The scorching breath sprayed against the back of her neck. Xue Yu felt as if she were trapped in a massive furnace. Her eyelashes slowly drooped downward, her palm brushing across his back, her voice as light as soothing comfort, each syllable brief: “Mm.”

The two nearly collapsed, sitting in the dust and pools of blood. Due to the effects of the Blood Burning Curse, all the wounds, large and small, on Su You’s body burst open, blood flowing ceaselessly outward. Xue Yu withdrew from his embrace, her fingers forming a half-fist, pressing against the bloody hole on the left side of his chest.

“Come with me.” She reached out to take his hand.

He looked at her, his pupils like gilded gold, motionless, as if slowly contemplating the meaning of each word she spoke. After a long while, he finally placed his palm, covered with dark golden feathers, into her palm.

In the next moment, spiritual light formed an array, and the two disappeared directly within the spirit barrier.

The people in the stands looked left and right in an uproar.

Sui Jinyu and Sui Yu immediately followed, rushing back into the towering giant tree behind Penglai Island.

The formation carried Xue Yu and Su You back to their room. Chenyu Pavilion had always been generous with the arrangement and decoration of rooms. These elegant chambers and bedrooms carved out of the giant tree were all prepared for those hopeful to break into the top hundred of the Heaven’s Pride Rankings, with thoughtful attention to every detail.

The entire floor was covered with soft velvet carpet, the lamp shades made of delicate gauze, softening the light and shadows, swaying endlessly in the sea breeze that blew through the windows.

As soon as they entered, Su You was like an erupting volcano, sliding down the wall to sit on the velvet carpet. His ten fingers drooped, dragging deep, congealed bloody streaks across the snow-white carpet, red as cinnabar and piercingly vivid.

Voices came from the doorway. Sui Jinyu spoke: “Your Highness Xue Yu, we’ve had the female attendants prepare hot water. Nineteen’s wounds should be treated first—”

His words came to an abrupt halt. The door was heavily slashed open, a sudden wind blade chopping toward his shoulder. Sui Yu was quick-eyed and swift-handed, grabbing him and dodging half a step, but even so, the cloth on his shoulder was still sliced off by this sudden attack.

This was the second time today that Sui Jinyu had been attacked by Su You.

Xue Yu quickly grasped the shoulder blade of the agitated person, while sweeping away the two Sui family uncle and nephew and the female attendants standing at the door, her voice calm: “All of you, leave. Tell Chen Longzhi that no one is allowed on the second floor for now.”

Sui Yu nodded to Xue Yu, grabbed the extremely worried Sui Jinyu, who was jumping up and down like a brainless moth, and went downstairs.

“It’s alright.” Xue Yu used spiritual power to construct a new door, looking at Su You whose nerves were obviously tense, his eyes filled with gloom, and said in a low voice: “Sit down first. I’ll get a cloth to help you wipe it clean.”

Su You was very repulsed by the aura of outsiders, and it could no longer even be called repulsion.

His rationality was being burned away as his strength increased. He had truly become a veritable demon clan “tyrant.” Everything within a radius of several hundred meters was a forbidden zone – whoever dared to look one more time or take one more step would be killed without exception.

He was guarding Xue Yu.

Not to be taken away by others.

When he struck, his moves were still fierce and showed ease, but only when he sat down and patiently closed his eyes did that weak pallor, the fragmented interior barely holding on, finally relax and show itself.

Xue Yu wrung the hot water from the cloth and wiped the blood from his fingers and chest, then applied medicine. Finally, pinching a piece of broken bone, she was quiet for a moment before speaking very slowly: “Bear with it for a moment. I’ll reconnect it for you.”

He turned a deaf ear, his expression listless. He slightly opened his eyes, but his gaze turned only to her face. His Adam’s apple rolled as if he wanted to stubbornly prove something: “Mine.”

Xue Yu, mine.

Xue Yu looked at him and swept aside the dozen or so bloodstained handkerchiefs beside her: “Yours.”

As if finally satisfied, Su You looked at Xue Yu’s fingers pressed against the side of his wrist bone.

