Chapter 447 - 15 in 1

Ling Qingfeng felt uneasy meeting Wugui Kojiro.

Wugui Kojiro was notorious for his reputation as a cocky, dictatorial, and patronizing devil incarnate.

But upon encountering him, Ling Qingfeng found him to be very humble and polite – the exact opposite of what she had been told.

Ling Qingfeng was nonplussed. Could the rumors have been wrong? Could the entire Nine Zones have misunderstood this nice young man?

Very quickly, she realized that Wugui Kojiro's pleasantness was due to Chen Xiaobei's presence!

In front of Chen Xiaobei, Wugui Kojiro was like a docile little cat but with other people, Wugui Kojiro acted like a ferocious tiger.

There was a saying that goes, 'old habits die hard'!

Even Wugui Kojiro's old man could not make his son so meek and modest.

However, against all odds, it was Chen Xiaobei who could!

Ling Qingfeng was, once again, amazed by this extraordinary young man. The longer she was in association with him, the less she knew about him.

"Childe Chen! Childe Chen!" Wugui Kojiro welcomed them with a smile while holding a tray of fruits and tea. "I ordered some people to prepare these Spirit Fruit and Spirit Tea! Please enjoy them! Our item is the second last item up for auction."

"Second to last?" Chen Xiaobei crinkled his brows. "Why so late?"

Wugui Kojiro smiled. "As I said earlier, very few people would sell their Earth-God Instruments. It's an extremely rare item. Naturally, these are to be allocated for the end of the auction!"

Chen Xiaobei asked, "Why isn't it placed last then? Is there a more valuable auction item?"

"Oh! I forgot to ask about that!" Wugui Kojiro slapped his forehead. "Should I go ask now?"

"No, it's alright. We have to wait till the end anyway. We'll just wait and see!" Chen Xiaobei answered.

Wugui Kojiro nodded, and seated himself next to them.

Ling Qingfeng leaned towards Chen Xiaobei and whispered, "You… You're selling an Earth-God Instrument? Are you serious?"

Chen Xiaobei shrugged in response.

Ling Qingfeng's eyes widened. "Others could only daydream about owning an Earth-God Instrument! They are extremely valuable items! How could you just sell it? Even if you could sell it for an ample amount of Spiritual Stones, you may not be able to buy another Earth-God Instrument!"

Chen Xiaobei smiled, "Don't worry! You'll understand why when you see the two Earth-God Instruments! Also, it's proof of my innocence!"

"Two… Two?! You're selling two Earth-God Instruments?! My god… Are you insane?" Ling Qingfeng inhaled sharply, bewildered.

She could not make head or tail of why Chen Xiaobei would do that!

When the auction began, the thousand or more seats on the first level were completely filled.

The private VIP boxes on the second floor were also filled by several mysterious nouveau riche.

According to Wugui Kojiro, this was a large-scale auction which took place only once a month. The items on auction were of a high standard, and the patrons were predominantly wealthy tycoons.

True enough, the first item on auction was a five-star Spiritual Instrument. The further into the auction, the higher the grade of the items were, and so was the selling price.

Towards the end, there was a powerful Spiritual Instrument that had Ling Qingfeng's hand itching. She joined the bidding but the fat cats of Apocalypse Starfield were so stinking rich that Ling Qingfeng was forced to give up on the bid.

"Our dear distinguished guests, now that starter round is over, it is time for today's main event!" A smartly dressed auctioneer announced. Her beautiful face sparkled with exhilaration as she gave a stirring introduction. "Everyone, please remain silent as I present the items! The item that I will be presenting now is an extremely rare gem! This is the first time since the founding of Scarlet Moon Auction House a thousand years ago, that we are auctioning off something like this!"

This caught everyone's attention.

Even Chen Xiaobei was intrigued. What was this item that this long-serving Auction House which had been around for a thousand years would auction for the first time?

"Please allow me to present the second last item of today's auction –" The auctioneer deliberately paused for a good minute to draw the audience's curiosity.

On cue, two pretty, long-legged attendants, each holding a platter covered by a ruby red fabric stood on each side of the auctioneer.

The auctioneer pulled the corner of the fabric and announced, "Everyone, I present to you today's second-last auction item – Ice and Fire Undying Love!"

The fabric fell to the ground and revealed an ice crystal longsword and a crimson flame fan!

Exclamations exploded in the hall.

"What a powerful Spiritual Attribute! Those must be Earth-God Instruments…"

"Ice sword and flame fan… It should have been Ice and Fire Conflicting Nature! Why did she call it Ice and Fire Undying Love?"

"It's just a name. It's nothing! The key point is that very few people want to sell their Earth-God Instruments. They are high-priced but there's simply no market for them! There's going to be one hell of a fight over these two instruments!"

"Yeah! The ultra-rich is going to get into a ruthless bidding feud!"

Everyone was on the edge of their seats: Those who could not afford to participate were anticipating drama, whereas the rich were preparing to compete against each other. Everyone was eager for the bidding to begin.

"That… That is…" Ling Qinfeng stammered. She recognized the two reputed Earth-God Instruments immediately.

What puzzled her the most, however, was how they could appear in the Scarlet Moon Action House. Those were the Ximens' and Yuwens' most cherished treasure!

"Err…" Chen Xiaobei broke into laughter. "I've heard of 'Human and Ghost Undying Love'* But what the hell is 'Ice and Fire Undying Love'?"

"There's something you don't know, after all, Childe Chen! This is a marketing tactic that auction houses use!" Wugui Kojiro grinned. "None of the guests here today are from the nine starfields so they don't recognize the two Earth-God Instruments. As long as there's enough hype, the price can be bumped up real high!"

"How are they going to do that?" Chen Xiaobei wanted to know.

"You'll find out soon!" Wugui Kojiro shot him a cryptic smile.

The attractive auctioneer continued, "I believe our esteemed guests would want to know why these Earth-God Instruments are called 'Ice and Fire Undying Love'. There's a poignant love story behind these treasures! A very long time ago, the prince of the Fire tribe fell in love with a princess from the Snow tribe! But since fire and ice don't mix, their love was opposed by both tribes, and they received malicious curses! Nevertheless, they didn't care about what other people thought and decided to elope anyway! This angered both tribes and a great war broke out! The prince died in the war, and the princess ended her own life! The ice crystal sword and the crimson flame fan that you are seeing here is the testimony of their devotion and love for each other!"

The auctioneer lady told the story with great passion as if it was real.

Chen Xiaobei could not help but roll his eyes. "This story is… so cliché…"

Footnote:

Human and Ghost Undying Love: the literal translation of the Chinese title for 'Ghost the Musical'"Yes, it is extremely cliché! But the more cliché the story, the more the people's hearts would be stirred!" Wugui Kojiro grinned. "Childe Chen, you have to have faith in Ms. Qingya. She is the star auctioneer of Crimson Moon!"

"Qingya?" Chen Xiaobei studied the attractive auctioneer.

"You know what they say, 'Spiritual Stones have a price, but real love is priceless'!" The auctioneer said. "For the first time in a thousand years, this is the first time Crimson Moon is auctioning off an item endowed with such a sacred meaning! We may not auction anything like this again in the future!"

The woman's voice had this impelling disposition. Emotions were stirred by her simple speech.

A middle-aged man seated in box number four was getting impatient.

He blurted, "Earth-God Instruments are difficult to obtain as it is. Getting them as a pair is even more unheard of! Who cares if the story is real or made-up, this is a pair of gems! Hurry up and announce the opening bid already! I, Master Kan, cannot wait anymore!"

From the way this Master Kan was dressed – a Pinnacle phase Spiritual Instrument grade long robe – the more observant ones could tell that he was a man of substance!

"Like I just said, Spiritual Stones have a price, but real love is priceless!" The auctioneer flashed the man a dazzling smile. "This pair of treasures have no reserve! The first bid will be the starting price!"

"No reserve price? Then I won't hold back!" Master Kan said. "In the current market, a One-star Earth-God Instrument sells for 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones! Since there's two here, I'll bid 200 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones!

"200 million?!" Chen Xiaobei's hand flew instinctively to his mouth. "200 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones is equal to 2 trillion low-grade Spiritual Stones. My goodness… I had no idea Earth-God Instruments are worth this much!"

"That's actually very normal!" Wugui Kojiro smiled. "Earth-God Instruments are scarce, and they are scattered across the universe. Most of them are in the hands of powerful institutions of the various starfields. Practically no one sells them! Because it is in such short supply, no one would ever sell them! A lot of Earth-Gods don't actually own an Earth-God Instrument themselves! This extremely scant resource would never sell for cheap!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded. "200 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones is the starting bid. Will anyone else offer a higher price?"

"Of course!" Wugui Kojiro grinned. "Childe Chen, don't underestimate the power of a cliché story!"

A wealthy middle-aged woman from box seven stood up abruptly, flashing in gold and jade. "Wang Shankan! Has the dog gotten your heart? That's such a beautiful love story and you started the bid with the market price?!"

Master Kan scoffed, "That cliché story is for twenty-year-old young maidens. Ma Shanliang, you're already over 200 years old, but you're still so naïve!"

"You're the one who's cliché! Your whole family is cliché! Fu po!*" Ma Shanliang retorted. "Every woman desires for a dramatic and tragic love! Even though the ending is a sad one, dying with the man you love is the most romantic thing that could ever happen!"

"Please stop! The hairs on my back are already standing!" Master Kan hissed. "You either increase the bid or shut up! This is an auction house, not a theatre!"

"Hmph! Of course, I'm going to bid!" Ma Shanliang shouted back. "For true love, I'm bidding 400 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones!"

"Wow! 400 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones! That's 4 trillion low-grade Spiritual Stones!" Chen Xiaobei exclaimed. "That cliché story is really very powerful…"

Ling Qinfeng was still in shock – she had not yet recovered from the initial shock.

Wugui Kojiro could barely sit still. "I know these kinds of stories work but I didn't think it would be so damn effective! 4 trillion low-grade Spiritual Stones can buy three One-Star Earth-God Instruments! That's one Earth-God Instrument's worth of earning!"

Gasps of surprise echoed in the hall.

