Silence. Dead silence.
Amid the earth-shattering roar from the tens of thousands filling the stands at Fallen Phoenix Mountain, one section remained utterly, completely still.
Upon the grandstand, the corpse of Broken Blade Xu Renke lay in quiet repose.
Only after a long while did someone speak in a dry, hoarse voice.
"How could he lose?"
Once those words were uttered, it was as if everyone had snapped back to their senses.
Indeed, how could he have lost?
Xu Renke had been so clearly formidable. Known as Broken Blade, he was one of the Mountain Breaker Gang's two great guardians and had roamed multiple market towns, carving out a thunderous reputation.
Yet moments ago, he had actually fallen to Gao Tingyuan, a man none of them had thought much of.
Zeng Wen, who had already returned to the stands, had regained a bit of color in his face.
In disbelief, he said, "Just now, when Xu Renke activated that broken blade, it clearly manifested a sliver of treasure-grade might, and it undeniably struck Gao Tingyuan. Why didn't Gao Tingyuan die?"
Against such power, even if Zeng Wen had fought far beyond his usual capabilities, victory would have been impossible.
Yet Gao Tingyuan had won—and survived.
Mi Shuhua knitted his brows tightly, his eyes fixed on the short, stout man slumped weakly upon the Dao Discussion Platform.
After a long pause, he said hesitantly, "A Death-Substitute Puppet?"
"What?" Murong Qinglian exclaimed in surprise, as if suddenly realizing something. "He actually had a Death-Substitute Puppet!"
***
On the Dao Discussion Platform, Gao Tingyuan sat slumped on the ground, terror etched on his face.
He muttered under his breath, his body trembling uncontrollably.
*Before the match, didn't we agree this would be an easy win?*
*Why did he try to kill me?!*
*A magic treasure—that was definitely power far beyond a superior-grade dharma artifact, approaching that of a true magic treasure.*
*If I hadn't possessed a Death-Substitute Puppet from the Luoyun Sect, I would be dead right now.*
He clutched his lower abdomen. Though there was no visible wound, crimson blood seeped continuously through his skin.
His dantian was breached!
A rupture had formed in his qi sea, and spiritual power leaked uncontrollably.
From now on, even if miracle pills were used to patch the breach, his hopes of ever achieving Foundation Establishment in this lifetime were completely gone.
This had been wrought by a wisp of saber qi imbued with the power of a magic treasure.
It was no external blow, but the saber qi infiltrating his dantian and violently roiling his spiritual qi from within.
***
"Oh? He actually has a Luoyun Sect Death-Substitute Puppet?"
Elder Zhou's startled exclamation came through vividly via voice transmission.
Wang Haichao smiled faintly, offering no reply, and began to clap softly.
Spurred on by him, the Great River Gang burst into wild applause and boisterous cheers.
As expected of their gang's foremost Qi Refinement expert! Even Broken Blade, armed with a magic treasure fragment, was no match for him!
"The River-Stirring Dragon is invincible!"
"His name belongs on the Prodigy Roll!"
"Long live the Great River Gang!"
When Gao Tingyuan weakly returned to the stands, he was showered with praise from the entire gang.
Even Gang Leader Wang Haichao, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, gave him a warm welcome.
"Are your injuries severe?"
"Ah, your qi sea has been breached!"
"Here, take this Qi-Stabilizing Pill. Use it right away."
"No need to be polite with me; we're all family."
Gao Tingyuan kept his head down, clutching the Qi-Stabilizing Pill, trembling with rage.
*You old bastard, to think you dared set me up like this!*
To onlookers, he merely appeared overwhelmed with emotion by the gang leader's favor.
Look at how our gang leader humbles himself to value talent and treats everyone with sincerity!
***
"Gather Xu Renke's remains and lay him to rest in the mausoleum behind our main altar," Mi Shuhua instructed, organizing Xu Renke's funeral arrangements with meticulous care. "The brothers of our Mountain Breaker Gang are not homeless, wandering ghosts. Even in death, they shall have a place to rest in peace."
Hearing his words, the gang members were deeply moved.
In this life, surviving as a rogue cultivator was already difficult enough; following a leader like this was truly a blessing.