A Spirit Array Master’s fingers were steadier than a sword cultivator’s, and beautifully formed – each one white as jade and tender, resting on his skin that was so parched it seemed about to smoke, like ice blocks piled on top, emitting a hissing coolness.

She said she would reconnect the bone, but she didn’t move for a while.

Su You’s palm controlled her fingers, slowly pushing upward. With two crisp “crack” sounds, the cut on his lips burst open again, pulling out several dark red blood lines.

Apart from his complexion becoming a bit paler, he didn’t even hum once, didn’t even furrow his brow.

It was as if it wasn’t his body.

“Eat these.” Xue Yu picked two pills each from the dozens of porcelain bottles arranged on the velvet carpet, cupping them in her palm and bringing them to his lips.

After casting the Blood Burning Curse, he couldn’t remember familiar people, and it always took him a while to react to what Xue Yu said, responding half a beat slow.

At this moment, he looked at Xue Yu, seeing her sitting cleanly and safely right before his eyes, her skirt spread out. Those who coveted her were gone, and the entire world seemed quiet, with only him and her remaining. Only then did that nerve in his brain that had been pressed to its limit slowly return to its original position.

He lowered his head, soft, long hair hanging by his ears, and in this posture, bit the round pills one by one and swallowed them between his lips and teeth.

“Go lie down and sleep.” Xue Yu pointed in the direction of the bed curtains.

The medicine took effect, the Blood Burning Curse’s effects also reached their final moment, and with the bed curtains drawn, in such an environment, Su You gradually became sleepy.

His eyelashes were thick and long, his skin a cold white color. The contrast created a rich, vivid quality, but his sleep was not peaceful. Every little while his eyes would open, then reflexively look in Xue Yu’s direction.

Seeing she was still there, he could close his eyes and doze a bit more, though truly just for a little while.

Xue Yu didn’t bother with the secret letters on the desk. She moved a low stool to place beside the bed to keep watch, slightly lowering her head so her expression couldn’t be seen.

But she looked like her mood had nothing to do with the word “good.”

An hour passed, and Su You’s forced composure burst like a punctured balloon with a “pop,” revealing the appropriate weakness of severe injury.

The Blood Burning Curse originally squeezed all existing energy from one’s body, abandoning rationality to become a killing madman who knew no pain or emotions, with temporarily increased cultivation. But once this effect passed and rationality returned, the drawbacks would be revealed.

Such as a hundredfold pain.

“Awake?” Xue Yu held his hand, her expression frosty: “Can you understand what I’m saying?”

Su You’s hand, holding her fingertips, moved slightly. When he pulled the corner of his mouth upward into an arc, there was indescribable weakness and obedience: “Yes.”

“The Blood Burning Curse was your method to defeat your opponent?” She shot cold arrows outward like “swoosh swoosh.” Because of her anger, her round almond eyes became moist and lively. “Hurting the enemy a thousand while damaging yourself eight hundred – don’t you want your life anymore?”

“That matches with Jiu Feng – your ranking has already entered the top three, and your identity as the new lord of the demon capital was announced. Did you have to fight that match with him?”

Did you have to fight that match?

Yes. Had to fight.

“Don’t stay silent.” Xue Yu stared at the back of his hand, her tone stiff.

“Had to fight.” He quietly listened to every word she said. Only after her final tone fell did he lift his eyes and speak through the pain: “Anyone else would be fine. Not him.”

No matter what Su You looked like in others’ eyes, in front of Xue Yu, it could be said he followed only her lead. Chao Hua had even joked for a while that for many things, there was no need to ask our Young Master Su You’s opinion – whatever the young lady said was how it would be.

“One match—”

“It wasn’t a match, nor about rankings.” Su You pressed his other hand to his lips and coughed once, his eye corners reddened from high fever: “I just felt that everything Xue Yu possesses, including people, should each be better than the last.”

Xue Yu should walk forward without ever looking back.

He slowly swallowed the bloody sweet tide surging up from his chest, his voice broken but his gaze burning: “If he lost, he wouldn’t be qualified to pester you anymore.”

