With a flick of her left hand, Yan Fei launched the Metal Sword Orb, unleashing streams of white sword energy. She attempted to overwhelm her opponent with an incredibly dense barrage of attacks.

However, the person standing before her was no ordinary Water Spirit Root cultivator. She was the number one formal disciple of the Rain Pavilion—the most formidable existence among them.

Therefore, Shui Wuhen faced the onslaught with utter composure. She didn’t even glance at the sword energy shooting toward her.

Just as the attack was about to land, her body was suddenly enveloped by a layer of transparent water bubbles.

The white sword energy released by Yan Fei struck the seemingly soft bubbles. Not only did it fail to pierce through, but it shattered upon impact. In the blink of an eye, the energy dissipated into the air.

Her full-force attack hadn’t produced even the slightest effect.

Shui Wuhen spoke with a faint, mocking smile, “You do have some potential. But just what kind of courage empowers a Qi Condensation cultivator to dare face me, a Foundation Establishment cultivator?”

With merely a simple lift of her hand, the transparent bubbles enveloping her body expanded at an alarming speed.

In an instant, they covered the entire arena.

The Water Spiritual Power became exceptionally dense. Though seemingly formless, it made it impossible for Yan Fei to breathe. Furthermore, she felt as if she were trapped in a quagmire, unable to move a single inch.

In less than ten seconds, Yan Fei fell to her knees with a heavy thud.

Her vision darkened, and her consciousness gradually blurred. At this point, she couldn’t even speak. An intense sense of suffocation brought with it a wave of unprecedented fear.

Her body trembled uncontrollably. The silver shortsword in her right hand slipped from her grasp, clattering to the ground.

Shui Wuhen shook her head with a disappointed expression. “As you are now, you don’t even qualify to be my opponent!”

In the next second, the bubbles and Water Spiritual Power retracted.

Yan Fei was left like a fish out of water, lying limp on the arena floor, greedily gasping for every breath of fresh air. Her eyes were streaked with red veins and filled with unwillingness.

But a loser is a loser; even if she was unwilling, she had to swallow the defeat.

Shui Wuhen turned to face the crowd and declared loudly, “From now on, only Foundation Establishment cultivators are qualified to step onto Arena Number 1.”

Jiang Chen silently withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself, This person appears amiable on the surface, but inside, she’s prouder than anyone.

At this moment, Chen Bo and Huo Ling stood facing each other.

One possessed a Wood Spirit Root, the other a Fire Spirit Root. The two elements both complemented and countered one another.

Chen Bo clenched his teeth tightly, his expression quite serious. It seemed he wanted to prove something.

Raising his left hand, a [Wood] character spirit seal materialized. He, too, cultivated the Vine Bind technique.

Whoosh!

Dozens of tiny seeds were flung out. The moment they landed, they rapidly transformed into sharp thorny vines, swiftly charging toward his opponent.

Huo Ling watched this and said calmly, “Brother Sancai, is this all you have?”

These words were like a thorn, piercing deeply into Chen Bo’s heart. He froze completely.

At that moment, Huo Ling patted her waist, and a small silver bell floated up. After hovering in mid-air, it turned red at a visible speed.

When Chen Bo’s thorny vines charged over, the bell merely swayed back and forth once.

Whoosh!

Orange-yellow flames surged out from within it.

In an instant, half the arena was engulfed in a sea of fire. The thorny vines released by Chen Bo couldn’t even get close; they were instantly burned to ashes.

Chen Bo was forced back by the scorching heat, speaking incredulously, “A Fire Attribute Spirit Artifact?”

Huo Ling smiled brightly. “This is a Fire Attribute Spirit Artifact Brother Yan gave me—the [Fire Bell]!”

There were many types of Spirit Artifacts: Defensive Spirit Artifacts, Offensive Spirit Artifacts, and Daily-use Spirit Artifacts.

This [Fire Bell] was an Offensive Spirit Artifact capable of releasing high-temperature spirit flames. It was personally forged by top-tier craftsmen from Fire Peak and was currently priced at 2,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!

The burning sea of fire separated Chen Bo and Huo Ling. As the two looked at each other, their gazes grew increasingly indifferent, all their past interactions turning to ashes in the flames…

Finally, Chen Bo took a deep breath and spoke up. “I concede!”

Before he even finished saying the word, he had already scrambled off the arena in disarray.

“Senior Brother, are you alright?” Jiang Chen hurried forward to meet him.

Chen Bo said indignantly, “That little girl is too ruthless! All the seeds I stored are burned up!”

Jiang Chen quickly tried to console him. “It’s fine. Failure is the mother of success. We came here mainly to accumulate experience and enrich our techniques.”

Chen Bo snapped irritably, “Accumulate my foot! Let’s go!”

Jiang Chen was surprised. “But we just got here!”

“If you’re not leaving, I am.” Chen Bo simply couldn’t bear to stay any longer.

Jiang Chen had no choice but to follow him.

The two soon left Fire Peak, leaving the arena battles that had only just begun.

Standing on the paper crane’s back, Jiang Chen could already see his second-grade Spirit Farm. But as they got closer and closer… he suddenly spotted someone.

She was crouching down, blocking Da Huang inside his doghouse, holding a blade of grass and constantly teasing him with it.

At this very moment, Da Huang wore an utterly resigned expression. His eyes were extremely complex—filled with fear, impatience, and especially thick disdain.

He had tried to escape multiple times, but the entrance was blocked; he simply couldn’t get out.

Just then, Jiang Chen’s voice rang out from above.

Wang Bing heard the commotion and stood up to look.

Da Huang seized the opportunity and immediately bolted out!

By the time Jiang Chen landed, Da Huang had already scurried over in a flash, hiding between his legs with just his dog head poking out, barking incessantly. “Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Wang Bing crossed her arms and snorted. “Well now, Ah Huang! Relying on your master’s power now that he’s back?”

Jiang Chen reached down and patted Da Huang’s head, then asked, “Fellow Daoist Wang… did you need something?”

Wang Bing pulled a small storage pouch from her own storage bag and said, “The compensation regarding that Feng Xiao matter has been delivered.”

Jiang Chen went “Oh” and immediately took it.

Upon opening it, he was instantly shocked by the number of Spirit Stones inside.

Wang Bing smiled. “There are a full 100 Mid-grade Spirit Stones in that storage pouch.”

Jiang Chen clicked his tongue in amazement. “As expected of The Feng Clan! They’re really rich!”

He wasn’t actually angry about Feng Xiao’s actions back then; after all, he hadn’t suffered any losses whatsoever.

Wang Bing teased, “Now that you have money… Fellow Daoist Jiang… shouldn’t you find yourself a Dao Companion?”

Jiang Chen asked in confusion, “Why would I need to find a Dao Companion?”

Wang Bing immediately replied, “Last time you went to the Flower Sea… wasn’t that specifically to find one?”

Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. “You might have misunderstood. Last time I went… I was accompanying friends.”

Hearing this, Wang Bing narrowed her eyes. “Then… what kind of Dao Companion would you want?”

Jiang Chen thought for a moment. “I want to develop a second Spirit Root… If I were to find a Dao Companion… she’d definitely have to be a Water Spirit Root.”

As soon as these words left his mouth, Wang Bing couldn’t help but take a step forward, eagerly pressing further. “Then… regarding appearance… strength… age… do you have any requirements?”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen looked Wang Bing up and down, noting her slender figure and pure-looking face, then blurted out without thinking.

“Someone about like you would be fine!!!”