"I'll rip you to shreds, you two-legged lamb. I'll devour your flesh piece by piece—raw. You Han people with your pale, tender meat… truly the finest delicacy in the world."
Liu Bao bared his teeth in a sinister grin. His sharp, glinting fangs were still strung with shreds of flesh—a sight chilling enough to make one's soul tremble. This savage display was enough to cow his opponent before the real fight even began, suppressing their momentum. Fear before the first strike—such was the key to reversing the tide of battle.
Clearly, Liu Bao understood the importance of aura.
"Let's see who lives and who dies, then. This Life-and-Death Contract must be some sort of rare artifact. Still, it shouldn't be a guarantee of death for me. Typically, such contracts only appear in duels to the death."
"In battles like this, only one can walk away. The core of the Life-and-Death Contract is to ensure that no one can leave midway, and that no outside force can interfere or alter the duel's outcome. It creates a relatively fair battlefield. But that doesn't mean you have no influence on it."
"Since you're the one initiating the contract, and you've offered a sacrifice, its rules are undoubtedly slanted in your favor. Normally, both parties must consent to activate the contract. But now, you've unilaterally triggered it—and I can already feel it locking onto me. Whether I agree or not, it's already taken effect."
"Since you've left me no way out… why should I fear facing you in combat?"
Indeed, if possible, Yi Tianxing would have preferred to cleanly eliminate Liu Bao on his own terms. But now, with the Life-and-Death Contract invoked, he had no choice.
Only a battle would end Liu Bao once and for all.
"You're right. There is no room left for choice. Without a sacrifice, the Life-and-Death Contract would need the consent of both parties. But I offered one—the corpses and blood of the tens of thousands of Xiongnu warriors you slaughtered in your schemes. That blood fuels the contract, giving it the power to bind you. Run to the ends of the earth if you like—it won't matter. I will step over your corpse and rise again. I will rebuild the Great Xiongnu Empire!"
Liu Bao let out a crazed, guttural laugh.
"Is that so?" Yi Tianxing replied with a nonchalant smile.
"Big Brother Yi, be careful! Liu Bao… he's practicing some wicked technique," Cai Yan warned, her expression laced with worry.
She had seen it firsthand: the women brought into Liu Bao's tent emerged as desiccated corpses. It was clear—he was cultivating some kind of forbidden or demonic art.
"Don't worry."
Yi Tianxing offered her a reassuring smile.
SWOOSH!
Just then, the Life-and-Death Contract glowed brighter, blood-red and sinister. A massive volume of corpses and flesh was consumed by its crimson glow. From the void, an eerie arena formed.
It was an arena made of countless bones, skulls grinning wickedly from the structure, each one evoking a primal sense of dread. Two banners hung above, inscribed with a couplet:
If fate is kind and no hatred burns, do not step forth.Two may enter, but only one returns.
The arena's message was clear: there was no mercy, no escape. The contract's rules were absolute.
Unless one had the power to override its laws, two entered—only one could survive.
With its emergence, two blood-red beams shot forth and enveloped Liu Bao and Yi Tianxing, instantly teleporting them into the arena.
Though made of bone, the arena felt solid beneath their feet.
"Yi Tianxing, any last words?" Liu Bao sneered, gripping his curved blade. A wicked glow surrounded him, malice etched deep in his face.
"I have no need for last words. Those are for cowards who fear death. You've tried again and again to break my spirit with words, but I am not so easily shaken. We're on the field now—let the weapons speak."
Without hesitation, Yi Tianxing thrust his war spear like a bolt of lightning.
CLANG!
Liu Bao's reaction was swift. His curved blade moved in a bizarre arc, meeting the spear head-on. A resounding clash echoed. His true qi carried a sinister energy, rich with some kind of demonic influence—it was clearly no ordinary power.
"Elder Huang, what's happening? The Lord won't… lose, right?" Yang Ye asked with concern.
This eerie contract was unpredictable, its grip unrelenting. And now, nothing could interfere—not even them.
"The Lord's cultivation has always been mysterious. His strength doesn't align with common standards. Few could match him at the same level," Huang Chengyan replied.
"But Liu Bao is no ordinary opponent either. How did he get so strong?" murmured Yang Yanping, watching anxiously.
This was their first time witnessing such a brutal duel between cultivators.
"What incredible qi… his cultivation is already at the third level of the Divine Sea Realm, and his true qi carries a demonic signature. This isn't normal cultivation," Yi Tianxing noted.
To reach that level in such a short time, and even pierce the eight extraordinary meridians—this was nearly impossible without unnatural methods.
It had to be due to something extreme: perhaps a power like Haoran Righteous Qi, or more likely, demonic cultivation, infamous for rapid advancement and hidden costs.
In their brief clash, Yi Tianxing suddenly felt a strange energy invade his body, his mind assaulted by lurid hallucinations—seductive demonesses dancing in his thoughts.
But then—a dragon's roar echoed within him.
The illusions shattered instantly.
"So Liu Bao's true qi has a bewitching property, capable of invading my will. A single moment's distraction in battle could be fatal. Luckily, my body's True Dragon Qi can suppress this demonic power—it can't shake my mind."
These thoughts passed in a flash, but his spear didn't pause for a second.
He launched dozens of strikes—thrusting, sweeping, piercing, feinting—each aimed at Liu Bao's vitals.
For an ordinary cultivator, even one of those attacks would be fatal.
But Liu Bao was no ordinary foe. His curved blade moved like a phantom moon, cleaving through the air with uncanny precision, intercepting every strike.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Spear clashed against blade. Qi clashed against qi. Light and shadow danced as the fight escalated.
"Damn it! Yi Tianxing really is a cultivator—and just as powerful as me! What is he cultivating? How is he advancing so fast, even faster than my demonic arts?!"
"Still… there's no way I'll lose. No one can withstand this next strike."
Liu Bao's eyes burned with malevolent light. He let out a wild howl.
And then—he slashed.
This wasn't just a simple attack.
This was the pinnacle of his blade technique—every aspect honed to perfection. Timing, angle, force, speed—all precisely calculated to unleash his full strength.
And laced within it… was a deadly demonic essence.