Xue Yu said nothing more. Her shoulders and back slowly leaned against the slight support of the low chair, as if some hard shell had been extracted, revealing a bit of raw, bewildered emotion inside.

After a long while, she pressed her lips together and stroked the back of his hand: “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Su You shook his head: “Didn’t I just take pain-relieving pills?”

“If those were that effective, you wouldn’t still be running a high fever.” Xue Yu gently exhaled: “If you feel uncomfortable, just sleep. I’ll be right here.”

Su You glanced toward the desk outside the bed curtains, where there were many secret letters from the enforcement halls of various cities in the mortal realm. Many things that Xue Yu had ordered to be reorganized and thoroughly investigated had received feedback. These important matters were usually handled personally by her.

“Those secret letters – not reading them?” He reached out a fingertip to touch Xue Yu’s warm cheek, smiled slightly, and was rarely genuinely considerate at such a time: “If you don’t read them now, when we return to Yedu, you’ll have to deal with the Palace Guard Department and Baizhong Mountain affairs and will have to stay up all night again.”

Xue Yu looked at him steadily for a long time, then her thin lips moved slightly: “I looked at a few earlier, but can’t focus on them now.”

“I’m worried about you.” She bent her spine slightly, pressing both hands to her temples: “I’m not as calm as you think I am.”

After speaking, she looked at his suddenly still gaze, leaned forward to cover his eyes, and simply said: “Sleep.”

In her palm, the slender eyelashes remained motionless, like a pair of butterfly wings about to take flight. At a certain moment, they fluttered chaotically twice as if their emotions were in turmoil.

Su You’s matches were over, but Xue Yu’s were not.

She still had two matches later – one with Chen Longzhi and one with Xu Yunqing. The next day, she would fight one match each with Jiu Feng, Lu Chen, and Cang Ju, and the rankings for the Three Lands Grand Assembly would be determined.

When the healing medicine gradually took effect, Xue Yu looked at the peacefully sleeping Su You, then at the sky outside the window, and quietly rose to leave.

In the first-floor elegant room, the door was wide open. Sui Jinyu pressed his hand against his forehead. He hadn’t changed out of the torn clothing and had a dark bruise under his eye, looking somewhat dejected. Jiu Feng didn’t care about him at all – she was cracking sunflower seeds on the side, chatting with Shen Jingshi sentence by sentence about Su You and Song Heng’s battle.

When it came to profound combat techniques, Shen Jingshi might not have that kind of keen eye, but regarding the bite mark Su You deliberately revealed, his vision was truly better than anyone’s.

“Can’t tell.” Jiu Feng shook her head, smiling: “Really can’t tell.”

“Really can’t tell.” Shen Jingshi immediately followed up, then got hit with a fan by Shan Shu.

Among those present, aside from Sui Jinyu, who had been hit twice by his dear younger brother and was melancholy, Chen Longzhi was the most nervous.

He was no longer in the mood to count money either, pushing his gold-inlaid jade abacus onto the table surface and taking a neurotic deep breath: “What should I do? I still have to fight Xue Yu later. Su You was injured so severely – will she get angry and lose control of her strength, making me lie in bed for ten days to half a month?”

Jiu Feng scoffed: “Look at your pathetic state.”

“Don’t point at me. I have this little capability. Look over there – those with capability aren’t necessarily much more relaxed.” Chen Longzhi looked toward Lu Chen with his furrowed brows.

“If it doesn’t work out, surrendering isn’t a bad way out.” Chao Nian patted Chen Longzhi’s shoulder, grinning as he persuaded: “Everyone knows you’re not ambitious about this anyway. On this combat stage, swords and blades have no eyes. If you accidentally lose an arm or leg, the healing medicine isn’t a big deal, but mainly the person suffers, right?”

“You think I don’t want to?” Chen Longzhi expressionlessly brushed away Chao Nian’s hand, quite painfully saying: “My old man has spoken – I can lose, but if I dare retreat without fighting, he’ll personally break my legs.”

