The Dragon-man youth’s reputation is undergoing a qualitative change.
Previously, when the Dragon-man youth challenged Shi Liu, dueled Zhu Gan and Yun Zhong, most people were worried about him. Now, more people have begun generally favoring Lord Long Fu, while viewing the old duelists unfavorably.
However, a small incident occurred.
When the Dragon-man youth privately sent someone to contact Devil Muscle to arrange a duel, the training fanatic Devil Muscle surprisingly refused.
"I am very much looking forward to a duel with Lord Long Fu!"
"But before that, there is a more important duel I need to fight first."
"Bao Ligen!"
"I’ve had enough of him for a long time."
"Let me fight with him first."
The relationships between duelists are not harmonious. Among them, Bao Ligen and Devil Muscle seemed to have disliked each other from the start. Their relationship was quite adverse, and they were constantly in fierce competition.
In Bao Ligen’s eyes, the Dragon-man youth is his greatest enemy, as many of his comrades died at the hands of Lord Long Fu.
But in Devil Muscle’s eyes, Long Fu is just an outsider, only somewhat special. In his world, Bao Ligen is the one he dislikes more.
Dislikable fellows should be dealt with using fists!
Devil Muscle’s refusal left the Dragon-man youth having to shift his target: "Between Qing Hong Yan and Yijiu, which one should I choose?"
After discussing with Cang Xu, the Dragon-man youth decided to target Yijiu.
Yijiu had already dealt with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, so after the Dragon-man youth had already handled most duelists, dealing with him wouldn’t agitate others too much. Otherwise, prioritizing Yijiu might give other duelists the impression that "Long Fu is taking revenge," causing them to be wary.
As for Qing Hong Yan, he was left for last for similar reasons. Qing Hong Yan attacked a Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps caravan and was more complicated than Yijiu. Being half Rabbit-man, half alchemical, his mind wasn’t stable and could easily go berserk. In a duel, if he went insane, the Dragon-man youth might have no choice but to kill him.
The Dragon-man youth didn’t want it to come to that. Although he thought such enemies were better off dead, in his growing maturity, he understood that when and how enemies die are questions that require careful consideration.
Revenge should follow methodology; only by gaining more from revenge can a competent leader truly reflect on these matters.
"Actually, going berserk is beneficial for me."
"That gives me the reason of ’no choice but to use full force,’ which allows me to justifiably kill Qing Hong Yan!"
"Qing Hong Yan’s relationships with other duelists are very sparse. If I kill him after he goes mad, others can’t say much."
"The only thing to consider is the close ties between Qing Hong Yan and the upper echelon of the Rabbit-man tribes atop Joint Mountain. Back when he was caught and forcibly alchemized by an alchemy master, the Rabbit-man tribe’s leaders exerted all their efforts to seek help from the Royal Family. If I kill Qing Hong Yan, forget about any relations with the Rabbit-man tribes."
"However, that doesn’t matter."
The Rabbit-man tribes on Joint Mountain have a small population and are not prominent in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
"First Yijiu, then Qing Hong Yan. During this period, if Devil Muscle finds time, I’ll challenge him."
"As for Gudong, Mei Lin, Bao Ligen, let’s not touch them for now."
These individuals have military backgrounds, and the Dragon-man youth doesn’t want to create more complications. After all, the relationship between the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and the Royal Family has only recently started to thaw.
The Royal Family wants to deal with the Dragon-man youth, this "Holy Domain potential," later; likewise, the Dragon-man youth wants to focus his energy on acquiring the Duel Godhood.
Just as the Dragon-man youth was about to challenge Yijiu, Yijiu unexpectedly approached him first.
"Lord Long Fu!" Yijiu visited proactively with gifts in hand.
Discussing his previous actions against the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, Yijiu directly shifted the main responsibility onto Mei Lin.
The Dragon-man youth thought for a moment, then accepted Yijiu’s gifts with a smile: "Let bygones be bygones."
"I’ve come here to do business."
"And doing business means making friends widely."
"Honestly, I do enjoy dueling a lot and love the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s robust customs. But isn’t my frequent challenging just to sell more medicines?"
"That’s exactly right," Yijiu nodded continuously, "In any time, gold coins are the most real thing, aren’t they?"
"I happen to have a major venture and want to invite your group to collaborate!"
"What venture?" the Dragon-man youth asked.
Yijiu first took out a few alchemy devices, fiddling with them and then activating them in succession, explaining that they were tools to prevent eavesdropping and intelligence gathering.
This was only the first step. He then took out a magic scroll, tore it open, releasing a shield for further concealment.
"This venture is significant, and for the sake of safety, I have to personally come and discuss it with you, Lord Long Fu," Yijiu explained.
