Ying Qiaoqiao had been watching when the Xiao-named female explained the rules to Fang Xing and gave him three strikes to endure. Fang Xing had passed and the entire process itself was incredibly simple, which led her to believe this stage would be easy. She hadn’t expected to receive so many questions once her turn came, and—in her confusion—she looked towards Fang Xing who was standing next to Xiao Xue.

　　Prince Chu Huang seemed to see through her and calmly said, “There is no need for you to look at her. She has her beliefs. I have my rules. Her beliefs are that everything centers around doing as one pleases, my rule is that all must follow the rules. If she was the one giving you the final test, then whatever she did would be her business. Since I am the one to test you, however, all must be done according to my rules!”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao was a bit shaken when she heard this and responded with the truth. “We tamed spirit beasts using the secret techniques of our Myriad Beasts Sect. By borrowing the powers of the spirit beasts, we were able to cross the trial grounds without needing to walk under the formations’ pressure, allowing us to arrive a bit sooner.”

　　Prince Chu Huang nodded. “That being the case, you certainly didn’t get many formation-countering talismans, correct?”

　　“I… have a few…” Ying Qiaoqiao answered in a small voice.

　　Prince Chu Huang was rather surprised by this. “How many?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao poured out all of the formation-countering talismans from her storage sack, revealing around eight in total.

　　Prince Chu Huang was utterly stunned. “How could you have so many?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao became a bit scared. “Taken from other people…” she whispered after some time had passed.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s brows immediately furrowed together, and a faint aura of anger began to rise.

　　“Nobody said anything about not being allowed to take these talismans, right?” Fang Xing interrupted.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s gaze chilled and shot towards Fang Xing like a sharp sword, cold and awe-inspiring. Fang Xing, however, wasn’t afraid of him whatsoever and shot a gaze right back.

　　Fang Xing being so bold was a bit of a surprise for the prince. Although Prince Chu Huang hadn’t utilized the secret spell of the royal family in his gaze, there still weren’t many cultivators who’d act so calm and daring to actually return it. There weren’t even that many Foundation Stage cultivators who could endure his stare, and it made him wonder where this servant-clothed kid got his guts from.

　　“The trial never specified it was forbidden to take talismans from others. Therefore, it should not be considered against the rules,” Xiao Xue suddenly spoke up at that moment. The words were soft, but they nonetheless caught Prince Chu Huang’s attention. He did not respond to her, however, and instead turned towards Ying Qiaoqiao before saying, “You may now prepare yourself to receive my first strike!”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao let out a sigh of relief when it became clear he no longer wished to continue the topic of how she’d taken the talismans from others. She nodded her head and formed her hands into a seal, causing the apparition of a winged dragon—the Yinglong Dragon she’d inherited—to appear above her head. It flew into the air and coiled around for a bit before glancing towards Prince Chu Huang in a cautious manner.

　　“Heh, just a pseudo-dragon….” Prince Chu Huang revealed a faint sneer before casually sending out a strike.

　　This strike didn’t contain Foundation Stage power and even looked like it was a bit weak—almost like a soft pat—but hidden within were the attributes of wind and lightning. A faint golden light snuck its way from the bright-yellow robe he wore into his strike, causing even this soft-seeming movement to be filled with excessive power as it made its way towards Ying Qiaoqiao.

　　Aooo ….

　　The dragon above Ying Qiaoqiao let loose a faint draconic roar before hastily flying down to place itself in front of her. Prince Chu Huang’s strike collided against the top of the Yinglong Dragon with an explosive bang before the Yinglong Dragon’s form began to distort. Ying Qiaoqiao was forced half a dozen steps backwards with her face as pale as paper.

　　Fang Xing was astonished and looked towards Prince Chu Huang in bewilderment. ‘How can he attack with so much force?’

　　This person indeed hadn’t used any of his Foundation Stage power, but by adding wind and lightning attributes into his attack when it was about to connect, the power had been multiplied many times over, making it even more powerful than a full-forced attack from someone at the peak of Spirit Stage tier nine. How would Ying Qiaoqiao—who was only Spirit Stage tier seven—be able to endure such an attack?

　　“Second strike!” Prince Chu Huang expressionlessly declared. His body suddenly floated up into the air like a golden cloud before he slammed downward, the force of his attack as great as a raging wave.

　　Surprised, Ying Qiaoqiao hastily formed a hand seal, reactivating the slightly dull Yinglong Dragon once more while patting over her storage sack with her left hand. Eight yellow talisman papers and three Flying Swords rose upwards from the storage sack, the talismans floating in front of her to form translucent barriers, while the three Flying Swords became three rays of light that pierced towards Prince Chu Huang as fast as dragons at sea or phoenixes in flight.

　　Prince Chu Huang simply smirked. He didn’t change his attack—he just waved his sleeves and increased its power by another twenty percent.

　　BOOM ….

　　The Flying Swords were shattered into several pieces and the attack continued on, largely unobstructed. The barriers formed from the talismans were all shredded under the force of the same strike until they disappeared completely. Ying Qiaoqiao released a low groan as she was sent flying back like a broken sack, her body falling to the powdered ground before sliding a few feet further, leaving behind a long, deep ditch within the snow.

