# Chapter 337: Showdown Again
"Ugh!"
Chang Qiqi spat out a mouthful of blood, as if he had been seriously injured by Guoguo's claw. His face was extremely pale, and he tightly clutched his chest as he struggled to stand up, pointing at the golden rabbit in the distance. "Guoguo, you... you..."
Chang Qiqi wasn't actually badly hurt. After all, he was now a mid-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm expert, a martial arts legend in the eyes of ordinary martial artists. How could he be injured so easily?
The key was anger—he was so furious he spat blood.
In front of so many people, to be knocked flying by a pet he had sold himself—was there anything more frustrating than this? Was there anything more embarrassing?
"What are you looking at? Since the dragon blood has already merged into my bloodstream, it belongs to me now. Look again, and I'll dig out your eyes."
Guoguo extended a sharp claw, pointing at Chang Qiqi, revealing two large rabbit teeth, speaking in a threatening tone.
After merging with the dragon blood, Guoguo had completely awakened and could now speak human language.
Not only that, Guoguo's cultivation had also greatly increased. Although not yet fully grown, his strength was already quite formidable.
Seeing this scene, everyone burst into laughter, finding it extremely comical.
Clearly, Chang Qiqi was the master, but now it seemed more like Chang Qiqi was Guoguo's follower. If Guoguo got angry, he would get beaten.
Was there any more pitiful master than this?
After the laughter subsided, Chen Xi'er calmed down and said, "Since we were able to obtain dragon blood, it proves that the Golden Dragon was indeed buried here. Since this is the Golden Dragon's tomb, let's search around. Maybe we can find the legendary supreme treasure—the Dragon Relic."
The Dragon Relic represented the inheritance of the Buddha Emperor and the Golden Dragon. Not just them, even Saints would feel greed.
The others nodded and began searching.
The result was obvious. After a thorough search, they found nothing.
Si Xingkong didn't feel discouraged at all. Instead, he was quite carefree and laughed, "The Dragon Relic has always been a legend. Even Di Yi isn't sure if it really exists. Getting a drop of dragon blood in the Dragon Palace is already a huge gain. There's no need to covet more."
"Eight hundred years have passed. Even if the Dragon Relic really existed, it would have been taken by those before us. Why would it wait for us?" Duanmu Xingling also gently shook her head.
Huang Yanchen touched her pointed chin with her finger and said, "Then forget it. I also think it's time for us to leave here. I plan to return to the Martial Market Academy as soon as possible and go into seclusion to refine the dragon blood."
Zhang Ruochen just smiled faintly and didn't speak. He believed that among these people, some must have guessed that the Dragon Relic had likely been taken by him, but they deliberately didn't expose it.
Under a subtle atmosphere, the group passed through the passage and gradually walked out of the Dragon Tomb.
Zhang Ruochen used the dragon horn to open the stone door. Everyone filed out and once again arrived at that underwater hill.
The spiritual herbs on the hill had long been completely harvested, leaving only bare rocks and soil.
"Young Master, they're out!"
"It really is Zhang Ruochen."
At the foot of the hill, a large number of Black Market martial artists had gathered. Looking over, there were probably about two hundred or more.
They stood neatly arranged in some strange formation, each one filled with sharp, cold killing intent. In their hands, they held pieces of jade, which emitted light as they formed a massive array.
More than two hundred beams of light shot into the sky, intersecting with each other to form bright points of light, like countless stars suspended in the water, completely sealing off the surrounding space.
"Finally out!"
Di Yi, who had been sitting cross-legged cultivating in the water, suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a cold, sinister light.
Di Yi slowly stood up, his movements natural and fluid. Affected by his aura, a massive saintly shadow appeared behind him, radiating a thousand feet of brilliance, suppressing even the light of the nearby Thousand Blade Star Net Grand Formation.
He stood there straight like a saint who controlled everything in the world, his physical body overlapping with the saintly shadow.
"Shua!"
Zi Yinyang flashed out from behind Di Yi and said coldly, "Zhang Ruochen, release my sister."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Zi Qian, then looked at Zi Yinyang and said, "Want me to release Zi Qian? Of course, I can. But you also have to agree to one condition—you must first release those Martial Market Academy students you've captured."
When Zhang Ruochen walked out of the stone door, he had already released his martial soul to investigate and found that a large number of inner palace students from the Martial Market Academy had been captured and were imprisoned in a nearby dragon hall.
The corner of Di Yi's mouth curled up as he stared at Zhang Ruochen on the hill, revealing a sinister smile. "Interesting. It seems you've also broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm and condensed your martial soul. Yan Siming, bring up the fifty-three inner palace students from the Martial Market Academy. Let's see how Zhang Ruochen gets through today."
Di Yi knew very well that Zhang Ruochen's strength wasn't much weaker than his own. In a real fight, perhaps Zhang Ruochen wouldn't be his opponent.
But if Zhang Ruochen wanted to escape, it would be easy.
So first, he had the Black Market martial artists set up the Thousand Blade Star Net Grand Formation to cut off Zhang Ruochen's retreat. At the same time, he captured a large number of Martial Market Academy inner palace students to tie Zhang Ruochen down, making it so that even if Zhang Ruochen wanted to escape, he couldn't.
