Xu Lai did not rush to Sea Temple Island. Instead, he cracked sunflower seeds while watching the battle, which had split into two separate skirmishes.

As he watched, he suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked toward the distant sea, chuckling softly. "It seems I'm not the only onlooker."

He sensed a presence in the distant waters—a cultivator who had reached the absolute limit Earth could sustain. In the terms of the Immortal Domain's cultivation system, this person was barely a Half-step Golden Core Realm expert, with power roughly equivalent to Yuan Man, the Demon King of Sea City.

"A Sea Demon?"

Xu Lai's gaze returned to Xu Huang. This human... also had the aura of a Sea Demon about him and seemed to be cultivating some special Cultivation Technique.

"Xuantian Finger!"

Xu Huang suddenly bellowed. A pristine white finger formed from Spiritual Energy appeared in the sky, wielding the might to destroy heaven and earth as it shot toward the center of Niu Taishan's brow!

The finger appeared small, yet it sent a tide of shock through Niu Taishan. He couldn't take it head-on! He hastily retreated, attempting to dodge the attack.

However, the Xuantian Finger seemed to be guided by Xu Huang's Divine Sense. It was a perfectly locked-on attack that would not stop until it drew blood from its target.

Cold sweat dripped from Niu Taishan's brow. Should I use my Secret Technique to block it? But that would be too costly. His Talent Seed was strength, making offense his forte. Defense, on the other hand, was his greatest weakness.

The intense battle had already burst his clothes open, revealing his muscular build. His broad shoulders and robust waist made it hard to believe he was already in his sixties or seventies.

"That finger won't stop until it draws blood," a voice casually rang out by his ear. "There are plenty of fish, shrimp, and crabs in the sea. Just grab one to serve as a substitute."

Niu Taishan was stunned. Can it really work like that?

Xu Huang, who had been smug just moments before, now had a face as cold as ice. He glanced around, searching for the speaker, and demanded sharply, "Who is it!"

Spitting out a seed shell, Xu Lai spoke, "It's me."

"..."

Only then did Xu Huang see the thoroughly unimpressive Xu Lai standing on the surface of the sea. He almost spat out a mouthful of blood in frustration. When did this guy get here? And he's eating sunflower seeds! He's clearly just here to watch the show...

Xu Huang's Xuantian Finger was powerful, but its counter was laughably simple. With Xu Lai's single comment, Niu Taishan, who would have otherwise been gravely injured if not killed, was saved. Though skeptical, he grabbed a shark that had been stunned by the battle's shockwaves and held it up. The shark's body exploded into a rain of blood, and the Xuantian Finger... indeed dissipated.

Floating in the air, Niu Taishan looked at Xu Lai in astonishment. "Fellow Daoist, what sharp eyes!"

Any resentment he held from when Xu Lai had questioned the Sky Ranking completely vanished. He even considered teaming up with Xu Lai to take down Xu Huang!

But for all his calculations, Niu Taishan never could have anticipated what happened next.

"You're Xu Huang, right? You're a fool, too," Xu Lai said in exasperation. "This big fellow is all muscle, obviously a strength-type fighter. You should be kiting him! The enemy advances, I retreat; the enemy camps, I harass; the enemy tires, I attack; the enemy retreats, I pursue. How do you not understand such a simple tactic? Using that Xuantian Finger of yours wasted at least thirty percent of your Spiritual Energy."

Xu Huang was speechless.

He found that he couldn't see through this man at all. As a Martial Artist, Xu Lai had first spoken ill of the Sky Ranking, and then he'd exposed the weakness in his Xuantian Finger. Logically, as competitors, Xu Lai should have teamed up with Niu Taishan to eliminate him first. So... why was he helping him now?

Does he want to team up with me to take down Niu Taishan? No, that doesn't seem right either...

Xu Huang grew deeply wary, afraid Xu Lai was playing some kind of trick. He had no idea that Xu Lai, as a spectator to this battle between so-called 'Cultivators' just stepping into the Cultivation World, was simply getting a headache from their ineptitude and couldn't resist offering a few pointers.

Xu Lai then looked toward the other skirmish and offered his praise. "Those eight may be weak, but their coordination is excellent. Their hit-and-run tactics are well-executed. Within an hour, that old man on the dog is sure to lose!"

"What the hell..."

Feng Lang, who had been fighting from the start, lost all the carefree swagger he'd had while drinking and reciting poetry. He was on the verge of letting loose a string of curses.

That's a wolf. A Prairie Wolf! I, Feng Lang, am the Wolf God of the Prairie, the totem of freedom! Goddamn old man on a dog!

The eight Martial Ancestors wanted to laugh but dared not. They were afraid that an enraged and humiliated Feng Lang would fight them to the bitter end.

For a moment, the tense, life-or-death atmosphere vanished, replaced by an inexplicably strange one.

Both groups stopped fighting and turned to look at Xu Lai with hostile expressions.

"This guy is probably here to cause trouble. Let's eliminate him first," a white-haired old woman said, her face cold. Although she was only in the early stage of the Seventh Grade, her pride in her own strength meant she didn't take Xu Lai seriously.

"I agree," chimed in other Martial Ancestors, thoroughly irritated by Xu Lai's incessant babbling.

"What's wrong with you people?" Xu Lai shook his head and sighed. "Am I not even allowed to comment on a bunch of chickens pecking at each other? I was actually planning on giving you some pointers, offering you all a great opportunity."

"..."

Flames seemed to shoot from everyone's eyes.

We are Seventh Grade Martial Ancestors, a summit that countless Martial Artists aspire to their entire lives but can never reach! And to this man, we're just chickens? The weakest among us is in the early stage of the Seventh Grade, while you couldn't even get your name on the Sky Ranking, yet you want to give us pointers? Are you even worthy?!!!

"You're courting death," Feng Lang snarled at Xu Lai. He was convinced Xu Lai was mocking him—first "old man on a dog," then "chickens," and now "pointers"... He, a grand half-step Eighth Grade Grandmaster, had never been so humiliated!

"Don't be so angry. I wasn't talking about you," Xu Lai said.

"Hmph?" Feng Lang was stunned for a moment, then sneered. "Scared now? Too late!"

"No, no, no. What I mean is," Xu Lai sighed, "all of you are chickens. If you're going to attack, you might as well all come at once."

"..."

The area fell still, save for the whistling wind.

The silence stretched on for a long time. It was so long that on the distant cruise ship, the thirteen Family Heads watching the drone feed on the large screen were utterly bewildered.

Thinking the screen had frozen, Wan Yuanshan even smacked it, as if trying to fix it.

"It doesn't seem to be broken..." Niu Guihua said hesitantly. She could faintly make out the ripples stirred by the wind on the sea's surface.

"What on earth happened?" Ling Chaoyang frowned. All he saw was the fighting abruptly stop before all the Grandmasters surrounded Xu Lai. It looked like they were questioning him about something... and then, the image became completely still.

The other Family Heads glanced at Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba with peculiar expressions. Although they didn't know what had transpired, they figured it had something to do with Xu Lai. Perhaps the Su Family and Jiang Family would be the first to be eliminated.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans had already formed on Old Jiang Ba's forehead. Faced with those meaningful gazes, he could only force himself to remain composed. However, if the pale-faced Su Daiyi hadn't been supporting him, the leading figure of Jiang Cheng would have likely collapsed to the floor.

Am I going to lose the bet?

At that moment, that was the only thought in Old Jiang Ba's mind.

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