Under everyone's gaze, a strange red pill flew from the hand of the beast tamer stationed beside the arena.
Without any warning!
By the time everyone reacted, the Blood-Patterned Lion had opened its mouth and swallowed the blood-red pill.
In an instant!
The Blood-Patterned Lion's presence changed drastically. Drops of blood seeped from its pores, and its originally pale-red fur looked as though it had been smeared with fresh blood, becoming even more sinister.
Its might climbed steadily until it reached that of a second-tier Demon Beast. Overwhelming force swept in all directions, flinging the Iron Centipede more than three meters away.
"That's a Demon Frenzy Pill! It can increase a member of the Demon Race's combat strength fivefold."
Everyone was aghast. Demon Frenzy Pills were exceedingly rare, and each was worth a fortune-hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
The Wan Household could not afford to lose. They had to win this match.
"Cheating! You're cheating!" Song Ling stood up, raised both hands, and protested fiercely.
Without the Demon Frenzy Pill, the Blood-Patterned Lion would already have died in the arena. The outcome had long since been decided.
"Cheating! To think the great Wan Household would resort to such despicable methods!"
The martial artists who had bet on the Iron Centipede made up the majority. They stood up to denounce the Wan Household, which had incurred the wrath of the crowd. The law could not punish everyone; surely they could not slaughter everyone present.
"The beast-fighting rules never said Demon Frenzy Pills were forbidden. This falls within the rules."
The martial artists who had bet on the Blood-Patterned Lion stood up and spoke with gloating delight. They did not consider it cheating, since the rules contained no provision forbidding Demon Beasts from taking pills.
When humans fought, they could also take pills to replenish their strength when weakened. The same applied to Demon Beasts.
The two sides argued endlessly, neither willing to yield. Finally, their gazes turned toward Liu Wuxie. He was the biggest loser here.
Losing this match meant not only losing the Xu Household's powerful backing, but also breaking off his engagement to Xu Lingxue.
"Brother, say something!"
Song Ling paced anxiously, urging Liu Wuxie to think of something quickly. Yet there he sat, perfectly still, as though none of this concerned him.
The beast-fighting arena belonged to the Wan Household, and the beast tamer was their man. Liu Wuxie's two victories had stripped the Wan Household of all dignity.
"No hurry!" Liu Wuxie opened his eyes and spoke calmly.
With that, he closed his eyes again, ignoring the clamor around him.
The Blood-Patterned Lion began to go berserk. Unable to feel the pain in its broken hoof, it chased the Iron Centipede madly.
Faced with the Blood-Patterned Lion's frenzied biting, the Iron Centipede curled tightly into itself and let it bite. Its body was already drenched in blood, and large patches of armored scales fell away. The sight was too horrible to bear.
Xu Lingxue's heart rose into her throat. A hundred conflicting feelings churned within her. Countless times, she had imagined that person suddenly changing for the better one day. Even if he could not cultivate, she would have been content if he could simply be a normal person.
Since childhood, her parents had instilled one belief in her: from the moment she was born, she was already the Liu Household's daughter-in-law. That belief had stayed with her from her earliest memories until now.
The battle grew increasingly fierce. Wan Zhuoran sat down, both fists clenched tightly. Even if they won this match, it would be a disgraceful victory, and the Wan Household's standing would be far below what it had been.
Business at the beast-fighting arena would also gradually decline, its credibility greatly diminished.
"Tear it apart! Hurry up and tear it apart!"
Tian Yequan stood up, urging the Blood-Patterned Lion to hurry over and rip the Iron Centipede apart so the battle would end quickly. He wished he could go up and slap Liu Wuxie right now. All he wanted was for the match to end as soon as possible.
Time ticked by, but the Iron Centipede still did not die. Even with its body riddled with wounds, it could still roll around the arena, waiting for an opening.
Five minutes...
Ten minutes...
The time it took to drink a cup of tea...
The Blood-Patterned Lion's might gradually waned. The Demon Frenzy Pill had a strict time limit-roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea at most.
Without the Demon Frenzy Pill sustaining it, the Blood-Patterned Lion quickly withered. The pill's effect was to squeeze every bit of potential from its body in an extremely short time. Once the effects wore off, its body would slowly fail until it died.
This was a gamble: betting that the Blood-Patterned Lion would kill the Iron Centipede within that time and win the match. Whichever died later would be the victor.
The Blood-Patterned Lion let out a low growl. Its steps began to falter until it could no longer move. The Demon Frenzy Pill's backlash ravaged it, turning its internal organs into bloody liquid. Mouthfuls of blood spilled from its jaws.
The Wan Household's people were stunned. Even after taking a Demon Frenzy Pill, it had failed to kill the Iron Centipede within the time it took to drink a cup of tea. What on earth was happening? They had tamed Demon Beasts for a hundred years and had never encountered anything so bizarre.
To prevent more trouble from brewing as the night dragged on, the Iron Centipede suddenly spread its sharp fangs and uncoiled its body, shooting forward like a bloody arrow.
"Stop it, quickly!"
Wan Rongzhe barked out an order, disregarding his dignity as the Wan Household's patriarch as he told the beast tamer to enter the arena and stop the Iron Centipede from killing the Blood-Patterned Lion.
Too slow. The Iron Centipede had already become a streaking meteor. Its sharp claws ripped open the Blood-Patterned Lion's head, spraying red and white matter across the entire arena like erupting lava.
The Blood-Patterned Lion fell, and the Iron Centipede returned to the edge of the arena. The battle was over.
At that moment!
The entire beast-fighting arena fell into deathly silence. No one spoke; only heavy breathing could be heard. The scene before them sent a chill rising from the depths of their hearts.
Gusts of cold wind swept over their heads. Wan Zhuoran shuddered as a chill shot from the soles of his feet up his spine. Without realizing it, his back had become soaked.
