Chapter 1967: This is called courtesy before force

With the sound of talk, several streams of light rushed in; instantly, the hopeless crowd's eyes lit up—they had arrived.

After waiting so long, they finally arrived; everyone who had seen Ye Zhangqing was bursting with excitement.

The Heavenly Pride Yāoniè battle was finally going to break out.

Good, good, good—we need to grab a front spot; look closely, a battle of this level is extremely rare to see.

Those who had seen Ye Zhangqing had already picked the best viewing spots, while those who originally harbored doubts stared at the direction of the light, still dazed.

By the time they came to their senses, the good spots had already been snatched away.

A minor disturbance broke out in the crowd, but it was nothing serious.

Not long after, Ye Zhangqing and his group appeared directly above the True Dragon Blood Pool.

His gaze instantly turned downward to the ancient dragon true blood—this was Ye Zhangqing's first sight of it.

Is this thing really as miraculous as Tang Xin said? Looking at it, there's nothing special about it.

His attention was wholly on the ancient dragon true blood, even overlooking Tianlin not far away.

At the same time, Tianlin's gaze calmly swept over Ye Zhangqing and his group.

He did not fly into a rage over the sudden intrusion of Ye Zhangqing and his companions; his expression remained unchanged, still calm and composed.

Although Tianlin kept his composure, the Heavenly Family members beside him were not so calm.

One of them, watching Ye Zhangqing's group suddenly intrude above the True Dragon Blood Pool, shouted angrily with an icy expression.

"Who are you? Are you looking for death? Do you even know where this is?"

The shout cut off Ye Zhangqing; only then did he lift his head and look forward.

Of course, his gaze swept past the speaking Heavenly Family member and landed on Tianlin.

After all, among the opposing side, only Tianlin was worth noting; the others held no interest at all.

Sensing Ye Zhangqing's gaze, their eyes met in midair.

A fighting spirit faintly rose in both of their hearts.

Looking at Ye Zhangqing, Tianlin found him utterly unfamiliar—he had never seen him before.

But his intuition told him not to underestimate this person.

"Interesting."

A faint smile curled his lips as he murmured, "It's interesting precisely because of this; otherwise it would be too boring."

"I'm talking to you, you................"

The Heavenly Family member, seeing Ye Zhangqing completely ignore him, flew into a rage and shouted again.

But the next second, Tianlin gestured, and he obediently stepped aside.

Not knowing what the young master meant, they naturally obeyed Tianlin's order absolutely.

In a moment, Ye Zhangqing and Tianlin stood facing each other; though they spoke no words, the atmosphere grew tense without them realizing it.

Especially the many Immortal Realm cultivators below, each holding their breath, not daring to breathe, as if afraid to disturb the present atmosphere.

After a prolonged stare, Ye Zhangqing was the first to speak.

"You are the young master of the Heavenly Family, Tianlin, right?"

"Exactly. May I ask how to address you, fellow Daoist?"

"Tianlin, fellow Daoist, you're too polite; I am Ye Zhangqing from the Cooking King Immortal City."

"Ah, so you are Fellow Daoist Ye."

"Tianlin, fellow Daoist, I have a favor to ask of you this time."

"Please speak, Fellow Daoist Ye."

"Could you yield this ancient dragon true blood to me?"

"Huh???"

As Ye Zhangqing's words fell, the atmosphere grew ever stranger; Tang Xin anxiously spoke up.

"Junior brother, what are you saying? This ancient dragon true blood is a supreme treasure—who would give it up?"

That's pure fantasy; with such a treasure before us, there's no reason to hand it over to someone else.

Ye Zhangqing replied nonchalantly.

"Let's ask first; maybe they'd be willing."

Ye Zhangqing said this to Tang Xin, but Tianlin also heard and laughed.

"I'm afraid that would disappoint Fellow Daoist Ye; I have no intention of yielding the ancient dragon true blood to anyone."

As Tianlin's words fell, Tang Xin looked at Ye Zhangqing with a resentful expression and said.

"See? They won't give it up."

"Well, there's nothing to be done, but we must observe propriety."

"What era is this, junior brother, and you're still talking about that?"

"This is called courtesy before force."

"Then the result?"

"The result is that after the courtesy, we can move to force."

Ye Zhangqing said offhandedly, then turned his head to look at Tianlin, his face unchanged, speaking calmly.

"Then it seems we can only fight; whoever wins gets the prize—fair enough."

As these words were spoken, everyone present grew excited; the long-awaited Yāoniè battle had finally arrived.

Ye Zhangqing's words were undoubtedly a challenge to Tianlin.

The two would battle, with the ownership of the ancient dragon true blood as the stake—whoever wins gets it.

Upon hearing this, even Tianlin was stunned for a moment.

With his eyesight, he could naturally tell at a glance that Ye Zhangqing's age was not much different from his own; he too was of the younger generation.

And he could no longer remember how long it had been since someone his own age had challenged him.

Apart from those two other unpleasant fellows, the younger generation of the Immortal Realm, upon seeing him, reacted like mice seeing a cat.

Either they kept their distance, or they were excessively polite—truly boring.

On the contrary, Ye Zhangqing's performance today surprised Tianlin and yet struck him as interesting.

It felt somewhat unfamiliar and somewhat distant, yet Tianlin did not reject such a feeling.

So, facing Ye Zhangqing's challenge, Tianlin hesitated not, grinning as he spoke.

"Friend Daoist, with such enthusiasm, I naturally won't spoil the fun."

"Then let this ancient dragon's true blood be the stake; the winner takes it."

"Good."

As the two finished speaking, Tang Xin's five female disciples voluntarily stepped aside, and likewise several disciples of the Heavenly Family did the same.

This was a battle among top-tier Yāoniè; they were not qualified to intervene.

Having yielded the space entirely to the two, Tianlin was very curious just how strong Ye Zhangqing's strength was.

A newcomer never seen before, who upon arrival challenges himself—truly interesting, but let's hope he isn't killed in a single move, lest it disappoint.

He also hoped Ye Zhangqing could endure a little longer, so he could fully enjoy the fun.

Ye Zhangqing hadn't thought so much; Tianlin's strength was indeed terrifyingly strong.

At least he was the first person who made Ye Zhangqing have absolutely no confidence of winning.

In the past, when facing cultivators of the same realm, even before making a move, Ye Zhangqing basically had absolute confidence of victory.

This Tianlin was the first person who made Ye Zhangqing unable to predict the final outcome, lacking full certainty.

"Friend Daoist, be careful."

Tianlin said, and as his words fell, he made no visible movement, remaining where he was, yet the next second Ye Zhangqing abruptly turned and threw a punch at the empty space behind him where no one stood.

The next instant, a sound of fist and palm colliding rang out; although there was clearly no one behind him, Ye Zhangqing's fist seemed to be blocked by something, and the aftershock spread outward.