Blood Scythe Takes the Stage
The moment Blood Scythe released his martial soul, even the air above the Dueling Platform seemed to change.
A long, dark-red scythe appeared in his hand.
Five spirit rings rose around him.
Two yellow, two purple, and one black.
The final black ring glowed with a heavy, ominous light.
The noise from the stands died down.
Blood Scythe had a bad reputation at the Soto Great Soul Arena.
He won often.
He also injured a lot of people.
Many Soul Masters who fought him could not return to the platform for months.
Dai Mubai had heard his name back when he fought in Suotuo City.
They had never faced each other then.
Not because Dai Mubai was afraid.
The Spirit Arena had been reluctant to arrange it.
Audiences loved watching Blood Scythe, and the bets ran high.
But after every fight, one or two more people ended up unable to compete again.
When a man like that stepped onto the platform, it was not for practice. It was to terrify his opponent.
Zhao Wuji said quietly, "The worst thing about Blood Scythe isn't his strength. It's how dirty he fights."
Tang San looked at him.
"He'll make you think you've won, then hit you with something hidden in his sleeve," Zhao Wuji said. "Don't trust him when he backs away. Don't trust him when he surrenders, either."
Tang San committed the warning to memory.
Yuan Yu heard it too.
He glanced down at Blood Scythe's left sleeve.
His gaze was cold.
Blood Scythe noticed.
Flender sat in the rest area, his expression icy.
"The Spirit Arena has gone too far."
Zhao Wuji flexed his wrist.
"If he really goes for the kill, I'm stepping in."
Tang San said nothing.
His hand hovered near his cuff.
Xiao Wu stared at Blood Scythe, anger already burning in her eyes.
On the Dueling Platform, the announcer dropped his hand.
"Begin!"
Blood Scythe moved fast.
He did not charge head-on.
His foot slid, and he cut diagonally toward Yuan Yu's side.
The long scythe swept in, its blade aimed straight at Yuan Yu's wrist.
His very first move was meant to cripple Yuan Yu's hand.
Yuan Yu's eyes chilled.
His wind pattern lit up.
He turned aside and raised his scabbard to block.
Clang!
The scythe blade scraped across the scabbard, throwing off a shower of sparks.
Blood Scythe did not pull back. His left sleeve suddenly twitched.
A short blade sprang from it, stabbing toward Yuan Yu's ribs.
In the rest area, Tang San's expression darkened.
He had guessed right.
Yuan Yu raised his left hand.
His water pattern glowed.
A curl of water wrapped around the short blade and knocked it off course.
The thrust missed.
Blood Scythe smiled anyway.
"Not bad reflexes."
His second spirit ring lit up, and he swung the long scythe upward from below.
The strike came at a vicious angle, straight for the side of Yuan Yu's knee.
Yuan Yu did not jump.
His rock pattern sank beneath his feet.
He planted himself and brought his Sun Wheel Blade down to intercept.
"Stone Breathing: First Form."
"Serpent Rock: Twin Poles."
Two dark-gold arcs of force crossed before him.
The long scythe stopped dead.
Blood Scythe's arm went numb, and his expression shifted.
He had not expected someone so young to have such steady strength.
Yuan Yu looked up.
"Fighting is fine."
"Crippling someone's hand isn't."
Blood Scythe sneered.
"You still care about rules once you're up here?"
His body swayed, and his third spirit ring lit up.
Three scythe shadows appeared on the Dueling Platform.
Each carried a dark-red streak of light, slicing toward Yuan Yu's shoulder, wrist, or leg.
Yuan Yu's sixth pattern, the rosy cloud pattern, glimmered faintly.
Two of the three shadows gave off only a hollow threat.
Only the one at the lower right skimmed the ground, far too quiet.
Lightning flashed beneath Yuan Yu's feet.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form."
"Thunderclap and Flash."
Purple-white lightning pierced the two illusions and shot straight toward Blood Scythe's real body.
Blood Scythe's pupils contracted.
He had not expected Yuan Yu to see through the trick so quickly.
It was too late to bring his scythe back to defend.
The back of Yuan Yu's blade struck his chest.
Thud!
Blood Scythe stumbled back several steps, his chest tight.
The stands erupted in cheers.
Yuan Yu did not pursue him.
"Can you keep going?"
