Ling, I'm Sorry!

On the central stands, Lu Qingshan held a teacup as his gaze swept across the arena, then shifted to a seat far away from him.

He turned his head and murmured something to the attendant behind him. The attendant quickly left.

Not long after.

A burly middle-aged man strode in from behind the stands, moving with the bearing of a dragon and tiger. His features were resolute. It was Su Lie.

"Commander Su, come, have a seat."

Lu Qingshan greeted him with a smile and pointed to the empty seat beside him.

Su Lie clasped his fists in greeting. Without standing on ceremony, he sat down openly.

Lu Qingshan picked up the teapot and personally poured him a cup. His tone carried a hint of sentiment. "Commander Su, you've raised a fine daughter. I watched Yao Yao grow up too. She's had character since she was young. In the future, she'll surely achieve even more than you."

Su Lie accepted the cup and chuckled. He was clearly pleased by the praise, though he modestly concealed his pride. "You flatter her, City Lord. Yao Yao is still young. She has a long road ahead of her."

"The road may be long, but as long as she's headed in the right direction, there's nothing to fear no matter how far she goes."

Lu Qingshan took a sip of tea and turned his gaze toward the arena.

Su Yao was rising from the stands.

Preparing to enter the match.

He said, "Once Yao Yao gets this admission slot, she'll become an official student of Stellar Crown Academy. With her talent and temperament, after a few years of honing herself at the academy, taking over your Blazing Fire Battle Group will be a certainty. By then, she'll be one of Tianyuan City's new pillars."

Su Lie said nothing, but his smile gained an unmistakable note of smugness. Then he suddenly felt someone's gaze settle on him.

He looked up.

And met a pair of cloudy eyes with a hidden glint.

Chen Duhu had finally arrived.

His thin, withered frame was wrapped in a long robe. Deep wrinkles crossed his face, and his sunken eyes were cloudy and yellowed. Yet when they moved, they occasionally flashed with a chilling cold light.

Su Lie set down his teacup and inclined his body slightly. "Commander Chen."

Chen Duhu nodded stiffly, as though his neck was not very flexible. His voice was hoarse. "That girl is not bad."

"You flatter her, Commander Chen."

Chen Duhu's clouded gaze shifted to the arena. He suddenly asked, "Commander Su, what have you decided regarding your daughter's marriage to my son?"

The entire area immediately fell silent. Even Lu Qingshan looked up at Su Lie in surprise.

They all knew that Su Lie had paid a heavy price to persuade Chen Duhu.

To keep the Darkmoon Battle Group from interfering in the tournament.

And even have them help her instead.

But they had not expected it.

That the price would be Su Yao herself.

Su Lie fell silent for two seconds before saying, "I've already discussed it with Yao Yao. She does not object."

Chen Duhu smiled. At last, his dried-up face showed a trace of life. "Good, good. When the two of them return from studying at Stellar Crown Academy, we'll hold the wedding. Then Blazing Fire and Darkmoon will be one family. Family doesn't speak as strangers."

Yuan Ziyi lowered her head and remained silent. Lu Qingshan rubbed his teacup as he pondered for a moment, then revealed a subtle smile as well.

In truth, Tianyuan City had only ever had two people with real power.

Lu Qingshan,

and Zhou Yuan.

One was the city lord who wielded power over an entire region, while the other was a high-ranking inspector sent by those above to oversee him. Both possessed supreme authority within the Federation.

Chen Duhu, Yuan Ziyi, and even Su Lie, who was about to rise through his daughter's status.

Were merely pawns that had chosen their sides.

Only.

These pawns held a little say in matters.

Chen Duhu stood on Lu Qingshan's side. The stronger the forces under his command grew, the more influence he could contend for. Naturally, that was a good thing for him.

In contrast, Zhou Yuan and Yuan Ziyi were far less enthusiastic about the matter.

Of course.

That was beside the point.

In the arena, Su Yao had already stepped up. She stood at the edge of the stage, looking at Ling Aoshuang across from her with a faint smile on her lips.

