"I don't think so. For Long Aotian, the remains of the Ancient Demon Tiger should have a significant use. If it was just for this essence blood, he wouldn't go through so much trouble," Little Bai remarked indifferently. "Alright, let's not dwell on this anymore. We only obtained two drops of essence blood. My suggestion is to only give Little Round Tiger one drop. If we give too much, I fear it won't be able to handle it."

Hearing this, Du Fei nodded in agreement. He flicked a finger and drew one drop of the essence blood, administering it into Little Tiger's mouth.

"Roar—"

Upon ingestion, Little Tiger merely let out a soft murmur, as if it felt a tad more comfortable. It then turned over and continued its slumber, seemingly even deeper than before.

"What's going on?" Witnessing this, Du Fei couldn't help but frown in puzzlement.

"Well, we've basically done everything we could. Now, it's all up to it," Little Bai replied after hopping onto Little Tiger and examining it for a moment.

"It seems we have no other choice," Du Fei sighed, pondering briefly before once again cradling Little Tiger in his arms.

"By the way, Master, let me take a look at the remaining drop of essence blood," Little Bai suddenly said, as if recalling something important.

"essence blood? Can you use it?" Du Fei asked, slightly taken aback, but he still handed over the recently obtained drop of essence blood.

Little Bai carefully took the essence blood and, after a moment of focused contemplation, hesitantly said, "It seems our decision to refine the essence blood from the Ancient Demon Tiger wasn't a mistake. If I'm not mistaken, using this as a catalyst should have a certain probability of summoning the remnant soul of the Ancient Demon Tiger."

"Oh? Really?" Du Fei inquired with uncertainty.

"It's very likely. I'll keep this with me for now and further study how to utilize it," Little Bai confirmed with a nod.

"Alright." Du Fei nodded, then glanced around. After packing up the Elixir King's Ancient Tripod, he sighed, "Even though we completed the task, the unexpected loss of so many Yan Sect Pill is indeed a regrettable setback."

Little Bai gave a disdainful snort, hopping onto Du Fei's shoulder. He spoke indifferently, "What's the big deal about it? Haven't you considered the benefits you gained from three days of secluded cultivation? I've studied the information provided by Du Yuntian. As long as you achieve victory in the Palace Contest, aside from other things, the rewards will certainly be substantial. I believe they should at least match what you've expended! Moreover, there are various other advantages. You'll know in due time."

Hearing this, Du Fei raised an eyebrow slightly, "Given my identity, if I were to be exposed, I fear both Junwu Sect and the Four Great Families in Yunshui wouldn't let me off easily. Can I really expect to gain anything?"

"They certainly detest you. However, based on the rules of the Palace Contest, they wouldn't dare deprive you of anything," Little Bai chuckled, "After all, you must know, this so-called Palace Contest is set up by the folks of Nine-heaven Xuan Sect! The forces within the Da'an Dynasty are mere ants in the face of the Nine-heaven Xuan Sect. Would they dare oppose them?"

"Nine-heaven Xuan Sect?" Puzzled, Du Fei asked, "What's that? It sounds quite powerful."

Little Bai scoffed, "Master, you shouldn't be so uninformed! You should at least know that the Xuanwu Continent has been historically divided into nine regions, right?"

"I'm aware of that," Du Fei nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good, the Xuanwu Continent is divided into nine regions. Each region consists of countless dynasties. While the rulers of these dynasties are the royal families, the rulers of the nine regions are the so-called Nine-heaven Xuan Sect!" Little Bai explained gently, "It's said that each sect of the Nine-heaven Xuan Sect governs one region. However, depending on the intrinsic strength of each of these sects, the territories and resources they control do vary. All you need to know, Master, is that the rules of the Palace Contest are established by the Nine-heaven Xuan Sect. Even if the folks of the Da'an Dynasty had the courage of gods, they wouldn't dare defy them!"

"I see," Du Fei nodded in understanding, "It seems that aside from the title of the successor to the Junwu Sect Master, the top performer of the Palace Contest can receive quite a few benefits. No wonder each iteration of the Palace Contest attracts so many powerhouses."

"Pretty appealing, isn't it?" Little Bai smirked weirdly, "As long as we can claim the top spot in the Palace Contest, even if Long Aotian survives, by then, if you, Master, make a move against the Yunshui Long Family, I think, even the Junwu Sect wouldn't dare to blatantly assist the Yunshui Long Family. No wonder that old immortal Du Yuntian wanted to cooperate with you. It turns out that the top spot in the Palace Contest is even connected with the Nine-heaven Xuan Sect."

"So, what exactly are the benefits of this spot?" Du Fei inquired after pondering for a moment.

"Pretty appealing, isn't it?" Little Bai smirked weirdly, "As long as we can claim the top spot in the Palace Contest, even if Long Aotian survives, by then, if you, Master, make a move against the Yunshui Long Family, I think, even the Junwu Sect wouldn't dare to blatantly assist the Yunshui Long Family. No wonder that old Du Yuntian wanted to cooperate with you. It turns out that the top spot in the Palace Contest is even connected with the Nine-heaven Xuan Sect."

"Not interested," Du Fei replied without hesitation. It wasn't out of arrogance, but a confidence that came from being a peak powerhouse. It was a belief that even without any information, he wouldn't be defeated.

"Since you're not interested, Master, then let's get ready to participate in the Palace Contest. This Palace Contest might be even more bustling than our journey to the Millennium Ice Enclosure back in the day."

