He launched a flurry of punches—fast, fierce, unrelenting. Veins bulged along his arms, his face twisted in fury, teeth gritted with violent resolve.
Xu Jian dodged them with eerie ease, weaving between the strikes like a phantom. His laughter echoed, manic and wild, eyes glowing with unhinged delight.
"Listen, Second Elder!" he roared, voice laced with dark ecstasy.
With a sharp pivot, Xu Jian slammed his foot into the elder's abdomen. A sickening crack echoed as ribs shattered beneath the force, a grotesque symphony of breaking bone.
Xu Jian shouted to the crowd, his voice commanding and filled with arrogant power:
"Take this elixir! It'll amplify your strength!"
Laughter erupted around the arena. One of the onlookers howled,
"What is this?! Even the strongest can't stop one man!"
Li Wei's face was drawn tight with worry, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. His thoughts raced:
"How long can he keep this up? A sacred elixir like that… it should be enough to destroy him!"
The head of the Cardinal Family stood tall, blood running from a cracked lip, his eyes burning with pride, not defeat.
"Fool! I won't cling to life like some wretched whore... All I have left is dignity!"
Xu Jian's expression darkened, his lips curling into a sadistic grin, voice dropping to a chilling whisper:
"I'll strip that from you. I'll show you what it means to beg to live... and not be allowed to die."
He lunged again. His fists crashed down like falling meteors. The old man's face twisted in agony, blood gushing from his mouth. He bit down on his lip to stifle a scream, but Xu Jian only laughed louder:
"What's this? No scream? Then… I'll rob you of your manhood!"
He stomped down brutally on the man's groin, his heel digging in with cruel precision.
"What do you think, hmm?! HAHAHA!"
The man looked up at him, eyes completely void of hope.
"Fool..." he muttered, then unleashed a surge of energy in one final, desperate act.
The other elders did the same. A blinding burst of spiritual energy engulfed the area.
Li Wei screamed, panic tearing through his voice:
"No! You fool! Get out of there!!"
The smoke cleared...
Xu Jian lay on the ground, bloodied and broken.
His leg was severed. The lower half of his face was crushed, twisted unnaturally. Blood poured from countless gashes, his ribs visible through torn flesh. His body—ravaged, near death.
Li Wei leapt toward him, eyes wide in horror, unable to think, barely able to breathe. Behind him, Jason approached with grim focus.
"Let's just carry him," Jason said, voice cold, steady.
But then—
Cassius stirred amidst the chaos. He rose, an unholy flame in his eyes.
Cassius let loose a pulse of raw aura.
"Hahaha! If he's delivered to me on a silver platter… then I'll gladly take him!"
He surged forward, bloodlust in his roar—
But a fierce kick smashed into his face, launching him back like a rag doll.
It was Li Wei.
"Boy!" Li Wei snapped, eyes flashing. "Do you not value your life? Or did you decide today was your funeral?"
Cassius trembled, screaming in anguish, voice cracking with confusion and fury:
"How DARE you?! Why?! WHY is everything like this?!"
An aura of madness burst from him, his spiritual chains shattering.
Li Wei appeared next to him in a blink, a black ink brush in his hand, its tip glowing with deadly intent.
"This brush... it cuts destiny. It severs all. And that's why you're weaker than me, Cassius.
You know that saying?
'Fools who think they've achieved greatness... are just frogs staring at the sky from the bottom of a well.'"
Cassius collapsed to his knees, head bowed in defeat, crushed and humiliated.
Jason spoke up, "I've stopped his bleeding. Gave him yin-yang pills. He'll wake in two days. Let's go."
Li Wei turned, his face unreadable.
"What do you think Xu Jian will say when he wakes up? Cry over losing his leg? His future?"
Then he laughed—a sharp, unsettling sound.
"Cry? Hah! Don't make me laugh. A madman like him will celebrate. He got what he wanted—an intense, glorious battle. He doesn't fear death. He's smart… twisted. Even fooled me."
His voice lowered, eyes narrowing as he walked away.
"And now… he's set the stage for a great catastrophe in the capital."
Jason blinked in alarm.
"Catastrophe? Why?"
Li Wei didn't look back.
"Nothing... Let's just go."
To be continued...