Chapter 638: Chapter 639 Chop Her Up
Once these words were spoken, the woman’s complexion changed. As the personal maidservant to the Tortoise Prime Minister, she had never been spoken to with such disrespect. It was a great humiliation.

“Shut up, you lowly wretch! How dare you compete with my young master?”

“My young master could crush you with just one finger!”

“The husband of Princess Xue’er will definitely be my young master!”

A cold and murderous light flickered in the woman’s eyes.

Li Xiaobai seemed completely unaware of the woman’s hostility and intent to kill, and continued to ask, “Did the Old Dragon King mention how the competition is to be conducted? Surely it’s not going to be decided in the ring, is it?”

“Hehe, a piece of trash like you in the ring would only be crushed by my young master. The king pities you, so this test won’t consider cultivation level; it focuses on testing one’s nature through formations. Furthermore, all the court officials, both civil and military, will be watching. How about that, are you scared?”

The woman said with some pride. In her view, not including the test of cultivation level was the Old Dragon King’s protection for this human cultivator, to prevent a quick defeat in the ring.

“One last question, what cultivation level is your young master?”

“He’s at the fifth layer of the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. For you, that’s probably a realm as unreachable as the tales of fantasy, especially since you humans always overestimate yourselves, thinking that the most talented cultivator today is only in the fourth layer of the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. My Sea Clan’s prodigies are all elite; they can’t be compared with the human race.”

The woman sneered.

“Hm, now I know. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Li Xiaobai nodded, lifted his head to look at the woman in front of him, and thought to himself that she was quite beautiful, a pity she was a shrew.

“Hm?”

“If you’re done, then you can leave.”

The woman looked puzzled, not understanding why the other party would say such things.

“Since you’ve got nothing more to say, you can be on your way now.”

“Dao Zu, take this woman away and chop her into one hundred and eight pieces, not one piece more, not one piece less!”

Li Xiaobai said indifferently, waving his hand.

Dao Zu, the guard at the door, had been eager for action. In his heart, Li Xiaobai was a god-like figure. Now that his master was being rudely insulted by a servant, this was an excellent opportunity to show his loyalty and not one to miss.

Without waiting for the woman to speak, and amid her terrified gaze, he grabbed her by the throat and dragged her out of the cave dwelling.

“No… You can’t do this to me!”

“Do you know who I am?”

“I am the personal maidservant to the Tortoise Prime Minister. It’s not too late to stop now!”

“No no no… I was wrong, please don’t kill me…”

“Someone save me…”

The woman’s hysterical screams came from outside the door, piercing to the ear, but soon she fell silent, and calm returned to the cave dwelling.

Li Xiaobai had already been holding back a great deal of anger toward the Sea Clan, and now provoked by such a menial servant, not killing her would not suffice to vent his wrath.

This was the first time since his debut that he had felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness in his heart. The Old Dragon King’s might was like a towering mountain firmly suppressing him, leaving him unable to move even slightly.

For some inexplicable reason, he had been captured by the Old Dragon King and taken to the bottom of the sea, even being forced to become the son-in-law of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. Did he look idle to them? He clearly had more important matters to attend to.

Indeed, he had impersonated a cultivator and unknowingly broken into the seventh level of the Linglong Pagoda and plundered all its treasures, but everything had been perfectly concealed. The Old Dragon King had merely caught him based on a hunch.

Towards Long Xue, Li Xiaobai did have some favorable feelings, but they were limited to admiration.

Li Xiaobai was naturally aware of Long Xue’s feelings for him. He wasn’t a heartless or ungrateful person. Since he had acted, he needed to take responsibility. If there was a chance in the future, he was willing to give Long Xue a home, but definitely not now.

Having a woman meant having concerns. His journey had just begun. With the System, his future still involved battling in the Upper Realm, defeating countless peerless experts awaiting him, with far too many dangers and uncertainties. Love and romance could wait until later.

Moreover, every time he thought about the Vice Leader investigating the other altars, agitation stirred in his heart—the conspiracy of the Blood Sacrifice Fragments, the channel connecting the Upper Realm with the Lower Realm, the purpose of the mysterious entities. Those were what truly preoccupied his mind; how could he spill all his passion within the Eastern Sea.

“I must think of a way to leave as soon as possible. Once I obtain more Immortal Spirit Qi, I can break through to the next stage. By then, even if I enter the Upper Realm, I should have the power to defend myself.”

Li Xiaobai murmured to himself.

“My lord, the task is complete. My men have collected all the Luminous Pearls. Do you need to inspect them?”

After a while, Dao Zu poked his head through the door and asked.

“No need, just bring the items over quickly!”

Li Xiaobai’s eyes lit up, urging eagerly.

“Please enjoy, my lord. I will stand guard for you!”

Dao Zu waved his hand, and over a hundred Space Rings flew into the cave, after which he sensibly closed the stone door, blocking the view from outside.

Li Xiaobai casually picked up a Space Ring, glanced inside, and saw thousands of Luminous Pearls lying quietly within.

The number of Luminous Pearls in each Space Ring varied, and Li Xiaobai couldn’t be bothered to check them one by one. He summoned a mass of jet-black Hellfire with a flick of his hand and began tossing the Space Rings into it.

The Space Rings, along with the Luminous Pearls within, were instantly engulfed in flames, crackling loudly as they turned into nourishment for the Hellfire.

Within the Hellfire, more than two hundred thousand Luminous Pearls began burning simultaneously, their bright luster steadily devoured by the darkness. Li Xiaobai did not blink as he stared at the attribute value panel before him. The number that hadn’t changed for ten thousand years, 9.9 kilometers, was finally changing.

[Hellfire (Divine Level Skill) Current Initial Coverage Range: 9.99 kilometers (Mahayana Realm).]

With the burning of over two hundred thousand Luminous Pearls, Hellfire finally broke through the obstruction and soared into the boundless sky. Yet the outcome left Li Xiaobai feeling rather speechless.

He had only wished for the 9.9 to advance to 10. Why was it so difficult?

An unexpected figure of 9.99 appeared, just shy of that final 0.01.

Li Xiaobai had a vague guess in his heart as to why the rank of Hellfire remained stagnant—it was the quality of the items being burned.

The treasures from the Lower Realm had struggled to power up Hellfire because they lacked a critical element, Immortal Spirit Qi. Perhaps just burning a bit of Immortal Spirit Qi would effortlessly break through that last 0.01.

There were still some days until the release of Immortal Spirit Qi. Now that all his other abilities were nearing their peak, he could only be patient for the time being.

After extinguishing the Hellfire, Li Xiaobai took off his prison garb and walked out of the cave at a leisurely pace.

“I’m going to the Imperial Palace. You are free to do as you please here; just don’t cause any trouble.”