Master Huo and Lei Tao exchanged a glance. Only they understood best what had happened today. Liu Wuxie was no trash, but a peerless genius.
Petrified!
Everyone was petrified. They had no idea what to say.
"Brother, we won!"
Song Ling grabbed Liu Wuxie's arm and shouted. They had won-finally won! He ran several frantic circles around the table.
They had won. The process had been perilous, but they had won all the same.
Liu Wuxie opened his eyes as though nothing had happened. If anything, he seemed like an indifferent outsider.
"Brother Wan, I'll gladly accept those hundred Spirit Stones."
With a hundred Spirit Stones in hand, he could not only set up a Spirit Gathering Formation but also use the Spirit Stones to cultivate, killing two birds with one stone and shortening the time needed to temper his body.
The Xu Household's crisis had not been resolved, and the culprit lurking in the shadows had not been found. Liu Wuxie did not dare relax for even a moment.
Wan Zhuoran's murderous gaze fell on Liu Wuxie. If looks could kill, Liu Wuxie would already have died ten thousand times.
"Young Master Liu, do you dare gamble on another match?"
Wan Zhuoran looked remarkably like Wan Butong before he left, his entire being sinking into a frenzied state.
"Zhuoran, that's enough for today."
Before Liu Wuxie could speak, Wan Rongzhe interrupted. Today's events were too strange. Until they understood the reason, they should suspend the beast fights to avoid sinking any deeper.
He truly was an old fox, knowing to cut his losses immediately. Losing ten million gold coins would, at worst, wound them to the bone. If they kept losing, they would lose their entire fortune.
Wan Zhuoran sat back down reluctantly. He dared not disobey his father. Dense killing intent formed a raging storm of waves that pressed straight toward Liu Wuxie.
"My apologies. Some unexpected incidents have occurred at the beast-fighting arena today, so the beast fights will be suspended for now. Next, we'll hold the beast-taming competition. Which young talents would like to sign up?"
The old man presiding over the arena announced the end of the beast fights and moved on to the second event, the beast-taming competition.
The beast-taming competition was different from beast fighting.
"I'll sign up!"
Tian Yequan was the first to stand and enter the beast-taming competition. One after another, disciples from all three great lineages stood up. Only the Xu Household's side remained silent.
"Aren't you entering the beast-taming competition, Young Master Liu? Don't worry. I'll arrange a weak Demon Beast as your opponent."
Wan Zhuoran regained the manner of a graceful young gentleman. He merely had to find a way to gather the seventy-odd Spirit Stones he owed. The Wan Household could still afford the loss.
Provocation!
He was blatantly provoking Liu Wuxie, urging him to enter the beast-taming competition.
Fighting Demon Beasts honed martial techniques and tempered the will. The pressure of a Demon Beast's might was the best form of training. Such a good opportunity was rare. Normally, entering a training room at the beast-taming grounds cost a large sum of gold coins. With a free opportunity available today, no one wanted to miss it.
Xu Lingxue looked wary, her gaze fixed firmly on Liu Wuxie. If he dared agree, she would kick him to death.
Even now, the scene from earlier still left her shaken.
"Can I refuse?"
Liu Wuxie rubbed his nose and openly backed down. Everyone knew he was trash, his meridians blocked, forever stuck at the Postnatal Stage-and a worthless specimen at that.
"Hahahaha..."
A series of loud laughs rang out around him. At last, they had found an excuse to ridicule him and could mock him without restraint.
Beast fighting required no martial strength. Beast taming was different: one had to enter the arena personally, experience the pressure a Demon Beast brought, and tame it through one's own abilities.
"If Young Master Liu publicly declares that he's afraid and admits he's a coward who doesn't dare take part in beast taming, then pretend I never said anything."
Wan Zhuoran spoke coldly. He wanted Liu Wuxie to publicly admit that he was a coward, as timid as a mouse. It would be like slapping his own face. How could he show his face in Canglan City afterward?
Even the Xu Household's standing would plummet. He was their son-in-law; mocking him was the same as mocking the Xu Household.
"Exactly. As long as you admit you're scared and nothing but a spineless coward, we'll let today's matter end here."
Tian Yequan chimed in. The other Wan Household disciples sneered, their ugly faces laid bare before Liu Wuxie.
Xu Lingxue's delicate brows knitted tightly. She had not expected them to be so aggressive. They were simply going too far.
She was about to speak when Liu Wuxie pressed her back down again, telling her to remain calm.
"It seems I have no reason to refuse."
Liu Wuxie's face was full of smiles, making him impossible to read. Beast fighting did not require him to enter the arena, but beast taming was different. He could die in the arena. This was no joke.
"As the Xu Household's son-in-law, is it appropriate for you to back out on an occasion like this?"
Many in the crowd joined in. The Xu Household was one of the four great lineages. If he lacked even this much courage, he truly did not deserve to be their son-in-law.
Endless ridicule surged like an ocean, blotting out the sky and covering the earth. Liu Wuxie stood at its center; at the slightest stir of wind or grass, the ocean would swallow him.
"Coward! If you don't dare enter, get out! Hide in the Xu Household from now on and never come out again, so you won't make a spectacle of yourself!"
"Spineless wimp! I bet your equipment didn't work on your wedding night, and that's why you were beaten out of the bridal chamber!"
"Get lost! Get as far away as you can!"
"..."
There were many Wan Household and Tian Household disciples, each adding their own remarks. Xu Lingxue's expression grew increasingly ugly. Several times, she tried to speak, but Liu Wuxie stopped her with a look. Under these circumstances, the moment she spoke, she would surely draw ridicule from even more people.
Even more vicious words awaited him. She was a favored daughter of heaven; how could she trade insults and quarrel with a pack of street thugs?