Chapter 1369: I Will Poison Him to Death

"Zhang Chun? Why is he here?" Yuan Xiao's expression changed. Bi Hongyin and the others also frowned, clearly familiar with the name.

"He is..." Zhang Xuan scratched his head, his eyes full of inquiry. Among the core disciples of the Zhang Clan, he had only heard of "Little Genius" and Zhang Xu. This Zhang Chun, however, he had never heard mentioned before.

"Zhang Chun and Brother Luo are geniuses who entered the Saint Son Hall in the same year. They constantly compare themselves and compete with each other. Their relationship..." Yuan Xiao glanced at Luo Xuanqing, who was not far away, and lowered his voice, "It's not very harmonious!"

"You don't need to hide it for them!" Hearing this, Bi Hongyin sneered, "It's more than just not harmonious; they're practically enemies! No matter what they do, they have to compare, always forcing one side to admit defeat! If you go destroy one hall, he'll go destroy two... Haven't these two caused enough trouble over the years?"

"Uh..."

Her voice wasn't intentionally muffled, and Luo Xuanqing, who was nearby, heard it clearly. His old face flushed, and he wanted to retort but couldn't find the words.

"Destroying halls? Brother Luo's... 'Destruction King' title, was that intentional?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

"Of course not! I... I just wanted to win too much and couldn't control my strength..." Luo Xuanqing snorted.

"Wanted to win too much?"

"Yes, for example, when breaking through a trial. If Zhang Chun took ten minutes, he would try his best to finish in nine minutes... Using all his strength, it's natural he couldn't control it," Bi Hongyin explained.

Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched. Indeed, when pushing oneself so hard, it's difficult to control one's strength, and mistakes are inevitable. Now, it seemed that although he himself had also caused damage, he had always done so with a sense of proportion. He never destroyed for the sake of destruction; most of the time, it was unintentional, and he didn't mean to. Compared to that, the difference was immediately clear: the other party's perspective was much narrower.

"Since they compare everything, could it be that this Zhang Chun heard about the Void Gourd and wants to get involved?" Suddenly remembering something, Zhang Xuan frowned. Being able to compete with Luo Xuanqing, their cultivation levels must be similar. If Zhang Chun were to cause trouble, obtaining a treasure like the Void Gourd would not be as simple as imagined.

"Only a few of us know about the Void Gourd. Don't worry, he absolutely has no idea!" Luo Xuanqing stated confidently.

"Oh?" Seeing his confident tone, the others were puzzled. If not for the Void Gourd, why would he come all the way here? The Saint Son Hall was at least a million kilometers away from this place. It was impossible that he traveled so far just for sightseeing!

"He brought the inner court disciples from the Beast Tamer Hall, the Zhao brothers, Zhao Xun and Zhao Yi; Li Hen, a Heavenly Artificer specializing in mechanisms and traps; and Chang Yuwen, a physician! If I'm not mistaken, he's here for beast taming!" Luo Xuanqing said, without directly answering.

"Beast taming?" Yun Lianhai suddenly remembered something and realized, "Now that you mention it, I recall Zhang Chun posting a beast-taming mission a while ago. It was about finding someone to tame a Saint Beast with dragon bloodline, and the reward was three Jade Vein Spiritual Marrows... Could it be that the beast he wants to tame is precisely this Hellfire Azure Dragon?"

"I remember that too..." Hearing him say that, everyone present was stunned. Even Zhang Xuan was slightly taken aback. A few days ago, he had sent Sun Qiang out to gather information, and when he returned, he mentioned a highly rewarding beast-taming mission. Zhang Xuan had initially planned to take it but had forgotten due to his need to report to the elite class... He never expected it was actually posted by Zhang Chun. The most crucial part was... they all met here.

"This is exactly the one he wants to tame!" Seeing everyone's realization, Luo Xuanqing's eyes gleamed.

"This is too much of a coincidence..."

"Right, we want to deal with this big guy, and he wants to tame it... Brother Luo, this wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?" Everyone looked at him in unison. With so many Saint Beasts in the world, the chances of both parties encountering the same one were slim. They didn't believe it had no connection to Luo Xuanqing.

"Of course it's related!" Luo Xuanqing's lips curved upward. "We've always been rivals, and he knows my whereabouts perfectly. Last time I came here, even though I was very discreet, I was still discovered. To prevent the secret of the Void Gourd from being leaked, I started buying items for taming Saint Beasts and had people forge Soul-Sealing Golden Orbs... My goal was to make him misunderstand, to think that I intended to tame a Saint Beast... I never expected that guy would actually fall for it!"

The others exchanged glances. That's possible? However, they could also understand. The two had always been rivals. Zhang Chun, upon learning that Luo Xuanqing intended to tame an Eighth-Realm Saint Beast, would certainly hold his breath and strive to succeed before him... so he could strike a blow.

"Clever!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed. By doing this, Luo Xuanqing not only diverted the other party's attention, preventing him from investigating his true purpose, but also had him help eliminate a danger, killing two birds with one stone! Regardless of whether Zhang Chun could tame the Hellfire Azure Dragon, he would certainly attract its attention, making it much easier for them to enter the so-called ruins. As expected of a genius from the Luo Clan of Saints, his future brother-in-law, who was highly skilled in stratagems... He seemed crude in his actions, but in reality, he was meticulously careful.

