The atmosphere inside the Imperial Arena changed the moment Mo Xiao Lan began walking forward.
Not hurried.
Not reckless.
But cold.
Purposeful.
Every step he took caused thin layers of frost to spread silently across the shattered stone beneath his feet. The surrounding air temperature dropped rapidly, causing even nearby warriors to instinctively retreat.
At the opposite side of the battlefield—
Hei Luo stood amidst fallen challengers like a beast that had wandered into a flock of sheep.
Broken weapons surrounded him.
Blood stained the arena floor beneath his boots.
Several Spirit Herbs floated behind him, bound by spiritual chains of dark energy like trophies collected from defeated prey.
And yet—
his expression remained relaxed.
Amused.
As if none of this was difficult for him.
Mo Xiao Lan stopped thirty meters away.
His eyes were cold enough to freeze rivers.
"You've taken enough."
Hei Luo smirked slowly.
"And?"
The frost around Mo Xiao Lan intensified.
"You won't take another step forward."
The surrounding spectators immediately felt the pressure rising.
High-level geniuses were finally moving.
Real monsters.
The crowd fell into complete silence.
Then—
another figure stepped beside Mo Xiao Lan.
Yan Lie.
Black lightning crackled lazily around his body, distorting the air itself.
Gasps spread across the arena.
"Yan Lie!"
"He's joining the fight!"
"Two against one?!"
"Even Hei Luo can't handle that…"
But strangely—
Yan Lie did not release killing intent.
He simply stood there beside Mo Xiao Lan with a faint grin on his face.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hei Luo's eyes briefly met Yan Lie's.
Only for a moment.
But it was enough.
And far away—
Lin Shuan saw it.
His eyes narrowed instantly.
"…something's wrong."
The feeling came suddenly.
Sharp.
Cold.
Yan Lie's posture.
His expression.
The lack of hostility.
None of it matched the situation.
If Yan Lie truly intended to stop Hei Luo—
he would already be attacking.
But he wasn't.
He was waiting.
Watching.
As though timing something.
Lin Shuan's instincts screamed immediately.
A trap.
Before he could move—
Mo Xiao Lan attacked.
BOOOOOOM!!
An enormous wave of frost exploded across the arena floor like a frozen tsunami, swallowing the battlefield in white mist.
The crowd cried out in shock.
The temperature plummeted violently.
Ice pillars erupted upward from the ground beneath Hei Luo, attempting to seal his movements completely.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The arena trembled.
Hei Luo laughed.
Actually laughed.
Dark spiritual energy exploded outward from his body, smashing apart several ice pillars instantly.
But Mo Xiao Lan's attacks did not stop.
His hands moved fluidly.
Controlled.
Deadly.
"Frozen Heaven Seal."
SHHHHHHH!!
Hundreds of razor-thin ice spears materialized in the air above Hei Luo before descending simultaneously.
The pressure alone caused nearby weaker cultivators to retreat in panic.
Hei Luo's grin widened.
Now this—
was finally entertaining.
He stomped the ground violently.
BOOOOOOM!!
Black energy erupted upward like a volcanic explosion, colliding directly against the descending frost spears.
Ice shattered.
Darkness spread.
Shockwaves blasted outward across the arena.
Several wounded warriors were thrown backward by the pressure alone.
But amidst the collision—
Yan Lie still had not moved.
Not once.
Lin Shuan's eyes darkened.
"Damn it…"
Then—
he noticed something else.
Far away near the eastern side of the arena—
movement.
Zu Lin and Qin Yue were handling injured participants.
Taking their Spirit Herbs.
Preventing further chaos.
At first glance—
nothing seemed unusual.
But then—
everything changed.
One of the "injured" warriors suddenly grabbed Zu Lin's arm.
Not weakly.
Not desperately.
Violently.
CRACK!
Zu Lin's eyes widened.
The man's aura exploded outward.
Not injured.
Not exhausted.
Hidden.
Another warrior nearby removed the cloth covering his face.
Cold eyes.
Murderous intent.
Then another.
And another.
The spectators gasped loudly.
"They were pretending?!"
"What is this?!"
"Those people…"
"Yue Sha Empire?!"
The hidden warriors released their true auras simultaneously.
The arena pressure instantly became chaotic.
These were not random participants.
They had entered with a purpose.
And now—
they were revealing themselves.
Qin Yue reacted immediately.
His figure blurred through shifting afterimages as he avoided a sudden blade strike aimed at his throat.
"Ambush…"
His expression finally lost its calm.
Zu Lin roared angrily.
"YOU BASTARDS!"
BOOM!!
He smashed one attacker backward with brute force, but more immediately surrounded him.
Too many.
Far too many.
And among them—
some masked figures remained completely unidentified.
No empire insignia.
No sect markings.
Nothing.
But they were clearly helping Yue Sha Empire.
At that moment—
Lin Shuan finally understood.
Why the Empire Protector had chosen him.
Why she looked uneasy.
This wasn't simply a tournament anymore.
This was infiltration.
A hidden operation.
And Hei Luo—
was the center of it.
The arena spectators had begun realizing it too.
Confused whispers spread rapidly.
"Why are they targeting only those two?"
"This isn't normal…"
"There's definitely something happening…"
"Are they trying to control the tournament?!"
Then—
everything exploded.
Zu Lin was forced backward violently after blocking three attacks simultaneously.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Qin Yue wasn't faring much better.
His movement technique was incredible—
but the enemies were coordinated.
Prepared.
They were isolating him.
Cornering him.
Trying to kill him quickly.
And then—
one masked warrior raised his blade toward Zu Lin's exposed back.
A killing strike.