This piqued the Dragon-man youth’s curiosity, and upon further inquiry, Yijiu revealed his intentions.
It turns out he wants to target Tide Heart.
"Tide Heart?" The Dragon-man youth found the name familiar at first hearing and soon, with profound eyes, he thought of the answer.
"Are you referring to Tide Heart, the envoy of the Green Sea Kingdom?"
Yijiu nodded: "The necklace worn by Tide Heart is called the ’Sea Tears,’ a valuable treasure created after the demise of the Sea Eye."
"It’s just like my target."
"I know that your group possesses a formidable skill that allows for perfect disguise."
"If we collaborate, we can surely steal the precious [Sea Tears]!"
Dragon-man youth: ...
He felt an impulse to kick Yijiu out.
The Dragon-man youth pretended to contemplate deeply, then politely refused Yijiu after a moment: "Tide Heart is from the Green Sea Kingdom and is a Golden Level Sea Elf Mage. If her equipment is stolen, it would cause big trouble."
"Our group is currently improving relations with the Royal Family, so let’s pretend I never heard this proposal."
Yijiu hurriedly reached out: "Wait..."
He offered an even higher price, but the Dragon-man youth refused without hesitation.
Seeing the displeased expression on the Dragon-man youth’s face, Yijiu could only sigh helplessly, salute, and take his leave.
"Don’t be in a rush to leave." The Dragon-man youth tried to keep the guest, "Since you’re here, let’s have a match first. I was planning to challenge you anyway."
Yijiu’s expression changed, and he shook his head repeatedly: "Lord Long Fu, you know I have an important goal and need to prepare an action plan. I don’t have the leisure to duel. You should target someone else instead; in my view, Qinghongyan would be a good choice."
Yijiu straightforwardly refused the Dragon-man youth, with a firm attitude.
However, before leaving, he reluctantly asked again: "If I agree to have a match with you, would we be able to cooperate?"
The Dragon-man youth shook his head.
Yijiu sighed deeply, filled with regret, and left in a sullen mood.
The disguise method referred to by Yijiu must be the Deception and Disguise Skill + Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill. The Lijian family knows this secret very well. After all, it was through discovering two "Long Fus" that they unraveled the dangerous state Zong Ge was in, and subsequently blocked Zi di and his companions who were trying to leave the Royal Capital through the Teleportation Array.
There was no way the Dragon-man youth would use such a spell on an outsider like Yijiu.
He still had to keep it a secret.
The same logic applies to the Deceptive Divine Arts.
After Yijiu left, the Dragon-man youth focused his attention on Qinghongyan.
Considering that a private invitation might be rejected, the Dragon-man youth decided to make a public challenge, forcing Qinghongyan to accept.
However, just as he was about to do so, the news came that a battle between Devil’s Muscle and Violent Root was about to commence.
The Dragon-man youth thought it over and then decided to temporarily put his duel on hold and head to the dueling field to witness the real-time combat between the two.
The duel of Devil’s Muscle and Violent Root was scheduled in Great Soldier City.
This city has a large population and hosts multiple large barracks, serving as the primary source of soldiers for the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Currently a public star, Long Fu discreetly booked an Observation Room with Zi Di to avoid causing a disturbance among the audience.
The combat between Devil’s Muscle and Violent Root was well-matched in the early, middle, and final stages, as anticipated by the public.
Prior to this duel, they had already fought no less than twenty times.
Devil’s Muscle possesses Devil Bloodline, and his trump card is transforming into a Devil Form of Hell, towering and muscular.
Violent Root is also a fierce warrior type; his combat skills are unadorned but every strike is powerfully fierce. His Bloodline is the Muscle Tree, needing only to root into the ground and absorb Earth Element for recovery. Typically, the ground of the dueling field is soil rather than ice, making it an ideal battlefield for him.
The two strongmen exchanged powerful blows, creating a staggering scene. From their combat style, they resembled the same type as the Dragon-man youth, with only slight differences.
Both fought to exhaustion, with Devil’s Muscle showing a face of enthusiastic satisfaction, shouting to Violent Root: "Come on, let’s gather all our remaining strength and deliver one final punch!"
However, Violent Root showed a guilty expression and softly replied: "Sorry, this time I have a task to fulfill."
In the next moment, he finally activated his strongest trump card.
Almost instantaneously, his equipment transformed drastically, replaced by a complete set of Magic Structure.
The structure was exquisite and gorgeous, with thin armor. At the center of the chest was a large oval Blue Gemstone. Energy circulated within the gem, swiftly transmitting to other parts of the structure.
Boom!
A beam of light surged from Violent Root, reaching the sky.
The turbulent airwave forced Devil’s Muscle to retreat continuously.
The astounding magical aura perfectly unified into one, causing the audience to gape in astonishment.