"What the hell! You crazy woman! Did you take the wrong medication?" Master Kan's jaw fell open. "You're paying double the price for something that costs 200 million in the market? I'm not going to join in your madness!"

"Real love is priceless! No one can take it away from me!" Ma Shanliang was ecstatic.

"Wait! I'll bid 500 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones!" Suddenly, a handsome young man in box nine called out. "This pair of Earth-God Instruments are the symbol of true love! It's very meaningful! I'm going to buy it as a gift for my fiancé!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

He was clutching the hand of an ordinary-looking girl who, like Ma Shanliang, looked extremely enthralled. Clearly, she had also fallen under the spell of that cliché story.

"Look who we have here! It's the young master of Southern Palace!" Ma Shanliang squinted at him; her tone nippy. "You really are going all out to please her royal highness, the princess of Black Realm King aren't you?!"

Southern Palace's young master shrugged. "My feelings for the princess are sincere. I'm willing to give her everything. This is something I ought to do!"

"Hmph! Those are nothing more but superfluous words!" Ma Shanliang hissed. "Once you're married, you will gain ten times the benefits!"

"Don't drag those pointless things into the conversation! This is an auction! If you're not happy, you should just use Spiritual Stones to beat me!" Southern Palace's Young Master chuckled. "To tell you the truth, 500 billion Spiritual Stones is my limit. If you add one more Spiritual Stone, consider yourself the winner!"

"I…" Ma Shanliang was speechless. She clearly could not afford to pay that much.

No other magnate present could afford to pay more than 500 billion Spiritual Stones. So, no one dared say anything.

"It looks like this gem which embodies true love has already found its true owner!" The auctioneer announced. "Since no one is raising the bid, I am happy to announce that Southern Palace's young master has successfully won the bid for the Ice and Fire Undying Love with 500 billion Spiritual Stones! I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Southern Palace young master and her highness a very happy marriage!"

With that bid, the round of auction was finalized.

The Southern Palace young master emptied his storage bracelet to pay his bill. After he received the Earth-God Instruments, he immediately returned to his seat and presented it to his fiancé.

The maiden could not stop smiling and she was extremely moved.

"Wow! Who knew?! Cliché stories are lethal to women!" Chen Xiaobei declared.

"Of course! Why else would there be a saying that it's easy to earn women's money?" Wugui Kojiro smiled victoriously. "Please wait a minute, Childe Chen. I'll go fetch the Spiritual Stones for you!"

"Hurry! Go! Go!" Chen Xiaobei's eyes lit up. He was about to pocket a shedload of Spiritual Stones. He was tingling with excitement.

Footnote:

Fu po: A wealthy woman"Zhufeng! Now that Wugui Kojiro is gone, give me a little bit of background information!" Ling Qingfeng asked. "You said that the items, once auctioned, would prove your innocence! Now that the item has been sold, how are you going to prove it?"

"Stupid!" Chen Xiaobei said. "The people of Apocalypse Starfield may not recognize these two instruments, but don't you?"

"I… I do…" Ling Qingfeng nodded. "Ximen family's Azure Frost Sword, and Yuwen family's Ifrit's Fan! Of course, I recognize them!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded. "The Ximen family controls Royal Dome's number one faction! Yuwen family controls Saint Duke's number one faction! Surely, you know about these two families' relationship?"

"I do…" Ling Qingfeng nodded. "The Yuwens and the Ximens share a very good relationship! Ximen Shuoxue and Yuwen Yuanqing are sworn brothers!"

"Since you know all that, what else do you not understand?" Chen Xiaobei asked. "Tenshou and Royal Dome are allies! Ximen and Yuwen are old friends! If I really am Tenshou's mole, why would I sell Ximen's and Yuwen's treasure?"

"I… I understand now!" Ling Qingfeng exclaimed. "You're selling those two Earth-God Instruments because you're afraid that that Ximen and Yuwen will cause trouble! These two families are Royal Dome people! With the war drawing near, a Tenshou mole wouldn't do something so stupid as to piss off an ally!" Ling Qingfeng finally figured it out. "That's why you couldn't possibly be Tenshou's man! I've misunderstood you again!"

"Mm, your intelligence finally caught up with you!" Chen Xiaobei nodded, smiling.

Ling Qingfeng blushed. "Then what is your relationship with Wugui Kojiro?"

Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "Our relationship is very special. It's difficult to explain…"

Ling Qingfeng's expression crumpled in worry. "Even if it's difficult to explain, you still have to explain it! If Saint Duke finds out about your relationship with Wugui Kojiro, the holy emperor Luo Qiongcang will not let you get away with it!"

"With the war drawing near, Luo Qiongcang is extra cautious. Do you think that he'll believe me just because I explain it to him?" Chen Xiaobei said. "Facts speak louder than words! I might not explain it now but when everything unfolds in the end, everyone will surely understand my intention!"

Ling Qingfeng frowned. "But if you don't explain yourself, you'll be trapped in the middle. Tenshou and Saint Duke will go after you! That's double the danger!"

"This may not be so. Luo Qiongcang will not touch me because the betrothal contest is still ongoing!" Chen Xiaobei answered. "If Tenshou decides to make a move on me, I will make a move first!"

"Make a move first? What are you going to do to the Tenshou?" Ling Qingfeng asked.

"A magician never reveals his secrets!" Chen Xiaobei smiled. "This time, I will be setting up a major slaughter event that will shake the Nine Zones. Just wait and see. It's going to be one hell of a show!"

"What…" Ling Qingfeng found herself too stunned to reply.

"Childe Zhufeng! I'm back!" Wugui Kojiro was running, stretching his hand out to present the storage bracelet to Chen Xiaobei.

"The selling price is 500 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones!" Wugui Kojiro clarified. "The agreed commission is 10% of the selling price, which is 50 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones! So, there's a total of 450 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones inside the storage bracelet!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded contentedly. "I understand. Other auction houses take 20% commission. Thanks to you, we got a nice discount."

"You're too kind, Childe Zhufeng!" Wugui Kojiro thought for a while and then asked, "Are we leaving now or are we going to stay for the last auction item?"

"It's ending soon. We might as well stay until the end!" Chen Xiaobei said, "I want to find out what is it that surpasses both of my Earth-God Instruments!"

"I'm curious too!" Wugui Kojiro smiled as he settled back into his seat.

After a few minutes, the auctioneer returned to the stage with an attendant following behind her holding a platter covered by the same red fabric.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Next, please allow me to present today's final item for auction –" The auctioneer paused as she grabbed the corner of the fabric.

Every head in the room turned to the stage as she pulled the red cloth.

As the fabric fell away to the floor, the curiosity and anticipation in the audience's eyes fell away and were replaced by disappointment.

The platter held a nondescript piece of metal.

Its surface was rough and covered in chalky rust. On top of that, the metal was incomplete; the cracks on its side were very pronounced.

One look was enough to tell that it was a piece of junk. There was nothing special about it all.

That was the main reason for the audience's disappointment.

Wugui Kojiro looked confused and worried. "What the hell is Crimson Moon doing? They're ending the auction with a piece of scrap metal? Are they trying to sabotage their reputation?"

But the expression on Ling Qingfeng and Chen Xiaobei's was different from everyone else's.

"That… That's a…"

Ling Qingfeng's lips quivered, dazed as if she had discovered a major secret.

Chen Xiaobei's eyes were as round as barrels. "What is that thing? My Eight-Diagram Qi Observational Skill is showing a rainbow Qi!"

It was the very first time that this had occurred.

Last time, when Chen Xiaobei used the Eight-Diagram Qi Observational Skill, the oldest, most valuable item would emit purple-gold aura.

Now, the piece of 'scrap metal' was giving off a rainbow-colored Qi, which included the purple-gold Qi!

Chen Xiaobei reckoned that, to date, this piece of junk surpassed every item in actual value and antiquity that he had examined using the Eight-Diagram Qi Observational Skill!

Even if it was not a Celestial-Item grade, it was at least a Spirit-Immortal-grade Divine Item!

"I know! Everyone must be wondering why I would end the auction with a piece of scrap metal!" The auctioneer remarked. "Many of you will find this unbelievable but this piece of metal is actually a fragment from a Spirit-Immortal Instrument! It is said that this piece of Spirit-Immortal Instrument belonged to an actual dragon, and holds the secret of the Ancient Dragon Tribe!"

The audience was outraged.

"That piece of junk does not have any Spiritual Attribute at all! How could it be a fragment of a Spirit-Immortal Instrument? Do we look stupid to you?"

"You say that it has the Ancient Dragon Tribe's secrets? What are they? Tell us! Anyone can make up stories!"

"Let's get out here! Only an idiot will but this piece of junk!"

The hall was turbulent with angry comments. Already, some of the audience had left their seats, ready to storm out.

It was then when Ling Qingfeng stood up suddenly and called out, "What is the starting bid for this item? I want to buy it!"

"Oh? So, there is a VIP here with extensive knowledge about the item!"

"The shattered pieces of this Divine Item is 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones!" said the auctioneer.

"What?! 100 million?!" exclaimed Ling Qingfeng.

To the rich folks from Apocalypse Starfield, 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones for an item was naturally acceptable to them. However, to the people that were not from this starfield, 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones was an astronomical amount of money! Let alone Ling Qingfeng, not even the royal family from Divine Dragon Starfield could come up with such a huge amount.

"What now? Do you think that it is too expensive? To be honest, this is a fair price! Just like everyone said, this shattered piece of Divine Item has lost its Spiritual Attribute! On top of that, it's almost impossible to decipher its secret! If that wasn't the case, it can at least sell for one billion to ten billion medium-grade Spiritual Stones!" said the auctioneer.

"I…"

Rendered speechless, Ling Qingfeng knew better than anyone that 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones for the item was extremely cheap. Right now, her only problem was her lack of Spiritual Stones. There was nothing she could do about it even if she could decipher its secret.

"I bid 110 million Spiritual Stones!" said Chen Xiaobei in a calmed manner.

Considering that Chen Xiaobei had just earned 450 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones, he would definitely not let go of this item.

"So, there is someone wealthy enough to bid for this item! Are there other VIPs that would like to bid for it? If there are none…"

"I bid 150 million Spiritual Stones!"

