Ice Sculpture Royal Capital.
"Clan Leader, you summoned me?" Mifang staggered into the study, reeking of alcohol.
"Look at yourself!" Clan Leader Jingxiang had come all the way from the territory to the capital, mercilessly rebuking, "Mifang, this is not how you should be. It was just a single defeat, and yet you drown yourself in alcohol every day, utterly disheartened!"
"Yes, your position has been stripped."
"But that was your own doing, not mine. According to family rules, that’s how it is."
"Your performance in the duel with Long Fu was utterly disappointing!"
Mifang remained silent, a gloomy expression on his face.
His defeat to Long Fu almost sent him from heaven to hell.
The authority he had earned from handling the mount magic potion business was taken away by the various factions of the Jingxiang family, who had been waiting for an opportunity.
Mifang not only lost the rights he had gained by breaking the ceiling but also his basic standing within the family.
The intent to admonish was glaringly clear!
Clan Leader Jingxiang sighed, stood up from his seat, walked around the desk, and came to Mifang.
Mifang, feeling a bit tense, took a small step back.
Yet, the Clan Leader reached out and supported him to a guest chair.
The Clan Leader’s voice softened somewhat: "Your defeat in the battle with Long Fu was too disgraceful."
"Not only has your reputation plummeted, but the entire family has suffered significant losses as well."
"Where you fall, you must rise again. Mifang! The family still believes in you, and I’m willing to give you another chance to fight."
"I came here specifically for you!"
"Go challenge Long Fu, fight once more! Show your courage, win it. You need to break your nightmare with your own hands, stand up like a man again."
Mifang was shaken to the core, his eyes wide as he looked at Clan Leader Jingxiang.
The latter had a grave and serious look.
However, Mifang felt a chill in his heart. He was acutely aware of Long Fu’s strength, having easily taken on three opponents at once. To challenge again would be suicidal.
Regrettably, few besides himself knew this truth.
The outside world generally believed that Mifang’s tactics were too conservative, too concerned with loss and gain, failing to exhibit his true fighting prowess.
"Gods above!"
"If I truly showcased my attack power, I fear I would already have perished!" Mifang understood the gravity of the situation, but the outside world did not.
Many of his supporters, numerous female citizens, all scorned him.
His friends could not understand him, and his family could not truly comfort him effectively.
"Clan Leader, I am not Long Fu’s match!" Mifang shook his head.
Clan Leader Jingxiang slightly tilted his head, shifting from a leaning posture to standing upright. He walked back to the owner’s position.
During this process, he turned his back to Mifang, lightly saying, "Therefore, I brought you this."
When he sat back down, there was already a small bottle of magic potion on the desk.
The magic potion glimmered with a bright red light under the lamp, appearing very eerie.
Mifang, being an excellent pharmacist, changed his expression upon seeing this potion: "Devil Transformation Potion?"
Clan Leader Jingxiang nodded: "This is a Holy Domain Level magic potion. It allows you to transform into a devil for a short period, drastically increasing your combat power, enough to defeat Long Fu."
Mifang furrowed his brows: "But this kind of transformation potion has strong side effects, it can pollute the bloodline."
Clan Leader Jingxiang slightly shrugged: "This is the greatest help I can offer you. Mifang, you’re a pharmacist, you can endure these side effects. It won’t knock you off the Golden Level."
"You need to defeat Long Fu!"
"He’s the one who cast you into the abyss."
"The family also needs you to defeat Long Fu so that we can restore our honor."
"Your current situation is all thanks to Long Fu, isn’t it?"
Mifang showed hesitation on his face: "No, Long Fu is not my mortal enemy. It’s unnecessary to deal with him using such brutal means."
Clan Leader Jingxiang sneered: "Show some guts, Mifang!"
"Do you think I don’t know?"
"You tried to ambush Long Fu through other duelists, attempted to poison him."