“Fighting Xue Yu, you might not just break one leg. Let me check the time – in two hours, I’m afraid I’ll have to have Feng Shangyu go up and carry you down.” Jiu Feng slowly fiddled with her broken nails, thought for a moment, then added: “I still have a match with Xue Yu tomorrow. Gives me a headache.”

“Your injuries are healed?” Chen Longzhi stared at her unnaturally pale face, expressing doubt: “It’s only been this long, and you can continue fighting?”

“I just fought rather fiercely with Su You. Fighting Xue Yu is a bit problematic, but I can still beat that Tai Hua Holy Son sitting next to you and that future pillar of the human race over there until they don’t know north from south.” After speaking, she ignored Cang Ju’s “just how confident are you?” look, thought about tomorrow’s match, and also felt troubled: “Fighting a Spirit Array Master is a headache.”

Not a headache – intimidating.

Lu Chen also spoke: “I carefully observed Sui Jinyu and Xue Yu’s match. A Spirit Array Master’s combat techniques are too terrifying. Every move forms an array line, and in the end, you’re fighting yourself.”

“Sui Jinyu didn’t even display seventy percent of his usual strength.”

“If Spirit Array Masters haven’t grown up yet, they have many weaknesses and aren’t worth fearing.” Jiu Feng said, “They have weak physical bodies – just focus attacks on that.”

The main thing was that Xue Yu’s achievements on the Spirit Array Master path were already quite profound. Such a big weakness of Spirit Array Masters was right there – who didn’t know?

Everyone knew.

“Attack my ass.” Sui Jinyu lifted his eyelids with great temper: “Don’t I know how to attack her directly? Don’t I know how to get close? How do I get close? I’d barely take one step when a dozen consecutive formations would be waiting in line for me. I’d step on one after another, and when I finally broke them all and fought only a hundred or two hundred moves, an even bigger one would come.”

That feeling of frustration held in his heart was simply unbearable.

When Xue Yu came down, she happened to hear this sentence. She didn’t say anything, just nodded to Sui Jinyu and Sui Yu, speaking concisely: “The Blood Burning Curse’s effects have subsided. He’s sleeping now. I’m going to fight two matches – quick battles. You guard and take care of him first.”

Chen Longzhi’s heart turned cold hearing “quick battles.”

“Has tomorrow’s schedule come out?” Xue Yu looked at the list in Shan Shu’s hand and asked: “When does Song Heng go on stage?”

“News just came in.” Shan Shu handed her the two pages, speaking gently: “Originally, you and Song Heng would have had a match tomorrow afternoon, but he’s now severely injured and unconscious. The human side has forfeited for him.”

This meant Song Heng wouldn’t be going on stage at all.

Xue Yu frowned without speaking, grabbed the list and scanned it twice, then nodded: “Got it.”

After speaking, she headed outside toward the combat stage.

Shen Jingshi looked at Chen Longzhi with considerable sympathy: “Did you hear that? Quick battles. Hurry up then.”

If the top-level collisions between Su You and Jiu Feng, Xue Yu and Sui Jinyu were evenly matched and came with anticipation and boiling blood, then Xue Yu’s matches with Chen Longzhi and Xu Yunqing could only be considered minor skirmishes.

Because there was no suspense about victory or defeat, the judges didn’t even arrange much rest time between these two matches.

But there were still many people watching.

Before going on stage, Chen Longzhi scanned the various spectators who came to watch the excitement, looking ready to die: “I don’t know where Penglai Island found these old immortals as judges. They’re really capable – arranging someone in the top three to fight someone ranked over two hundred. What for, to help them warm up and relieve pressure?”

“Stop complaining.” Lu Qin spoke up to preserve Kunlun’s dignity: “The judges have multiple considerations. Your movement technique isn’t bad – fighting Xue Yu, you won’t necessarily lose too embarrassingly. As for Xu Yunqing, although he’s only ranked ninety-seventh, he’s a Spirit Array Master. Having one Spirit Array Master face another for mutual learning and exchange is more interesting to watch.”

