Words could wound no less than weapons.
They could destroy a person's mind, topple a towering behemoth.
Killing a man by striking at his heart was nothing more than this.
"Don't agree!"
Xu Lingxue bit her lips tightly, her voice so low that only the two of them could hear. The worry in her beautiful eyes stirred something in Liu Wuxie's heart.
"Young Master Liu, have you made up your mind? As long as you admit before everyone that you're afraid, I certainly won't force you."
Wan Zhuoran opened the fan in his hand, sharp murderous intent flashing deep within his eyes.
"Wan Zhuoran, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
The worry on Xu Lingxue's face made him change his mind. It was time to stop.
He was a mighty Immortal Emperor and had never cared what others said about him. He simply did not want Xu Lingxue worrying about him anymore.
"As long as you're willing to enter the beast-taming contest, I'll stake another hundred Spirit Stones against you. Last as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea, and those hundred Spirit Stones are yours."
Xue Yu, who had remained silent all this time, stood up and emptied his Storage Bag. Besides a large number of Spirit Stones, there was also a Spirit Artifact worth a considerable sum.
The Spirit Stones were of a far higher grade than those from earlier, drawing envious looks from countless people.
A hundred Spirit Stones were worth ten million gold coins. No one could resist such a sum, and all he had to do was last as long as it took to drink a cup of tea.
Liu Wuxie was about to leave with Xu Lingxue when his footsteps suddenly stopped. A hundred Spirit Stones-that really was extravagant.
"Interested in a wager between us? If you refuse, I'll have people wipe out the Xu Household tomorrow. Instructor Baili Qing values Miss Xu's talent, not the Xu Household. Think it over carefully. The Xu Household's fate rests on a single decision of yours."
The icy threat held not a trace of emotion. Wiping out the Xu Household would be effortless for him. Even if Baili Qing blamed him, what could she do? Would she really oppose the Xue Household for people who had nothing to do with her?
Xu Lingxue clenched her delicate fists, her body trembling with anger. Before so many people, he had threatened to wipe out the Xu Household. Song Ling wanted to speak, but the Song Household's disciples forcibly took him away. No one had expected a small Hundred Demon Gathering to develop into this.
Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes to slits and fixed them on Xue Yu. An hour ago, the feud between them had already become one that would end only in death.
"Very good. You've succeeded in provoking me. I accept your terms. But you have no idea that what you said today has planted the seeds of endless calamity for the Xue Household. If I don't wipe out the Xue Household within a year, I'll take my own life."
He had sworn before everyone to destroy the Xue Household within a year. How domineering! Shock filled Xu Lingxue's beautiful eyes.
Terrifying killing intent flashed in Xue Yu's eyes. He wanted to rush forward and kill Liu Wuxie immediately. Anyone else who dared speak to him like that would already have been a corpse.
Xu Lingxue was Baili Qing's disciple, so he had to show some restraint.
No one believed Liu Wuxie's oath. They treated it as a joke. Openly provoking the Xue Household was courting death.
Liu Wuxie walked toward the arena, leaving them with the sight of his retreating back. Xu Lingxue held back her tears. He had only agreed to compete against Xue Yu to save the Xu Household.
"Rest assured, Brother Xue. I've arranged everything. Once he steps into the arena, he'll die without a place to be buried."
Wan Zhuoran had not expected Xue Yu to offer a hundred Spirit Stones to force Liu Wuxie to agree, either.
More than ten thousand gazes gathered on Liu Wuxie's retreating figure as he walked down the rope bridge, step by step.
Desolation!
The weight of countless vicissitudes!
And an unrivaled bearing that sought to tower above the heavens. At that moment, they felt a sense of unreality. Was this the legendary trash?
After three beast fights, the arena was littered with mangled flesh and reeked of blood. An ordinary person's legs would have gone weak with fear upon entering, but Liu Wuxie calmly walked to the center.
All eyes were on him!
Excitement, mockery, roars...
Every person's expression was displayed to the fullest.
"Bring out the Demon Beast!"
At the elderly host's command, the gate opened, and a beast tamer drove out an enormous Demon Beast. Three meters tall, it made the ground boom with every step, as though an earthquake had struck.
"That's... that's a Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger."
A buzz swept through the entire beast-fighting arena. The Demon Beast they had released overturned everyone's expectations. Surely only an Innate Spirit could contend with such a formidable Demon Beast.
The moment it appeared, it let out a terrifying, suffocating roar that shook the lower-level martial artists until blood ran from their seven orifices.
A powerful blast of air swept toward them before its body arrived. Provoked by the blood, its bestial nature erupted, and it charged toward the arena.
"A first-tier, fifth-layer Demon Beast, the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger. Though large, its combat strength is average. Be careful, Young Master Liu."
The elderly host held an amplifier, his voice reaching every corner. A first-tier, fifth-layer Demon Beast was not particularly high in realm, roughly equivalent to a human at the Fifth Layer of the Houtian Realm to the Sixth Layer of the Acquired.
It would have been one thing for an ordinary person, but Liu Wuxie was notorious trash, and his cultivation was even more worthless.
The Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger stepped into the arena and puffed white mist from its mouth. It had been starved for days, and the Yao Qi in its eyes had become tangible.
"Wan Zhuoran, if anything happens to him, I'll kill you."
Xu Lingxue spoke inwardly. He had been forced into the arena to preserve the Xu Household. All of this was Wan Zhuoran's scheme.
One man and one beast stared into each other's eyes.