"Ling Aoshuang."

Su Yao spoke softly, but loudly enough for everyone around the arena to hear. "You've fought eighteen consecutive matches. You're already out of stamina. Admit defeat. My magic is powerful, and I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

Ling Aoshuang did not respond. She merely raised her spear levelly. Her knuckles had turned white, and the lingering frost aura at the spear tip trembled faintly.

Su Yao was very satisfied with her response.

Yes.

This was exactly how it should be.

She should carry that unyielding will to never surrender, then fall spectacularly beneath Su Yao's magic and make Su Yao's name!

The referee looked at the two of them, raised his hand, then brought it down.

"Begin!"

Su Yao attacked first.

With a swing of her staff, three fist-sized fireballs shot from its tip.

They blasted toward Ling Aoshuang in a triangular formation.

They were incredibly fast.

Leaving three scorching trails through the air.

Ling Aoshuang sidestepped the first fireball, swept her spear sideways to knock away the second, and the third grazed past her shoulder, scorching a patch of her light armor black.

Her movements were still swift.

But anyone with discerning eyes could tell.

She was finished.

If she still had any usable mana left, she could have released frost aura to block Su Yao's attacks directly instead of dodging so desperately.

Su Yao's fireballs crashed down one after another.

They filled the sky.

Turning the entire arena into a sea of flames.

Everyone believed there was no longer any suspense in this match. Jiang Chuan was already hesitating over whether to intervene.

Then.

Ling Aoshuang suddenly stopped.

She stood where she was and allowed a fireball to strike her in the chest. With a dull thud, her body swayed slightly, but she did not take a step back.

Blood seeped from the corner of her lips, but her crystalline blue eyes suddenly shone with blazing light.

Boom!!

Frigid air surged into the sky.

Like a burst dam, it spread along the spear in her hand, freezing the entire weapon into an ice-blue crystalline pillar.

The temperature in the arena plummeted by dozens of degrees in an instant. The burning flames were suppressed by the cold air, flickered once, then went completely out. A bone-piercing chill filled the air.

Su Yao's expression changed. "How is that possible? You already...!"

Ling Aoshuang gave her no chance to finish.

She moved.

This time, she was so fast that she did not even leave an afterimage.

Su Yao only saw an ice-blue flash before her eyes. Then it felt as if a cannonball had struck her chest, launching her into the air and sending her flying dozens of meters away!

She slammed heavily into the light barrier at the edge of the arena, bounced back, and rolled across the ground several times.

Finally, she lay face-down at the edge of the arena.

Without moving.

The entire stadium fell silent.

Thirty thousand people, utterly silent.

The referee was dumbfounded.

Why was this different from what had been arranged beforehand?

The nobles in the stands all wore varying expressions. Lu Qingshan's brows were tightly furrowed, Su Lie's face had gone livid, and Chen Duhu's expression was especially dark. Only Yuan Ziyi's eyes flashed repeatedly with a strange light.

Zhou Yuan adjusted his glasses and remarked, "Interesting."

Ling Aoshuang stood in the center of the arena. There was no joy of victory on her face, only a trace of relief and release.

Cheers erupted from every direction like a roaring tsunami.

The referee glanced at Su Yao, who lay there like a dead pig. Unable to bring himself to blatantly rig the result, he could only force himself to announce, "The winner of this match is..."

Rumble!!

A terrifying clap of thunder suddenly drowned out every other sound.

The sky changed color in an instant.

A gray beam descended from the clouds, precisely enveloping Ling Aoshuang's body. It carried a suffocating pressure, as though the whole world had fallen upon her shoulders at that moment.

Ling Aoshuang's body began trembling violently. Her spear fell from her hand with a clear clang.

She clutched her head with both hands and let out an agonized groan.

The Heavenly Dao Contract!

She had violated the terms of the contract. The contract had backlashed, and the Heavenly Dao had delivered its punishment!

She had remembered the punishment clearly ever since the day she signed the contract: anyone who violated it would have their talent directly reduced to zero!

