Chapter 104: A Flicker Before the End?

“What is that?”

“It’s blood—my god, why is there so much blood swirling above?”

In that instant, regardless of friend or foe, every eye was drawn upward in shock. Hovering thirty or forty meters overhead was a mass of churning black blood.

Its shape resembled a cloud, but everyone knew it was nothing but a conglomeration of black blood.

“Is this all the blood Su Ye lost? Impossible, it’s too much! How could this be? This is utterly bizarre!”

Jiang Ziyang, Ouyang Yi, and the others all looked up, their eyes filled with incredulity. Jiang Ziyang, in particular, felt an inexplicable familiarity toward this black blood.

Earlier, Su Ye had absorbed the cursed blood into his own body—could it be that he was now expelling it all?

Even Jiang Liuying stopped crying, gazing blankly at the mass of black blood above. For reasons unknown, she felt a suffocating pressure and, startled, turned to Su Ye, crying out,

“Su Ye, hurry, get up! Are you alright? Don’t scare me! If you can’t go on, let’s just concede!”

“I, Su Ye, have learned many things in my life—but surrender is not one of them!”

Roar—

A deep, thunderous cry erupted from Su Ye’s throat, as if a muffled roll of thunder had burst forth. The ice encasing his limbs began to crack, bit by bit, melting away.

Within him, a blaze of lightning and fire ignited!

“Ye Lingyun, witness my true power! Among all those at the first stage of Qi Condensation, none can rival me!”

Su Ye bellowed again. In the astonished gaze of the crowd, he transformed from a near-dead shadow into a figure brimming with vigor, as if resurrected from the brink—reborn, radiant, utterly changed.

Everyone saw it: Su Ye’s transformation was astonishingly swift.

“What? His wounds are healed?”

“How is that possible? Did he consume some life-risking elixir?”

“Is this a last burst of energy before death? How dare you claim invincibility before me?” Ye Lingyun could not believe Su Ye’s audacity. Seizing the moment, he lunged forward with a thunderous leap, soaring nearly ten meters high. Midair, he spun, unleashing several violet vortexes that crashed downward, his power multiplied as he descended like a bolt from the heavens.

True energy surged beneath his feet!

Jiang Ziyang shouted, “Dodge—he’s using the Threefold Phoenix Strike!”

But Jiang Ziyang’s warning came too late. Before he could finish, Ye Lingyun’s terrifying technique slammed into Su Ye.

Boom!!

A semicircular wave of force rippled out from Su Ye’s body, instantly halting Ye Lingyun’s assault.

Su Ye stood firm on the earth, lightning fire burning around him. His hair and eyes blazed gold, shrouded with fiery light. This lightning fire was far more mysterious than ordinary flames, resembling celestial streaks across the night sky—dazzling, enigmatic.

“Get out of my way!”

Su Ye clenched his fist and hurled it mercilessly at Ye Lingyun above.

A thunderous explosion erupted from his fist, lightning fire surging forth.

Ye Lingyun’s pupils contracted. He leaned back as the force grazed his body, the lightning fire roaring skyward and striking the mass of black blood above.

With a resounding crack, the blood cloud was punctured, leaving a gaping hole.

Ye Lingyun staggered, forced back twenty meters, skidding several more before he could steady himself. He stared at Su Ye in terror, “You can’t possibly be only at the first stage of Qi Condensation!”

“Is that so?” Su Ye’s voice was cold as he surged forward. Leaping into the air, arcs of lightning whirled around him, and with a mighty crash, he dove toward Ye Lingyun.

“What? The Threefold Phoenix Strike?!” This time, Ye Lingyun’s expression changed drastically. He had learned this move by chance ten years ago, and in all of Sheep City, no one else possessed such an ultimate skill. How could Su Ye possibly know it?

And from the way Su Ye executed it, it was rough, as if he had just mastered it!

In a single breath, Su Ye stomped down, true energy exploding from within.

Ye Lingyun could only raise his hand to block, but with a sickening crack, his defense shattered—bones broken!

No one expected Su Ye’s single step would flatten Ye Lingyun to the ground.

Ye Lingyun let out a furious cry, rolling across the earth, desperate to evade.

“Trying to escape? Allow me to send you on your way!”

With a swift, uncanny step, Su Ye kicked Ye Lingyun as he rolled, launching him over twenty meters.

The reversal was so rapid that even martial artists like Jiang Ziyang and Ouyang Yi could not react.

“Now, do you dare to act recklessly before me?”

Su Ye’s voice was fierce; he flashed forward, swept his right hand through the air, and unleashed a tornado.

Ye Lingyun roared, pounding the ground to bounce up, charging through the tornado.

“Too slow!” Su Ye was already upon him, raining a flurry of blows, finally kicking him away once more.

Ye Lingyun crashed into a tree in the manor, snapping the trunk with a crack.

His heart burned with rage, yet he was helpless. Since his rise to fame, he had never encountered such humiliation; he had always suppressed others with a lower cultivation, but now Su Ye was suppressing him.

He struggled to rise, pain searing through him as he spat a mouthful of blood.

Just moments ago, he boasted of victory within ten moves—now it was a bitter mockery!

Qiu Xuanxuan suddenly remembered, shouting, “Stop! Enough! Ten moves have passed! No more fighting!”

Su Ye paid no heed to talk of ten moves. Seeing Ye Lingyun still prone, knowing this was a golden opportunity, he charged without hesitation.

He leaped, clenched his right fist, and a spectral blood qilin erupted, pounding Ye Lingyun on the ground.

Boom—

His fist struck, creating a three-meter-wide crater at its center, lightning fire scattering in all directions.

But Su Ye felt a pang of disappointment—the ground was empty, no Ye Lingyun. He glanced up to see Ye Lingyun clutching his chest, retreating thirty meters.

At this moment, Ye Lingyun had fully released the suppression on his cultivation, restoring himself to the ninth stage of Qi Condensation.

With his strength restored, Ye Lingyun dodged the last blow and did not attack again. Instead, he stared unwaveringly at Su Ye, as if imprinting Su Ye’s image in his mind.

“Enough! Ten moves have long since passed, the outcome decided. No more fighting!” Jiang Ziyang cried, seeking to end the duel.

Jiang Liuying rushed forward, followed by other members of the Jiang family: “Su Ye, are you alright?”

“Master Su Ye, your wounds are still bleeding—quickly, bind them!”

Meanwhile, Qiu Xuanxuan, Ouyang Licheng, and others hurried to Ye Lingyun’s side, shocked to find he was utterly battered.

The once handsome, elegantly dressed Ye Lingyun was now in tatters, stained with blood.

Qiu Xuanxuan shouted, “Su Ye, you shameless scoundrel! The ten-move duel was agreed—Lingyun spared you, yet you relentlessly attacked! You exceeded ten moves and still struck, breaking the pact. You lost!”

“Old woman, want to argue? I’ve never feared anyone! Within ten moves, Ye Lingyun did not win, which means he lost. Moreover, he released his suppressed cultivation first. If anyone broke the pact, it was him. What now? You lost and want to renege?”

Qiu Xuanxuan fumed, “Who lost? Clearly Su Ye lost! If you’re so dissatisfied, let’s compete with our full strength now. You want us to suppress our cultivation for your sake—shameful!”

“Silence!” Ye Lingyun suddenly snapped, slapping Qiu Xuanxuan, his eyes burning with ruthless resolve.

“Today, I—Ye Lingyun—have lost!”