Guardian Divine Beast
Translator: Lordbluefire
Based on cultivation level and spirit qi reserves, Li Ziqi was inferior to Wei Wu`an. If they fought in the most commonly seen method of the Nine Provinces, the little sunny egg would lose for sure.
Hence, if she wanted to win, she had to put effort into her battle strategy and equipment.
Although everyone was royalty, didn’t lack money, and could obtain peerless-grade saint-tier weapons. However, this wasn’t permitted for usage. Luckily, Li Ziqi’s spirit rune rod wasn’t considered one of them as it was a product of her own creation.
As for battle strategy, that was naturally bombardment from the air.
The moment the judge announced the start of the battle, Li Ziqi flew into the air and tossed out a spirit rune rod.
Wei Wu`an had guessed this might happen. He instantly rushed out the moment the fight began.
Rumble~
A sea of lightning erupted, but Wei Wu`an passed through that with no injuries. It was just that Li Ziqi had long since considered this possibility. She immediately unleashed her flame bullets seven times in a row, blasting Wei Wu`an.
Bang!
Wei Wu`an landed on the stage and glanced at the over ten spirit rune rods landing on the stage. He no longer hesitated. He directly bit the skin of his right thumb and swiftly drew a simple diagram as he cast his spiritual control technique.
Rumble~
A big lifeform with white scales resembling an eel appeared. Its body emitted an invisible qi barrier that blocked the lightning.
"What is that?"
Several people had their eyes wide open.
"Grand Tutor Su?"
The Qi Emperor questioned.
"It’s a white jiao. It’s an extremely rare wyvern-type creature that lives in the fifth level of the Darkness Continent."
Grand Tutor Su introduced as he watched with excitement.
"So it’s a wyvern. No wonder, it’s not as imposing as a true dragon!"
The Qi Emperor’s lips twitched, but he actually felt somewhat envious in his heart.
During ancient times, the Nine Provinces had giant dragons, but they were already extinct.
All emperors were called the descendants of dragons. Who wouldn’t hope to have a giant dragon guarding their empires?
True dragons could no longer be found, but wyverns still existed.
The so-called wyverns were creatures with a trace of true dragon bloodline. They weren’t a true dragon lifeform, but they were still extremely strong.
This pet of Wei Wu`an was clearly a child white jiao.
The white jiao inclined his head and before its razor teeth, a coconut-size white ball of light gathered before shooting straight at Li Ziqi.
Woosh~ Woosh~ Woosh~
It attacked thrice.
Li Ziqi was erudite and multi-talented. Hence, the little sunny egg immediately recognized that this was a white jiao with a single glance and also knew of its attacking methods.
There was no hesitation. The little sunny egg activated the Skyward Spirit Rune and rapidly climbed up the sky. At the same time, she took out even more spirit rune rods.
Ah!
The white jiao unleashed a sharp soundwave and caused everyone to cover their ears in pain. Some children and women couldn’t withstand it and directly slumped onto the ground.
A soundwave visible to the naked eye slammed into those spirit rune rods and exploded them in advance.
"She can actually fly so high?"
Wei Wu`an felt envy in his heart as he lifted his head and stared at Li Ziqi.
The white jiao coiled around Wei Wu`an and stared at Li Ziqi. This scene was extremely tyrannical.
"Li Ziqi, I can’t win against you and you can’t win against me. Why don’t we draw this?"
Wei Wu`an suggested.
Given the current battle results of the Wei Empire, even if they got first place in the individual battle, they wouldn’t be able to become the champion. Hence, his battle strategy changed. He wanted to defeat everyone other than Xia Taikang.
As for Li Ziqi?
Honestly speaking, no one would say anything even if she lost. After all, it wasn’t about her fighting techniques anymore. This was just a showcase of suppression with the knowledge she had in the study of spirit runes.
If someone had the Skyward Spirit Runes and these spirit rune rods, even if it was a dog, it would be able to win battles.
"Sorry, I wish to become the champion!"
Li Ziqi tactfully reclined. "Moreover, Xia Taikang has to be defeated by me."
"You mean there’s no room for negotiation, right?"
Wei Wu`an didn’t mind. He shrugged. "Come on then, let me show you how imposing and tyrannical my jiao is!"
Roar!
The white jiao howled and its voice reverberated through the sky. But all of a sudden, it was like its throat was grabbed by a giant hand, and it could no longer make any sound.
"Mn?"
Wei Wu`an started. He wanted to speak but a sense of impending doom suddenly rose in his heart. His fine hairs instinctively stood up.
This was because a brutal aura suddenly gushed over.
BOOM!
A huge wind kicked up on the stage and formed a three-meter-long tornado.
"Crawling worm, scram!"
This voice contained the might of a king. Everyone in the Victory Public Square felt as though they had been shocked by thunder, and their eardrums were on the verge of bursting.
"G...grand Tutor Su, what is that?"
The Qi Emperor asked in shock. His legs were even trembling.
"No idea!"
Grand Tutor Su shook his head. "From the might it exudes, it should be some type of ancient gigantic beast!"
"You..."
