Who's Next to Meet Their Death?

That attitude only confirmed the truth all the more.

It prompted many disciples of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect to whisper among themselves:

"I've long heard that Qin Feng treated his senior sisters wonderfully, but they seem to prefer their newly arrived junior brother."

"Everyone used to envy Qin Feng for his luck with women, but after everything he gave them, who knows if he even got to hold their hands?"

"A sword prodigy held back by women! Who would have thought Qin Feng was this powerful? Looks like he finally woke up and stopped licking their boots. He should be living for himself!"

Those grating remarks left He Lu unable to save face:

"So what!"

But she was no fool. Only after saying it did she realize that snapping at the crowd was a grave mistake.

Still, she remained unconvinced.

She had never asked Qin Feng to give her artifact-refining materials. They made her sound like a bitch who wanted to have it both ways, and she grew even angrier with Qin Feng.

The situation outside the arena did not affect Li Yang.

He was immersed in the exquisite pleasure of fighting to the death.

After Flesh Nirvana, more than just his cultivation speed had increased.

His bursts and instantaneous releases of spiritual power were more explosive, his compressed spiritual power was denser, and his meridians could sustain prolonged, high-intensity output.

Had he been challenging someone above his level, Li Yang would have felt some pressure.

But in the Life-and-Death Arena, both sides' cultivation realms were equalized, maintained around the fifth or sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

Pressure?

Li Yang felt none.

He had already had two chances to kill Chu Du, but he was in no hurry.

That would scare everyone else away. How could he kill as many of them as possible then?

"Cough..."

Li Yang deliberately let one of Chu Du's divine abilities hit him, spewing a great mouthful of blood.

But he immediately steadied himself and charged back in.

His utter disregard for death terrified Chu Du.

Only by fighting Li Yang in person could one feel that crushing sense of danger.

It was like dancing with a venomous snake inside a sealed room, where a single bite meant death.

His opponent's attacks were exceptionally fierce, surpassing those of every foe he had faced before.

Every sword strike carried power comparable to the finishing moves of his former formidable rivals.

The slightest carelessness would see him cleanly split in two.

His initial delight and ease had given way to focus, then mounting pressure, and now-

His heart pounded with terror!

Landing a hit on Li Yang had delighted him, but the sight of Li Yang immediately charging back with his sword like a rabid dog made his heart plunge again.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, stop! I have something to say!" Chu Du was afraid.

He could feel that if they kept fighting, he would definitely be the one to die!

Just what sort of sect was this Mystic Heaven Sword Sect?

Producing a Li Yang was one thing, but who was this Qin Feng? Why was he just as dangerous?

"Whatever you have to say, save it for your junior brother down below!"

Li Yang's sword answered him.

It was a bitter battle.

At least, that was how it looked to the crowd. Though Li Yang held the advantage, he seemed to rely on nothing but reckless fearlessness.

Toward the end of the fight, Li Yang struck Chu Du's token hard enough to bring an old man out of it.

"I already know the full circumstances. He was indeed at fault and acted rashly, but his actions were not unforgivable. I am..."

Li Yang did not listen at all. He raised his sword and slashed:

"I don't give a fucking damn who you are! Tell it to my sword!"

Li Yang forced Chu Du to expend every last life-saving trump card, then brought his blade down in a vicious slash beneath Chu Du's utterly terrified gaze-

Shhk!

Chu Du, who had just dazzled everyone on Duel Sword Peak and intimidated the entire Mystic Heaven Sword Sect into refusing his challenge, was slain.

He died the same way as his junior brother, split in two.

He could not have been more dead.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Li Yang panted heavily, his face pale and his steps unsteady, supporting himself with his sword tip planted on the ground.

He deftly collected all the resources on Chu Du's corpse, his eyes gleaming red, his gaze still sharp.

He fixed his eyes on the prodigies from outside the sect who had accepted the invitation to fight to the death:

"Who's next to meet their death?"

At the same time.

The Life-and-Death Pact dissipated. Li Yang's soul blood flew back into his brow, while Chu Du's drop dissolved into motes of spiritual light along with the pact.

"Junior Brother!" Su Miao rushed onto the arena, spreading her arms to embrace Li Yang.

"That's enough. It's already enough. You've done wonderfully!"

But Li Yang dodged aside, disgust written across his face:

"Do I need you to tell me that? Just had to make yourself seen, did you? If you really cared so much about me, why didn't you lend me a flying sword earlier?"

