"Get down, brat!"
Tian Bingyun viciously sliced off one of his opponent's arms with his dragon claw.
Blood splattered across the arena in an instant.
Only his opponent's agonized howls remained.
Shui Yue'er and Shui Qing'er's faces had darkened so much they looked ready to drip water.
They had paid a hefty sum to hire this man.
They were both Soul Ancestors, yet he had been crippled by Tian Bingyun right there on the spot.
Tian Henglei burst into a wild, arrogant laugh.
"See? This is what happens when you go against the Tian Clan."
"Miss, it's over. Even the powerhouse our family hired has lost."
The maid collapsed weakly onto the ground, her face drained of color.
Shui Bing'er, however, said nothing.
She calmly stared at the dressing mirror before her.
"Understood."
"Hey, you. Get up here. Weren't you acting so tough?"
Tian Bingyun pointed at Tuoba Xuan with a mocking look in his eyes. The blood on his hand had yet to dry.
In an instant, everyone turned to look at Tuoba Xuan.
"Who's that? He looks pretty young."
"No idea. Probably some nobody from who knows where."
Shui Qing'er asked in confusion,
"Yue'er, who is he? He doesn't seem to be one of the people we hired."
Shui Yue'er no longer knew what to say.
In truth, she had noticed something was off while they were in the waiting area.
"He... seems to be the person my older sister mentioned."
Shui Yue'er spoke hesitantly.
She only regretted not stopping Tuoba Xuan and letting him go to his death for nothing.
Anyone with a little sense knew the real story behind this match.
Clearly, Tuoba Xuan wasn't one of them.
Shui Qing'er's face instantly darkened.
"This is ridiculous! Judging by his age, he's only twelve. Going up there would be asking for death!"
"Wait!"
Shui Qing'er suddenly spoke up:
"Young friend, if you don't wish to fight, you can leave now."
"Hmph! Worthless coward!"
Tian Bingyun said coldly.
Without the slightest hesitation, Tuoba Xuan rose and walked toward the arena.
"Thank you for the warning, senior. But everyone has to prove something in their life!"
"At a time like this, you're still talking about proving yourself? Do you have a death wish?"
Shui Yue'er shouted anxiously.
Tuoba Xuan casually waved his hand.
"I once promised someone that I would become a mighty warrior who stood tall between heaven and earth."
"A mighty warrior who stands tall between heaven and earth?"
Shui Bing'er parted her red lips, staring at Tuoba Xuan in disbelief.
She had rushed over after receiving word of the match and had happened to witness this scene.
"If that's the case, Tian Bingyun!"
Tuoba Xuan glared at Tian Bingyun and pointed at him furiously, his voice ringing throughout the entire City Lord's Mansion!
"You should be glad you became the first enemy I face on my path to becoming a mighty warrior who stands tall between heaven and earth!"
"Arrogant! I'll scrape your flesh off, bit by bit."
Tian Bingyun roared. Soul Power exploded from his body, and he blurred forward, charging at Tuoba Xuan.
"Damn it, he's ambushing him!"
Shui Yue'er cried out, but it was already too late.
"You bastard!"
Shui Qing'er cursed.
Tian Bingyun's dragon claw gleamed coldly as it reached for Tuoba Xuan's throat.
His Martial Soul was a Frost Dragon, a fairly powerful lesser-dragon Martial Soul.
But the one he faced now was a true dragon!
The gap between a true dragon and a lesser dragon was like the moon compared to a firefly!
"Come on!" Tuoba Xuan shouted, Soul Power surging from his body in an instant.
Boom!
Tuoba Xuan abruptly raised his arm and let the Frost Dragon's claw sink deep into it.
Several horrifying jets of blood burst forth at once.
"Hahahaha! That's all you've got?"
Tian Bingyun let out a cruel, frenzied laugh.
"No!"
Shui Bing'er felt as though it wasn't Tuoba Xuan who had been hurt, but her own heart—as if something had stabbed straight through it.
"Seriously, why's he trying to show off?"
Shui Yue'er cried anxiously, almost rushing onto the arena herself.
Tuoba Xuan's mouth stretched into a wide grin. Ignoring the claw piercing his arm, he actually began advancing on Tian Bingyun, one step at a time.
