Douluo Dragon King: I am the Lord of the Abyss, the King of Eternal Night.

Chapter 197 The Provocation of Qian Gu Zhang Ting, the Treasure-Giving Boy
Upon seeing the person approaching, Na'er's smiling face instantly turned cold.

Walking beside Na'er, Jiang Xiu's heart stirred slightly. Looking at this person who was officially appointed as the successor of the Spirit Tower, a strange light flashed in his eyes.

"Greetings, Tower Master Leng." At this moment, Qian Gu Zhangting pretended to have just noticed the three of them, went straight to Leng Yaozhu and bowed slightly, then looked at Na'er and said with a smile:

"Long time no see, Miss Na'er."

"It would be best if we never met again," Na'er said without any attempt to hide it. This person was like a leech, always following her around the Spirit Pagoda.

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, Qian Gu Zhangting was momentarily speechless, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

Leng Yaozhu tucked her hands into her red robe, her phoenix eyes gazing silently at Qian Gu Zhangting, devoid of any emotion.

She knew about what Qian Gu Zhangting had done. Half a month ago, after returning from the Star Luo Continent, she went directly to Qian Gu Dongfeng's door to warn him.

She had suffered a heartbreak in the past, which even led to a falling out with her younger sister and caused her sister to go astray. Therefore, she would not allow her own experience to be repeated in her apprentice.

However, when she went to find Qian Gu Dongfeng, he was spouting nonsense, saying that young people should promote communication and exchange with each other, and that Na'er and Zhang Ting would be the pillars of the Spirit Pagoda in the future.

However, she did not listen to Qian Gu Dongfeng's nonsense. Instead, she warned him that if Qian Gu Zhangting continued to harass Na'er, he should not blame her if the Qian Gu family line ended.

Since then, Qian Gu Zhangting has rarely come to see Na'er, but this time he actually dared to offer himself up again...

Thinking of this, Leng Yaozhu's dark red eyes narrowed slightly, and a sharp glint suddenly flashed across them.

But at this moment, Qian Gu Zhang Ting took the initiative to look at Jiang Xiu and smiled like a gentleman: "This must be His Majesty's esteemed disciple. Truly, a great teacher produces a great student."

"I've heard that the combat techniques of the Body Sect are extremely powerful. I've also seen the video of Jiang Xiu's battle against Shrek Academy when he was in the Tianhai Alliance. I wonder if I could witness it for myself?"

Upon hearing this, before Jiang Xiu could even speak, Na'er looked at Qian Gu Zhang Ting as if he were an idiot: "Qian Gu Zhang Ting, have you encountered a brain-eating beast?"

When Qian Gu Zhangting saw that Na'er had taken the initiative to speak to him, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes. He couldn't help but ask, "Oh? What do you mean by that, Miss Na'er? I haven't left the Spirit Pagoda these past few days and haven't encountered any brain-eating beasts, but thank you for your concern, Miss Na'er."

"That's terrible. Even without encountering a brain-eating beast, he can still say such mindless things. He's probably beyond saving." Na'er looked at Qian Gu Zhangting with pity.

Upon hearing this, Qian Gu Zhangting's face immediately showed a hint of annoyance. Was Na'er implying that he was brainless?

Then he heard Na'er continue, "Qian Gu Zhang Ting, don't you think about it? You're almost twenty years old and have the cultivation of a late-stage Soul Emperor, yet you come to challenge the leader who just broke through to the Soul Sect?"

You're still a bit far from being a god, but you're already very far from being human. No! This is something no human could even conceive of.

With a flick of her small hand, Na'er shielded Jiang Xiu behind her and spoke ruthlessly to Qian Gu Zhangting.

Upon hearing this, Qian Gu Zhangting's face showed even more embarrassment and anger, and he could barely maintain his warm smile.

He's the heir of the Spirit Pagoda; no one had ever dared to speak to him like that before!
Upon witnessing what was happening, the staff of the Spirit Pagoda on one side of the corridor quickly moved away and began to take emergency evacuation.

But before leaving, someone couldn't help but let out a laugh, which pierced the ears of Qian Gu Zhang Ting even more deeply.

Looking at Na'er in front of him, Jiang Xiu's lips curled up slightly. He hadn't expected the quirky Na'er to have this side to her.

However, in order to prevent Qian Gu Zhangting from continuing to harass Na'er, he had to put an end to this matter today.

He also took the opportunity to test his newly acquired fourth soul skill and see if the Crown Prince of the Spirit Pagoda was really as much of a fraud as rumored.

"Master, Boss, let's go." After spraying the Qian Gu Zhang Pavilion, Na'er took Jiang Xiu's arm and prepared to cross the Qian Gu Zhang Pavilion and walk into the depths of the corridor.

"Wait a minute!" Qian Gu Zhangting reached out to stop him, his gaze fixed on Jiang Xiu. "Jiang Xiu, let's make a bet. I will suppress my cultivation and fight you at the same level. If you don't accept the challenge, wouldn't that prove that the Body Sect's combat techniques are just empty words?"

"Ha!" Na'er laughed in anger upon hearing this. "Are you a child? You're actually playing this kind of betting game."

"If you really want to test whether the Body Sect is just a name, you should wait until Uncle Mu breaks through to the Limit Douluo level and then let your grandfather give it a try and see if he dares."

Indeed, not everyone in this world possesses the extraordinary wisdom of her; we must allow for the existence of fools.

"You!" Qian Gu Zhangting was immediately anxious, but remembering his grandfather's instructions, he stopped pretending and directly reached into his storage soul tool to take out a jade box, revealing the exquisite black and red scorpion tiger external soul bone inside.

"If you can beat me, I'll give you this!"

