Chapter 552: Back-to-the-Wall Ceasefire

King Huai clapped his hands and stood up, chuckling. "Splendid, truly a splendid match. I never imagined a friendly contest at such a grand ceremony could result in both sides losing. It was intensely fought, far beyond anything this king anticipated. However..."

King Huai looked at Yun Qinghong and smiled. "Are you sure you want to continue? You've used almost half your people just to defeat one of ours. This result is quite regrettable; I almost feel embarrassed to proceed. However, knowing Patriarch Yun as I do, even if he faces a humiliating defeat, he'll still bravely resist, won't he?"

"Heheheh," Yun Qinghong chuckled back. "King Huai, you certainly know me well. But your words and actions are truly childish and laughable. Our contest has only just begun. Isn't it a bit too early to declare us defeated?"

"Hahaha!" King Huai laughed heartily. "That's exactly what I'd expect you, Yun Qinghong, to say! Then let this king see where your confidence comes from, and I'm even more eager to know how long your arrogance can last... Wenbo, you will be our second participant."

King Huai deliberately emphasized the words "second participant," making his sarcasm clear to everyone. No sooner had he spoken than a tall man soared into the air and landed in the center of the arena.

It was the fifth of the Seven Demon Illusory Sons—Prince Wenbo! Like Prince Zihuan before him, he was also at Level 5 of the Overlord Profound Realm.

On the Western side, another individual immediately flew up and landed before Prince Wenbo. This person was the strongest participant from the Western side so far—also one of the Seven Demon Illusory Sons, the sixth-ranked Prince Yongyi!

Both belonged to the Demon Illusory Royal Clan and were among the "Seven Demon Illusory Sons." Their rankings were adjacent, indicating a small gap in strength. Furthermore, they had fought many times before, adapting to each other's Golden Crow Flame and profound techniques. As a result, their battle was exceptionally fierce and tightly contested. After a full two quarters of an hour, the victor was finally decided... Prince Wenbo won by a narrow margin! Prince Yongyi was defeated.

The Western side suffered another defeat! The situation was now a dismal five losses and one draw.

Although Prince Wenbo had won, he had used all his unique moves and trump cards, sustaining multiple injuries and heavily depleting his profound energy. In the subsequent seventh match, he was defeated with some difficulty by a minor prince from the Western side.

Eighth match: Prince Hesong of the Western side faced Lin Hanchuan of the Lin family—Lin Hanchuan achieved a complete victory!

Ninth match: Prince Jiarong of the Western side faced Lin Hanchuan of the Lin family—Lin Hanchuan won again!

By this point, the Western side, represented by the Yun family, had a record of one win, one draw, and seven losses! Only four individuals remained able to participate.

Tenth match: The seventh-ranked of the Seven Demon Illusory Sons, Prince Yingnan of the Royal Palace, faced Lin Hanchuan—Prince Yingnan won!

Eleventh match: Prince Yingnan faced Nangong Yan of the Nangong family—Prince Yingnan achieved a hard-fought victory. The Western side, down to its last few participants, finally secured its first two consecutive wins. However, no one on the Western side showed even a hint of joy. Although Prince Yingnan had won, he was completely exhausted and certain to lose his next match. At that point, the Western side would be left with only three individuals. Meanwhile, the opposing side still had eight people, and not one of their four top-tier strong competitors had even appeared yet.

Twelfth match: Prince Yingnan faced Bai Jie of the Bai family—unsurprisingly, Bai Jie achieved a complete victory!

The Western side was left with only three individuals: Su Zhizhan, "Sixth Under Heaven," and the Yun family's participant.

For the thirteenth match, "Sixth Under Heaven" entered the arena. The Elf Clan possessed powerful profound bow techniques and natural talent, but their profound energy attributes meant their offensive capabilities were not inherently strong. Furthermore, in a direct confrontation within the restricted arena, their profound bow power was severely limited. Consequently, "Sixth Under Heaven" was immediately at an absolute disadvantage. After a bitter struggle, the miracle of a weaker opponent defeating a stronger one did not occur, and they were defeated by Bai Jie.

