That sound was clearly one that had been suppressed for far too long before finally bursting free!

It was the very limit of a man’s endurance. No one could yet see how severely he’d been wounded, but that single cry alone made it plain — this time, he had no path left to survival.

This man had spent his entire life pursuing a single goal: the restoration of Great Qin. And the key to achieving that goal lay in Da Zhou — in truth, it could be said his entire life had revolved around this one purpose alone: ensuring the death of Da Zhou’s own Prince Yao.

Only with Da Zhou stripped of Prince Yao could no nation hope to hold the Three Realms together.

And now, with Jun Beiyue finally making his move, he, too, was determined to see Xuanyuan Lige dead.

For no other reason than this — concerning Ziqing, concerning the isolated island — Xuanyuan Lige simply knew far, far too much.

That single anguished cry made everything suddenly clear to the crowd — the physical evidence and testimony together left no doubt: the Yu clan had colluded with Xuanyuan Lige, and Gu Suying had cheated in the newcomers’ ranking tournament. An unforgivable crime. And the Yu clan had confessed of their own volition.

“Someone, bring that wretched girl to me!” Elder Se roared, his old face flushed dark with fury. Qinse Valley had always represented the most impartial, most neutral authority on all of Liuxian Island — and now, of all things, the problem had originated from within Qinse Valley itself. How could the two old elders bear such disgrace?

The maid had nowhere left to run, and was immediately dragged forward, dropping to her knees at once, confessing. “Elders, this servant knows she was wrong. It was Young Master Xuanyuan who threatened this servant — I never did it willingly! Elders, please, spare this servant! Young Master Xuanyuan said if I didn’t do as he asked, he would kill my entire family!”

At this, even Elder Qin, who had always doted on Xuanyuan Lige, erupted with fury. “Him! He truly said that?”

“This servant would never dare speak a single false word. Elders, this servant had no choice — everything was ordered by Young Master Xuanyuan!” The maid dared not lie now, not for anything.

Elder Qin heaved great, ragged breaths, turning to stare up at the black-swarmed rooftop, so furious he could barely speak. “You wretch… Xuanyuan Lige… you’ve brought utter disgrace upon Qinse Valley!”

Elder Se, meanwhile, made his decision at once. “Everyone, rest assured — my Qinse Valley has served as judges of the newcomers’ ranking tournament for many years now. That such a disgraceful wretch should emerge from within our own school today is a misfortune to our name. We two will absolutely give all of you a proper accounting for this. If Xuanyuan Lige does not die beneath the thousand eagles, this old man will personally kill him with his own hands, to atone for this disgrace!”

This matter touched upon the honor of Qinse Valley itself, upon the very fairness of the newcomers’ ranking tournament — and, to put it more gravely still, upon the reputation of Liuxian Island before the entire martial world of Longyuan.

Elder Qin, too, no longer hesitated. “Someone, drag this wretched girl aside and beat her!”

“No, please!” the maid screamed in terror.

But what good were her screams? The guards quickly seized her and dragged her aside, right there in the center of the arena, and began beating her mercilessly with the rod.

The entire arena fell silent, the only sounds the beating of a thousand wings overhead and, echoing in grim counterpoint, the relentless crack of the rod and the girl’s anguished screams. Could anything be more desolate?

With Elder Se having declared such things so plainly, who would dare voice any further objection?

Everyone waited for a final result, waited for the Yu clan’s Thousand Eagle Formation to finally disperse, waited to see just what would remain of Xuanyuan Lige after enduring a thousand eagles.

It promised to be a long and agonizing wait, and yet no one grew impatient — if anything, the tension in the crowd only mounted. As group after group of blood-soaked eagles peeled away and took flight, the final outcome drew ever closer.

Every heartbeat quickened, as though suspended in midair, as though ready to burst from every chest. Every eye remained fixed, unblinking, watching the dense black mass gradually thin, watching for that faint hint of purple to finally emerge from within — though no one could tell whether it meant he was still standing, or had already collapsed.

