[Ding! Xiao Qingluan's favorability +10]
Chen Ye was stunned when he heard the prompt.
Good heavens.
At this rate, Xiao Qingluan's favorability would be maxed out in a few days. This girl was so easily moved.
What empress? She was just a little girl starved for affection.
Chen Ye looked at Xiao Qingluan, feeling a wave of emotion.
He gently patted her head again.
"You're my junior sister. If I'm not good to you, who else would I be good to?"
"Senior Brother, don't worry. When I become strong in the future, I will never let anyone bully you. Whatever you want, I will give it to you!"
Xiao Qingluan took a deep breath and declared solemnly.
This was a promise from an empress!
Chen Ye blinked, then smiled. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you to become stronger!"
The stronger you become, the stronger I become!
Cultivate hard, my dear Junior Sister!
After finishing the spirit soup, Xiao Qingluan immediately resumed her cultivation.
She worked with a desperate fervor.
Time flew, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
In just half a month, Xiao Qingluan had soared directly to the ninth level of the True Qi realm, just one step away from forming her Golden Core!
Although she had yet to make the final breakthrough, Xiao Qingluan was filled with confidence for the upcoming battle. "Even though I haven't reached the Golden Core realm, I possess the Phoenix Holy Body. Fighting across a realm is not a problem at all!"
Soon, Chen Ye brought Xiao Qingluan to the Azure Cloud Arena.
Today was the day of the wagered battle. Many disciples had heard about it and were intensely curious, so they had all gathered to watch.
But none of them believed Xiao Qingluan could win.
"It's only been half a month, and she wants to challenge a Golden Core master? That's basically impossible!" a young man in the crowd said dismissively.
It was Zhang Bai from Soaring Sword Peak. His injuries had long since healed. He looked at Chen Ye and sneered, "Chen Ye, I'll be waiting for you on Soaring Sword Peak to kowtow and apologize to me!"
He also knew the terms of the bet. Wang Zheng stood beside him, staring daggers at Chen Ye. "I'm waiting for you too!"
Chen Ye let out a lazy yawn.
"Then you'll probably be waiting for the rest of your life."
"Hmph, do you really think that little girl can compare to Senior Brother Luo? Stop dreaming!" Zhang Bai snorted.
Chen Ye didn't bother arguing.
The facts would speak for themselves.
After a moment, two figures descended from the sky. It was Luo Tian and Luo Ziyun.
Luo Ziyun landed lightly on the arena stage, his hand resting on his sword. He stared down at Xiao Qingluan. "Little girl, come on up. I'll try to be gentle."
With a single leap, Xiao Qingluan was on the stage.
She looked at Luo Ziyun, her voice as cool as ice. "The outcome is not yet decided!"
"Oh? Come, let me see just how much progress you've made in half a month!" Luo Ziyun taunted.
Xiao Qingluan didn't waste words. She released the full fluctuation of her cultivation.
Ninth level of True Qi!
Luo Ziyun's pupils shrank. Half a month ago, she was at the second or third level of True Qi. Now, she was at the ninth?!
How was this possible?
He was genuinely shocked, unable to suppress a gasp.
From the sidelines, Luo Tian's eyes also flashed with surprise. "This girl is indeed extraordinary!"
Xiao Qingluan attacked. She used no weapon, striking with both palms. Her movements were like flowing water, yet each layer of force was astonishingly powerful.
"This is a top-grade martial art, the Flowing Cloud Palm!" Luo Ziyun recognized the technique.
Martial arts were divided into low, medium, high, extreme, supreme, and saintly methods. Top-grade arts were already the best that most cultivators could ever hope to access. The Flowing Cloud Palm was one of the dozens of top-grade martial arts in the Azure Cloud Sect's collection.
"Flowing Cloud Palm... I know it too!"
Luo Ziyun also executed the same technique. As a water-attribute art, it was perfectly suited for his Water Treasure Body. The moment he moved, water vapor swirled around him, and the air seemed to ripple like surging waves.
Bang!
The two palms collided. Xiao Qingluan was sent stumbling back several steps!