Suddenly, a man with a mask voiced out. Clearly, this person was trying to outbid Chen Xiaobei.

"I'm sorry. Those that are sitting on the first floor would need to provide proof that you possess more than 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones if the bid crosses 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones!" said the auctioneer.

"What now? Are you worried that I'm trying to make a false bid? You can come and verify it yourself!"

The masked man harrumphed and tossed his storage bracelet at the auctioneer.

"No offense. This is the rule of this auction center!"

With a smile on her face, the auctioneer started to check the storage bracelet. After all, the VIPs that were seated on the second floor were all the truly rich folks. As for those that sat on the first floor, most of them were just ordinary people. It was almost impossible for them to come up with 100 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones. To make sure that people would not sabotage the bidding process, the rule of verifying one's Spiritual Stones was implemented.

"Oh my god…"

Suddenly, the auctioneer shouted and went over to return the storage bracelet to the man personally.

"This VIP is really low key! With the wealth that you possess, you could have been seated on the second floor!"

"That is not important to me at all! All I care about is the item that I want to bid for!"

"Then, you can easily bid for whatever you want here…"

Upon hearing the auctioneer's comment, thousands of people were left in shock. One should know that this auctioneer was the golden auctioneer of this auction center, and she had seen hundreds of millions of Spiritual Stones almost daily. This time, she was shocked by what she saw in the storage bracelet. The crowd could only imagine that the wealth the man possessed must be astronomical.

"Shit… That man's wealth is definitely more than Zhufeng… Things can get real bad if Zhufeng fails to get this item…" mumbled Ling Qingfeng in a nervous manner.

"What does that shattered piece have to do with the Divine Dragon race? What kind of secret is buried inside it?" asked Chen Xiaobei.

"Yes… Yes… Earlier, I told you that a serious matter has happened to my race! All the elites were fathered there to solve the problem! And these shattered pieces are the key to solving this problem…"

"This is going to be very complicated… I will try my best to bid the item for you… but, if the man in mask refuses to take a step back, there is nothing I can do about it…"

"Okay… You can do it! We have to get this item! No matter what, the Divine Dragon race will return the Spiritual Stones that you spent to get this item!"

"We are brothers. You don't have to say these things! I bid 200 million Spiritual Stones!"

Chen Xiaobei was hoping that he could scare off the man in the mask.

"I bid 250 million Spiritual Stones!"

Seemingly, the man in the mask was adamant in acquiring this item as well.

"I bid 280 million Spiritual Stones!"

"I bid 330 million Spiritual Stones!"

Others would have thought that one of them was trying to sabotage the other if the auctioneer had not verified the wealth that the masked man had.

"400 million Spiritual Stones!" shouted Chen Xiaobei.

Everyone was shocked by the bidding price that Chen Xiaobei had just come up with. None of them would have thought that he would spend so many Spiritual Stones on a useless item.

"I bid 450 million!" said the masked man with no hesitation.

"This…"

Chen Xiaobei was left in bewilderment. He knew that all the Spiritual Stones that he just earned would be cleared out if he continued to bid with this man. He might even need to use some of his own Spiritual Stones that he had saved for a long time.

"I bid 450.1 million Spiritual Stones!" shouted Chen Xiaobei.

It was then that everyone knew Chen Xiaobei had just come up with everything he had on him.

"It seems like this item will belong to the man in mask!" said the auctioneer.

"I give up! He can have it!" said the masked man.

"Huh?! Are you kidding me?" said the auctioneer.

"This is great! He gives up on bidding it! Could it be he possesses only 450 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones? God bless the Divine Dragon race!" said Ling Qingfeng.

Chen Xiaobei did not feel any happiness whatsoever from winning the bid at all. He knew the whole thing was not as simple as he thought it was.

"Dear customer, please pay up!" said the auctioneer while holding the shattered pieces of Divine Item in the tray.The masked man was like a hungry wolf that was going after its prey. Evidently, something fishy must have been going on since he gave up bidding on the item all of a sudden. Unfortunately, everyone was still in shock. Chen Xiaobei was the only one that could still calm his mind down so he attempted to figure out what went wrong.

Of course, the auction center would not care about this problem. Once a person won a bid, the person must pay up immediately to receive the item. Feeling frustrated, Chen Xiaobei was left with no other options. He then took out all 450 million middle-grade Spiritual Stones that he earned and another 10,000 medium-grade Spiritual Stones from his savings to pay the auctioneer. Luckily, he still had the 100,000 medium-grade Spiritual Stones that he got from Ouyang Huxiao earlier. At least he would not be completely broke even after spending a huge deal of medium-grade Spiritual Stones.

"What kind of secrets are hiding in these shattered pieces?"

All Chen Xiaobei could see was an ordinary piece of broken metal. There was nothing special about it.

"The Divine Dragon race still hasn't managed to decipher the secret within it… but I'm pretty sure that the secret will be unveiled once we bring it to the Divine Dragon's ruin!"

"Divine Dragon's ruin? What kind of place is that?"

"There are too many people here. Let's take our leave first and talk elsewhere!"

With Ling Qingfeng glancing around and acting cautiously, Chen Xiaobei could guess that the subject about the ruins was Divine Dragon Starfield's top secret.

"Alright! Let's take our leave now!"

Chen Xiaobei then stood up and left the auction center. After that, Chen Xiaobei and Ling Qingfeng went to chat at the restroom while Wugui Kochiro flew the spacecraft.

"Divine Dragon's ruin is Divine Dragon Starfield's top secret! We will never tell any outsiders no matter what, but I saw that you have come up with all Spiritual Stones to help me to get the things that I want! Considering that, I have decided to tell you about this top secret! You have to promise me that you will not tell it to another living soul!"

"I can promise you that! I will keep this secret in my heart forever! No one will know about it! And if I tell others about it, I pray that I will be struck by lightning!"

"Alright! Alright! You don't have to curse yourself… the Divine Dragon's ruin is an independent hidden realm in Divine Dragon Starfield! You should know that the entire universe is made up of the shattered pieces of the Void Land! Divine Dragon Starfield was part of the Void Land! During that time, our starfield was ruled by a real dragon, and our ancestors were the offspring of real dragons and humans! Hence, the Divine Dragon's bloodline in our body. Hence, we worship only the Dragon God! After that, I have no idea what happened to Divine Dragon Starfield. It all started going downhill so the Dragon God created an independent realm as his home before he died! His body was left there for millions of years. In the end, his body transformed into a top-tier Spiritual Channel – providing endless Spiritual Qi to the people that lived in Divine Dragon Starfield. Also, we don't call it the Dragon God's grave because it doesn't sound so good. Hence the name, Divine Dragon's ruin!"

And that was the whole truth from Ling Qingfeng.

"For hundreds of thousands of years, Divine Dragon's ruin has always been fine. Why did you tell me that all the elites from your starfield were summoned there?"

"That's a good question right there! Recently, a crack appeared in the realm! A lot of people from other starfields have taken this opportunity to enter the realm to attempt stealing our Dragon God's body! To protect the body, the royal family in my starfield had to summon all available elites to deal with the intruders!"

"Does that mean that there are more and more enemies and they are getting stronger as well? Is that why all the elites were summoned there?"

"You are right! Only elites with Divine Dragon's bloodline can enter from the entrance! That's why normal elites can't enter the real to help fight off the intruders!"

"I understand now! What about the shattered pieces that we bought earlier? What does that have to do with this matter?"

"After the major war that happened during ancient times, it seems that a few broken pieces dropped from the Dragon God himself! After collecting all the broken pieces together, my people figured out that they could be pieced together to form a long sword. The piece that you just bought is the final piece to the puzzle!"

"What a coincidence!"

"You are right! This is indeed, a great coincidence! My body went stiff the moment I saw the broken piece up for auction earlier! My guts told me that the puzzle will finally be solved when I bring this home!"

"You might be right about that! But then again, have you thought that all the broken pieces should have been left in the ruin? How did this particular one appear in the auction center?"

"About this?"

"Could it be that someone from the royal family had brought it out?"

"No! Not possible! All the members of the royal family are kind hearted and gentle! They would have never committed such an atrocious crime!"

"Then, could it have been the enemies?"

"That's possible! When the broken pieces fell off the Dragon God, some of our enemies managed to get their hands on them. Over the years, we had to get it back piece by piece from our enemies!"

"In other words, your enemy was at the auction center earlier! After deducting the commission for the auction center, the rest of the Spiritual Stones are in his pocket now!"

"This…"

Bewildered, Ling Qingfeng was surprised that Chen Xiaobei could see the big picture.

"What should we do now? Go kill him?"

"It's too late for that! Our enemies are hiding in the dark and we are out in the open! If I'm not mistaken, he might even be following us right now!"

"Following us? Why?"

"That's because he knows that we will head to the ruin once we get our hands on the item! By following us, he will know where the entrance to the run is!"

"Our enemies are entering from the crack in the realm anyway! Why bother to look for the real entrance?"

"If I'm not mistaken, enemies are trying to seal off the entrance and launch a powerful strike from the crack! By doing so, the members of the royal family will have nowhere to run!"

"What?! Our enemy wants to eliminate the imperial family of the Divine Dragon tribe?!" Ling Qingfeng grabbed on to the armrest. How could things have escalated to this stage?

However, Chen Xiaobei's analysis of the situation was logical and well-founded. Most importantly, it was surprisingly accurate to the actual situation!

Ling Qingfeng had to accept it as the truth!

But she could not seem to work out where their enemy was from and which institution they belonged to. Why did they hold a grudge against the Divine Dragon tribe?

Chen Xiaobei assumed that the enemy was going to slip in through the sealed entrance of the ruin before launching an attack from the spatial tear! They could then easily besiege and trap all the imperial members of the royal family with Divine Dragon blood and kill them!"

Not only were their enemies after the Divine Dragon's remains, but they were also going to wipe out all of Divine Dragon's descendants!

Exterminating the entire family and destroying their home! If it were not for bad blood between their tribe and the enemy, their enemy would not have initiated such vitriolic retribution against them!

Ling Qingfeng shuddered at the thought. "Zhufeng… Where are going? Don't leave…"

"Don't worry! I'm only going to ask Wugui Kojiro if anyone is stalking us!" Chen Xiaobei left the cabin and went to the cockpit.