Zu Lin didn't see it.
The crowd screamed.
"LOOK OUT—!!"
Then—
a white lightning streak flashed across the battlefield.
SHHHHHHH!!
For a single instant—
the arena became silent.
Three heads fell onto the ground.
Blood sprayed through the air.
The attacking warriors collapsed before they even understood what happened.
Zu Lin froze completely.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The masked killer behind him—
was already dead.
Lin Shuan stood there silently.
White lightning fading around him.
Cold eyes.
Expressionless face.
The entire arena stared.
No one had seen him move.
Not clearly.
Qin Yue's pupils contracted sharply.
Those three warriors…
had been killed instantly.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
And then—
he saw it.
Lin Shuan's hand moved calmly toward the corpses.
Three glowing Energy Crystals emerged from their bodies.
Extracted.
Refined.
Taken.
Qin Yue felt coldness run down his spine.
"…monster."
Not because of the killing.
This arena already had enough bloodshed.
But because of how calm Lin Shuan was.
How efficient.
How utterly emotionless during the act.
This man—
if not made into a friend—
would become a nightmare as an enemy.
One masked warrior roared and charged toward Lin Shuan.
Lin Shuan disappeared again.
BOOM!
The attacker's body crashed lifelessly into the ground moments later.
Another died.
Then another.
Fast.
Precise.
Brutal.
The battlefield around Zu Lin rapidly cleared.
But more enemies continued appearing.
Too many.
Lin Shuan finally stopped beside Qin Yue.
Blood slowly dripped from a cut along his arm.
He had been struck during the chaos.
But his expression didn't change at all.
Qin Yue exhaled heavily.
Then suddenly laughed weakly.
"…Brother Shuan Hao…"
Lin Shuan glanced toward him briefly.
Qin Yue grinned tiredly despite the blood on his lips.
"…I want to be your friend too."
Zu Lin immediately shouted—
"ME TOO!"
Even in the middle of chaos—
his voice remained absurdly loud.
Lin Shuan said nothing.
Not a single word.
But strangely—
neither of them felt rejected.
Because he stayed.
And for someone like him—
that already meant enough.
The remaining hidden warriors saw their numbers dropping rapidly.
Panic finally appeared.
Especially after witnessing Lin Shuan fight.
He wasn't overpowering them through brute force.
He simply killed too efficiently.
Too cleanly.
Like someone who had done this countless times before.
One masked cultivator lunged toward Qin Yue.
Lin Shuan intercepted instantly.
CLANG!
Their weapons collided.
The masked warrior's eyes widened.
Too strong.
Lin Shuan twisted his wrist sharply—
CRACK!
The man's weapon shattered.
A knee strike followed immediately.
The attacker collapsed coughing blood.
But another enemy struck Lin Shuan from behind.
BOOM!!
This time—
Lin Shuan was sent sliding backward several meters.
Blood surfaced at the corner of his mouth.
The spectators gasped.
"He's injured!"
"Even he can't handle this many…"
But before the enemies could press further—
Zu Lin charged forward roaring like a beast.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
BOOOOM!!
His Earthbreaker Body Technique erupted fully as he smashed two warriors aside.
Qin Yue moved simultaneously.
Afterimages flooded the battlefield.
The three finally began fighting together.
Unexpectedly coordinated.
One overwhelming force.
One impossible movement technique.
One silent killer.
The battlefield rapidly shifted.
Masked warriors started falling one after another.
Meanwhile—
far away—
Hei Luo suddenly frowned during his clash against Mo Xiao Lan.
He felt it.
The collapse of his hidden forces.
His eyes shifted briefly across the battlefield—
and landed on Lin Shuan.
Coldness flashed through them instantly.
"…him again."
Mo Xiao Lan attacked at that exact moment.
Frost exploded across Hei Luo's chest, forcing him backward slightly.
For the first time—
Hei Luo looked irritated.
And then—
Lin Shuan began walking toward him.
Not hurried.
Not loudly.
But directly.
The moment Hei Luo saw him approaching—
his instincts tightened.
Because unlike Mo Xiao Lan—
Lin Shuan felt unreadable.
Unknown.
Dangerous.
Hei Luo's eyes narrowed immediately.
Then he spoke without looking away from Mo Xiao Lan.
"Yan Lie."
Black lightning flickered nearby.
Hei Luo's voice turned cold.
"…stop him for a while."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Lin Shuan understood everything.
Yan Lie.
Hei Luo.
Connected.
Whether alliance or conspiracy—
they were working together.
Something much larger hid beneath this tournament.
And then—
the sky darkened.
KRRRRRRAAAAAK!!!
A pillar of black lightning descended violently into the arena floor.
The explosion shook the entire Imperial Arena.
Dust rose.
Stone shattered.
Spiritual pressure exploded outward so heavily that weaker cultivators nearly collapsed.
When the smoke slowly cleared—
silence spread across the battlefield.
Yan Lie stood there.
Directly in front of Lin Shuan.
Black lightning crawled across his body like living serpents.
His grin was gone now.
Only seriousness remained.
The crowd stared breathlessly.
Because everyone remembered their first clash inside the forest.
And now—
they stood face to face again.
But this time—
there would be no hidden battlefield.
No isolation.
No secrecy.
This clash—
would happen before the entire empire.
High above—
the Empire Protector watched silently.
Her fingers slowly tightened around the armrest beneath her.
Her eyes remained fixed only on Lin Shuan.
"…Shuan Hao…"
Her voice was almost a whisper.
Cold.
Heavy.
Filled with emotions even she no longer fully understood.
Then—
her eyes sharpened dangerously.
"…now…"
"…it's time for revenge."