46: Chapter 46: When it's time to back down, you have to back down.

As an Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator, Guiying's True Qi was far more profound than Xiao Ran's.

In every exchange, Xiao Ran was at a disadvantage.

After thirty moves, Xiao Ran had gained seven or eight wounds on his body, and his aura began to fluctuate.

At the fiftieth move, a claw shadow tore open Xiao Ran's left shoulder, deep enough to expose the bone.

At the seventieth move, a finger wind pierced through Xiao Ran's right leg, causing his movements to lag.

Yet he continued to fight.

Every time he was knocked back, he immediately counterattacked.

Every time he was injured, he quickly adjusted.

The Guixu Demonic Light in his hands changed endlessly; at times it formed a vortex to swallow attacks, and at others, it split into fine threads to interfere.

The Soul Suppressing Tower remained stable, protecting his Divine Soul from the erosion of illusions.

He activated Blood Soul Truth-Seeking at full power, constantly locking onto the positions of the three true bodies.

The viewing platform was silent.

Everyone could see that Xiao Ran was at an absolute disadvantage.

Yet the exquisite application of his Cultivation Technique made people want to applaud.

"For someone at the last stage of Golden Core to last over seventy moves under Senior Brother Guiying..."

"That Divine Soul defensive Spell is truly formidable; it can completely withstand the interference of illusions!"

"Demon Son Xiao is simply a Prodigy."

One hundred moves!

Xiao Ran was covered in blood, but his eyes remained resolute.

Guiying's three true bodies merged into one, retreated ten zhang away, and looked at Xiao Ran.

At this moment, there was only gravity in his eyes.

"Junior Brother Xiao, you have reached your limit."

Guiying offered a rare word of warning.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran stood up straight while gasping for breath; he had indeed reached his limit.

This battle should end.

Thus, he immediately cupped his hands slightly toward Guiying, then looked up at the high platform.

"Hall Master, this Disciple admits defeat."

This was the Demonic Sect, after all; one must know when to be a coward.

"Approved!"

Mo Yuan's voice came through.

Seeing this, Guiying waved his hand.

The thirty illusions dissipated, leaving only his true body standing.

"Junior Brother Xiao, for me to use my Nascent Soul Stage to bully your Golden Core Stage was a bit of an unfair victory."

"Once you form your Nascent Soul, let us have a fair fight."

Guiying, this person, still understood a bit of worldly wisdom.

He not only acknowledged Xiao Ran's strength but also gave himself an out, further displaying his magnanimity.

Xiao Ran inwardly praised him.

Indeed, no one who Cultivates to this level is a fool.

The duel between the two had ended.

Xiao Ran and Guiying leaped back to the viewing platform respectively.

In this battle, Xiao Ran was defeated but still glorious!

With the cultivation of the last stage of Golden Core, he fought fiercely against Guiying, who was at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, for a hundred moves without being defeated.

This was already an astonishing feat!

On the viewing platform, the expressions of the several Demon Sons were varied.

Li Tianxing opened his eyes to look at Xiao Ran and nodded slightly.

White Bone Scholar's hand holding the fan paused, and ghostly green flames flickered in his eyes.

Poison Lady sat up straight, revealing her proud figure, and cast a charming glance at Xiao Ran.

Yin Jiuyou's dark green pupils flickered.

Blood Slaughterer grinned and laughed: "Good lad! You've got spirit! Once you Cultivate your Nascent Soul, come spar with me."

Tie Kuang nodded heavily, expressing his approval.

Xiao Ran cupped his hands, responding to each gaze one by one.

For this session, Xiao Ran's highlight had passed.

After all, he was only at the Golden Core Stage; the battles between Demon Sons were primarily a battlefield for Nascent Soul Cultivators.

What followed would be the main event.

The other Demon Sons looked at each other, rubbing their hands, with battles ready to break out at any moment.

The Fifth Demon Son, Blood Slaughterer, challenged the Fourth Demon Son, Yin Jiuyou, and after a fierce battle of three hundred moves, he eventually admitted defeat because his Divine Soul was too heavily eroded by the Nine Nether Cold Qi.

The Fourth Demon Son, Yin Jiuyou, challenged the Third Demon Son, White Bone Scholar; both used treacherous methods, with bones and cold Qi interweaving.

Eventually, White Bone Scholar used his natal poisonous blood to sully one of Yin Jiuyou's protective Magic Treasures, narrowly winning.

Next, White Bone Scholar rested for only a moment before beginning to challenge the Second Demon Son, Poison Lady.

This battle could be described as brilliant.

Poison Lady unleashed all her ten thousand poisons, and seven-colored poisonous mist enveloped half of the dueling platform, corroding the Void Realm.

