Chapter 1913 - Waging War

Xiang Rulong gathered every last shred of strength and poured it into that single punch. Its power engulfed the entire arena, sealing away every avenue of escape and leaving Baili Ye nowhere to run.

A thunderous rumble shook the heavens as the dragon fist came crashing down from the sky. Cracks raced across the arena, and an instant later, the stone platform erupted in every direction.

"Get down!" the surrounding cultivators cried as they scrambled backward. Many failed to escape the flying debris and suffered injuries beneath the barrage. When the dragon fist struck, the entire world seemed to collapse into chaos, and even Baili Ye's sword shattered into countless fragments beneath its overwhelming force.

Blood burst from Baili Ye's mouth as the punch hurled him out of the arena.

That final strike consumed every trace of Xiang Rulong's energy, sending him plummeting from the sky. The arena had already become a field of ruins by the time he landed, and he lay utterly motionless amid the wreckage.

Baili Ye's condition was hardly better. Countless broken bones riddled his body, leaving him grievously wounded. Elder Gu immediately rushed to his side and began treating his injuries.

Xiang Zicheng moved just as quickly, appearing inside the arena to examine Xiang Rulong. He finally released his pent-up breath after confirming that his nephew's breathing remained steady and that complete exhaustion of his immortal energy had caused his collapse.

"The winner is Xiang Rulong!" Qian Yao proclaimed.

Baili Ye had forfeited the moment the attack knocked him out of the arena, while Xiang Rulong remained on the stage even after losing consciousness.

The announcement immediately ignited an eruption of protest from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall, whose members refused to acknowledge the result.

"How can that possibly count? Senior Brother Baili is still conscious, but his opponent has already fainted. The victory should belong to us," the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's students shouted. As far as they were concerned, Baili Ye was the winner.

Despite his injuries, Baili Ye was indeed in better condition. Several bones had broken throughout his body, but he had never lost consciousness. By comparison, once the dragon scales withdrew from Xiang Rulong's body, countless wounds emerged across his exposed flesh, creating a gruesome spectacle.

Xiang Zicheng retrieved several pills and fed them to Xiang Rulong, then circulated his immortal energy to aid his nephew's recovery.

Only after fifteen minutes had passed did Xiang Rulong slowly awaken.

"Uncle, did I win?" Xiang Rulong asked the instant his eyes opened, without sparing even a thought for his own condition.

"You did! We won!" Xiang Zicheng said as he swept Xiang Rulong into his arms, tears gathering in his eyes.

A broad grin immediately spread across Xiang Rulong's face when he heard the answer. Perhaps Xiang Zicheng embraced him too tightly; however, the pain from his injuries soon made him suck in a sharp breath.

"Uncle, that hurts..." Xiang Rulong groaned, drawing a wave of laughter from the surrounding crowd.

Xiang Zicheng carried Xiang Rulong down from the shattered arena and continued treating his wounds. The Celestial Moon Dao Hall could protest all it wished, but nothing could overturn the undeniable fact of Xiang Rulong's victory.

"Which of you wants to step forward and die next?" Xiang Zicheng demanded after settling Xiang Rulong down and rising to his feet. His icy gaze swept across the Celestial Moon Dao Hall. Baili Ye had nearly killed his nephew, and rage now burned inside him with nowhere to go.

Every mentor who had defected from the Azure Flame Dao Hall had already died. Those still alive had served the Celestial Moon Dao Hall for decades. Consequently, no one responded to Xiang Zicheng's challenge, and even Zhu Gaoyang held his tongue.

"If none of you dares to volunteer, I'll choose someone myself," Liu Wuxie said. When the Celestial Moon Dao Hall still refused to send anyone forward, he slowly lifted one hand.

Heavenly Dao shackles plunged from the sky. A peak Profound Immortal released a miserable scream as violent spasms seized him, then collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

"You're asking to die!" the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master roared, finally surrendering to his fury.

He could overlook the deaths of those who had betrayed the Azure Flame Dao Hall, but he could never tolerate losing a mentor he had personally nurtured. Watching Liu Wuxie execute one of his own people before the entire crowd inflicted a humiliation he could no longer endure.

The Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master blurred from sight and hurtled straight toward Liu Wuxie. His Divine Immortal Realm aura erupted at full force, bearing down upon Liu Wuxie in an attempt to immobilize him.

"Get back," Gongye Zhang ordered coldly.

He launched himself forward at twice the speed and cut him off midway.

Their forces collided, releasing a terrifying shockwave that billowed outward like a mushroom cloud and flung both men backward.

The impact shattered the surrounding viewing platforms in rapid succession. It knocked many ordinary cultivators to the ground, while the violent shockwave even forced several Profound Immortals to cough up blood.

The Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master landed back in his original position, while Gongye Zhang planted himself protectively before Liu Wuxie.

Zhu Gaoyang and the other experts from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall surged forward as well, openly preparing for war against the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Hundreds of them swiftly closed ranks around the Azure Flame Dao Hall's fifty-odd mentors.

Should a full-scale battle erupt, the Azure Flame Dao Hall would undoubtedly face a crushing disadvantage.

"Liu Wuxie, you die today!" Zhu Gaoyang declared with a vicious laugh. He had cast the competition completely from his mind, and taking Liu Wuxie's life was his only purpose now.

"You intend to overwhelm them with numbers? In that case, the Xiang Manor stands beside the Azure Flame Dao Hall," Xiang Zicheng declared.

At his command, the Xiang Manor's experts swept forward and surrounded the Celestial Moon Dao Hall in return. The balance of power shifted in an instant, handing the advantage to the Azure Flame Dao Hall. If an all-out battle began now, the Celestial Moon Dao Hall would suffer the consequences.

"Xiang Zicheng, this dispute belongs to the two Dao Halls. Don't you think the Xiang Manor is crossing a line by interfering?" the Thousand Hands Yama questioned, plainly convinced that Xiang Zicheng had overstepped his bounds.

"Does that mean the Eastern Emperor Pavilion plans to interfere too?" Xiang Zicheng countered, directing a mocking stare at the Thousand Hands Yama.

The Thousand Hands Yama bore a close connection to the damage once inflicted upon Xiang Zicheng's soul sea, and their feud had already lasted for many years.

Years earlier, the Thousand Hands Yama had plotted against Xiang Zicheng, leaving his soul sea severely damaged. Without Liu Wuxie's intervention, Xiang Zicheng's soul sea would never have recovered.

Shen Guang and Zhu Chaoyang traded a glance, yet neither moved forward. Both understood that a conflict of this magnitude had already surpassed their ability to influence. Tension continued to mount between the deadlocked factions as neither side showed any willingness to yield, while even the Eastern Emperor Pavilion seemed eager to join the confrontation.

"Lord Ge, should we lend Liu Wuxie our support?" Gu Yi asked the scholarly middle-aged man beside him.

The middle-aged man had spoken little throughout the competition, preferring to watch events unfold quietly from the sidelines. As the owner of the Skyhalberd Auction House, he possessed a status no lower than that of the Thousand Hands Yama.

"There's no need to rush," the middle-aged man replied, gently shaking his head.

Had an actual battle between the two factions been unavoidable, bloodshed would have erupted long ago. The Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master had acted only after Liu Wuxie had repeatedly killed his dao hall's mentors, primarily because he needed to preserve his dignity before everyone.

"Hall Master, a wager remains a wager. What happened? Is the Celestial Moon Dao Hall unable to accept defeat?" Lao Kaiyu asked with a faint smile.

"Exactly. If the Celestial Moon Dao Hall cannot endure a single loss, then admit before the entire world that you're inferior to our Azure Flame Dao Hall and swear never to compete with us for students again," the other Azure Flame Dao Hall mentors added, further enraging everyone from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall.

The Azure Flame Dao Hall had now seized complete control of the situation, leaving the Celestial Moon Dao Hall trapped in an increasingly untenable position. They understood that maintaining the encirclement would only deepen their humiliation.

"Hall Masters, will the competition continue?" Qian Yao asked.

Both hall masters had invited him to oversee the competition. If either faction intended to withdraw, he would simply declare the event concluded.