Ling Qingfeng, still trembling, closely followed him.

If someone was following them, it would further confirm Chen Xiaobei's theory!

"Did you notice anything unusual?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"I did, actually!" Wugui Kojiro nodded. "There was a high-level spacecraft trailing us. I was worried that we were in trouble so I accelerated and shook it off!"

"Shook it off? How is that possible?" Chen Xiaobei asked. "Didn't you say that it's a high-level spacecraft? They could probably catch up with us if they wanted to, right?"

"Of course!" Wugui Kojiro said. "That spacecraft is at least Vermillion Phoenix level – maybe even Green Dragon level! They use quality Spiritual Stones as fuel. So, they could travel at an Earth-God level speed! They can easily catch up with us without a problem!"

"Green Dragon level?" Chen Xiaobei echoed. "You mean it's from the Green Dragon continent which is nearest to the Earth-God realm?"

"Yes!" Wugui Kojiro confirmed. "Below the Earth-God realm, the Green Dragon continent would be considered the apex. Their elites, technology, culture, background – their everything – are top of the line!"

"Our enemies are from Green Dragon? We're f*cked…" Ling Qingfeng cursed nervously.

"Not necessarily!" Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "If they really are from Green Dragon, all your elites would have already been eliminated. Why would the enemy need to pull such an elaborate scheme?"

"That's true…" Ling Qingfeng nodded, a little relieved. "The enemy could have deliberately bought a Green Dragon spacecraft to tail us… But why did they give up?"

Chen Xiaobei frowned. "Maybe… they have some sort of high-tech tracking device that allows them to track us from afar!"

"Green Dragon spaceships do, in fact, have this technology!" Wugui Kojiro was suddenly anxious. "They really could be tailing us but we can't see them!"

"What should we do now?" Ling Qingfeng was pale as a ghost. "If they can see us but we can't see them… we can't deal with them. We cannot go to the ruin with them on our tail!"

"Let's come up with a way to deal with them!" Chen Xiaobei said, his eyes fierce with resolve.

"Is… Is that even possible?" Ling Qingfeng asked. "Our enemy is hidden! They can see us! Unless we get to the ruin, they won't show themselves! That would mean revealing the ruin's secret location!"

Chen Xiaobei instructed, "Wugui! Don't head to the portal! Head out of the atmospheric layer. Find an open airspace and park there!"

"Yes, sir!" Wugui Kojiro did as he was told and propelled the spacecraft into the skies.

They shot through the atmospheric layer like a bullet out of a gun and entered the boundless cosmos.

Per Chen Xiaobei's direction, Wugui Kojiro stopped the spacecraft in the open space. "Childe Zhufeng! We are now outside of the Black Tortoise's capital city. If the enemy attacks, no soldiers will protect us!"

"That's exactly what I want!" Chen Xiaobei confessed.

"Zhufeng… why would you want the enemies to attack us…?" Ling Qingfeng drew in a deep breath.

"Simple. The enemy knows that we are aware of its presence. Now that we have stopped moving, they would not be able to follow us to the ruin," Chen Xiaobei answered. "So, they're left with only one option and that is to attack us, capture us alive and force the answer out of us!"

"That makes sense…" Ling Qingfeng nodded.

Wugui Kojiro fidgeted in his seat. "Childe Zhufeng, you're joking, right? If the enemy attacks us, we won't be able to fight them! Their spacecraft can take us down without breaking a sweat!"

Chen Xiaobei answered calmly, "Get ready to open the hatch any time now! When the enemy appears, I will fight them myself and take back my Spiritual Stones!"

"What? Open the hatch?" Wugui Kojiro stared at his master. "This is outer space! There's no oxygen outside and the enemy is really fast! Unless you have an Earth-God level spacecraft, you won't even be able to come into contact with the enemy!"

"You don't have to worry about that!" Chen Xiaobei reassured. "I'm doing it because I have a plan!"

"That…" Wugui Kojiro could not work out how Chen Xiaobei was going to fight against a spacecraft that was traveling at an Earth-God speed.

Ling Qingfeng was not a hundred percent on board with the idea either. "From what I know, the Green Dragon spacecraft also has firepower at the pinnacle phase of Spiritual Instrument, which is equivalent to the pinnacle phase of God-Ascension combat power! Zhufeng… Your combat power is only 300,000… You cannot win this fight…"

Chen Xiaobei suddenly sprung to the center of the spacecraft.

"There's no time for explanations! Open the hatch!" He ordered.

Wugui Kojiro dared not disobey. He unlocked the hatch, let Chen Xiaobei out and then locked it again.

"They're here!" Ling Qingfeng shrunk back as she watched the enemy spacecraft burst through the atmospheric layer and was now rushing towards them.

"Do you think Zhufeng could… will we die here…" Ling Qingfeng's felt a tightness in her chest. She felt as if she was going to pass out.

Outside, Chen Xiaobei was floating in the zero-gravity space, holding a ball of a pink light orb that he took out from his Infinite Space Ring."They're here! Our enemy is here! God, they're fast! It looks like they are ready to attack!" Ling Qingfeng screamed.

"They're too fast…We won't be able to outrun them!" Wugui Kojiro cried in despair. "Even if they don't fire at us, they could ram us with their spacecraft! With that external armor, they could easily smash us into pieces! We're so dead…"

"Why did Zhufeng go to the front… He'll be pulverized in no time!" Ling Qingfeng dug her nails into her skin. What is Zhufeng holding? Is that a ball of pink… light?"

"I'm not sure… I've never seen anything like that before…" Wugui Kojiro squinted at the thing in Chen Xiaobei's hand. He could not quite make out what it was!

Outside, Chen Xiaobei made a Spiritual Connection with the pink ball of light. It was ready to be used.

Yes! That rose-colored light ball was an Earth-God Instrument with a very unique Special Ability!

Unlike the common Earth-God Instruments, it did not have any firepower but its special ability gave Chen Xiaobei the confidence to fight the enemy!

"10,000 meters… 8,000 meters, five thousand… two thousand… the last one thousand meters! Now!" Chen Xiaobei had his eyes fastened on the incoming enemy spacecraft, like an eagle stalking its prey from afar.

When the spacecraft was around 1,000 meters away, Chen Xiaobei drew his arm back and swung forwards with might, throwing the pink light ball towards the enemy spacecraft.

Whoosh!

A dazzling explosion lit up the dark skies.

The little pink ball released flashing fireworks in brilliant pink.

Magpies appeared amid the fireworks.

Those magpies were the real birds, of course. They were just a projection of Spirit Light!

The flock of Spirit Light magpies came together and flew forward! There were countless of them, one coming after the another, joining together to form a wide, sturdy pink magpie bridge!

Yes! This was the Magpie Bridge's Spirit Light in the Red Envelope that Chen Xiaobei received from Niu Lang!

Niu Lang and Zhinu were forced to separate and had to live on different planets. Every year on the Qixi festival, hundreds of thousands of magpies would form a bridge to bring these lovers together!

The Magpie Bridge's Spirit Light was a special Earth-God Instrument that Niu Lang had put together based on the actual magpie bridge.

So, the Magpie Bridge's Spirit Light's Special Ability was to connect two points!

In a blink of an eye, the Magpie Bridge's Spirit Light stretched a thousand meters outward, connecting Chen Xiaobei to the enemy spacecraft!

The enemy was spooked, so they steered their spacecraft in another direction attempting to break the bridge.

However, no matter what direction the enemy turned to, they could still not separate the link!

Chen Xiaobei jumped onto the magpie bridge and bolted towards the enemy spacecraft.

Wugui Kojiro and Ling Qingfeng stared with mouth wide open.

"My god!" Ling Qingfeng exclaimed. "That pink light has such a magical special ability… there's no gravity here in space, no place to jump off but with the bridge, Zhufeng doesn't need a flying Spiritual Instrument to get to the enemy!"

"It's not just that!" Wugui Kojiro was speaking excitedly in a high-pitched voice. "There's practically no atmospheric pressure here. Without a spacesuit, humans cannot breathe. Our organs would be affected, and we won't be able to move freely… but Childe Zhufeng is running like he's running on the ground and not in space! He's completely unaffected! Do you think that's because of the pink light?"

"The pink light really is quite magical. But the crucial problem had not been solved yet!" Once the shock had worn off, Ling Qingfeng's nerves returned. "Green Dragon's spacecraft are equipped with external armor with defense at the pinnacle force of Spiritual Instrument! Their weapons also possess pinnacle phase Spiritual Instrument firepower! He may not be able to break through their defense, and might even be killed by their weapons!"

"Yeah…" Wugui Kojiro sighed in frustration. "If I had known that this was going to happen, I wouldn't have told Childe Zhufeng to sell his Earth-God Instruments! If we had either one of those weapons here with us, we won't be in this position right now!"

Ling Qingfeng and Wugui Kojiro looked at each other, despair written all over their faces.

The way they saw it, without Earth-God Instruments, there was no way Chen Xiaobei could possibly beat the enemy.

Unable to get rid of the magpie bridge, the enemy gave up their struggle and began shooting lasers at Chen Xiaobei!

"You useless piece of junk! Your speed is probably only about 200,000. Even if you do make your way here, you're still going to die!"

In the enemy spacecraft sat a masked man.

Yes, this was the same masked man who bid against Chen Xiaobei for the Spirit Immortal Instrument!

He was the one who smuggled the fragment out of Divine Dragon Ruin, and he was also the one who brought the fragment to Crimson Moon to be sold at the auction!

Before visiting Crimson Moon, he had actually visited numerous places and various auction houses to sell the fragment.

He was trying to weed out those who knew the secrets of the fragment!

Because the fragment looked like a piece of scrap metal, most people would not buy it! Even if they did, they would not have fought over it with a masked man!

Only someone who knew the value of the fragment would try to outbid the masked man at all costs!

That was why when Chen Xiaobei emptied his pocket to buy the fragment, and the masked man gave up the bid. That way, he could use Chen Xiaobei to unlock the secrets of the fragment.

The masked man's plan was pretty successful. After many failures, he had finally pointed out Chen Xiaobei and Ling Qingfeng from the rest of the others.

