Tainted Blood

by Tinalynge

  News about their battle spread like a wildfire through the cave and suddenly people swarmed toward it in the hopes of getting a good spot from which they could watch the fight.

  Everyone loved seeing fat sheep being slaughtered, but they loved something else even more. Witnessing a hidden dragon emerge was perhaps the best moments for the audience. No matter whether or not Xue Wei was a hidden dragon or a fat sheep, these experts would enjoy watching it.

  Lu Yuping was worried. He kept worrying about how Xue Wei might be injured. Even Li Chen was worried now. She had never expected that Xue Wei had taken it seriously when she said that he should fight.

  This was a life-and-death arena! Not some playground where one could withdraw.

  But there was no turning back now. Xue Wei had to fight.

  Chapter 13 - Tiger Triplets

  Xue Wei was incredibly calm. He could feel the vibrations in his body when his inner Qi dragons roared, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

  Looking at the opponent, Xue Wei behaved casually and even gave a little smile to him. But that smile was short-lived. Xue Wei’s blood started boiling when the sensation of a life-and-death battle set in on him, which caused his smile to turn slightly malicious.

  “Well, let this daddy show you all the might of the youngest of the Tiger Triplets!” the challenger called out. The corner of Xue Wei’s lips twitched slightly. Tiger Triplets? What kind of name was that?

  This daddy guy was very self-assured, but Xue Wei had the impression that he was pretending to be a sheep when he was in fact a wolf.

  Xue Wei waited patiently. He had already decided to not use his transformation unless he was brought to the brink of destruction. He would only use it as a last resort. Even if his opponent beat him black and blue, he would not allow the transformation to come out.

  This was his personal decision. His decisiveness was so extreme that, despite allowing himself to use it as a last resort, he was likely to hold himself back even if it killed him.

  Standing opposite of him was the man who called himself daddy all the time. He was extravagantly dressed and his face had a small smile hung on the corner of his lips. The man waved his hand, withdrawing a machete from his storage ring.

  Xue Wei had not brought Bai Tianyi with him. Even if he had, he would not be able to use the sword spirit as his sword anymore because Bai Tianyi had gained a soul body that had completely transformed him. He no longer looked like a sword but a person, so having him enter the cage with Xue Wei would probably be deemed cheating.

  Since he could not use Bai Tianyi, his only option was to rely on Inner Might and transform his Qi into a sword or some other kind of weapon.

  Xue Wei was actually at a disadvantage. He had decided to not use his transformation, and Bai Tianyi was not there to support him either.

  It had been a long time since he had fought on his own, all by himself, with so many restrictions, but he felt that he had to challenge himself if he wanted to improve his strength.

  Right now, he had a physical body stronger than the fifth layer of the Heavenly Warrior realm, and his Qi was also much purer than most experts at his level.

  He had superior and profound grade martial arts techniques. These were the cream of the crop back in the backwater kingdoms, and even here they were quite extraordinary. The experts that came to the cave cage battles were usually those without any special background hoping to earn money or resources.

  These experts might have had some lucky chances or used some of their wealth to purchase profound martial arts, but it was not likely that they had as much diversity in skills as Xue Wei had.

  Xue Wei was aware of this. His skills, his physical strength, and the purity of his Qi were all above average. When taking all of this into account, he should be capable of easily defeating anyone at his own rank, but he still felt a faint sense of danger coming from the Tiger Triplet Daddy guy in front of him.

  “Begin!” While Xue Wei was thinking, the voice of the clerk sounded out and then his focus was back on the Tiger Triplet Daddy in front of him. Contrary to the last match between Lu Yuping and Jia Lu, where they began fighting at the moment the fight began, neither Xue Wei nor the Tiger Triplet Daddy moved. Both of them were extremely tense as they observed one another.

  Eyes narrowed, the first to move was Xue Wei, who stretched out his hand and created a sword of Qi.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy’s machete gleamed in the dim light that illuminated the cage. No rust could be seen on the weapon; it was clear that it had been properly maintained.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy had finally stopped talking. He looked at Xue Wei solemnly. He was clearly aware that Xue Wei had not fallen for his trick of trying to lure him into quickly attacking him so that he could quickly end it with a harsh counter.

  Xue Wei had never been in a battle like this before. So far he had been in battles where he was up against a large number of people each time, often where they were much weaker than him. The one time Xue Wei had fought stronger experts, he had not been alone but been supported by Bai Tianyi and Hei Gou.

  These experts in the cage battles might not be the ones with the purest Qi. They might not even be the ones with the strongest bodies, but their survival instinct was much more profound than someone like Xue Wei.

  Xue Wei had fought many battles, but never had he actually experienced a fight of equals. This was also why Xue Wei had signed up for this. He wanted to test his own abilities.

