The Fierce Wolf walked step by step towards the two men, blood dripping incessantly from his body onto the ground. Behind him, dismembered limbs and severed torsos were scattered across a small area. Now, he wasn't merely like a demon emerging from a battlefield of carnage—he was one!
When the Fierce Wolf's gaze shifted towards Bai Yunfei, Yunfei felt a wave of savage, overwhelming pressure crash over him. A tremor originating from his very soul rendered his body rigid. Boundless terror flooded his mind, painting his entire vision a deep crimson. A ferocious demon was walking towards him, step by deliberate step.
"No good! Yunfei, run! Split up, run!!" Seeing the Fierce Wolf approach, Old Wu Wu Bo suppressed his own terror and shouted at Bai Yunfei. He then turned and dashed away to one side.
After running over ten meters, Wu Bo looked back only to find Bai Yunfei still rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the approaching demon.
"Yunfei! Run!" Wu Bo yelled again urgently, but Bai Yunfei showed no reaction whatsoever.
In this moment, Bai Yunfei's heart was filled only with fear. The very notion of 'escape' had vanished from his mind. The horrific images of those who had just died violently flashed repeatedly through his thoughts, and then, he became those people in his mind. Death. I will die. I will die!
The Fierce Wolf was getting closer and closer!
After several shouts with no effect, Wu Bo watched the Fierce Wolf advancing on Yunfei. He glanced at the axe in his hand, then back at Yunfei. A look of resolute determination flashed in his eyes. He turned towards the Fierce Wolf, gathered all his strength, and hurled the axe!
"You demon! Come and kill me!"
Wu Bo was deliberately baiting the Fierce Wolf, trying to lure him away to buy Bai Yunfei precious time to escape!
The Fierce Wolf shifted his body slightly, effortlessly avoiding the axe. He glanced dismissively at Wu Bo but, contrary to Wu Bo's expectations, did not give chase. Instead, he seemed thoughtful as his gaze returned to Bai Yunfei… and then, a cruel, amused sneer twisted his lips…
He casually picked up a bronze hammer lying near his feet and then… flung it directly at Bai Yunfei!
Bai Yunfei stood there, face blank, completely motionless. If the hammer struck, survival was impossible!
"Thud!" A muffled impact echoed—the sound of something heavy striking flesh. The spectators gasped collectively in shock.
Their shock wasn't that the blow had landed; it was that the blow hadn't hit the motionless Bai Yunfei, but… Wu Bo!
In the final instant, Wu Bo had charged back beside Bai Yunfei, shoving him forcefully away. The flying bronze hammer struck Wu Bo squarely in the chest!
"Pfft!..." A gush of scalding-hot blood erupted from Wu Bo's mouth, spraying into the air, splattering onto the hammer, raining down onto the ground, splashing onto Bai Yunfei's face—and landing deep within his heart, turning it ice cold.
Instantly, all surrounding sounds vanished. Bai Yunfei saw Wu Bo collapsing towards him, saw the expression of deep concern etched on his face…
Strength returned to Bai Yunfei's limbs. Moving stiffly, he caught the falling Wu Bo and laid him gently on the ground. Kneeling beside him, Yunfei murmured numbly, "Wu... Wu Bo...?"
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone into silence. The shouting ceased abruptly. The crowd stared at Bai Yunfei in the arena, whispering amongst themselves.
The Fierce Wolf also paused his advance, stopping mid-step. Instead of continuing, he watched the two figures not far away with keen interest.
Blood bubbled unceasingly from Wu Bo's mouth. His chest was caved in grotesquely, the torrent of blood soaking his clothes completely crimson.
"Yunfei… cough… you've finally come to your senses…? You… you must run…"
"Wu Bo, Wu Bo… don't speak, don't speak anymore… Wu Bo… you… you mustn't die… mustn't die…" Bai Yunfei frantically tried to wipe the blood flowing from Wu Bo's mouth while tears streamed down his own face, dripping onto Wu Bo's skin.
