BOOM BOOM

　　The two round spheres exploded, causing lightning to spread out over a three-foot radius. Surprised, Prince Chu Huang made a sharp turn and pressed down both of his hands. Golden rays began to flow through his body before a giant force flew out from between his hands to forcibly press these two exploding spheres to the ground until they dissipated into nothing.

　　“Haha, that’s all three strikes, right?” Fang Xing loudly laughed. He quickly ran over and picked up Ying Qiaoqiao before retreating ten feet away.

　　Prince Chu Huang had indeed sent out his third strike, but it had been interfered with by the sneak attack of the Purple Thunder Pellets. He’d been forced to go on the defense and the third strike had naturally had to change course, but it could still be said that Ying Qiaoqiao had technically received his attack.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s gaze was freezing cold as he turned to Fang Xing. “How dare you sneak attack me?” he viciously asked. “What do you think the rules are here for”

　　Fang Xing cursed in return, “F*ck your uncle’s rules. Even if it is a sneak attack, I was the one who did—it was your little grandpa who broke the rules. She took that third strike of yours. If you’re so good, why don’t you come for me, your little grandpa? You go around trying to murder little girls; how is that any ability?”

　　“Fine, I’ll come for you then!” Prince Chu Huang’s face darkened and he released a cold roar. His body filled up with Qi as he prepared to send out another strike.

　　Fang Xing’s gaze chilled as well as he placed Ying Qiaoqiao protectively to his side. He secretly gathered his own Qi, readying an attack.

　　Fang Xing was the kind of person who couldn’t accept seeing his friends being bullied. Prince Chu Huang’s actions had already lit flames of anger within him that he was unable to contain; if this person truly dared to fight him, he’d tear off his disguise and fight with his real strength. He could just run away afterwards anyway. He’d helped Ying Qiaoqiao reach this stage and helped her pass the trial so she was eligible for a chance at that grand opportunity; with this, all of the trust she’d placed in him had not been in vain.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s eyes chilled. His body moved slightly as he prepared to throw out his attack.

　　Just at that moment, a white longsword was interposed in front of him. “Your Highness, this youth just took three of my strikes,” Xiao Xue’s voice calmly rose, “Based on the rules, he is considered one of us of the Snowy Mountain. Even if he did sneak attack you and broke the rules, the punishment would still fall upon the Snowy Mountain to decide. For you to personally retaliate now… that is also against the rules, you know….”

　　Prince Chu Huang’s expression darkened to the extreme as he sent a cold look towards Xiao Xue. Xiao Xue, however, remained calm, not at all afraid of his glare.

　　As for Fang Xing, his eyes were focused on Prince Chu Huang’s head with an alarming amount of focus. He was calculating whether he’d be able to cut off this prince’s head before he could react.

　　Prince Chu Huang looked at Xiao Xue for a few moments until the chilling murderous intent suddenly disappeared and he closed his eyes once more. “What you said is indeed correct. All must comply with the rules.”

　　Xiao Xue let out a sigh of relief as well before looking towards Fang Xing. “Go and take her inside.”

　　Fang Xing nodded. “You are such a great person, miss fairy! Unlike someone , who’s ugly and disgusting!” When Prince Chu Huang’s eyes reopened to send a glare his way, Fang Xing returned it and asked, “What? Is cursing a turtle egg bastard also against the rules?”

　　Prince Chu Huang’s eyes closed shut once more, but this time there seemed to be an aura of malice around him.

　　“Dammit. There are plenty of turtle egg bastards in this world, but the gold-colored turtle egg bastards are the most annoying of all,” Fang Xing muttered to himself while carrying Ying Qiaoqiao towards the small road to the side. As he passed Xiao Xue, however, he suddenly paused and turned. “Miss fairy, do you know why gold-colored turtle egg bastards are the most annoying?”

　　Xiao Xue let out a surprised laugh. “Why?”

　　“Because he’s brazen enough to pretend to be the child of a dragon when he is in fact nothing more than a turtle egg bastard.”

　　Xiao Xue let out a muffled laugh. She nodded and replied in a soft voice, “Hurry and go inside now. I won’t be able to stop him if his flames of anger are truly fanned.”

　　“What sort of flame of anger does someone like him have? Flame of the Golden Turtle Egg Bastard?”

　　By now, the malicious aura around Prince Chu Huang could even be seen with the naked eye.

　　—

　　“Why did you stop me?” Prince Chu Huang suddenly coldly asked once Fang Xing followed the small path between the black peaks.

　　Xiao Xue showed a faint smile. “I know your royal clan isn’t fully willing to cooperate with the esteemed seniors like Hu Qin this time around. I also know the fact the old senior Hu Qin decided to leave that inheritance to a little girl from Bohai instead of someone from your royal clan has left you even more dissatisfied. I do feel, however, that someone of your status attacking a little girl is not proper.”

　　Prince Chu Huang’s eyes immediately opened with a gleam. “Is that truly what you think?”

