Chapter Seventy: In the Spotlight

“The duel begins!”

With a thunderous shout from the official beside the platform, the long-awaited martial contest officially commenced.

Mo Zhan stood with proud arrogance, a cold sneer curling at his lips. In an instant, wisps of electricity burst from his body, flickering and condensing swiftly. In a matter of seconds, the electric light coalesced into writhing serpents of lightning. These electric serpents wrapped around Mo Zhan’s body, making him shine with a dazzling radiance.

At the level of Innate Realm, Third Heaven, Mo Zhan stood in the center of the arena, his body entwined with lightning serpents, his “Lightning Martial Soul” clearly a notch above that of Mo Yanyu and Mo Qi. As his face gradually paled, the serpents of lightning on his body flickered restlessly, as if ready to strike at any moment, exuding a terrifying aura.

“Your Stone Clan’s Petrification Martial Soul is said to be the king of close combat in the Merchant Alliance. Heh, I’ll give you a chance. Come closer, I’ll let you get near before I fight back!” Mo Zhan laughed wildly, standing motionless, his face full of disdain, as if he didn’t regard Shi Yan as a threat at all.

“This kid is arrogant!”

“He has reason to be. The lightning on him is much stronger than what Mo Qi showed. Looks like this fight is a foregone conclusion.”

“Indeed, the Stone Clan will suffer a crushing defeat this time.”

Around the arena, on the many stone terraces, the gathered martial artists shook their heads, none of them believing Shi Yan could prevail against Mo Zhan.

Even the members of the Stone Clan wore gloomy expressions, sighing anxiously.

“Very well.”

With an indifferent face, Shi Yan ignored Mo Zhan’s provocation and walked toward him, neither hurried nor slow. As he moved, his body gradually underwent petrification, turning into a shade of ashen gray.

Before coming to the arena, Shi Jian had applied a strange medicinal powder to Shi Yan’s entire body. The powder had no other effect but to alter the color of his Martial Soul, making the Petrification Martial Soul of the second stage appear consistently grayish-white. Shi Jian did this to prevent accusations of cheating, since the second stage of petrification shouldn’t be possible for a martial artist of the Innate Realm.

“Boy, you had quite the attitude at Yingchun Pavilion. I hope you can keep it up today!” Mo Zhan’s face was pale, a cold smile on his lips as he stood still, waiting for Shi Yan to approach.

“You’ll soon find out just how tough I am,” Shi Yan replied with a shake of his head and a faint smile. By now, he was only three meters from Mo Zhan.

“Hmph!”

At that moment, Mo Zhan suddenly let out a low shout. The serpents of lightning coiling around him seemed to come alive, leaping from his body and lashing toward Shi Yan.

“Not good!” Shi Tie cried out in alarm. “Again!”

“Dodge, quickly!” Shi Dang couldn’t help but shriek.

Hissing, thumb-thick serpents of lightning, as if imbued with life, split apart and shot at Shi Yan from all directions, leaving him no room to evade.

Amid the Stone Clan’s panic, the lightning serpents instantly wound themselves around Shi Yan, binding him tightly.

“Disastrous!” Shi Tie’s face was filled with terror and anguish. “Why is this boy so slow? He saw where Tianyun lost last time, yet he didn’t dodge! He’s going to repeat Tianyun’s fate! It’s over!”

“Just as expected!”

“Yes, this guy really is a fool for all his study of ancient texts!”

“There’s no suspense left. He probably won’t even get a chance to strike.”

All around the arena, the martial artists shook their heads in regret, already certain of the outcome.

And indeed, events unfolded as everyone predicted!

Mo Zhan seized the moment, rushing forward. His left hand unleashed a series of crescent “Azure Arc Moon Slashes,” while his right conjured “Azure Light Spheres,” hurling them at the tightly bound Shi Yan.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Arc Moon Slashes and Light Spheres rained down like hail, their brilliance engulfing Shi Yan in a dazzling explosion of light.

Under such an onslaught, no one could see Shi Yan amidst the glare; it was only natural to assume he was finished.

Bolts of lightning and dazzling blue light flashed. When the radiance faded and their vision cleared, the crowd beheld a shocking sight—

Shi Yan remained standing, unmoved. Aside from wisps of smoke curling from his clothes, his body was utterly unscathed.

“Huh!”

“What’s going on?”

“Impossible!”

As the azure glow dissipated and the martial artists got a clear look at Shi Yan once more, they rubbed their eyes in disbelief, staring at his motionless figure, solid as a rock.

Beiming Shang, who had been sipping his tea with lowered eyes, suddenly looked up, his brows furrowed as he muttered, “Strange.”

Mo Tuo’s face changed slightly, but he remained composed, merely snorting coldly.

Shi Jian’s body trembled violently, his eyes shining with excitement. He sucked in a sharp breath and pressed a hand tightly to the stone bench, barely able to contain his joy.

“Elder brother!”

“Clan chief!”

Shi Tie and the Stone Clan warriors looked to Shi Jian in amazement, doubt and delight mingling in their eyes.

“Keep watching!” Shi Jian barked softly, his lips twitching.

The Stone Clan’s venerated elders, though still puzzled, began to hope.

Inside the arena, Shi Yan, bound by the lightning serpents, felt only a mild numbness in his petrified body—nothing more. Faint wisps of mist seeped from his arms, but the lightning dispersed them, concealing any change from onlookers.

As the wild bombardment raged, a mixture of negative energy and essence leaking from his hands formed five miniature vortices around him. These invisible, intangible whirlpools, constructed with the “Magnetism Domain,” contained two different energies entwined together, drifting almost imperceptibly behind Mo Zhan. Only Shi Yan himself and Beiming Shang, whose cultivation had reached the Heaven Position, could sense them in the vast arena.

