The Thousand Lantern Tower forbids fighting, but as long as you don't do it right under the nose of the singing official, it's not a big problem.

The singing official, with a smile, looked level at the height of the private rooms, likely planning to turn a blind eye. This was the unspoken rule within the tower.

Suddenly, a three-legged bronze incense burner appeared on the round platform, with a whole incense stick standing in the piled ash.

The singing official drew his index finger in the air, and a flame ignited, dancing eerily.

He leaned down, bringing his finger close to the lone incense stick in the burner.

Hiss—

As if signaling the start, Tao Mian and the attendant across from him leaped down from the railing almost simultaneously.

Guests curiously stepped out of their private rooms, looking down at the dark area below.

Shopping was fun, but the excitement was even more entertaining.

Thud, thud, thud—

Tao Mian could still see in the dark, and he finally figured out what this pitch-black area looked like.

Countless winding lanterns were strung together by thick golden chains, scattered in every corner.

He quickly lit three nearby lanterns, and dark red flames flickered to life. Meanwhile, to his northwest, the male attendant also lit three lanterns, but the light on his side was a ghostly blue.

It seemed they were using colors to distinguish sides.

Tao Mian moved quickly, and in no time, he was surrounded by a sea of red lanterns. The other side wasn't far behind, with slightly fewer lanterns than Tao Mian's, but they could easily catch up.

In the eyes of the spectators above, the once dark and empty area rapidly lit up with red and blue spots, merging into two streams of colorful light.

The number of lanterns was limited, and soon, Tao Mian found that the closer he got to the central area, the sparser the lanterns were.

No wonder Xue Han reminded him before leaving to be aggressive rather than polite; now it was a race to grab the lanterns.

Tao Mian extended his left arm, and the lantern pole in his hand was about to touch a dim lotus lantern.

At that moment, another lantern pole struck his without warning. Tao Mian looked up and met the faintly glowing blue eyes of the attendant.

Here we go!

The Immortal twisted his wrist, easily shaking off the opponent's suppression, while his right hand formed a palm and struck directly at the attendant.

This palm seemed soft and light, but it contained boundless Immortal power. The heavy golden chains around couldn't withstand the force, clattering and colliding.

The tall and strong demon attendant sensed something was wrong and leaped back three steps, his toes landing on one of the chains.

Without looking back, Tao Mian swung his pole lightly, and the lotus lantern he had seized ignited with red flames behind him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Then his gaze shifted to his left.

Another unlit lantern.

Tao Mian stepped lightly, landing on the golden chain where the lantern was. This time, the demon attendant didn't retreat; he attacked proactively, grabbing the chain with a powerful hand and yanking it down. As Tao Mian's body inevitably tilted to one side, the attendant leaped up, ready to light the lotus lantern first.

However, the Immortal, who should have fallen, grabbed the chain with one hand, swung his body upward, not only lighting the lantern but also giving the attendant a kick!

With the faint light of the lotus lantern, the guests saw this scene below and gasped in amazement.

The number of lanterns dwindled, and the fight between the two grew more intense. Tao Mian flipped and leaped onto the round platform, took two steps, flashed before the still-smiling singing official, and disappeared into the darkness, closely followed by the demon attendant with a fierce expression.

Even though the chaos below was about to tear the tower apart, the singing official in the center of the round platform still kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, feigning ignorance.

Whether their progress in lighting the lanterns was too fast or the incense stick was too long, in any case, the Immortal and the demon attendant had lit all the lanterns below, and there was still a considerable length of incense left.

What could they do with the remaining time? They couldn't just stand there staring at each other with their lanterns.

Tao Mian's eyes turned, and a mischievous idea surfaced.

Above him to the right was the last unlit lotus lantern, and the demon attendant naturally wanted to seize it, but this time Tao Mian didn't confront him head-on.

The demon surprisingly lit the lantern with ease, feeling something was off, and turned to look for Tao Mian.

Tao Mian stood not far away, leisurely. He smiled and met the demon attendant's gaze from a distance, tapping the crystal-clear lantern beside him with his long pole in a threatening manner.

Clang, clang—

The lantern had already been lit with blue flames.

