Eternal Life through Drawing Lots

On the day he broke into the top 100 of the Human Ranking, Fang Yang arrived at the martial arts arena.

He submitted the formal papers, officially challenging Muri Xining.

His actions immediately stirred up a storm within the Thunder Saint Academy.

All one could say was that a bad reputation was still a reputation.

Once you became famous, no matter what you did, you would easily attract the attention of others.

"I mean, come on. Even if you’re a Fire Dao Master and considered impressive among Tier Three Cultivators, how dare you challenge Muri Xining?"

"This is hilarious. He can’t possibly be unaware that Muri Xining is a Water Dao Master too, right?"

"Hahaha, looks like we’re in for a good show tomorrow morning."

"Fight, fight! I want to see rivers of blood..."

Compared to the mockers, there were clearly far more people who just wanted to watch the drama unfold.

In their eyes, regardless of "Fang Nian’s" aptitude and talent, he had never disappointed them when it came to entertainment value.

In a way, he was a talent in his own right.

His influence even surpassed that of some of the big shots on the Celestial Ranking.

Cyan Moon Lake.

The Lake Heart Pavilion.

"Mr. Fang."

Sen Yuanyuan bit her red lip, her face filled with worry. "Are you confident? Please don’t get hurt."

Her best friend, Dongfang Momei, comforted her, "Oh, Yuanyuan, don’t worry. From what I can see, he’s no reckless brute."

"The odds should be about three to seven. Brother Fang has a thirty percent chance, Muri Xining seventy. He still has a shot," Qing Zhao said calmly, giving his assessment.

Zhang Chi said with false sincerity, "No matter how impressive Muri Xining is, she doesn’t have a Xuanwu Spirit Body like Murong Chengfeng. There’s no need to be so worried."

The group chattered back and forth, all of them extremely worried about the upcoming battle.

But Fang Yang just smiled, offered a few words of reassurance, and said no more.

In his eyes, Muri Xining was just a slightly stronger version of Liu Manlou.

He had been confident when facing Liu Manlou, so he didn’t take this fight to heart at all.

「The next morning.」

A faint stir was in the air.

The martial arts arena was bustling with an excitement not seen in a long time.

The two main characters of the day had both arrived, each taking a side.

Muri Xining wore a suit of aquamarine reverse-scale armor and held a flood-dragon whip, her gaze sharp and fierce.

The morning breeze blew, lifting the hair from her forehead. The aquamarine reverse-scale armor on her body suddenly let out the soul-shaking cry of a flood dragon.

As for Fang Yang, he wore white-robed battle armor and held a crimson battle spear, his posture as straight and unyielding as a spear or a sword.

The two of them standing in the same space actually created a scene of perfect coordination.

This scene immediately astonished the onlookers.

"No way. Why do I get the feeling this guy can actually stand up to Muri Xining as an equal?"

"It’s true. He really seems to have the bearing of a prodigy."

"I get it now! This must be the power of love..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

But in the arena, Fang Yang and Muri Xining didn’t even have time for small talk.

The moment the referee struck the bronze gong, both of them attacked simultaneously, without any exchange of words.

The former only wanted to speedrun the Dream World and was unwilling to waste any more time.

The latter looked down on him, believing that someone without a backbone should obediently accept their place and submit to the arrangements of fate.

BANG...

BANG! BANG!

A series of impacts shook the arena, sending dust and smoke billowing.

Under the morning sun, Muri Xining’s figure was agile and nimble as a flood dragon, dreamlike and picturesque, like a fairy from a painting.

But the viciously deadly moves of her long whip spoke of the absolute danger of this beautiful rose!

With every crack of her whip, a water mist would rise and an illusory flood dragon would lunge forth.

The misty, illusory flood dragon was ferocious. Everywhere it passed, the air itself seemed to explode, and the green flagstones were annihilated. Its destructive power was immense.

However, Fang Yang calmly and composedly thrust his spear. With every thrust, the spear’s tip would conjure a storm of wind and thunder, birthing blazing flames.

In the span of a breath, a Fire Eagle resembling a golden-winged Dapeng bird burst from his spear, flapping its wings and hurtling majestically toward Muri Xining.

The misty, illusory flood dragon collided with the flaming Fire Eagle. The whip and spear vibrated in unison, the impact as violent as a volcanic eruption. A majestic wave of energy surged out from between the two, sending the onlookers’ long hair flying.

Yet, amidst this majestic wave of energy, Muri Xining was forced to shoot backward in retreat.

But Fang Yang pressed forward, attacking so relentlessly that Muri Xining could only parry.

"What a Fire Dao Master!"

In a remote corner of the martial arts arena, Murong Chengfeng’s eyes lit up as he watched Fang Yang’s figure from afar.

He had originally come to see how much Muri Xining had grown, but unexpectedly, "Fang Nian" had given him a huge surprise.

’Could the power of love really be this formidable?’ At this moment, he too was beginning to wonder.

The water mist spread.

The flames raged.

Before long, the two combatants in the arena both unleashed their trump cards.

Vast waves of water, like the celestial river pouring down, surged from Muri Xining’s aquamarine reverse-scale armor.

Within the water, a pair of tightly closed flood-dragon eyes slowly emerged.

At the same time, Fang Yang activated the ultimate move of his [Celestial Eagle Cross Spear].

Not only that, but the image of the [Yin Yang Dao Fish Diagram] also appeared behind him. His aura soared, and blazing flames burned away the waves of water.

For a moment, water and fire clashed.

But incredibly, the fire was actually overpowering the water?!

RUMBLE— 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The water flood dragon opened its eyes; the celestial eagle soared across the sky.

Both had played their final cards, but unexpectedly, Fang Yang still won through sheer power!

At that moment, Muri Xining knelt on the ground, her hair disheveled, her eyes vacant.

’I lost.’

’I actually lost.’

’How could I possibly lose to a guy like him?!’

"PFFT—" Her heart knotted with frustration, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Only then did she feel somewhat better.

"Hiss... he’s quite something," Murong Chengfeng said, now regarding Fang Yang with a serious expression.

Because Murong Chengfeng knew full well that the two trump cards his opponent had just shown were still in their separate forms, not yet unified.

If they were to be unified as one, even he would have to use his full strength to face the resulting power.

"Mr. Fang, you did it." Sen Yuanyuan’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Qing Zhao and Dongfang Momei were utterly shocked, as if they were seeing "Fang Nian" for the first time.

As for Zhang Chi, he was forcing a smile, but his heart was bleeding. Seeing "Fang Nian" so triumphant was practically killing him!

As for Fang Yang, he responded to each of their emotional words in turn, giving everyone equal attention.

’This is nothing,’ he thought. ’I haven’t even played my real trump card yet.’

’After all, there’s still Murong Chengfeng to fight.’

’Half a month has passed. There’s still some time before the three-month deadline.’

’Next, I need to get more—many more—Merit Points from Sen Yuanyuan.’

’It’s not just for the opportunity to reach Tier Six, but also to advance my own school’s attainments, perfect my ultimate moves, and so on...’

The thoughts in Fang Yang’s mind flowed like water, calm and undisturbed.

All that could be said was that he had discovered another great use for the dream.

Namely, to promote the growth of his school’s attainments and to perfect his ultimate moves and Cultivation Techniques.

He knew very well that this might be his chance to "overtake on the curve" and surpass Sen Wei and Sen Yue.

The Dream World contained the dreams of countless capable and ambitious people. What a profound treasure it was.

Even the great Sages would have moments when they fell into dreams!