Chapter 1362 - A Competition of Courage
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Yongye Chuxue said, “According to the legend, this lake was formed from a dragon’s tear that fell onto the earth. It possesses the natural power of a dragon.”
“If one flies across the air above it, one will be thwarted by the dragon’s power, thus losing the ability of flight and falling into the lake, drowning alive. Only unique boats are able to cross the lake.”
Dragon’s power? Su Yu flashed a small smile.
“However, I have made preparations to contend with this power!” Yongye Chuxue took out two fragrant sachets, handing one of them to Su Yu.
“This is a part of the divine dragon’s body preserved by the royal house. It contains a dragon’s power that can even out that of the lake. Crossing the lake shouldn’t be a problem.”
Su Yu realized she really was making preparations last night.
After stuffing the fragrant sachets into their pockets, Su Yu and Yongye Chuxue took off into the air, heading for the small island amidst the lake.
Just as expected, the moment they soared into the air above the lake, they felt the formidable force of the divine dragon, which caused stagnation to Su Yu’s maneuver of Mortal Fairy’s Strength.
However, the sachet in his pocket gave off an equal dragon’s power, which canceled out a great part of the power coming from the lake, eliminating much of the stagnation.
Using this method, they made it across the greater part of the lake safely.
However, right as they were nearing the shore, a faint growl of a dragon suddenly rushed out from the lake!
The growl carried the power of the dragon and dashed right at them in the explosive form of a geyser.
The Mortal Fairy’s Strength in Su Yu’s body froze all of a sudden. His feet went weak, and his body was on the verge of plummeting.
Yongye Chuxue was doing no better than he was. After a brief moment of perseverance, her face tensed and she began falling.
On the island, many Princes and Princesses had teasing, disdainful looks on their faces.
If Yongye Chuxue drowned, she would end up a laughing stock to them all.
Su Yu was unruffled. A faintly discernible layer of dragon scales appeared on the surface of his body.
With the emergence of the dragon scales, the dragon’s power surging towards him lost its effect.
In terms of this kind of power, who could rival the World Annihilation Dragon?
Su Yu stabilized himself just in time. Quickly, he reached out, catching Yongye Chuxue’s snowy, delicate hand and secretly supporting her.
Yongye Chuxue noted it but pretended that nothing had happened. She let Su Yu support her as they landed on the island, side by side.
It seemed like they had only paused for a moment in midair.
They were in no way disheveled or frightened, and they certainly did not fall into the lake.
As they touched the ground, Yongye Chuxue drew her hand back, blush creeping up her cheeks. The warmth of Su Yu’s hand was still lingering on her skin.
Prince Yun watched from the side, his eyes cold, pretending he had only noticed them at that moment.
He led the other Princes and Princesses and stepped forward pretentiously to greet the new arrivals. “My apologies. We were busy with the decorations just now, and it is our fault that you had to cross the lake on your own, Princess. I am truly sorry.”
Yongye Chuxue replied placidly, “Since you are so sorry, you can kill yourself to make up for it.”
Prince Yun’s smile froze on his face, and he appeared stunned. The rest of the Princes and Princesses were startled as well. No one had expected Yongye Chuxue to say such words.
“Just kidding,” Yongye Chuxue clarified, shooting a look of mischief at Su Yu.
Prince Yun’s face had tensed up. He did not manage to humiliate Yongye Chuxue, and Yongye Chuxue made him uneasy instead.
“Haha, Princess, you’re so much fun,” Prince Yun laughed it off, but the threat lurking in his smile had intensified.
Yongye Chuxue looked around her. “Am I? I suppose the banquet would be much more fun, wouldn’t it?”
The Princes and Princesses were laughing grimly in their hearts. Yes, it would be so much fun, indeed!
Prince Yun’s lips curled into a creepy smile, which he quickly concealed. Politely, he said, “Of course it would! Before the banquet begins, how about having a little show?”
Clap! Clap!
Prince Yun clapped his hands, and Xue Zhongbao stepped out from among the Princes with an air of aggressive arrogance.
