"I concede."
Lei Hong's hair stood on end, and he quickly nodded, dispelling his Mystic Art. The Thunder God behind him immediately vanished.
With the Thunder God gone, Qian Duoduo also retracted his Ten Coins Unite as One and collapsed onto the Martial Arts Stage.
Lei Hong punched himself four times, forcing his cultivation back down to Qi Condensation Great Perfection.
If he hadn't surrendered, Chu Wannian, who was watching from outside the arena, would have intervened.
Chu Wannian was very afraid that if Qian Duoduo made the copper coins shrink a little faster, his Wen'an Peak's number one Xiong Jun would be gone.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Bu Huan!" Lei Hong bowed deeply to Qian Duoduo. "Competing with Senior Brother finally allowed my Mystic Art to reach Minor Achievement. When I was in seclusion, I couldn't take the step of thunder strike no matter what. Today's sparring, with Battle Intent surging, finally fulfilled my wish."
This Lei Hong was far from as crude as he appeared.
Deep-minded and with explosive combat power, it was no wonder he became the Great Master of Wen'an Peak.
"Is Artifact Refining still a minor Dao?" Although Qian Duoduo's impression of him had greatly improved, he still reminded him.
Lei Hong said sternly and with a serious expression, "Artifact Refining is a Great Dao! I also know that if Senior Brother Bu Huan were to unleash his full power, even if I, Lei Hong, cultivated to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, I wouldn't be able to withstand ten or eight self-destructing Dan artifacts."
He jumped off the Martial Arts Stage with a bang and instructed Nangong Qinglong and Nangong Nizi, "You two go back and urge all the Disciples of the peak to fully learn Artifact Refining. Even if you can't surpass Senior Brother Bu Huan, you must surpass Jianjian Peak and Beast Tooth Peak. If anyone dares to disobey, tell them to come find me. I'll reason with him."
Nangong Qinglong and Nangong Nizi both agreed repeatedly.
"Alright. Mutual appreciation, the friendly match finally has a bit of a friendly flavor." Sect Leader Niu Jinshui smiled and nodded, then turned to Chu Wannian and asked, "Did you bring the Golden Toad Shedding its Shell Mystic Art?"
Chu Wannian's face twitched. "I brought it."
A golden Jade Slip appeared in his hand and flew towards Qian Duoduo on the Martial Arts Stage.
"Golden Toad Shedding its Shell, the foremost of the Refining Spirit Sect's ten great Mystic Arts. You enjoy Artifact Refining, and this Mystic Art is said to be able to summon different Puppets. However, different people summon different Puppets. Most people can't summon anything at all.
For ten thousand years, only one Old Ancestor, the Fire-Eater, managed to summon Xuanshi Puppets. There were also a few exceptionally talented individuals who successfully summoned, but they were only Dan artifact Puppets. The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but we speculate it's related to the cultivator's Artifact Refining level, especially their Puppet refining level..."
Although Chu Wannian felt pained, his explanation was very detailed.
"Although we, Lu Xi and Lu Dong, compete fiercely, we are still one family within the sect, no matter what. Palace Lord Shang, Zhu Zhangzuo, and I also hope that with your Artifact Refining level, you can master this foremost Mystic Art and create a beautiful legend."
After finishing with the Mystic Art, Chu Wannian's round face broke into a smile and he said to the Sect Leader and Tang Honggong, "My peak's Zi'e is in her prime. After giving birth this year, she can still get pregnant next year and the year after. By then, can our Wen'an Peak—"
The Sect Leader couldn't help but smile again, glancing at Tang Honggong.
Palace Lord Dajiu held back his laughter and feigned surprise, asking, "Old Chu, what Mystic Art will you use for the friendly match next year?"
"Brother Tang, Brother Tang, please make it happen! With Bu Huan here, what kind of friendly match are we playing? Zi'e and Brother Hu are family, so what conditions are there to talk about? Family doesn't speak two languages."
Chu Wannian's face alternated between smiles and tears, his expressions changing quickly and smoothly.
Qian Duoduo, listening on stage to a dignified Palace Lord speak so humbly, couldn't help but find it amusing.
But Tang Honggong remained completely unmoved, not even letting a hint of a smile show.
"I have a good item in my hand." Chu Wannian looked up at Tang Honggong. "It's a secret recipe for making Tiger Cub food. Oh, Brother Tang, you don't understand, but our Zhuangzhu Bu Huan does. Bu Huan, come!"
His soft call made Qian Duoduo's skin crawl.
