"Come on, Little Devil. Now you are a slave of the Zhu Clan," Junior Brother Liu sneered, dragging the staggering Zhi Xuan onto the main street.

  The short journey felt like hell for Zhi Xuan. Every jolt of wind sent waves of sharp pain from his exploded ribs. Zhi Xuan was carried by a spiritual artifact, flying toward the mountain in the mortal imperial range.

  They ascended high, passing through secluded forests until they finally reached a crack where an illusion formation enveloped the mountain. The cold mountain air here was much clearer, and the dense spiritual aura felt like thick morning dew.

  "This is the Zhu Pavilion," Senior Brother Qin said, his tone full of controlled arrogance, signifying the place's grandeur. "A place where filth like you should not even touch the ground."

  The formation opened, revealing perfectly maintained hills and small valleys covered in a thin spiritual mist. In the middle of this serene and majestic view stood the Zhu Pavilion.

  The buildings were made of white jade stone and expensive sandalwood, exuding an aura of prosperity and the power of an ancient sect. Spiritual koi ponds shimmered under the starlight, and jade trees emitted a soft, soothing light. Everything was designed to isolate itself from the dust of the mortal world.

  They passed through the marble gate, where guards in Zhu Clan uniform immediately bowed to Senior Brother Qin. Inside the complex, the spiritual aura felt much purer and denser than in the mortal city.

  Zhi Xuan was dragged across the courtyard adorned with spiritual koi ponds and jade trees emitting a soft light. Finally, they stopped in front of an elegant sandalwood pavilion, where an air freshening formation diffused a soothing spiritual floral scent.

  Inside the pavilion, sat a figure who immediately stole all focus. She was Zhu Qinglan, the Holy Maiden of the Zhu Clan.

  Zhu Qinglan sat on a luxurious silk cushion, her back straight and elegant. She looked about seventeen years old, but the aura she exuded was one of eternal majesty—like a high, untouchable sacred ice mountain.

  She wore a light blue jade robe embroidered with gold threads forming an elegant phoenix motif. Her skin was as white as snow, her pitch-black hair tied in a simple yet graceful bun, and her face—a face that could drive cultivators mad—was perfectly flawless.

  Her waist was incredibly slender, the light blue jade robe concealing her slim figure. There were several pink stars sewn on her sleeves, as well as some fortunate snow embroidered with silver thread.

  Her eyes sparkled as if they were sacred springs. Crystal pearls hanging beneath the phoenix hairpin on her head swayed slightly. Her beauty was such that she looked stunning. Anyone who saw her would be shocked.

  However, the most striking feature was her eyes. Her eyes were light gray, like the morning mist in the immortal mountains. Those eyes were filled with ancient wisdom and, currently, deep boredom. A pearl-accented face veil covered her lips and nose, concealing an elegance and divine beauty that could not be described even with immortal poetry.

  Zhi Xuan was momentarily stunned by the figure; this girl was said to have reached the Five Elements realm. A realm that no one in the city of Shoutuo had even reached yet. Zhi Xuan clenched his teeth, staring intently at Zhu Qinglan.

  Zhu Qinglan did not move. She merely tilted her head slightly, her gray eyes gazing at the blood-soaked and chained Zhi Xuan.

  "Here he is, Holy Maiden," Senior Brother Qin reported, bowing respectfully. "The Black-Haired Devil. He displayed foul arrogance."

  Holy Maiden Zhu Qinglan raised her snow-white hand. Her long finger pointed toward Zhi Xuan.

  "Bring him closer. I want to see the fire burning in those dirty eyes."

  Zhi Xuan was dragged forward by Junior Brother Liu, who held the Spiritual Binding Rope with a tight grip. Every small step forced Zhi Xuan's crushed body to rub against the pain. The drying blood on his robe left dark stains on the pavilion's white marble floor, soiling the place's spiritual purity.

  He was forced to kneel about ten steps in front of Zhu Qinglan's silk cushion.

  His face was directed straight at the Holy Maiden—her majestic beauty, her unmatched elegance, and most fatally, the gaze of her light gray eyes filled with eternal boredom.

  Zhu Qinglan stared at Zhi Xuan, the tattered, blood-soaked, and bound Divine Wheel cultivator. She saw him not as a human or a cultivator, but as a new spectacle—like a rare insect that stumbled into her spiritual pond.

  "You are bold," Zhu Qinglan said, her voice smooth, like the mountain wind carrying a cold scent, yet possessing absolute authority. "Challenging Young Master Gu, winning that bet... You made a mockery of the rules held by greater cultivators."

  Zhi Xuan raised his head, his pale blind eye shining with jade light. Meanwhile, his sapphire blue right eye stared coldly and flatly.

  "A mockery," Zhi Xuan said. "Then what about displaying mortal blood for mere pleasure?"

  Zhu Qinglan tilted her head slightly more, the crystal pearls on her phoenix hairpin swaying slowly. Her light gray eyes, which were previously filled with boredom, now reflected the image of the crushed Zhi Xuan.