By this point, thirteen matches had been fought between the two sides. The Western side had already lost ten individuals, while the Eastern side had only lost four. In addition to Bai Jie, who was currently in the arena, the Eastern side still had seven unengaged young powerhouses. Among them, Xiao Donglai of the Xiao family and Jiufang Yu of the Jiufang family were at Level 4 of the Overlord Profound Realm; Chiyang Yanwu of the Chiyang family was at Level 5; Helian Ba of the Helian family was at Level 6; and Prince Yuanque and Prince Huiye, ranked second and third of the Seven Demon Illusory Sons, were also at Level 6 of the Overlord Profound Realm.

Furthermore, the leader of the Seven Demon Illusory Sons, Huiran, possessed profound energy at an astonishing Level 8 of the Overlord Profound Realm!

On the other side, only Su Zhizhan, a Level 6 Overlord Profound Realm practitioner, remained. As for the Yun family, they had no suitable participant left; their strongest young generation member was only at Level 2 of the Overlord Profound Realm.

From the very beginning, this duel had no suspense. Although no one was surprised by the current situation, they still felt the Yun family's defeat was utterly dismal.

The major powers within Demon Imperial City sighed inwardly. This was merely a comparison of the young generation's strength from two factions. While not decisive for everything, it was more than enough to demonstrate the formidable power King Huai commanded—an absolutely overwhelming force! One purpose of this deliberately provoked duel by King Huai was to expel the Yun family. The other was to use this pure power suppression to utterly crush the opponent's morale, trampling their dignity and arrogance, including that of the Little Demon Empress, underfoot.

After the Yun family's expulsion, the Little Demon Empress would have even less strength to contend with King Huai. At that point, King Huai would only need an opportunity, or to create one himself, and the Demon Emperor of the Demon Illusory Realm would change hands...

On the Western side, a dark cloud hung over everyone's faces. After "Sixth Under Heaven" was defeated by Bai Jie, only two individuals remained able to fight. In reality, in their hearts, it was equivalent to only one person left, because among the Yun family's younger generation, there truly wasn't anyone capable of performing in such a setting.

"Sigh." Su Xiangnan let out a slow sigh. He patted Su Zhizhan's shoulder and said, "Zhizhan, the outcome is already like this; our defeat was destined... destined from the very beginning. Go up there. Whether we can salvage a bit of dignity at the end rests on you."

"I understand. No matter the outcome, I will give my all!"

After speaking, Su Zhizhan grabbed his weapon, soared into the air, and landed before Bai Jie, who had just defeated "Sixth Under Heaven." He pointed his sword forward, his aura still immensely powerful, showing no weakness despite his side's heavy losses. "Su Zhizhan of the Su family! I never like fighting women. You'd best surrender now."

Bai Jie, clad in white, stood opposite him. She was considerably taller than most women, her face flushed, and slightly out of breath, clearly indicating her previous victory over "Sixth Under Heaven" was not easy. Hearing Su Zhizhan's words, she let out a cold laugh and retorted sarcastically, "Your side is losing like drowned dogs. I truly don't know where you get the nerve or confidence to make such a grand boast, let alone to look down on us women."

"No, you misunderstand," Su Zhizhan scoffed, his voice dropping. "I, Su Zhizhan, absolutely do not look down on women. It's just that... I look down on women who betray their ancestors, abandon righteousness, and act as someone's dog!"

"You're asking for death!" This harsh insult instantly enraged Bai Jie. She swept her jade sword horizontally, and suddenly, a colossal white tiger image appeared behind her. The white tiger roared heavenward, its echoing cries shaking the four directions, making the entire grand hall tremble faintly. Instantly, a violent gale surged, its howling sound even overpowering the white tiger's roar. The arena seemed to be engulfed by thousands upon thousands of hurricane-like storms.