Blood Scythe glanced at his chest. His smile turned uglier.
"Of course."
His fifth spirit ring lit up.
Dark-red light crawled along the long scythe.
Below the platform, Zhao Wuji stood.
"That brat's about to pull something dirty."
Blood Scythe's aura changed.
It had not merely grown stronger.
A layer of fine red threads now lined the scythe's edge, flowing along the blade.
"There's something on the blade," Tang San said quietly.
Ning Rongrong's face went pale.
"Poison?"
"Maybe not."
"But it's definitely not a normal Soul Skill," Tang San said.
On the platform, Blood Scythe lunged.
"Blood Scythe Bonebreaker!"
The long scythe came down.
Yuan Yu did not retreat again.
His flame pattern lit up.
A red-gold line of fire rose from his blade and burned along the scythe's edge.
Blood Scythe's expression changed.
The red threads gave off a pungent smell as the fire touched them.
Yuan Yu caught the scent, and his gaze grew colder.
He really did put something on it.
Yuan Yu did not call him out at once.
An accusation alone would do no good on the Dueling Platform.
Everyone needed to see it for themselves.
Yuan Yu pivoted, deliberately letting the scythe blade graze his scabbard.
As the red-gold flames burned the threads, the pungent smell grew stronger.
Even the spectators in the front row smelled it.
Someone covered their nose.
"What's that smell?"
"There's something on his scythe, isn't there?"
As the voices spread, Blood Scythe's face darkened further.
He tried to pull his scythe back.
Yuan Yu gave him no chance.
He turned his wrist.
"Flame Breathing: Fourth Form."
"Blazing Flame Vortex."
Red-gold flames spiraled around the long scythe.
Blood Scythe tried to withdraw his martial soul, but threads of fire had caught its blade.
Yuan Yu stepped forward with the motion.
A water pattern circled the outside of his blade.
The fire did not spread out of control, and the water did not extinguish it.
Working together, the two forces washed away most of the red threads on the scythe.
Blood Scythe's face changed completely.
He suddenly released the scythe and raised both hands.
"I surre—"
Before he could finish, his left sleeve twitched again.
The rosy cloud pattern flashed.
Yuan Yu's eyes went cold.
He slashed downward with his Sun Wheel Blade.
The back of the blade smashed into Blood Scythe's left arm.
Crack!
The short blade fell to the ground.
Blood Scythe screamed and dropped to his knees on the platform.
Yuan Yu stopped his blade at Blood Scythe's throat.
"If you surrender, then surrender."
"Don't use it as a cover for a sneak attack."
The entire arena fell silent.
Two breaths passed before the announcer found his voice.
"Myriad Phenomena wins!"
Cheers erupted.
Blood Scythe was dragged away by Spirit Arena staff.
As he passed Yuan Yu, he endured the pain and muttered, "You can't afford to offend the people in the VIP seats."
Yuan Yu looked down at him.
"Get your arm put back on before you worry about that."
Blood Scythe's face turned livid.
One of the Spirit Arena staff reached for the Short Blade.
Tang San had already stepped onto the platform.
He bent down, picked up the Short Blade, and wrapped it in cloth.
The supervisor's expression changed.
"Young man, that belongs to the Spirit Arena."
Tang San looked up.
"It's evidence."
The supervisor had no answer.
Ning Rongrong came over too.
"If the Spirit Arena has nothing to hide, it shouldn't be afraid of an examination."
Flender stood behind her, his voice calm.
"Right. We can discuss compensation after it's examined."
At the word "compensation," the supervisor's cheeks twitched.
In the VIP seats, the chips in Mr. Xu's hand clicked softly as he squeezed them.
In the waiting area, Xiao Wu was the first to leap up.
"Nice hit!"
Ma Hongjun pumped his fist too.
"That's what someone like him deserves!"
Tang San looked at the Short Blade on the platform.
"There's poison on it."
Ning Rongrong's expression turned cold.
"The Spirit Arena owes us an explanation."
Flender stood up.
He was usually greedy.
But this time, there wasn't a trace of a smile on his face.
"Let's go."
"And get our money."
Zhao Wuji looked at him.
Flender added, "And an explanation."
Yuan Yu sheathed his blade and stepped off the Dueling Platform.
The Rosy Cloud Pattern on the Sun Wheel Blade glowed a little brighter than it had before the match.