The emperor’s physicians immediately tended to Luo Yutong when he got back into the coliseum after suffering serious injuries from the explosion of Yun Ling’s spiritual orb at a point-blank range.

He was angry as he clenched his fist. The three supreme geniuses were all exhausted and Yu Shan and the crown prince couldn’t even move that much after all the fighting they did. He should’ve waited until Yun Ling finished them off but he didn’t since they were taking their time by talking to each other. He didn’t want to give Yun Ling the opportunity to get some rest from that so he didn’t wait anymore and decided to attack them.

It turned out his calculations were wrong.

Yu Shan and the crown prince could still fight for a bit. They avoided their attacks and annihilated his side instantly.

‘This isn’t over yet!’ he furiously thought before he went unconscious.

…

“Now that we’ve dealt with the pests, should we continue the fight?” Yun Ling said as he turned towards Yu Shan and the crown prince.

The two smiled bitterly. The supreme art they used towards the participants that Luo Yutong had brought to deal with them was their last one. They didn’t have it in them to continue fighting anymore.

Suddenly, the three looked towards the distance as they felt two presence coming towards them.

Yun Ling narrowed his eyes as he let out a smile while Yu Shan shifted his gaze towards the crown prince upon seeing the newcomers. The crown prince, on the other hand, didn’t have any reaction as he stood and waited for the newcomers.

The two newcomers were none other than the crown prince’s personal guards. They were wearing a full black plated metal armor all over their body as they headed towards the crown prince speedily.

Yu Shan took out his sword just to be cautious. The only one he would allow to beat him was either Yun Ling or the crown prince. The crown prince’s personal guards might be strong but he didn’t want to go down by their hands.

“Your Highness,” the two greeted and bowed down to the crown prince upon reaching him.

Yu Shan’s worries were unfounded for the two didn’t seem to come there for a fight. He let out a sigh as he returned his sword to his storage ring.

The crown prince frowned at his personal guards.

“We are inside a competition. You two should treat me like you would a normal participant at least just for this occasion alone.”

The two personal guards remained silent. Even though the crown prince had said that to them, there was no way they could do so.

“Anyway, what are you two doing here if you aren’t here to fight?” the crown prince asked.

One of them said, “Your Highness, we’ve eliminated most of the participants in the competition so far. We’ve tried searching for more but no longer found anyone. I think there are only less than ten participants remaining in the competition.”

“So we are here to ask for your permission to withdraw from the competition for we’ve already accomplished our goal to get into the top ten,” the other one continued.

The crown prince sighed at them. He really wanted these two to do their best but the problem was these two wouldn’t allow themselves to get ahead of him no matter what he’d say to them. Since they saw that he was no longer fit to continue fighting in the competition, they were going to withdraw so that they wouldn’t get a higher place than him. Besides, they had indeed accomplished the goal he had set for them. That was to get into the top ten so he really couldn’t complain too much.

“Alright.”

After receiving the crown prince’s confirmation, the two disappeared as they were sent back into the coliseum.

Yun Ling looked at the crown prince with a strange smile on his face.

“The two guards you have are quite strong. They are in the Early Stage of the Mortal Lord Realm just like you and Yu Shan. It makes me think just how they are able to remain hidden this long with such extraordinary capabilities and how the imperial family is able to get them into your side,” he started. “If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe there were still people like you two out there.”

Yu Shan merely raised a brow.

“So that’s why I feel like they are on the same level as us. Those two are actually at the Mortal Lord Realm.”

The crown prince had a complicated look on his face.

“Those two are… well, it's a long story.”

“Hmm, it seems that there is something going on regarding those two,” Yun Ling said. “Anyway, let’s continue where we left off before we are disturbed again.”

Yu Shan and the crown prince looked at him seriously.

“After the Golden Dragon Election, let us go out for some drink sometimes,” Yu Shan suggested.

The crown prince nodded, agreeing with him.

Yun Ling smiled at them.

“Alright. Let’s do that. It will be on you, right?”

Yu Shan snorted.

“The crown prince is the wealthiest among the three of us so it should be his treat.”

The crown prince gave him a stink eye but he didn’t refuse.

Yun Ling laughed at that.

“I’m looking forward to that. Now then, let’s end this.”

…

Yun Yi was slowly walking towards where Yun Ling was with the nature spirit beside him.

They had defeated a lot of participants on their way to Yun Ling. They had probably defeated more than a dozen all by themselves.

However, it was finally time for the main dish.

“Do you know where he is?” Yun Yi asked the nature spirit for Yun Ling’s exact location. He knew he was at that place but as for where exactly, he didn’t know.

“If we continue walking straight ahead, we will eventually find him,” the nature spirit said shakily.

The three supreme geniuses were way too terrifying.

He had seen the supreme arts they had unleashed towards each other from afar earlier so he already knew just how strong they were compared to him. As a nature spirit, he knew that this place was once a prairie but now…

It had been turned into a wasteland filled with destruction everywhere.

After a while of walking, the two finally found Yun Ling sitting on top of some overturned rock, with his golden iris eyes looking down on them. His purple armor with dragon scales glowed as his eyes sharpened when he saw them.

“You’re finally here. I’ve grown tired of waiting, Yun Yi.”