Could it be that they love and hate each other

In the territory occupied by the Radiant Clan, a group of blond-haired people with Western features made Ye Chen, a black-haired young man, particularly conspicuous.

Quite a few people were watching him and whispering among themselves. He really had the air of a male protagonist.

Xu Mu pulled Shui Miaomiao aside and looked in Ye Chen’s direction. “Who is that man? Why is he sitting in the Radiant Clan’s area?”

“Oh, I only heard about him just now. His name is Ye Chen, and he’s currently staying at the Radiant Clan’s branch in the Northern Underworld Continent. His talent is exceptionally high. I heard he possesses a trace of Radiant Clan blood.”

Shui Miaomiao explained.

“Radiant Clan blood?”

Xu Mu frowned. He remembered that in the earlier plot, Ye Chen’s true identity had been described as heaven-defying.

Could it really be nothing more than a little Radiant Clan blood?

Something didn’t seem right.

Still, Ye Chen’s qi was metal-attributed, which did indeed resemble that of the Radiant Clan.

Earlier, when Xu Mu had seen Ye Chen together with Hathaway, he had assumed that the two were merely familiar with each other. Only now did he understand that Ye Chen was acquainted with members of the Radiant Clan.

Thinking of this, Xu Mu looked at Shui Miaomiao beside him. This woman was one of Ye Chen’s harem members.

Given the current situation, it seemed that when Ye Chen had been showing off in the Northern Underworld Continent, he had met Shui Miaomiao, after which certain events had taken place between them.

In the end, Shui Miaomiao had been very reasonably added to his harem.

Xu Mu spread out his perception and surveyed the surroundings. Aside from the four major races, there were also people from several other races present.

For instance, Xu Mu spotted members of the Fire Clan.

The Elder Ding Shi he had encountered before was not there, but Shi Qianhua of the Fire Clan had come.

Suddenly, Chen Xuan appeared within Xu Mu’s perception.

He quietly walked over and eventually stopped beside Chen Xuan. “Old Chen, it’s me.”

Chen Xuan gave a slight nod.

Xu Mu then moved closer to Chen Xuan, using his loose black robe to cover Chen Xuan’s arm.

Xu Mu took his hand and inscribed a sound-transmission formation on it. Once he finished, he separated from Chen Xuan again.

“Old Chen, what’s the situation on your end?”

“Brother Mu, while I was on my way to the Water Spirit Clan, I happened to encounter a group of Water Spirit Clan members in battle. I went up to help them, and afterward, one of their elders took a liking to my talent and brought me here.”

By this point, Chen Xuan had also mastered the technique of sound transmission. He no longer needed to speak directly and could transmit his voice just like Xu Mu.

Xu Mu smiled when he heard this. As expected of the male protagonist. “Have you met Shui Shu?”

“I met her yesterday. She tested my strength, then agreed to take me with her. She also said she’d give me a generous reward once everything was done.”

As Chen Xuan transmitted his reply, he glanced toward Xu Mu. “The only problem is that I haven’t had a chance to be alone with her, so I haven’t been able to use the video as leverage.”

“No need. I’ve already threatened her with the video. I currently have two Battlefields of the Gods in my hands.”

Xu Mu continued, “But she isn’t an easy opponent. She must have laid a tight trap inside the Battlefields of the Gods. We shouldn’t rush in.”

“That’s true.”

Chen Xuan nodded to himself. “The locations aren’t going anywhere. These two Battlefields of the Gods have existed for so long without anyone retrieving the treasures. There’s no way they just happen to take them out in the next few days.”

“Well said. We’ll wait until this is over. Shui Shu is a member of Eternal Life, so you have to be careful.”

Just as Xu Mu finished transmitting his message, Shui Miaomiao pointed toward a massive stone stele in the depths of the area.

Blue runes suddenly began to flash across the stele.

Bang!

A ray of blue light appeared above the stele. Then, a passageway opened.

Dozens of people emerged from the passageway before the assembled crowd.

At the head were Shui Zheng and another white-bearded old man.

Behind them were Shui Yuanyao and Shui Shu.

Both of them were covered in quite a bit of blood, but Shui Shu’s injuries were clearly more serious.

The Water Spirit Clan’s experts followed behind them.

In fact, just by looking at the injuries of the two contestants, one could determine who had won this round.

