People in Doupo: The beginning of the game intercepts the rich woman Xun'er

The ancient demon's challenge resounded like a thunderclap in the square, its sound waves carrying a chilling battle aura that pierced through the crowd and reached every corner.

In an instant, the square, which had been filled with whispers, fell completely silent. Thousands of eyes, as if drawn by an invisible force, converged on that seat.

Xiao Ling sat upright, seemingly enveloped in an invisible halo of light. Even the curve of his robes became a detail that drew everyone's attention. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see how this "Number One Prodigy of Central Plains" would respond to this sharp provocation.

In the strange, stagnant atmosphere, Mang Tianchi's admiring smile quietly faded. His fingertips caressed the cool patterns on the ring, and his gaze swept over the crowd, landing on Xiao Ling, who remained motionless behind him.

This challenge concerns both face and strength. As an outsider, he cannot interfere, but he harbors a certain expectation in his heart: how will this most outstanding disciple of Canaan Academy, whom Su Qian has praised repeatedly, break through this seemingly dilemma?

He wasn't really worried about Xiao Ling. Although he hadn't personally witnessed Xiao Ling's peak strength, he had a general understanding of it.

Ancient Demon Nine-Star Dou Zun's cultivation level is already top-tier among the younger generation of the Ancient Clan, but compared to Xiao Ling, it's simply not up to par.

What he was really curious about was how much of Xiao Ling's strength he would use to deal with the current situation. Would he take decisive and forceful action to suppress the Asura Commander in one fell swoop and cut off any potential troubles that might arise later, or would he remain low-key, use a conservative strategy to maneuver, and not easily reveal his trump cards?

All eyes were fixed on him as if they were physical, but Xiao Ling seemed oblivious, maintaining his seated posture until the weight of that gaze almost pressed against his shoulder, at which point he slowly moved.

As a gentle breeze blew, he rose from his seat. The hem of his robe brushed against the chair, making a very slight sound. His expression remained as calm as ever, without a trace of anger at being provoked or tension before a battle. No one could guess what he was thinking at that moment.

He turned to the side and nodded slightly to Xun'er beside him.

When he turned back, his gaze had already passed through the layers of people and landed steadily on the tall figure in the center of the field. A very faint smile suddenly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

At the same time, his voice, carried by the flow of Dou Qi, spread slowly and steadily throughout the square, each word clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Since Commander Shura has already issued a challenge, I, Xiao Ling, as a descendant of Dou Di, have no reason to avoid the battle."

He paused, his gaze meeting the ancient demon's icy stare in mid-air, a hint of calm expectation creeping into his voice.
"It's been years since we last met, and I'm curious about your progress over the years. Today, I'll accept your challenge. I just hope you won't disappoint me too much, so that all of us waiting here will have a good show."

As soon as Xiao Ling finished accepting the challenge, Gu Yao's cold eyes suddenly brightened, and a hint of undisguised excitement flashed across his face beneath his black and white hair.

He had been waiting for this battle for a long time. It would both dampen Xiao Ling's arrogance and demonstrate his strength within the clan, achieving the best of both worlds.

But when his gaze swept over Xiao Ling's still nonchalant appearance, his excitement was instantly replaced by displeasure. The other party was so calm, as if his challenge was just a trivial matter to be dealt with casually, and he did not take him, the Shura Commander, seriously at all.

The ancient demon let out a low laugh, his tone growing even colder. His battle aura subtly circulated around him, making even the air seem to tremble with cold.
"Fine! Since you have the guts to accept the challenge, don't regret it! I want to see for myself whether you really have the confidence to say that!"

He took a step forward, his chilling aura pressing directly towards Xiao Ling's location.

"If you can't even last three or five rounds against me, you'll not only lose face, but your Xiao clan, which is already practically defunct, will also become a laughing stock..."

The tense atmosphere in the arena grew even stronger, and even the surrounding battle qi seemed to carry the sharpness of a confrontation. Xiao Yan looked at the two figures facing off in front of him and couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Although he knew that Xiao Ling was incredibly strong, he had never been able to figure out his cousin's true level of strength.

Gu Yao is already a true nine-star Dou Zun, and it would be difficult to find a match for him among the younger generation of the entire Gu Clan. Even if Xiao Ling has extraordinary talent, he should at most still be hovering around the Dou Zun realm. It would be hard to predict the outcome of a fight against a nine-star Dou Zun.

This worry weighed on his heart, and he couldn't help but take a half step forward, opening his mouth as if to shout something, wanting to offer some reminders.

But before he could finish speaking, Xun'er suddenly turned around, raised her hand gently, and slowly shook her head at him. There was no panic in her clear eyes, only determination.