“Mo Zhan, you’re awfully soft,” Shi Yan sneered, shaking his head. “I stood here and let you strike, and you couldn’t even scratch me. How did the Mo Clan become one of the five great families of the Merchant Alliance?”

“You’re courting death!” Mo Zhan’s expression twisted violently, his face growing paler still. With a snarl, he charged at Shi Yan, repeating the brutal tactic Mo Qi had used against Shi Tianyun. Once in close, he unleashed another frenzied storm of attacks on the bound Shi Yan.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Mo Zhan’s relentless blows landed squarely on Shi Yan, blue light erupting and surges of essence shaking the air.

“Still soft, Mo Zhan. Are you a woman or what?” Shi Yan remained unmoved, shaking his head, his mocking smiles growing sharper. “If you’re missing something down there, I wouldn’t mind taking care of your bride for you on your wedding night—save you the embarrassment!”

His words were venomous.

Across the arena, Ling Yueyue from the Ling Clan leapt to her feet, her beautiful face icy with fury. “Shi Yan, you’ll die a miserable death!”

“I’ll kill you!” Mo Zhan roared, burning every last ounce of his potential in a mad charge, hammering at Shi Yan with wild abandon.

Crash!

Shi Yan suddenly kicked out, his one free leg striking Mo Zhan in the chest, sending him flying five meters away.

“Boring.” Shaking his head, Shi Yan gave a low shout and wrenched his arms free.

The lightning serpents binding him snapped with a crack, exploding into a shower of sparks that shot in all directions.

“Watch out!”

“Damn!”

The warriors nearby cried out, hurriedly gathering their essence to fend off the flying bolts.

“Good lad!” Zuo Xu slapped his armrest in admiration. “I like this fellow!”

Zuo Shi’s bright eyes sparkled with unusual light as she nodded at Shi Yan and smiled. “His tongue is sharper than a blade.”

“Elder brother!”

“Clan chief! What’s going on?”

The Stone Clan’s Shi Tie and the elders looked at Shi Jian in astonished delight.

“Nothing. The Mo Clan is just too soft,” Shi Jian replied, echoing Shi Yan’s words, and suddenly the air in the arena felt fresher.

Mo Tuo stood up, his face dark, his eyes never leaving Mo Zhan, breath growing heavier.

“I feel like I’ve seen that look in his eyes somewhere before…” On the Beiming side, Di Yalan’s pretty face wore a hint of confusion as she muttered to herself.

But no one paid her any mind. All eyes were fixed on Shi Yan, following his every move.

Having cast off the last of the lightning serpents, Shi Yan strolled leisurely toward Mo Zhan. Mo Zhan, just scrambling to his feet, wore a look of wildness and fury and prepared to charge again.

At that moment!

Mo Zhan’s body began to twist and writhe in a bizarre manner, as if caught by an invisible force, his limbs flailing helplessly. The more he struggled, the odder the movement, until both feet were gradually lifted off the ground…

It was as if an unseen devil’s hand had grabbed him by the neck and was hoisting him into the air.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know—has Mo Zhan lost his mind?”

“Does anyone know why he’s floating? Is this some Heaven Position technique?”

“You think that’s possible?”

The arena buzzed with confusion.

With a cold, impassive expression, Shi Yan approached Mo Zhan, calmly stretched out a hand, and stabbed his fingers like spears into Mo Zhan’s knees.

Crack! Crack!

The crisp sound of bones shattering echoed from Mo Zhan’s knees.

Crack! Crack!

Two more sharp cracks rang out from Mo Zhan’s shoulders.

Thud!

Mo Zhan’s suspended body suddenly crashed to the ground, landing on his knees, forced to kneel before Shi Yan in abject terror.

Both his hand and leg bones had been shattered, and before the eyes of the entire assembly, he knelt at Shi Yan’s feet, facing the crowd. At that moment, Mo Zhan suffered a fate worse than death, howling, “Shi Yan, I’ll kill you! I swear I will!”

“Oh?” Shi Yan’s expression was icy, and he grabbed Mo Zhan by the throat, hoisting him high in the air.

Mo Zhan’s legs dangled, lightning flickered from his body, but it could not force Shi Yan to release him.

Before all present, Shi Yan raised Mo Zhan aloft by the neck—a deliberate act of humiliation.

As if determined that everyone should see, Shi Yan even spun slowly in place, ensuring every corner of the arena could witness Mo Zhan’s face, twisted with grief and terror.

After the circuit, Shi Yan turned his gaze to Shi Jian, his cold eyes conveying a simple, unmistakable question: Should I kill him?

A hush fell over the arena, every eye wide with shock, all staring at Shi Yan.

Even from dozens of meters away, Shi Jian caught the message in Shi Yan’s gaze and felt a surge of satisfaction.

Under Shi Yan’s watchful eyes, Shi Jian’s face darkened as he gave a slight nod.

“We concede!” Mo Tuo, his face drained of color, saw the cold glint in Shi Jian’s eyes and shrieked in terror, “We concede! We surrender!”

“Match suspended!” The official by the platform bellowed just in time.

Crack!

A sickening snap came from Mo Zhan’s neck, his head lolling at an unnatural angle.

Every warrior stared in horror as Shi Yan snapped Mo Zhan’s neck.

The silence was absolute.

Before everyone’s eyes, Shi Yan coldly flung Mo Zhan’s corpse aside.

Thud.

The body landed three meters in front of Mo Tuo, its head twisted grotesquely, dead beyond any doubt.

From across the arena, Shi Yan cast a mocking, cold smile at the Mo Clan, then turned away, returning to the Stone Clan’s side and sitting down without a word.

…