In the main council hall of the Qin Family.
After a brief silence.
"Qin Wudao! You are too arrogant!"
"The Young Lord is an honored guest of the Heavenly Demon Ancient Realm, and he condescends to spar with you. It is a sign of high regard! How dare you be so rude?!"
The elder who had been putting on a hypocritical front earlier seized the opportunity to make trouble.
Qin Wudao sneered, "And what kind of thing are you?"
"An outsider has forced their way to our doorstep, yet as an elder of the Qin Family, instead of defending the family's dignity, you turn around and speak for an outsider?"
"You are nothing more than a dog that bites the hand that feeds it."
"You..." The rebuked elder's face darkened instantly, boiling with rage.
Before he could retort, a faint yet palpable pressure descended upon him.
It was the Patriarch, Qin Zhan: "You, step back!"
Hearing this, the elder had no choice but to retreat to the side with a gloomy expression.
He had wanted to suppress Qin Wudao.
Instead, Qin Wudao refused to give him an ounce of face, leaving him choked with frustration.
Beside the main seat in the hall.
*Interesting.*
Yao Wujiang greatly appreciated Qin Wudao's unyielding character.
He was far better than that Qin Tianlong, who only knew how to hide under the family's wings and steal others' bone marrow.
Such spine and daring were truly worthy of respect.
"Qin Wudao, you are not bad. How about we make a bet?"
"Have a sparring match with me."
"Win or lose, this lord will grant you enough cultivation resources to move even a Saint."
Win or lose, he would still give away supreme treasures?
As expected of the Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Ancient Realm, he certainly threw his weight around!
A wave of commotion rippled through the elders present.
Yet... Qin Wudao's response left them even more astonished.
"Not interested."
The corners of Yao Wujiang's mouth curved into a smile. "What if this lord adds a ten-thousand-year-old blood dragon ginseng to the mix?"
"Not enough."
Qin Wudao still shook his head.
"It seems ordinary treasures cannot catch your eye. Very well, let me show some real sincerity."
Yao Wujiang flipped his palm, and three treasures radiating immortal divine radiance and flowing with Dao rhymes materialized above his hand.
A section of mysterious bone displaying a nine-colored glazed luster, emanating vast dragon might.
A purple divine bead that seemed to harbor endless thunder.
And a small, emerald-green tree flowing with dense life essence.
"A section of nine-colored Ancestral Dragon marrow, containing a trace of the Ancestral Dragon origin, capable of strengthening any dragon-related physique."
"An Innate Thunder Spirit origin bead, holding within it a trace of the Innate Thunder Dao origin."
"A sapling of the Longevity Dao Tree. Though it is only a sapling, it contains fragments of the Longevity Dao Laws, boasting boundless potential for the future."
"These three items, plus all the resources promised earlier. As long as you spar with me, win or lose, they are all yours."
Yao Wujiang looked at Qin Wudao and spoke slowly.
This time, not only the elders of the Qin Family, but even the experts from the Heavenly Demon Ancient Realm who had accompanied Yao Wujiang could not help but gasp, their faces etched with disbelief.
Nine-colored Ancestral Dragon marrow!
Innate Thunder Spirit origin bead!
Longevity Dao Tree sapling!
Any single one of these was a supreme treasure capable of inciting a battle among Saint Kings or even Supreme-level powerhouses!
Especially that Longevity Dao Tree sapling—it was something straight out of legends!
The Young Lord... was actually using these as stakes?
Just for a sparring match?
Was he out of his mind?!
The members of the Qin Family felt as though they were dreaming.
Looking at the three treasures, even Qin Wudao felt his heart... skip a beat.
He generally couldn't be bothered to spar with people.
However... these three items were of immeasurable value to him.
Especially the Ancestral Dragon marrow and the Longevity Dao Tree sapling; they offered unimaginable benefits to his Hongmeng Emperor Bone and his future cultivation.
Moreover, it was a free windfall.
As for why Yao Wujiang was acting like a benevolent patron, he didn't care.
He could only say that heaven destroys those who do not look out for themselves.
Qin Wudao raised his head. "Are your words counted? You won't end up like that elder just now, only knowing how to bark, will you?"