"Cousin Xiao Yan, there's no need to worry about Brother Xiao Ling." Xun'er's voice was gentle yet carried an undeniable trust, and her gaze softened as she looked at the composed figure ahead.

"Don't worry, Brother Xiao Ling has his own way of handling everything. That ancient demon... is no match for him at all."

Hearing Xun'er's confident words, Xiao Yan's doubts and worries were swept away by a gentle breeze, and he gradually calmed down.

He trusted his cousin, who came from an extraordinary background, quite a bit. Since she dared to make such a statement, she must know Xiao Ling's hidden strength, which was far more complex than it appeared on the surface.

On second thought, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle. His cousin was destined to be the protagonist, and this scene of being publicly provoked was clearly a cliché yet thrilling plot.

Logically, the protagonist should then take action, using his skills to defeat the provocative ancient demon. This would not only protect his own and the Xiao clan's reputation but also allow him to fully demonstrate his strength in this ancient clan territory, enough to intimidate everyone and dispel all doubts and contempt.

Thinking this, his previously tense nerves completely relaxed, and his gaze fell on the field with a hint of anticipation.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the figures in the stands, and even their breathing seemed to slow down in unison.

Amidst this frozen gaze, Xiao Ling lightly touched the railing at the edge of the stands with his toes, leaping up like a wild goose soaring through the air. His robes billowed in a smooth arc in the breeze, without a trace of deliberate ostentation of fighting spirit, yet exuding a natural lightness.

In the blink of an eye, he landed steadily on the bluestone ground in the center of the square, without stirring up a single speck of dust when his feet touched the ground.

At this moment, Xiao Ling and Gu Yao stood on opposite sides of the plaza, about ten feet apart, yet an invisible boundary seemed to envelop them. Before they even made a move, their auras had already subtly collided in the air, making the surrounding atmosphere increasingly tense.

Gu Yao stared at Xiao Ling, who stood steadily opposite him. Beneath his black and white hair, his cold eyes suddenly flashed with intense fighting spirit, and even the stagnant coldness around him seemed to be tinged with heat.

He took a step forward, and the force of the impact caused the bluestone ground to crack slightly. His voice was filled with suppressed excitement: "I have waited for this day for far too long!"

"You've traveled all the way from the Northwest Continent to the Central Plains, without the profound foundation of an ancient clan, yet you've earned the title of 'Number One Prodigy of the Central Plains.' I certainly won't underestimate your abilities." "But in today's battle, I won't hold back in the slightest. I will unleash my full strength and fight with the determination to kill you! You'd better be on your guard and not let me think that this long wait has been in vain!"

The moment the ancient demon uttered his last word, it was as if all the warmth in the sky above the entire square was suddenly sucked away. A bone-chilling cold spread outwards like a tide, and even the sunlight seemed to be obscured by this cold air, becoming somewhat dim.

His signature black and white hair suddenly started moving without any wind, flying wildly like two intersecting blades.

The next second, the ancient demon's figure vanished from the spot like a ghost, leaving only a faint afterimage on the bluestone ground. Even the fluctuations of his battle aura seemed to be deliberately suppressed, leaving only the increasingly intense killing intent slowly spreading in the air. Clearly, he wanted to seize the initiative as quickly as possible as soon as he made his move.

The moment the ancient demon's figure disappeared, Xiao Ling had already sensed it.

He did not rush to dodge, but stood firmly in place, his posture as upright as a pine tree, with no trace of rapid fighting spirit fluctuations around him.

The next moment, he stretched out his hands, and his fair palms, exposed outside his sleeves, suddenly changed. Delicate purple-blue dragon scales quietly grew from the lines on his palms, the edges of the scales gleaming with a cold luster, spreading upwards layer by layer, and in an instant, they completely covered his entire palms. His originally warm fingertips also transformed into sharp dragon claws.

As dragon scales emerged, a chilling aura, completely different from that of the ancient demon, slowly emanated from Xiao Ling's body. The aura was calm and domineering, seemingly containing the pressure of an ancient dragon race. It collided with the ancient demon's fierce killing intent in the air, causing the surrounding air to tremble slightly.

Xiao Ling gazed at the figure that had vanished into the void, a faint smile playing on his lips. His voice, carrying a powerful energy, resounded throughout the entire area: "It seems you value me quite a bit. It's just a pity that I have no recollection of you at all."

The purple and blue dragon scales on his fingertips gleamed coldly, and his tone became somewhat nonchalant, "However, your stance has piqued my interest. I hope you won't be too pathetic in our fight later."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Ling's arm suddenly twitched strangely. Without using any battle qi, he generated a powerful and whistling force solely through his physical strength.

