Chapter 127: A Draw

"Earthquake! Run for your lives!"
"Hey, sir, don't get excited. Please put down the necklace..."

On the bustling commercial street of Licheng, a violent tremor suddenly erupted. Pedestrians were in a state of panic, scrambling to flee. Little did they know, the sudden "earthquake" was actually the result of a fierce battle taking place inside a monster tavern hidden within the chaotic city. Powerful demonic energy was sending shockwaves out into the world beyond.

Inside the tavern, the sound of dragon roars echoed incessantly. Li Changluo was being manipulated by Biluo, forced into a combat with the Seventh Young Master of the Dragon Clan. He moved with supernatural speed, wielding a long blade wreathed in black flames, launching a frenzied assault against the white dragon.

The monster and the dragon fought like warring deities. The ice-dragon scale armor on Li Changluo’s body was shredded by the white dragon’s claws, sending shards flying everywhere. Yet, where the armor fell away, a new layer of ice would slowly form, mending the gaps.

Li Changluo suddenly felt exhausted. He had gotten his wish—he was "powered up"—yet he felt like a marionette being controlled by a little girl to fight a dragon. It was mentally draining. It felt like playing a video game when suddenly some expert forcibly took over your controls, telling you to step aside and get lost, claiming they would carry the team while you just stood there and watched.

However, the Seventh Young Master, now in his white dragon form, seemed truly enraged. He coiled around Li Changluo and roared at the heavens. Suddenly, a black rift appeared in the ceiling of the tavern.

"This has gone too far, Manager..." Lin Dandan adjusted his glasses and took off his backpack, preparing to open it.
"What are you doing? Are you going to do your homework?" Bai Lianhua grabbed his bag.
"Manager, the Seventh Young Master is using a forbidden technique. If this continues, the tavern will need major repairs," Lin Dandan said, looking at the manager in confusion.
"No rush, no rush. Let’s watch a little longer." The manager, Bai Lianhua, smiled as she watched the trapped Li Changluo in mid-air.

The black rift above the tavern acted like a black hole, beginning to devour Li Changluo. The ice-dragon armor he wore was being slowly sucked into the void.

"Brother, help me..." Biluo cried out in terror. Li Changluo felt as if his body were being stretched, causing him immense pain.

"It looks like the Seventh Young Master has won for sure," the old toad monster said smugly to the old mantis monster beside him. But before he could savor his triumph, the expression on his face froze.

Li Changluo’s ice-dragon armor began to change color, and a layer of black flames erupted across it. The flames flared up, causing the white dragon to yelp in pain and reflexively release his grip. After a low groan, the Seventh Young Master noticed that Li Changluo’s eyes had rolled back, showing only white—he had completely lost consciousness.

He had fainted? The Seventh Young Master felt a powerful, terrifying aura—one that even made him wary—slowly seeping out from within Li Changluo’s body. Before he could react, the flames on Li Changluo’s armor spread to the long blade in his hand.

Li Changluo leaped into the air, swinging the blade down at the Seventh Young Master. The dragon hurriedly mustered all his strength to manifest an invisible barrier. The blade struck the barrier, held back for a moment—*crack, crack, crack*—and the Seventh Young Master felt his painstakingly forged shield begin to fracture. Finally, it shattered like glass, raining down onto the floor.

Li Changluo’s blade drove forward, closing in on the Seventh Young Master. The dragon had never been forced into such a desperate situation. As a standout of the dragon kin, always praised for his immense talent, he had never suffered such humiliation. He would fight to the end. With a roar, a white aura swirled around his dragon body, and blood began to seep from his scales. He lunged directly at Li Changluo, determined to take the little monster down with him.

"Brother, wake up! Control your demonic energy, or you’ll lose your life!" The ethereal Biluo panicked. She had instinctively sensed that Li Changluo’s own power was weak, which was why she had used the ice-dragon armor to control him. She never expected that a massive, hidden surge of demonic energy would suddenly erupt from within him, knocking him unconscious and seizing control of her as well.

The Seventh Young Master was now launching a suicidal attack. If this continued, mutual destruction was the best-case scenario; the real fear was that Li Changluo would exhaust his life force in the process and be claimed by death.

No matter how Biluo called out, Li Changluo remained unresponsive. The monster and the dragon slammed into each other like two colliding meteorites. The monsters in the tavern screamed. Even a fool could see that such a collision of power was a suicide mission. The poor patrons were just there for a meal and a show, only to be threatened by an exploding "gas canister" and forced to hide under tables. It was infuriating.

Just as they were about to impact, they suddenly froze, as if caught by Sun Wukong’s immobilization spell. They remained suspended in their collision pose. After a long moment, the onlookers realized that their manager, Bai Lianhua, had appeared above them. Literally above them—she had one foot planted on the Seventh Young Master’s dragon head and the other on Li Changluo’s ice helmet, her palms pressed downward.

It was she who had stopped the death duel. She had prevented the explosion. The monsters in the tavern cheered, breathing a collective sigh of relief. Bai Lianhua tapped the two of them lightly, and they fell like ragdolls, crashing heavily to the floor.

The Seventh Young Master reverted to his human form, clutching his chest and gasping for air, his body pushed to its limit. The ice-dragon armor on Li Changluo dissipated, leaving him lying on the ground, completely unconscious.

"Manager, what are you doing?" The old toad and the other monsters approached her to demand an answer.
"If this had continued, they both would have died," Bai Lianhua said, gazing at the two fallen figures with pity.
"Then, should this duel be considered a victory for the Seventh Young Master?" the old toad asked with a smug grin.
"Can't we call it a draw?" Bai Lianhua replied weakly.
"He won."