Chapter 403

Watching the three races' prodigies charging toward him, Jun Xiaoyao's expression remained calm.

Bai Meier, Ao Luan, and others were mere tools.

These prodigies were even tools in the hands of those tools.

Their only value was to be used, then killed.

Jun Xiaoyao raised his hand and unleashed the Emperor's Seal.

With a thunderous crash, the Rock Demon race's prodigy's body shattered into four pieces, on the verge of exploding.

"How dare you! How can an outsider prodigy act violently before our Immortal Ancient races!" The Diamond race's prodigy moved to engage Jun Xiaoyao in close combat.

The Diamond race's physical body was extremely hard, peerless at the same realm, rarely matched by anyone.

Yet Jun Xiaoyao simply punched forward, colliding his fist with the Diamond race's prodigy's fist.

The Diamond race's prodigy's face turned ashen; his punching arm shattered inch by inch, then his entire body cracked apart.

The Diamond race's prodigy, famed for his physical strength, was shattered by Jun Xiaoyao's single punch!

Long Ji watched, deeply shaken—though she had assimilated the blood of the Azure Dragon Ancient Emperor and greatly enhanced her body,

she still could not crush a Diamond race prodigy's body with one punch.

"Just how monstrous is Jun Xiaoyao's physical body?" Long Ji, struggling against the killing array's sword qi, was stunned.

The remaining Thunder Monkey race prodigy wore an expression of shock.

Yet he possessed True God Realm's Minor Perfection, significantly stronger than the other three.

He activated a powerful thunder technique to resist Jun Xiaoyao.

But what thunder technique could rival the Thunder Emperor's Great Technique?

"Showing off before a master!"

Jun Xiaoyao reached out and seized the air—thunder gathered into a blinding bolt of lightning.

It was the Nine Tribulation Annihilation Thunder, a technique from the Thunder Emperor's Great Technique.

The bolt shot forth like a spear, piercing straight through the Thunder Monkey race prodigy's abdomen, blasting a gaping hole—he collapsed, grievously wounded.

Lei Mingyuan rushed forward to restrain the Thunder Monkey race prodigy.

As for the remaining two prodigies, Jun Xiaoyao waved his hand—they exploded completely, reduced to dust.

In mere moments, Jun Xiaoyao had slain three True God Realm's Late Stage cultivators and grievously wounded one True God Realm's Minor Perfection.

Of course, Jun Xiaoyao had deliberately spared the Thunder Monkey race prodigy for now—he still had a use.

Watching Jun Xiaoyao resolve the battle so efficiently, Ao Luan in the shadows seethed with rage.

Yet Long Ji remained trapped within the killing array, still unable to escape.

Jun Xiaoyao turned to look at Long Ji.

Long Ji, struggling against the killing array's sword qi, gritted her teeth: "You're the mastermind behind this trap, aren't you?"

"What do you think?" Jun Xiaoyao looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Long Ji's expression turned extremely unnatural.

She had instinctively assumed Jun Xiaoyao was the mastermind.

Now she realized—with his current strength, he truly had no need for such schemes.

"Why did you help me?" Long Ji asked coldly.

Shouldn't Jun Xiaoyao have been delighted to see her die?

Why did he now kill the four race prodigies to save her?

But Jun Xiaoyao's next words nearly made Long Ji spit blood.

"My mount is in trouble—how could I, as its master, not help?" Jun Xiaoyao smiled lightly.

"Jun Xiaoyao, how dare you!" Long Ji's eyes blazed with fury.

Just moments ago, his help had felt strange and uncomfortable.

Now, with these words,

yes—it was still that cunning, dark humor.

"I already told you before—you're qualified to become my new mount," Jun Xiaoyao smiled.

"Dream on!" Long Ji snapped.

Yet as her words faded, the killing array's power surged violently again.

Countless sword qi surged through the void, razor-sharp to the extreme.

Long Ji, caught off guard, was wounded again, her delicate body drenched in blood.

"Damn it—my current state makes it impossible to break out of this array," Long Ji's face turned icy.

Jun Xiaoyao saw her predicament clearly—he merely smiled faintly, standing with his hands behind his back, watching.

As time passed, the killing array's power continued to rise.

Eventually, even Long Ji could no longer endure—her body was riddled with wounds, grievously injured.

"No—I cannot die here! I must become the Dragon Empress who will overshadow eternity!" Long Ji's heart burned with defiance.

She glanced at Jun Xiaoyao outside the array, his face calm with amusement—her teeth ground in hatred.

Yet she spoke: "Jun Xiaoyao, dare you release me? Then let us fight fairly."

Jun Xiaoyao laughed at her words.

"Long Ji Princess, are you testing my intelligence—or your own? Do you really think such words aren't laughable?"

Long Ji's face flushed crimson with shame and rage.

She, who had always been cold and aloof, always lost her temper before Jun Xiaoyao—as if she'd become an ordinary mortal woman.

Long Ji knew her proposal sounded absurd.

She gritted her teeth: "Then tell me—how can you help me escape?"

She never imagined she'd one day beg Jun Xiaoyao for help.

Jun Xiaoyao's eyes flickered with a strange light, then he spoke: "Simple—call me 'Master' first."

Hearing Jun Xiaoyao's words, Long Ji froze.

He truly saw her as his mount?

"Impossible!" Long Ji's cheeks burned red.

Calling Jun Xiaoyao "Master" was worse than death.

She was a noble Dragon Princess—how could she call anyone her master?

Even if it was Jun Xiaoyao, it was absolutely impossible.

"Then I can't help you. I only save what belongs to me," Jun Xiaoyao shrugged, unfazed.

Seeing Jun Xiaoyao's calm, indifferent expression, Long Ji's teeth ground in fury.

At that moment, within the killing array, the array patterns surged, unleashing seven thousand-zhang sword qi in succession, slashing toward Long Ji.

Long Ji fought desperately—after blocking three or four strikes, she spat another mouthful of blood, grievously wounded.

"If this continues, I really might die," Long Ji thought.

Jun Xiaoyao's demand, though extreme, didn't cross her absolute bottom line.

After all, he only asked her to speak the word "Master"—he hadn't mentioned implanting a slave seal in her spiritual palace.

Jun Xiaoyao knew exactly where Long Ji's limits lay.

If he truly tried to implant a slave seal, she would rather die.

But merely speaking the word "Master"? That wasn't entirely impossible.

"Training must be gradual—break down her psychological defenses step by step," Jun Xiaoyao thought inwardly.

He then spoke: "If you don't call me now, you'll lose your chance. And don't you want to know who's truly behind this trap?"

Jun Xiaoyao's words jolted Long Ji awake.

That's right.

Compared to Jun Xiaoyao, who drove her mad,

she hated the mastermind who had plunged her into this desperate situation even more.

If she died here, she'd hand victory to that mastermind.

Her hatred for the mastermind surpassed even her hatred for Jun Xiaoyao.

After making a painful decision, Long Ji clenched her teeth and, with a voice barely louder than a whisper, forced out two words:

"M…a…s…t…e…r…"