Chapter 44: 44 - It’ll be quick Bao Zhang’s head fell onto the cold marble floor, his eyes becoming opaque, a pool of blood forming beneath him as his powerful body collapsed to its knees. Shock ran through the audience of disciples and even the elders and instructors. Deaths happened in the arena frequently, as long as they didn’t occur after an elder had ordered the fighting to stop, killing was entirely allowed. In the cruel world of cultivation, it was part of everyday life. But that didn’t diminish the shock of the outer disciples. Tianming didn’t even try to hide his murderous intent or pretend it was an accident. He attacked to kill, his blade cutting with such speed that most of the disciples couldn’t even see it. Only the elders and disciples at the highest stages of the foundation realm were able to perceive Tianming’s attack. It was terrifying. "NO!" Jun Hao roared, his eyes filling with tears as he threw himself into the arena, Lei Feng following soon after. It was against the rules and they would possibly be severely punished for invading the arena without permission, but they didn’t care. Kneeling over Bao Zhang’s body, Jun Hao tried to move him and grabbed it’s head. In desperation, he tried to push healing pills into it’s mouth, joining the decapitated head to the body. It was obvious that this wouldn’t work. Bao Zhang had been beheaded. Perhaps if a divine doctor was nearby, it would be possible to revive him if the head was reattached to the body in time. But that was out of the question. The sect had only one divine doctor, and he wouldn’t bother with the treatment of just any outer disciple. "Husband..." Qingyi felt Feiyan’s delicate hands grab his, they were warm and slightly trembling, squeezing tightly. But he ignored her. He had never felt any anger or animosity towards the young master of the Xu family. He just thought he was pathetic. But that changed when he saw Bao Zhang’s decapitated body. Suddenly, he felt his heart tremble, a hatred he had never experienced before taking hold of him. Since arriving in this world, he had never killed any human being, nor did he even have any plans to kill unless it was necessary. But he decided. Xu Tianming would die that day. Ignoring Feiyan’s requests, he jumped into the arena. Bao Zhang’s body had already been removed and all that remained was for him and Tianming to decide who would be the winner. Qingyi sighed heavily as he circulated his Qi, feeling every muscle in his body tense up. He had never been forced to really sweat and give it his all. He never got to the point of straining his muscles until they almost ruptured, or of making his dantian tremble and his meridians burn. But now he didn’t hold back. The power of the corruption dragon god bloodline and the primordial dragon’s body. He put it all out. The air around him shook, his aura extending beyond his body, electric lightning bolts charged by the lightning sword’s Qi tearing through the marble floor. His face no longer bore the gentle, friendly and calm smile of a pure and humble Taoist. Now it was arrogant, cold and filled with murderous intent, his black eyes glowing with a purple so pure and deep that it seemed capable of lighting up a night sky. "What? Angry because I killed your little boyfriend?" Tianming teased, drawing his own sword. A poisonous aura surrounded the young master’s body, the sword’s Qi dancing tenuously through this aura, the ground beneath his feet melting slightly. "Begin!" Elder Tião’s voice echoed through the arena. The next moment, Qingyi raised his the thunderclouds sword. A metallic clang echoed, followed by an explosion of sparks as two slashes split, passing through Qingyi and tearing up the ground behind him for dozens of meters, leaving a deep gash in the marble. Qingyi was forced to take two steps back, smoke billowing from where the attack had landed. Raising his gaze, he saw Tianming with his sword drawn, his single eye showing surprise. "Oh... I didn’t expect you to defend that." The young master smiled. It was the same blow he had used to kill Bao Zhang. He really hadn’t expected Qingyi to be able to react in time, but that didn’t change anything. Qingyi didn’t reply, just watching Tianming for long seconds before finally opening his mouth. "It’ll be quick. Don’t worry." The moment Qingyi’s voice fell, he activated the lightning steps and his body disappeared. "Where?" Tianming’s remaining eye went wide, losing sight of his opponent. Qingyi attacked from the right, the thundercloud sword tearing through the air with a sharp hiss. Tianming raised his own sword on instinct, feeling his bones crack and his muscles scream as he tried to parry the blow, being forced to take more than ten steps backwards before finally standing his ground. "Good!" Tianming roared. "I didn’t expect it to be that strong, I’ll enjoy killing you even more!" Qingyi just ignored those words, but didn’t advance immediately, feeling the air around Tianming turn violent, his already powerful aura exploding even more. He seemed to be finally giving it his all too. Their swords met with a loud clang, the ground cracking beneath their feet, the marble floor sinking with the pressure of their cultivations. For a brief moment, they found themselves at an impasse. Qingyi felt his body burn and his meridians scream at the endless stream of energy flowing through them. But he continued to push, his eyes focused on Tianming as he pushed more lightning Qi towards his sword, the rays flowing towards his opponent. "Fuck!" Tianming grunted at the pain in his hands, but didn’t back down. Moving his feet, he kicked towards Qingyi, his sword separating briefly from the handsome young man’s before he threw it again. Qingyi turned his body, narrowly dodging a lethal blow, but was still unable to stop Tianming’s sword from tearing through his shoulder. An explosion of blood stained his clothes. It wasn’t lethal, but it was all Tianming believed he needed, his poisonous Qi flowing through the sword into Qingyi’s wound.