However, the masked man did not expect Chen Xiaobei to be calm enough to analyze the situation thoroughly.

If Chen Xiaobei had not been there with her, Ling Qingfeng would have led the masked man to the entrance of Divine Dragon ruin where he would bring about the destruction of the Divine Dragon's imperial family!

The masked man saw Chen Xiaobei 's move as suicidal. Once he was dead, the masked man only needed to capture Ling Qingfeng to unravel the secrets of the fragment!

"Die, you little piece of shit!" The masked man pushed down a button and a bright ball of fire lit up the skies, bringing with it a powerful wave of energy. From afar, the blinding light looked like a smaller version of the sun.

"It's over… Without Earth-God Instruments, Zhufeng is screwed… We'll fall into enemy hands…" Ling Qingfeng and Wugui Kojiro had lost all hope.

What they did not know was that Chen Xiaobei's trump card was not merely as simple as an Earth-God Instrument!

Chen Xiaobei had stopped running and was throwing his right hand into the air.

"Go! Pikachu!"Swish!!

Suddenly, the weapon that looked a small sun shot out a beam of laser! The laser tore its surrounding space open and shot straight toward Chen Xiaobei! A pinnacle-phased Spiritual Instrument was as powerful as an elite with the pinnacle phase of God Ascension cultivation. In other words, people that were below the pinnacle phase of God Ascension cultivation would die instantly if the laser hit them! Through observation, the man in the mask had found out that Ling Qingfeng was the one who knew the item's secrets. That was why he did not hesitate to kill Chen Xiaobei.

But!

However, the masked man did not know that Chen Xiaobei's Nightstalker Outfit possessed the defense power of a pinnacle-phased Spiritual Instrument! It was powerful enough to protect Chen Xiaobei from the lethal laser beam. He also did not know that Chen Xiaobei was not going to protect himself from the laser! That was because the 'Pikachu' that Chen Xiaobei had just unleashed was powerful enough to destroy the masked man's spacecraft!

Swoosh!

After that Chen Xiaobei swung his hand and his Myriad Beasts Ring which emitted a ray of golden light. The golden light then slowly expanded and an extremely colossal tiger was summoned from it! Its was 20 meters in height and at least hundreds of meters in length! Additionally, its claws and fangs were sharper than an Enigmatic Steel Sword from this world! The color of its fur was golden and was decorated with crimson stripes as well! Under the golden light, it looked exactly like a Fire Kirin!

Roar!!!

A sense of immense pressure descended onto the area. At the same time, the masked man, Ling Qingfeng, and Wugui Kochiro were all shocked beyond words.

"Giant… Giant Barbaric Tiger!"

Ling Qingfeng and Wugui Kochiro shouted at the same time. Their bodies were shaking non-stop and beads of sweat were oozing out of their foreheads. They could faint from the ensuing shock anytime now.

"Oh my god… Am I seeing it wrongly… The legendary Giant Barbaric Tiger… Why is it here…? This is impossible! This must be a fake!"

Though the masked man was in great shock, he still managed to calm himself down as soon as possible to properly analyze the situation.

BAM!

Seconds later, the Giant Barbaric Tiger used his claw to block the laser beam. Just as expected, the laser beam was gone following an explosion. Naturally, Chen Xiaobei stood there, unharmed. As for the tiger, there was smoke coming out from its paws but there were no visible injuries on it. The Giant Barbaric Tiger did, after all, possess the strength of an Earth God! That was why it was unscathed by the laser.

"Oh god… That… That is the real Giant Barbaric Tiger! How did he summon a Giant Barbaric Tiger to fight for him?!" shouted the masked man.

He was still having a hard time to believe what he had just witnessed.

The thing that would shock him the most awaited him next!

He saw that Chen Xiaobei jumped on top of the tiger's head and to his surprise, the powerful beast did not show any resistance at all! It looked a giant cat that obediently obeyed his master.

"This… This… This… How is that even possible? Could… Could it be that the Giant Barbaric Tiger is that kid's Spiritual Beast?! Oh gosh… This is insane…"

Everyone knew that an adult Giant Barbaric Tiger was equivalent to a One-star Earth God. Standing on top of the Giant Barbaric meant that Chen Xiaobei had made an Earth-God tier creature succumb to him. At the same time, Ling Qingfeng and Wugui Kochiro were too shocked to comment. They knew that Chen Xiaobei had managed to capture the Giant Barbaric Tiger but they did not know that Chen Xiaobei was powerful enough to make the tiger completely submit to him. Clearly, it was much more difficult to tame it than to capture it!

The Divine Tiger Faction was a good example. For the past 3,000 years, they had managed to kill Giant Barbaric Tigers but none of them had managed to tame any of them.

"Little Tiger! Let's attack!"

Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei pointed at the masked man's spacecraft.

ROAR!!!

With lighting speed, the Giant Barbaric Tiger charged at the spacecraft.

"Oh my god…"

The masked man almost peed himself when he saw the tiger charging at him. Knowing that the Giant Barbaric Tiger was as powerful as an Earth God, the masked man knew that it was impossible for him to defeat it. Rendered with no other options, he had decided to flee the scene.

However!

The Magpie Bridge's Spirit Light had connected the spacecraft. No matter how fast he flew, he could not shake of the Spirit Light!

Soon!

The tiger had caught up to him!

"Little Tiger! Attack! Don't let him off alive!" ordered Chen Xiaobei.

Swish!

The tiger then swiped its claw at the spacecraft.

Its paw was a lot bigger than the spacecraft causing the masked man to feel that a monstrous mountain was about to crush him to death.

"Oh god…"

The masked man was left in despair. Knowing that he would lose the battle, he then swallowed a poison pill to kill himself.

BAM!!!

The spacecraft exploded and there was nothing left of it!

"Little Tiger! Relax! You've used too much strength! Where is he? has he been decimated? My hundreds of millions of Spiritual Stones are still with him!" shouted Chen Xiaobei."Bro Bei! Calm down! You asked me to not to destroy him, I heard that!" said the Giant Barbaric Tiger.

It then turned its paw around and there the masked man lay, unharmed. It was obvious that the Giant Barbaric Tiger was smart enough to grab the masked man before his spacecraft exploded.

"This is weird… Why is he not moving? I didn't even exert strength on him… Why is he not breathing…?" asked the tiger.

"He has been poisoned and is now dead!" said Chen Xiaobei.

"My claw is not even poisoned…"

"Are you dumb or what? He committed suicide!"

"Suicide? Why?"

"I think he is an extremely loyal soldier! He knew that he was about to lose the battle. He would rather die than be captured alive by me! He used his life to protect his master!"

"I understand now! If I'm captured by someone someday, I will never betray Bro Bei no matter what!"

"I know that you are loyal to me, my friend! Bring him to me!"

"Yes, master!"

Immediately, Chen Xiaobei took off the storage bracelet from the masked man and used his Golden Gaze Fiery Eyes to scan him. Seeing that there was nothing else on him, Chen Xiaobei tossed his body into the void.

"Let me take a look now! I wonder how many Spiritual Stones this guy had in his storage bracelet! Damn! One billion! One billion medium-grade Spiritual Stones! What a great yield!"

After the auction, Chen Xiaobei thought that he had lost plenty of Spiritual Stones and he did not expect to get any of them back. In other words, Chen Xiaobei acquired the Divine Item's shattered pieces for free! Other than the Spiritual Stones inside the storage bracelet, there was nothing else worthy of mention. This masked man was after all ready to sacrifice for his master; that was why he would never store anything in his storage bracelet that might give away the identity of his master.

"Let's head back!"

After retrieving all the Spiritual Stones, Chen Xiaobei tossed the storage bracelet away. With all the Spiritual Stones that he just pilfered, he had easily become one of the richest people in the nine zones!

Swoosh!

Chen Xiaobei then dismissed the Magpie Bridge. Immediately, Wugui Kochiro opened the hatch of the spacecraft to welcome Chen Xiaobei back. Before entering the spacecraft, Chen Xiaobei summoned the tiger back into his Myriad Beasts Ring. As expected, Wugui Kochiro and Ling Qingfeng surrounded him once he had entered. They bombarded him with questions about how he had managed to make the tiger follow his orders. The way they looked at him had also changed! They now saw him as an almighty god!

Chen Xiaobei answered some of their questions and avoided questions that might give out his secret. After half an hour of excited questions, Ling Qingfeng and Wugui Kochiro finally calmed down.

…

Wugui Kochiro then returned to his pilot seat and continued to fly the spacecraft. As for Ling Qingfeng, she dragged Chen Xiaobei into the restroom again.

"Zhufeng… Regarding the Spiritual Stones that you spent, I will definitely return them to you!" said Ling Qingfeng, embarrassed.

"Keep this shattered pieces safely. You don't have to return those Spiritual Stones to me! That's simply because I have managed to get back all the Spiritual Stones just now!"

"You got all of them back?!"

Ling Qingfeng was so shocked that she did not take the shattered pieces from Chen Xiaobei.

"Just hurry up and take it! We are brothers!"

"Zhufeng… I… Can I ask one more favor from you?"

"You want me to go back to Divine Dragon Starfield with you to help you solve the problem, right?"

"Yes… I know that you have helped me a lot… asking for your help once again makes me look greedy… But, you have an Earth-God tier Spiritual Beast with you… I believe that you can help me solve all the problems…"

"About this…"

"Don't worry! Once you help us to solve the problem, you will become the benefactor of the Divine Dragon Starfield! We will do our best to repay you!"

"We are brothers and we take care of each other! I don't want you to repay me! In ten days, Tenshou and Royal Dome will attack Saint Duke… I'm afraid that I won't make it back in time!"

"If that's the case… I won't ask for your help anymore."

Ling Qingfeng was clearly very disappointed.

Ring…

It was Ximen Shuoxue calling Chen Xiaobei.

"Qingfeng! Don't worry! I think something has changed! Let me answer the call first! Talk to you later!"

"Things changed?"

Ling Qingfeng was lit with hope again.

"Master! My operation has succeeded! I have managed to kill the prince! Now, the whole royal family is in chaos! The soldiers' morale has dwindled as well! I don't think they can participate in the attack!"

