Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Xiao Chen walked over with great strides and sat in the middle. Then, he picked up the teacup with both hands and said indifferently, “Sorry, Heavenly Star Island has just been through a time of difficulty and does not have anything good to entertain everyone with. Let’s be direct. State your purpose in coming here.”

This gesture stunned the many old men sitting in chairs on the two sides. Typically, when the host picked up the teacup with both hands, it meant that they were sending off the guests.

Furthermore, based on Xiao Chen’s words, it was clear he did not have any patience for this game of cordiality and did not intend to play along.

The vast empty hall immediately fell silent.

Lan Shaobai laughed to himself. This was Xiao Chen, indeed. Knowing that these people did not come with good intentions, he did not put on any pretense and went straight to the point, acting in a surprising way.

“Haha! Unexpectedly, at such a young age, the Azure Dragon King already has such a temper. What do you mean by this? Sending off the guest by presenting tea?” a gray-robed old man on the right side, farthest from Xiao Chen, asked unsmilingly.

Lan Shaobai sent a voice projection. This is the Fire Beacon Sect’s Vice Sect Master, Qian Zongchao. He is a rather incredible person. His palm strikes are very powerful and are very famous in our sea region.

Xiao Chen understood that, but he still did not bother himself with this person. He continued indifferently, “Heavenly Star Island has just weathered some difficult times, but we managed to resolve the conflict and took back all our satellite islands. I’m very clear about what you are here for. Since you are not willing to say it, I will say it for you.

“No doubt you are here to test us, to see whether I, Xiao Chen, am capable of holding on to so much land, to see if you have any opportunities to gain any benefits for yourselves.”

Everyone’s expressions froze. Now that Xiao Chen stated their intentions, they felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Only the Fire Beacon Sect’s Vice Sect Master, Qian Zongchao, laughed loudly and said, “Azure Dragon King is joking. We, the Fire Beacon Sect, are here to talk about cooperating.”

Xiao Chen asked with a cold smile, “What cooperation?”

“Naturally, a cooperation that both sides can benefit from. I believe you will need a large amount of resources to rebuild the destroyed Heavenly Star City. I am here on behalf of the Fire Beacon Sect to send money to the Azure Dragon King.”

Right after Qian Zongchao spoke, he flung out his hand, and a pile of Black Astral Coins flew out from his spatial ring. The combined glow of the coins looked dazzling. There should be about five million Black Astral Coins in that pile.

“There are five million Black Astral Coins here. Our Fire Beacon Sect would like to buy Black Flame Island from the Azure Dragon King,” Qian Zongchao said casually.

Trying to buy Black Flame Island for five million Black Astral Coins was simply daylight robbery.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Seeing Qian Zongchao express his intentions, the other eight old men all made their moves as well. Piles of Black Astral Coins appeared in the hall, a total of forty-five million Black Astral Coins.

These people really had an extraordinary appetite. Aside from the main island, they intended to take over most of Xiao Chen’s conferred land.

Forty-five million Black Astral Coins was a considerable sum. A peak Consummation quasi-Emperor would have only that much. It was even likely that a weak Rank 8 sect would not have such wealth.

It would be difficult for an ordinary outstanding talent to remain calm in the face of such wealth. This would be sufficient to overwhelm them.

However, who was Xiao Chen? He had even seen one billion Black Astral Coins in the Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove. This small amount was like a drizzle compared to a storm.

These people wanted to bully Xiao Chen with money, to flabbergast him in order to take over the satellite islands of his conferred land. This was an excellent tactic. Even if the Martial God Palace investigated, they could deny any fault, saying that they bought it with money. At that time, the Martial God Palace could only blame Xiao Chen for incompetence.

However, trying to throw wealth about in front of Xiao Chen was like children playing house—a hilarious sight.

Derision flashed in Qian Zongchao’s eyes. This is just a young brat, and he wants to challenge our group of experienced people. How naive!

Qian Zongchao put down his teacup and said in an unhurried manner, “I believe the Azure Dragon King has not seen so much money before? With this much money, it is more than sufficient for you to rebuild Heavenly Star City three times.”

When Xiao Chen heard this, he could not help laughing. Trying to compete with money, what else could be funnier than this?

Money flowed in like a river and trickled out. Even before obtaining the resources in the Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove, Xiao Chen already possessed even more Black Astral Coins than what was before him now.

Furthermore, he already obtained all the resources of the Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove. The wealth and accumulations of Heavenly Star Island now equaled that of a peak Rank 9 sect.

If that King Spirit Vein were included, Heavenly Star Island could even rival a Holy Land.

“What are you laughing at?!” Qian Zongchao felt rage for some reason at Xiao Chen’s mocking laugh.

Xiao Chen replied indifferently, “I was laughing at you for not being embarrassed to speak such bold words. With just five million Black Astral Coins, you dare to declare arrogantly that you want to buy Black Flame Island? You say that I have not seen such an amount before, but you probably do not know what it really means to be rich!”

“How arrogant! How much Black Astral Coins can you possibly take out, you—”

Before Qian Zongchao could finish speaking, he gaped, rendered speechless, horror showing in his eyes.

This was because Xiao Chen had waved his hand, and piles of Black Astral Coins appeared. There was a total of nine piles, each pile at least double what each of the nine Rank 9 sect Vice Sect Masters had taken out.

Xiao Chen alone took out over ninety million Black Astral Coins.

“If money can settle everything, then I want to use this ninety million Black Astral Coins to buy your entire Fire Beacon Sect. Do you agree?!” Xiao Chen shouted as he stood up. Then, an overwhelming aura pressed down on Qian Zongchao.

