Fortunately, this Land of Exile was inherently a place where the strong preyed on the weak, and Shi Chun had long grown accustomed to all kinds of brutal incidents, so there was no talk of anger. He just hadn't expected that even Zhixu City, a place that supposedly upheld heavenly laws, would descend into chaos.
As for one-on-one duels, he wasn't afraid.
What he worried about was the rules of this duel: ten drumbeats, and if a winner wasn't decided within those ten counts, both combatants would be executed.
Giving such a short time, what kind of duel was this? The problem was that if he were executed, it wouldn't just be him; only one side was allowed to leave alive, so if he lost, Wu Jinliang would also lose his life.
He wasn't afraid of dueling, but there was a fatal loophole in the rules: if the opponent found themselves at a disadvantage and adopted a dodging strategy, it would be easy to drag out the ten counts and lead to everyone's death.
While pondering a countermeasure, he seized the opportunity of his restraints being removed to quickly cast a spell and check his physical condition.
Fortunately, the torture hadn't lasted long.
Although he looked severely injured on the surface, they were merely flesh wounds, not harming his bones. For someone like him, who was accustomed to frequent injuries, it was nothing new.
The real pain was that during the torture, the strange illusion in his right eye had flared up again, tormenting him terribly.
After that night's incident, he had tried to restart the illusion in his right eye but had never found the way.
He hadn't expected to accidentally trigger it again.
While he was silently adjusting his physical state, the owner of the lost item who had falsely accused them was also brought in.
He was still wearing that dirty, patched-up rags, and a clear look of unease showed on his face.
His unease had a source: falsely accusing someone had left him feeling unsettled, and Du Huoguan had gone back on his word, not delivering on his promises.
Even if he won this time, could they deliver on their end? Would they break their word again?
He wasn't given time to think much and was directly pushed onto the open ground, pushed opposite Shi Chun.
Confirming that his opponent was the accuser, Shi Chun, to some extent, felt a weight lifted from his mind.
What he had feared most before was that the power behind Shen Youkun had extended its reach into the city guards. If that power truly controlled his life and death, then he would certainly be doomed this time.
Seeing the accuser fighting him to the death indicated that his previous perception of a shift in the interrogation's direction was correct; the hidden power had lost control over the matter.
However, regardless of whether his judgment was right or wrong, he first had to overcome the current obstacle.
Dong! Just as animosity began to appear in the eyes of the opposing combatants as they sized each other up, a guard on the sidelines had already picked up a drumstick and struck the drum on the stand.
This drumbeat caused both sides to involuntarily flinch with their heartbeats.
They hadn't expected the duel to start so abruptly, without even a chance to prepare. It just began without warning.
Little did they know, the spectators had no patience to watch them slowly prepare.
Both men almost simultaneously glowed with fierce intent, staring at each other like hungry wolves.
Only one could survive; neither had a choice.
Neither had weapons, as someone had requested to see unarmed hand-to-hand combat.
Dong! Another drumbeat. Two counts were already gone out of ten.
Such urgency could drive a person mad. Neither of the confronting parties dared to hesitate any longer, and almost simultaneously, they rushed towards each other with a whoosh.
To flee or hide? Impossible!
At the moment of impact, the accuser smoothly tore off the dirty rags he was wearing and flung them out, like a curtain, toward the charging Shi Chun. No wonder he always wore those rags as clothes; turns out they had this use.
Someone accustomed to this move must have a trick up their sleeve! Shi Chun's eyes instantly gleamed with vigilance. He had fought his way up from childhood, experienced too many dangers, and knew well that if an opponent made an initial throwing motion, one should worry about a follow-up.
However, at the very instant of collision, it was too late to dodge.
“Break!” He suddenly took a deep breath and roared, pouring all his cultivation into it, clenching both palms and unleashing a furious strike.
Bang! A dull explosion and the sound of a drum beating rang out simultaneously, and chaotic shadows flew everywhere.