"It's the Bai family's Tiger Roar Domain!"

Bai Jie's domain instantly spread, enveloping the entire arena. Su Zhizhan's hair and clothes were violently whipped up, flapping loudly, yet his body remained rooted to the ground, unmoving. He gripped his long sword and swept it horizontally.

Within Bai Jie's domain, everyone's power and speed, except her own, would be greatly suppressed. However, Su Zhizhan's sword strike was still as swift as lightning. The surrounding surging hurricanes were all swept up by this single strike, and a large tear immediately opened in the vast domain. Su Zhizhan stepped forward, and with each step, the domain was torn further.

"Both the Bai and Su families use swords as weapons, and their profound energy attributes are both wind. The difference in profound energy between Bai Jie and Su Zhizhan isn't vast, but in terms of understanding wind profound energy laws, Su Zhizhan is clearly far superior to Bai Jie. Her domain poses no threat to him," Yun Qinghong remarked admiringly.

At this moment, Su Zhizhan had closed in on Bai Jie. On the blade of his sword, a pale green vortex of wind swirled. This vortex, minuscule within the vast hurricane domain, forcefully pushed aside all the howling wind and waves around it.

Whoosh!!

Su Zhizhan thrust his sword straight forward, instantly tearing the domain in front of him. Bai Jie raised her jade sword vertically, blocking Su Zhizhan's strike with a clang. Immediately, she felt her arm go numb, a sharp pain in the web of her hand, and her body rapidly recoiled, her jade sword nearly flying from her grasp.

Even at full strength, she was no match for Su Zhizhan, let alone with her profound energy more than half depleted.

Su Zhizhan gave her no chance to breathe. His figure flickered, instantly pressing the attack, his body like a raging gale, his sword like a bolt of lightning. Every swing of his sword produced a whistling sound that almost tore eardrums, and the wind vortex on his blade expanded rapidly. Bai Jie parried dozens of consecutive strikes, her arm now almost completely numb. Her tightly clenched right palm was mostly stained red by the blood oozing from the split web of her hand, and even her cheeks had several long cuts from the sword's wind.

"You dared to injure my face... I will never forgive you!!"

The sharp pain on her face, belatedly felt by Bai Jie, made her erupt like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on. With a furious cry, the colossal white tiger image reappeared behind her, and her entire body instantly wrapped in a wind vortex dozens of feet high. Su Zhizhan's eyes flashed. Just then, he suddenly plunged directly into her wind vortex. Before her full, enraged counterattack could arrive, he whipped his sword across her waist.

Smack!!!!

The sword whip landed with an incredibly loud and exceptionally crisp crack. The wind vortex around Bai Jie, still not fully formed, immediately dispersed, and her entire body spun and flew out like a top that had been violently struck, continuing until she landed outside the arena.

"Sigh, women," Su Zhizhan murmured to himself, standing still and shaking his head. "No matter how strong they are, they can't achieve great things."

Bai Jie hit the ground, completely disoriented from the fall, her jade sword having flown off to an unknown location.

"Su Zhizhan... I... I'll fight you to the death!!"

To be whipped away by a single sword in front of all the heroes of the realm—as the strongest of the Bai family's generation and a prodigy known throughout the Demon Illusory Realm, she had never endured such a profound humiliation. She pulled out another sword, cried out, and prepared to charge at Su Zhizhan again.

"Enough."

Bai Jie's forward momentum halted. An invisible barrier of force appeared before her, preventing her from moving even a half-step further. Bai Yi, the Bai family patriarch, walked down, pulled Bai Jie aside, and said, "You've already lost... What kind of behavior is this in front of everyone!"

Only then did Bai Jie realize she had landed outside the arena. She gritted her teeth, glared fiercely at Su Zhizhan, and then could only obediently return to her seat.