  "Pleasure?" she murmured. "Mortal blood is mortal blood. No more valuable than the cheap wine the Merchants drink. What is interesting is the resistance. And you, Black-Haired Devil, you provided resistance worthy of a show. A comedy, even. You bet your life to save mortal trash, when you yourself are merely a fragile Divine Wheel."

  Zhu Qinglan's voice contained no harsh contempt, but a calm statement of fact—the fact that Zhi Xuan's value in her eyes was only slightly above the value of the mortal corpses he left in the arena.

  Zhi Xuan felt a burning anger beneath the pain that was crushing his bones. He clenched his teeth. He knew if he fought, Senior Brother Qin would crush him. But allowing himself to be condescended to by this heavenly arrogance felt more painful than the Consciousness Transformation strike earlier.

  He forced air out of his aching lungs. "I fought for my life and my capital. What are you fighting for, Holy Maiden?" Zhi Xuan asked, his voice hoarse, but his cold composure did not falter at all. "Collecting interesting losers to view in your pavilion?"

  Senior Brother Qin, who stood nearby, could not restrain himself. His Consciousness Transformation aura erupted again.

  "Silence, dirty rat! You dare challenge the Holy Maiden?!" he roared.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  WHSHH!

  Zhi Xuan felt the pressure increase tenfold. He closed his eyes for a moment as blood flowed from his nose again. He felt every crack in his ribs scream.

  However, before Senior Brother Qin could step forward, Zhu Qinglan raised her snow-white hand, stopping her guard.

  "Let him be, Qin," Zhu Qinglan said, her tone gentle, but containing an undeniable command. She turned her gaze back to Zhi Xuan. At the corner of her lips hidden behind the pearl-accented face veil, a slight smile appeared.

  "I am fighting to go further," Zhu Qinglan countered. "I have reached Five Elements at seventeen. I hold control over the Ten Thousand Mountains in the Eastern Continent. No one can defeat me. Every day is boredom, every victory is just an expected step."

  "Then what is the purpose of being the strongest?" Zhi Xuan quickly interrupted, pulling a wry smile with a surrender that did not reach his eyes. "This servant heard that the fairy is pursued by Young Master Gu for romance. After seeing you directly, Holy Maiden is indeed a match as rumored."

  The compliment, although spoken in a self-deprecating tone, had a deceptive sharpness. Zhu Qinglan showed no expression of anger or shock. Instead, she chuckled—a voice that was smooth and melodious, like a silver bell touched by the ice wind.

  The laughter erased the tension in the pavilion, but it made Senior Brother Qin and Junior Brother Liu even more tense, because they knew this was a sign that the Holy Maiden was amused, and that amusement could be fatal for the Black-Haired Devil.

  Zhu Qinglan tilted her head slightly, the crystal pearls on her phoenix hairpin swaying gently. She ignored Zhi Xuan's trivial accusation about romance with Young Master Gu.

  "Romance," Zhu Qinglan repeated, her voice containing a mocking tone not aimed at Zhi Xuan, but at the concept itself. "A trivial thing that makes cultivators lose their Dao. I am not interested in Young Master Gu, or any man who can only give me what I already possess—lesser power and fewer treasures."

  She shifted her sitting position slightly, her elegance absolute. "My goal is to surpass Five Elements. Seeing people like you struggle with your lives for a single coin, it is... slightly entertaining. You showed hidden strength. A strength that, if nurtured, might give you the right to stand straight in front of me, not kneel like a wounded rat."

  Zhu Qinglan raised her right hand. Her snow-white fingers elegantly stretched into the air, and instantly, a thin strand of Five Elements Essence—a combination of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water essences—appeared at her fingertip, spinning like a mini-galaxy.

  Zhi Xuan, although his body was crushed, felt the terrifying majesty and power of that essence. The essence he saw now was much purer and more terrifying than he had ever imagined. The Five Elements realm was a gulf between mortal cultivators and true cultivators who were beginning to touch the Laws of the universe.

  'Five Elements...' Zhi Xuan muttered in his mind, stunned before his eyes. This realm... The realm that was his mission to seek the Five Elements scroll. The hope of the Star village and something that even Young Master Gu wanted to achieve.

  However, Zhi Xuan refused to be overly mesmerized by this. He clenched his jaw and turned his face to the side. The Heart-Nurturing Jade that bound his hair fell into his hand, letting his long black hair flutter gently.

  Zhi Xuan turned his face away, his long black hair fluttering gently. It was a provocative move, a refusal to acknowledge the superiority of the power displayed before him. He did not see the Five Elements Essence gracefully spinning at Zhu Qinglan's fingertip as beauty or a goal, but as a cold and arrogant shackle.

  The pain in his ribs and cheek reminded him of the painful reality: he had been beaten and overpowered by this woman's guard. Yet, he refused to surrender his Dao—the pure will he found on the edge of the mortal river—to the gaze filled with eternal boredom.

  'I might die today, Ruo,' Zhi Xuan thought, suppressing a fatal cough of blood. 'But I will not die bowing my head before this arrogance.'

  Zhu Qinglan, observing a reaction that was expected to be fear and worship, was slightly surprised by Zhi Xuan's action of turning his face away. She slowly withdrew her hand, the shimmering Five Elements Essence disappearing as if she had just extinguished a cheap candle.

