Li Tui's Death

The instant his true qi pierced Zhao Hao's body, the Samsara Mirror shuddered violently deep within Li Tui's sea of consciousness.

It had sensed the exposed source of Zhao Hao's Seven Killings Star Fate, laid bare by his weakness!

The Treasure Mirror began to operate on its own. A ghostly glow reached out from between Li Tui's brows like an invisible hand, winding precisely around Zhao Hao's back before seizing the Seven Killings Star Fate he had just recondensed.

The Samsara Mirror's ghostly glow blazed brighter.

Its surface reflected the sight of the star power within Zhao Hao scattering, his source being stripped away and devoured!

Zhao Hao's whole body convulsed. A hoarse sound caught in his throat, and his face turned ashen in an instant as the ferocity in his eyes rapidly faded. At that moment, he could clearly feel an irresistible force madly tearing at his very foundation!

"Hm?"

In midair, Zhao Qingya's gaze snapped to Li Tui.

The youth who had been on the verge of death now had a ring of ghostly light revolving between his brows, and his aura kept rising. Meanwhile, Zhao Hao's aura was withering at an unnatural speed, even his life force rapidly ebbing away.

Something's wrong!

Zhao Qingya's eyes suddenly turned cold. Without the slightest hesitation,

he raised his right hand and pointed two fingers from afar.

A fleck of azure light burst from his fingertip. As soon as it left his finger, it swelled in the wind, transforming into a concentrated beam of azure finger-force. It soundlessly tore through the air and shot straight toward Li Tui's brow!

Before the finger-force even arrived, it had completely frozen the space around Li Tui for several yards.

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

Li Tui felt a chill between his brows.

His body abruptly exploded from within, turning into a cloud of blood mist. It mingled with scraps of clothing and bone fragments, raining down in a drifting shower above the arena.

Zhao Qingya descended, his blue robes fluttering, and came to a stop at the edge of the arena.

He first surveyed the arena.

Zhao Yuanchong knelt on one knee. The wound across his chest was deep enough to expose bone, blood flowing without end, his face deathly pale. He had never expected Li Tui to attack Zhao Hao. What frightened him even more was the aura Li Tui had exuded earlier—it had seemed as though it would swallow him whole as well.

Zhao Hao had collapsed on the other side. He no longer had the strength even to remain kneeling; his eyes were half-open, his pupils unfocused, his breathing barely perceptible. The Ink Jade Pendant at his waist had long since shattered.

One was gravely wounded; the other nearly crippled.

There was no change in Zhao Qingya's eyes. He only furrowed his brow slightly.

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

The blood mist and fragments scattered through the air were drawn together by an invisible force, condensing into a fist-sized, murky dark-red blood sphere. Flesh and scraps of fabric were mixed inside, along with a trace of sinister energy that was rapidly fading.

Zhao Qingya stared at the blood sphere and flicked a finger, sending a wisp of pale azure spiritual energy into it.

The sphere trembled violently. Countless fine markings appeared across its surface, as though retracing the remnants of a soul's imprint.

A moment later, the markings settled.

Zhao Qingya's brow knitted more tightly.

Empty.

When the living died, they should have left behind a soul. But after Li Tui's death, nothing remained—as though he had returned to nothingness the instant his body was destroyed, leaving not even a trace to investigate.

Such a clean disappearance could not have been accomplished by any ordinary means, Zhao Qingya thought to himself.

A pawn.

That word flashed through Zhao Qingya's mind.

Then he paid the blood sphere no more attention, letting it vanish completely into the air with a soft pop. He turned and walked to Zhao Hao's side, standing over him as his gaze fell heavily upon him.

Zhao Qingya pointed two fingers at the center of his own brow.

"Open."

A low command.

The light faded from his eyes. Deep within his pupils, two azure lamps seemed to ignite, glowing dimly.

But what he "saw" was not the dimmed, damaged star-fate radiance he had expected.

Two almost imperceptible sounds.

Two streams of thick blood, nearly golden in color, slowly trickled from the corners of his eyes. They ran down his cheeks and gathered at his chin before dripping onto the front of his blue robe, where they splattered into several conspicuous stains.

His spiritual eyes had been damaged; his heart's blood had recoiled upon him.

Zhao Qingya closed his eyes. Only after a moment did he open them again. His gaze had returned to calm, though a trace of weariness lingered deep within his pupils, impossible to erase.

There was no need to investigate further.

Someone had seized the Star Fate their Zhao Family had drawn down, and their methods were sophisticated.

Zhao Qingya silently looked at Zhao Hao, whose breath was faint and whose fate had been damaged beyond repair. He took out a plain white handkerchief and slowly wiped the blood from his face. His movements were steady, as though he himself had not just suffered a backlash.

Next, he took from his robes a blue jade tally engraved with cloud patterns and the ancient seal-script character "Zhao."

The jade tally glimmered faintly.

A moment later, a man's voice, impossible to place by age, entered his sea of consciousness directly:

"Speak."

"Something happened at the Yongle Small Competition," Zhao Qingya replied through his divine sense. "Greedy Wolf was gravely wounded but devoured Army Breaker. Seven Killings was ambushed, and most of his Star Fate's source was stolen. He is nearly crippled."

The other end of the jade tally fell silent for several breaths.

"Who did it?" The voice remained as even as before.

"A retainer without even a trace of qi cultivation." Zhao Qingya paused briefly. "He first used blood-baleful energy to throw the whole arena into disarray, then approached Seven Killings amid the confusion and used some unknown evil art to seize his Star Fate's source. I killed him on the spot, but..."

"But?"

"His soul vanished completely the instant he died. I couldn't capture it. And the art he used to seize the Star Fate... I've never seen anything like it."

Silence fell over the other end of the jade tally once more, lasting longer this time.

At last, the voice spoke again. Its tone seemed to carry a trace of something faint and inscrutable:

"An art that seizes Star Fate? How curious."

Zhao Qingya was somewhat surprised. "You don't think this setback..."

"Setback?" The voice cut him off, still as calm as ever. "Qingya, this Yongle affair was only a trial run. If the contest between the three stars produced a cultivator with a Star Fate in his body, that would be good. If not, it would hardly be a great loss."

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

"It was precisely because it was stolen that we know someone has their eye on Star Fate, or has mastered methods we don't yet understand." The voice remained impassive. "That is more useful than simply obtaining a body."

Zhao Qingya's pupils contracted slightly.

"You mean..."

"Investigate." The voice was brief and clear. "Investigate that retainer's entire background, his recent contacts, and anything unusual. Do it in secret. Don't alert the snake."

"What should we do with Seven Killings and Greedy Wolf?"

"Since Seven Killings is nearly crippled, send him back to the family estate to 'recuperate.' As for Greedy Wolf..." The voice paused. "Greedy Wolf's Star Fate foundation is still intact, and he still has value. Have him recover properly. We may be able to use him again in the future."

"I understand."

The light of the jade tally faded.