Under these circumstances, Zhang Ruochen would have no choice but to fight him to the death.
The final result was beyond doubt—he would kill Zhang Ruochen and eliminate this potential major enemy of the Black Market.
Yan Siming was once one of the seven young experts of the Black Market. He had now broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm. He was about two meters seven or eight tall, with a broad back and a sturdy build, wearing a set of black snake-patterned ancient armor that was clearly no ordinary item.
Under his leadership, Black Market martial artists brought out fifty-three Martial Market Academy students and arrived at the foot of the underwater hill.
These Martial Market Academy students had all entered the Dragon Palace later, searching for the Dragon Relic.
Although they had been quite cautious, a group of them was still caught and became Di Yi's prisoners.
"All of you, kneel down! Kneel in a row!"
Yan Siming carried a five-foot-long, gleaming nine-ring war blade and walked behind the Martial Market Academy students, sneering and revealing two rows of white, sharp teeth.
Anyone who dared not kneel, he would directly cut their hamstrings.
Among them, a rather pretty female student had her wrists and feet bound with golden inscription chains. Because she refused to kneel, Yan Siming directly swung his blade, cutting through her knees and severing her legs.
"Ah..."
The female student let out a scream as blood gushed from her legs, and she fell to the ground.
Her gaze fixed on Si Xingkong above the hill, and she pleaded, "Senior Brother, save me..."
Si Xingkong had always been the number one young expert of the Heavenly Demon Ridge and held great prestige among the students. So, in times of danger, most students looked to Si Xingkong for leadership, hoping he would sweep away the evil Black Market martial artists and rescue them.
Si Xingkong knew this female student. Her name was Di Rou, and they had a decent relationship at the Martial Market Academy.
Seeing Di Rou's legs severed, Si Xingkong's expression darkened, and he was about to rush down the hill to save the captured students.
"Senior Brother, don't act impulsively! They have set up the Thousand Blade Star Net Grand Formation. Once the formation activates, your strength alone won't be able to withstand it," Chen Xi'er said.
After saying this, a sly smile appeared in Chen Xi'er's eyes. She tapped her toes and appeared behind Zi Qian, one hand gripping Zi Qian's throat, the other locking onto the meridians of Zi Qian's right wrist.
Zi Qian hadn't expected Chen Xi'er to suddenly attack her. By the time she reacted, she was already subdued by Chen Xi'er.
Zi Qian could feel the pain in her neck as Chen Xi'er's fingernails pierced her skin. Blood flowed out along her fingers, dissolving into the water and turning into strands of blood.
Zi Qian and Chen Xi'er had always had a grudge. She had no doubt that if she dared to move, Chen Xi'er would kill her without hesitation.
Under such circumstances, even Zhang Ruochen couldn't save her.
Chen Xi'er smiled and said, "Zi Yinyang, if you want your sister to live, you'd better release those Martial Market Academy students immediately. Otherwise, just wait to collect your sister's corpse."
"Chen Xi'er, you're too bold! If you dare to harm my sister, I, Zi Yinyang, swear I will take your life," Zi Yinyang said, his voice extremely cold.
Di Yi said, "Zi Yinyang, those who achieve great things don't get bogged down by trivial matters. Don't let a woman threaten you. Even if your sister dies at their hands, I will compensate your Earth Mansion Gate with other things."
Zi Yinyang's expression changed slightly. "But Young Master..."
Di Yi's gaze turned cold. "Is your sister more important, or is the Dragon Relic more important? You should know your place."
Seeing Di Yi's gaze, Zi Yinyang's heart trembled, and his whole body went cold.
Di Yi had made it very clear. For the Dragon Relic, not to mention sacrificing a Zi Qian, even sacrificing the entire Earth Mansion Gate was worth it.
If Zi Yinyang was threatened by Chen Xi'er because he wanted to save his sister, Di Yi would not hesitate to kill him too.
To Di Yi, Zi Yinyang was like an ant—he could easily crush him with just a finger.
Di Yi waved his hand, signaling Zi Yinyang to step back.
Zi Yinyang was someone who appeared cold on the outside but was warm-hearted inside. Although he outwardly showed a cold attitude toward Zi Qian, when he truly saw her in danger, he couldn't bring himself to ignore it.
Zi Yinyang gritted his teeth, bent his legs, and knelt before Di Yi. "Young Master, I beg you to save my sister. If the Young Master can save her life, from now on, my life belongs to you. Even if you want me to die right now, I won't frown."
Di Yi was a person with an extremely strong desire for control and hated it when others went against his will.
Seeing that Zi Yinyang didn't follow his orders, anger naturally rose in his heart. He said coldly, word by word, "Your life has always belonged to me. From beginning to end, it has never belonged to you."
Zi Yinyang knew that Di Yi was already furious, but he still had to continue pleading. "Young Master, I beg you to save my sister. I'll do whatever you ask."
"What do you think you are?"
Di Yi grew even angrier. With a cold laugh, he directly struck out with his palm, hitting Zi Yinyang on the top of his head.
"Bang!"
Zi Yinyang's skull shattered into pieces, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.
On the ground, only a headless corpse remained, still kneeling there.
To Di Yi, a disobedient subordinate had no reason to continue living. Moreover, he was just a small-time assassin.