The short blade he had held was tucked into his waistband, wrapped in red cloth that concealed its true appearance.
"Look! The beast tamer has left!"
Cries of alarm rose from the crowd. The beast tamer's departure meant the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger was free to attack as it pleased. Without the beast tamer restraining it, it could unleash its full strength.
"They're trying to kill him! Without a beast tamer standing guard, this kid is certain to die."
It was the Wan Household's scheme. Once the Demon Beast was brought up, the beast tamer quietly left. Whether he lived or died could only be left to fate.
Rumble!
An enormous iron cage suddenly rose around the arena, enclosing the entire platform like a prison.
"This..."
Everyone was even more stunned. Neither Liu Wuxie nor the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger could leave the arena. They were trapped inside the cage. The Wan Household was already stopping at nothing.
"Please don't misunderstand. The cage is there to prevent the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger from charging out and hurting innocent people. It isn't aimed at Young Master Liu. As long as Young Master Liu concedes, we'll open the cage immediately and let him out."
Probably no one present believed this explanation. Did preventing harm to innocent people mean they could harm Liu Wuxie?
A caged beast's fight!
A true caged beast's fight. One man and one beast were trapped inside the cage, and only one side could walk out alive.
Liu Wuxie smiled. His gaze swept over every member of the Wan Household, firmly committing their ugly faces to memory. Once he broke through to become an Innate Spirit, he would start with the Wan Household and make them live in fear every day.
Ultimately, he was still too weak now, leaving the Wan Household free to bully him.
If his father-in-law were here, would he allow them to bully him like this? He would have already torn away all pretense of civility.
Alone, Xu Lingxue could shout herself hoarse to no avail. She had long since been drowned out by the crowd.
"Master Huo, should we stop him?"
Lei Tao could no longer stand watching. The Wan Household's actions had crossed the most basic bottom line. They would stop at nothing to kill Liu Wuxie.
"There's no hurry. Didn't you say he sent Zhou Tong flying with one slap?"
Master Huo revealed a faint smile. To send Zhou Tong flying so effortlessly with one slap, his strength had to be at least between the sixth and seventh layers of the Houtian Realm. Killing him would not be easy for the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger.
"If something really happens to him, what about our partnership? Once pills that good reach the market, the Pill Treasure Pavilion will attract Imperial Capital City's attention, and we'll have a chance to be transferred there."
This was what concerned Lei Tao. Imperial Capital City was the destination they yearned for. Canglan City was still too small a stage.
"Just watch quietly. He won three beast fights in a row and ran circles around the Wan Household. Do you think he'll die so easily?"
Master Huo waved his hand. He had refrained from intervening because he trusted Liu Wuxie. He saw a mysterious power in him, one that absolutely could not be ignored.
"Dad, he's my brother! Hurry and save him!"
Song Ling ran over, asking his father to stop this farce. After an hour together, he already treated Liu Wuxie like his own brother.
"Take him away."
The Song Household's patriarch looked troubled. Was offending the Wan Household for the Xu Household's live-in son-in-law worth it?
The Wan Household had gained the favor of Imperial Capital City's Xue Household and was showing signs of surpassing the Song Household. At a critical moment like this, he was even less inclined to tear away all pretense of civility.
No one stepped forward to stop it. The martial artists in the stands roared excitedly. Beast fights were not all that interesting; a battle between a human and a Demon Beast offered far greater visual impact.
"Earth-Splitting Tiger, hurry up and eat him!"
The Tian Household's disciples shouted loudly, urging the Earth-Splitting Tiger to charge.
Countless people joined in the clamor. The Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger's body suddenly swelled, growing considerably taller than before.
"Roar..."
The Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger let out a furious roar and galloped toward Liu Wuxie on all fours, making the entire arena rumble.
Everyone's heart leaped into their throat. Facing a Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger over three meters tall, did Liu Wuxie still have any chance of winning?
Quite a few people covered their eyes, unable to bear watching Liu Wuxie being devoured by the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger.
His belly would surely be ripped open, his guts spilling out and blood flowing everywhere.
It drew closer and closer, now only a dozen or so meters from Liu Wuxie. There was no room left to retreat.
Behind him stood the cage forged from refined steel. He could not leap off the arena. He could only fight.
Either the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger died or he did. There was no third possibility.
Everyone held their breath. Only the sound of the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger's running echoed throughout the beast-fighting arena.
Xu Lingxue bit her lip with her pearly teeth, feeling no pain at all. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Suffocating Yao Qi rushed straight at him. The tiger opened its bloody maw, wide enough to swallow an adult whole.
A smile appeared at the corner of Xue Yu's mouth. Once Liu Wuxie died, he could use the Xue Household's status to pressure the Xu Household. Wouldn't taking this woman then be as easy as reaching out his hand, making her obediently become his woman?
"Has he gone mad? Hurry up and dodge!"
The Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger was already within three meters of Liu Wuxie, yet he still did not choose to evade. Even if his realm was inferior to the beast's, he could dodge for a while and stay alive first. At worst, he could simply concede.
Under countless gazes, the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger opened its enormous jaws and bit toward Liu Wuxie's head. If that bite landed, his head would be severed from his body.
Wan Zhuoran smiled!
Tian Yequan smiled!
The Wan Household's disciples celebrated, and the Tian Household's disciples howled. That trash was finally going to die.
Yet at that very moment, the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger suddenly stopped and lay down at Liu Wuxie's feet like a docile cat.