Jiu Feng also rarely refrained from further discouragement: “Although your strength really isn’t much, your old man found you a decent movement technique manual. Don’t overthink it – go quickly.”

Chen Longzhi went on stage with the faint hope of “won’t lose too embarrassingly” and “your movement technique isn’t bad.”

He and Xue Yu were old acquaintances. After each announced their names, Xue Yu did not move. She looked at him for a while and asked: “Do you want to fight seriously or have a quick battle?”

Chen Longzhi immediately tensed up. He secretly prepared his defenses, warily pulling at the corner of his mouth with a stiff smile: “May I boldly ask what the difference is between these two?”

Xue Yu slowly raised her hand, her five fingers stopping in mid-air, pulling out a terrifying spirit array. It seemed she was only waiting for his words to fall before this invisible giant net would completely devour him, not even leaving bones behind.

“Quick battle.” Chen Longzhi lowered his voice and said rapidly, “I choose a quick battle.”

After speaking, he quickly stepped out several paces, his body coiling and swimming through the spirit barrier like a swimming dragon, creating a series of real and illusory afterimages.

He thought quick battle meant going through a dozen or so moves casually, but he didn’t expect this “quick” could be so fast.

His movement technique that he was proud of and had been praised for had barely taken three steps when countless silver threads exploded above his head like scattered flowers. The gentle force changed halfway through to become indestructible ice cones. Those ice hammers stabbed heavily at the afterimages, creating frightening wind sounds.

Chen Longzhi’s scalp went numb.

In the next moment, dozens of sharp, long ice hammers came screaming toward his chest. That momentum looked like they wanted to cut him open directly. Chen Longzhi clenched his teeth and stopped breathing for a moment.

He even suspected he hadn’t said “quick battle” – he had asked for death.

The ice cones suddenly became extremely slow when they were within an inch of his chest. Before Chen Longzhi could react, the sharp ends became soft when they touched his skin. Immediately after, he made tooth-aching creaking sounds from head to toe.

In an instant, his entire person was frozen into a lifelike ice sculpture, pulled by snow silk and sent down from the combat stage.

Unfreezing Chen Longzhi took Jiu Feng and the others considerable time.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. This counts as showing mercy.” Shen Jingshi looked at Chen Longzhi’s frozen, numb face and comforted him while unable to bear looking directly: “Just now on stage when Xue Yu let you answer, we were all standing here sweating for you, afraid you’d lose your mind and want to fight seriously.”

Chen Longzhi vigorously rubbed his still-numb face, hissing through gritted teeth: “I might as well have just surrendered directly!”

“Shh, look quickly.” Yin Ling pointed interestingly at the white-clothed youth now on stage: “Xu family’s Xu Yunqing, from a Spirit Array Master family background. His achievements in this area aren’t bad. In the past, Xue Yu might have treasured talent, thinking he was promising material, and might not have been unwilling to give some pointers. Look at now.”

“Now? Now, whoever goes up gets beaten.” Cang Ju slowly added.

To fight this match with Xue Yu, Xu Yunqing had indeed put in effort. He stumbled along and stabilized in the top hundred of the Heaven’s Pride Rankings. Combined with the rarity of Spirit Array Masters, in the final days of the Three Lands Grand Assembly, he finally saw his name scheduled to fight Xue Yu.

He dressed meticulously, putting great effort into details. In pure white robes standing gracefully in the wind, his long hair only loosely tied in a low ponytail with a ribbon, his voice clear as pearls and jade: “Chai River Xu family’s Xu Yunqing requests Your Highness Xue Yu’s guidance.”

Jiu Feng was right – Xue Yu really had no mind to deal with these intentional or unintentional requests for guidance.

She didn’t even lift her head to look once, opening her lips to speak with cold indifference: “Yedu’s Xue Yu. Let’s begin.”

Xu Yunqing had never thought to move a Royal Princess’s heart purely through a pitiful appearance. He needed ability, methods, and impressive confidence.

For this match, he had prepared for a long time, integrating many formations.

But Xue Yu didn’t give him this opportunity.