  So far he had always been looked down upon by his opponents, or he had been against desperate people. Here, he was the underdog. This time, he was the one who had to prove himself.

  Taking a deep breath, Xue Wei activated Forbidden Rush. With a series of afterimages, Xue Wei advanced like a line of light towards Tiger Triplet Daddy.

  He lifted the Qi sword in his hands and got ready to slash down. However, Tiger Triplet Daddy withdrew slightly, causing the attack to narrowly pass by him.

  The moment Xue Wei moved past him, the machete came slicing down towards his head. Qi poured out of Xue Wei, solidifying into a transparent shield of Qi he had created with Inner Might above his head.

  A massive boom resounded and both Xue Wei and Daddy were thrown backward. However, because of Xue Wei’s awkward position, he was thrown further back than Tiger Triplet Daddy.

  Xue Wei’s first step caused the floor underneath him within the cage to shatter, sending stones and debris flying in every direction, but the force pushing him back dwindled drastically after his third step.

  From this collision one could see that they were not using any probing attacks. Every move was made to kill.

  Once again, both Xue Wei and Tiger Triplet Daddy looked at one another with narrowed eyes, hesitating to move. From the last encounter, both of them had learned something about their opponent.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy had an outstanding ability to sense danger and reacted prudently to this sudden sense of danger. He was a quick thinker and could get the best results with the least effort.

  The way he carried himself in battle inspired Xue Wei. Although Xue Wei felt that he himself was very skillful at avoiding attacks and moved fast, he had never considered efficiency of movement to save energy. He always used Forbidden Rush at its full power every time.

  Although he had done all in his power not to look down on Tiger Triplet Daddy, he could not help but feel more solemn now than he had just moments ago.

  It was clear that Tiger Triplet Daddy had quite a lot of experience in fighting. He could be a perfect grinding stone for Xue Wei to become a better fighter and a person who had strong survivabilities.

  However, at this point, he understood that, if he was not careful, he might very well end up as the fat sheep they had all perceived him as to begin with.

  Gripping the Qi sword in his hand, Xue Wei started pacing towards Tiger Triplet Daddy again. This time, it was a steady pace. It was clear that Tiger Triplet Daddy’s senses were almost otherworldly, allowing him to sense even the slightest d
anger, so using Forbidden Rush was not necessarily a good thing. If he was not careful, he would have the tables turned on him, leaving his back wide open.

  So if he could not rely on speed, he could use strength. He had complete and utter faith in his strength. If he could just get one attack in, he could turn the tides.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy stayed still. He held the machete in his hand, gripping the handle tightly, and waited for Xue Wei to get within range before engaging.

  Xue Wei had not used all his strength in their previous exchange; he had used quite a bit, but not all of it. However, things were different this time around. Xue Wei went directly for his opponent head on, intending to bulldoze him down. The closer he came, the more momentum he picked up.

  Every step caused tremors to run through the ground, his steps containing so much power that Tiger Triplet Daddy’s eyes widened with shock.

  He understood that this fat sheep was not quite like other fat sheep. In fact, he started to fear that Xue Wei was a wolf in sheep’s clothes.

  Still, he did not panic and quickly calmed down. He raised the machete overhead and took a stance, ready to meet the attack that would be coming.

  Xue Wei snickered. He had been underestimated. The pace picked up and soon he was right next to Tiger Triplet Daddy. The Qi sword came slashing down, filled with hundreds of Qi dragons that roared like a pack of proud lions.

  As the machete met the Qi sword, Tiger Triplet Daddy was forced back so far that he slammed into the cage wall. He coughed up blood out of his mouth, but he did not die from the concussive impact, causing Xue Wei to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

  This attack had contained his full strength, but it was still not enough to deal with the Tiger Triplet Daddy in one go. It seemed that this battle would become much more interesting and also much more challenging than he expected.

  The more Xue Wei felt his bloodlust raise, the more he felt his blood boil, and the more the smile on his face grew. There was a ruthless air about him, ruthless to himself and to others.

  Xue Wei knew that his body had tremendous healing ability, so he went for the most brutal and straightforward way to fight. Seeing that he had already pushed Tiger Triplet Daddy back to the cage wall, he followed closely and sent out another slash.

  This second slash did not have the same momentum as the first, but Tiger Triplet Daddy did not have the same amount of time to prepare for the attack, so he could only dodge to the side, causing him to get a deep cut in his shoulder. However, he kept his arm and managed to stay alive.

  Xue Wei smiled ruthlessly. He was enjoying this, felt his blood boil, and he felt the thrill of the hunt. But that did not mean he was not using every last shred of focus in this fight. One mistake and he would end up being the one severely injured or even dead.

  This kind of stimulus was new to Xue Wei. He had never before experienced this thrilling feeling of hunting someone down. Although he had killed numerous humans and a few beasts already, he had never felt this excited in a battle. He was walking on the edge of the sword; one wrong move and his life would be forfeit.

