But regardless, now that he had a lead, Xi Wuchou headed straight for Yin City.
Upon entering Yin City, he first rushed to the Prefectural Office to find Li Zhang. The moment he explained what had happened, Li Zhang's face changed dramatically.
Xi Wuchou pressed him for answers, but Li Zhang merely hemmed and hawed, telling him to inquire at the Prince of Zhenbei Residence.
Back when he investigated cases at the Immortal Platform, Xi Wuchou had never tolerated people who knew the truth yet concealed it behind evasions. He was no different now. Drawing his sword, he asked Li Zhang not to ruin their friendship.
Li Zhang still begged him to go to the residence. Xi Wuchou wasted no more words. With one stroke, he sliced off Li Zhang's right ear, then asked again.
Just as he had failed to recognize the Prince of Zhenbei's willingness to shield his own back then, Li Zhang had never imagined that this graceful young gentleman, so aloof and exceptional, so refined and carefree atop the Qilin Tower in the Divine Capital, could be so ruthless and fierce. He collapsed onto the floor, clutching his ear, and confessed everything.
There had never been another illegitimate son, and the Prince of Zhenbei had never relented.
After the trial but before the execution, Gao Muzhen had been secretly switched out. The man beheaded on the execution ground had been someone else, Disguise-transformed to look like him.
What followed needed no explanation. Having escaped death, Gao Muzhen remembered how freely the scholar had cursed him. Burning with rage, he had seized the scholar and taken him back to vent his anger.
Three days had already passed. The scholar's chances of survival were likely slim.
Xi Wuchou kicked Li Zhang flat to the floor, then flew straight toward the Prince of Zhenbei Residence.
In truth, this was hardly wise. He was on the verge of a breakthrough. If he waited another ten days or a fortnight to enter the Sky Tower realm, he could then go to the Prince of Zhenbei Residence to seek vengeance. Even if the Prince of Zhenbei himself stood before him, he would not offend Xi Wuchou over an illegitimate son.
And even in the worst case, if he failed to exact revenge, he could still retreat unscathed.
But a chivalrous stork pecking at a snake could only advance, never retreat. The scholar's fate was unknown, and the frustration of being toyed with seethed in his heart. If Xi Wuchou chose to hide for the sake of his own safety, he would not be himself.
The sun blazed overhead, and people thronged the streets. Before all those watching eyes, Xi Wuchou showed no further courtesy. With one kick, he knocked down the plaque bearing the words "Prince of Zhenbei Residence."
Then he charged straight inside. Anyone who tried to bar his way was dispatched with a single stroke. Though the residence held over a hundred elite armored guards and a host of experts, everyone before him scattered, as though a flood dragon had plunged into a swarm of shrimp.
Zhang Siche stood up.
"Well, I can't tell you the rest now," he sighed.
Another round had ended, leaving only four people in the cavern. Pei Ye and Zhang Siche each had one more fight before the final.
Pei Ye patted his wrist, intending to return the energy he had borrowed earlier. Zhang Siche refused with a smile. "You should worry about yourself."
With that, he strode out.
Sure enough, less than a quarter of an hour later, a black-robed man came to take Pei Ye and the last remaining man over. Evidently, the victor over there would not return to the cavern, but would simply wait at the arena for the final.
Upon reaching the arena, Pei Ye was somewhat surprised to find that there was still only one black-robed man nearby. Zhang Siche leaned off to one side, watching him with a smile.
Was the Torchworld Cult really so confident in its control here? Weren't they afraid Zhang Siche and I would join forces, kill the black-robed man, and escape?
Chapter 47: The Fourth Kill
As he pondered this, Pei Ye crossed the curtain of fire once more and entered the familiar arena. His opponent this time was a burly man, with traces of blood and shreds of flesh still caught between his teeth. He swayed eagerly, then lowered his head and raised a pair of bloodshot eyes, like a hungry tiger.
This time, Pei Ye chose to trade injury for injury. Killing a wolf required patience; fighting a tiger demanded courage. If this man's ferocity frightened him, defeat was already certain.
Unlike the previous match, with its many tactical exchanges, this was a head-on clash in which every punch struck flesh. Gradually, their savagery rose, and they even began to abandon blocking, competing instead to see whose blows were heavier and whose targets more vital.
Arms, ribs, lower abdomen, jaw, Spirit... Some blows were narrowly dodged. When there was no time to evade others, they answered with equally heavy strikes.
If this continued, whoever remained standing would have won a bitter victory.
That was certainly not the outcome Pei Ye wanted.
He still needed to save his strength to escape.
In fact, the moment he chose this approach, he had already decided how he would win.
-Another exchange of lethal blows. Pei Ye tilted his head aside to evade a heavy punch aimed at his Spirit, thrusting his palm straight toward his opponent's neck.
The man likewise dodged and raised his knee toward Pei Ye's groin, but suddenly felt a sharp chill at his neck.
A thought flashed through his mind. His nails were that long? Why didn't I see them earlier?
Pei Ye flicked his finger, and the little iron shard pierced the man's neck, shooting out the other side.
Only then did the man understand. His eyes glared furiously at this despicable opponent, but his throat could no longer produce a sound. Pei Ye drove a punch squarely into his temple, and the burly body fell stiffly to the ground.
The Cocoon of Light in his abdomen fed like a sea anemone once more. Pei Ye could no longer be bothered to watch. Turning his head, he found Zhang Siche smiling at him.
The final began later than he had imagined.
Pei Ye and Zhang Siche stood on opposite sides, watching the Torchworld Cult followers gradually gather beneath the altar. Dark Blue flames rose, and solemn, stately music began to play.
Seen from above, it was as though a giant, Dark Blue lotus had burst into flame in the valley, with Zhang Siche and Pei Ye standing at its very center.
