Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Battle Begins

Hearing the veiled menace in Distant’s words, Su Yi gave a quiet, dismissive snort, his heart growing more serious. Though he and Distant had never gotten along, he was well aware of the man’s ruthlessness and skill.

Compared to Distant, all those Su Yi had encountered before—whether it was Aoben Yu, Liu Xuan, Ke Yue, who tried to embarrass him, or the martial cultivator Zhong Yuan who sought his life—had never truly considered Su Yi as a real opponent. None had ever fought with their full strength. Were they to have done so—even if they were ultimately defeated—they would never have suffered such devastating injuries with barely a single move. But their utter disdain led them to deliver themselves into Su Yi’s hands, perfectly playing into his schemes.

Zhong Yuan’s case was somewhat different. With his strength, he hardly needed to go all out. Yet, precisely because of that, he left Su Yi an opening for a fatal blow. Zhong Yuan died without ever using his trump card—truly an undeserved end.

Ultimately, none of these people saw Su Yi as an enemy who must be crushed, someone who should never be allowed to rise again. But for Distant, such a situation was unlikely. He might look down on Su Yi, but when it came time to act, he would fight ruthlessly, leaving no quarter!

Of course, with Su Yi’s current body—comparable to a tenth-tier fighter—he had little reason to fear Distant. Each level in the martial path brought a significant leap in power. With Distant’s current strength, even with a low-grade Profound Martial Skill, defeating a peak tenth-tier fighter would be a tall order.

However, Su Yi had been wounded in his previous near-death struggle, and his recovery was incomplete; his abilities were likely somewhat hampered...

“Though there’s a problem, it’s not too severe…” Feeling the lingering ache and weakness in his body, Su Yi clenched his fist slowly, musing to himself. He was also gaining a new appreciation for his own formidable physique.

Back when he was just a tenth-tier fighter, he’d suffered injuries and faced the attacks of second-rank magical beasts. But nothing had ever allowed him to stand and fight on a stone platform as he did now.

Still, his wounds hadn’t fully healed. It seemed the mysterious blood-red substance’s power had indeed diminished somewhat… Perhaps only the Blood of Heaven and Earth could restore it…

By now, the ring of onlookers around the stone platform was thick. All eyes were focused on the arena, their anticipation growing fiery as Meiya gave the signal.

The duel began!

Distant’s gaze sharpened with cold intent. He struck first, stomping the ground and launching his body forward with a thunderous sound. In a blink, he was upon Su Yi, twisting his body with explosive speed as his right leg swept out, surging with power, aimed straight at Su Yi’s chest!

The force of Distant’s spinning kick sent a fierce gust tearing outward from the center of the platform, sweeping across the entire stone arena. Even those standing on the platform felt the surge of energy; the weaker among them were forced to stumble backward a few steps.

The audience gasped in amazement—not only was Distant’s aura far stronger than when he’d last dueled Duan Shi, but he had unleashed a killing blow at the very outset. Could Su Yi withstand such an assault?

Even Duan Shi, who’d watched Su Yi fight before, was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t realized Distant had held back during their previous match…

Distant’s ruthless decisiveness caught Su Yi off guard for an instant. Sensing the incoming force, Su Yi swiftly raised his left arm to block the attack.

A muffled, bone-shaking impact rang out. The resulting shockwave kicked up dust from the ground, rippling outward like waves on water. Under this tremendous force, Distant remained rooted to the platform, while Su Yi was driven back several steps.

From the outside, it seemed Su Yi was on the defensive. The crowd below began whispering among themselves.

“Captain Distant didn’t budge, but Su Yi was forced back… Looks like Distant really has the upper hand…”

“See? I told you Su Yi wasn’t a match for our captain, and you didn’t believe me…”

“Ah, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have bet on Su Yi winning…”

Duan Shi’s eyes flickered as he saw Su Yi pushed back. He was surprised by the ferocity of Distant’s attack. At that moment, a quiet voice beside him asked, “Brother Duan Shi, it seems Su Yi can’t beat Captain Distant, can he?”