Fearing he would call out a second time, Qian Duoduo quickly flew to his side.
"Bu Huan, this is for you." Chu Wannian unceremoniously shoved a Jade Slip into Qian Duoduo's hand. "It records our Wen'an Peak's centuries of experience in raising, breeding, and training tigers. Its precious value far exceeds that of a Mystic Art."
Tang Honggong couldn't listen anymore and pulled Chu Wannian from behind.
Chu Wannian pushed his hand away. "Don't disturb two people who understand Spirit Beasts from having a heart-to-heart. It wasn't easy for Zi'e to become my companion beast. I make different flavors of Tiger Cub food every season of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and only then did she approve of me. For those Tiger Cubs, what they should eat in different months is clearly written on this Jade Slip."
Qian Duoduo had indeed thought about what he was talking about.
Seeing Qian Duoduo put away the Tiger Raising Jade Slip, Chu Wannian squinted his eyes. "If Zi'e gets pregnant next year, Bu Huan, can you—"
"Cough." Palace Lord Dajiu coughed heavily.
Head Seat Chu was full of sincerity, but Dajiu firmly refused. Qian Duoduo was in a difficult position.
"How about this." Sect Leader Niu Jinshui spoke. "All the Tiger Cubs this year belong to Mengyuan Mountain. This cannot be changed. For next year and beyond, they will be distributed to the other Immortal Mountains.
If one is born, it goes to Wen'an Peak. If two are born, one goes to another peak.
And so on. If five are born, Mengyuan Mountain can still get one. However, they will be raised together in the Tiger Cub Garden, and each mountain will pay its own Tiger Cub raising fees. What do you all think?"
Chu Wannian was overjoyed. "The Sect Leader is fair. This method is reasonable."
For him, getting even one Tiger Cub was a victory, no matter what.
If the Sect Leader hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have had any chance at all.
Tang Honggong frowned but didn't dare to object. "Agreed."
After descending from Preaching Mountain and arriving at Qian Duoduo's Immortal Cave, Palace Lord Dajiu asked Qian Duoduo, "Do you think Dajiu is only interested in profit?"
Qian Duoduo lowered his head and replied, "I wouldn't dare, but I think Head Seat Chu was very sincere."
"Hmph. Sincerity? He's just good at acting. Do you know that the Golden Toad Shedding its Shell Mystic Art originally belonged to us, Lu Dong, and to Mengyuan Mountain? We won it back through a competition later. If we had lost, their Wen'an Peak wouldn't have shown any mercy at all."
Palace Lord Dajiu said in a deep voice.
Qian Duoduo, hearing this, was startled. "Is it necessary to be like this for competition within the same sect?"
"Hmph, sometimes, as they fight, some people forget that this is competition within the same sect and treat it as a life-and-death struggle. If they have the ability, why don't they fight Ba Ling Sect or Shengling Sect? They only know how to bully Mengyuan Mountain and Xiongjin Mountain!"
Palace Lord Dajiu looked indignant.
Among the Five Immortal Mountains, Mengyuan Mountain had long been at the bottom, which made him quite angry.
If it weren't for his greatest cultivation potential, which made the other Palace Lords wary, Mengyuan Mountain's situation would have been even worse.
Qian Duoduo finally understood.
The long-term infighting among the Five Immortal Mountains had created an excellent style where the Sect Leader, Palace Lords, and Elders spoke with hidden meanings and veiled threats.
Releasing his anger made Dajiu feel a bit more comfortable.
He patted Qian Duoduo's shoulder. "The situation is different now. My good nephew was very effective this time and completely subdued Wen'an Peak. Seeing that cunning old fox Chu Wannian stifled, I feel truly refreshed. There are indeed good things in that Little Dragon Valley, and now they are yours. You should explore it thoroughly; maybe you'll make a big discovery."
"What about the Golden Ox? Where are there large numbers of Golden Ox?"
Qian Duoduo hadn't forgotten the promise Palace Lord Dajiu made, saying he would take him to a place where there were plenty of Golden Ox.
"Dajiu hasn't forgotten about this. This time, we'll set an example for the other Immortal Mountains and show them how our Mengyuan Mountain does things."
Tang Honggong became spirited.
However, Qian Duoduo didn't understand what he meant.
"The place I'm taking you is Shengling Sect. We'll go there and steal, and snatch a large number of Golden Ox back!" Palace Lord Dajiu said, patting Qian Duoduo forcefully.
Qian Duoduo's shoulder sank with the force, and he couldn't help but think: Is this another trap?