"If Long Fu isn’t your mortal enemy, then what is he? It’s precisely because of him that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ mount magic potion business is so thriving, always occupying the largest market share."
"You must understand, the Alchemy Guild has already taken action. If we don’t take down the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps in time, our race’s business in Magic Potions is likely to plummet and be pushed out."
The study fell into a deathly silence, the atmosphere quite tense.
After a long time, Mifang finally took a deep breath, "I need to think it over."
"Think carefully!" Clan Leader Jingxiang stood up and walked out of the study directly. That bottle of Devil Transformation Potion was quietly placed on the desk, right in front of Mifang.
Mifang doesn’t even know how he walked out of the study.
His thoughts are very chaotic, at some point, he is holding the potion in his palm.
When he arrived in his bedroom, he was surprised to find his wife waiting for him.
After a passionate love-making, his wife snuggled into his arms, softly persuading him, "Go challenge Long Fu again, go duel. Win this decisive battle, the side effects of the potion aren’t important. Your contribution to the family will ensure you enjoy preferential treatment."
Mifang immediately felt a chill, he gazed at his delicate wife in his arms. Her eyes were tender as water, yet hidden were calculations.
Mifang did not blame her.
His and her union was from the start a calculation of interests. His shameful defeat subjected his wife to enormous family pressure.
Mifang slowly closed his eyes, his voice slightly hoarse, "I’m tired, let’s sleep first."
He fell into a deep sleep, only waking up at noon the next day.
The tribulations of fate continued.
He received three huge pieces of bad news in a row.
The first bad news, the Yao Ma group successfully advanced through the second test question of the Warm Snow Cup. Moreover, Cai Jing and others formed a new faction, becoming partners with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps within the Alchemy Guild. The Chairman of the Alchemy Guild acknowledged Cai Jing’s merits, helplessly watching this faction form.
The second bad news, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps began externally selling a large quantity of Mixo. The key is, these Mixos come from Shuanglian’s Half-plane. According to Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ external explanation, Shuanglian, who has been missing for a while, is conducting secret investigations and research at a certain place, unable to get away.
The third bad news comes from inside the duelist. He, Long Fu, has become one of the duelists!!
These all happened yesterday.
Mifang holds much more information than Clan Leader Jingxiang. After consulting other duelists, he quickly pieced together the truth, understanding the real situation.
Mifang’s body and mind are incredibly bitter.
His enemy made great progress, while he himself fell into a predicament akin to Abyss Hell.
He is in pain and starts to regret.
"Perhaps from the start, dealing with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was a mistake!"
"Things have reached this point, saying anything is useless now."
A wave of hatred swells in Mifang’s heart.
"The reason I have fallen to this predicament, all of this is thanks to Long Fu!"
He is almost forced to a dead end.
He is the son-in-law of the Jingxiang family, already bound to this family. Even if he wants to break off, which noble would take him in?
And leaving the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, developing in other nations?
Just thinking about it deflates Mifang.
Here, he struggled hard for many years, dedicating his youth to this cold land. To give up all of this and start anew?
Being Golden Level, he does have other development opportunities.
But indeed, other places do not have dueling prevalent. Dueling and marrying in saved Mifang a lot of time and energy. He is already accustomed to surviving and developing in this environment.
Mifang tries to contact Mei Lin again.
Mei Lin is exhausted. During this period, she has been striking everywhere, maintaining the safety of the coastline with great difficulty.
But the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s coastline is very long, relying solely on the First Naval Fleet is very difficult to ensure overall safety.
The most frightening thing is, Da Han has yet to take action. It’s like a sword hovering over everyone’s heads, not knowing when it will suddenly fall, chopping off heads.
The pressure from military affairs and mental stress exhaust Mei Lin’s body and mind.
At this juncture, she also received shocking bad news - Long Fu shockingly promoted and became a duelist, also ascended to the pinnacle of Anqiu! Afterwards, Long Meng took Long Fu to visit the Honey Snow Tower, and both sides reached a cooperation.
