Chapter 567: Battle of the Celestial Prides, Regardless of Life or Death, No Grudges

The night at Demon Suppression Pass was chilly and grim.

A thick, inky blackness blanketed the sky. From the distance, the wind from the Mingqiu Desert would occasionally carry over a desolate wail, a sound that flickered in the hearts of men like the distant starlight.

There didn’t appear to be many cultivators guarding the city walls. This was only because most of them were hidden away at the nodes of the Array, giving Demon Suppression Pass the appearance of being loosely defended.

Atop the city wall, a few Captains were chatting in low voices, their tones relaxed and carefree.

One of them, a burly, dark-faced man, even stretched comfortably and sighed, “This is nice! Guarding the South City Gate is nothing like guarding the North City Gate. The North Gate never gets a moment’s peace, but over here, we’re practically bored to tears! Heh!”

Another Captain, this one with a scar across his face, said, “Tell me about it. But these good days won’t last much longer for us. In three days, our camp is rotating out of the pass again. The Demon Race is getting crazier and crazier these days. Once we’re out there… hah, who knows if we’ll even make it back?”

The dark-faced man adopted a mysterious air. “Old Zhong, did you know that Xing Lan Fairy, number ten on the Celestial Pride List, is right here in Demon Suppression Pass?”

The scar-faced Captain scoffed. “How could I not know? I also know she was received by Grand General Guo! It happened this afternoon. The news spread through the entire camp before our shift even started!”

But the dark-faced man leaned in close to the scar-faced Captain and whispered, “But did you know that after Xing Lan Fairy treated his hidden injuries, Grand General Guo’s personal guard, Commander Liu, had a breakthrough?”

“What?” The scar-faced Captain seemed a bit dazed. “A breakthrough? What kind of breakthrough?”

“From the Acupoint Fusion Realm to the Grandmaster Realm! Demon Suppression Pass is about to get another Martial Arts Grandmaster!” the dark-faced man said excitedly. “I’m not asking for much now. I just hope Xing Lan Fairy will set up a practice at Willow Leaf Hall. If she does, I’d give up my entire fortune just to have the Fairy treat me once…”

The dark-faced man was actually exaggerating. The news he’d heard was a garbled rumor that had been passed from person to person.

Commander Liu was still in seclusion. How could a breakthrough be that easy?

But his words were too inspiring. The scar-faced Captain swallowed hard, growing excited himself. “Commander Liu… he broke through to the Grandmaster Realm? Is that true? No, that can’t be right. If Commander Liu really broke through, how could the Xun Wind Camp not announce it to the entire army and celebrate? I… I… Still, if Xing Lan Fairy does set up a practice, I’d also be willing…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a dragon’s roar that seemed to pierce the heavens and shake the earth suddenly echoed from the distant, inky clouds.

Immediately after, the southern sky lit up.

Beneath the ink-black canopy of the sky, before the dragon’s body could be seen, a storm cloud wrapped in wind and rain, glowing with a brilliant light, shot across the heavens.

After the dragon’s roar, a clear, high-pitched voice of a young man rang out. It was the great dragon, speaking in the human tongue. “Is Xing Lan of the Human Race present? I am Ao Feng of the Dragon Race. I have rushed to Demon Suppression Pass tonight to issue you a Celestial Pride challenge! Let heaven, earth, and all living things be our witness. A Celestial Pride battle is fair and just, and the ten thousand races must not interfere. This is a personal challenge. Once a victor is decided, there will be no grudges, regardless of life or death. Xing Lan, to battle!”

BOOM!

A flash of lightning split the sky. The great dragon poked its head out from the storm clouds. Its horned antlers were held high and its whiskers fluttered in the wind. Its body was now only a few hundred yards from Demon Suppression Pass.

This was an extremely dangerous distance!

If Ao Feng hadn’t announced his name and purpose while still far away, the soldiers guarding Demon Suppression Pass would have undoubtedly launched an attack to subdue him by now.

But even though they hadn’t attacked rashly, Ao Feng’s arrival still made all the soldiers on the wall tense and agitated.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

One after another, torches flared to life atop the wall, forming a long dragon of fire that burned half the sky above the magnificent city red.