"Heh… Yunfei, don't grieve. Wu Bo has no regrets… As long as you can live on, that is enough…"
"Do you know, child? When I first saw the clarity in your eyes, I thought… if my precious granddaughter were still here, if we were both outside… I would have wanted you to meet Xiao Yu'er. You… you would surely have been a happy couple, heh… cough!" Perhaps recalling a happier time, or perhaps in a final surge of lucidity, Wu Bo managed to say this quickly before succumbing to another violent fit of coughing. Another great mouthful of blood sprayed out, mixed with… bits of organ!!
"Wu Bo, Wu Bo…" Bai Yunfei's heart felt as if it were being shredded by knives. He had no words, only the repeated cry of "Wu Bo" escaping his lips.
With immense effort, Wu Bo raised a trembling hand and wiped the tears from Yunfei's cheek. His eyes overflowed with deep affection:
"Yunfei… you must live on… strongly… No matter how difficult it gets, never abandon hope… Remember Wu Bo's words… live… with a clear conscience!"
"Such a pity… in the end… I still couldn't… avenge… my precious granddaughter…"
The hand caressing Bai Yunfei's cheek went limp and fell lifelessly to the ground. Wu Bo moved no more.
"Wu Bo… Wu Bo…"
Bai Yunfei murmured the name mechanically, his gaze fixed on the face of this old man he had known for less than half a day, etching his final expression permanently into his heart.
"Ah!!"
"Ah!!!"
"AH!!!!!!"
"..."
Bai Yunfei threw his head back and screamed, a raw, agonized cry echoing across the arena. Yet, the profound grief in his heart lessened not one bit. Two trails of vivid crimson streaked down his cheeks… Blood-tears!
In the spectator stands, Zhang Yang stared down at Yunfei in the arena, a cold smirk on his lips, his eyes filled with malice and satisfaction.
The Second Young Master Zheng, however, watched Bai Yunfei, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his expression.
Even the black-robed figure on the right lifted his head at this moment, seemingly observing the situation unfolding below…
The Fierce Wolf watched Bai Yunfei coldly from across the arena. Seemingly deciding the spectacle was over, he prepared to step forward.
But then, Bai Yunfei's cries abruptly ceased. He slowly rose to his feet. Clutching a brick in his hand, he began walking towards the Fierce Wolf… step by deliberate step.
Somehow, being fixed by those blood-tear-streaked, crimson eyes, the Fierce Wolf felt a distinct prickle of… fear.
"Fear? Impossible…"
The Fierce Wolf shook his head slightly, dispelling the feeling. He too started walking towards Bai Yunfei. For this final opponent, he resolved to inflict a slow, torturous death…
The distance between them wasn't great. Within a few breaths, they stood face to face. The Fierce Wolf raised his right fist and drove it straight towards Bai Yunfei's face.
Bai Yunfei raised the brick and brought it crashing down towards the Fierce Wolf's fist.
With the Fierce Wolf's skill, dodging the brick would have been trivial. But the thought never crossed his mind. A brick? He could shatter a stone wall with a single punch!
Shattering the brick and breaking Yunfei's arm—that seemed a fitting choice. A cruel sneer touched the Fierce Wolf's lips.
"Crack!"
"Snap!"
The first sound was the brick impacting the fist. The second sound, however, was not the brick breaking. It was the sound of knuckle bones shattering!!
The Fierce Wolf stared dumbfounded at his own grotesquely bent fingers. He was so shocked he momentarily forgot the searing pain, forgot to react…
But Bai Yunfei did not forget!!
After smashing the Fierce Wolf's fist with a single brick strike, Bai Yunfei took another step forward. He raised the brick again and brought it crashing down towards the Fierce Wolf's forehead!
By the time the brick descended, the Fierce Wolf had snapped back to reality. Dodging to the side was impossible—was his head about to be shattered like his fist?
"Ridiculous!"
In that instant, the Fierce Wolf felt the previously vague and elusive power within his body surge explosively. It churned violently before rushing upwards towards his head. The skin and flesh on his face and forehead rippled slightly, becoming strangely tough, like… keratin? As if it had… hardened?