Just as the judge made the starting gesture, Xu Yunqing began forming arrays around the edge of the spirit barrier. Xue Yu coldly lifted her eyes and pressed a finger heavily to the ground. In an instant, it was like opening some switch – all movement within the spirit barrier slowed down.

Slower and slower, until Xu Yunqing couldn’t move his fingers at all.

Xue Yu looked at this scene quite coldly, her sleeves moving slightly as she mercilessly swept the person out of the spirit barrier.

All this happened in the blink of an eye – truly in the time it took to blink. Many people didn’t even realize the match had started when they saw the judge raise the victory spirit tablet.

The Spirit Array Master, ranked ninety-seventh on the Heaven’s Pride Rankings, hadn’t lasted even one move in Xue Yu’s hands.

Chen Longzhi stared dumbfounded, looking around bewildered, then patted his chattering teeth that were still frozen, unable to suppress the sound from his throat as he looked at Feng Shangyu beside him: “I wronged Xue Yu.”

“I can see now – she showed me mercy.”

“I thank her for letting me last three moves.”

On a giant tree above Penglai Island’s sea surface, when Song Heng awoke, the sky had completely darkened. Outside was still very lively, with waves of sound washing over, but inside the room was very quiet, with only a dim lamp lit. The smell of medicinal herbs lingered, so thick it was choking.

He was in great pain, the worst being below his left shoulder. He instinctively reached to touch it, only grasping an empty sleeve.

The scene from the combat stage replayed in his mind over and over. Song Heng suddenly closed his eyes.

Sensing his chaotic aura, the door was pushed open from outside, and several kind-faced elders filed in.

“Young Master has suffered severe injuries, and your forearm was also torn off. We’ve applied medicine. You need to rest well in bed. We’ve already stepped forward to withdraw you from the next few days of matches.”

The leader’s voice was gentle, giving a calming, unhurried reassurance: “Human Emperor Qiu Tong’s arrangements – the city lords have already told us. We who have lived long enough, staying in Kunlun until our bones have rusted, are already rotten wood. It’s time we sacrifice ourselves for humanity’s foundation.”

“But Young Master has not yet truly made a decision.”

This elder was a highly respected elder of Kunlun, usually kind and benevolent to people, beloved by disciples. Now he handed a name list to Song Heng’s bedside, saying slowly: “This is the ranking table for this Three Lands Grand Assembly. Although the final rankings aren’t yet determined, it’s not far off. Young Master might as well look carefully.”

Song Heng looked twice, and the more he looked, the more dizzy his head became.

“The demon clan has produced Heavenly Wolf, a new monarch. Young Master has also seen his strength. After the bloodshed with Jiu Feng, he could still drag Young Master to severe injury. Such a figure commanding the demon capital alongside Jiu Feng – the demon clan’s increasing prosperity is only a matter of time. The Sacred Lands? Besides Xue Yu, there’s also Cang Ju. These two have unstoppable momentum. Shan Shu, Yin Ling, Ji Tingxi, and others occupy positions in their teens, twenties, and thirties. Even Lu Chengze, who fell from his position as Sacred Land successor, is still in the top fifty.”

“Young Master, find on this table how many from the human race are among the top ranks?”

Very few.

Countable on one hand.

“Time waits for no one. We hope Young Master will decide quickly.”

“No need to say more.” Song Heng opened his eyes to look at the bed curtains, his mind sketching the form of that enormous beast. It had the world’s sharpest claws and fangs, and the most violent ferocity.

If the human race continued growing in such an environment, then for hundreds and thousands of years to come, they would live under the shadows of the Sacred Lands and the demon capital.

He swallowed with his rolling Adam’s apple, slowly exhaled, and said hoarsely: “Send me to Xiao City. Within thirty days, someone will use dragon breath as bait to lure tens of thousands of demons to this city. At that time, please have one hundred predecessors assist me, cooperating with human sacred artifacts and ancient formations to annihilate them-first to eliminate humanity’s troubles, second to eliminate the Sacred Lands’ and demon capital’s excuse to interfere in mortal affairs.”