“Ah— look! Everyone, look!” Situ Xin’er suddenly cried out again, pointing at an eagle flying free. “That one — look at that one!”

Following the direction of her finger, even Ziqing couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath — the eagle’s talons clutched a large, blood-drenched chunk of flesh!

“No…” Ziqing couldn’t help but gasp aloud. If he was destined to die regardless, this manner of death was simply too cruel — a death like this would leave nothing behind but bare bones.

Ziqing instinctively turned to look at Jun Beiyue beside her, only to find this man staring coldly ahead, a ruthlessness in his eyes she had never once witnessed in him before.

She understood perfectly well: this time, he had no intention of sparing Xuanyuan Lige.

“Look, over there, another one!” someone else shouted, pointing to another massive eagle swooping out, likewise clutching a bloody strip of flesh in its beak — clearly torn free by savage, repeated ripping, the trailing edge of skin still fluttering loose.

“Ah—”

“How horrifying!”

“Xuanyuan Lige is finished for sure!”

…

Gradually, more and more scraps of flesh appeared before the crowd’s eyes, and no small number of women could no longer bear to watch, covering their eyes and shrieking in horror. By now, the maid at the center of the platform had already been beaten to death.

The newcomers’ ranking tournament was the single most solemn, sacred affair on all of Liuxian Island — corruption and cheating were absolutely never tolerated, and the price for it was one no one could afford to bear.

No one knew quite how much time had passed, but finally, someone shouted, “There he is! I can see him!”

Yes!

At last, Xuanyuan Lige was visible again. Heaven above, he was still standing!

He seemed to be shielding something, his entire body curled protectively inward, and yet, from every part of him, blade after blade of razor-sharp wind erupted outward, holding the eagles at bay.

Gone was the purple robe and silver hair — everything was now stained crimson, drenched entirely in blood, his body riddled with countless wounds, his once-flowing three thousand strands of hair now hanging in a matted, tangled mess. His usual icy, indifferent face was no longer visible at all — and even if it had been, it too would surely have been nothing but a mask of red.

“Lige’s finger-flicked Wind Blade truly is formidable!”

“What good is formidable now? How much longer can he possibly stand? Just look at his legs — they’re practically torn off already!”

“Might as well just wait for him to die, ha — the Yu clan’s Thousand Eagle Formation really is something else!”

…

Though the number of eagles was steadily thinning, Xuanyuan Lige’s Wind Blades, too, were growing weaker and weaker.

Nearly everyone in the crowd had already concluded his death was certain, beyond any doubt.

And yet, Ziqing kept her gaze fixed intently on his curled, protective hands.

What was he shielding?

“The demon zither?” Ziqing suddenly gasped. And at that very moment, to everyone’s utter astonishment, Xuanyuan Lige abruptly flung out whatever he’d been holding, instantly knocking several eagles clean out of the air!

“It’s the demon zither!” Even Elder Qin was startled, only now remembering the instrument Xuanyuan Lige had always carried slung across his back.

“Clang—”

A single resonant strike — despite showing hardly any visible force, the moment his blood-soaked hand swept across the strings, an ear-splitting sound erupted through the air!

“The demon zither — it feeds on blood!” Elder Se suddenly shouted. Jun Beiyue shot up from his seat at once — this, evidently, had caught even him off guard.

Xuanyuan Lige’s demon zither had always possessed a spirit of its own. Fed with its master’s own blood, resonating with his very soul, the demonic sound it could produce would grow boundlessly, terrifyingly powerful.

Almost in the same instant, Jun Beiyue and the two Elders of Qinse all leapt into the air together — and at that very moment, Xuanyuan Lige raised his head, a bloodthirsty, demonic grin spreading across his blood-drenched face. One hand cradling the zither, the other plucking the strings, his five fingers moving fluidly, growing ever more urgent, each resonant note striking like a hammer blow!

And yet, despite this overwhelming power, the melody itself remained a mournful, sorrowful tune.

“Lishang…” Ziqing sucked in a sharp breath. It was Lishang — the very piece she had never once heard him play openly before.