The cloth curtain flung from the accuser's hand scattered like hundreds of fluttering butterflies, with fragments of cloth bursting forth, interspersed with some glinting cold light.
Du Huoguan, peering from behind the window lattice upstairs, lightly praised, “Overbearing!”
Those of his cultivation realm clearly understood that while breaking stone tablets and splitting rocks was easy for Early Martial cultivators, it was extremely difficult to utterly shatter a soft piece of cloth mid-air like this. Breaking or tearing it was simple, but to completely obliterate the entire piece, Early Martial cultivation was basically impossible.
If they hadn't captured Shi Chun and probed his background, they might have mistakenly thought Shi Chun had reached the High Martial realm.
As he praised, his brows also slightly twitched, recognizing the cold glints mixed in the shattered cloth.
That dirty piece of cloth had secretly concealed many fine needles, hidden weapons. Judging by the color of their cold gleam, they were likely poisoned.
This move was truly malicious.
Hidden weapons were still weapons.
It had been specified that they would watch unarmed hand-to-hand combat, yet one side brought a weapon. Du Huoguan's peripheral vision simultaneously glanced at the Jailer's reaction beside him, but he saw no ripples on the Jailer's face.
Shi Chun was not blind, and he was both startled and enraged.
Before the rags burst open, the accuser who had flung them hadn't completely let go, still holding a corner of the rags.
Seeing that he was about to graze his opponent, a savage grin of imminent success had already appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He knew well that as long as his opponent touched the cloth he flung, whether by grabbing, blocking, swinging their hand, or kicking, as long as any part of their body made contact, he would exert force and pull, and his opponent would certainly be hit.
However, just as he had changed his stance and sidestepped, about to exert force and pull, the scene of countless “butterflies” suddenly exploding before his eyes momentarily stunned him. The ensuing stinging sensation nearly scared him out of his wits.
A few of the suddenly flying poisoned needles had stuck into his own body.
He knew too well the power of his own poisoned needles; not only were they laced with a fatal, fast-acting poison, but they would also quickly cause full-body paralysis.
Fortunately, he had an antidote on him; playing with this kind of thing, he definitely had to guard against accidents.
But Shi Chun gave him no chance to save himself.
As the illusionary distraction burst open, Shi Chun saw his opponent reveal himself and, having charged out, instantly pushed off the ground, changing direction to kill him.
The accuser hastily retracted his hand to block, intending to seal off the incoming attack, but Shi Chun, with a misstep, twisted his arms together like a pretzel, locking them up.
The four arms had just become entangled when, dong, another drumbeat sounded.
The drumbeat was like a death knell; time waited for no one.
Shi Chun, with furrowed brows, cold eyes, and a face full of murderous intent, stomped his foot with a guttural “Hoh!” The thick stone floor instantly cracked with spiderweb-like fissures. His ragged clothes fluttered without wind, and blood beads burst from his wounds.
One arm, like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, forcibly thrust out from the entanglement, transforming from a fist into a palm with the speed of thunder, striking the opponent's chest.
Its power was violent.
The accuser felt a fiery pain where his arms had rubbed, and then his entire body was knocked backward by a tremendous force, stumbling back.
The accuser, who had managed to stabilize himself, forcefully suppressed the blood about to gush from his mouth.
He only felt his internal organs churning with agonizing pain; the opponent's powerful attack was both formidable and strange, seeming as if it wanted to burst through his body.
Du Huoguan, observing from inside the window lattice upstairs, suddenly saw his pupils contract.
He clearly saw that the accuser's back seemed to bear the image of a trapped human face, as if it had suffered endless torment and was trying to break free from the confinement of flesh, or like a malevolent spirit wanting to burst out from the human body, and then quickly subsided and died, forming a bloodstain resembling a skull on the skin.
What the devil? He looked surprised and doubtful.
Nie's eyes also narrowed slightly, and he softly uttered three words, “Bathing Demon Art…”