"That's fast! How did you do it? It's a hell lot faster than I expected!"

"It's difficult for other people to kill Royal Dome's prince but for me, it's easy!" Ximen Shuoxue explained. "When the last prince died, it was this prince who promoted our family which is why he had no qualms about me! Two hours ago, I slipped him a box of tonic, and not long after he returned to his palace, he was pronounced dead!"

"You put poison in his medicine?" Chen Xiaobei frowned. "What happens when they link it to you?"

"Don't worry!" Ximen Yuxua said confidently. "It was a box of aphrodisiac! He's the type of person who worries about losing face. He'll only take the pill secretly. He won't tell anyone about it! No one will ever find out that I was the one who gave him those pills!"

"Well done!" Chen Xiaobei praised. "Royal Dome falling into chaos means that the joint attack on Saint Duke is already half-crippled! That is exactly what I needed to hear!"

"Not just half! It's more like the whole thing!" Ximen Shuoxue said.

"The whole thing? Why do you say that?"

"Not only did my scheme work out, but so did Yuwen Yuanqin's plan. He destroyed the thousands of spacecraft that the Yuwen Family had prepared for war. No one knows who did it, of course. With two major disastrous events happening simultaneously in such a short time, Tenshou and Royal Dome are in a panic! They are worried that Saint Duke has sent droves of spies and are going to launch attacks that are even more severe!"

Chen Xiaobei cocked his head to the side. "That means Tenshou and Royal Dome will be focused on catching the 'spies' for quite some time. So, the joint-attack would have to be delayed indefinitely!"

Ximen Shuoxue nodded enthusiastically, "That's right! Before Tenshou and Royal Dome can stabilize their internal state of affairs, they won't be attacking Saint Dome! They are worried that during the battle, their own backyard would go up in flames! Then their losses would outweigh their gain!"

"Good! Very good!" Chen Xiaobei clapped. "Both of you helped me gain precious time! Right now, just keep the situation under control. I will need to settle some other things for the moment. I'll contact you later on so that we can make further plans!"

"Yes, sir!" Ximen Shuoxue replied before hanging up.

"So? Is it good news?" Ling Qingfeng asked hopefully.

Chen Xiaobei smiled. "Everything is under control. Tenshou and Royal Dome's joint-attack is officially scrapped! I am available to help you solve your problem. When I'm done, I will leave for Tenshou to plan my next move!"

"How… How did that happen…?" Ling Qingfeng gasped. "How could two powerful starfields joint-attack be scrapped just like that? What are you? A god?"

"No, I'm not a god. I'm just good at chess!" Chen Xiaobei shrugged. "I found two very good chess pieces and planted them in the right positions. As a result, I unexpectedly reaped a serendipitous gain! It's just that simple!"

"You… You are incredible…" Ling Qingfeng exclaimed. "In the midst of shooting the breeze, you were able to influence the situation in the Nine Zones! Apart from you, I've never met a second person who's able to that!"

"Mm, this buttering up is very enjoyable!" Chen Xiaobei grinned. "Let's go to Divine Dragon Starfield now! I will help you solve all the problems there!"

"Thank you…" Ling Qingfeng blushed. She did not know why but curiously, her heartbeat significantly increased.

She could not put her finger on it, but she was thinking about how manly and dashing Chen Xiaobei was! There was just something very charming about him!

Ling Qingfeng quickly tried to cast the thought from her mind. 'This is wrong! I have never liked men! Why do I suddenly feel like this? Could… Could Zhufeng have changed me?'

…

They flew back to Black Tortoise Capital City.

After going through a portal, Chen Xiaobei and Ling Qingfeng returned to Divine Dragon starfield.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Wugui Kojiro returned to Tenshou Starfield on his own to make some preparations in advance.

…

Divine Dragon Starfield.

Due to Divine Dragon Ruin's location being so hidden, and because the people of Divine Dragon did not want outsiders getting in, there were no portals connected to the ruin.

So, although Chen Xiaobei and Ling Qingfeng said they were going to the ruin immediately, they actually spent seven whole days to get there.

They traveled by spacecraft, of course. Ling Qingfeng was the one who flew it.

Chen Xiaobei, on the other hand, wasted not a second and began to cultivate.

Other than marrying Luo Puti, Chen Xiaobei had to complete the task he and Lady Nuwo agreed on – to break through to God-Ascension cultivation in three months. Including the seven days journey, it had been a month since the agreement.

While two months might have sounded like a long time, Chen Xiaobei still had a lot of things he needed to attend to. Realistically, his cultivation time would be reduced again and again!

That was why Chen Xiaobei had to use any available free time to increase his cultivation.

There were twenty-four hours in one day. Chen Xiaobei cultivated for seven days, not stopping even for a second and cultivated for a total of 168 hours.

"Zhufeng… We're here… You can come out now… Zhufeng…" Ling Qingfeng called out.

Chen Xiaobei woke up from his state of cultivation as he let out a long breath.

Ding!

[Cultivation: Middle phase of Ethereal Phase; Lifespan: 2,570; Health: 223,800; Combat power: 203,800]

Chen Xiaobei checked his cultivation excitedly.

"168 hours of cultivation, a 168,000 increase in health and combat power! That's quite a significant improvement!" Chen Xiaobei thought to himself. "But I'm still 126,200 combat power away from the peak of Ethereal Cultivation's 330,000 combat power. That means I need to cultivate for another 1262 hours. That's 53 days! I still have another 70 days left! Within this period of time, I have to make sure that Tenshou and Royal Dome cannot launch their joint-attack! And then, I will have to complete the third round of the betrothal contest, and finally, marry Puti! I don't have 53 days to cultivate! I have to come up with other ideas.

"The first alternative is to use the Daylight Cache! With my current lifespan, I can use the Daylight Cache for 25 minutes. That would save me 25 days! But I will need to continue to cultivate for another 28 days after that! The second solution would be to use the Ambergris! The 100,000-year Ambergris can increase my combat power by 10,000! The 1 million year Ambergris can give me an increase of 10,000 combat power! That would bring me really close to the peak phase of Ethereal Cultivation. This is the fastest way!"

Chen Xiaobei was about to take out the Ambergris when his phone rang.

Ding!

[The Prime of Tongtian sent you a message.]

"Huh? Why would Sifu message me out of the blue?" Chen Xiaobei put away the Ambergris and picked up his phone.

The Prime of Tongtian would not contact Chen Xiaobei unless it was to bring important treasures or he had urgent news.

This time, he must have had some really important news for Chen Xiaobei.

The Prime of Tongtian: Xiaobei! I detected a shift in your lifespan. Are you planning on making a drastic change?

Chen Xiaobei: Making a drastic change? I was about to use two of my trump cards to radically increase my cultivation!

The Prime of Tongtian: Ah, no wonder! You have actually done it, have you?

Chen Xiaobei: Not yet. Not for the moment. Why are you so concerned? Am I not supposed to do that?

The Prime of Tongtian: It's not that. It's just that now is not the best time to do it!

Chen Xiaobei: 🙄Not the best time? Why? I'm actually about to start a battle soon. Increasing my cultivation would be really useful!

The Prime of Tongtian: I've been calculating, and you won't be facing any misadventure any time soon. Whether your cultivation increases or not makes no difference at all! Keep both your trump cards in the back-burner for the moment. Use them at a later time – you'll be surprised by the results!

Chen Xiaobei: Later? When, specifically? I made a pact with Lady Nuwo – I really need to increase my cultivation! I can't wait too long!

The Prime of Tongtian: The specific time is when you complete the upgrade of your Netherspirit Battlescouter!

The Prime of Tongtian: The number of your disciples have exceeded one billion! Wait until you've upgraded your Netherspirit Battlescouter, and chosen your Heavenly Path Reward before you use your two trump cards. The pay-off will be doubled, and you will get twice the results with half the effort!

Chen Xiaobei: The trump cards' yield will double? That's incredible!

The Prime of Tongtian: That's right! Of late, I've been attending talks at the Ancestral Lord's, so I couldn't send you any Red Envelopes! I can only remind you, and keep you from wasting the resources you have that are so hard to come by!

Chen Xiaobei: Thank you, sifu for giving me a heads up! I'll keep the trump cards first! But the problem now is that I'm short on some of the materials needed to upgrade the Netherspirit Battlescouter! I still need two Three-Star Earth-God materials. I don't know when I am ever going to find them all!

The Prime of Tongtian: I cannot reveal too much about your fate but you've made a lot of good friends, and they'll help you find the two remaining materials!

Chen Xiaobei: Friends? 🥰 I have asked my friends to help me ask around! I guess I'll just have to wait for the good news!

The Prime of Tongtian: it's good that you understand that! The Ancestral Lord is going to continue his talk soon. I won't be able to contact you anymore until the Mid-Autumn festival! Do you have any more questions?

Chen Xiaobei: Mid-Autumn festival? Sifu, will you be joining the Mid-Autumn festival Red Envelope snatching session?

The Prime of Tongtian: Maybe, I will. But I cannot say for sure! Anyway, during this period of time, you need to accumulate as many merit points as you can and increase your luck! If I do join the Red Envelope snatching session, I will make sure to send a really good item. Let's hope you will be crowned the King of Luck!

Chen Xiaobei: Yes, sifu! I will do my best! I won't let all your hard work go to waste!

The Prime of Tongtian: Alright, time's up! I won't be able to answer any more of your questions for the time being! You have to be diligent!

Chen Xiaobei: Bye sifu!

Chen Xiaobei pocketed his phone and left the lounge. For now, he would not be using the Ambergris.

"Zhufeng! Finally! I was just about to go get you!" Ling Qingfeng gave him a rare smile.

Chen Xiaobei raised his brow. "I know you're in a hurry. Let's make a move!"

…

Chen Xiaobei stepped out of the spacecraft and was immediately taken in by the unspoiled surroundings. "Wow! The view is incredible! Green hills and crystal-clear waters! It's otherworldly! This is paradise!"

"This place is the most unremarkable planetoid in the entirety of Divine Dragon! Because of its great distance from the other planets, there's no direct portal here. No one has set foot here for thousands of years!" Ling Qingefeng smiled. "The landscape and Spiritual Qi have not been exploited by humans, and therefore, they can manifest their most beautiful façade!"