The faint, dense sound of footsteps—TAP. TAP. TAP.—rang out from an unknown location.

Only a single, slender, and graceful figure, wrapped in a scarlet cloak and walking with a distinctly rhythmic gait, appeared on the city wall.

The Captains who had been chatting leisurely moments before tensed and straightened their backs, hurriedly calling out, “General Wen!”

The newcomer was none other than the Red Cavalry General of the Xun Wind Camp, Wen Tingyu.

Wen Tingyu rested one hand on the hilt of the Treasure Sword at her waist. With her other hand, she pushed off a battlement, her long, slender body leaping up to sit gracefully atop a protruding section of the wall.

“Xing Lan Fairy is currently in seclusion, little dragon,” she said. “If you are truly sincere in your challenge, you’ll have to wait for her. Can you manage that?”

Wen Tingyu let out a crisp, light laugh. Perched atop the wall hundreds of feet in the air, her legs swung gently. Her relaxed posture radiated an extraordinary calm, as if the sky itself could fall without startling her.

Her demeanor managed to wash away some of the tension in the air.

The great dragon circling in the air scoffed. “I do not fear waiting. I only fear that the Human Race’s Celestial Pride is afraid to fight. Or perhaps the seniors of Demon Suppression Pass treasure their own and will forbid Xing Lan from battle!”

Whoa!

This little dragon knew how to use goading tactics.

Wen Tingyu chuckled humorlessly. “Don’t be so arrogant, little dragon. Since you wish to wait, then wait you shall!”

Ao Feng’s youthful voice was full of spirit. “Of course I’ll wait! And I ask that the seniors of Demon Suppression Pass not stop this lord from issuing his call to battle. Xing Lan, come and fight!”

Xing Lan, come and fight!

—Come and fight!

—Come and fight!

The dragon’s roars echoed across the sky, their long, trailing notes piercing the night’s darkness.

At this very moment, who in Demon Suppression Pass could not hear this sound?

And it wasn’t just the soldiers of the West Wind Army inside Demon Suppression Pass who heard it. Beyond the walls, humans and demons warring in the wastes took notice. Those nearby heard the roars firsthand; those farther away received news via transmission…

A battle between Celestial Prides was an event watched by the entire world.

If Xing Lan didn’t accept the challenge, the shame would be heard all the way back in the Demon Race’s homeland.

On the city wall, the defending soldiers, both in plain sight and in hiding, all tightened their grip on their weapons. A shared feeling of indignation churned within them, a frustration that they were desperate to vent.

The dark-faced Captain and the scar-faced Captain, who had been discussing Xing Lan earlier, had retreated to the side, but they were now tense and anxious.

They communicated secretly via voice transmission, fuming. “This Ao Feng is shameless!” the scar-faced Captain transmitted. “Xing Lan Fairy is a Medical Cultivator, while he has the bloodline of a True Dragon. How can he have the nerve to challenge a Medical Cultivator?”

“Old Zhong, we have to trust Xing Lan Fairy,” the dark-faced Captain replied. “After all, she’s ranked tenth, and this little dragon is eleventh. The Celestial Pride List’s rankings can’t be wrong, can they?”

“Absolutely, absolutely! You’re right!” Old Zhong agreed.

Despite their words, their grips on their weapons only tightened. Their Qi Blood surged and their bodies tensed, waiting only for the order from above to gather their strength and drive this arrogant dragon from Demon Suppression Pass!

Only Wen Tingyu, still sitting on the battlement, snorted softly, her composure unruffled.

But no one knew that hidden in her sleeves, the hands clutching her Identity Token were trembling uncontrollably with rage.

On her Identity Token, messages were being transmitted silently. Aided by Demon Suppression Pass’s Heaven and Earth Net Protection Array, the Identity Token’s transmission speed was nearly the speed of light.

Wen Tingyu was asking her fellow generals in the Xun Wind Camp: “Has Xing Lan Fairy arrived? Is she coming? Did the Grand General say anything about stopping her?”