“Oh? What’s so fun about watching Prince Zhongbao?” Yongye Chuxue asked, not losing her calm.
Prince Yun chuckled. “Nothing, of course. But if we could have a match, it would be very entertaining.”
Yongye Chuxue was intrigued. “Match? I heard that you Princes all have your own merits. I have always looked forward to seeing you compete with one another.”
“It won’t be interesting if it’s just a match among the Princes of the Xue Nation, right? How about asking your squire to join?” Prince Yun was smiling amiably.
Yongye Chuxue replied, “The Xue Princes are all Level Five deities, yet my friend is only a Mortal Fairy of the Fourth Realm. With such a wide disparity, it’s not a great idea to let him join the contest, is it?”
Prince Yun laughed. “No need to be so humble, Princess. Your squire… I mean, your friend has achieved the top tier in bodily strength.”
“Although he appears to be a fourth-realm Mortal Fairy, his physical strength can rival a Level Six deity. In terms of physical strength, he has the upper hand.”
Yongye Chuxue tried to downplay this. “Still, there’s nothing special about it. The difference in physical strength between Level Five and Level Six deities is insignificant, plus it’s not just physical strength that they would be competing in.”
“If this is the kind of entertainment that you have prepared, I must say I am very disappointed.”
Anyone with a sound mind could see that Yongye Chuxue was protecting Su Yu to keep him from harm.
However, the Princes of the Xue Nation had been preparing for this show. How would they let their efforts go to waste?
“You have misunderstood me, Princess. This is not a contest of strength this time, but their courage and boldness,” Prince Yun said pleasantly.
Yongye Chuxue asked, “What do you mean?”
Prince Yun pointed at the lake. “There is an extremely valuable Emperor-based Saint Artifact at the bottom of the lake, ranked 208th.”
“It is known as the Pearl of Godly Thunder, and it was refined by the Nine Emperors with the mighty thunder of the ancient world. This item can be used to defend against any powerful attacks by thunder.”
“However, a certain amount of dragon’s power is present in the lake. If you are unlucky, you would run into the dragon’s growl which you have encountered just now, Princess. The power in your body would be immobilized, and you would drown!”
“The competition this time would include diving in the lake. Whoever emerges with the Pearl of Godly Thunder first gets to keep it.”
The Princes began chattering with great excitement, as though they were very keen to own this item.
“Whoa, what a fascinating artifact. I’d like to take part too!”
“My goodness, Brother Prince Yun is way too generous, isn’t he?”
“You’re right. I should have volunteered to take part in the match!”
…
As she watched the Princes and Princesses expressing their feigned exhilaration, Yongye Chuxue could not help but sneer. She looked over at Su Yu. “What do you think?”
Su Yu leaned against the trunk of a tree, looking extremely bored, and replied with nonchalance, “Any Emperor-based Saint Artifact ranked after 200 is nothing more than an unwanted scrap.”
“Since the Xue Princes and Princesses fancy it so much, let them fight for it. I would very much like to see them get it.”
All of a sudden, the Princes and Princesses fell silent, and no one uttered a word.
Who would be dauntless enough to venture underwater for real? The danger lurking inside the lake would be fatal to them.
“Hey, didn’t you just say that you wanted to get this item so badly? Why aren’t you talking now?” Su Yu pointed at one of the Princes.
The Prince’s face turned pale. He clutched at his belly and stammered, “Umm, my belly is aching right now. I’m not in my best condition, and I’m afraid it’s not a good time for me to dive underwater.”
“How about you? Didn’t you think your brother was so generous? Didn’t you really want to own that Emperor-based Saint Artifact? You should get down there. I would be pleased to watch you.”
The Princess’s face was flushed red, and she stepped back diffidently. “You… you have misheard, it wasn’t me who said that.”
“And you, since you want to join the match so eagerly, you should go ahead,” Su Yu pointed at another Prince.
The Prince broke out in cold sweat and said timidly, “I… I was just joking.”
…
Those who were called out by Su Yu recoiled in dread. Who would risk their lives for an Emperor-based Saint Artifact ranked in an inferior position?
