Chapter 203: A Trap

Chapter 203

While the entire arena remained completely silent, everyone was still trying to understand what the hell Liyu was thinking by making such a proposal, but Shi Tian, however, was thrilled... well... not thrilled in the normal sense, as those kinds of emotions were far beneath him, or at least that was what he had always believed, besides the fact that he hadn’t done anything truly groundbreaking enough to warrant happiness beyond tricking a fool who had walked directly into his trap.

From the very moment Shi Tian witnessed the terrifying power behind Liyu’s final attack against Guan Haoran, he had already made his decision: he was going to kill Liyu, weakling or not.

The fact that someone so weak could possess an attack capable of threatening him had left a very bad taste in Shi Tian’s mouth, and he couldn’t tolerate it nor allow someone like that to continue existing.

But there was a problem: if Shi Tian simply killed Liyu, he was certain that Li San, the Li clan lord, would immediately attack him, and if that happened, even Shi Tian wasn’t confident that he could escape unscathed, along with the possibility of being disqualified from the tournament.

So he needed a way... a way to kill Liyu while making sure that no one could punish him afterward, a way to turn Liyu’s death into something completely permitted by the rules. And when Shi Tian thought about it carefully, the answer naturally came to him in two words: death match.

If the final battle became a death match, then his plan could be carried out perfectly, allowing him to kill Liyu without anyone being able to blame him for it. Simple. Perfect.

But there was one problem: he couldn’t simply walk up to Liyu and propose a death match, then expect him to willingly accept it, because Liyu wasn’t that stupid.. or at least, Shi Tian didn’t believe he was.

So Shi Tian had planned further, much further, after all, because he wasn’t only an unparalleled genius because of his combat ability, his battle IQ was equally terrifying.

But even that wasn’t all, as Shi Tian was one of the smartest prodigies the Shi clan had ever produced, his mind constantly analyzing everything around him: every movement, every reaction, every mistake, every possibility.

And during Liyu’s battle against Guan Haoran, Shi Tian had analyzed practically everything, carefully studying the entire battle and seeing Liyu pushed into an incredibly battered and exhausted state by Haoran where his body had been damaged, his stamina drained, and his condition pushed to the limit.

And then... Liyu had unleashed that final attack, an attack powerful enough to overwhelmed Haoran while the latter was in his legendary Overflow State.

That alone was shocking, but what came afterward was even more abnormal: Liyu had returned to perfect condition completely. His injuries were gone. His exhaustion had vanished. His body looked as though he had never fought Guan Haoran in the first place. That was far beyond normal.

Shi Tian had only two possible explanations for it: the first possibility was that the state Liyu had entered somehow possessed a healing effect powerful enough to restore his entire body, but that was highly unlikely, extremely unlikely, which naturally led to the second possibility... Liyu possessed a powerful treasure capable of restoring his body to its original condition.

And if Shi Tian had to place his bet on one of the two possibilities, he would choose the second: there was a treasure, a powerful treasure that Liyu was hiding, a treasure capable of restoring him to perfect condition.

That discovery alone would have terrified almost anyone who had to face Liyu, but Shi Tian wasn’t like those weaklings. His mind remained relaxed, calm, composed, as he calculated several steps ahead, more than certain that whatever treasure Liyu possessed had a limit. There had to be a limit.

If there wasn’t one... then why had Liyu waited until the final moment against Haoran before using it? Why had he allowed himself to become so badly injured and exhausted first? Why hadn’t he simply restored himself immediately?

The answer was obvious: the treasure could only be used under certain conditions, perhaps having a limited number of uses, consuming an enormous amount of energy, or having a cooldown. Shi Tian didn’t know the exact limitation, but he didn’t need to; he only needed to know that there was one.

And with that conclusion firmly established in his mind, Shi Tian set his plan into motion. He attacked Liyu... not immediately with everything he had, no, but deliberately attacking him in a way that would make Liyu understand one thing: Shi Tian wanted to kill him.

Those first few attacks weren’t simply attacks; they were psychological pressure meant to create dread, to slowly build anger inside Liyu, and to make him understand that he was facing someone who genuinely intended to take his life.

And it worked. Shi Tian had watched Liyu’s gaze, watched his expression change, and seen the seriousness gradually settle into his eyes. Then another one of Shi Tian’s assumptions was confirmed: Liyu hadn’t reached his limit yet, he could still fight, and more importantly... he could probably still restore himself.

So Shi Tian took the opportunity, pushed Liyu all the way to the edge, and then delivered the final blow by slicing Liyu into countless pieces. He didn’t merely wound him; he diced him apart because he wanted to push Liyu to the absolute limit and force him to use that treasure again.

And after a short while... his assumption was proven correct: Liyu came back. He returned completely whole, alive, perfectly restored.

Shi Tian’s conclusion had been right; Liyu hadn’t actually died, and must have activated that treasure before his life completely ended, which made sense given that a cultivator’s vitality was far greater than that of an ordinary human to begin with.

If an ordinary human had been sliced apart like that, there was absolutely no possibility of survival, but cultivators were different... their vitality was stronger, their bodies were more resilient, and they could survive far longer under circumstances that would instantly kill an ordinary person. And Liyu clearly possessed something even more extraordinary, so he came back.

And then... everything that happened afterward unfolded almost exactly as Shi Tian had predicted: Li San tried to kill him; Shi Gubing stepped forward to protect him; Elder Ting appeared and suppressed Li San before questioning Shi Tian; and Shi Tian calmly gave his answer. Everything. Every single part of it.