Luo Ziyun smiled smugly. "I admit, your progress is amazing. But you still haven't reached the Golden Core realm!"
"The winner of this battle will be me!"
He laughed loudly as a mist enveloped his body. He slowly drew the longsword from his waist, and instantly, streams of sword qi poured from its tip.
"Water Treasure Body, activate!" His aura surged, and the water vapor around him thickened. "Little girl, show me your physique!"
Xiao Qingluan knew her realm was lower. If she wanted to win, she had to rely on her superior constitution.
She no longer hesitated.
"You want to see my physique... I will grant your wish!"
As her words fell, a crimson flame erupted from her body. The air around the stage became scorching hot, instantly evaporating all the water vapor.
Behind her, a magnificent phoenix wreathed in ruby-red flames rose into the sky!
A sharp, clear cry echoed across the heavens!
For a hundred miles in every direction, countless birds shrieked and began flying towards the arena. It was the cry of the phoenix, and all birds were flocking to pay homage!
It wasn't just the birds.
Every cultivator present felt their bodies tremble. Their own physiques were instinctively... afraid!
This was the suppression of a Holy Body! It was the absolute pressure of a superior being over an inferior one!
Across the Azure Cloud Sect, the elders sensed the fluctuations of the Phoenix Holy Body and stared in the direction of the arena, their hearts pounding with shock.
"The resonance of all bodies! This... this is the birth of a Holy Body!"
"That phoenix vision... it's the legendary Phoenix Holy Body!"
"My Azure Cloud Sect... has produced a Holy Body?!"
"Who is it?!"
The elders could no longer remain seated. Even the Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect shot up from his throne, his composure shattered. They all flew towards Xiao Qingluan's location.
And on the arena stage, Luo Ziyun was already paralyzed with shock.
So terrifying!
In the face of the Holy Body, his Water Treasure Body was completely suppressed, shaking uncontrollably. Even though his cultivation was higher, it was useless. He was only one major realm higher. The opponent's Phoenix Holy Body was two entire tiers above his Precious Body!
After a Precious Body was a Royal Body!
After a Royal Body was a Holy Body!
A Holy Body! Forget the Azure Cloud Sect, such a being was a peerless rarity across the entire Myriad Dao Continent! His opponent was actually a Holy Body?!
Luo Ziyun wanted to cry but had no tears.
Luo Tian was thunderstruck. Then he glanced at the perfectly calm Chen Ye and had a sudden realization. "No wonder he was so confident..."
A Holy Body. If it were him, he too would have had the confidence to win this bet.
He knew Luo Ziyun had already lost. The moment Xiao Qingluan revealed her Phoenix Holy Body... the match was over.
On the stage, Xiao Qingluan's body blazed with phoenix fire. She threw a casual punch. The flames coalesced into a fiery fist and shot towards Luo Ziyun.
With almost no power to resist, he was blasted off the stage!
A True Qi cultivator versus a Golden Core master!
Xiao Qingluan had defeated the strong with the weak! And it was a crushing victory!
This was the terrifying power of a Holy Body!
Xiao Qingluan turned and smiled at Chen Ye, who stood below the stage.
"Senior Brother, I won!"
Chen Ye gave a slight nod. "Well done."
He never had any doubt that she would win.
At that moment.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One after another, powerful figures flew in from afar, their gazes fixed on Xiao Qingluan with burning intensity.
"What a domineering aura! It is indeed the Phoenix Holy Body!"
"Even a fire-attribute Royal Body cannot compare to this pressure! The Phoenix Holy Body also possesses a high-level life attribute! Legend says the phoenix can be reborn from ashes! This girl's future is limitless!"
"But this girl looks unfamiliar."
"Which peak's disciple is this?" the leading elder asked, his eyes sweeping over the crowd.
Chen Ye calmly stepped forward. "Reporting to the elders, she is my junior sister, a disciple of Jade Bamboo Peak!"
A disciple of Jade Bamboo Peak?!
Several elders were visibly stunned.
"How in the world did Shen Ziling find such a disciple?"