Looking at Jian Ruyan's resolute gaze, Xiang Mantang thought for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement.
"Alright, then you two may have a contest."
Xiang Mantang, with his hands propped on the table, stood up and cast a meaningful look at Wu Shisan, saying, "If you lose, just obediently serve as a Xuanwu General and don't think about challenging the Vermilion Bird anymore."
"Of course," nodded Wu Shisan.
He didn't have the face to continue challenging Mu Hongchen for the Vermilion Bird position after losing to Jian Ruyan.
Knowing that Jian Ruyan was about to compete with Wu Shisan, Mu Hongchen, who had a good relationship with Jian Ruyan as they were the only two female Hall Masters of Dragon King Hall, looked at Jian Ruyan with a worried expression.
Jian Ruyan was indeed stronger than her, but only by a limited margin, or else she wouldn't have been just the Yaoguang Hall Master.
Of the original seven Sub-hall Masters in Dragon King Hall, Xiang Mantang was the strongest, possessing the power of Peak Energy Transformation, and Wu Shisan was next in line, at the Complete Energy Transformation Stage, not far from reaching the peak.
Both she and Jian Ruyan were only at the Early Energy Transformation Stage.
Jian Ruyan's chances of losing to Wu Shisan were far too great.
Jian Ruyan, sensing Mu Hongchen's anxious look, didn't coldly ignore it; instead, she turned her head, nodded slightly, and signaled for her to be at ease, indicating that she was confident.
Afterward, the four of them left the meeting room and headed to the drill ground.
Arriving at the drill ground, they saw a group of young people who had recently joined the Dragon King Hall undergoing training by one of the Twenty-Eight Star Lords.
Xiang Mantang's gaze lingered on a woman who was out of breath and whose long hair was soaked with sweat, sticking together in clumps.
This woman was naturally Mei Yinxue.
After Mu Jinyu fell asleep, determined to acquire the ability to protect Mu Jinyu, Mei Yinxue joined Dragon King Hall and subjected herself to devilish training.
However, Mei Yinxue's age was ultimately a factor, and no matter how hard she trained, it was difficult for her to make rapid progress.
Xiang Mantang looked at Mei Yinxue for a few moments, sighed lightly, then shifted his gaze away without going over to greet her.
Then, he led Jian Ruyan and the others to an unoccupied spot and turned around, saying, "Let's do it here, begin whenever you're ready."
Their arrival naturally drew the attention of the newcomers training at the drill ground.
When the Star Lord who was training them saw that Wu Shisan seemed to be about to compete with Jian Ruyan and that his new recruits were too curious to concentrate on training,
and considering that it was almost break time,
he called out, "Stop and take a break, everyone. It's a good opportunity for you to witness the strength of several of our Dragon King Hall's Sub-hall Masters!"
Someone shouted, "Instructor, are they all Sub-hall Masters of our Dragon King Hall? Who is the strongest of them?"
The instructor replied, "Of course, it's Beidou Tianshu who is currently in charge of Dragon King Hall. His strength is at the Peak Energy Transformation. Naturally, there are rumors that Tianshu's current strength has already stepped into the God Realm, making him akin to a Terrestrial Immortal, but whether that's true or not, I don't know; after all, I haven't witnessed it myself..."
The instructor sighed with some regret, then proceeded to introduce the identities of Wu Shisan and Jian Ruyan who were about to compete.
After hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but ask, "Then why isn't it the Tianshu Palace Master or Tianxuan Hall Master who are competing? Why the Yaoguang Hall Master?"
"Yes, the Yaoguang Hall Master ranks last, surely her strength is not as good as the Tianxuan Hall Master's, so why bother competing?"
Mei Yinxue sat quietly to the side, drinking mineral water and listening to their discussion without saying anything.
The instructor, listening to their questions and not knowing the answers, said irritably, "How would I know why the Hall Masters want to duel? Maybe the Yaoguang Hall Master has had a breakthrough in strength, and so he wants to test himself against the Tianxuan Hall Master!"
"Really? Then the upcoming duel should be evenly matched and quite spectacular, shouldn't it?"
Everyone began to look forward to it.
Meanwhile, amidst their discussion,
Wu Shisan and Jian Ruyan had both taken their positions and were adjusting their state, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
Jian Ruyan held the sword hilt, her face as cold and emotionless as a Snow Lotus flower, and looked at Wu Shisan, asking indifferently, "Aren't you going to use a weapon?"
"No need," Wu Shisan replied as he rotated his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds from his bones, and then said, "After all, you're weaker than I am, only at the early stage of Energy Transformation. If I were to use a weapon as well, wouldn't that be bullying you?"
Although they were vying for their rankings, Wu Shisan cared about his reputation; he was at the completion stage of Energy Transformation and could at any moment achieve Enlightenment and step into the peak of Energy Transformation. How could he face someone like Jian Ruyan, who was only at the early stage of Energy Transformation, and still need a weapon? Wouldn't that be embarrassing if word got out?
"Really? Are you sure I'm only at the early stage of Energy Transformation? Haven't I improved at all?" Jian Ruyan, upon hearing Wu Shisan's words, didn't get angry, but her tone did grow much colder.
"Hm?!"
Wu Shisan, startled by Jian Ruyan's response, hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "How could that be? A year ago you had just entered the early stage of Energy Transformation, mastering the abilities of Energy Transformation. How could you possibly have reached the completion stage in just one year? No amount of pills could achieve that! I don't believe it!"
Jian Ruyan's identity was a mystery, and the fact that she had many Elixirs at her disposal was no secret within Dragon King Hall. Everyone was both envious and jealous of her.
She, however, was only generous with her Elixirs towards Xiang Mantang and somewhat to Mu Hongchen. As for others, unless they were severely wounded and on the brink of death while she just happened to be nearby, she would offer a Elixir to save a life.
But Wu Shisan had never heard of any Elixir that could aid a martial artist's cultivation.
Spirit Stones would be more likely.
Therefore, Wu Shisan said that even if Jian Ruyan crazily consumed Elixirs, she couldn't have achieved the completion stage of Energy Transformation.
Upon hearing Wu Shisan's words, Jian Ruyan's delicate face, which was usually expressionless, suddenly revealed a strange smile. Although it was faint and quickly disappeared, she did indeed smile.
But it seemed more like a sneer.
Jian Ruyan said, "Who told you that I've only gone from early Energy Transformation to complete Energy Transformation?"
"Don't tell me you've reached the peak of Energy Transformation?!" Wu Shisan replied with a touch of amusement in his voice.
"Yes," Jian Ruyan nodded, "your guess, at last, isn't so conservative!"
"Ha, stop making me laugh!" Wu Shisan nearly laughed himself breathless, then said, "Yaoguang Hall Master, this is the first time I've heard you joke like this."
Indeed, inside Dragon King Hall, everyone else was relatively easy to talk to, only Jian Ruyan was almost always silent, carrying out the orders issued by the Old Dragon King without a word.
Therefore, this was the first time Wu Shisan realized that Jian Ruyan could also make a joke.
"You think I'm joking?" Jian Ruyan looked at Wu Shisan as if he were a fool, and finally shook her head, saying, "I intended to remind you not to take me lightly, but seeing you like this, I realize it's no use!"
"Let's begin!" Wu Shisan, instantly erasing his smile, spoke with a face full of solemnity.
Even when a lion fights a rabbit, it uses all its strength; Wu Shisan, despite looking down on Jian Ruyan, would not lower his guard or completely disregard her.