The Death of Li Tui

The moment the true energy pierced into Zhao Hao's body, the Samsara Mirror deep within Li Tui's sea of consciousness shuddered violently.

It had sensed the Seven Killings Star Fate, exposed within Zhao Hao's body due to his weakness!

The mirror operated on its own, a ghostly light extending from between Li Tui's brows like an invisible spectral hand, precisely coiling around Zhao Hao's back and grabbing fiercely at his newly condensed Seven Killings Star Fate.

The ghostly light of the Samsara Mirror flared brilliantly.

The mirror's surface reflected the scene of the star power within Zhao Hao's body dissipating, his origin being stripped away and devoured!

Zhao Hao's entire body shook violently, a hoarse, wheezing sound squeezed from his throat. His complexion turned ashen in an instant, and the fierce glint in his eyes dimmed rapidly. At this moment, he could clearly feel his foundation being frantically seized by an irresistible force!

"Hmm?"

In mid-air, Zhao Qingya's gaze locked onto Li Tui instantly.

The youth who had been on the verge of death now had a ring of ghostly light rotating between his brows, his aura climbing continuously, while Zhao Hao's aura withered at an unnatural speed, even his life force fading away rapidly.

Something is strange!

Zhao Qingya's eyes turned cold abruptly. Without a moment's hesitation, he raised his right hand and pointed a finger through the air.

A streak of cyan light erupted from his fingertip, expanding as it met the wind, transforming into a condensed cyan finger-strike that tore through the air silently, shooting straight toward the space between Li Tui's brows!

Before the strike even arrived, the space for several yards around Li Tui had been completely solidified.

I can't dodge it, I can't block it.

Li Tui only felt a chill between his brows.

His body exploded from the inside out, turning into a mist of blood that, mixed with shattered fabric and bone fragments, drifted and scattered above the arena.

Zhao Qingya's figure descended, his cyan robes fluttering as he stood at the edge of the arena.

He first swept his gaze across the arena.

Zhao Yuanchong was half-kneeling on the ground, the wound on his chest deep enough to reveal bone, blood flowing incessantly. His face was deathly pale; he had not expected Li Tui to strike at Zhao Hao, and what frightened him even more was the aura Li Tui had possessed earlier—an aura that felt as if it wanted to swallow him whole as well.

As for Zhao Hao, he lay slumped on the other side, lacking even the strength to maintain a kneeling posture. His eyes were half-open, his pupils unfocused, and he had only a faint breath remaining. The Ink Jade Pendant at his waist had long since shattered.

One severely injured, one nearly crippled.

There were no ripples in Zhao Qingya's eyes, only a slight frown.

He raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the spot where Li Tui had exploded.

The blood mist and fragments permeating the air were gathered by an invisible force, condensing into a fist-sized, dark red, turbid ball of blood. Inside the blood ball, flesh and fabric remnants were mixed together, along with a trace of an evil aura that was rapidly dissipating.

Zhao Qingya stared at the blood ball and flicked his fingertip, injecting a strand of pale cyan spiritual energy into it.

The blood ball vibrated violently, countless tiny patterns emerging on its surface, as if tracing the remnants of a soul imprint.

A moment later, the patterns smoothed out.

Zhao Qingya's brows furrowed deeper.

It was empty.

After a living person dies, they should leave behind a soul, but after Li Tui died, nothing remained. It was as if, the moment his body collapsed, he had returned to nothingness, leaving not even a trace for investigation.

Such a clean erasure is definitely not something achievable by ordinary means, Zhao Qingya thought to himself.

A pawn.

This word flashed through Zhao Qingya's mind.

He stopped paying attention to the blood ball, letting it vanish completely into the air with a soft "pop." He turned and walked to Zhao Hao's side, standing still, his gaze falling heavily.

Zhao Qingya pointed his fingers at his own brow.

"Open."

A low shout.

The brilliance in his eyes faded, and deep within his pupils, it was as if two cyan lamps had been lit, glowing eerily.

But what he "saw" was not the damaged and dimmed star fate flame he had expected.

Two very faint, soft sounds.

Two lines of thick, nearly golden-colored blood flowed slowly from the corners of his eyes, tracing down his cheeks and gathering at his chin before dripping off, splashing several striking stains onto the front of his cyan robes.

His spiritual eyes were injured; his heart-blood had suffered a backlash.

Zhao Qingya closed his eyes, opening them only after a moment. The depths of his eyes had returned to calm, though a trace of indelible fatigue remained deep within his pupils.

There was no need to investigate further.

Someone had seized the star fate that their Zhao Family had been guiding, and they had done so with highly sophisticated methods.

Zhao Qingya looked silently at the dying Zhao Hao, whose fate had been ruined. He took out a plain white handkerchief and slowly wiped the bloodstains from his face. His movements were steady, as if he were not the one who had just suffered the backlash.

Following that, he took a cyan jade talisman from his robes, engraved with cloud patterns and the ancient seal character for "Zhao."

The jade talisman glowed faintly.

A moment later, the voice of a man whose age could not be discerned transmitted directly into his sea of consciousness:

"Speak."

"The Yongle minor competition has taken an unexpected turn." Zhao Qingya reported back via divine sense, "Greedy Wolf is severely injured but has already devoured Army Breaker. Seven Killings Star Fate was ambushed, and the majority of its star origin was stolen; it is now nearly crippled."

There was silence on the other end of the jade talisman for several breaths.

"Who was responsible?" The voice remained indifferent.

"A retainer who hadn't even reached the Qi Refining stage." Zhao Qingya paused slightly, "This person first drew upon the blood fiend aura to disrupt the entire arena, then used the chaos to approach Seven Killings, plundering its star origin with some unknown evil art. I killed him on the spot, but..."

"But?"

"His soul vanished completely the moment he died; I was unable to intercept it. Furthermore, that art used to plunder the star fate... it is something I have never seen before."

The other side of the jade talisman fell silent again, this time for a longer duration.

The voice finally sounded once more, its tone seemingly carrying a faint, elusive nuance:

"An art to plunder star fate? That is indeed rare."

Zhao Qingya felt slightly surprised: "Do you not think this failure..."

"Failure?" The voice interrupted him, as indifferent as before, "Qingya, this Yongle competition was merely a 'test run' to begin with. If the struggle between the three stars could nurture a cultivator with a star fate integrated into their body, that would naturally be good; if not, it is of no great consequence."

"But the Seven Killings Star Fate was stolen..."

"It is precisely because it was stolen that it proves someone has set their sights on star fates, or has mastered certain methods we do not yet understand." The voice remained unruffled, "That is more useful than simply obtaining a vessel."

Zhao Qingya's pupils constricted.

"You mean..."

"Investigate." The voice was concise and clear, "Investigate the entire background of that retainer, investigate everyone he has been in contact with recently, and investigate every anomaly. Do it in secret; do not alert the enemy."

"And how should I handle Seven Killings and Greedy Wolf?"

"Since Seven Killings is practically crippled, send it back to the main family to 'recuperate.' As for Greedy Wolf..." The voice paused slightly, "The foundation of the Greedy Wolf Star Fate remains, so it still has value. Order it to heal well; it may be of use in the future."

"I understand."

The light of the jade talisman faded away.

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