The public opinion is boiling!
The record of Shichijiro forcing Da Han to retreat is so astonishing that even before he actually landed on Ice Sculpture Island, he has already become the most famous figure in this year’s National Duel.
The most talked-about topic is no longer Bao Ligen or the gentle ones, but Shichijiro.
As for the Dragon-man youth, at this moment, he was forgotten in the corner by the public.
People mainly explore and debate, "How powerful is Shichijiro really?"
As the discussions deepen, the public begins to compare Shichijiro, Long Meng, and Feng Lian.
Currently, these three are considered to be at the Peak of the Golden Level.
"Although Feng Lian had a confrontation with Da Han, he was the one who fled voluntarily. In contrast, Shichijiro fought with Da Han, leading to the retreat of this Holy Domain-Level figure. When comparing the two, Shichijiro is definitely stronger than Feng Lian!"
"So, how does Shichijiro compare to Long Meng? Who is stronger?"
Eventually, the topic centers on Shichijiro and Long Meng.
At this moment, Long Meng’s solid reputation becomes apparent.
Even though Long Meng hasn’t fought directly against someone of Holy Domain Level, he still has a loyal group of supporters. In their hearts, the image of Long Meng’s strength is almost unbreakable.
"I support Long Meng!"
"Long Meng is from our country, he has experienced countless duels, and has always been at ease, never truly seen struggling."
"I believe that even Shichijiro cannot defeat Long Meng."
Then, the two fiercely debating sides surprisingly reached a consensus: "In short, the champion of this year’s National Duel is either Long Meng or Shichijiro!"
The attention of the Ice Sculpture King is also focused on Shichijiro.
Bao Ligen’s defeat, along with Shichijiro’s astonishing record, formed a double blow to the Royal Family’s plans.
After much consideration, the Ice Sculpture King issued orders to the military. He intends to protect Long Meng and do his best to probe all of Shichijiro’s trump cards. Bao Ligen inherently has a character flaw, and the Magic Structure isn’t strong enough to compete for the championship, so instead, they will change plans and have Bao Ligen pave the way for Long Meng!
...
Bao Ligen was granted Divine Healing after his defeat.
The military officer found him: "Though the Divine Arts have healed you, your weakened state will last at least seven days. During this period, you should rest well."
Bao Ligen nodded forcefully: "Once I fully recover, I’ll challenge Long Fu!"
"After defeating Long Fu, I’ll face this Barbarian warrior."
In Bao Ligen’s heart, the Dragon-man youth is his number one enemy.
But the military officer shook his head: "No, I’m here to tell you personally. By order of His Majesty the King, you will challenge Shichijiro!"
Bao Ligen was stupefied: "What?!"
...
"Shichijiro is very strong!" the Dragon-man youth sighed.
He hasn’t fought against someone of Holy Domain Level himself. His strongest Bolang Fishman form, at three Golden Levels, with added Divine Bloodline, has never been used in a tough battle.
Zi Di replied: "If you, the squad leader, use , then even if Shichijiro can continuously resurrect, what use could it be?"
"In my opinion, Da Han was simply worried about being entangled or concerned about Shichijiro’s background and didn’t really intend to fight."
The girl naturally supports her love interest.
Cang Xu concurred: "I think Da Han has other objectives. Since winning the sea battle, he disbanded the pirate coalition and has never really led the ice-bound pirate group to attack coastal towns."
The Dragon-man youth said in a deep voice: "For the National Duel, I’ll use the Dragon-man form. Haven’t we bought the red dragon corpse yet?"
Zi Di nodded: "Soon, the deal has been made, just waiting for the Royal Family to deliver."
To facilitate this deal, Zi Di personally negotiated three times and paid a high price.
However, having unlocked the Purple Vine Secret Stash, the cost of this transaction is entirely within their capability.
"I hope this whole red dragon corpse can give me a significant enhancement in bloodline!" The Dragon-man youth expressed his anticipation.
...
The return of the thirteenth prince and Shichijiro landing on the island caused a nationwide uproar.
The thirteenth prince is held in high esteem among the Ice Sculpture citizens.
And Shichijiro’s debut duel was scheduled in the largest dueling field in the Capital.
At the beginning of the duel, the aisles of the spectator stands were packed with people, truly a sea of people. The dueling field heavily hired Alchemy Mages from the Alchemy Guild, employing the space-folding technology, urgently adding hundreds of independent observation rooms, yet it still couldn’t meet the viewing demands of the nation’s upper echelon.
As Shichijiro’s opponent was an elderly Snow Elf Mage. He wasn’t a fan of duels but was secretly tasked to scout out Shichijiro’s details and pave the way for Bao Ligen.
Shichijiro displayed an overwhelmingly powerful strength!
After the battle began, within nearly three rounds, he successfully closed in on the Mage.
In the fifth round, Shichijiro tore through the shield with his hands, directly tearing off the Mage’s shoulder.
The Mage suffered serious injuries, but his fighting spirit was staunch, sacrificing life to persist for two more rounds, eventually passing out.
"Stop!!" The dueling field staff timely activated the Magic Array, blocking Shichijiro’s fatal strike.
"Hmph, really disappointing." Shichijiro’s expression was displeased, with a vicious look.