　　“There is still the third strike!” Prince Chu Huang declared. “Get up. Take my third strike and you will be allowed to enter the depths of the Snowy Mountain!”

　　Crunch !

　　Fang Xing’s expression hardened as a black stone beneath his foot was crushed into dust.

　　He would have truly been stupid if he hadn’t noticed what was going on by now. This Prince Chu Huang wasn’t like Xiao Xue at all. Where Xiao Xue had tested Fang Xing’s battle skills, Prince Chu Huang was outright attempting murder. Xiao Xue’s three strikes had tested Fang Xing’s intuition, technique, and power, yet there was no underlying purpose to Prince Chu Huang’s strikes—all of his attacks simply utilized an extreme amount of brute force with the clear intent to kill.

　　When Fang Xing saw the girl trying her best to crawl back up, Fang Xing released a sigh and quickly walked over to help her. Witnessing such a thing had filled him with anger and his voice grew cold. “F*ck that grand-f*cking-opportunity. We’re not going to join them anymore. Let’s go back to Bohai….”

　　Fang Xing didn’t know what sort of grudge Prince Chu Huang held towards Ying Qiaoqiao, but he was certain the third strike couldn’t be endured. The first strike had wounded the beast spirit and the second had heavily wounded the girl—Fang Xing suspected the third would kill her directly.

　　Xiao Xue’s eyes also seemed rather somber as she looked towards Prince Chu Huang. “Your Highness, the fact this girl has taken two of your strikes should be enough for her to pass this stage!”

　　“Rules are rules! Three strikes; not a single one is dispensable!” Prince Chu Huang replied.

　　Xiao Xue sneered at this. “Even though the old senior Hu Qin refused to take your younger sister—Princess Chu Ci—and instead chose this unknown little girl from a small sect in Bohai as his fourth pupil, your rules don’t need to be so severe!”

　　Just as Fang Xing was about to carry Ying Qiaoqiao away over his shoulder, his movements suddenly slowed.

　　Prince Chu Huang looked at Xiao Xue with a chilling gaze. “You’ve said too much today. This has nothing to do with Chu Ci. Rules are rules, and since I sit here, I must maintain this rule. Three strikes will allow someone to enter the depths of the Snowy Mountain to seek the grand opportunity. If she is unable to endure these three strikes, she can either die trying or return to Bohai; the choice is hers to make!”

　　“Big Brother Xiao Jiu, I’ve almost made it past this stage. The third strike, I can take it…” a weak voice rose up from Fang Xing’s back. Ying Qiaoqiao still had thoughts of trying to take the third strike.

　　Fang Xing slowly took a couple steps forward before stopping. “Are you certain? Alright!”

　　It was impossible for others to tell what Fang Xing was thinking as he lowered Ying Qiaoqiao to the ground. Although he pulled out a fine-quality medicinal pellet from his storage sack to place in her mouth, the girl’s face was incredibly pale and her gaze was unfocused; even a full-force attack from a third tier Spirit Stage cultivator would be enough to kill her in her current state, let alone one from Chu Huang.

　　Ying Qiaoqiao breathed in slowly and showed a faint smile. “Big Brother Xiao Jiu, when we enter the Melodic Ice Palace together, you’ll be my true martial brother and I’ll be your true martial sister!”

　　“What about it?” Fang Xing blankly asked.

　　Ying Qiaoqiao’s eyes were glazed over as she weakly replied, “Wouldn’t I seem really useless if I couldn’t take this third strike?”

　　Fang Xing patted her back a few times and sent a strand of Qi to help her dissolve the medicinal pellet. “You are useless!”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao looked up at him with worry, unsure of what to say.

　　To this, Fang Xing suddenly smiled and said, “But you’re pretty cute, and not really that annoying, either!”

　　A sweet smile spread along Ying Qiaoqiao’s face. “I will definitely take this third strike!”

　　“It’ll be impossible for you to not take it. Off you go!” He then pushed Ying Qiaoqiao forward while he himself folded his hands behind his back and gave Prince Chu Huang a leisurely glance.

　　“Are you ready to take my third strike?” Prince Chu Huang lightly asked while looking at Ying Qiaoqiao standing in front of him.

　　“I’m ready!” Ying Qiaoqiao firmly declared despite the light quiver in her body, as though even just standing up was exhausting for her.

　　A faint smile appeared on Prince Chu Huang’s face. “This courage actually makes me feel some manner of respect for you!” With that, he waved his sleeve towards Ying Qiaoqiao like a roaming cloud.

　　This movement contained the enormous force of wind and lightning. After being filled with such attributes, the sleeve that had been soft before became as hard as steel as it pierced towards Ying Qiaoqiao’s chest. Facing this movement, all Ying Qiaoqiao could do was put forward all her effort and Qi to support her barrier technique. Faced with this strike from Prince Chu Huang, she was utterly helpless—there wasn’t a chance she’d be able to take this and live.

　　At the same time, however, Fang Xing quietly threw two round spheres towards Prince Chu Huang’s back.