I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

She felt somewhat astonished. Wasn’t it she who, regardless of the danger, had fought for the opportunity for Li Xiaobai to escape?

How could he not even utter some grand-sounding platitudes? Was he really being that direct?

“Between you and me, do we still need to say such useless nonsense?”

“You will buy time for me to escape, and I will rescue you afterward. It’s that simple.”

Li Xiaobai spoke indifferently, his ears trembling at a frequency as he discerned the approaching footsteps.

“So it is, senior brother, I believe in you!”

Long Xue’s delicate face blushed slightly. She felt that she and Li Xiaobai had a mutual understanding and had gained his trust.

There was nothing more fulfilling than this; she felt that everything she had done was meaningful.

“Hmm, go ahead, I’ll slip away first.”

Li Xiaobai spoke blandly, his figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.

Long Xue steadied her heart just a bit, and similarly, her figure flickered as she dashed quickly to the other side, making a deliberate noise on the ground with her steps to seem panicked.

“There they are, quick, after them!”

“Good fellow, so they were really here; Third Brother, you’ve gained merit!”

“Hahaha, finding them unexpectedly in the end when all seemed lost, who could have imagined that these two were hiding right under our noses?”

“It’s darkest under the lamp, and they sure have guts. Worthy of someone even the government officials want dead!”

“Old Seven, guard the path we came from, stay alert to the surroundings, if you spot a shadow, arrest first, ask later!”

Having spotted Long Xue’s trail, the line of government officers chased after her rapidly like hungry tigers pouncing their prey, tearing through the grassland like a sharp arrow.

…

Watching the scenes unfolding in the Illusionary Realm World, the expressions of the people in the Imperial Palace’s grand hall turned peculiar, as many ministers stole glances at the Old Dragon King, curious about his expression at that moment.

It was expected for Long Xue to volunteer to cover for Li Xiaobai, but for Li Xiaobai to agree so readily, without the slightest hesitation, truly lowered everyone’s expectations of him.

A girl volunteers to lead the enemy away to allow your escape, and you just accept without decline? At least put up some pretense of concern, won’t you?

Merely nodding and agreeing, what kind of behavior was that? Are the young people of today really so forthright?

“Heh, Your Majesty, this Li Xiaobai seems to care little about the princess’s safety; to have a woman take the lead while he escapes, such conduct is contemptible!”

A cold smile appeared on the Tortoise Prime Minister’s face, his own grandson might have left the scene early, but Li Xiaobai was not going to get any advantage either!

“Exactly, letting a woman stand in front and escaping like a coward—how can such a man even dream of becoming a son-in-law to our Eastern Sea Dragon Palace?”

“Damn it, he was all high and mighty before. Why act so cowardly now?”

“Having the little princess lure the enemy away to earn a chance to save his own skin, can’t believe someone has the guts to do such a thing!”

“I really feel it’s not worth it for Young Master Gui Xuan!”

“Shameless!”

The civil officials were also angry, extremely dissatisfied with Li Xiaobai. No matter the situation, it was unacceptable for a woman to take the risk in front, especially when she was the princess of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.

“Gui Xuan, if it were you, how would you handle this?”

The Old Dragon King took interest for a moment and looked at Gui Xuan, asking. To tell the truth, not a single move made by Li Xiaobai was foreseeable by him; every action was just the right deviation from all the outcomes he had conceived, he was indeed a deity!

“Your Majesty, if it were me, I would do everything in my power to ensure the princess’s safety and evacuate!”

Gui Xuan said with a resolute expression.

“However, there are eight of them, and their cultivation level is on par with yours. How can you guarantee that you can keep the princess safe while retreating?”

The Old Dragon King continued to ask.

“This…”

“There will always be a way!”

“But no matter what the outcome, I would never use the young princess as a distraction to escape alone. Such actions are not what a true man would do. I would rather be captured myself than let the young princess escape safely!”

Gui Xuan stood tall and spoke with a loud and clear voice that stirred the spirits and raised the morale of those who heard him.

Many civilian officials cast admiring glances at him, seeing that the grandson of the Tortoise Prime Minister was not as incapable as they had imagined.

“Hehe, well said, but not quite correct. What decision one makes depends on their vision and understanding of the bigger picture,”

“Li Xiaobai is an interesting character. What he perceives is different from you, which is why he makes actions that are surprising to us!”

The Old Dragon King laughed. He could feel that Li Xiaobai didn’t set his mind on Long Xue; his purpose was much deeper – more than just winning Long Xue’s favor.

It’s just that he may not have realized yet, that as time passes, he will be completely integrated into the role of this world, and when his nature takes over, whether he can continue his original plans and purposes is hard to say.

“This…”

“Different as it may be, the young princess shouldn’t be used as a shield…”

Gui Xuan was somewhat annoyed and muttered under his breath, deciding not to speak further. He felt that the Old Dragon King was severely biased. Whatever Li Xiaobai did was right, and whatever choice he made was criticized for lacking vision or scale. Where was the logic in that?

The Prime Minister’s expression grew darker. He failed to see the profound significance of Li Xiaobai’s actions and felt that the Old Dragon King was simply making unreasonable justifications; his heart cooled considerably.

If that was indeed the case, even if he pulled out all the stops, Gui Xuan was unlikely to outcompete Li Xiaobai.

“Pay attention, Li Xiaobai has made another move!”

Long Zhan on the side spoke up to remind everyone, pulling the thoughts of all the officials back into the Illusionary Realm World.

At this moment.

Li Xiaobai hadn’t gone far when he joyfully discovered that one of the government officers had been left behind after the others had chased after Long Xue.

The government officer’s cultivation level was at the ordinary Essence Refining stage, and in one-on-one combat, should not be his match.

Moreover, he had control over the Spirit Realm Technique, which should make him a bug-like existence among his peers. Li Xiaobai’s eyes emitted a hungry green glow, and an audacious idea formed in his mind.

Cultivating with beasts and birds can’t compare to using a Martial Artist for cultivation in terms of effectiveness.

If he took this opportunity to capture this government officer, using him later as his own fixed Inner Strength ATM, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Do it!

Without further hesitation, Li Xiaobai crouched and transformed into a bolt of lightning, charging rapidly towards the lone government officer keeping watch. His palm struck the officer’s chest like lightning thundering down before one could cover one’s ears.

“Divinity Transformation!”