As Dongfang Ren spoke, a dense killing intent already filled the arena.
Lu Chao pressed his sword against Yan Mu’s neck and stared coldly at Black-armored Niu Dong and the others. He smiled and began to speak...
"Young Master Yan, what was it I said before the fight? Don’t throw a fit if you lose."
"And now, you’ve lost."
"Yet all of your guards rushed up here, and one even tried to blast me a moment ago. What’s that all about?"
His cold, indifferent voice reached Yan Mu’s ears, then the ears of Lu Dingtian and the others below the arena, each of whom seemed to be waking from a dream.
One after another, they stammered in disbelief, "Lu Chao... w-w-won?"
This was a scenario no one had ever imagined...
Perhaps some had considered that Lu Chao might win, but not like this. How could someone at the True Fate Realm Fifth Layer instantly defeat an expert at the Peak Realm Third Layer?
And Young Master Yan Mu was from the legendary Cyan Sword Great Empire, no less.
On the arena floor, Yan Mu was left in nothing but a pure white under-robe; his blue outer robes had been sliced to ribbons by Lu Chao.
He was a pathetic, laughable sight.
He didn’t answer. All that came out was a trembling voice, "Impossible... I can’t have lost..."
Clearly, Yan Mu could not accept this failure—especially one so humiliating.
Meanwhile, the eyes of Niu Dong and the ten guards began to turn bloodshot. They stared daggers at Lu Chao, their expressions twisting.
Finally, Niu Dong spoke, his voice laced with venom. "You country bumpkin! Let our Young Master go, and we’ll grant you the mercy of a whole corpse."
He spoke with bravado, but a chill crept through his entire body.
’It’s not that I’m afraid he’ll kill the Young Master. With me here, I don’t believe anyone would dare.’
’What I’m afraid of is...’
’Lord Mo Jing and the Madam... they’re going to be absolutely furious.’
’The Young Master lost to this bumpkin from the Azure Flame Domain. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the entire family’s darling.’
’His mother wouldn’t allow him to suffer the slightest setback or harm. The family poured insane amounts of resources into raising his cultivation realm.’
’Any opponent he faced, whether from inside the family or out, was dealt with beforehand. It was just as Lord Mo Jing said in his recent letter: they had to arrange a spectacular victory for the Young Master.’
’But of course, the Young Master just had to run into one country bumpkin who hadn’t been taken care of.’
’I originally thought the vast difference in their realms meant there’d be no problems. After all, the opponent was just some piece of trash from the Azure Flame Domain. How strong could he possibly be? Even if something unexpected happened, I could have intervened from the shadows.’
’This damn bumpkin, why is he so strong?’
’Not only did he defeat the Young Master, but he was so fast I didn’t even have time to make a move. Now the Young Master’s robes are humiliatingly shredded, and his very life is in this man’s hands.’
’It’s over. It’s all over.’
The chill rolling through Niu Dong was immense. He would probably be executed for this.
’No matter what, I have to get the Young Master back first. Then I’ll kill this little bumpkin.’
Gazing at Niu Dong and the guards, Lu Chao retorted with a smile, "What was it your Young Master said earlier? That as long as I came up here and beat him, he’d let me go. Or are your Young Master’s promises just farts?"
Lu Chao was completely composed, even smiling wryly to himself.
’All that preparation, all that devouring and advancing my Destiny Bone... and it turns out this Yan Mu is just an embroidered pillow—all show and no substance.’
’Just as Dongfang Ren predicted. Besides his high Martial Arts Realm, Yan Mu is completely useless. I figured that out the moment I made my first move.’
’Back then, Yan Mu used a True Qi Shield to block the attack but left himself completely open from every other direction.’
’In my eyes, he’s no different from a Martial Dao novice.’
’That’s why I switched to my sword. I used the Swift Speed of Thousand Kills Slaughter Sword to overwhelm him completely, leaving him no chance to retaliate. I knew the Middle-aged Man in Black Armor and the other guards would try to interfere, so I ended the fight quickly and took Yan Mu hostage.’
As Lu Chao’s taunts continued, the atmosphere turned glacial.
Yan Mu was still reeling from the devastating blow, while Niu Dong and his men... THUD!
They took a heavy step forward, unleashing a terrifying wave of True Qi and pressure that threatened to crush Lu Chao on the spot.
But Lu Chao was, of course, unfazed by mere pressure. He simply renewed his threat. "Take one more step, and I’ll take your Young Master’s life. Try me."
As he spoke, the edge of Lu Chao’s sword slowly began to slice into Yan Mu’s skin.
Yan Mu immediately began to shriek, "I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding!"
Below the arena, everyone, regardless of their allegiance, was left speechless...
By now, even the most casual spectator could see it: Young Master Yan was a complete joke.
Just then, Nan Zhuiming suddenly bellowed, "Lu Chao, release Young Master Yan at once! Do you want to bring death and destruction to the entire Azure Flame Domain?"
Another member of the Saint Bone Nan Family furiously chimed in...
"Lu Chao, if you dare to harm a single hair on Young Master Yan’s head, you will be a pariah for all eternity in these lands!"
One after another, they hurled accusations at Lu Chao, a hint of panic in their voices.
But Lu Chao just laughed. "Nan Zhuiming, I don’t need you to call me ’Father.’ After all, I don’t have a son as old as you. But the one who will bring ruin to the Azure Flame Domain... is you."
"Now, who still dares to claim that I re-established the Azure Flame Sect for my own selfish ambition?"
His voice thundered across the field!
Pupils constricted as everyone suddenly recalled what Lu Chao had said earlier.
The Cyan Sword Great Empire was really going to invade.
The corner of Nan Zhuiming’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. He had desperately denied any collusion with the Cyan Sword Great Empire, and now he was at a complete loss.
It was one thing for Young Master Yan Mu to appear so suddenly, but for him to be instantly defeated by Lu Chao had thrown everything into disarray. He was completely unprepared.
Suddenly, Lu Dingtian took a heavy step forward.
"Rebellious son! Whether or not the Cyan Sword Great Empire plans to invade isn’t something you can just decide with your one-sided claims."
"Young Master Yan Mu is our guest. By doing this, you are deliberately making an enemy of him."
He continued to refute Lu Chao’s earlier words and lay the blame on him. Lu Dingtian went on coldly, "The Cyan Sword Great Empire would never have invaded. They came for a friendly exchange."
"But now that you’ve harmed Young Master Yan Mu, you have brought a fatal disaster upon the entire Azure Flame Domain!"
No matter what, Lu Dingtian had to seize the moral high ground.
Instantly, Lu Dingtian’s followers joined in, and a cacophony of accusations erupted, plunging the scene back into chaos.
Just then, Yan Mu seemed to snap out of the terror that his own bleeding had induced.
He didn’t register what Lu Dingtian was saying; he just started screaming hysterically.
"You bumpkin! You dare to touch me? Do you have any idea who I am?"
"I am the appointed Supreme Commander of the invasion of the Azure Flame Domain! My two-million-strong army is already at Cyan Sword Mountain! With a single command, every last one of you will die!"
Yan Mu’s voice was shrill and full of malice.
In an instant, Lu Dingtian froze. Nan Zhuiming froze. Every voice that had been accusing Lu Chao fell silent.
As for Lu Chao, he was dumbstruck. He quickly asked, "So you’re the Supreme Commander in charge of invading our Azure Flame Domain?"