The nine old men felt stifled, unable to think clearly for a while, somewhat losing control of themselves.

Originally, these Vice Sect Masters planned to use this considerable sum of Black Astral Coins to overwhelm Xiao Chen’s will. Who could have imagined that he would turn things around and shock them instead? The hall fell quiet. Xiao Chen now held the advantage in momentum.

Qian Zongchao’s complexion alternated between red and green as he sat there feeling very sullen and stifled. He did not know how to reply to Xiao Chen’s words.

“Damn it! No matter what you say, you have to sell Black Flame Island to my Fire Beacon Sect, whether you are willing or not.”

Unable to think of anything else to say, Qian Zongchao abandoned all pretense of cordiality.

Xiao Chen smiled faintly, turning even calmer. Then, he slowly walked down and asked calmly, “What’s wrong? You want to buy it forcibly?”

Qian Zongchao caught himself, as he remembered his sect master’s instruction: do not shed the pretense of cordiality, at least not so openly. They could not leave behind any pretext for gossip.

After calming down, he replied coldly, “I do not dare. Our Fire Beacon Sect still has some honor. We will not do things like forcibly buying things. I’ve long heard of the Azure Dragon King’s strength and elegance, that you managed to defeat all the outstanding talents in the Four Seas Hero Gathering with one move each. Do you dare to make a bet with this Qian?”

Xiao Chen asked indifferently, “What do you want to make a bet on?”

Qian Zongchao replied coldly, “During the Hero Gathering, you defeated all the outstanding talents with one move each. I will make a bet with one move as well. We will only compete with one move, and whoever ends up at a disadvantage is the loser. If you lose, you have to sell Black Flame Island to me and not say that it is our Fire Beacon Sect forcibly buying it. If I lose, I will admit my mistakes and make amends. The Fire Beacon Sect will promise to not seek any trouble for Heavenly Star Island.”

The moment these words were said, they set the place abuzz. Xiao Chen recently advanced to Great Perfection quasi-Emperor. However, Qian Zongchao had been at the peak of Great Perfection quasi-Emperor for more than a hundred years already.

Furthermore, Qian Zongchao was famous for his palm strikes in the nearby sea regions.

Qian Zongchao’s palm strike brought out a boundless sea of fire, producing an incredibly horrifying, explosive power. He once even smashed a Small Perfection quasi-Emperor to death with one palm strike.

“Azure Dragon King, do you dare to agree or not?!”

Seeing that Xiao Chen was only a newly advanced Great Perfection quasi-Emperor, Qian Zongchao was very confident. So he took a step forward and acted smugly.

Lan Shaobai quickly warned Xiao Chen, “Xiao Chen, don’t fall for his trick. The Cultivation Techniques he cultivates and Martial Techniques he practices, as well as his killing moves, are all explosive types. Normally, he quickly flees if he cannot heavily injure his opponent with just one palm strike.”

He had a clear understanding of Qian Zongchao’s information, so he advised Xiao Chen not to be rash.

Xiao Chen understood what Lan Shaobai meant. Some people who were stuck at a certain stage, unable to improve further, would resort to using other means to try and strengthen their combat prowess.

This Qian Zongchao before Xiao Chen was one such person. He focused all his attention on improving his explosive strength.

This dare was the idea that Qian Zongchao came up with after failing to pressure Xiao Chen with money and humiliating himself, hoping to redeem himself with this.

If Xiao Chen did not agree, he would be a coward. Then, Qian Zongchao could spread this everywhere and even keep coming back to make trouble for him.

If Xiao Chen agreed, that he would have fallen for Qian Zongchao’s trick. No matter what, Qian Zongchao would not lose out.

Xiao Chen raised his hand and stopped Lan Shaobai from saying anything more. With so many Vice Sect Masters present, it would be best to settle things here. If he could display enough strength to shock the surrounding factions into not acting rashly, accepting the challenge would be extremely beneficial to Heavenly Star Island.

Even though he knew that the other party was trying to spur him into action with negative remarks, he still needed to go along.

The most important thing was that Xiao Chen did not fear to compete in explosive power. A fair fight would end up getting dragged out.

Given the vastness of Qian Zongchao’s cultivation, such a fight would be disadvantageous to Xiao Chen, making it even more difficult for him to defeat the other party. Xiao Chen would also end up paying a higher price.

Competing with just one move suited Xiao Chen’s intentions.

Qian Zongchao did not know that he just sealed his own fate. He mocked, “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me that you, the Azure Dragon King, are afraid of an old man like me?”

“I agree,” Xiao Chen said calmly while smiling faintly and staring at Qian Zongchao. Since Qian Zongchao wanted to humiliate himself, then Xiao Chen would grant his wish.

Discussions instantly broke out in the hall. The other eight old men were all stunned. Despite knowing about Qian Zongchao and his cultivation, Xiao Chen still chose to agree.

The others withdrew to the sides and cleared out the Black Astral Coins to open up some space. There were restrictions in the hall that allowed it to endure a battle between Martial Emperors, as long as the fight did not last too long. They could handle one exchange of moves.

Lan Shaobai knew that no advice would stop Xiao Chen at this point. So he sighed and moved to the back as well.

“Hehe! You are truly worthy of the name Azure Dragon King. Unfortunately, you are too young. Let me tell you today that ginger is spicier when it is old!”

The moment Qian Zongchao spoke, he raised his leg and stepped forward. Without making any other movements, he arrived before Xiao Chen in a heartbeat and threw a palm strike.

The instant Qian Zongchao attacked, an aura of a boundless sea of fire erupted.