"The competition continues," Gongye Zhang said.

Countless eyes immediately shifted toward the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master, awaiting his reply.

"The Celestial Moon Dao Hall surely isn't afraid, is it? They still hold a tremendous advantage in the upcoming mentor competition," the surrounding cultivators murmured among themselves.

"There's no chance they'll surrender now. The mentor competition offers their best opportunity to kill Liu Wuxie, while an all-out battle would leave them with almost no hope of victory," someone remarked, shaking his head.

Once the Xiang Manor intervened, it became impossible for the Celestial Moon Dao Hall to kill Liu Wuxie by brute force. If they still intended to take his life, the mentor competition offered them the only viable path.

"We'll continue," the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master finally answered after drawing a deep breath and tearing his gaze away from Liu Wuxie.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd when they heard his decision.

The mentor competition promised to become the true spectacle of the entire event, and everyone longed to witness how Liu Wuxie would confront it.

"Wait!" Liu Wuxie suddenly called out just as the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master finished speaking.

"What's wrong, Liu Wuxie? Have you finally lost your nerve?" Zhu Gaoyang laughed. He assumed fear had finally taken hold of Liu Wuxie and stripped him of the courage to continue the competition.

Everyone immediately looked toward Liu Wuxie, including the Thousand Hands Yama. Anticipation gripped them as they waited to hear his next words.

"From this moment forward, every defeat will cost ten lives instead of one," Liu Wuxie declared.

His announcement detonated an uproar throughout the surroundings.

Until that moment, losing one match had demanded the life of only one mentor. Liu Wuxie had now multiplied the stakes tenfold, meaning that every defeat suffered by the Celestial Moon Dao Hall would cost ten of its mentors their lives at once.

Naturally, the Azure Flame Dao Hall would face the same condition.

Sharp breaths sounded throughout the crowd as everyone stared at Liu Wuxie in disbelief.

"What breathtaking arrogance!" people commented. Many gave Liu Wuxie a thumbs-up in open admiration. This had ceased to be a competition between two dao halls and had transformed into a massacre.

Fury consumed the members of the Celestial Moon Dao Hall. They understood that rejecting Liu Wuxie's proposal would amount to admitting they lacked the confidence to accept his wager.

Yet accepting those terms might send them walking directly into another trap.

The Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master had only just agreed to proceed, but Liu Wuxie had already cast the dilemma straight back into their hands.

"What could the Celestial Moon Dao Hall possibly fear? Accept his terms," the surrounding spectators roared, eager to watch the turmoil escalate.

A soft chuckle escaped Liu Wuxie's lips as his gaze traveled across every mentor from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall, carrying the cold appraisal of a predator surveying its prey.

Zhu Gaoyang no longer dared utter a word. He turned toward the hall master and silently awaited his decision.

"I accept your terms," the hall master said, grinding each word through clenched teeth. He knew that refusal would draw overwhelming condemnation upon the Celestial Moon Dao Hall from every direction. Liu Wuxie had issued his challenge before the public, leaving them no choice but to accept.

"Then we begin," Liu Wuxie replied, dismissively waving one hand without granting the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master another glance.

Xiang Zicheng likewise raised his hand and signaled the Xiang Manor's experts to withdraw.

The Celestial Moon Dao Hall's mentors gradually returned to their assigned positions as well, preparing for the mentor competition to commence.

Not once during the entire confrontation had Liu Wuxie shifted from where he stood. Many surrounding mentors, by contrast, had already drawn their weapons and readied themselves for battle. His unwavering composure alone earned him countless admiring looks from the crowd.

The mentor competition followed the same sequence as the student competition, save for one crucial distinction. It contained no team events. The abundance of students had made team competitions possible, but every match between the mentors would be fought individually.

The poison art category would open the first match.

A brief round of repairs soon restored the arena for battle.

A sharp whistle pierced the air as a middle-aged mentor from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall streaked forward and flickered in the arena.

"Crawl in this arena, Liu Wuxie, and meet your death!" the middle-aged mentor shouted, hurling his challenge directly at Liu Wuxie.