Mi Shuhua sighed. For some reason, an inkling of unease crept into his heart.
Failing to secure the fourth win—match point—left him thoroughly unsettled.
Broken Blade, upon whom such great hopes had been placed, had fallen at the feet of the River-Stirring Dragon—an outcome that roughly ninety percent of the spectators would never have anticipated. Xu Renke, a man Mi Shuhua had held in such high regard, had died on the newly opened Dao Discussion Platform.
That had been match point, contested by one of their two strongest guardians.
Now, though they still held three victories, the cards left in his hand were dwindling.
Meanwhile, the remaining combatants on the Great River Gang's side were all hired hands, just like Min Longyu in the opening bout.
"The next bout should be Wind-Forest Tiger, right?"
In the sixth bout, the Mountain Breaker Gang's Wind-Forest Tiger faced the Great River Gang's Gongsun Changji.
The battle was brief.
The moment Gongsun Changji unleashed that azure flying sword, Wind-Forest Tiger's death was already sealed.
It was the personal sword of Foundation Establishment cultivator Wang Haichao—a superior-grade dharma artifact.
Mi Shuhua's eyelids twitched as he watched the gang members go to collect Wind-Forest Tiger's corpse.
"Can Ravine-Leaping Tiger win the next one?"
The answer was no.
He faced Yang Rusheng, a Qi Refinement rogue cultivator well-known in Tianye Market.
Or rather, Yang Rusheng wasn't truly a rogue cultivator at all; he had been born into a cultivation clan.
Only after his clan was wiped out had he been forced to become a rogue cultivator.
Yet his wealth and resources were far beyond what an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator could rival.
Detonating two dharma artifacts in succession, he smashed Ravine-Leaping Tiger—renowned for his movement techniques—straight into minced flesh.
This time, there wasn't even a body left to collect.
The Mountain Breaker Gang's record had swung wildly: from one loss, to three wins, to three consecutive defeats.
Now, their opponents had seized the critical match point.
If they lost the next bout, this death duel would be over.
With a heavy heart, Mi Shuhua looked toward Murong Qinglian.
Murong Qinglian smiled faintly. "Old Qin will do his best."
Sitting beside her, Luo Chen saw it clearly.
What a complex smile that was.
There was trust, hope, worry, and mingled among them, sorrow and fear.
Never in two lifetimes had he seen such a smile; even an award-winning actor could never have portrayed such intricate emotion.
Ke Yuelin, the Jade-Severing Tiger of the new generation, clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth.
He knew that rather than the fast-rising Wang Yuan taking his spot, his sworn elder brother Qin Liangchen had stepped in to fight in his place.
Were it not for that, he would have been the one taking the stage next.
But!
The outside help the Great River Gang had recruited this time grew stronger with each bout. If he had actually gone up there, he would either have been torn to shreds like Han Dang or blown to dust like Ravine-Leaping Tiger.
He dared not imagine such a scene.
He was still young; his path of cultivation had only just begun.
The terror in his heart, his dread for his sworn brother, and the gruesome deaths of the brothers before him threw his thoughts into turmoil.
*I stepped into the cultivation world to cultivate the Dao—why am I still living like a thug brawling in the mortal underworld?*
*It shouldn't be like this!*
*What happened to peaceful, carefree cultivation?*
In the underground chamber beneath the Dao Discussion Platform, Qin Liangchen stood while Wang Yuan sat.
The two were not close, their relationship amounting to nothing more than a nodding acquaintance.
The Qin family ran their own small business, selling spiritual fish, disciplining their children, living a warm and lively life.
Wang Yuan, meanwhile, shuttled between the Rogue Cultivator Market and the Guyuan Mountain Range, living the life of an ascetic.
At this moment, Qin Liangchen did not look back, his brand-new purple robe billowing without wind.
Outside, a booming voice rang out:
"Eighth bout: Qin Liangchen of the Mountain Breaker Gang versus Bai Qi of the Great River Gang!"
Qin Liangchen took a deep breath and strode outward, leaving behind a single sentence:
"I will fight out a ninth bout for you!"
Wang Yuan kept his eyes closed. His eyelids twitched, but in the end, he did not open them.
Chapter 62