Wei Wu`an didn’t want his demeanor to be weakened. He was prepared to say a few ruthless sentences, but his white jiao suddenly wooshed and flew off the stage. After that, it fled while flicking its tail rapidly, resembling a mud fish.
...
Wei Wu`an felt very awkward.
The tornado vanished, as though everything that had just happened was an illusion.
"Thanks for letting me win!"
Li Ziqi clasped her fist and descended.
"I heard that you have a mysterious spiritual beast. Was that it?"
Wei Wu`an was curious.
"Yup!"
Li Ziqi smiled and floated down the stage.
Ze!
Wei Wu`an felt so envious that he almost drooled. As expected, the art of spiritual control was the best way to posture.
The competition continued but after watching the battle between Wei Wu`an and Li Ziqi, some of the princes and princesses no longer had the desire to do their utmost.
Anyway, even if they fought until the end, they wouldn’t be able to win against Li Ziqi.
Xiang Zhao encountered Jiang Yuzhen. They fought for ten rounds and he took the initiative to concede. After that, Li Xuan faced off against Xia
If it wasn’t for Grand Tutor Su and Han Cangshui acting in time, Li Xuan would have been beaten to death.
"Trash!"
This time around, even Li Xiu couldn’t control her temper and directly cursed out.
Li Xuan’s performance in the Five Empires War Discussion was truly lackluster. If someone like him became the Tang Emperor, things would surely be extremely dire for the country.
"Should I support Ziqi to ascend to the throne?"
In the past, Li Xiu had never thought like this. Because regardless of royalty or the common people, it was a norm for the son to take over the father’s business. Daughters were treated as water that was thrown out. However, Li Xiu had witnessed how much the Qi Emperor doted on Jiang Yuzhen and also seen how outstanding Li Ziqi was. So, she decided to change her mind.
If the Great Tang was under Li Ziqi’s lead, it might really be able to become the top hegemon of the Nine Provinces.
As for bloodline?
For the next Tang Emperor, they could choose one from Li Xuan’s heir. If his heirs couldn’t make it, the sons of other princes could do as well.
Han Cangshui who was standing at the side could clearly feel that Li Xiu’s gaze toward Li Xuan had turned cold. This caused her to feel a sense of unease.
Li Xiu was someone Li Yingqi trusted the most. Her title as the eldest princess wasn’t an empty one. Not only was she in charge of all businesses that the Great Tang controlled, but she also had a spy network and the responsibility to supervise officials.
On the surface, it looked like she had no connection with the officials. But as long as she shouted, all the officials would surely gather around her to await her bidding.
If someone like this supported Li Ziqi to ascend the throne, Li Xuan’s position would no longer be secure.
"Trash, you only know how to make trouble for me!"
Han Cangshui felt very depressed.
The individual battle continued. Finally, when 8 people were left, Li Ziqi faced off against Xia Taikang.
Currently, both the Great Xia and Great Tang had won two rounds in the literature and arts battle and one round in the martial battle. So, the victory and defeat of this battle would decide the ranking of this war discussion.
The Victory Public Square was packed to the brim.
Grand Tutor Su had long since arranged ‘Circle Confinement’ to be placed in the surroundings of the platform to prevent the shockwaves of the battle from spreading too far and injuring the audience.
As the judge announced the start of the battle, the great sword in Xia Taikang’s hands slashed out.
Swish~
A wave of sword qi whistled but soon collapsed after it slammed into the wind shield that materialized before Li Ziqi.
Xia Taikang didn’t expect to succeed in a single strike. His legs stomped the ground and he leaped into the air with utmost speed. It felt like he had teleported, appearing before Li Ziqi and slashing out multiple times with his sword.
Swish~ Swish~ Swish~
Li Ziqi’s wind shield trembled from the impact. She couldn’t help but raise her hand and unleash her trump card.
Rumble!
A bolt of lightning shot out from Li Ziqi’s left hand. After that, it became like a spider web and spread out. As for her right hand, a transparent windwave bullet blasted forth.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At the same time, Li Ziqi climbed vertically in the air, avoiding the attacks.
Facing such a huge AOE attack, Xia Taikang had no way to charge forward. He was forced to retreat and fell back onto the stage.
"Aiya, what a pity!"
The people from the Great Xia felt it was too much of a pity as their crown prince almost did it. Those who had bet on the Great Xia’s victory were all cursing now, while people from the Tang Empire felt a lingering fear in their hearts.
This Xia Taikang was truly too impressive!
RUMBLE~
A ferocious wind kicked up, forming a tornado.
The Wind King was summoned.
"Ant, scram!"
The Wind King merely spoke and everyone felt intense pain in their eardrums.
"One Heart Two Uses? Impressive!"
Xia Taikang praised. Li Ziqi was using this halo, fighting while summoning the Wind King. "But I know it too!"
"Mn?"
Li Ziqi was shocked. She hurriedly moved, but she was still too slow.
A fiery fireball blasted toward her. Luckily, the Wind King’s reaction was fast enough, and it cast a shield for her. Otherwise, she would have died.