Qian Gu Zhangting took out the external soul bone, clenched it tightly in his hand, and said to Jiang Xiu.

When Jiang Xiu saw this soul bone, his purple eyes flashed slightly, and the scorpion tiger soul spirit within him was filled with excitement. Wasn't this the very soul bone that originated from him?
He was just worried about how to get it back from Qian Gu Dong Feng, but unexpectedly, Qian Gu Zhang Ting took the initiative to bring the soul bone to his door. He really didn't know which brilliant person came up with the idea.

Upon seeing the soul bone, Leng Yaozhu glanced at Jiang Xiu silently, clearly recognizing it as well. "Since you want to see if the Body Sect is up to par, then I'll also take this opportunity to learn from your Ancient Clan's Panlong Staff and see if it truly possesses the power to fight against heaven and earth," Jiang Xiu said softly, stepping forward and shielding Na'er from view.

"If I win, when you see Na'er in the future, you should automatically keep your distance and stop being so shameless."

Having a soul bone can also help Na'er solve the problem of the Ancient Pavilion. Why not?

“Boss…” Na’er hesitated, tugging at Jiang Xiu’s clothes with her small hand, a hint of worry appearing in her beautiful eyes.

If they were of the same level and age, she would naturally trust Jiang Xiu, but Qian Gu Zhangting was much older than Jiang Xiu, and there were many differences between them.

"Don't worry." Jiang Xiu smiled slightly, patted Na'er's little hand, and secretly transmitted his voice, "It's only right for the boss to protect his little brother."

Hearing the voice in her ear, Na'er slightly raised her purple eyes and looked at Jiang Xiu's tall and straight back in front of her, and her heart suddenly stirred.

“No problem.” Qian Gu Zhangting agreed without hesitation. He never thought he would lose to a young man who had just broken through to the Soul Sect realm.

Do you really think he's been doing all these years of cultivation for nothing?

No matter how you look at it, he has the advantage!
"Then let's stop arguing and head to the battlefield now." Fearing that Jiang Xiu might change his mind, Qian Gu Zhang Ting put away the jade box and took the lead towards the battlefield inside the Spirit Transmission Tower.

Leng Yaozhu looked at Jiang Xiu and saw him nod slightly, so she stopped trying to persuade him and trusted his own decision.

However, this was clearly Qian Gu Dongfeng's idea. From now on, she must seize the opportunity to gain more status within the Spirit Pagoda to prevent Qian Gu Dongfeng from engaging in such underhanded tactics again.

In a short while, the three arrived at the spacious battlefield, where the surrounding area and the ground were made of hard and solid silver-white metal, enough to withstand attacks from Soul Masters below the Soul Saint level.

"This time, we'll entrust the referee to Master Leng. I believe that with Master Leng's credibility, he will definitely make a fair judgment."

Walking to the center of the battlefield, Qian Gu Zhang Ting bowed slightly to Leng Yao Zhu.

“This tower master disdains to be like your grandfather,” Leng Yaozhu said coldly. “Now lower your cultivation to level forty-two, the same level as Xiao Xiu.”

After absorbing the Scorpion Tiger Martial Soul, Jiang Xiu did not reach level 40, but jumped two levels to level 42. This was because of the essence that Elder Jin had stored in Jiang Xiu's body when he was inside the Golden Ancient Tree.

During this period, Soul Masters no longer directly obtain Soul Rings from the corpses of Soul Beasts as they did ten thousand and twenty thousand years ago. Back then, Soul Rings condensed the essence of the entire Soul Beast's body, which could then nourish the Soul Master and improve their cultivation.

However, most soul spirits are artificially created nowadays, and their main function is to provide soul rings and soul skills to help soul masters break through levels. Therefore, after a soul master absorbs a soul spirit, it is difficult for the soul master to receive support in terms of cultivation. At most, the soul master can receive support in terms of spiritual power.

Just like when Tang Wulin absorbed the soul of the ten-thousand-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex, he only broke through to level forty.

The true essence of the scorpion tiger lies more in its external soul bone and inner core.

“That’s natural.” Upon hearing Leng Yaozhu’s words, Qian Gu Zhangting voluntarily sealed his cultivation level, lowering it to level forty-two, and then stared intently at Jiang Xiu.

This person was a formidable enemy on his path to obtaining Na'er, and he said he would defeat him today, preferably shattering his Dao heart and causing him to never recover.

Jiang Xiu, on the other hand, looked calmly at the Qian Gu Zhang Pavilion.

As far as he knew, Qian Gu Zhang Ting didn't even make his own battle armor, so after awakening his martial soul, all he had to do was cultivate.

Now, at nearly twenty years old, he has only reached the late stage of Soul Emperor, not even comparable to the two from the Yuanen family. With innate full soul power and such abundant resources from the Spirit Pagoda, to have cultivated to this level is truly a waste of his potential.

As the two walked towards the sides of the arena, Leng Yaozhu's beautiful eyes flashed, and she softly asked Na'er beside her:
"Na'er, who do you think will win, Xiao Xiu or Qian Gu Zhangting?"

“Of course it’s the boss!” Na’er said firmly.

"Oh? Why?" Leng Yaozhu raised an eyebrow slightly and chuckled.

“Because people who truly want to win don’t have smiles on their faces,” Na’er said earnestly.

Jiang Xiu's expression was now completely calm, just like when he fought against Shrek Academy in the Tianhai Alliance.

This time, however, Jiang Xiu did it more for her sake...

After the two took their positions, Leng Yaozhu prepared to announce the start.

Meanwhile, in the office of the Spirit Pagoda Master, Qian Gu Dong Feng was looking at the Soul Guidance Screen, which displayed the scene on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)