This immediately made almost all of Mei Lin’s previous efforts come to nothing.
And what suffocates Mei Lin more is, she received a command from the Ice Sculpture Royal Family just yesterday.
She’s already understood the Royal Family’s intention, stop the attack on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, focus on a strategy of appeasement.
Just like this, Mifang’s external support on the duelist side dwindled completely.
After ending the contact with Mei Lin, Mifang instantly had a terrible feeling of being abandoned by the world.
"Look at the letter." Suddenly a voice sounded.
"Who is it?" Mifang’s body hair stood on end, his body and mind were shocked.
The Golden Fighting Spirit surged out, covering him completely in an instant.
But he couldn’t find the source of the voice, only finding a letter on the table.
"When did this letter appear? It clearly wasn’t here a moment ago..." A strong chill quickly spread through Mifang’s heart.
He concentrated on the letter for quite a while before reaching out and slowly taking it to read.
The content of the letter made his pupils contract sharply.
Ten minutes later.
He arrived at a restaurant.
In the private room, the Dragon-man youth was devouring the Magic Beast meat. The meat was half-raw, with a strong bloody smell.
The Dragon-man youth’s sharp teeth kept chewing, the flesh rapidly disintegrating between the teeth.
Entering the room, Mifang was greeted by this scene.
No one was there but him and the Dragon-man youth.
But Mifang knew, it wasn’t just the Dragon-man youth; there must be a strong presence hidden in the shadows.
Unafraid, Mifang sat down directly opposite the Dragon-man youth with a cold face.
The Dragon-man youth continued to chew on the meat without even raising his eyes, speaking directly: "My time is very limited. I’ll get straight to the point."
"Mifang, come and join me."
Mifang hadn’t expected such a turn, he almost thought he might have misheard.
The next moment, he laughed in anger: "Ha ha ha ha, thanks to you, my situation is very bad."
"You actually say, you want me to join you? Hahahaha!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Who do you think you are?!"
"You are my enemy!"
"It’s all you, all because of you! I’m in this position because of you."
The more Mifang spoke, the angrier he got, immediately standing up, yelling loudly, and continuously swinging his arms.
Bitter to the core, he even directly threw the chair behind him away.
The chair smashed against the wall, shattering instantly.
Only then did the Dragon-man youth lift his eyes to look at him, his tone icy: "You are about to die."
Mifang’s face turned red, panting like a bull, his pupils contracting as he gritted his teeth: "You’re threatening me?"
"Ha ha ha, you think I’d be afraid?"
"No need to hide it, next, I’m going to challenge you, I’ve already mastered the means to win, and I will defeat you fiercely and take back everything that belongs to me. Everything!"
The Dragon-man youth seemed casually relaxed: "A means to win? You mean that bottle of Devil Transformation Potion?"
"Holy Domain Level magic potion..." The Dragon-man youth chuckled, "Hehehe."
Mifang’s eyelids twitched for a moment, his face turning ashen and water-like.
His greatest trump was easily exposed by the Dragon-man youth, but Mifang was not surprised.
Because he thought of that mysterious voice and the eerily appearing invitation letter. It was precisely based on the letter’s content that he came to meet the Dragon-man youth secretly.
Given that the other party could achieve this extent, it’s very possible they could gather intel on the Holy Domain Level magic potion.
Hatred and battle intent quickly dissipated from Mifang’s heart, replaced by endless coldness and despair.
"It seems you’ve calmed down, that’s good." The Dragon-man youth’s face seemed to squeeze out a smile, then quickly faded away.
While drinking wine, he said to Mifang: "If you think calmly, you’ll realize: you’ve lost a lot confronting me. Continue opposing me, you’ll lose more, including your life."
"Don’t be so foolish, Mifang."
"Do you really trust the Jingxiang family’s promises? That after using the Holy Domain magic potion against me, they would provide you favorable treatment?"
