Chapter 554 - Inner and Outer Focus

Just a while ago, Cultivation Jiang had been looking down on Duan Qing in an imperious manner.

In just the blink of an eye, Duan Qing had immediately sent her figure flying like an arrow with just a single move.

Wasn’t...the twist too quick?

“Great job, Duan Qing!”

The Third Prince recovered from his shock and wore an astounded look.

He had definitely found the right person!

Duan Qing had given him too many surprises!

The crowd collected their thoughts. Their gazes toward Qin Nan were no longer indifferent, but filled with respect.

“Gasp! Strong, this Duan Qing is too strong…”

“I’m not sure if an ordinary third-layer Martial Highness could defend against that attack.”

“Third Brother is going to rise.”

The princes discussed among themselves while looking at the Third Prince with a hint of jealousy.

They all knew about Duan Qing when his name had become famous, but they had chosen not to approach him as they were concerned about Di Fengyun. However, from Duan Qing’s performance, it was highly possible that he would become the next Di Fengyun.

If that was the case, the Third Prince would greatly benefit from it.

“Eldest Brother,” The Third Prince switched his focus onto the First Prince’s figure after recovering from the initial shock and said in a calm tone, “We just agreed on a bet, thus shouldn’t you be handing over the Five-Flowered G.o.dly Brew now?”

The First Prince’s figure shuddered as he collected his thoughts. His eyes were filled with unwillingness and anger.

He had never expected that Cultivator Jiang would end up losing to Duan Qing!

“I…” The First Prince opened his mouth and clenched his teeth, before saying with a nod, “Here is the Five-Flowered G.o.dly Brew, it’s yours now.”

He flicked his finger and fired a storage bag into the Third Prince’s hand.

“It’s getting late. I will be excusing myself!”

The First Prince was aware of the crowd’s gaze, and could feel his face burning. He tried his best to act calm and proceeded toward the exit following a wave of his hand. As he arrived before the pile of rocks, he halted his footsteps and harrumphed, before leaving the place without caring about the Death Emperor who was buried inside the pile.

“Puff puff puff——”

The Death Emperor crawled out from the pile and spat out mouthfuls of dust. She instantly saw the First Prince’s back as he left the hall, causing her to feel exceedingly troubled.

“Duan Qing!”

The Death Emperor uttered a roar and rose from the ground. Her eyes were filled with an icy look.

She was furious! Extremely furious!

This a.s.shole dared to execute such a powerful forbidden technique in a mere Wine Contest, forcing her to consume her life force! Despite that, she still lost the battle! It would no doubt serve as a great damage to her reputation!

“What is it? Is Cultivator Jiang not happy with the outcome and still wants the contest to continue? How surprised I am to know that Cultivator Jiang is so compet.i.tive. I happen to know some forbidden techniques and normally, I wouldn’t show them to others easily. However, I’m touched that Cultivator Jiang is being so pa.s.sionate. I’m more than happy to show you all of them today.” Qin Nan said and grabbed another cup with his hand. A ferocious aura was emitted from his body.

“You——”

The Death Emperor almost spat out blood from her mouth.

Who the h.e.l.l wanted to have a Wine Contest against you!

She would need a period of at least three months and plenty of elixirs to recover from the previous round!

“You——we shall see!”

Following this, the Death Emperor withheld the sense of humiliation and left the place immediately. She was afraid that this maniac Duan Qing would start something crazy once again.

Qin Nan felt pleasant after witnessing her defeat, despite a slight hint of regret.

As it was only a Wine Contest, he had no chance of executing his strongest blow. Otherwise, he would make sure to eliminate the Death Emperor today.

That being said, the Death Emperor would never guess that this Duan Qing was actually Qin Nan’s disguise, who was targeting her specifically. Otherwise, she would definitely have spat out mouthfuls of blood on the spot.

Meanwhile, a series of synchronized footsteps could be heard as shadowy figures surrounded the Talent-Gathering Hall.

It went without saying that the royal army had been startled by the huge explosion.

“Everyone, I believe that marks the end of the gathering. Let’s call it a day, shall we?”

The Third Prince stood in the middle of the crowd as he spoke. The princes nodded in agreement. At that instant, the Third Prince had vaguely become the leader among them, speaking with authority.

“Do you believe me now?” Longhu and the Ninth Prince, Song Yu, were the first ones to take their leave. Longhu blurted out after taking a few steps, whose voice could be heard by the other princes.

Even though Song Yu was slightly embarra.s.sed, he was quite relieved. Fortunately, Longhu had handled it well. Otherwise, they would be the ones that had been put to shame.

Qin Nan left with the Third Prince, who could not stop laughing along the journey, an indication of how pleasant he was feeling.

“Third Prince, I’ve got a request.” Qin Nan came to a halt and asked suddenly, “Is it alright if I take the Five-Flowered G.o.dly Brew?”

