Gulp! Hu Yanzhi swallowed the pill without a second’s hesitation.

“Arghhh!!!”

An agonized roar ripped from his throat. Blood vessels across his body bulged violently, and a terrifying aura far surpassing the sixth level of the Golden Core exploded like a volcanic eruption.

The oppressive weight of a level nine Golden Core powerhouse swept across the entire arena, crushing the very air.

He ignited three talismans simultaneously, each wreathed in a sinister purple glow—the [Purple Ultimate Heaven-Burning Talisman]!

The three talismans transformed into world-destroying pillars of violet flame. Like three roaring fire dragons, they streaked toward Zhang Xian in a lethal triangular formation.

Zhang Xian retreated with ghostly speed, flicking out three water talismans in response. Three azure water dragons surged forward, their roars echoing as they met the purple inferno head-on.

However, Hu Yanzhi’s power had reached a frenzied peak. He personally charged into the collision, his blood-colored spirit sword erupting with a ferocious, gory radiance.

With a single slash, the bloody light blotted out the heavens.

One of the water dragons was severed cleanly by his blade, evaporating instantly into a thick mist of steam.

Moving like a bolt of crimson lightning, Hu Yanzhi delivered two more savage slashes.

He precisely struck the two golden-armored puppets pouncing from his flanks, sending them hurtling backward. Spiderweb cracks instantly spiderwebbed across the puppets’ reinforced bodies.

The blood sword’s momentum didn’t falter. Carrying all of Hu Yanzhi’s resentment, madness, and the raw power of his burning life force, it swung toward Zhang Xian’s neck.

Hum!!

A ripple of translucent light shimmered three inches in front of Zhang Xian, halting the spirit sword in its tracks.

Hu Yanzhi’s pupils contracted. He knew Zhang Xian had already self-destructed one protective spirit treasure earlier. He hadn’t expected the man to have a second one ready to go.

The time and mental effort required to refine a spirit treasure were immense; fully synchronizing with one usually took centuries of meditation.

Yet, Hu Yanzhi was past the point of reason. He roared again, spitting a mouthful of vital blood onto his blade to force its power to the absolute limit.

So what if it’s a spirit treasure? I’ll cut through it all the same!!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The purple flames behind Hu Yanzhi finally shattered the remaining water dragons, crashing repeatedly against Zhang Xian’s protective barrier.

Zhang Xian was knocked back again and again, the barrier’s spiritual light dimming with every impact.

“Break for me!!” Hu Yanzhi screamed, his voice hoarse. The red light billowing from his body was so dense it looked like solid gore.

His blood-colored spirit sword let out a mournful cry as cracks began to spread across its length. For this one strike, he was willing to sacrifice the weapon itself.

CRACK!!

The grating sound of shattering glass filled the air.

Zhang Xian’s protective barrier disintegrated. In that split second of vulnerability, Zhang Xian hastily ignited two earthy-yellow talismans—the [Pent-Earth Divine Shield Talisman].

Hu Yanzhi was a demon possessed. The burning essence in his veins granted him an unparalleled, albeit suicidal, strength.

With a roar of pure hatred, his blood sword shattered the two thick earthen shields in succession.

The sword light pierced the final defense without hindrance, landing a vicious, direct hit on the figure behind it.

Hu Yanzhi had never been this powerful before.

BOOM!!!

A dull explosion rocked the arena. Fragments of earthen shields flew in every direction as a massive cloud of dust swallowed the stage.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence. Every spectator held their breath, their eyes fixed on the settling haze.

As the dust slowly cleared, Hu Yanzhi was revealed. He maintained his slashing posture, panting heavily with blood trickling from his mouth.

His eyes, however, were wide with the twisted, manic joy of a man who had finally achieved his vengeance.

Where his sword pointed, there was only a mess of pulverized stone and…

Ding!

A crisp sound echoed. A jade pendant, covered in cracks and its spiritual light extinguished, hit the ground and shattered into pieces.

It was the spent core of Zhang Xian’s protective treasure.

Meanwhile, the blood-colored spirit sword in Hu Yanzhi’s hand finally reached its limit. With a sharp snap, it disintegrated into a pile of useless scrap metal.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Hu Yanzhi threw his head back and laughed—a hoarse, maniacal sound that chilled the bones of everyone listening.

He had seen it up close. That detestable Zhang Xian had been annihilated by his final strike, turned into nothing but dust.

“Fight me?! I’ve left you without a corpse to bury! Reduced to ashes!! Hahaha… huh?!”

His laughter cut off abruptly.

When his triumphant gaze swept toward the viewing platform, he didn’t see a heartbroken Yun Wanqing. Instead, her expression was one of tense anticipation.

Even worse, his cousin, Hu Yanqing, was frowning deeply, his lips moving frantically in a silent warning.

The dueling platform’s barrier isolated the sound, but Hu Yanzhi understood the lip-reading perfectly:

Be careful.

An icy chill shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Hu Yanzhi desperately spread his spiritual sense.

At the very edge of the martial arena, a faint, maddeningly familiar aura quietly emerged.

The remaining dust finally settled.

There, in an inconspicuous corner far from the explosion’s epicenter, Zhang Xian was leisurely brushing non-existent dust from his robes.

He wore a look of “lingering fear” as he sighed. “That was close. Truly close. If that had been my real body, I’d be a dead man right now.”

He opened his palm, and a crystal core slowly floated into it. He blew on it gently.

“Whew. Only the outer shell was damaged. The puppet’s core crystal is intact. It’ll be as good as new after some light repairs.”

The joy on Hu Yanzhi’s face froze into a mask of horror. He stared at the figure in the corner, then back at the shards of stone and jade beneath his feet.

A puppet? A substitute?

The all-out strike he had launched at the cost of his future cultivation, the destruction of his spirit sword, the burning of his very life force… had only destroyed a piece of wood?!

An indescribable sense of absurdity and rage engulfed him. He tried to raise his hand to charge again, but to his horror, his limbs wouldn’t obey.

The numbness wasn’t an illusion. A strange paralysis was spreading through his body.

Even moving a finger felt like lifting a mountain. Even his throat felt blocked; he couldn’t even manage a whimper.

Zhang Xian’s voice, like a demon’s whisper, transmitted directly into his mind.

“I mixed a little [Bone-Softening Powder] into that puppet’s joints. If you hadn’t depleted your spiritual power, it wouldn’t have affected you. But now? You can’t even surrender, can you?”

Hu Yanzhi’s pupils dilated with utter terror. He wanted to scream, to struggle, but he was as stiff as a statue.

On the viewing platform, Hu Yanqing’s face was as dark as a thundercloud. He had clearly noticed the abnormality, but he remained seated, his icy eyes locked onto Zhang Xian.

On the platform, Zhang Xian flicked his finger.

“Brother Hu, reciprocity is a virtue. Now, it’s your turn to receive a move!”

A crimson talisman, the [Li Fire Ring], instantly burned to ashes.

Whoosh!

A blazing ring of fire materialized out of thin air, encircling the paralyzed Hu Yanzhi.

The ring rapidly contracted, the terrifying heat instantly igniting his robes and scorching his flesh.