They thought a squire like Su Yu would be ignorant enough to be tempted by any Emperor-based Saint Artifact, yet this fellow was so scornful about it that they ended up embarrassed instead.
When he finished, Su Yu looked over at Prince Yun. “Did you hear it? Your siblings do not care about the waste at the bottom of the lake, yet you tried to tempt an important guest with it. Just how stingy are you? If you wanted to test my courage, you should have offered something more impressive.”
Upon hearing that, the expression on Prince Yun’s face turned awful. He thought to himself, ‘Who the heck cares about impressing an important guest? Our target is Yongye Chuxue!’
Now that things had turned out this way, however, it was clear that this fellow would not simply get underwater without the offer of a more valuable Emperor-based Saint Artifact.
“Alright, I will prepare another Emperor-based Saint Artifact.” as he spoke, Prince Yun was about to retrieve it. However, Su Yu spoke, “Don’t offer trashy items ranked after 100th on the list.”
Prince Yun’s hand froze for a second before he slowly placed back the 180th-ranking Emperor-based Saint Artifact which he was about to show everyone. His face displayed hints of anger.
The rest of the Princes and Princesses were flushed with embarrassment, obviously provoked. That was because all they owned were ‘trashy items’ ranked after the 100th.
Even Yongye Chuxue could not help but chortle, thinking to herself, ‘He really is daring enough to ask for this! Any Emperor-based Saint Artifact ranked before the 100th would be a rare treasure held in the hands of influential people.’
“Even the Northern Xue Nation owns just five such articles, two of which Su Yu has already taken. And now he’s asking for another one! He is purposely infuriating them.”
Prince Yun held back his murderous desire. Indeed, he owned an Emperor-based Saint Artifact ranked among the top hundred.
However, would he be willing to offer it to a nobody like Su Yu?
The other Princes and Princesses exchanged glances. They had planned to humiliate their guests, but it seemed like the situation had gone out of hand now. They thought they might as well get straight to the point and kill Su Yu.
At that moment, Xue Zhongbao walked over and shot a resentful glare at Su Yu. Through telepathy, he secretly told Prince Yun, “Might as well just do as he wishes, for he’ll certainly get killed in the lake! At most, I could help you retrieve this Emperor-based Saint Artifact afterward.”
Prince Yun thought for a moment and agreed.
Both Su Yu and Yongye Chuxue were going to be killed today anyway, so he would be able to get his Emperor-based Saint Artifact back later.
Thus, his face beamed with a bright smile once again, and he took out an emerald-colored flute. “This is the 50th-ranking Emperor-based Saint Artifact, the True Sky Flute of Heavenly Melody.”
“Once played, it can produce the greatest divine melody in the world, which is capable of breaking any sound wave techniques. Apart from that, it is the only treasure among the top hundred Emperor-based Saint Artifacts that could defend against sorcery energy!”
Upon hearing that, Su Yu’s eyes gleamed with interest. An Emperor-based Saint Artifact ranked 50th was good enough.
“Hmm, finally, an interesting offer. Alright, I accept the challenge!” Su Yu said.
Prince Yun’s face brightened. With a toss of his hand, the True Sky Flute of Heavenly Melody was thrown into the center of the lake.
He declared with a smile, “Same rule as before, whoever fetches it back gets to own the Emperor-based Saint Artifact.”
Xue Zhongbao laughed. “What do you mean, whoever? Of course, it belongs to me!”
As he finished speaking, he shot a provocative look at Su Yu and dived into the lake headfirst.
Unhurriedly, Su Yu removed his coat and sauntered slowly to the lakeside.
Prince Yun scowled. Xue Zhongbao couldn’t stay long underwater. If Su Yu didn’t get in fast, how was Xue Zhongbao going to kill him?
“Aren’t you afraid that Xue Zhongbao will get it first?” Prince Yun asked, trying to hurry him.
Su Yu replied with a gentle laugh, “What’s there to be afraid of? He will be waiting for me.”
Prince Yun was taken aback by his words. Did Su Yu know something already?
