei had just purchased a Three-star Earth-God item with only 100 low-grade Spiritual Stones. The evil businessman finally got what he deserved.

Blargghh…

Having a hard time accepting the fact that he had just lost a great deal of fortune, the fat man coughed out a mouthful of warm blood. He then sat on the floor with all his strength drained. As for the crowd, all of them could feel the tight slap that Chen Xiaobei had just landed on them. Everyone knew that using 100 low-grade Spiritual Stones to purchase a Six Flavored Yellow Earth Herb was extremely expensive! As for an Invisible Spirit Herb, one might not even be able to purchase it with ten billion low-grade Spiritual Stones!

A few minutes ago, everyone was still laughing at Chen Xiaobei being impotent. Now, they finally realized that Chen Xiaobei was the smartest amongst all of them.

"Zhufeng, I'm so sorry… I have misunderstood you! And, thank you for bringing justice to me!" said Ling Qingfeng with her lips pursed.

"You and I are brothers. You are most welcome!" said Chen Xiaobei with his shoulders shrugged.

"Are you supposed to looking for the Giant Barbaric Tiger? Why are you here?" asked Ling Qingfeng.

"Let's walk and talk at the same time. I have captured a Giant Barbaric Tiger and I got something good along the way as well! However, I don't think I will use it in the future. That's why I'm here to sell it in the auction."

"How… How is that even possible? The time given to complete the task is one month! And you have just completed it within ten days! This is truly awesome if this is not a joke!"

"To me, that's normal. Nothing special about it. Tell me about you. Why are you here?"

"Are you blind? I'm here to help you to look for the things that you want on your list!"

"Of course I know that you're trying to help me! What I'm trying to say is that… don't you want to marry Princess Puti? You are wasting your time by helping me to look for the things that I want."

"Of course I still want to marry Princess Puti but there is nothing I can do about it right now. Recently, The Divine Dragon's royal family has something important to deal with. All the elites and Earth-God Instruments are with them right now! Without their help, there's no way that I can kill the tiger alone! That's why I've decided that I will concede in this round and help you to look for the things that you want!"

"I see now. Thank you so much for keeping your promise! I'm eternally grateful that you are looking for the things that I want when something critical is happening in your starfield at the same time!"

"Unfortunately, I didn't manage to look for a single item even though I have stayed here for ten days… and, you have just crossed one item off your list during your first day here! In other words, my help is fruitless!"

"Who told you that your help is fruitless? If you didn't argue with that fat man, I would have walked to the other side and I wouldn't have been able to spot the herb! This is all fate! Also, your sincerity is priceless! No matter how this ends, I will always remember what you've done for me!"

"Psst! Alright, you can stop there! If you are a true man, just mark it down in your heart. You don't have to say it out loud!"

"Right! It's all here now! By the way, you can call me if you need any help later!"

Chen Xiaobei pointed at his heart and replied.

"Will do!"

Ring!

Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei's cellphone rang.

"Master! The auction matter is settled!" said Wugui Kochiro.

"So fast?"

"I have managed to locate Manager Wang! The auction will be held in approximately an hour's time! One-star Earth-God items are rare in this upcoming auction and the item that we have put up is considered ultra-rare! That's why Manager Wang instantly included us in the auction! Master, now that I'm looking at the time, I think you can come over right now. I will be waiting for you at the entrance!"

"Okay. I won't be a minute!"

After that, Chen Xiaobei hung up the call.

"Where are you going?" asked Ling Qingfeng.

"I'm going to attend an auction. By the way, how's the relationship between Divine Dragon Starfield and Tenshou Starfield?"

"Tenshou? Normal I guess. There is no conflict between us and none of us have to do each other any good as well."

"It's nice to hear that there are no conflicts. Do you want to come with me to the auction?"

"What do you mean by that? The person who just called you is someone from Tenshou Starfield?"

"I'm not going to lie to you since you are my brother! The one that called me just now is the prince of Tenshou Starfield, Wugui Kochiro!"

"What?! Chen Zhufeng! What the hell are you doing? You want to marry Princess Puti but at the same time, you are mingling with someone from Tenshou! Are you a spy from Tenshou Starfield?"

"It's hard to explain the whole thing to you right now! All I can tell you right now is that I'm siding with Saint Duke Starfield! Everything that I can do is for Puti!"

"It's really hard for me to believe you!"

"It's normal that you don't believe me! Just follow me to the auction now. You will believe everything I've told you when you see the item that I put up for auction!"

"What can you prove with the item that you are auctioning off?"

Chen Xiaobei did not reply to her after that.

…

At Scarlet Moon Auction Center.

Wugui Kochiro was waiting for Chen Xiaobei at the entrance. He then led Chen Xiaobei and Ling Qingfeng to enter the place with a path for VIP. The auction was being held on the second floor and they were arranged to be seated on the VIP seats.