White Bone Scholar was not weak either; as he unfurled his bone fan, the Nine Nether Underworld Bones appeared, transforming into a hundred-zhang bone demon that withstood the ten thousand poisons head-on.

Eventually, White Bone Scholar trapped Poison Lady within the Underworld Bone Realm, forcing her to admit defeat.

White Bone Scholar successfully defeated Poison Lady and became the Second Demon Son.

He became the second Demon Son after Xiao Ran to succeed in a higher-level challenge.

And just when the other Demon Sons were fighting intensely, the First Demon Son, Li Tianxing... was challenged by no one.

Peak Nascent Soul Stage, Blood Fiend Demon Body, his strength was in a league of its own.

White Bone Scholar even avoided his edge, admitting that he was not as good as the First Demon Son.

The first day of the Demon Son Ranking Battle ended here.

The final rankings for now were:

First: Li Tianxing, Second: White Bone Scholar, Third: Poison Lady, Fourth: Yin Jiuyou, Fifth: Blood Slaughterer, Sixth: Guiying, Seventh: Xiao Ran, Eighth: Tie Kuang.

Of course, this was just a contest conducted by the Demon Sons in the arena using raw strength.

The Demon Son Ranking Tournament was far more than just this.

...

When Xiao Ran returned to the Eternal Night Palace, it was already late at night.

He sat alone in the quiet room, reviewing today's battle.

"Tie Kuang's Diamond Demon Body has unparalleled defense, and Guiying's Phantom Demon Body is treacherous."

"My Guixu Demonic Light is not yet refined enough when facing strong opponents; if I can further develop the power of conversion, perhaps..."

While he was pondering, a communication talisman flew in.

It was White Bone Scholar.

"Junior Brother Xiao, your performance in today's battle was outstanding."

"If you have time tomorrow, come to the Bone Hall for a drink; Senior Brother has some cultivation insights that might be worth exchanging with you."

Xiao Ran looked at the communication talisman and paused slightly.

This was clearly an attempt to win him over!

White Bone Scholar was ranked second among the Demon Sons, his strength second only to Li Tianxing, and he was adept at managing connections.

Today, he had shown his potential, and the other party immediately offered an olive branch.

"What exactly is this old schemer plotting?"

"The last time he sent a message, he told me to be careful of Blood Child, and in the end, he arranged for me to be in Blood Child's team, clearly intending for me to kill him."

"And now..."

Xiao Ran frowned; if there was one person among the eight Demon Sons he could not see through, it was this White Bone Scholar.

On the surface, he looked like a pretty boy with a scholarly air, but in reality, he was full of tricks.

However, these tricks of his were unfathomable.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment and still replied via Divine Sense.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but Junior Brother's injuries have not yet healed today, and I need to go into seclusion to recover."

"Once the ranking battle is over, I will definitely visit to thank you and seek your advice, Senior Brother."

Xiao Ran politely declined the appointment for tomorrow.

When he was unsure what White Bone Scholar was actually trying to do, it was better to avoid interacting with him alone for the time being.

After handling these matters, Xiao Ran truly began his seclusion to heal his injuries.

The Myriad Dao Guixu Body had extremely strong recovery capabilities, and with the help of Medicinal Pills, his injuries had healed by seventy percent overnight.

Early the next morning.

When Xiao Ran came out of seclusion, Zhao Ying came to report.

"My Lord, the Deacon Hall sent someone to deliver a portion of resources, saying that Hall Master Mo personally approved it for your healing and preparation for battle."

Xiao Ran took the Storage Pouch and scanned it with his Divine Sense.

Inside were ten bottles of Earth Rank healing Medicinal Pills, three stalks of thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine, and... one Demon Fetus Fruit.

This was a treasure to assist Golden Core Cultivators in breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage; in the mortal world, this single item would be worth a fortune.

"Hall Master Mo is... investing in advance."

Xiao Ran muttered.

He put away the Storage Pouch, understanding in his heart.

After yesterday's battle, he had entered the line of sight of the Sect's higher-ups.

This resource was both a reward and an expectation.

Of course, this was not the main reason; a Golden Core Cultivator was not yet enough to make Mo Yuan hold him in high regard.

The main reason was still the collaboration from three months ago.

Mo Yuan learned from the several Soul Transformation deacons who accompanied him about Xiao Ran's actions when facing the Shiyin Sect's Sect-extermination.

Especially that line about splitting an earthworm vertically and shaking an egg to scramble its yolk had piqued his interest.

This was why he decided to give Xiao Ran special care.

After all, there are many Geniuses in the cultivation world, but such a cautious and cruel Genius is rare!