Chapter 1790: The Fisherman Takes All

“Hahaha... Well said. Having too big a gall bladder is not always a good thing.”

Shi Xiaotian barked out a laugh as if he didn’t mind the Southern Sea Dragon King’s threat in the slightest. “However, it is equally true that a

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warrior with a small gall bladder may starve very easily.”

“Did you know that hunger can sometimes be worse than death? That is why I would rather die than starve!”

The Southern Sea Dragon King’s eyes boiled with killing intent. He only wished he could rip Shi Xiaotian into a million pieces. He held himself back though.

If Shi Xiaotian was alone, then he could have suppressed the man with impunity. But throw Supreme Firmament Trueman into the mix, and suddenly victory wasn’t as clear cut as it seemed.

Although Supreme Firmament Trueman was just a first level Sage, he was wielding the Divine Firmament Sect’s divine artifacts, the Thunder God Hammer and Thunder God Bore. He could still win if he went all out, but there was no way he could walk away from this battle without injuries.

Getting injured was one thing, but getting injured in this place in this situation? It would mean that his adventure in the Divine Court was over.

If that was the only consequence, he still could accept it. After all, he had obtained the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass. It alone was worth the whole trip.

He was a Stranger. Although his lifespan was long, his heavenly tribulations were several times more dangerous than what a human being usually faced, and unusually frequent to boot. The Nine Tribulations Undying Grass would have guaranteed him a peaceful life of cultivation until he reached the next level.

There was a problem though. He did not know how to leave the Divine Court. If he was injured, and if he ran into another equal or higher level threat than the one he was currently facing, then forget guarding the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass, he might not even be able to save himself.

That was why he didn’t want to fight the duo to the death. However, he did not want to surrender the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass to the duo either. That was why he was feeling very hesitant right now.

“You are a smart man, old dragon king. You should understand that a pyrrhic victory is no different from defeat!”

Shi Xiaotian smiled. “So let’s sit down and talk, shall we?”

The Southern Sea Dragon King remained silent for a moment before asking coldly, “Speak then.”

“That’s a smart man!”

Shi Xiaotian barked out a laugh. “Don’t worry. We’re not greedy. The Nine Tribulations Undying Grass has nine leaves, right? Surely you don’t need all of it. All we ask is that you give us four leaves. Two for him, and two for me. The rest, you can keep to yourself.”

“You—”

Shi Xiaotian interrupted before the Southern Sea Draogn King could finish, “Ah ah ah! Don’t get mad. How are you still so irritable at your advanced age? I’m not finished yet!”

The Southern Sea Dragon King grunted and remained silent.

Shi Xiaotian continued, “You see, there are many opportunities in the Divine Court. Many of them are better than the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass too.”

“Alas, as abundant as these opportunities may be, the risks are just as great. We may be all-powerful titans in the outside world, but here? A single misstep could mean the end of our lives.”

“No one who fights alone has a future here, so why don’t we work together? With the three of us, we will surely find and obtain greater opportunities in the Divine Court. The Nine Tribulations Undying Grass will seem so insignificant then. Don’t you agree?”

The Southern Sea Dragon King narrowed his eyes. A few breaths later, he finally asked, “And why should I believe you?”

“Do you have a choice?”

Shi Xiaotian taunted, “Besides, we’re not afraid of you even though you’re way stronger than us. So what are you afraid of?”

The Southern Sea Dragon King scoffed, “No race is more cunning and devious than humans. Who knows what kind of devious scheme you are plotting?”

“Now that’s what I call bias. Scheme? Plot? Pssh! Can’t you tell that we are being totally honest with you?”

Shi Xiaotian shrugged. “Besides, you’ve eaten more salt than we eat rice, and walked more bridges than we walked roads, old dragon king. Even if we are plotting something, how can we possibly trick an old and wise veteran like you?”

“Fine. I will obey your plan.”

The Southern Sea Dragon King made up his mind after some quick thinking. “Just be warned that I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and rip you to shreds if you actually try something!”

“Hahaha... sure, sure.”

Shi Xiaotian replied uncaringly and gestured. “Now then, please fulfill your promise, old dragon king.”

The Southern Sea Dragon King could not be bothered to speak at this point. He turned back to a human and produced the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass. Then, he got ready to pluck four leaves.

It was at this moment a hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass. “Inelegant. How inelegant of you three to fight each other to the death over a mere Nine Tribulations Undying Grass! I can’t bear to see conflict, so I shall remove the root of it and take this from you. No need to thank me.”

“The audacity!”

Despite the sudden situation, the Southern Sea Dragon King reacted swiftly and decisively. His hand turned into a claw as he swiped at the hand.

The draconic claw was shining with cold, blue light. It froze the surrounding area and crushed even space.

However, the palm simply clenched into a fist and pierced through the cold. Then, it landed squarely at the center of the Southern Sea Dragon King’s palm.

Thump!

There was a dull impact that sounded like a god striking a drum. The entire world shook as the Southern Sea Dragon King felt a terrible, irresistible force sending him flying fifty kilometers in a go.

It was at this moment Supreme Firmament Trueman and Shi Xiaotian finally reacted and attacked the palm at the same time.

However, a pentachromatic cloud quickly got in the way of their attacks and melted both Supreme Firmament Trueman’s lightning and Shi Xiaotian’s five mountains into nothing.

Stunned, the duo tried to retreat only to find more pentachromatic clouds surrounding them from multiple directions.

Not daring to get careless or hold back, both Sages went all out and tried to break through the encirclement. However, they found that anything they threw at the pentachromatic clouds—astral qi, true intent, Magia or secret art—all disintegrated into nothing.

Even worse, they could feel their true qi, force, mind and spirit slowly disintegrating into nothing as the pentachromatic cloud spread out.

If the two Sages weren’t scared before, they were now. They were Sages only because they wielded power far beyond their mortal counterparts. Without that power, they were no different from lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

However, they soon realized that the pentachromatic clouds did not push further despite having them in their throes. No one was attacking them either. It was only then they let out a sigh of relief.

A dozen or so breaths later, the pentachromatic cloud finally faded away into nothing. Their lost strength also slowly returned to them. When they looked, they saw that the Southern Sea Dragon King just regained his freedom just like them.

There was no one else besides them. This could only mean that the uninvited bastard who robbed them was gone.

“Supreme Firmament! Shi Xiaotian! Is this your doing? Are you trying to monopolize the Nine Tribulations Undying Grass?!”

The Southern Sea Dragon King glared at the duo with unbridled anger and bloodthirst as soon as he regained his freedom.

Shi Xiaotian wasn’t feeling much better. He yelled back, “Did your mother drop you on the head when you were young, old dragon king? Would we be hanging around if we were behind this?”