"If he wants to tame the Azure Dragon, can't we just hide quietly and wait until the Saint Beast and he are preoccupied with each other before coming out?" Having understood the situation, Yun Lianhai couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. They had just been worrying about how to deal with this big fellow, but now that Zhang Chun had emerged to be the 'early bird,' they could happily relax.

"That's not entirely unfeasible, but Zhang Chun and I have been rivals for so many years; we know each other inside out. The reason he came so quickly is likely because he tracked my whereabouts again... If he discovers I'm hiding, he'll definitely become suspicious, and then the secret of the Void Gourd will be hard to conceal..." Luo Xuanqing shook his head.

"Then what do we do?" Yun Lianhai asked.

"It's simple!" Luo Xuanqing chuckled softly, his eyes glinting. "They want to tame the Hellfire Azure Dragon, right? We'll find a way to stop them and lead the Azure Dragon towards them. This way, the big fellow will be preoccupied with them, and we can seize the opportunity..."

"Good!" Everyone nodded in unison. If they were putting on a show, they might as well go all out. Everyone knew he was here; if he didn't make a move, wouldn't that be letting the 'audience' down? Therefore, they had to find a way to make the other party appear extremely angry yet helpless! This way, the other party's vanity would be satisfied, making him happily help them fight the beast while they reaped the rewards of victory.

"Brother Luo, do you have a plan?" Seeing him so confident, clearly having his own plan, Zhang Xuan asked.

"Of course!" Luo Xuanqing nodded. "The plan is simple: send someone to block them, and then have someone else attract the Azure Dragon, pretending to tame it. Once Zhang Chun sees that I'm one step ahead, he'll surely get anxious, which will easily expose his weaknesses, giving us an opportunity... The rest will be easy!"

Zhang Xuan and the others nodded. The other party knew he was here to tame the Azure Dragon. If he arrived and did nothing, letting them pass, even the most foolish person would suspect a trick. It was better to stage a fake struggle, actually provoking the Saint Beast on purpose and making the other party take over. Anyway, with the other party's strength and methods, the Azure Dragon would at most injure them, not kill them. Suffering a bit wouldn't endanger their lives and wouldn't violate the principles of a Master Teacher.

"Since everyone thinks it's fine, I'll make the arrangements now!" Seeing that everyone understood his meaning, Luo Xuanqing looked at Zhang Xuan and Yuan Xiao and said, "You two will go ahead and attract the Azure Dragon. Master Zhang will be responsible for setting up the formation, and Yuan Xiao, with his strong physique and many life-saving techniques, will be responsible for entering the cave to draw it out! If they weren't here, we could wait until night and use the power of the Soul-Sealing Golden Orb to confuse it. But now, we don't need to be so cautious; just anger it and find a way for Zhang Chun and his group to take over!"

"Understood!" Zhang Xuan nodded. What sounded complicated was actually quite simple: he and Yuan Xiao were just responsible for "aggroing" the beast. Once it was drawn out, they would hand it over to Zhang Chun and his group... Since the other party was doing the work for free, there was no need for concern.

"Alright, Hongyin, Lianhai, let's go meet Zhang Chun. We must stop them from advancing further, no matter what!" After Luo Xuanqing finished speaking, he leaped forward, moving to meet Zhang Chun and his group.

"Let's hurry too!" Seeing them leave, Yuan Xiao called out and stealthily made his way around the rocks towards the cave.

"Master Zhang, in a moment, you set up the formation first. It doesn't need to be too strong, just capable of trapping the Azure Dragon for a short time. I'll enter the cave to lure it out and try to bring it into the formation! Once that's done, we've succeeded!" As they moved forward, Yuan Xiao sent a telepathic message explaining the plan.

Zhang Xuan nodded. This approach was indeed the simplest. After all, their goal was not to tame or kill this big fellow, but to provoke it and use it as a weapon.

"After trapping the Azure Dragon, we'll go help. Although Luo Xuanqing is strong, Zhang Chun is no weaker. Their battles are always highly anticipated, even in the inner court!" Yuan Xiao's eyes gleamed with excitement. Martial artists all enjoyed watching duels between masters; it allowed them to improve themselves and learn more. Luo Xuanqing and Zhang Chun were both peak-level figures even in the inner court, and their clashes held immense appeal for him.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan responded. Actually, he wasn't particularly interested in their fight. His strength hadn't reached that level yet, so even if he watched, he wouldn't fully understand it or grasp what made it spectacular. Moreover, if he watched, it would undoubtedly activate the Library, and then seeing so many flaws would be incredibly uncomfortable. Vomiting on the spot wouldn't be ideal, either!

"What? Not interested?" Seeing through his thoughts, Yuan Xiao smiled. "Don't think they're just sparring. When those two fight, it's truly a life-or-death struggle, with every move perilous!"

"Life-or-death struggle?" Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled. "They're both from prominent clans; what kind of animosity could they have? Just comparing themselves shouldn't lead to such extremes."

"You don't know yet? Oh, right, you just arrived, so it's normal you wouldn't know!" Yuan Xiao paused, then chuckled, looking around before lowering his voice. "I heard... Zhang Chun wants to pursue the Luo Clan's young princess... Hey, what are you doing?"

Before he could finish, he saw the young man who had been following closely turn and walk away.

"I'm going to poison this Zhang Chun!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"..." Yuan Xiao.