"You bastard, die!" Tian Bingyun roared, driving his dragon claw through Tuoba Xuan's body again and again.
Blood gushed like a fountain, covering the entire arena.
Tuoba Xuan was like a lunatic who didn't fear death. A wild grin curled his lips, and he seemed not to notice his wounds at all.
"That's it? I can't even feel it! Hit harder!"
Tuoba Xuan grabbed Tian Bingyun's dragon claw, his madness reaching its peak.
Even Tian Bingyun was frightened by Tuoba Xuan's frenzy.
"If you want to die so badly, I'll grant your wish."
With that, Tian Bingyun swung his dragon claw and drove it viciously toward Tuoba Xuan's heart.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The world seemed to fall silent. Tian Bingyun's claw had pierced Tuoba Xuan's chest, and scarlet blood had completely dyed his clothes red.
"No!"
Shui Bing'er felt all her strength drain away in an instant.
However, everyone soon realized something.
The dragon claw hadn't pierced all the way through his chest.
It was as if it had struck something solid and been stopped.
"Is he dead?" Hu Liena was just as tense, staring intently at Tuoba Xuan's left chest.
Suddenly, golden-yellow light burst from the spot where the dragon claw had pierced him.
Tian Bingyun stared at Tuoba Xuan's chest in terror, trying to pull his hand free.
But he found his dragon claw held fast in Tuoba Xuan's grip.
Tuoba Xuan didn't even care that a deep, bone-revealing gash had opened in his palm.
"Hahahahahaha! Six years! Six whole years!"
Tuoba Xuan suddenly roared.
For six whole years, he had endured nothing but cold looks and ridicule.
His heart had long since been filled to the brim with the resolve to prove himself.
Now, he was so wild, so utterly crazed.
"Heart! Of! The! Mountain! Dragon!"
The wounds on Tuoba Xuan's body healed at a frenzied pace.
"No, no!" Tian Bingyun cried, his face stricken with terror.
Crack!
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
Tian Bingyun suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his arm and screaming in agony.
When everyone looked over,
the hand he had used to strike Tuoba Xuan had completely vanished, leaving behind only a ghastly white stump of bone.
"Heart of the Mountain Dragon skill, Body Healing."
The Heart of the Mountain Dragon was a gift from the Mountain Dragon King to repay Tuoba Xuan.
It was a gift from the dragon clan!
In terms of grade, the Heart of the Mountain Dragon could already rival a divine artifact.
What Tuoba Xuan had used was one of the Heart of the Mountain Dragon's three skills: Body Healing.
Body Healing could restore Tuoba Xuan's injured body and Soul Power.
It also forced its way through the healing process, destroying anything that obstructed it—like Tian Bingyun's dragon claw.
In an instant, the match took a dramatic turn.
Tuoba Xuan's body, which had been pierced through, had already fully healed.
Tian Bingyun wailed as he desperately tried to pick up his severed hand.
"Now it's your turn!"
Tuoba Xuan's voice was like a whisper from the depths of hell, chilling to the soul.
The enormous phantom of the Mountain Dragon King crashed down onto the arena, smashing the entire platform into pieces.
"This is bad!"
Tian Henglei tried to rush in and save him, but the clouds of dust thrown up by the impact blocked his way.
"I believe I once said that, with your abilities, you weren't worthy of the title of champion!"
Tuoba Xuan spoke softly as he grabbed Tian Bingyun's one remaining hand and bent it sharply downward.
"AAAAAAAAH!"
Tian Bingyun screamed again. Both his hands were broken; he was now completely crippled.
"What overwhelming power!"
Hu Liena was utterly stunned.
"He'd be hard to match among people his own age!"
Lor Diarra was equally shocked.
"So... the person my older sister mentioned really is this powerful!"
Shui Yue'er shouted excitedly.
But it wasn't over yet. Tuoba Xuan brought down several heavy punches, and Tian Bingyun's chest caved in at once.
"Ah!"
Another piercing scream rang out. Tian Bingyun trembled all over; his arm had been completely broken.
"Ah!"
This time, his legs had been broken.
"AAAAAAAAH!"
All four of his limbs had now been broken, leaving only his bloated torso!
"Here you go. This is the last punch!"
Tuoba Xuan laughed wildly, completely unrestrained.
Boom!