"I see!" Chen Xiaobei nodded. "We'll admire the gorgeous view later. Let's get to the ruin first!"

Ling Qingfeng took the lead. "Let's go!"

The two of them ran the whole way to a giant mountain.

The road was craggy and crooked like a maze. On top of that, in order to conceal their secret, the Divine Dragon imperial family employed Qimen Dunjia* and planted a few labyrinths in the mountains.

If Ling Qingfeng had not been there to lead the way, Chen Xiaobei would have found himself lost and disoriented in the mountains.

…

Finally, they spotted a small-scale transportation portal with Divine Dragon carvings deep inside the mountains.

"That portal is the entrance to the ruin!" Ling Qingfeng said excitedly. "We've finally arrived!"

Chen Xiaobei studied the portal and asked, "Can I go through this portal?"

Ling Qingfeng looked taken aback. "Don't you also have Divine Dragon's blood? Of course, you can!"

Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "Your ancestor, the Divine Dragon, and my dragon bloodline are not the same dragons! Your blood and mine must be completely different too!"

The blood in Chen Xiaobei's veins was that of the Primordial Witch Dragon!

"Different blood… That…" Ling Qingfeng crossed her arms. "I've never encountered a situation like this before. I'm not sure if you can pass through. You'll have to try to know!"

"Mm, let's give it a go then!" Chen Xiaobei nodded, stepping up onto the platform. "What should I do next?"

"Do as I do and put your hand on the dragon! It has a Spiritual Attribute and can distinguish different blood types!"

Woom!

Ling Qingfeng placed her hand on the statue and the dragon statue glowed green.

At the same time, the Spiritual Attribute began to connect with Ling Qingfeng. She only had to think it and she would be transported to the ruin.

"Let me try!" Chen Xiaobei imitated Ling Qingfeng and placed his hand on the statue.

But the statue did not react the same way it did. The statue let out a frighteningly loud roar that shook the earth.

"Shit…" Ling Qingfeng cursed under her breath. "Is the Divine Dragon rejecting your blood? This has never happened before. Quickly, take your hand off! We don't want any trouble…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a strange scene unfolded before them.

Footnote:

Qimen Dunjia: ancient Chinese divination tradition (still in use today); Daoist magic: the art of becoming invisible —

Craaaaaack…

There was a loud, unusual noise and the Divine Dragon statue on the portal soared into the air.

The stone statue wriggled mid-air and flashed a brilliant green light.

"What… is happening?" Ling Qingfeng gasped. "This has never happened before… not for thousands of years…"

Swoosh!

The dragon statue circled the skies and then suddenly swooped down towards Chen Xiaobei.

"Zhufeng! Watch out!" Ling Qingfeng screamed. "The statue's speed and strength are at the pinnacle phase of Spiritual Instrument! If you don't die upon its impact, you'll be seriously injured!"

Chen Xiaobei, on the other hand, was unfazed. He called out, "Get down on the ground!"

"What? Get down? Who are you talking to?" Ling Qingfeng stared quizzically at Chen Xiaobei.

Swoosh! Crack… Crack…

In a flash, the statue touched down about a meter away from Chen Xiaobei with all of its four talons on the ground. Its knees were bent as its head and body hunkered down.

"How… is this possible…" Ling Qingfeng's stammered. "The Divine Dragon… is lying prostrate before you… Zhufeng… Who… Who are you?"

The Divine Dragon was the ancestor of the Ling imperial family! It was the god of the billions of citizens of the Divine Dragon Starfield!

Here was the ancient Divine Dragon statue bowing before Chen Xiaobei.

A heaviness weighed down on Ling Qingfeng's heart.

Had the people of Divine Dragon Starfield seen this happen, they would have undergone the same mind-blowing shock.

Their whole world would be turned upside down, and their beliefs challenged.

Many of them would probably give up their faith in the Divine Dragon and become Chen Xiaobei's disciples instead.

Of course, it was not going to be made public any time soon since Ling Qingfeng was the only one who had witnessed it.

"True dragons also have a pecking order!" Chen XIaobei said. "Perhaps the blood of the dragon in me is higher in hierarchy and seniority to the Divine Dragon! That's probably the reason for the Divine Dragon's submission!"

"Sub… mission…" Ling Qingfeng looked uncertain. "Actually, that does make some sense. I've never seen the purple-gold dragon scales that you had… That probably belongs to a very high-ranking dragon…"

"Enough about that. Let's get to the ruin!" Chen Xiaobei opened the door into the secret space as if he was the owner of the ruin, coming and going as he pleased.

"Oh… Okay…" Ling Qingfeng nodded, following behind Chen Xiaobei like a little lady.

Once they stepped through the door, the whole scenery changed.

The sky was green and clear, and there was not a cloud in sight for miles.

The extensive land stretched as far as the eye could see.

A behemoth silver-grey mountain range ran through the entire length of the extensive land.

The mountains were bare except for the blanket of dense Spiritual Qi.

This dragon-infused Spiritual Qi was perfect for people with dragon blood to use for cultivation.

Chen Xiaobei could sense a compelling familiarity with it and was tempted to stay and cultivate.

"This mountain range stretches for ten thousand miles. I suppose it's the remains of the Divine Dragon?" Chen Xiaobei asked.

"Yes!" Ling Qinfeng nodded. "Look closely at the form of the mountains. The middle ridge is the dragon's spine. The protruding (mountain) peaks are the dragon's bones. The four smaller mountains in the range extending on both sides are its legs and talons. The peaks of two of the tallest mountains are its horns!"

"The battle is happening at the horns of the dragon…" From afar, Chen Xiaobei could see staccato-like flashes of lights, periodically lighting up the dark sky each second.

A massive battle was ongoing there.

Ling Qingfeng took off immediately. "Let's go now!"

…

There was large gash in the skies above the head of the dragon carcass from where streams of soldiers in red armor were pouring out.

These soldiers were at the very least, of Celestial Cultivation, with a mix of Ethereal Cultivation and God-Ascension elites.

The Celestial Cultivation soldiers gathered below the rift and arranged themselves in a giant defensive formation made up of tens of thousands of soldiers!

The Ethereal Cultivation and God-Ascension Cultivation elites were at the frontlines battling against the Divine Dragon imperial family!

Boom! Bam! Bang!

Both sides were very strong, and this confrontation resulted in a bloody and turbulent scenario!

Spirit Lights lit up the skies, bright and resplendent! A blustering gale blew, and the ground tore and shook with an earthquake-like tremble! All around, hysterical exchange of blows and explosions fulminated!

Chen Xiaobei was standing beneath the head of the dragon. "My God! If this battle had taken place on any other common planet, the bodies would have piled up like a mountain. All life would be destroyed and the entire planet would have been disintegrated."

"Yeah…" Ling Qingfeng nodded in agreement. "Luckily, the Divine Dragon ruin was created by a real dragon and supported by its dead body. Or else, it would be a catastrophe!"

Chen Xiaobei observed the battle for while more and then commented, "Both sides are evenly matched. So, there's no need for me to join in the fight immediately. I don't want to reveal my trump cards too soon lest the enemy might start taking precaution!"

"Mm, this battle will probably end in a draw." Ling Qingfeng nodded. She seemed to have calmed down a little.

"Why don't you use this time to explain the details of this fight!"

"Alright!" Ling Qinfeng answered. "On our side, the Dragon Emperor is at the peak of God-Ascension. He holds a Two-Star Earth-God instrument! All nine dragon kings are at God-Ascension cultivation. Two of them are holding a Two-star Earth-God Instrument each, and the other seven are each holding a One-star Earth-God Instrument. Farther down are the ten adult princes – they are all at Ethereal Cultivation with no Earth-God Instruments." Ling Qingfeng pointed. "If you look closely, you can see that all members of the royal family have Divine Dragon blood! Like what we saw the last time, green dragon scales would appear on their bodies when their blood's Special Abilities are in use. Their combat power would be boosted too!"

"Mm, I see that…" Chen Xiaobei nodded. "The Dragon Emperor and Dragon Kings have more scales than you do. This means that the higher their cultivation, the more potent the effect of the Special Ability would be, right?"

"Yes!" Ling Qingfeng nodded. "Take the Dragon Emperor for example. His Special Ability could increase to about 300,000 combat power!"

"That's strange…" Chen Xiaobei frowned. "From what I can tell so far, the royal family members of Divine Dragon are very powerful! Why couldn't they fight off these enemies? It's been nearly one month already!"

"That's because these red armor soldiers are not weak either." Ling Qingfeng explained. "See those ten thousand Celestial Cultivation soldiers? They are forming an Earth-God level battle formation, which can exert Earth-God strength. Also, there's a Two-star Earth-God instrument in the formation for both offensive and defensive attacks!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Mm, I see that. That battle formation alone is enough to keep the Dragon Emperor occupied."

Ling Qingfeng continued, "Not to mention that their God-Ascension and Ethereal Cultivation elites are greater in number than us and they each have one Earth-God instrument more than we do!"

Chen Xiaobei narrowed his eyes as he deliberated. "The enemy may have more people and more Earth-God instruments, but you have dragon blood! Don't you have the advantage?"

Ling Qingfeng shook her head. "The Spirit Light is probably too bright for you to see clearly but the enemy's God-Ascension and Ethereal Cultivation elites also have dragon's blood!"

Chen Xiaobei narrowed his eyes, focusing intently. "I see it now! The enemy has red dragon scales! Could they be the descendants of a vermilion dragon?"

"Yes! We, the Divine Dragon tribe are the descendants of the Azure Dragon, and they, the Vermilion Dragon!" Ling Qingfeng confirmed. "As a whole, in number, combat power, Earth-God instruments, and blood Special Ability, they are far superior to us! That's why no matter how hard we fought for the past month, we couldn't drive them away!"

Chen Xiaobei nodded. "If that's the case, it must have been quite a daunting task to even get a draw with the enemy!"