He clenched his right fist, the dragon scales reflecting a sharp luster in the sunlight, and slammed it down into the empty void ahead without any fancy moves.

Just as the fist was about to touch the void, a slender hand suddenly emerged from the spatial rift, its fingertips wreathed in cold, sharp fighting spirit. It moved so fast that it left only a blur, striking Xiao Ling's right fist, which was covered in dragon scales, with perfect precision.

"Oh!"

The moment their fists collided, a terrifying ripple of wind surged out like a tidal wave, spreading outwards from the two of them.

The bluestone pavement of the square cracked open with a thud, and spiderweb-like fissures spread rapidly. The pebbles on the ground were swept up by the force and instantly shredded into dust. Even the air seemed to vibrate from the force, causing the crowd on the stands to instinctively hold their breath.

In the instant the energy surged in the arena, a glint flashed in the eyes of the three ancient clan elders, and they reached a tacit understanding as they exchanged glances.

Their figures soared into the sky like three streaks of light, their hand seals changing rapidly, and dense battle qi surged from their bodies, transforming into a semi-transparent pale golden light shield that firmly enveloped the entire square.

This not only prevented the energy from the clash from injuring the onlookers, but also created an undisturbed battlefield for the duel between the two.

As soon as the light shield was formed, a muffled groan came from the arena.

The ancient demon's figure appeared from the void, staggering backward several steps before barely managing to regain its balance.

He glanced down at his right palm, where five deep, bone-revealing claw marks were clearly visible, and blood was seeping out from between his fingers, quickly turning his fair hand a glaring crimson.

That was when he was injured by the sharp edge of the dragon claw when he clashed with Xiao Linglong's Dragon Scale Fist. Even his fighting spirit couldn't completely block it.

Before the aftershocks of the initial clash had even subsided, discerning observers had already discerned the outcome: Gu Yao, the Asura Commander of the Ancient Clan's Black Annihilation Army, had clearly suffered a significant loss.

When this result was seen by the onlookers, a suppressed gasp instantly filled the square, and the astonishment on everyone's faces was hard to conceal.

No one expected that the one who would gain the upper hand at the start would be Master Xiao Ling, who was famous throughout the Central Plains for his alchemy skills.

In most people's minds, even if he had the strength, he should have leaned towards alchemy. However, the powerful physical body and precise counterattack he displayed at this moment completely shattered this perception, making many people secretly shocked. It turned out that this "Number One Prodigy of Central Plains" was not only outstanding in alchemy, but also had such terrifying combat power.

"Damn it! What kind of body-refining fighting technique is this? Could it be related to the dragon race?" The ancient demon felt a series of stinging pains coming from his palm, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

However, the shock was only momentary. His years of combat experience fighting against the Black Annihilation Army allowed him to quickly regain his composure, and his ability to adjust was far beyond that of ordinary people.

He let out a low growl, and using the momentum of his backward movement, he suddenly turned around, stomping heavily on the ground. His figure turned back at an even faster speed, and his fighting spirit suddenly erupted. A pale golden halo condensed in his palm, forming a mysterious mark.

"Opening Mountain Seal"

With a deep shout, the ancient demon swung his arm out, and the palm print, which was condensed with powerful battle qi, carried the power to shatter mountains and split rocks. It crushed towards Xiao Ling like a small mountain. Wherever the palm wind passed, the air was torn apart with a piercing shriek, and even the blue stone ground below was scraped with two deep ravines.

The Mountain-Splitting Seal was unleashed with the force of a collapsing mountain, but Xiao Ling easily dodged it with a slight movement. The palm wind grazed his clothes and landed in empty space, smashing the ground into a large crater more than ten feet deep.

Despite missing his target, the ancient demon showed no signs of agitation; instead, the killing intent in his eyes intensified.

His hand seals suddenly accelerated, so fast that only afterimages remained. Pale golden battle qi flowed endlessly in his palm, and a palm seal even more powerful than the Mountain-Splitting Seal quickly condensed, roaring out with the force of overturning rivers and seas: "Overturning Sea Seal, Earth-Covering Seal, Heaven-Annihilating Seal, Ancient Emperor Seal!"

Before he finished speaking, more palm prints followed. He had already cultivated the Emperor Seal Technique to a state of perfection, and now, with the help of the powerful battle qi of a Nine-Star Dou Zun, he could use it with ease.

Numerous palm prints rained down on Xiao Ling like dark clouds, their force weaving into a dense, impenetrable net of energy that locked him in place, making even the surrounding air seem stagnant under its immense pressure. (End of Chapter)