“A dazzling radiance!”

“How can it be so huge?”

“I’ve seen one before, but this one’s at least a hundred times larger!”

“It’s practically the size of a middlekin star!”

“That imperial son Tianming must be drooling right now...”

They weren’t wrong. When Tianming stepped out and laid eyes on the vast, boundless sphere of radiance, even he froze for a moment.

Judging by the standard of the dazzling radiances he had obtained in the Chaos Star Ruins, this “red grape” was indeed a hundred times larger.

“That means it’s equal to a hundred regular dazzling radiances...” Tianming was honestly feeling very tempted. He knew all too well how precious and vital these things were to his cultivation.

His opponent’s opening move had completely stunned the crowd.

Tianming’s eyes locked with those of the five-thousand-year-old “young girl.”

“She’s a lot like Yueling Long: highly talented, fiery-tempered, arrogant and ruthless,” Tianming noted instantly.

Tianming regarded this “little girl” as an old fossil several times his age, but she, in turn, took Tianming as a senior dozens of times older than herself.

Yueling Zhao spoke first. Her voice was clear and commanding, cutting through the din of the arena. “Senior Tianming, I’ve long admired your name.”

“Good granddaughter,” Tianming replied.

This cheeky breach of decorum immediately drew murmurs from the crowd. Yueling Zhao herself froze briefly before replying with quiet poise, “In truth, you and I are of the same generation.”

“Then stop pretending to be young and calling me senior,” Tianming said flatly.

A few short exchanges, and the two had already butted heads.

Yueling Zhao’s eyebrow twitched, but she quickly smoothed her expression and gestured toward the immense dazzling radiance.

“I heard the Skyplunder imperial son urgently needs these dazzling radiances,” she said coolly. “So I’ve come to deliver one in person.”

Tianming raised an eyebrow. “Then I must thank you. May this mark the deep friendship between our two starcages.”

Yueling Zhao couldn’t help a faint laugh. “You truly know how to joke. This is the Dongshen Arena. There are no treasures freely given without a fight.”

“How do you want to fight, then?” Tianming asked.

“By your own rules,” she said, smiling. “You’ll have a quarter of an hour. If you can kill me within that time, the dazzling radiance is yours.”

Tianming clicked his tongue. “Such generosity? Sounds like two birds with one stone.”

“And if you fail to kill me?” Yueling Zhao asked, one brow arching.

“You tell me,” Tianming said. “No need to beat around the bush.”

“If I win,” Yueling Zhao declared, her voice ringing across the crowd, “then I will invite the imperial son to my Yueling Starcage as my guest for ten thousand years.”

The moment she said it, countless eyes turned strange.

Guest? That was a nice way of saying imprisonment.

If that happened, Nullity’s greatest weakness would fall into her hands. Both Imperator Skyplunder and the Mu Clan would be forced to obey her will. It would be more valuable than killing Tianming outright.

Tianming chuckled. “Quite the clever plan. You think a single dazzling radiance is enough to buy an entire starcage’s obedience? Dream on.”

Yueling Zhao wasn’t surprised that he saw through her scheme. She didn’t bother to argue. Instead, she turned toward Yueling Momo and said, “Then I’ll sweeten the deal. If you win, we’ll withdraw entirely from the Dongshen Arena and the Godly Sands will be yours.”

“Are you even trying?”

“All of our Yueling Starcage’s quintessence herbs stored here will also be yours,” Yueling Zhao added smoothly.

Tianming continued to shake his head. “The terms aren’t equal. I refuse. The dazzling radiance is tempting, but not enough.”

“Is that so?” Yueling Zhao smiled faintly. “In that case, why don’t you name your own conditions?”

It was clear that she was completely in control of the conversation. Each line so far had been within her calculations.

By saying “name your own terms,” she had tossed the hot potato to Tianming. It was just like how when Li Tianming had agreed to any and all terms Yueling Xi had thrown out. Letting the opponent name the stakes was a show of supreme confidence.

The entire Dongshen Arena was watching! Li Tianming had claimed her offers were too little. So now, if he didn’t dare to name his own, it would make him look weak.

All eyes turned to Tianming.

He tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment, then suddenly looked toward Mu Qingqing and said with mock frustration, “Everyone, look, I hold such a high position, yet I have only one wife. Far too few.”

“And what exactly are you proposing?” Yueling Zhao asked, her voice cold.

Tianming grinned at her. “I carry the burden of passing on the sky plunderer lineage. I urgently need to take concubines, but only those of the finest bloodlines in the entire Realm of Chaos will do.”

“You want me to marry you?” Yueling Zhao actually laughed.

Tianming chuckled. “Don’t flatter yourself, little girl. You’re not my type.”

Then, his tone shifted “This time, I intend to take four concubines at once. I hear that your Yueling Starcage has four imperatores, each a peerless beauty with their own charm. They fit my requirements perfectly. I want them all in my harem.”

When he finished, he looked straight at the seething Yueling Zhao, her fury blazing like a star about to explode.

“My dear daughter,” Tianming said with a grin, “Your stepdaddy’s happy twilight years depend entirely on your death today.”