When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Chu Xianlan frowned and shook her head. "I'm fine, Master. What exactly is going on...?"

How could such a sudden change occur in the perfectly good Tianyuan Society?

"Ouch, ouch."

A faint groan came from behind.

Chu Xianlan turned her head and saw Ni Die lying headfirst in the ruins like an upside-down scallion. She was startled and quickly pulled her out of the ground, shaking Ni Die's shoulders.

"Fellow Daoist, are you alright?"

"Well, it's alright, it's alright."

Ni Die weakly shook her head, pulled a new calligraphy brush from her hair, and with trembling hands, stubbornly wrote on the ground: "A strange thing happened at the Tianyuan Night Banquet! The situation is suspicious. Immortal Lord Jixue, protect your disciple, um... the bond between master and disciple is deep... let me add another stroke..."

Chu Xianlan had nothing to say about his professionalism, and her lips twitched.

Outrageous.

At times like these, there's no need to obsess over recording what you see and hear!

Wei Jin approached Yi Chen, crossed his arms, and asked, "What just happened?"

Others gathered around as well.

The disciples were all treasures of their respective sects. The incident happened suddenly, and the masters of each sect reacted quite quickly. However, Yi Chen acted even faster. After setting up an ice-type spiritual energy barrier, he directly protected all the disciples.

The sound of thanks was constant.

Master He slapped his eldest son on the back of the head. "Cough, hurry up and thank your godfather!"

He Jingxuan trembled and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you, Godfather!"

"..." Yi Chen's eyebrows twitched, but he didn't turn around.

The other disciples were completely bewildered: ...So we have to call him godfather too?

After the shockwave subsided, many people were still in shock, looking at each other blankly, completely bewildered as to what had happened.

In the middle of the utterly destroyed banquet hall, a ferocious beast resembling a blazing demon stood on all fours, its eyes blazing like the sun, its appearance crazed, and sparks flying from its mouth and nose, causing the surrounding temperature to rise steadily.

"This, this is... an enemy attack?!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

"Hahahaha—!"

Unrestrained laughter erupted from not far away.

The demons had somehow moved away from the affected area, and, as if finding the demons' reaction amusing, burst into laughter.

Someone realized what was happening and pointed angrily at the demon race opposite them, "What the hell are you doing! Are you trying to tear off the mask of civility here and openly declare war on the human race?!"

"Of course not."

Under the cover of night, a tall, dark shadow stood atop the giant beast's head.

The man's voice descended from above, sounding nonchalant yet carrying a deep, intimidating power.

From the moment he opened his mouth, a cold and dark spiritual pressure swept over the entire area, like a bottomless swamp.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

All the demons below became solemn and knelt down to pay their respects.

—Demon King, Ming Si.

Ming Si leaped down and landed steadily on the ground. His face was covered by a gilded mask. He looked around at the dilapidated scene and seemed quite surprised.

"Eh? It seems I'm late. This banquet... how come it's already over?"

Hearing him say that, the demons couldn't help but laugh again.

Ji Ran showed no displeasure whatsoever, her smile remaining flawless.

He said, "The Demon King has arrived at just the right time."

Anyone with eyes could see that His Highness the Crown Prince was in a bad mood. The carefully arranged banquet had been ruined by the monster that fell from the sky, and the culprit was still pretending to be nonchalant.

Chu Xianlan had heard that the demon tyrant had a strange temper and acted irrationally, but she never expected him to be this outrageous, making it impossible for anyone to understand his purpose.

The two groups were supposed to have a dialogue and exchange of ideas, but they just ruined the whole thing. What kind of behavior is that?

Then look at the giant beast that Ming Si rode up—what kind of monster is that?

...Now that things have come to this, don't blame the half-demon for being crazy. The root cause of his madness might just be the unreliable demon race itself.

The Demon King Ming Si seemed oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the room, chuckled to himself a few times, and patted the giant beast's forelegs covered in red scales.

"This is a strange beast that I specially captured from the depths of the Northern Abyss."

He looked at Ji Ran, his eyes behind the mask seeming to hold a deeper meaning, "This beast is irritable and refuses to acknowledge a master. I have spent dozens of days trying to make it truly submit, which is very distressing."

Ji Ran continued to smile, her eyes calm and undisturbed, as if she were listening attentively.

Ming Si stroked his chin with a playful tone, "I've heard that His Highness the Crown Prince possesses a rare celestial spiritual root, giving him a great capacity to embrace all things in the world. Therefore, I specially brought this exotic beast with me..."

"I wonder if Your Highness would be so kind as to help me tame this disobedient beast?"

These words sounded like a request, but in reality, they immediately put Ji Ran in the eye of the storm.

If he agrees, the dignified crown prince of the human race will be reduced to a beast tamer under the demon king. What face will he have left?

But if they refused, it seemed as if they were afraid of this ferocious beast and dared not accept the demon race's blatant probing.

Sure enough, a human cultivator immediately couldn't help but speak out indignantly: "The Demon King's actions are far too rude! How could His Highness the Crown Prince, with his status, condescend to do such a thing!"

"Yeah, why should we?"

However, many people are also looking forward to the Crown Prince giving the demon race a good thrashing.

If we could capture this strange beast on the spot and extinguish the arrogance of the demon race, wouldn't that be wonderful!

For example, He Jingxuan snorted coldly, quite confidently, "What's so difficult about that! If the Crown Prince really makes a move, this beast probably won't last three breaths before it's begging for mercy!"

"You talk too much." Master He slapped his son on the head again.

"Aww!"

He Jingxuan covered his head, daring not to speak out in anger.

Ming Si listened to the commotion in the arena and curled the corners of his mouth as if watching a good show.

Many people unconsciously paused in their breathing, and countless eyes focused on Ji Ran. No matter how much the Demon King acted up and provoked, the target was always the Crown Prince. For most of the cultivators present, it was nothing more than watching an unexpected and entertaining show.

Moreover, to be honest, they were also very curious about how the Crown Prince would break the deadlock.

Ji Ran remained silent, looking down at the strange beast that was still spewing sparks.

The two stared at each other, and the beast's heavy breathing gradually slowed down, its aura becoming somewhat calmer.

The entire audience held their breath.

Is the Heavenly Spirit Root really that miraculous?

Can it really make ferocious beasts willingly acknowledge it as their master?

Before any exclamations could be heard, the giant beast suddenly roared to the sky, unleashing an even greater rage than before. A surging wave of flames swept across the surroundings from its mouth, but this time, before it could cause any damage, it was suppressed by Ming Si.

Ming Si barely moved, while the strange beast collapsed to the ground under the impact of the enormous demonic power, its body convulsing and gushing blood from all parts of its body. The ruthlessness of its attack was astonishing.

The beast did not die immediately, but it was left barely alive.

"Long live the Demon King!" the demons cheered.

"Enough, enough. That's all the beast can do. How boring. Guards, drag him away." Ming Si clapped his hands with pleasure, then turned to look at Ji Ran. "I was just joking. Your Highness won't mind, will you?"

Ji Ran remained silent for a moment, without responding directly, but instead stood up and faced the crowd below with their various expressions.

"I apologize for my poor hospitality today. It is late, and you have all come from afar and must be tired. Please follow the young boy to the immortal abode to rest, and we will meet again here at dawn tomorrow."