A warning!

The Yu clan head meant this warning with deadly seriousness!

He could see the second match was about to reach its conclusion — the Yu clan was going to lose. And once the Yu clan lost this match, they would have absolutely nothing left.

From what the Yu clan head understood of the Gu clan, openly cutting in line and hurling insults at them meant the Gu clan would never let the Yu clan off the hook, not ever, not for the rest of their days.

The Yu clan head had thrown all caution to the wind — a broken pot fears no more cracking, a man with no shoes fears no thorns!

He was determined to fight Xuanyuan Lige to the bitter end!

Xuanyuan Lige stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around.

The Yu clan head snarled furiously, “Don’t blame me for being heartless when you’ve shown no loyalty yourself! Xuanyuan Lige, if the two Elders of Qinse — no, if all of Liuxian Island, all the martial world of Longyuan — learns that you rigged the drawing of lots, you’ll never be able to show your face in this world again!”

The martial world had its own rules. Amid all the coldness and treachery of human hearts, amid every ruthless scheme and wicked deed one might commit, there was one line that could never be crossed: the sacred rules of the martial world itself.

“I told you — I can’t help you, and that’s final.” Xuanyuan Lige’s voice was flat. He paused, then turned around, his cold, handsome face utterly expressionless, his tone even and calm without the faintest ripple. “Threatening me… won’t do you any good.”

“You do have a way! I know you must — you know exactly how many people Jun Beiyue has planted across Liuxian Island. Stir up chaos right now, and if the island descends into disorder, the newcomers’ ranking tournament will have to be halted! The results won’t count!” The Yu clan head was practically shrieking. They were separated from the arena by only a single wall — if not for the roaring cheers from the crowd, they would surely have already drawn attention.

Hearing this, Xuanyuan Lige suddenly gave a cold laugh. He stood a full head taller than the Yu clan head, his purple robes and silver hair sweeping in the wind, lofty and imperious, chin held high, looking down at the Yu clan head with the disdain of a celestial monarch surveying a mere mortal. “Yu clan — you’re not even worth this crown prince going to such lengths.”

“Then don’t blame me for showing no mercy either!” the Yu clan head snapped coldly, turning furiously to leave.

But in that very instant, a Wind Blade suddenly streaked past him!

The Yu clan head froze abruptly, his blood-red eyes narrowing sharply.

Attacking him?

If Xuanyuan Lige dared raise a hand against him — good. Filing a formal complaint would take time anyway, and he’d still need to convince the two Elders of Qinse to believe him. But now, he could simply cause enough of a scene right here that the whole arena would find out on its own!

Either way, the Yu clan had no face left to save on Liuxian Island anymore. He was past caring.

The Yu clan head didn’t turn back, his lips curling into a cold smile, slowly pursing to whistle — the moment he gave that single signal, thousands upon thousands of birds across all of Liuxian Island would come flocking to his call!

Today, even if it cost him this old life of his, he would make sure Xuanyuan Lige died beneath a thousand beaks, his body torn beyond recognition!

But just as the Yu clan head was about to let out the sound, suddenly — “Clang!” — a crisp, ringing note. The gong from the arena!

The second match had ended!

“This old one hereby announces: the Gu clan versus the Yu clan — the Gu clan wins! The Bai clan versus the Hai clan — the Hai clan wins!” Elder Qin’s booming voice rang out immediately afterward.

The result was in. Defeat.

The Yu clan was finished!

The Yu clan head froze for an instant — and, to his utter shock, a Wind Blade came flying straight at his face!

He snapped back to his senses, his blood-red eyes flying wide open!

He’d known, of course, that the moment he issued his warning, Xuanyuan Lige would want him silenced for good — but all his guard had been focused behind him. He hadn’t realized: that earlier Wind Blade hadn’t missed by accident. Xuanyuan Lige had aimed it wide on purpose!

That Wind Blade had curved far around and was now rebounding straight for his forehead!

Having just received the news of their defeat, the Yu clan head hadn’t yet recovered enough to react — in that split-second of shock, he was utterly frozen. And yet, life and death often hinged on exactly such a split second.

Xuanyuan Lige watched in silence, his pale, handsome face utterly expressionless, his indifference toward a human life bordering on cruelty.