“Duan Qing, you’re a fan of wines too?” The Third Prince was surprised.

“Not really.” A smile appeared on Qin Nan’s face. He was not a fan himself, but Princess Miao Miao really loved them. This Five-Flowered G.o.dly Brew seemed to be a great wine. She would stop scolding him after he gifted it to her, right?

Upon having this thought, Qin Nan was slightly confused. The Princess could use the Illusionary Mirror to contact him once every month despite the distance between them. However, it had been a few months since she had last contacted him. What was she currently up to?

“I guess I’ll not ask any further.” The Third Prince waved his hand and threw a storage bag toward Qin Nan, before he said with a smile, “It’s all thanks to your contribution today, so you should take both the Five-Flowered G.o.dly Brew and the Heart-Uniting Liquid. These are great wines, make sure you treat them preciously.”

The Third Prince could not help but emphasize at the end.

“Heart-Uniting Liquid?”

Qin Nan was startled. He had only been asking for one of the wines but the Third Prince had gifted him both of them. He was about to say something when he saw the Third Prince shaking his head at him, thus he got rid of the thought and kept the storage bag in his chest pocket.

“This is the difference between him and other people; the Death Emperor who was recruited by the First Prince was defeated in the contest, and the First Prince did not even stop to pull him up. Meanwhile, I only had a small victory, but the Third Prince did not hesitate to gift me the wines even though he treated them preciously. His personality is impressive…” Qin Nan mumbled to himself.

Among all the princes, only the Third Prince had dared to find him and gifted him a priceless copper piece during their first encounter.

Qin Nan could not help but admit that the Third Prince did have the behavior of a true emperor.

When they arrived at the Third Prince’s residence, Uncle Lin brought his fists together and expressed his grat.i.tude in a sincere manner. Following this, the Third Prince immediately said, “Duan Qing, I believe that many will know what happened at the gathering due to the scene we made. It’s only five days until the trial of the Dragon Abyss Mystical Ground. We should be careful until then.”

The Third Prince had always acted behind the scenes, and he had finally emerged to the surface and become the limelight. Therefore, the First Prince, the Second Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the other princes would surely make their moves and treat the Third Prince seriously from now onward, striking him from different directions.

In addition to the Third Prince, they would be targeting Qin Nan too.

It was because Qin Nan’s current ident.i.ty—which was somehow related to Di Fengyun—was extremely sensitive in the eyes of the public.

Besides, Qin Nan had also revealed his strength, thus their opponents would most likely alter their tactics in order to win the trial at the Dragon Abyss Mystical Ground.

“Five days left? I shall cultivate in seclusion within this period to further improve my cultivation.”

Qin Nan’s eyes flickered as he spoke.

Many geniuses including the Death Emperor would be taking part in the trial of the Dragon Abyss Mystical Ground. Therefore, he had to improve his strength and try his best to take a hold of the rare opportunity to eliminate the Death Emperor during the trial.

“If you’re planning to cultivate, take my royal badge. You can freely enter any cultivation ground in White Tiger City with it.” The Third Prince mumbled and handed Qin Nan a golden dragon badge.

“Any cultivation ground?” Qin Nan received the badge with awe.

“In our White Tiger City, there are many cultivation grounds established with magical formations. Take a look at this scroll. It contains the information about those places…” The Third Prince threw a scroll into Qin Nan’s hand and said with a smile.

“I see.”

Qin Nan caught the scroll and nodded his head. These cultivation grounds were most likely similar to the Aquamarine Chamber of the Ninth City.

“Let’s take a look.”

Qin Nan opened the scroll and saw a floating pattern, which clearly described the top five cultivation grounds of White Tiger City.

“Water Curtain Cave, built with a formidable water-type formation. It’s split into the basic, intermediate, advanced, and superior rooms. The cost to cultivate in a basic room for a day is a few hundred Primary Stones…”

“Fiery Mirage PaG.o.da, established with a fire-type formation. It’s split into the basic, intermediate, advanced, and superior rooms. Due to the lack of fire-type cultivation grounds, the cost to cultivate in a basic room for a day is a thousand Primary Stones…”

Qin Nan continued to read the information, whose eyes flickered as he reached the end.

This one sounds quite interesting.

“I’ll excuse myself then.”

Qin Nan put the scroll aside. With the royal badge, he could cultivate for free for a month without the need to pay any Primary Stones.

The Third Prince raised his head and gave Qin Nan a sharp look, who immediately learned of his intention, causing his eyes to be filled with battle intent.

The Third Prince would focus on the outer aspects by dealing with his opponents using his authority.

Qin Nan would focus on the inner aspects by improving his cultivation in order to come first in the trial of the Dragon Abyss Mystical Ground!

They would both advance while focusing on their respective parts and defeat all enemies they stumbled into!