No One to Claim the Prize

Long Yue's pupils suddenly dilated in that instant.

The instant Situ Xuan's fingertip pointed at him, Long Yue felt all the hidden forces inside his body erupt at once. The force Situ Xuan had left in Long Yue's Secret Acupoints seemed to have received some kind of signal, releasing all at the same time.

Those forces surged out from his Secret Acupoints and spread along his meridians, forming a violent shockwave inside his body. That shockwave rushed from his dantian to his chest, from his chest to his throat, and from his throat to his seven orifices.

Blood burst from Long Yue's eyes.

Blood burst from his nostrils.

Blood burst from his ears.

Blood burst from the corners of his mouth.

Blood burst from all seven orifices at once, spraying from his face and turning into a cloud of blood mist in the air. Under the light of the Soul Guidance Lamps, it refracted a ring of eerie red radiance.

Long Yue's head tilted back, farther and farther, until it reached its limit, until the veins in his neck bulged, until his Adam's apple rolled violently.

His body fell backward.

Like a felled tree, like a toppled city wall, like a hollowed-out mountain peak.

His body traced an arc through the air, then smashed heavily into the pile of broken stones.

Bang.

The dull sound echoed over the silent stadium, as if it had put a full stop to this match.

Long Yue lay in the rubble, eyes open, pupils unfocused, blood still seeping from the corners of his mouth. His chest was still rising and falling. Though very faintly, it was still rising and falling. He was still alive.

But he had lost.

Lost utterly and completely.

Situ Xuan stood beside Long Yue and looked down at him.

Situ