Shi Tian had planned for it, anticipated it, and calculated every possibility and every reaction, which was frightening to say the least.

And the most frightening part was that his plan had worked... not just roughly, not just somewhat, but detail by detail, step by step, with everything unfolding almost exactly as he had envisioned right up until the final step where Liyu himself would make the decision for him.

And then... Liyu had spoken: "Let us have a rematch."

Shi Tian had remained silent, and then Liyu continued, wanting to remove one rule and add another... the rule prohibiting killing wanted removed and replaced with a rule where killing was permitted, where no one would be punished for it, and where the final battle would become... a death match.

Shi Tian’s lips curled into that tiny, cold smile. It had all been his plan from the very beginning: everything, every attack, every wound, every piece of psychological pressure, every step that had led to this moment.

And now Liyu had willingly walked into the exact situation Shi Tian had spent all this time creating.... a death match, a battle where Shi Tian could finally end Liyu’s life... without suffering any consequences.

Li Yuexin was the first to recover from her shock, her fingers tightening around Liyu’s clothes as she shook her head vigorously with her expression filled with fear and disbelief, her meaning clear: Liyu shouldn’t go through with this.

A death match. That was not something they could casually agree to right now, especially after they had all seen what had happened only moments ago, watching Liyu get completely and utterly suppressed by Shi Tian, struggle to even defend himself, and have his body sliced apart before their very eyes. He had almost been killed.

It was more than clear which of the two was the more dangerous opponent. And yet Liyu wanted to fight Shi Tian in a death match? No, she couldn’t allow him to make such a decision.

"You can’t do this. Stop," Yuexin said, her eyes trembling with tears as she had almost lost Liyu only a few minutes ago, genuinely believing that he was dead.

And now, after finally seeing him standing before her alive and completely unharmed, she was supposed to simply stand aside and allow him to willingly create a situation where his death became an absolute possibility? She couldn’t. She simply couldn’t stand back and let that happen. She had to stop him.

Li Yuexin tried to speak again, wanting to convince him to reconsider, but the words died in her throat the very next moment because she saw Liyu’s eyes: they were cold, unfamiliar, with something completely different layered over him now like seeing the eyes of a wolf inside the body of a cat, something sharp, dangerous, and making her instinctively hesitate as she grew unfamiliar with those eyes, causing the words she had wanted to say to freeze inside her lungs.

Liyu’s voice was low when he finally spoke, but there was no hostility in it: "You can’t stop me. Don’t bother." His gaze remained fixed ahead, his expression calm: "It is either he dies or I die. This is how the tournament will end."

He turned toward her, and a small smile appeared on his face once more: "You can return to your seat and cheer me on."

With that, Liyu gently nudged Yuexin back toward her seat, the action surprisingly calm, almost casual, as if he wasn’t about to enter a battle where death was the only possible conclusion. Li Yuexin stared at him for a moment, her lips parting slightly, but she ultimately couldn’t find the words to argue anymore.

Liyu then turned around, his gaze meeting his uncle’s where Li San stood with an expression filled with hesitation, clearly struggling with whether he should allow Liyu to do what he wanted or forcefully stop him.

"Uncle, I wouldn’t lose," Liyu said.

But Li San didn’t reply, his mind conflicted as he couldn’t just allow Liyu to proceed with this plan because the plan Liyu had proposed was incredibly dangerous.

The rules of a death match were simple: the match would only end when one side killed the other, and in the case of the Tournament of the Three Great Clans, there were two possible outcomes where one person could kill the other or the victor could choose to spare the loser at the end... meaning the loser would only live if the winner wanted them to live. That was the terrifying part. It was simply too risky.

Li San had already lost his composure only a few minutes ago when he saw Liyu being sliced apart, and for those few moments, he had genuinely believed that his nephew had been killed, the terror he had experienced at that moment being something he never wanted to experience again.

And now that Liyu was finally safe, instead of retreating from the danger, he wanted to willingly throw himself right back into it? No, he couldn’t allow that. What if Liyu lost? What if Shi Tian decided to end his life? No, it was dangerous, far too dangerous.

Li San shook his head, his eyes becoming serious as he stared directly at Liyu: "No. I can’t let you have a death match." His tone was stern, leaving no room for negotiation: "I don’t know what you have up your sleeve, Liyu, but things are far from certain. What if your plan fails?

That would be the same as you throwing your own life away. I can’t allow that. Rethink it and cancel your proposition." Li San’s voice carried authority, making it clear he wasn’t asking and was not going to budge.

At that moment, the system’s voice suddenly rang inside Liyu’s mind:

[Host, I would say that your uncle’s words are true.]

[This is far too dangerous.]

[Based on the information I have gathered, all of this might very well be the plan of the individual known as Shi Tian.]

[He seems to want you to issue the death match so that he can end your life within the death match without suffering any consequences.]

[This is a trap, Host.]

[A trap.]

Liyu remained silent for a while, his gaze staying locked on Shi Tian’s figure with no fear in his eyes and not even the slightest hesitation, before finally, his certain voice rang through his mind: "I knew that, System." His eyes become darker:

"And trust me..." A faint, dangerous smile slowly appeared on his face: "This guy picked the wrong person to try and assassinate. No matter what happens... I will end his life in this match."

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