The speed of the Wind Blade was beyond description — and yet, to his own eyes, to his own senses, it seemed to move in slow motion. He could see with perfect clarity: the Yu clan head was about to die.

But just then, a startled scream suddenly rang out from nearby. “Father!”

Xuanyuan Lige started in alarm, and without a second thought, immediately launched a second Wind Blade to finish the job — but it was already too late. Yu Xiao appeared out of nowhere, kicking his stunned father clear out of the way. And at that very same moment, from both sides of the narrow alley, a vast black swarm came surging in — flocks of black eagles, dense and countless, like two great black arrows streaking straight toward the center!

Xuanyuan Lige’s heart sank. He immediately leapt to flee — but at that very moment, the sky overhead was likewise blanketed in black, sweeping down to cover the entire alley from above, leaving him no path of escape whatsoever.

Xuanyuan Lige stopped in his tracks, hands clasped behind his back, gripping the end of the demon zither slung across his back. His expression remained coldly indifferent, but a sharp glint of killing intent gathered in his eyes — deadly enough to strike without a trace.

“Father, I told you long ago this man couldn’t be trusted!” Yu Xiao said urgently, helping his father up.

“This… you…” The Yu clan head looked at the sky full of eagles, then at his own devoted son, and gave himself a hard slap across the face. “Ah, this old fool! What a fool I’ve been!”

With that, he immediately retreated behind his son and said coldly, “Xuanyuan Lige — if you can walk out of my Yu clan’s Thousand Dark Eagle Formation today, this old man will let you go.”

The Thousand Dark Eagle Formation, as its name suggested, surrounded Xuanyuan Lige with a full thousand eagles — the exclusive formation of the Yu clan’s sole direct heir. The Yu clan head had once planned that if Xuanyuan Lige could help the Yu clan win the second match, he would have Yu Xiao unleash this very formation against Jun Beiyue in the third!

The true power of this formation had never actually been determined by anyone — because no one had ever survived it to walk back out.

Only strength capable of standing against the Thousand Eagle Formation could ever hope to measure its true might!

Xuanyuan Lige seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation at once. Never mind whether he could escape with his life — this sudden commotion from the Yu clan, right next to the arena itself, would be impossible not to draw attention.

Since there was no way to leave, he would have to carve his own path out by force!

Xuanyuan Lige’s cold eyes deepened, and he immediately drew the demon zither from his back. Before long, a true and terrible battle was about to begin.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, Elder Qin had just announced the results, and before the crowd could even process the shock of the Bai clan’s defeat, they were swept up in astonishment by the sight of the vast, sky-blackening swarm of eagles.

“That’s the Yu clan’s Black Silk Thousand Eagle Formation! What on earth is happening over there?”

“Where’s the Yu clan head and the young master? They lost — surely they wouldn’t have run off that quickly!”

“Something serious must be happening over there — should we go take a look?”

…

The whole arena erupted in an uproar. Even the two Elders of Qinse rose to their feet, straining to see into the distance.

Only two groups in the entire crowd remained entirely indifferent to the spectacle of the massive eagle swarm — and one of them was the Bai clan, because they were utterly stunned.

Especially the Bai clan head and Bai Feiyao — in the second match’s mixed melee, Bai Feiyao had given everything she had, and yet she and her partner simply couldn’t coordinate, losing again and again, nearly costing them their very lives!

She hadn’t even had the presence of mind to process what had happened, staring blankly at the now-empty platform. This result was simply too much to accept — the Bai clan had actually lost, and lost twice over, meaning they hadn’t even made it into the final round!

The Bai clan was Liuxian Island’s second-ranked clan, the one everyone had expected to go the furthest, the clan with the most genuine strength in this entire tournament!

The true showdown of the tournament was supposed to be the Bai clan against the Gu clan — how could the Bai clan possibly have lost to the Hai clan, a mere upstart newcomer?

“No, this can’t be — this old man must be dreaming. It’s a nightmare!” the Bai clan head muttered to himself, shaking his head over and over.

The other unmoved group was the Gu clan. Jun Beiyue glanced at the massive black spectacle nearby, the corner of his lips curling into a cold smile. If Xuanyuan Lige could buy the loyalty of the Yu clan head, then he could just as easily buy the heart of Yu Xiao.

Amid the uproar, he asked coldly, “Elders, since when have the rules of the ranking tournament allowed for a mid-match pause?”