Deep within the imperial capital, Da'an City, of the Da'an Dynasty, there was an incredibly vast plaza. The plaza was barren, without any decoration, emitting an aura of desolation from a distance.

This place was known as the Big Bone Plaza, which, legend had it, was an ancient structure that had existed since the inception of the Da'an Dynasty. The imperial city and even the entire capital were constructed around this center.

Usually, the Big Bone Plaza was guarded by the dynasty's elite troops. However, today, the troops that usually guarded this place had withdrawn miles away. Even the impenetrable walls of the imperial city had deliberately cleared several paths for passage.

"Dang—"

At a certain moment, an ancient and strange bell sound suddenly echoed from deep within the imperial city, quickly spreading throughout the entire imperial capital.

As the bell sound spread out, suddenly, in the usually flight-restricted imperial capital, the sound of breaking winds could be heard everywhere. Countless shadows shot into the sky, heading towards the Big Bone Plaza. Even those who hadn't reached the Half-step Martial Master Realm rushed in that direction swiftly.

This tidal wave of people meant that in just half an hour, the usually deserted Big Bone Plaza was now densely packed with a sea of individuals. The once-peaceful imperial city was now entirely engulfed by the bustling noise.

Yet, the guards of the royal family, usually aloof and above, did not intervene in this scene. They strictly guarded the areas belonging to the royal family, not allowing anyone to step in.

However, even under such circumstances, the eyes of these royal guards still fell excitedly in the direction of the Big Bone Plaza. Clearly, even they were looking forward with anticipation to the events about to unfold there!

On the buzzing Big Bone Plaza, surprisingly, no one started any personal vendettas. The eyes of the crowd on the ground were mostly cast towards the sky. After all, everyone present understood that only those who could in the skies were truly qualified to participate in the Palace Contest. The rest were just here to watch the show.

"Shua..."

Shortly after, suddenly, several groups of figures emerged from different corners of the sky. They quickly descended and hovered above the center of the Big Bone Plaza before finally stopping.

Seeing these figures, the atmosphere below immediately heated up.

"What? Members from the Junwu Sect are here too? Two of the four major inner disciples have come?"

"Who? Who?"

"Look! Besides Crazy Blade Lv Yu, Overlord Spear Liu Hong is here too!"

"What? The second-ranked among the four major inner disciples, Overlord Spear, is also here! It seems that the Junwu Sect is determined to win this Palace Contest!"

"Hard to say! Look, the royal family's people have arrived too! The one leading is one of the three young princes, the eldest prince, Huangpu Zhuo!"

"It's actually him! I've heard that this eldest prince can be compared to the Junwu Sect's Young Sect Master! He can be said to be the next king of the royal family. Who would have thought that he would appear here?"

"Not just him, Yun Pojiang from the Yunshui Yun Family is here too! He's the so-called genius of the Da'an Dynasty who is said to be the only one comparable to Long Aotian from the Yunshui Long Family!"

"Liu Ba from the Yunshui Liu Family, Du Xuan from the Yunshui Du Family, and the water monster from the Yunshui Shui Family. Each of these names has been quite renowned over the years! It's surprising that all of them are attending this Palace Contest. It's going to be quite the spectacle!"

"Don't just focus on the Junwu Sect, the royal family, and the Yunshui's Five Families. Pay attention to others as well. You know, in every Palace Contest, there have been numerous dark horses. Many powerhouses who usually keep a low profile only truly show their strength in the Palace Contest!"

"You have a point. For instance, there's the recently famous Alchemist Ye Fei in the imperial capital. Rumor has it that he also possesses the strength of the peak-level of the Half-step Martial Master Realm. Such a double cultivator of pill and martial arts is definitely this year's biggest dark horse!"

"..."

Various discussions made the atmosphere of the Big Bone Plaza reach a boiling point. Everyone was guessing who would win this Palace Contest. After all, such an event that only happens once every ten years truly deserved everyone's attention.

In one part of the sky, members of the Yunshui Du Family gathered together, led by none other than Du Xuan. At that moment, she stared down with a slightly furrowed brow. After a while, she sighed and said, "For this Palace Contest, only Du Hao and I will participate. The rest of you don't need to enter. The forces from each family this time are astonishingly strong. Without reaching the advanced stage of the Half-step Martial Master Realm, participating in the Palace Contest would just be making a fool of oneself."

Hearing this, the members of the Yunshui Du Family nodded in agreement. Then, a lean figure stepped forward and bowed slightly to Du Xuan, saying, "Yes. However, Eldest Miss, even if I participate, the chances of our Yunshui Du Family winning are quite slim. Not to mention others, but I am naturally no match for Long Aotian and Yun Pojiang!"

"Du Hao, what are you talking about? You are the first young generation member of our Yunshui Du Family to reach the peak-level of the Half-step Martial Master Realm in the past ten years. Your potential is already quite high, at least much higher than the rest of us," Du Xuan said with a bitter smile.

"I'm well aware of my own limits. I'm not a match for Long Aotian. At most, I could possibly hold my ground for about a hundred moves without losing. However, speaking of which, if our family wishes to take the top spot, it might not be entirely impossible. If we could find that rumored Du Fei."

Before he could finish, the expressions of everyone from the Yunshui Du Family changed simultaneously. After a moment, Du Xuan sighed and said in a deep voice, "Du Hao, you're now one of the core powerhouses of the Yunshui Du Family. There are some things that are better left unsaid. If that person could participate in the Palace Contest, perhaps there would be a certain chance of winning. However, if he were to participate, I fear that no one might even allow him to pass the very first round."