Has he always been this brave?

Linglong Holy Land.

Jade Cicada Palace.

At this moment, the hall was filled with prodigies, and immortal music played in waves. In the center of the hall, exquisite and magnificent tables, chairs, and screens were arranged, laden with various Spiritual Fruits, delicacies, and fine wines.

Dozens of beautifully dressed and fair-faced maids carried jade trays, flitting to and fro beside the tables, serving the guests with diligence and care.

Seated in the main seat, the Linglong Saintess, Xiao Yueni, personally filled the jade cup before her with Spiritual Wine, then raised the cup toward everyone, saying with a soft, radiant smile:

"The six Fellow Daoists have traveled thousands of miles to come here today, which truly brings honor to my Linglong Holy Land. Yueni will first toast everyone with a cup."

Then, with a gentle motion of her slender hand, she drained the fine wine in the cup. Her creamy white cheeks instantly flushed slightly, adding a touch of charm to her originally somewhat cool and elegant temperament.

"Fairy Xiao is too polite. Our two Sects have always watched over and helped each other. Now that your noble Sect is celebrating a great occasion, how could we not come just because of the long distance?"

"It is a great honor for our Boundless Holy Land to be invited to the celebration and congratulate the birth of the fourth Mahayana Ancestors of the Linglong Holy Land."

"Indeed, today Fellow Daoists of the same generation from the Seven Great Holy Lands are gathered together. Such a grand event is a rare occurrence in a thousand years; we should drink to our heart's content!"

Those qualified to sit here were all the cream of the crop among the younger generation of the Seven Great Holy Lands. Naturally, they knew how to handle such occasions and raised their cups in return.

Even the somewhat distracted Qin Lingxue picked up her jade cup and took a small sip, her gaze intentionally or unintentionally drifting toward Qi Yao, who stood behind Xiao Yueni.

After several rounds of toasting, the atmosphere in the hall gradually became lively.

Pu Genshuo took a bite of a Spiritual Fruit near him and sent a Voice Transmission to Qi Yuan beside him:

"Look, that Junior Sister from the Liyuan Holy Land across from us is beautiful, but her personality is just too icy."

"She looks even more arrogant than Xiao Yueni, that woman whose eyes are fixed on the sky. Have all the beauties in the Cultivation World become so cold and aloof nowadays?"

Qi Yuan glanced at him with disgust and replied unceremoniously via Voice Transmission:

"You have the nerve to call her an iceberg? You're just used to seeing those passionate Brothel Girls. With someone like you, any woman would turn into an iceberg the moment they see you."

Hearing this, Pu Genshuo was suddenly a bit discouraged and argued, "I don't like what you're saying, brother. What's wrong with Brothel Girls?"

"Every Brothel Girl has a past they'd rather not look back on—a gambling father, a sick mother, a brother in school, a heartless lover... In short, they all fell into the world of dust as a last resort."

"Who will help these poor people if I don't?"

After hearing this plausible-sounding nonsense, Qi Yuan rolled his eyes in annoyance, too lazy to bother with him further.

At this time, Ji Tianpeng, the Dao Child of Ziyang of the Purple Sun Holy Land at the table, slowly set down his wine cup. He looked calmly at Qi Yuan among the guests and said in a deep voice:

"Since I took the position of Dao Child of Ziyang, I have always hoped to compete with the Dao Child of Tai Xuan. Unfortunately, the position of Dao Child of Tai Xuan has been vacant for a long time, and I couldn't find anyone to spar with."

"Now that you have taken the position of Dao Child of Tai Xuan, this desire naturally falls on you. Since we happened to meet today, why don't we have a match at the Linglong Holy Land? What do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall instantly froze.

The prodigies present were all well aware of the grievances between the Taixuan Holy Land and the Purple Sun Holy Land.

Therefore, everyone was not surprised by Ji Tianpeng's challenge to the new Dao Child of Tai Xuan; they had even anticipated it.

The only thing worth paying attention to was whether Qi Yuan dared to accept.

After all, Qi Yuan's cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul Mid-stage, while Ji Tianpeng was an established Dao Child at the Early Stage of Soul Transformation. There was a whole major Realm of difference between them. Even if he refused such a clearly lopsided duel, it wouldn't be shameful.

Seemingly afraid that Qi Yuan would decline, Ji Tianpeng smiled faintly and continued:

"Of course, to avoid being accused of using my cultivation to suppress others, which would be unfair, I will suppress my cultivation to the same level as yours."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Xiao Yueni in the main seat. "Fairy Xiao, it is said that the Linglong Holy Land has a specialized arena for duels, which also contains a special Formation. Once the Formation is activated, it can suppress the cultivation and magic power of both combatants to the same level."

"At that time, victory or defeat will depend entirely on the divine abilities, Moves, and on-the-spot reactions of both parties. I would like to borrow the venue; I wonder if Fairy Xiao would grant permission?"

Xiao Yueni's beautiful brows furrowed slightly as she explained:

"We do indeed have such a venue, but the Formation inside is only used on special occasions to test the proficiency of the Disciples' techniques. It is rarely activated, and there's no guarantee it will run smoothly."

Then, she looked at Qi Yuan with a worried expression and said in a persuasive tone, "Everyone is a standout among the younger generation. There's no need to ruin the harmony over some old sectarian history. Why don't we..."

Before she could finish, Qin Lingxue rose from her seat and said coldly:

"I will fight this battle for him. Ji Tianpeng, do you dare to accept?"

Ji Tianpeng's face instantly darkened as he said to Qi Yuan expressionlessly:

"Dao Child of Tai Xuan, do you plan to hide behind these two women and not come out?"

On this side, Qi Yuan calmly drained the fine wine in his cup and said in a relaxed tone:

"On such a beautiful occasion with beautiful companions, how wonderful it is to focus on drinking and enjoying ourselves. Why insist on bringing up these violent matters to spoil the mood and disturb everyone's enjoyment for nothing?"

"I just don't like seeing people like you. You look all aggressive when challenging someone, but when you lose, you whine and moan as if you're dying. It's quite nauseating to watch."

"What?!"

Hearing this, the people in the hall were suddenly in an uproar, clearly not expecting Qi Yuan to be so tough.

This could no longer be considered mere pre-battle trash talk; it was a blatant provocation and show of contempt.

If before it might have just been about determining who was superior and stopping at the right point, these words meant the grudge was now deep. While it might not lead to death, the loser would at least have to be knocked down and unable to get up for it to end.

At this moment, everyone's gaze toward Qi Yuan changed.

"Has he always been this brave?"

Ji Tianpeng was even more furious and said with a cold face:

"Enough nonsense. Whether it's a win or a loss, let's see the truth through our skills."

With that said, he took a step out of the hall and stood on the White Jade Square outside the Jade Cicada Palace.

Meeting the strange looks from all around, Qi Yuan stood up with a composed expression and said to Xiao Yueni beside him:

"Fairy Xiao, please take us to the Duel Venue you mentioned. Also, don't clear the dishes on the table; I haven't eaten my fill yet."

Hearing this, Xiao Yueni immediately snapped out of her shock and then smiled. "Alright, follow me."

After the two of them left, the remaining people glanced at each other and then followed without hesitation.