"Hmm?" A flicker of delight appeared on Zhang Yang's face in the stands. "A breakthrough?"
"Thwack!" A light impact sounded.
It was the sound of brick meeting skull. This time, however, there was no accompanying crunch of breaking bone.
"Unharmed! And… I broke through!"
Elation flooded the Fierce Wolf's heart. Suppressing his joy, his expression twisted back into savagery as he prepared to raise his good hand for a counterattack. Suddenly… a wave of intense dizziness washed over his brain!!
+10 Brick Additional Effect: 1% chance on hit to inflict up to 3 seconds of forced Stun status (Chance increases to 5% if hitting the head).
Trigger Successful!!
"Hmm?" Another soft exclamation of surprise came from the stands. This time, it came from the cloaked figure!
"Qin Bo, what is it?" The Second Young Master Zheng beside him asked, puzzled.
"For just an instant… I sensed Soul Force fluctuations… from that… brick…"
"What? Could it be… that brick is a Soul Artifact? Impossible?!"
"Hmm… perhaps it was the Soul Force fluctuation when that Fierce Wolf successfully awakened and stepped into the Soul Apprentice realm that I sensed… And the young man's Soul Force is also awakening. It's still very faint, but there's indeed a change… I likely confused the two sources."
Back in the arena, the sudden dizziness plunged the Fierce Wolf's mind into blankness. Naturally, he couldn't maintain control over his Soul Force. The strange transformation on his head vanished instantly.
And Bai Yunfei's second brick strike followed immediately!
"Crack!"
"Snap!"
Hmm, this time, there was the sound of breaking bone.
One second!
The Fierce Wolf's body was slammed backwards a step by the impact. And the third brick strike followed relentlessly!!
This time, not only was there the sickening crunch of bone, but blood also spurted out!
Two seconds!!
Stunned and off-balance, the Fierce Wolf finally toppled backwards.
Eyes still blazing crimson, Bai Yunfei didn't hesitate for an instant. He lunged forward, planting himself astride the fallen man's waist. He raised the brick high… and brought it smashing down again!!
Three seconds!!
The Fierce Wolf finally snapped out of his dizziness. His first sensation was—agonizing pain in his head…
Then his vision cleared… just in time to see… a brick!
And then… he lost consciousness entirely—this time, he was truly knocked out cold—signifying he would never wake up again.
The third brick had flattened the Fierce Wolf's face and rendered the utterly defenseless man unconscious.
And then, without a single pause…
Smash!
Smash!
Smash!
...
Utter silence gripped the arena. Everyone stared, dumbstruck, at the youth relentlessly wielding the brick overhead. This included Zhang Yang, the Second Young Master Zheng, and even Qin Bo…
It was impossible to say exactly which brick blow ended the Fierce Wolf's life. The Fierce Wolf himself certainly didn't know, let alone the onlookers.
Bai Yunfei didn't know how long he had been striking. He only stopped when… the sensation of the brick impacting something solid beneath it… vanished…
His eyes had stopped weeping tears, yet they remained a deep, unsettling red. He lifted a hand, rubbed his eyes, and clarity slowly returned to his gaze.
He looked down at the unrecognizable mess beneath him, stared blankly for a moment, then silently stood up. He walked over to Wu Bo's body, lifted it carefully into his arms, and turned to face Zhang Yang. His voice was unnervingly calm:
"I won. Let me leave…"
Zhang Yang, meeting that cold, indifferent gaze, felt an uncontrollable tremor of fear ripple through him. But he quickly recovered, his entire body shaking visibly, his expression shifting through a spectrum of emotions.
He glanced at the Fierce Wolf's corpse in the arena, then back at Bai Yunfei. Suddenly, his face contorted into a mask of pure savagery. He pointed a trembling finger at Bai Yunfei and shrieked hysterically:
"Guards! Guards! Kill him! KILL HIM!!!!"