Two Purple-Robed Men stood to one side. In the flickering Dark Blue firelight, their demonic masks seemed to come alive, making them look truly like two malevolent ghosts.
Qiongqi crouched quietly on a raised platform, like a large cat waiting to be fed.
Unlike the double previously formed from his wings, this was Qiongqi's true body. His overwhelming presence left Pei Ye stiff and chilled to the bone after a single glance.
A suspicion suddenly arose in Pei Ye's mind. Could it be... that they weren't going to transfer the seed into the final host, but feed the final host to Qiongqi instead?
After all, in terms of physical bodies, a human's mortal flesh could hardly compare to a divine beast.
But would Qiongqi obey the Torchworld Cult?
-Well, he certainly would obey them more than I would.
Looking around, he saw that none of the Torchworld Cult followers seemed concerned that the last two survivors were outsiders.
"It's all the same." Pei Ye recalled those words again.
Shortly afterward, everything was ready. Pei Ye and Zhang Siche stepped into the ring of fire. Only one final step remained before the Torchworld Cult's scheme unveiled itself, but if things continued like this, neither of them would live to see it.
Why isn't Zhu Gaoyang here yet? Pei Ye signaled with his eyes.
"Don't worry. Soon," Zhang Siche transmitted his voice. "Let's fight first. Just give it everything you have."
Is this really a matter of giving it everything? Even if I beat you to death, I won't survive either.
Pei Ye pressed his lips together and threw the first punch.
Pei Ye's fists were steady and powerful; Zhang Siche's palms were gentle and composed.
The instant they exchanged blows, Pei Ye felt a sudden, violent sensation of falling, as though he had stepped into empty air off a towering cliff.
He sprang back instinctively, his hair standing on end as he stared at the smiling man before him.
There was no denying that Pei Ye had always possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to combat. Even before he understood martial principles, he had been able to instinctively seek advantage and avoid danger, defeating older children who had already trained for two or three years.
It was a kind of surreal synesthesia. When fighting the old man, he had felt like a keen blade slicing old leather; the moment the previous burly man threw a punch, Pei Ye had felt as though he were facing a dense, heavy drumbeat.
This was a precise impression his opponent conveyed through many different aspects-perhaps the "martial personality" that person revealed in a fight. Pei Ye had also grown accustomed to using it to devise his strategy.
But how was he supposed to deal with a cliff?
Even when he had sparred with Lin Lin at the age of ten, he had never felt such an intense sensation of falling.
His attacks seemed to become "weightless," as though they had plunged into a bank of mist, unable to find any foothold from which to make his next response.
If he had to put this feeling into words, it would be "unfathomable."
This was an unbridgeable gulf in understanding. His opponent viewed martial arts from a level far beyond his own.
No wonder Zhang Siche had asked who his master was. He turned out to be a genuine disciple of a major school.
The profound, elusive sophistication of his martial arts, the ruthless precision of his judgment, and his commanding grasp of martial principles made Pei Ye feel, for the first time, how crude the fists and feet he had always relied upon truly were.
Frustration and eagerness welled up together. Pei Ye stepped forward again.
This time, Zhang Siche seemed to impose some restrictions on himself, beginning to exchange physical blows with him one move at a time. Pei Ye immediately found the fight much more comfortable. His movements even flowed like drifting clouds and running water, and he grew bolder with every exchange.
After a hundred moves, Zhang Siche suddenly transmitted, "I'm going to use that brilliant method of mine now."
Pei Ye: "?"
He was about to ask when his pupils suddenly contracted. He had actually driven a heavy punch straight into Zhang Siche's chest!
The solid impact nearly stopped Pei Ye's heart. He hurriedly pulled back his hand, only to see Zhang Siche stiffen and shudder, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He crashed to the ground.
"..."
Before Pei Ye could do anything, the tentacles in his abdomen surged out, scrambling over one another.
They had grown thick, mysterious, and darkly profound, like a dozen ravenous swamp eels. All at once, they burrowed into Zhang Siche's abdomen, bit down on the Cocoon of Light, and hauled it outward.
The tentacles of the Cocoon of Light inside Zhang Siche were still clinging desperately to his ribs. So Pei Ye watched Zhang Siche swiftly raise his hand, swiftly pinch through the tentacles, then swiftly return his hand to his side.
When he looked back at Zhang Siche's face, his eyes were still wide open and lifeless.
"..."
So this supposedly brilliant method was playing dead? Isn't that stealing my idea?!
Pei Ye felt he had been tricked, but for the moment, he could not figure out exactly how.
You're only playing dead now, with all these eyes watching? Do you really think you can get away?
Whatever the case, Zhang Siche naturally had his reasons for playing dead. Pei Ye stopped looking at him and walked out of the ring of fire as though nothing had happened.
The final host had emerged. With the iron talisman concealed in his hand, Pei Ye waited warily for his fate.
The sky was just beginning to pale at the horizon. The cult followers chanted their prayers in unison as two black-robed men came to Pei Ye's side and escorted him toward Qiongqi's enormous, hungrily watchful head.
It's over, Pei Ye thought. It really looks like they're going to feed me to Qiongqi.
Why isn't Zhu Gaoyang here yet?
He glanced covertly toward the horizon, experiencing what Shen Yanping and Feng Zhi had felt back then. But the situation was even more urgent now. He was less than a hundred feet from that tiger's head.
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Chapter 48: Zhu Gaoyang
In truth, even if Zhu Gaoyang arrived, Pei Ye could not imagine what he could do.
Back then, at full strength, he had fought three opponents alone. Though he had killed one, he had ultimately only escaped by the skin of his teeth. Now he was gravely wounded, and although there was one fewer opponent, there was also a beast. How could he possibly deal with that?
Pei Ye sighed inwardly and withdrew his gaze from the horizon.
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