The demon attendant suddenly realized what he was about to do, but it was too late to stop him. Tao Mian applied force with his fingers, delivering a heavy blow, and the lotus lantern couldn't withstand the force, shattering into pieces.

He was going to break the blue lantern!

Even Shen Bozhou was surprised. The Thousand Lantern Tower had seen dozens of lantern clashes, but due to the difficulty of identifying objects in the dark, the awkward positioning of the lanterns, and the need to guard against enemies within the time of a stick of incense, achieving all three was extremely difficult.

Previous lantern clashes never managed to light all the lanterns, let alone have the extra energy to break them like Tao Mian did.

Tao Mian's idea was simple; he couldn't possibly guard the red lotus lanterns with the remaining time, as the area was too large.

The opponent would eventually think of breaking the lanterns.

Instead of waiting for the opponent to come to their senses, it was better for him to strike first.

Taking advantage of the demon attendant's moment of confusion over whether to guard or break the red lanterns, Tao Mian had already shattered eight blue lanterns.

And his opponent seemed to have made up his mind, adopting the same strategy.

The guests marveled again as they watched the scene of the red and blue sea of lights gradually dissolving!

Tao Mian shattered almost all the blue lanterns, leaving him with extra energy to protect his red lanterns.

The demon attendant was struggling, falling behind.

Just as the Immortal was about to secure victory, another person fell from the private room corridor.

It was Shen Bozhou!

As a distinguished guest, Shen Bozhou didn't need to get involved personally, and it wasn't in line with the rules.

But he was always rebellious, and rules existed to be broken. When he got interested, he wanted to compete with Tao Mian.

Tao Mian thought, here's my chance to give him a good beating.

The Immortal usually kept a low profile, but his skills were solid, and fighting someone like Shen Bozhou, who was inexperienced and self-taught, was like bullying a child.

However, Shen Bozhou was a madman, growing crazier when faced with strong opponents. His reckless fighting style was shocking and explosive across the entire Three Realms.

Tao Mian, having vented enough, naturally didn't want to get entangled further. But Shen Bozhou approached closely at this moment, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear—

"You really are a human Immortal."

Tao Mian pretended not to hear, despite his identity being exposed.

Shen Bozhou continued, saying that if he revealed Tao Mian's identity here, the Immortal who ascended the tower would immediately become a commodity in the Thousand Lantern Tower.

Tao Mian remained silent, but he thought that if it really came to that, it would be troublesome.

There were only two outcomes.

Either he wouldn't be able to leave the Thousand Lantern Tower.

Or none of the guests, except Xue Han, would be able to leave.

He didn't want to start a killing spree on his own, fearing that the money on hand wouldn't be enough for Xue Han to clean up the mess.

Xue Han, who had been sitting steadily in the private room, crushed a teacup in his hand when Shen Bozhou jumped down recklessly, cursing under his breath, "Mad dog."

Shopkeeper Xue had no mood to savor his fine tea and left the private room with a flick of his sleeve. By this time, Tao Mian, Shen Bozhou, and his attendant had already climbed onto the round platform, with a bloodstain on Shen Bozhou's face, the handiwork of someone obvious.

Tao Mian glanced at the remaining incense, planning to step back into the darkness to make the most of the remaining time.

At that moment, Shen Bozhou fell ahead of him, facing his direction, and simultaneously threw a wind blade.

Tao Mian, who should have been falling, quickly adjusted his posture, raising his neck high to let the wind blade pass by.

But his mask was inevitably sliced, revealing his right eye.

It was a calm, unruffled lake, reflecting the passage of time, clear yet solemn, with a hint of ethereal divinity.

In the Immortal's eyes, Shen Bozhou, still falling, saw this lake.

He suddenly grinned, his smile growing wider, revealing his crazed nature. His body twisted in mid-air in an unbelievable manner, landing back on the round platform, using his hand as a blade, aiming to crush the mask.

A folding fan tapped his wrist, seemingly light as a feather, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Xue Han's smile carried a chilling frost.

"Second Young Master, that's enough."

Amidst the intense background noise, the singing official acted as if nothing had happened, strolling to the incense burner.

The remaining incense burned to the end, releasing a wisp of blue smoke.

The singing official sang out, "The incense is finished—"