If Wan Lei"s expression had frozen at this moment, one would see that his wide-open eyes were extremely bloodshot, staring at Chi Guyan, who was standing in front of him with her pink dress stained with blood.
Those bright eyes, perfect, exquisite features, that loft and pride which would have ruined nations. Oh, how bright she was, like the brightest stars in the universe.
It was very real.
However, he could not believe that it had been her, the Chosen One Chi Guyan, who had pierced his heart with her sword. Why? Why would she dare to kill me?!
"If you want to die, then I shall be the one to kill you!"
You shall be the one to kill me?!
Wan Lei couldn"t understand, he simply could not understand.
How could she not know that she represented the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Did she not know that he was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall? How dare she?!
"You… cough cough…" Wan Lei"s body softened as he kneeled on the ground, but his eyes remained on Chi Guyan. "Are you not afraid...afraid that the Yin Yang Hall looks...looks for you…"
"You don"t deserve it!" Chi Guyan gazed quietly at Wan Lei, her expression as calm as a frozen lake, without a single ripple.
"Don"t… don"t deserve it?!" Wan Lei"s eyes widened, he could not reconcile himself to it, he really could not. He had come today to the Heaven Dao Pavilion to watch a fight, not to partic.i.p.ate in one himself.
How many months, how much work had gone into this, such that he could have achieved what he had - entering the Sage State with just a single move and becoming the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.
He had a bright future ahead of him...
But now, he was going to die, die under the sword of Chi Guyan, and all because he attacked a guy who had not even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion.
How could he reconcile this with himself?
"Ciiii!" He pulled the sword out.
Red blood gushed out from Wan Lei"s heart, dripping onto the ground, dying the powdered white jade a crimson red.
Chi Guyan turned around, not even looking twice at Wan Lei. This was due to the arrogance and disdain in her heart, as she saw him as nothing more than an ant.
However, this "ant" was a strong figure in the Sage State. He was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.
"You…" Wan Lei spit out another mouthful of blood as he looked at Chi Guyan"s back view. He seemed like he had more to say, but the blood gus.h.i.+ng out of his heart caused him to give in. He couldn"t take it any longer.
"Dong!"
Wan Lei"s fell to the ground, his face unwilling and shocked. He didn"t want to die, he really didn"t want to, but it was a fact that he had died.
Even if he was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, and a strong figure in the Sage State, a sword pierce through the heart could only mean death.
"Shh!" All the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples drew in their breaths.
Each of them stared at Chi Guyan, and as they saw the arrogance on her face, they felt a chill run down their spines.
She actually killed Wan Lei?!
No one had expected this. After all, as Wan Lei had said, Chi Guyan was a representative of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and Wan Lei was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.
Why would Chi Guyan do that?
No one knew.
But the truth was that Chi Guyan had taken action, and had shown no mercy, killing him with a single pierce of the sword, not even giving a proper explanation.
Shock, silence.
None of this seemed to have any effect on Chi Guyan. All she did was slowly keep the sword, and then slowly made her way to Fang Zhengzhi"s side.
She looked at Fang Zhengzhi and then quietly stood still as if nothing had happened. Calm and lofty.
As for Fang Zhengzhi, he seemed rather speechless.
Didn"t she just kill-steal him? The guy had already been crippled by him, and at a vital moment, she had appeared to kill him with a single sword stroke. Was this anything to be proud of?
"Erm... I think you just stole my kill?" Fang Zhengzhi felt the need to remind Chi Guyan that this wasn"t a very good habit.
"Yeah." Chi Guyan nodded her head.
"So, shouldn"t you say something?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"..." Fang Zhengzhi was once again rendered speechless.
At this moment, laughter rang out, and then Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, who had been standing far away, walked away from the crowd and slowly made his way towards Tian Xing, his expression gloomy.
"Hahaha… Leader Tian, Chi Guyan is trying to warn others. It seems like it wouldn"t be so easy to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb from this guy"s body!" Gu Yuan stopped near Tian Xing.
