"Heh heh..."
A strange laugh rose from the black-robed man's throat. Without making any other movement, he suddenly thrust both hands out of his sleeves.
He clawed at the air twice, and two clouds of dark-red mist instantly gathered in his palms.
Then they transformed into two hideous Blood Pythons, hissing as they lunged at Zhang Song.
"Quit your tricks!"
Zhang Song snorted coldly and flicked the long sword in his hand. Purple Thunder Light instantly flared along its blade. With a single slash, Thunder Sword Qi swept out like a bolt of silk, striking straight for the vital points of the two Blood Pythons.
Pfft! Pfft!
The Sword Qi struck the Blood Pythons, but instead of ringing like metal, it sounded as if he had hacked into a mass of rotten flesh.
A dull thud rang out.
The Blood Pythons were severed, but they did not vanish. Instead, they burst into a skyful of Blood Mist, clinging like a festering curse.
It rushed toward Zhang Song, rapidly enveloping him.
"Not good!"
Zhang Song's expression changed. He could feel that the Blood Mist was intensely corrosive. If it touched him, it would probably dissolve his skin and flesh clean away.
He acted without hesitation, immediately activating the "Seven Stars Thunder Fire Armor" on his body.
Buzz!
A purple Spiritual Power shield flared into existence, keeping the skyful of Blood Mist at bay.
However, a shocking sight unfolded.
When the Blood Mist touched the shield, it made a sizzling sound.
It was like boiling oil poured over ice and snow.
The dazzling light of the Top-grade Magic Armor began to dim at a visible speed.
Black spots like patches of mold appeared across the surface of the shield.
"This is... demonic cultivation?!"
A well-informed cultivator in the audience cried out, "It can taint the spiritual essence of Magic Artifacts. This is absolutely not a righteous cultivation method!"
Wang Lie sat on the high platform. His expression shifted at those words, but he quickly resumed his sinister look and sneered, "As long as we win, who cares what cultivation method he uses? The winner is king, the loser is a bandit!"
On the Arena, Zhang Song had already fallen into a bitter fight.
The black-robed man's methods were incredibly underhanded. He refused to clash head-on with Zhang Song, releasing only that strange Blood Mist again and again.
He controlled the Blood Fiend energy all around them, steadily squeezing Zhang Song's room to move.
Although Zhang Song wielded a Top-grade Magic Artifact, the all-encompassing corrosion gradually made it harder for him to circulate Spiritual Power. The long sword in his hand swung slower and slower.
"Heh heh, old man, your turtle shell's about to break."
The black-robed man let out a strange laugh and darted through the Blood Mist, occasionally reaching out with a claw.
Each time, he left a mark on Zhang Song's shield.
"That old man from the Zhang Family is going to lose."
"That Guest Official of the Wang Family is too sinister. There's no defending against that Blood Mist."
The onlookers shook their heads. To them, it was only a matter of time before Zhang Song lost.
Even the Zhang Family members had their hearts in their throats.
Their palms were slick with cold sweat.
Only Zhang Chen stood there, his expression calm.
"About time."
Zhang Chen gazed at the purple figure on the Arena, nearly swallowed whole by the Blood Mist, and murmured to himself.
On the Arena.
Zhang Song watched the withered claw drawing closer and closer, and the shield about to collapse. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"Since you want to drink my blood, I'll let you drink your fill!"
Zhang Song abruptly stopped and no longer dodged. Instead, he withdrew some of his defensive Spiritual Power, letting the black-robed man's withered claw reach for his chest.
"You're asking for death!"
The black-robed man was overjoyed. Red light blazed in his eyes, and black energy curled around his palm.
It shot straight for Zhang Song's heart.
Just as the withered claw was about to touch his clothes—
Zhang Song suddenly raised the "Purple Lightning Frost Sword" across his chest. He pressed the fingers of his left hand together like a blade and slammed them against the inconspicuous dark-red Rune on the sword's spine.
"Detonate!"
A furious roar burst from the mouth of the usually composed old man.
Buzz—!
In that instant, heaven and earth seemed to stand still.
A terrifying fluctuation that made one's heart pound—
erupted from the long sword.
It was no ordinary spiritual flame, nor ordinary lightning.
It was a trace of Heavenly Tribulation Remnant Power that Zhang Chen had intercepted during his Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, fused with his own Heaven and Earth Thunder Fire, and sealed inside the Magic Artifact—a force of destruction!
The ultimate in hardness and Yang energy, made to break through evil!
BOOM—!!!
A blinding Purple-Gold Light Pillar shot skyward in an instant, with Zhang Song at its center.
Under the impact of this utmost Yang energy, the skyful of Blood Mist vanished without even a chance to scream, melting away like snow beneath boiling water.
"Argh—! What kind of fire is this?!"
The black-robed man took the brunt of it and let out a scream.
The instant his palm touched the purple-gold light, it vaporized.
Then the flames spread, devouring his entire body in an instant.
His demonic cultivation's protective barrier was pathetically weak before this Thunderfire, which contained the will of the Heavenly Dao.
"No—!!!"
As thousands looked on in horror, the black-robed man struggled wildly in the flames.
His black robe instantly turned to ash.
Beneath it was a gaunt body, thin as a skeleton.
Now, the densely packed, bizarre tattoos covering his body burst one after another beneath the burning Thunderfire.
Gushes of foul black smoke poured out.
In just two breaths.
Before you continue