"Yeah… It wasn't easy at all…" Ling Qingfeng said. "Because neither side has an Earth-God, we had to rely on Spiritual Qi to use the Earth-God Instruments. That's why after each battle, the enemy would always retreat into a formation to top up on Spiritual Qi and Spiritual Stones. We, on the other hand, can just absorb Spiritual Qi from the Divine Dragon's remains, which means we can use our Earth-God Instruments without taking any breaks. That's how we've been able to maintain our fight in the battle and end up in a draw." Ling Qingfeng could not help but heave a deep sigh. "If it were not for the Divine Dragon's body, we would have fallen already!"

Chen Xiaobei said reassuringly, "Don't worry! Now that I'm here, I will help you take care of this problem!"

"Do you have a plan already?" Ling Qingfeng looked at Chen Xiaobei with hopeful eyes.

"It looks like the enemy is going to retreat!" Chen Xiaobei said. "We'll wait for your people to return. The first thing we'll do is to piece that Earth-God Instrument together, find out its secrets within, and then figure out what to do next!"

"Okay!" Ling Qingfeng nodded. "I have a very strong feeling… that Earth-God Instrument must be the key solution!"

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the red silhouettes in the battlefield shielded each other before retreating and blending into the formation which was made up of 10,000 Celestial Cultivation soldiers.

They were replenishing Spiritual Qi for their Earth-God Instruments, and of course, to rest, and replenish their Ethereal Force in their dantian.

Only once they had rested, would the battle continue.

The Divine Dragon tribe had eased their blood's special ability and began retreating a few hundred meters backward.

Although they could use the Spiritual Qi from the Divine Dragon's carcass to continue powering the Earth-God instruments, they too needed to rest and recover after the long period of battle.

This endless cycle of fighting and resting had become a routine for the past month.

This was a seesaw battle where the winners and losers were not quickly determined but depended on who could last longer.

Soon, the Divine Dragon royal family returned.

"Little Seventeen! Why are you here?" An old but well-built white-haired old man asked.

Ling Qingfeng was the youngest among the seventeen adult Divine Dragon princes.

"Greetings!" Ling Qingfeng bowed. "I am also one of the princes. I have to contribute too!"

"Mm… a very good intention you have there!" The Dragon Emperor nodded. "But the battle is growing fierce. With your cultivation, you better not join the fight! You should just go back!"

"My cultivation is not high but I brought the key solution to win the battle!" Ling Qingfeng said.

"Win the battle? Him?" The Emperor's gaze fell on Chen Xiaobei.

The twenty or more members of the royal family also looked at Chen Xiaobei at the same time.

They were all very curious at first but when they saw that there was nothing special about Chen Xiaobei, their curiosity quickly turned into disappointment.

Ling Qingfeng broke the silence. "Let me introduce you – this is the person who forced me out of number eleven on the Nine Zone leaderboard. Childe Chen! Chen Zhufeng!"

The Emperor nodded. "Childe Chen's name has been spreading around the Nine Zones like a wildfire! He really is an outstanding young man! You said he could help us win the battle? Isn't that a little too much of an exaggeration?"

Everyone else nodded. They did not believe Ling Qingfeng either.

"Grandpa! I'm not making false claims!" Ling Qingfeng protested. "Since you've heard of Childe Chen, didn't you hear about how he saved the Neptunes from complete destruction?"

The Dragon Emperor shrugged. "We've all heard the rumors but we never saw it with our own eyes! You say that Childe Chen helped the Neptunes to solve their problems but there are also people claiming that it was Childe Chen's powerful backup that managed to solve it!"

"That…" Ling Qingfeng found herself tongue-tied.

The Emperor continued, "Little Seventeen, I believe that Childe Zhufeng came out of the goodness of his heart to help us but he's at least two years younger than you! I find it hard to believe that he could help us win this battle!"

"Grandpa! Listen to me…" Ling Qingfeng frowned.

"Enough. I'm tired. I need to rest!" The Emperor said. "For the sake of Childe Zhufeng's safety, you better take him away from here as soon as possible!"

The Emperor and the rest of the royal family turned to leave.

Sure they needed rest, but they also did not believe that Chen Xiaobei could be the key to solving their problems.

"Everyone, listen to me!" Ling Qingfeng shouted. "Childe Zhufeng is not a common man! He has an Earth-God level Spiritual Beast, and high-ranking dragon blood! Also, he found the last piece of the fragment for us!"

"What? How is that possible?"

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

None of them could believe what they were hearing.

Chen Xiaobei shrugged. "I really have come to help you guys!"

"Childe… Zhufeng really found the last fragment? Is… Is that true?" The entire Divine Dragon imperial family stared at Chen Xiaobei with wide, unblinking eyes.

They did not believe that Chen Xiaobei could be of any help to them at all, and were worried that Chen Xiaobei would not be even able to protect himself if he stayed in the ruin.

Nevertheless, Ling Qingfeng had revealed all of Chen Xiaobei's trump cards on his behalf.

Earth-God Spiritual Beast! High-ranking Dragon's blood! Spirit Immortal Instrument fragment!

These three trump cards bowled the imperial members over.

This was especially true when it came to the Spirit Immortal Instrument fragment! It really could be the key to solving all their problems!

They found it difficult to digest the fact that Chen Xiaobei had found the fragment that they have been searching high and low for.

"Of course it's true! Look for yourselves!" Chen Xiaobei shrugged the stares off as he retrieved the piece of Spirit Immortal Instrument fragment from his Infinite Space Ring.

"It's real… My god… That's the last fragment…"

Gasps echoed throughout the group as everyone set their eyes upon the piece of 'scrap metal'.

"Childe Chen… You… How did you find this fragment? This is going to be such a big help to us!" The dragon emperor's voice trembled slightly. He even addressed Chen Xiaobei in the formal 'Ning'您' (you)!

The rest of the Divine Dragon imperial family members were just as exuberant. The look that they gave Chen Xiaobei was one of respect and admiration.

The fact was, that Chen Xiaobei was able to do what they could not!

Ling Qingfeng answered, "The vermillion dragon soldiers were selling this fragment at an auction! Zhufeng spent 405.1 million medium-grade Spiritual Stones to buy it! We have to pay him back!"

"Four… Four hundred million…" The divine dragon gasped. "That's… Four hundred fifty billion and one hundred million low-grade Spiritual Stones… We can't produce this many liquid assets in such a short amount of time…"

In the nine major starfields, that amount of Spiritual Stones was an astronomical number!

Even a tribe as powerful as the Divine Dragons would need a long period to come up with such a huge amount of wealth. They would need to accumulate, and maybe even borrow to be able to meet that amount!

Chen Xiaobei waved them off, "You don't have to pay me back! I already took it back when I killed the enemy!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible!" The Dragon Emperor shook his head. "That's two very different things! We have to repay you for what you've done for us! You got the Spiritual Stones back on your own. We did not help you with that! At the end of the day, we still owe you a big favor!"

The Emperor was a very integrous man. If he owed someone, he would make sure to pay them back! He would never try to take advantage of them!

The rest of the imperial family nodded in agreement.

"Whatever favor it is, let's save it for later! Right now, we have more important things to address! Chen Xiaobei said. "Your grace, could you please take out the rest of the fragments. Let's solve the secret of the Spirit Immortal Instrument first!"

"Alright!" The Emperor nodded. "Our tribe's elder has already found the secret of this Spirit Immortal Instrument in an ancient book! Once we put the Spirit Immortal Instrument together, we will have to make a Divine Dragon blood sacrifice to activate the Special Ability!"

The Emperor took out all the fragments they had found and placed them on a platform he had formed using his green Ethereal Force. He put them together, piece by piece until they began to resemble a crippled sword.

"Let me put in the missing piece!" Chen Xiaobei walked to the platform and put in the final fragment.

With that, a three-foot longsword was assembled.

The fragments were merely put into place and not affixed together. The cracks were not fused together and the fragments were still speckled with rust.

It was a broken sword that had been neglected for many years.

"Next, we need to perform the Divine Dragon blood sacrifice!" The Emperor announced. "After that, we'll be able to trigger the Dragon God Ruin's hidden special ability to defeat the enemy!"

"Father! Let me do it…"

"Grandpa! Let us do it…"

All the members of the imperial family volunteered to offer their blood to the sword.

"No! I have to be the one to do it!" The Dragon Emperor said. "The first elder has discovered from ancient books that the purer the blood for the sacrifice, the more powerful its destructive force! If we use an Earth-God's Dragon Blood to perform the sacrifice, it could even wield the power of an Earth God!"

No protests were made, and everyone retreated to the side.

The Emperor's cultivation was the highest amongst them, which means his blood's Special Ability was the most powerful. He was clearly the best person for the blood sacrifice.

Suddenly, Chen Xiaobei broke the silence. "What if we offer Divine Blood to the sword? Could it wield the strength of a god?"

"Divine Blood?" The Dragon Emperor shook his head. "Even if we do have Divine Blood, it's not possible because our ancestral dragon is only a Spirit Immortal dragon. Also, this sword is only a Spirit Immortal Instrument. Logically speaking, it can, in theory, only wield Spirit Immortal strength!"

"Only in theory?" Chen Xiaobei questioned. "Does that mean that it cannot really wield Spirit Immortal strength in practice?"

"Yes…" The Emperor nodded. "Even if we offer up a Spirit Immortal dragon's blood, we would still need a great deal of Spiritual Qi to wield Spirit Immortal strength! According to the ancient books, even if we used up all the Spiritual Qi in the ruin, it may not be able to wield Spirit Immortal strength!"

"Oh…" Chen Xiaobei nodded. "I was just curious. In this current situation, we'll just need to wield Three-Star Earth-God strength to be able to wipe out the enemy!"

"That's right! The Dragon Emperor nodded. "Please step back, Childe Chen. I will begin the sacrifice now. We have to eliminate all threats as quickly as possible!"

"Mm…" Chen Xiaobei nodded and took a step back.

Zing!

The Dragon Emperor used his sharp ethereal force to cut a deep gash in his palm.

He lifted his hand towards the longsword and squeezed out fresh flood, which then dripped down the broken fragments.

Upon contact, a strange thing began to happen – green smoke sizzled from where the blood contacted the metal.

More blood was dripping and seeping into the cracks of the sword.

Zing!

The fresh blood melded the fragments into a complete piece, and the longsword suddenly let out a piercing sound.

Green light exploded from within, washing the skies and the ground with its deep color!