The elder who had been caught in the crossfire flushed red, but didn't dare to talk back.
Yao Wujiang smiled proudly. "My word is as good as gold. How could I be compared to such trash?"
He flicked his finger, and the three supreme treasures, along with the massive batch of resources promised earlier, flew directly toward Qin Wudao.
Bruised and battered or not, he addressed him: "The items are yours now. Are you willing to fight me?"
Qin Wudao reached out and caught the spatial bracelet, sweeping his divine sense through it to confirm everything was in order.
He had to admit, this fellow truly had guts.
"Rest assured, this lord will not suppress you with my cultivation realm. I will suppress my cultivation to the Great Circle of the Divine Sea Realm and fight you fairly."
A fair fight?
Hearing this, Qin Wudao looked Yao Wujiang up and down, a rather peculiar glint in his eyes.
"I am eight years old this year, and your bone age is at least seventeen or eighteen, right?"
"Our age gap is twofold, and you call this a fair fight?"
Yao Wujiang was rendered speechless.
How... how could someone take such a massive advantage and still act so aggrieved?!
"Forget it. Seeing as you brought so many good things, I won't bully you."
"I accept this sparring match."
"To keep things fair... I will give you three moves!"
As soon as these words fell, the entire hall fell into a dead silence.
Give... give Yao Wujiang three moves?!
A junior at the Divine Sea Extreme Realm was going to grant three free moves to a peerless prodigy at the Peak Tongxuan Realm?!
This wasn't arrogance anymore; this was sheer madness!
An elder from the Heavenly Demon Ancient Realm whose composure was lacking turned completely livid. " insolent brat! Do you know who you are speaking to? How dare you humiliate our Young Lord like this?!"
Qin Wudao glanced at him. "I know. He's a good person—a good person who delivers resources to me."
"You... you..."
The elder from the Heavenly Demon Ancient Realm felt a mouthful of blood rise to his throat, driven to the verge of fury.
Yao Wujiang was also stunned for a long moment before he burst into laughter, angered rather than enraged: "Good! Good! Good! Impudent enough! This lord loves opponents like you!"
"There's no need for three moves. Since we are going to fight, we go all out!"
"Three days from now, at the Questing Dao Platform of the Qin Family, I will be waiting for you!"
Qin Wudao put away the spatial bracelet. "Very well."
The agreement was reached.
Qin Wudao did not linger and left immediately.
Yao Wujiang did the same.
Leaving only the elders of both factions in the hall to exchange polite pleasantries.
However... after returning to the quarters arranged for him by the Qin Family, Yao Wujiang quietly slipped away.
Evading the guards' sight, he sneaked into the domain of the First Elder, Qin Yuan.
The two of them held a covert discussion in a secret chamber regarding the upcoming challenge.
Half an hour later.
Yao Wujiang left the secret chamber with a smile.
From within the chamber, however, the First Elder Qin Yuan's furious voice could be faintly heard.
For no other reason.
Yao Wujiang had demanded from the First Elder Qin Yuan the very resources he had gifted to Qin Wudao in the main hall.
"Elder Qin Yuan, you... wouldn't want word to get out that you invited us here under the guise of a spar to cripple Qin Wudao, would you?"
These were Yao Wujiang's exact words of threat to Qin Yuan.
Few words, but... thoroughly effective!
Such dirty business could never be brought to light; even if one's teeth were shattered, they could only swallow them down with the blood.
As for Qin Yuan's retaliation, Yao Wujiang cared not in the least.
He was the undisputed next-generation leader of the Heavenly Demon Ancient Path, highly regarded by all its ancestors, and possessed absolute resources and status.
Even if Qin Yuan was the First Elder of the Qin Family, he still lacked the qualification and the guts to hunt him down.
On the contrary, it was Qin Wudao who hadn't given him an ounce of face.
"What an interesting fellow,"
Yao Wujiang could sense that Qin Wudao's perfection at the extreme realm of the Divine Sea Realm surpassed his own, yet... something was still missing.
It was still not complete enough.
That was why... he had given Qin Wudao those items.
"Hurry and grow stronger, Qin Wudao. You are worthy of becoming my follower and conquering the nine heavens and ten earths alongside me!"