Everyone looked up and only now did they discover that there was a winged ferocious beast even higher up in the sky. It flew down and landed beside Xia Taikang.
"What’s that? A lion?"
"Idiot, that’s a kirin, the guardian divine beast of Great Xia!"
"My heavens, has the Xia Emperor decided to abdicate his throne? If not, why would he allow Xia Taikang to bring the kirin out?"
The commoners were stunned by the external appearance of the kirin. After all, it was a divine beast that had a lion head, deer antlers, the body of a moose, and it was covered in dragon scales. It was also known to be something auspicious, and ordinary people probably wouldn’t have any chance to see it.
Although the children of royalty and nobility hadn’t seen one before, they understood the meaning of this auspicious beast better than the commoners.
It was the guardian divine beast of the Great Xia. Only the Xia Emperor had the qualifications to command it.
Xia Taikang leaped and sat on the kirin’s back. After that, the kirin flew up into the air, standing at an equal level with Li Ziqi.
"It’s over, we will lose for sure now!"
Lu Zhiruo was so worried that she started panting.
Her eldest martial sister’s trump card was flight, spirit runes, and the Wind King. However, her opponent could now fly as well, and the kirin appeared to be on the same level as the Wind King.
How to fight then?
"Li Ziqi, concede!"
Xia Taikang stared straight at the little sunny egg. "You won’t be able to win against me!"
"How would you know before we fight?"
Li Ziqi was unhappy.
"That thing below is an elemental lifeform, right? Even if my kirin cannot win against it, there’s no problem for my kirin to obstruct it and give me three minutes. Do you feel that you can win against me within three minutes?"
Xia Taikang smiled. "Naturally, I can let you be the champion, but you have to agree to one of my conditions!"
"I don’t need you to give me victory!"
Li Ziqi was angry now.
"Listen to me first!"
Xia Taikang surveyed Li Ziqi. Although her figure couldn’t make it and was as flat as an iron board, her brain was simply too good so she was worthy of him possessing her. "Be my queen. If we join hands, we will definitely be able to establish the strongest empire!"
"Huh? Is this fellow dreaming?"
Lu Zhiruo grew angry now. Based on what? In her heart, her eldest martial sister was super impressive. No other men could match up to her save for their teacher.
(Aiya, doesn’t that mean that eldest martial sister will have to be lonely in old age?)
"Quickly look!"
Qin Yaoguang used her elbow to prod Tantai Yutang.
The sickly invalid turned and noticed that their teacher’s countenance was now extremely unsightly.
"Your Majesty, we have to stop this matter for sure!"
The queen was worried. These two were phoenixes and dragons among humans. If they married each other, the Qi Empire would be finished.
"Relax. As long as we obtain Sun Mo, these two are nothing to be feared!"
The Qi Emperor was very calm.
"I will propose a marriage to the Tang Emperor once the war discussion concludes."
Xia Taikang grew increasingly fond of Li Ziqi the more he looked at her. Although she was still very young, she exuded the aura of an intelligent beauty.
"Scram!"
Li Ziqi grew angry from embarrassment. She subconsciously glanced down and looked at her teacher.
(Damn, I will never marry you! I want to serve my teacher forever. Aiya, Teacher seems to be angry now, what should I do? Right, I’ll kill this fellow!)
"Wind King, finish him!"
Li Ziqi called out in rage.
The tornado on the stage directly produced a large number of crescent wind blades.
Woosh~ Woosh~ Woosh~
Roar!
The kirin roared and sprayed a fire wall that was over ten meters tall, burning all the wind blades away.
"Li Ziqi, you..."
Xia Taikang still wanted to persuade her, but he then saw that Li Ziqi was now standing in the formation’s eye as a tornado surrounded her. She could defend and attack with ease.
This caused his expression to turn ugly.
His opponent was stronger than he had expected.
The kirin and wind king continued to and fro. Xia Taikang and Li Ziqi’s combat strengths were insignificant before the fight of these two ancient divine creatures.
"Are you not an elemental king? You can’t even defeat a mount?"
Li Ziqi mocked.
"This is but a clone, alright? If you can fully release the seal on me and allow my real self to descend to the Nine Provinces, I can slap it to death with a single hand."
The Wind King raged.
Li Ziqi had been researching the seals around the Wind King Altar and gained the inspiration to break them. However, she wouldn’t do this because once the Wind King was freed, it would surely become a calamity.
A hegemon like this definitely wouldn’t be willing to be enslaved.
"No, I can only depend on myself then!"
Li Ziqi racked her brains. "It’s fine if I lose, but I absolutely cannot lose face for Teacher."
Xia Taikang rode the kirin and charged forward a few times, wanting to get close to Li Ziqi to slash her. However, he was obstructed by the tornado.
For a time, the situation was deadlocked.
"Your Majesty, it’s best to announce a draw. A competition like this is meaningless!"
Grand Tutor Su suggested.
Although the two of them could summon two powerful spiritual beasts, there was no individual skill to speak of in the fight.
"Alright then!"
The Qi Emperor stood up but just when he wanted to announce it, the situation suddenly changed.