He didn"t move any nearer but had a wide smile on his face.
The Chosen One Chi Guyan naturally wouldn"t do something without reason, especially something like killing the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei.
If she had to do it...
There can only be one reason.
He had to be killed!
Tian Xing didn"t speak, but his expression was terrifyingly dark.
Even Gu Yuan could see Chi Guyan"s intention, so how could he not see it? It was obvious - Chi Guyan had killed Wan Lei to show her stance.
This was a very simple logic, if she had to choose between him and Wan Lei, it wouldn"t be difficult.
"She killed him to warn others? Ah, so that was what she intended!"
"Sister Chi Guyan, did she use Wan Lei"s death to tell Tian Xing that she"s already made up her mind?"
"That"s right, if we have to fight today, killing Wan Lei was obviously a good choice!"
Hearing this, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples quickly understood what was happening.
Although Chi Guyan never said much throughout, at this moment, everyone could feel the strength of her resolve.
If even Wan Lei could be killed, then what about the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?
Tian Xing"s fists were tightly clenched. He had an agreement with Mu Qingfeng regarding the extraction of the pill; this matter had been concluded.
But now, Chi Guyan"s stance was extremely clear.
Tian Xing wasn"t as worried about Chi Guyan as he was about Mu Qingfeng since this affected the delicate relations.h.i.+p that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion shared.
Being Mu Qingfeng"s proudest, most beloved disciple, if Chi Guyan was really in danger because of Fang Zhengzhi, would Mu Qingfeng continue to honor the pill-extracting agreement? Who knows?
Give up?
Tian Xing obviously could not give up.
But he also could not continue to fight, because, in that short fight, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had already lost almost ten disciples, and dozens were seriously injured.
Of course, the Heaven Dao Pavilion also suffered casualties.
But compared to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, the Heaven Dao Pavilion had suffered much fewer casualties. This was due to two reasons, one, the Heaven Dao Pavilion specialized in swordsmans.h.i.+p, and was better at combat than the Nine Pinnacles Mountain; two, they were at the Heaven Dao Pavilion itself - the Heaven Dao Pavilion had an advantage since they were on home ground, and had a greater number of disciples.
Most importantly…
Tian Xing was slightly injured.
Fang Zhengzhi absorbed 30% of his Origin Energy. Right now, there was no way for him to fight to the death against Mu Qingfeng. Hence, how could he continue fighting?
"Ten moves. If the two of you can block ten of my moves, I"ll leave! If not… the Heaven Dao Pavilion will bathe in blood today!" Tian Xing said coldly as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.
The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, upon hearing this, looked at each other. Worry and contemplation filled their faces.
Tian Xing?
He was someone who was as powerful as Mu Qingfeng, and one of the most powerful cultivator in the entire Holy Region. Ten moves? While it sounded simple, it was nearly impossible to achieve.
Hence, most importantly, this promise concerned the Thousand Years Fire Herb. Naturally, Tian Xing would use all his strength and show no mercy.
When Mu Qingfeng heard Tian Xing"s words, he frowned.
No one knew the extent of Tian Xing"s strength better than he did. Even he was not confident of beating Tian Xing, much less Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi.
Ten moves?
It was too difficult.
"I disagree!" Fang Zhengzhi said.
He was not dumb. Ten moves? It would kill him. While he had never fought Tian Xing head-on, he remembered how Mu Qingfeng was able to take his Traceless Sword.
Tian Xing was just as powerful as Mu Qingfeng.
He who recognized the situation was the true hero. Fang Zhengzhi knew the situation he was in really well. After all, he was now at an advantage, so why would he risk it all?
It was not worth it. Furthermore, he had no motivation to do so.
"Rascal, this is not up to you. If you don"t abide by my conditions, the Heaven Dao Pavilion will run red with blood!" Tian Xing was visibly enraged.
As the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had already taken many steps back. By proposing the condition of ten moves, it was nearing the end of his limits.
"Are you sure?" Fang Zhengzhi appeared to be thinking.
"I"m sure!" Tian Xing nodded his head.