  "Interesting," Zhu Qinglan whispered, her voice now sounding closer, filled with a cold, analytical tone. "You are the first cultivator, mortal or cultivator, who dares to turn away from my Five Elements Art. You refuse to see the real difference between the heavens and the mud."

  Zhi Xuan forced himself to look straight ahead again, into Zhu Qinglan's light gray eyes.

  "I have seen a greater heaven," Zhi Xuan replied, his voice hoarse but steady. "I have seen an older river. The Five Elements Essence is merely a realm, not the end of the Dao."

  Zhi Xuan sighed softly, his body still aching and heavy. "Release me, I have nothing to be favored by a saint like Holy Fairy Zhu."

  Zhu Qinglan smiled, a small smile so subtle it was almost invisible behind the pearl veil. But that smile contained a decision.

  "I will not release you," Zhu Qinglan countered. "I am bored, Black-Haired Devil. And you, with your promise of revenge and blood-soaked arrogance, are the best entertainment I have had in the last three years. I want to see how far that fragile arrogance can take you."

  Zhi Xuan, unable to bear being condescended to, lowered his gaze for a moment to close his eyes. When he looked up again, he forced himself to meet Zhu Qinglan's eyes. And from his eyes, he delivered a faint pressure that came from the ancient Demon Monument's counter-gaze—a flash of will that transcended the Divine Wheel realm, even surpassing the Five Elements.

  Although Zhi Xuan was on the verge of death and bound, that will was so pure and ancient, so cold and threatening, that for a fraction of a second, Zhu Qinglan felt something she had never felt: genuine interest.

  The light gray eyes widened slightly. It was not due to a physical threat, but surprise at the depth of will hidden behind the eyes of the crushed Divine Wheel cultivator. She saw not just a Black-Haired Devil, but a grim shadow of something countless ages old.

  Senior Brother Qin and Junior Brother Liu, who only felt a slight fluctuation of cold aura, did not understand what had just happened. They only saw sudden silence.

  'Stupid monkey! What are you doing?! You almost let your Taiyin will leak! That could kill you in this crushed state!' Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice filled with anger mixed with admiration. 'But... good. You have piqued her interest. Boredom is her biggest weakness.'

  'Then what, Ruo?' Zhi Xuan countered in his mind, his voice hoarse from the suffocating pain. 'I must escape and heal myself.'

  'Escaping now is death. You just took a blow from the Consciousness Transformation realm. Let her heal you, idiot!' Ruo Xianxue exclaimed. 'This Holy Maiden is bored, not cruel. She holds your biggest prize, the chance to live and advance.'

  'Stop begging her to release you. That only strengthens her control. She wants to see how far your arrogance can take you? Give her a worthy show, but do not be a subservient slave.'

  'Offer her a choice. Show her you have greater value than just an arena slave. Now, Zhi Xuan! Use your tongue before your ribs pierce your heart!'

  Zhi Xuan forced his injured lungs to take a deep breath. The scent of spiritual flowers felt like poison on his wounds. He stared at Zhu Qinglan, ignoring Senior Brother Qin who stood tense, ready to attack at any moment.

  "Holy Fairy Zhu," Zhi Xuan said, his voice slightly louder and steadier, although he had to exert his entire will. "You said I am worthy entertainment, a comedy. And you want to see how far my arrogance will take me."

  Zhu Qinglan tilted her head slightly, waiting. Her light gray eyes were filled with calm boredom again, as if she already knew every word Zhi Xuan would say.

  "Commands and obedience are merely boring old stories, Your Excellency," Zhi Xuan continued, putting pressure on the honorific title with a dismissive tone. "That will not give you an interesting spectacle. That will only give you a dead rat bound by a spiritual rope."

  "If you truly want to see the limits of this arrogance, if you want to see a show that surpasses the Dragon Fang Arena..." Zhi Xuan paused for a moment, letting the thick silence in the pavilion hang. He used that moment to force the Taiyin Essence to bandage his internal wounds slightly, giving him a mental energy boost.

  He stretched his bound hand slightly, showing his thick prize jade scroll. "I have Five Hundred Thousand Spiritual Jade Coins, but they are useless to me if I die from wounds forced by your guard. Give me time to cultivate. And in return..."

  Zhi Xuan smiled coldly, a smile that did not reach his eyes at all. "I can offer to become your Tao Protector in the future."

  "Or," Zhi Xuan continued, his voice turning back into a hoarse threat. "Kill me now. Because I will never kneel and become an obedient pet dog. That will never amuse you."

  Senior Brother Qin, hearing the audacious offer, gasped, stepping forward. "You dare negotiate with the Holy Maiden?! Kill him now, Your Excellency! He is not worthy!"

  Zhu Qinglan once again raised her snow-white hand, and Senior Brother Qin's Consciousness Transformation aura immediately subsided. Zhu Qinglan did not take her eyes off Zhi Xuan. The pearl veil on her face concealed most of her expression, but her light gray eyes now shone with a much sharper light than before.