1178 Visiting the Ancestral Dragon Temple Again
While Xi Shengmo and Xi Mingze had their conversation regarding Xi Meili's future, the specific individual of their topic was walking in the streets with a bright smile on her face that made everyone around her filled with curiosity.
"I haven't seen the Princess acting this happy in awhile. Did something happen?"
"Do you see that young man walking beside her? That's the human who visited a year ago. Apparently, he's returned. I would bet my entire fortune that he's the reason she's so happy."
"I heard about him! He's the human who lit up all nine pillars for the Dragon Awakening Ritual, right?"
"Yes, he's that very human."
"I wonder why he's returned."
Meanwhile, Xi Meili asked Yuan, "Hey, do you want to visit the Ancestral Dragon Temple, again?"
Yuan nodded, "Sure."
Sometime later, they arrived at the Ancestral Dragon Temple, where the residents in the city go to train and spar with each other.
When they arrived, Yuan immediately recognized a few of the faces there, as he'd fought them before.
"Look! It's Her Highness, Princess Xi!"
"Greetings, Princess Xi!"
Those who were not busy in the arena stopped whatever they were doing to greet her.
They noticed Yuan's presence afterward.
"Hey! Aren't you that human from last year?! When did you return!?" One of them recognized Yuan's appearance.
The other dragons also started to remember him.
"I arrived just today." Yuan said with a smile on his face.
"Is that so? Anyways, welcome back, Yuan!"
"Hahaha! Perfect! Looks like I can finally get my revenge! Fight me, Yuan!"
"No! Let me fight him first! I've been itching for revenge since my defeat last year!"
Yuan was quickly surrounded by these passionate fighters.
He tried to calm them down, "Relax, everyone here will get a turn to fight me."
Xi Meili then asked him, "Do you want the same rules as last time and fight as a Spirit Master?"
"Let's increase the limit. I am a peak Spirit King now, after all."
"Eh?" Xi Meili and the others suddenly became silent.
"P-Peak Spirit King?" Xi Meili uttered in a dazed voice.
Xi Meili was so overjoyed by Yuan's return that she didn't even notice his cultivation base until he mentioned it.
As for the others, they weren't thinking about it until they recalled that he was only a Spirit Grandmaster the last time he visited!
"Heavens! You're already a peak Spirit King?! You were only a Spirit Grandmaster last year! How did you improve so fast?!" Xi Meili exclaimed in a shocked voice after snapping out of her daze.
"It just happened, I guess…" If they knew that Yuan had barely even cultivated to reach that level, not even the Heavens would know how they'd react.
"As expected of the one who awakened all nine pillars during the Dragon Awakening Ritual… Your talents are quite something…"
Yuan chuckled, "Anyways, I will let my opponents choose the limit this time. I want it to be as fair as possible, after all."
The dragons there raised their eyebrows, as Yuan made it sound like they were already at a disadvantage.
Sometime later, Yuan and one of the dragons there entered the stage while everyone else surrounded the arena.
"Young man, do you remember me?" Yuan's opponent suddenly asked once they were both on the stage.
It took a second, but Yuan nodded, "Yes, I do. You are Long Yanjun, correct? You were also my first match the last time."
"I'm glad that you remember me. Anyways, let's set the limit to peak Spirit Lord. As for the rules, it'll be the same as the last time." Long Yanjun said.
Yuan nodded.
Since the rules will be the same as their last fight, neither of them will be using any weapons and will be relying only on their fists.
Once the formation activated, Yuan's cultivation lowered to peak Spirit Lord.
Although the rules were the same, the fight will be vastly different due to the increased cultivation limit.
For example, since they were limited to Spirit Master before, Long Yanjun wasn't able to use Qi Manifestation while Yuan could, which became the deciding factor of that fight. However, now that they are both Spirit Lords, Long Yanjun will be able to use Qi Manifestation, and his techniques will be even more powerful in general.
"I won last time because I used Qi Manifestation and you couldn't. Furthermore, you gave me one free strike. This time, I will let you strike first
— and I will give you three free strikes." Yuan said, which surprised Long Yanjun and the spectators.
"Three strikes? Are you serious?" Long Yanjun asked him.
Yuan nodded with a confident smile.
Long Yanjun smiled back, "Looks like it wasn't just your cultivation that changed."
"Anyways, I accept your offer! And I am going to make you regret it! Here I come!" Long Yanjun took a deep breath and gathered his spiritual energy before concentrating it at his fist.
Once he was prepared, Long Yanjun stepped forward and released his explosive attack.
"Purple Dragon Fist!"
Yuan stood there with his hands clasped behind his back as he calmly watched Long Yanjun's fist that was covered in a purple aura strike directly in the center of his stomach.
BOOM!
A ripple swept the arena as the purple aura from Long Yanjun's fist exploded outward, entering Yuan's stomach and coming out the back as though it penetrated through his entire body.
However, Long Yanjun did not move afterward, and there was a look of clear disbelief on his face.
'What the hell?' He asked himself as his entire arm that was used to strike Yuan trembled from the impact.
Long Yanjun eventually lowered his arm and took several steps back before lifting his head to look at Yuan in the face. Not only does Yuan look completely fine, he even seemed relaxed.
As for Long Yanjun, when he struck Yuan just now, it didn't feel like he was hitting a human body. Instead, it felt like he'd punched a wall that was entirely made out of diamond, and half of the bones in his hand shattered because of that exchange.