If the Enemy Is Strong, Then Go All Out from the Start!

The second round of matches began soon after.

Lin Ye's draw was near the front, and before long, he was called onto the arena.

His opponent was a formidable martial artist at the Third Realm Peak. Their realms were evenly matched, and the fight was especially brutal.

After a full half-incense stick's worth of time, Lin Ye took a heavy punch to the shoulder head-on before barely finding an opening and smashing his opponent off the arena with the back of his blade.

Though he had won with great difficulty, blood still staining the corner of his mouth, he had at least advanced to the next round.

Lin Ye stepped down from the arena, wiped the sweat from his face, and walked over to Su Yueli, panting heavily.

Before long, the referee's voice carried over.

"Group Forty-Three, take the arena!"

Su Yueli pulled the wine gourd from her waist and casually tossed it to Lin Ye, then raised a leg to head for the arena.

"Miss Su!"

Lin Ye's expression was grave. "The Pang Family has definitely set a killing trap. Listen to me—if you find things going wrong after getting on the arena, don't force it. Shout that you concede immediately!"

"The moment you concede, the referee will intervene at once. The rules of the Martial Dao Tournament are there for all to see. No matter how powerful and well-connected the Pang Family is, they would never dare slap the Great Li Imperial Family and the Imperial Guard in the face before everyone."

Su Yueli glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Don't worry. It hasn't come to that."

With that, she leaped up and landed on the arena.

At the same time, on the Pang Family's side of the raised platform.

Pang Jinbiao watched Su Yueli take the arena, a glint of coldness flashing through his eyes.

"Did you make things clear to Lei'er about that pill?"

The gray-robed elder beside him lowered his voice and nodded repeatedly. "Rest assured, Patriarch. Nothing can go wrong. Pang Lei may only be at the Mid Fourth Realm, but before taking the arena, he already tucked a Bloodburst Pill into his robes."

The elder's tone was exceedingly sinister. "The tournament rules only say that one cannot use external objects such as hidden weapons or poison to ambush an opponent. They never say one cannot consume pills to enhance one's vitality and blood! This is a loophole in the rules."

"Even if that girl truly has some deeply hidden trump card, once Young Master Lei takes the Bloodburst Pill, his vitality and blood will briefly surge close to the Early Fifth Realm! Killing her on the arena will be like slaughtering pigs and dogs!"

After all, that assassin last time must have been careless, while she had also used some underhanded method.

Otherwise, how could a little girl possibly kill a dead warrior at the Mid Fifth Realm?

At those words, Pang Jinbiao's tightly furrowed brow finally eased completely.

He nodded in satisfaction. "The Bloodburst Pill's effects are overbearing, and it will inevitably damage the meridians afterward. But as long as he kills that little bitch before everyone and raises the prestige of my Pang Family, he may choose any spiritual medicine from the Lineage treasury afterward. We will certainly nourish him back to health properly."

On the arena.

The moment Su Yueli had settled into position, a tall and burly young man walked up from across from her.

It was Pang Lei.

Pang Lei rolled his neck, his eyes roaming over Su Yueli's body without restraint, filled with killing intent and lecherous wickedness.

"You really are quite a beauty. No wonder the Second Young Master died by your hand."

Pang Lei gave a savage grin and lowered his voice mockingly. "Little beauty, in a moment, I'll smash your bones bit by bit. If the pain becomes too much to bear, hurry and kneel to beg me. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll leave you one last breath and take you back to the residence to play with slowly."

Among the spectators below the arena, quite a few martial artists who knew Pang Lei began murmuring among themselves.

"That's Pang Lei of the Pang Family. He's a ruthless Mid Fourth Realm fighter, and he has always been vicious in his attacks!"

"This girl is done for. Judging by Pang Lei's stance, he clearly intends to spill blood on the arena."

"Alas, a Rogue Cultivator from the outer city, running into a scion of such a great family—she won't even have a chance to concede."

Hearing the reverent and certain discussions below, Pang Lei's arrogance swelled even higher, and the vitality and blood within him churned excitedly.

He greatly enjoyed this thrill of holding the power of life and death in his hands.

Faced with Pang Lei's filthy words, Su Yueli remained calm. She had always been too lazy to pay attention to the trash talk of someone already dead.

Even a lion used its full strength to catch a rabbit. Since she had stepped onto the arena, she had no intention of holding back.

The vitality and blood within her body surged into motion in an instant, but just as she was about to make her opening move, her thoughts suddenly shifted.

No... Last night at the inn, I used the fourth form of River Severing with all my strength, and one punch instantly killed an Early Fifth Realm dead warrior, shattering his heart meridian on the spot.

This Pang Lei before me is only at the Mid Fourth Realm, and his physical defenses are even weaker.

If I unleash all my vitality and blood now and strike with the fourth form again, I'm afraid I'll blow him into four pieces and eight chunks on the spot.

Though the Martial Dao Tournament declared that life and death rested with fate, if the death were too gruesome, with flesh and blood flying everywhere, it would inevitably draw excessive attention and thorough investigation from the upper ranks of the Imperial Clan, creating needless trouble.

Afraid of killing him with one punch, Su Yueli silently dispersed the fist intent of the fourth form. With a turn of her wrist, she switched to the second form.

"The match begins!"

The referee's arm slashed downward.

A savage gleam flared in Pang Lei's eyes. He was just about to activate his vitality and blood, intending to give this girl who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth a show of force.

He was even considering whether he should swallow the Bloodburst Pill in his robes right away and crush her in the most brutal manner possible.

But the thought had only just arisen...

Bang!

A dull boom rang out from the arena's hard bluestone floor.

Su Yueli's figure vanished from where she stood. Pang Lei only saw a blur before a terrifying pressure of wind slammed into his face.

"What?!"

His pupils contracted sharply. Too fast!

So fast that before he could even raise a hand to block, a fair fist had already struck solidly against his chest.

Second form.

Inch Force, burst forth!

Boom—!

A deafening explosion erupted across the arena.

Pang Lei's body abruptly stiffened. Then, the clothes across his back were instantly torn into countless shreds by the violent force that had pierced through his body.

He flew out like a cannonball discharged from its barrel, his feet plowing trenches through the bluestone arena. Blood sprayed from his mouth in midair as he was sent hurtling more than ten zhang away.

He crashed onto the ground below the arena with a smack, rolling several times before finally stopping.

His eyes bulged, and his entire body convulsed.

The clamor of the crowd came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone stared at Arena Number Forty-Three, their minds completely blank.

It was over?

Just like that?!

A Mid Fourth Realm genius of the mighty Pang Family had not even lasted half a move before being sent flying by a single punch?!

On the raised platform.

Pang Jinbiao, who had been holding a teacup and preparing to watch a good show, had the smile on his face freeze completely. His teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

The gray-robed elder beside him looked like a duck being strangled, his eyes wide as he could not utter a single word.

Below the arena.

Pang Lei lay on the ground, unable to stop himself from vomiting a mouthful of blood.

A large portion of his breastbone had caved in, and his internal organs felt as though they had shifted out of place, the pain unbearable.

With great difficulty, he raised his trembling right hand and felt the small porcelain bottle in his robes, still unopened.

The Bloodburst Pill was still inside.

He was dumbfounded, utterly dumbfounded.

He had not even had time to take the pill!

On the arena, Su Yueli slowly withdrew her fist and looked down at Pang Lei, her expression utterly speechless.

"Since you knew your opponent was strong, you should have gone all out from the very beginning."

Su Yueli shook her head, her voice cool and clear. "If this had been a fight to the death, you would already be dead."

This was what her master, Lu Chen, had taught her.