Shui Zheng floated into the air and addressed the assembled guests. “Thank you all for waiting. The victor has been decided. Shui Yuanyao wins!”

Upon hearing this, the various races seated around them merely began whispering among themselves. No one was particularly surprised.

After all, Shui Yuanyao had already been at the eighth rank for a long time, while Shui Shu had only just entered the eighth rank.

The gap between them was still quite substantial.

The moment Shui Zheng finished speaking, the other white-bearded old man also began to speak.

He was Shui Yong, the Water Spirit Clan’s Great Elder.

“After a unanimous decision by the council of elders and the clan leader, Shui Shu wins in terms of contributions to the race.”

This result was also within everyone’s expectations.

Originally, the two of them had been almost evenly matched in this regard. However, just a few days earlier, Shui Shu had directly handed over a divine artifact.

That had instantly given her a huge lead over Shui Yuanyao. There was no denying that Shui Shu was clever.

If she became the clan leader, the use of the treasures within the clan would have to be approved by her.

Put simply, the divine artifact would still belong to her.

Of course, there was a risk involved. If she lost and failed to obtain the position of clan leader, the artifact would become public property. That would amount to losing a divine artifact.

“All right. If you want to determine the final winner, then we can only look to the last round.”

As Shui Zheng spoke, he looked toward Shui Yong. “Come!”

Shui Yong raised his head slightly.

The two old men raised their hands at the same time. Ice the size of basketballs appeared in their palms.

The two chunks of ice floated above their heads and collided with each other.

Bang!

The ice shattered into fragments and scattered across the ground.

The ice had been formed from qi, so it left no residue—only pieces of broken ice.

Shui Zheng lowered his head and looked at the shattered ice. Then he called out, “Nine pieces. That means the ninth ruin, correct?”

“Correct.”

Shui Yong nodded.

Shui Zheng took a piece of animal hide from his spatial ring. “The ninth ruin is located directly north of our territory. To prevent either side from cheating, we’ll select our people and set out immediately.”

Shui Yong agreed, then looked toward Shui Yuanyao and Shui Shu. “Name your candidates. There are three conditions.”

“First, you may bring only four people. Second, they must be no older than sixty. We’ll use a life-force formation to examine their bodily functions. Even if their age meets the requirement, they’ll still be disqualified if they can’t pass the life-force formation. Third, there must be at least one Transcendent-realm expert.”

Xu Mu listened to the requirements Shui Yong announced from the platform. He knew about life-force formations as well.

They could examine the strength of a person’s cells and determine which stage of life they were currently in.

As for the requirement that each team must include a Transcendent-realm expert, it was clearly intended to add a burden to the group.

“All right, I’ll go first.”

Shui Yuanyao spoke up. “Zilan Yin, Hai Jie, Zhang Ye’an, and Xu Mu. Please come up.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zilan Yin, seated in the Black Moon Clan’s area, was the first to fly onto the elevated platform.

Everyone present was stunned by this sight.

It was said that Shui Shu had a close relationship with the Black Moon Clan, so why was the Ninth Princess siding with Shui Yuanyao?

Zidian, who was seated there, rubbed his nose, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

Shui Shu’s eyes narrowed as well. Yesterday, she had assumed that Zilan Yin had gone to find trouble with Xu Mu. She had never expected that Zilan Yin would actually be cooperating with Shui Yuanyao.

Xu Mu had no choice. Since they had called his name, there was naturally no reason for him to keep himself hidden.

He removed his black robe and lightly leaped onto the stage.

The people below let out a collective gasp, then began whispering among themselves.

“It’s actually Xu Mu!”

“Wasn’t he wanted by the Black Moon Clan? Why is he involved with the Black Moon Clan’s princess now? I remember she was the one who ordered Xu Mu’s execution.”

“Could it be that Zilan Yin is possessive and obsessed with Xu Mu, and that they love and try to kill each other?”

…

On the Holy Light Clan’s side, Ye Chen’s expression immediately darkened. This kid really was impossible to shake off.

No matter where he went, he always ran into him.

“My teammate can come up as well,” Shui Shu said with a smile.

Ye Chen’s pupils suddenly trembled when he saw Chen Xuan walk onto the stage.

He let out a cold snort, instantly guessing Xu Mu’s plan.