"How can I believe you?"
"What a joke! I never go back on my words, never!"
"Alright, you can fight. After all, I"m not a member of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. You two can fight. I"ll leave," said Fang Zhengzhi when he heard that. He turned and prepared to walk away.
"..." Tian Xing"s lips twitched. Even though he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he did not know how to react to Fang Zhengzhi"s shameless words.
The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples around them were speechless too.
What was this?
He was the reason for the conflict, but he behaved as if he completely did not care about this matter and planned to leave.
It was akin to saying, "Have fun fighting you lot, I"ll make a move first."
How could he say something so shameless?
"Wait a minute!" Tian Xing looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was about to leave and calmed the fire in his heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that the bones were cracking.
"What other matters do you have, Leader Tian? In fact, if I were you, I"ll start fighting now. You said that you will never renegade on your words, don"t forget!" Fang Zhengzhi said with a face filled with suspicion.
"You…" Tian Xing suppressed his rage, which rose in his heart once more. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who seemed uncaring, and he really wanted to punch him. However, when he looked at Chi Guyan, who was next to him, he forced himself to calm down and said, "Rascal, are you afraid?"
"No, but I think that the conditions can be changed."
"Conditions? What conditions?"
"Just now you said that if we can survive ten moves, you will leave. However, for me, I won"t get anything out of this," said Fang Zhengzhi as his mouth curled.
"Get nothing out of this? Rascal, don"t push it. The Thousand Years Fire Herb in your body is the supreme treasure of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. How can you say that you won"t benefit from it?" Tian Xing stared at him coldly.
"You said it yourself. The Thousand Years Fire Herb is inside me. What"s the point of using it as a reward?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.
"Rascal, you…. Fine, what are your terms?"
"How about we reduce the number of moves from ten to one?" When Fang Zhengzhi heard Tian Xing"s words, he asked this question hopefully.
"One move…" Tian Xing spoke halfway before it seemed as if he had choked on something. He felt as if he had swallowed a fly.
Originally, he thought Fang Zhengzhi would ask for a treasure as the reward of this wager. However, he never expected Fang Zhengzhi"s condition to mean this.
Going from ten moves to just one?
"How does this guy"s brain work? Does he have any sort of limit? No matter how much confidence Tian Xing had, he would not agree to this condition."
"Pfft!" Chi Guyan could not help but burst out laughing. Her normally regal and calm look faded completely and her face cracked into laughter like a flower blooming.
If shamelessness were a Dao…
She believed that Fang Zhengzhi would have been in the Sage State ten years ago.
Right now, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples around them looked at each other. Their faces all turned red.
"How shameless can this guy get?"
"Changing the number of moves from ten to one, how can he say this with a straight face?"
"Does he think that we are idiots?"
The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples because they had never seen someone who could be so brazen. There was no limit to his shamelessness.
They were not alone. When Mu Qingfeng heard this, his head turned to the side and he cursed underneath his breath, "Rascal, there"s no limit to how shameless you can be!"
Of course…
He would never say it.
The reason was simple. While he felt that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, he hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could obtain a favorable condition from Tian Xing"s mouth.
After all, the chances of surviving ten moves were minimal.
"As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, are you so unconfident of yourself?" Fang Zhengzhi said to Tian Xing. The side of his mouth curled disrespectfully.
"Rascal, don"t try to provoke me like this!" Tian Xing gritted his teeth. "When I said ten moves, I mean it. Of course, if anyone of you dares to fight me alone, I"ll lower it to five!"
"I am not dumb. It"s more likely for two people to survive ten moves than it is for one person to survive five moves. If you think one move is impossible, how about two moves?"
"Impossible!"
"Three moves!"
"Still impossible!"
"What about if it"s just one person?"
"Eh no… wait a minute, a person? You say that you can take three of my moves alone?" Tian Xing prepared to shake his head but soon, he reacted to it. He could not believe what he was hearing. Soon, he laughed too, "When you said "alone", you mean Gu Chiyan and not you, right?"