The surging cold aura around her visibly dissipated.

Ling Aoshuang's face suddenly turned deathly pale. Her body swayed, her knees buckled, and she dropped to one knee.

"Damn it!!"

Chen Duhu reacted even more fiercely than Su Lie.

He had not expected Ling Aoshuang to willingly risk punishment from the Heavenly Dao just to win this match!

Her S-rank talent was gone. She had become a useless cripple on the spot!

And that meant every careful plan he had made had come to nothing!

"You little bitch!!"

Blinded by rage, Chen Duhu lost his reason. Billowing black smoke transformed into a giant hand that shot directly toward Ling Aoshuang in the arena!

"This..."

Lu Qingshan's expression shifted uncertainly as he debated whether he should intervene.

While he was still hesitating, a dazzling golden light arrived first, piercing through and tearing apart the giant hand of black smoke!

Whoosh!

A figure instantly rushed into the arena.

Jiang Chuan caught Ling Aoshuang as she was about to collapse. He found that her body was as light as a sheet of paper.

Her eyes were half-open, her pupils unfocused. Her consciousness was on the verge of fading away. In those eyes that had always been cold and proud, there was now nothing but emptiness and confusion.

Only when she saw him appear did a trace of light return to them.

"Jiang Chuan..."

"Yes!"

Jiang Chuan answered heavily, his expression filled with guilt and fury.

He felt guilty.

Because he had failed to notice Ling Aoshuang's death wish sooner!

Her personality had never changed. She would rather risk death to break free from this cage that bound her than bow her head to anyone, even a little!

He was furious, so furious that he wished he could slice Chen Duhu into a thousand pieces on the spot. But there was something even more important right now!

The power of the Heavenly Dao's punishment was still ravaging Ling Aoshuang's body. Having lost her S-rank talent, she simply could not withstand it. Her life was already hanging by a thread!

At that moment.

A clear voice rang out from the stands.

"Use an oath!"

Ignoring the astonished looks around her, Xu Yinyin shouted, "The power of an oath can only be restrained by another oath of a higher level! Binding her with an oath is the only way to save her!"

Upon hearing that, Jiang Chuan did not hesitate in the slightest. A dark red light lit up in his palm.

The Emperor's Oath!

Jiang Chuan looked at the dying Ling Aoshuang and silently thought, Ling, I'm sorry. I'm only doing this to save you!

The light spread from his palm to Ling Aoshuang's shoulder, gradually covering her entire body.

The Emperor's Oath was tyrannical because.

It was.

An absolute master-servant contract.

There was absolutely no requirement for both parties to agree before the bond could be formed.

This most despised trait.

Saved Ling Aoshuang's life at this moment.

The contract was bound.

Jiang Chuan directly shared his attributes with Ling Aoshuang.

His 1,500-point Extremum attributes instantly transformed Ling Aoshuang's body. The remnants of the Heavenly Dao's punishment immediately changed from a life-threatening poison into an insignificant itch.

A strong heartbeat sounded in her chest as she opened her eyes in confusion.

"...Jiang Chuan? Am I... am I dreaming?"

Before Jiang Chuan could answer.

A surging chill erupted from within Ling Aoshuang's body!

The talent that the Heavenly Dao had erased and reduced to zero began growing again.

C-rank,

B-rank,

A-rank...

In the blink of an eye, her talent returned to S-rank, yet it did not stop. Instead, it suddenly erupted with power ten times more ferocious than before.

SS-rank!!

Ling Aoshuang felt as though she were in an unreal dream. "What's going on...?"

There were too many people present for Jiang Chuan to answer directly. He took Ling Aoshuang's icy hand and swept his gaze toward the central stands. "I wanted to kill him outright, but then I thought about it. You should avenge this grievance yourself."

On the stands, Chen Duhu was still reeling from how easily his attack had been broken, deeply wary of the suddenly appearing Jiang Chuan.

The next moment.

He felt a gaze filled with bone-piercing frost sweep over him!