Duan Shi turned and saw it was Lin Tie, the guard, looking at him with a strange expression. Duan Shi frowned and returned his gaze to the match.

He answered slowly, “To be honest, I can’t say for sure now. Distant’s offense was fierce, and he forced Su Yi back, but it doesn’t seem Su Yi was really hurt. If Distant doesn’t use his Profound-level martial skill, I doubt he’ll win so easily…”

Whether Lin Tie understood or not, he said no more, only turning his peculiar expression toward the platform. In truth, he didn’t particularly care who became captain of the guard—it was just a change in leadership.

But if Su Yi became captain, then with Lin Tie’s own strength of only a second-tier fighter, wouldn’t he be at the bottom of the group again? That position had once belonged exclusively to Su Yi…

Not far from the two, Lie Feifei overheard their conversation. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she felt a subtle sense of relief. When she saw Su Yi forced back several steps by Distant’s kick, she had actually worried about him.

She couldn’t understand her own feelings. By rights, she should have loathed and resented Su Yi, since he had threatened her life to force her obedience.

Yet, she found she wasn’t all that resistant to the situation. Perhaps, having brushed so close to death, her spirit and temperament had changed in some way. Seeing Su Yi at a disadvantage, she recalled the injuries he’d sustained in his match against Zhong Yuan and wondered if he could still fight.

After hearing Duan Shi’s analysis, she relaxed a little—if even a thirteenth-tier martial cultivator couldn’t defeat Su Yi, then even injured, he should be able to handle someone below the ninth tier…

On the stone platform, feeling the sharp ache in his left arm after stepping back, Su Yi gave Distant a surprised look. He hadn’t expected Distant to have hidden so much of his strength; that last blow was probably at the level of a seventh-tier fighter.

Though not as powerful as the martial cultivator’s earlier strike, it was far more formidable than Aoben Yu’s arm-wrestling without martial energy, Liu Xuan’s pointed threats, or Ke Yue’s attempt to cripple him. If not for his greatly enhanced body, and relying only on his martial energy—which was barely that of a first-tier fighter—his left arm would likely have been shattered completely. He gave his aching arm a small, thankful shake.

Seeing Su Yi’s pained expression as he shook his left arm, Distant sneered, his eyes flashing with murderous light. His right hand clenched tight, martial energy roaring forth and flooding into his arm. For a moment, a faint, icy radiance glimmered on Distant’s skin, chilling to behold.

Sensing Distant’s sudden surge of power and its oppressive force, Su Yi frowned, quietly gathering his own strength. In terms of martial energy, Su Yi was a first-tier fighter, while Distant was seventh-tier. The disparity allowed Distant’s aura to suppress him, making Su Yi’s energy flow sluggish and obstructed.

“But Distant, if you think you can suppress my strength with this, you’re gravely mistaken!” Su Yi scoffed inwardly. Even injured, he could match a ninth or even tenth-tier fighter with his physical power alone, without drawing on his martial energy. He had no need to fear a head-on clash.

Moreover, since Distant couldn’t project his martial energy, and his Profound-level martial skill—Flowbreaker Strike—had to land directly on the body to be effective, his fighting style was suited for close combat. This played right into Su Yi’s hands, who was not skilled at long-range battle.

As Distant’s aura climbed, his martial energy finally peaked. Feeling the surging power in his right arm, a cold smile crept onto Distant’s lips. He locked eyes with Su Yi.

Suddenly, Distant lunged, shouting as his right fist, brimming with terrifying power, smashed toward Su Yi.

“Flowbreaker Strike!”

The crowd tensed, sensing the deadly intent pouring from Distant’s strike, which was several times stronger than before.

“A Profound-level martial skill? Hmph, let’s see who’s truly strongest!” Su Yi’s expression turned cold. His right fist clenched, veins bulging, as he crouched slightly like a lion poised to spring. In the next instant, he erupted forward, pouring all his strength into a devastating punch aimed straight at Distant.

The two fists, each carrying overwhelming force, collided with a thunderous impact under the stunned gaze of all present.