　　“Nope!” As Chu Huang looked at her, Xiao Xue smiled once more. “When it comes to the younger generations of all Chufung and the seven surrounding kingdoms, you and I are the only qualified opponents for each other. Anything you wish to do, I naturally will make sure to cause a few problems… until you duel with me to my satisfaction!”

　　Prince Chu Huang shut his eyes again. “That does not comply with the rules. Anything not within the rules, I do not do!”

　　Xiao Xue laughed. “Being a gold-colored turtle egg bastard is within your rules?”

　　This caused the malicious aura around Prince Chu Huang to increase once again, while Xiao Xue covered her mouth and snickered.

　　—

　　After moving past the two black peaks, Fang Xing and Ying Qiaoqiao arrived at a giant snow-covered valley. The silhouettes of white hills surrounded this entire valley without interruption, and in the middle of the valley was a black hall. Most of the hall was covered up by the snowy hills until only a small part of the entire building could be seen, unintentionally causing it to appear towering and majestic.

　　Fang Xing stepped forward and came across a stone sign. The lettering was sharp and clear, forming two giant words:

　　Snowy Mountain

　　“That Xiao Xue mentioned something about Snowy Mountain earlier, but isn’t the grand opportunity supposed to be given by the Melodic Ice Palace?” Fang Xing muttered to himself. He propped up Ying Qiaoqiao’s slipping body and resumed walking forward.

　　“Heh. The first group to pass the trials has arrived!” a cheerful voice suddenly greeted them. The air in front of Fang Xing abruptly distorted before an elderly man with a cheery smile appeared in front of him, standing a head taller than Fang Xing.

　　As the elderly man looked down on Fang Xing, however, the boy realized this elderly man was in fact rather short and was floating a good thirty inches in the air to give off the impression he was really tall.

　　Just as this old man was about to speak to Fang Xing, he suddenly took notice of Ying Qiaoqiao being carried by Fang Xing. “Nn? Why is she so wounded?” he asked, his expression shifting slightly.

　　“This is all thanks to that golden turtle egg bastard you arranged for!” Fang Xing angrily replied.

　　“Golden turtle egg bastard?” The old man was surprised but soon realized what Fang Xing meant. Without replying, he simply released a few cold laughs and gave a slight wave of his hand, causing an invisible force to gather at the bottom of Fang Xing’s feet. The energy turned into a cloud and rose up into the air before carrying Fang Xing off to the black hall.

　　Once Fang Xing had entered the hall, he saw there were actually five elderly-looking men seated in front of him. All of their appearances were vastly different, but all of them had an aura that was above and beyond the ordinary. After studying with Bai Qianzhang for three years, Fang Xing was familiar with such a thing—this kind of extraordinary aura was something only a Golden Core Stage cultivation master possessed.

　　‘Five Golden Cores?’ Fang Xing wondered to himself in surprise, ‘How can the Melodic Ice Palace have five Golden Cores?’

　　When one of the grey-robed elders saw Ying Qiaoqiao, his gaze instantly froze. He immediately stood up and took her with him, flying right into the depths of the hall without speaking a single word to Fang Xing or anyone else. Four other old men were left behind, all of whom looked at Fang Xing with smiles. One rather wretched-looking man in particular had a face filled with astonishment.

　　Although Fang Xing had experienced much in his life, he still felt quite uncomfortable to be watched so closely by these four old men.

　　“Which clan’s elite are you? Why are you… wearing servant’s clothing?” one of the old men asked, his face showing surprise.

　　Fang Xing pointed towards where Ying Qiaoqiao had been taken. “I accompanied her.”

　　All four of the old men were amazed upon hearing what Fang Xing said. As for the wretched-looking man, he spoke on in astonishment, “Who would have imagined a servant would be able to pass the trials we set with the fastest speed. Looks like all the elites we chose are rather disappointing! Well, don’t any one of you fight with me; this kid shall be instructed by me, you guys all go wait for the others….”

　　The other old men looked at him in confusion. “You are the laziest of us. Since when did you start trying to compete with us for pupils?”

　　“I felt a sense of familiarity the moment I saw this kid!” the wretched-looking man replied.

　　When the other old men heard what he had to say, none looked for any more excuses. Instead, a stern-faced elder spoke up, “There is no need to be in a rush. These children are probably all confused right now. How about we wait until everyone is here and then tell them everything? Besides, we still have to see how many formation-countering talismans they gathered as well to determine which path of inheritance they are most suited for!”

　　Everyone nodded when they heard those words.

　　“I say… it’s best that you don’t wait,” Fang Xing cautiously spoke up.

　　All four of them looked towards him at the same time. “Why?”

　　Fang Xing threw all the Black Ice Orders and formation-countering talismans from his storage sack onto the ground. “They’re probably not going to pass the trials….” As he spoke, a sense of uncertainty began to form inside him as he carefully watched the reactions of these men. He’d originally thought that since he was disguised as a servant, he’d only need to face one person in the Golden Core Stage, yet now he was face to face with four of them. This was much more than he’d prepared for, and even though he had enough guts to cover the heavens, he’d become rather cautious now.

　　As for that wretched-looking old man, he actually let out an abrupt laugh, as though his mood had just become very pleasant.