Chapter 314

He Pingsheng landed gracefully on a protruding rock beside the cliff, watching the spectacular scene before him.

Boom…

Though severely wounded, the giant dragon Jiao was still at the Golden Core realm; with a surge of his magic power, nine water columns erupted once more into the sky.

"Elder!" The ninth prince pointed at He Pingsheng nearby. "It's him—I just saw him steal two of your fruits!"

"It wasn't me—I didn't take any!"

Result!

A massive water column slammed toward the ninth prince.

He Pingsheng sensed this water column carried less than three-tenths of the previous force.

He didn't know if the giant dragon Jiao had deliberately held back, or if his injury had impaired his abilities.

Fortunately, the ninth prince was no weakling—he activated a defensive magic treasure while sprinting along the cliffside to evade.

To his credit, he managed to withstand all nine water column strikes.

"Damn…"

The ninth prince's face turned black; he panted, "Elder, it really wasn't me… Elder, stop!"

"I'm a royal disciple—how dare you do this?"

The giant dragon Jiao said, "I know you're royalty. That's why I used only three-tenths of my strength earlier—if I'd gone all out, you'd be dead already!"

"Get lost!"

The ninth prince, still unwilling to let go, pointed at He Pingsheng. "He stole two of your fruits—why aren't you punishing him?"

The giant dragon Jiao nearly spat blood: What the hell, is this any of your business?

"Boom…" Another colossal water column suddenly burst from the water, striking the ninth prince head-on.

This time, he had no time to defend—he was blasted a hundred zhang away, then plunged into the water with a splash.

A splash of crimson blood bloomed across the water's surface.

Splash…

The ninth prince wasn't killed—he leapt back out of the water and landed on the cliff face.

He was only lightly wounded.

"Hmph… Get out…"

The giant dragon Jiao roared, then sank back into the depths.

"Phew… phew…" The ninth prince exhaled, pulled out an elixir, and swallowed it to restore his energy, then turned to He Pingsheng. "Kid, you took the fruit—why didn't he attack you?"

He Pingsheng smiled. "I don't know… maybe…"

"I have no greed!"

"I only took two, left one!"

"Maybe that's why!"

"Hmph…" The ninth prince sneered. "I don't care about that—everything in this secret realm belongs to my royal house!"

"You took this fourth-rank immortal fruit—I won't be greedy. Give me one."

"How about it?"

He Pingsheng shook his head. "When we entered, your royal elders said everything here is claimed by opportunity and ability—not by royal bloodline."

"Hehehe…"

A false smile appeared on He Pingsheng's face.

"Good, good, good…" The ninth prince's sneer deepened. "You say it well—claimed by opportunity, claimed by ability!"

"Hehehe…"

"Now let me show you my ability!"

Boom…

The ninth prince moved his foot, leaping toward He Pingsheng.

Mid-air, he drew a silver spear and thrust it straight at He Pingsheng.

As the spear shot forward, it instantly grew to thirty meters long.

Lightning crackled along its length, radiating overwhelming power.

He Pingsheng wasn't afraid—he flashed with golden light and dodged instantly.

Boom…

The ninth prince's silver spear slammed into the cliff where He Pingsheng had just stood.

A three-meter-wide crater opened in the cliffside; rocks tumbled down into the water.

He Pingsheng said, "Are you trying to steal it?"

"Correct!"

The ninth prince chuckled. "Don't you understand what 'claimed by ability' means?"

"It means whoever grabs it owns it!"

"If you're strong enough, you can steal my things too!"

As he spoke, the ninth prince struck again.

He Pingsheng ignored him. "Fine—winner takes it."

"See if you've got the ability!"

Boom…

He Pingsheng flashed with golden light again, leaping away—he ignored the ninth prince and headed straight for the valley's exit.

"Trying to run?"

The ninth prince sneered. "You think wearing broken shoes lets you escape?"

"Watch my speed!"

"Open!"

The ninth prince activated a third-rank talisman and slapped it onto his body.

Instantly, his speed reached its peak—he shot forward dozens of zhang in a flash.

His speed was three-tenths faster than He Pingsheng's.

"Hehehe…" The ninth prince laughed fiercely as he chased. "You refused to give me one fruit earlier!"

"Now I've wasted a third-rank talisman—those two fruits are mine!"

"No…"

"Those broken shoes on your feet aren't bad either—from now on, they're mine too!"

The ninth prince was faster than He Pingsheng!

The distance between them shrank rapidly.

Soon, it was only dozens of zhang away.

"Hehehe…" The ninth prince laughed. "Kid, kneel down and beg me now—I might spare your life!"

"Otherwise, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"Shut up!" He Pingsheng, still running ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around, his magic treasure flashing in his hand.

Boom…

The Nine Radiance Dragon-Slaying Banner expanded to thirty meters, unleashing overwhelming lightning to strike first at the charging ninth prince.

"Child's play!"

Seeing He Pingsheng dare to stop and attack, the ninth prince didn't hesitate—he swung his silver divine spear again.

Same spear-type divine weapon, same lightning-infused attack.

The two lightning strikes collided violently.

Then, He Pingsheng's lightning swiftly devoured the other's, dissolving it completely before surging toward the ninth prince.

"Damn it…"

The ninth prince cursed, but his speed was real—he dodged before the lightning reached him.

He Pingsheng frowned: This guy's slippery—hard to deal with.

Next instant, he waved his hand, launching countless ice spikes.

Technique: Poisonous Ice Spike Art.

Yet after releasing all one hundred eight ice spikes, the ninth prince dodged again.

Huh…

Interesting!

This kid's stronger than he looks.

Pfft…

The ninth prince didn't expect it—just as he evaded the ice spikes, thorny vines erupted from the cliffside, wrapping him tight.

The emerald vines even bloomed with several flowers.

The moment the flowers opened, several poison thorns shot out and pierced his thigh.