Su Miao's face filled with remorse:

"I'm sorry. I've spent years away and didn't know you were being humiliated on the peak."

Li Yang could not be bothered to waste his breath on her.

Although Su Miao seemed to be a decent person and had repeatedly tried to stop him from fighting Chu Du, that was no excuse for obstructing his harvest of lives and extra income.

"Get lost! My affairs have nothing to do with you. Stop putting on your senior-sister airs here. Who do you think you are to me?"

Then he continued to stare provocatively at the prodigies from outside the sect:

"Li Yang killed people important to you, but in my eyes-in the eyes of us sword cultivators-everyone he killed deserved to die.

"You've come to avenge people who deserved to die, so you deserve to die too.

"And don't say we sword cultivators are bullying you. We're the hosts, and you're our guests.

"I'll take a little loss and skip resting, giving you a chance to kill me.

"Though I'm not Li Yang, he and I are fellow disciples, and we share the same beliefs and views.

"If you don't kill me today, then whenever I get the chance in the future, I'll spare no effort in slaughtering every last one of you who deserves to die!"

He feared that after he killed Chu Du, no one would dare accept his challenge.

Provocation still worked.

Seeing Li Yang's weakened aura and his highly deceptive wounds, a handsome male cultivator at the middle stage of Golden Core immediately stepped onto the arena.

He wore exceptionally luxurious clothing, but it was not a sect uniform, leaving his origins unknown.

"I have no wish to kill you. Go call Li Yang here."

His tone was indifferent, carrying an arrogance ingrained in his bones.

"I want to kill you. Would you mind placing your head beneath my sword?" Li Yang asked calmly.

"Heh..." A faint smile curved his lips. "In that case, I'll kill you first. I am..."

Li Yang interrupted him:

"I'm not interested in your origins. Whoever you are, today you have only one identity-a dead man."

"Such arrogance!"

They signed the Life-and-Death Pact, and the battle erupted instantly.

This man was stronger than Chu Du. His cultivation had been equalized down from the middle stage of Golden Core, and he had more experience.

But-

Splurt!

At the end of the fight, Li Yang split him down the middle with a single sword strike. Scalding blood poured down, staining the arena red.

Li Yang deftly stripped him of his storage ring and other cultivation resources, then burned him clean away with a fireball.

"Cough, cough..."

Then he sat cross-legged in the arena, spat out two mouthfuls of stagnant blood, and swallowed a healing pill from his spoils.

At the sight, the crowd burst into a noisy babble of discussion.

The sword cultivators of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect, whose spirits had been weighed down before, all cheered in satisfaction.

Wang Liexiao in particular clenched his fists, his eyes blazing as he looked at Li Yang with longing and hope.

He was an Inner Sword Cultivator and had always taken pride in being one.

For within the system of sword cultivation, Inner Sword Cultivators stood above Outer Sword Cultivators. Everyone knew that.

But only today did he truly understand the flaw in his thinking.

Whether inner or outer, they were all sword cultivators at their core. Only their methods differed; their essential nature was the same.

What he saw in Li Yang was not how powerful this Outer Sword Cultivator was, but his will to face death without fear and seek life through it.

"Thank heavens!" An old man secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "My disciple nearly developed a Heart Demon and even rejected the sword path he cultivates. Had that happened, he might never have been able to form a Nascent Soul in this lifetime."

Unlike the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect disciples cheering with raised arms, the prodigies who had come seeking revenge wore increasingly grim expressions.

Li Yang had yet to appear, and two of them were already dead.

"The Mystic Heaven Sword Sect may be the Xuanyuan Sword Sect's branch in Kun Province, but its patriarch is only at Body Integration. Yet it keeps producing such talent!"

"Looks like Li Yang is no weakling either. At the very least, he won't be weaker than Qin Feng. Are we still going to fight in the Life-and-Death Arena?" Some began to think of retreating.

They had come seeking revenge, but only because the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect was merely a major sect and they had confidence in their own strength.

Now that their lives were threatened, there was no need to throw them away for the dead.

"Hmph! He's badly wounded. This is the perfect chance to take his head." A rough-looking man snorted and charged straight into the Life-and-Death Arena. "You cannot be allowed to live!"

The moment he stepped onto the arena, a smile appeared on Li Yang's lips.

"I knew there were demon cultivators here. Stop hiding your aura. I could smell your filthy demonic qi from far away. It makes me sick. Only when every last one of you is cut down will the world know peace."