This caused many spectators to criticize him, believing that Shichijiro lacks the demeanor of the strong, mercilessly attacking the defeated, far removed from Long Meng.
However, more people witnessed the strength of Shichijiro and increasingly supported him.
After all, this is a world of the strong.
...
The Dragon-man youth successfully challenged Qinghongyan.
Qinghongyan had previously attacked the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ caravan, believing the Dragon-man youth to be the murderer of his friend Teng Donglang. The Dragon-man youth also regarded him as an enemy.
Neither side held back.
Thus, Qinghongyan almost died in the dueling field.
He fell into a state of madness, losing his sanity. The Dragon-man youth eventually held back, sparing his life.
If it had been the former youth, he would have been inclined toward revenge. But now, he considers the bigger picture and gains more.
He had already given Qinghongyan a fierce beating, certainly leaving a deep impression. By sparing Qinghongyan’s life, it could deepen the duelist’s favor towards Long Fu—Long Fu could tolerate even Qinghongyan and was willing to coexist, so he can harmoniously coexist with us too.
On the night of defeating Qinghongyan, the Dragon-man youth used the Blood Core to successfully absorb the Red Dragon’s skeleton.
This skeleton was preserved extremely well.
It was from a prosperous period of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom hundreds of years ago, possessing legendary power and notable achievements, received as a gift from an ally during a grand ceremony.
This was the Red Dragon’s skeleton.
The Red Dragon skeleton was carefully crafted, similar to a trophy made after a hunt, fully showcasing achievements.
Also, because it was positioned as a gift, the Ice Sculpture Kingdom did not dismantle it afterward to consume it as alchemy material.
Whenever the national strength of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom weakened, this significant gift would be hidden deep in the treasury, rarely exposed.
Because the kingdom needed to fully consider the opinions of the Dragon Clan.
It can be understood from different perspectives.
If the kingdom displayed the Red Dragon skeleton, it would be akin to a goblin modifying the corpse of a Human Race warrior to showcase achievements. How would the Human Race forces perceive it?
When the Ice Sculpture Kingdom had legendary power, they would display it openly. But the current king is only at Holy Domain Level, and the national strength is not strong. Coupled with Zi Di setting high prices, instead of letting the Dragon skeleton gather dust in the warehouse, it would be better to use it for trade.
After absorbing the Red Dragon’s skeleton, the Dragon-man youth’s King of Flame Dragon bloodline concentration greatly increased, raising the limit to Holy Domain Level, finally deserving the name "Holy Domain Talent."
The large increase in concentration also brought new magic-like spells to the Dragon-man youth.
The effectiveness of all existing magic-like spells significantly increased.
With such a huge improvement, the Dragon-man youth immediately gained confidence: even without the Magic Structure [Cold Pudding], he could defeat Bao Ligen.
However, despite waiting, Bao Ligen did not issue a public challenge.
The Dragon-man youth discussed with Cang Xu and Zi Di, believing that there might be some plan from the military or the royal family.
Therefore, the Dragon-man youth followed his own pace and challenged Yijiu.
Yijiu, disguised as Hua Tang, attempted to steal a necklace but failed. After giving up on this idea, he devoted himself to preparing for the duel.
But his adequate preparation still couldn’t match the significantly improved Dragon-man youth.
Ultimately, he was defeated.
The Dragon-man youth also felt exhausted.
Yijiu was too good at running, his burst speed faster than his own. This made a large part of the duel a chase.
After the battle with Yijiu, the Dragon-man youth essentially swept through all the duelists outside the military factions.
Except for Long Meng.
In the military factions, there were Mei Lin, Gudong, and Bao Ligen.
Mei Lin was not challengeable. She had military duties and did not participate in any duels in this National Ceremony.
So, that left Bao Ligen and Gudong.
The Dragon-man youth chose Bao Ligen first.
This time, he contacted privately.
The response he received was that Bao Ligen had an important mission. He personally wanted to fight Long Fu but had to do his best to stop Shichijiro.
Thus, the survivors confirmed: this was a power play between the Ice Sculpture Royal Family and the Holy Bright Empire, with Bao Ligen and Shichijiro being the pieces.
The former was clearly not a match for Shichijiro, but considering Long Meng was still around.
Cang Xu then deduced the King’s plan: have Bao Ligen pave the way for Long Meng!
Cang Xu further analyzed Shichijiro’s duels after entering the Royal Capital, suspecting that these duelists were arranged by the royal family. They were paving the way for Bao Ligen.
Hence, the duel between Bao Ligen vs. Shichijiro, the Dragon-man youth attended the scene in person.
Not only did he come, but Long Meng also rarely attended the scene.
The kingdom’s military went all out, making major modifications to the Magic Structure [Cold Pudding] for Bao Ligen, giving him several measures against Shichijiro.
In the early to mid-stages of the battle, Bao Ligen held a slight advantage.
But in the mid-to-late stages, Shichijiro found an opening, turning the situation around. From then on, he maintained the initiative, holding the upper hand.
Ultimately, Bao Ligen was defeated, with terrifying injuries, especially the wound on his abdomen, nearly cleaving him in half.
As for the Magic Structure [Cold Pudding], it was torn apart piece by piece by Shichijiro during the battle!