"What have you experienced now? Your hard-fought and laborously obtained position was stripped away by them overnight." Your rights and status depend solely on their whims. Frankly, you depend on the Jingxiang family, the power is theirs to give and retract at any time."
"The humiliation isn’t from me, but from them!"
"Don’t you understand? Even if you marry into the family here, you’re still just a Human Race, an outsider."
"You’re not a Snow Elf."
"Think carefully, does the Jingxiang family truly regard you as one of their own?"
Mifang didn’t know what to say, falling into silent contemplation, a deathly silence.
The Dragon-man youth finished his glass of wine, letting out a belch.
Then, he casually pushed his plate towards Mifang standing on the opposite side of the table.
On the plate was a leftover piece of Magic Beast meat, streaked with blood.
"You’re hungry, have some." The Dragon-man youth said.
"No, I’ve had breakfast. Besides, I never have a habit of eating others’ leftovers." Mifang’s silence was broken, feeling humiliated, he firmly refused.
"Hehe." The Dragon-man youth laughed mockingly.
He leaned back, resting against the chair back, then extended a dragon claw, pointing at himself and then at Mifang.
"You and I are the same."
"We are both outsiders."
"We are both duelists."
"We’ve embarked on countless adventures, faced numerous ordeals, so many times that we’ve lost count."
The Dragon-man youth shook his head, then raised his hands before Mifang, clenching them into fists.
"We fight hard relying on our own hands. While those people, the ones high above, are born with everything we exert our utmost effort to possibly possess."
"Why?"
"And worse yet, our hard work might be gone overnight due to their denial. To them, we’re nothing but a joke!"
"That’s why I dare to take risks, to venture out."
"I want to take advantage of circumstances and build my own power!"
"Look at you now, Mifang, you have nothing left to lose. Join me, cooperate with me, and you can gain a lot, way more than you imagined."
"Don’t you wish to have a truly independent force?"
"I can help you."
"Don’t you want to control the Jingxiang family and show them the real deal?"
"I can still help you."
"The condition is, you join me."
After saying this, the Dragon-man youth deliberately paused.
Then, he clearly saw Mifang’s Adam’s apple rolling, heard him swallow.
The orange dragon eyes reflected Mifang’s expressions clearly, every subtle change captured by the Dragon-man youth.
"You’re hungry."
The Dragon-man youth laughed softly: "I can see it, you’re very hungry now."
"Have some, if I have food, you’ll have a share."
The Dragon-man youth’s voice turned gentle, almost hypnotic.
Mifang’s mind seemed chaotic, yet blank.
Not knowing why, inexplicably, he saw himself stepping towards the dining table, slowly reaching out to touch the bloodstained meat on the plate.
Without cutlery, Mifang simply picked up the Magic Beast meat and brought it to his mouth.
This was not suitable Magic Beast meat for him, the bloody smell making him nauseous.
Yet he kept swallowing, gulping.
In this process, his bewildered and despairing expression gradually faded, becoming sullen, turning fierce.
His cheeks bulged, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, dripping down his chin, staining his collar, coloring his fine Elf Noble attire red.
The Dragon-man youth laughed heartily, rising to leave.
As he brushed past Mifang, he lightly tossed back, "Leave that magic potion behind, and I’ll inform you what to do next."
Mifang understood.
Merely eating was to show intent. Leaving the magic potion was to demonstrate sincerity in allegiance.
Mifang didn’t know what had gotten into him, moving deftly without any hesitation, he directly took the magic potion out and placed it onto the table with a thud.
The Dragon-man youth had reached the door.
Mifang called out: "You’re leaving? Are you a Devil?! I left the magic potion, what will you give me?"
Throughout the negotiation, the Dragon-man youth had given no straightforward promise.
"What can I give you? Haha." The Dragon-man youth opened the door, "I accept your duel challenge and promise only to beat you up, not kill you in this duel."
Next moment, the door closed.