  Arcane Fist!

  Xue Wei’s Qi sword vanished. In lieu of a weapon, he sent out a fist attack. Thousands of illusive fist imprints were emitted when he used Arcane Fist. When they landed on Tiger Triplet Daddy’s body, the damage done to it made him gnash his teeth angrily. He had done everything to avoid them, but he had not been able to fully avoid all the fist imprints of Qi.

  He suddenly sensed how the foreign Qi entered into his body. Like thousands of small dragons, they penetrated his meridians and clashed with his own Qi strands, devouring them and draining him for energy.

  Chapter 14 - Crimson Sky

  It was as if thousands of small beasts were wrecking his body, causing havoc in his meridians. His body trembled incessantly and his face was pale. Blood kept flowing from the corner of his mouth.

  Xue Wei breathed heavily. He had used much of his Qi in this attack—at least half of the Qi dragons within his body had been poured into Tiger Triplet Daddy. Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon Spirit within his dantian kept restoring the amount of Qi dragons he had used. Unfortunately, it would take quite some time before all of them were restored.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy had not used a lot of Qi, but he still felt drained because of the onslaught of the Qi dragons that were swarming his meridians. His face was pale in fright; his eyes wide open.

  He opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything. All that came out was blood.

  Xue Wei had also stopped his chain of attacks. He had poured so much Qi into the Arcane Fist attack he sent out that he was slightly out of breath, but his eyes glistened with excitement, and his vicious smile did not lose its intensity.

  Xue Wei started walking towards Tiger Triplet Daddy, his steps calm and collected. He seemed as if he was taking a walk in a park, but he kept building momentum with each step he took.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy had managed to avoid most of the attacks so far, but he had never before encountered Qi with properties like Xue Wei’s. That Qi had entered his body and roared like actual living beasts, draining him from the inside.

  An arm shot out. The hand clasped over Tiger Triplet Daddy’s throat like a giant claw. Xue Wei squeezed his fingers together slightly, causing cracking sounds to echo out.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy gave a last struggle; he poured his remaining Qi into his machete and swung it around like a snake, aiming straight for Xue Wei’s heart.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy had been waiting for this moment. He had gambled with his own life, knowing that he had only enough energy for one attack. Now he poured it all into the machete, trying to execute Xue Wei in one go.

  The audience was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. No one spoke. They observed with big eyes.

  Lu Yuping was biting his nails. His eyes displayed boundless worry. He kept tapping his feet on the ground and paced back and forth next to Li Chen, who also looked slightly pale. Her hands clutched a handkerchief. Complex emotions were constantly swirling in her eyes, but her face itself was as stoic and expressionless as always.

  Xue Wei felt the danger encroaching upon him. He did not look down. He knew where the danger came from, but he retreated before he had time to do anything else.

  Forbidden Rush!

  He was faster than the seriously wounded Tiger Triplet Daddy, but he had been too close. Sparks flew from where the machete came into contact with the Fierce Beast hide covering his torso, and although the attack was slightly mitigated, it still managed to penetrate the leather. Even more sparks flew out as the machete came into contact with the robe underneath, but this was easier to slice through, and then the rest of the remaining slicing force came into contact with Xue Wei’s chest. A long gash appeared in his armor and robe, while ten centimeters of flesh was cut open on his chest.

  Blood started to flow from the wound, dripping down to the arena floor and soiling the rest of his clothes after Xue Wei composed himself several steps away. Being wounded did not diminish Xue Wei’s smile. In fact, he seemed to be even more amused now than before. He seemed more excited.

  Seeing the Tiger Triplet Daddy struggle and fight back as he did, the thrill of the hunt started exciting him even more. Xue Wei could not wait for the conclusion of the fight.

  He knew that he could end it easily, either by transforming or by using Mind Infestation, but he also felt that that would ruin the thrill of the fight. He was enjoying himself. He wanted to see his opponent struggle. He felt like a cat playing with a mouse.

  Tiger Triplet Daddy’s face turned dark when he saw that Xue Wei had successfully managed to evade his attack. The Qi dragons within his meridians had managed to be demolished by his own Qi threads, but the fight had given him internal injuries. It had also caused him to waste a whole lot of Qi.

  He was already on the verge of collapsing, but he refused to give up. Bruises had appeared on his throat after Xue Wei had tried to break his neck. Blood stains were at the corne
r of his lips, staining the robe he was wearing after trickling down his neck.

  His clothes and hair were disheveled. He staggered from even trying to stand up, and his eyes were unfocused. Right now, the only thing that held him upright was his willpower; his refusal to give up.

  Xue Wei had to admit that he respected this man. He had a power above average Heavenly Warriors at the same layer. He had amazing survival instincts, he fought fiercely even against opponents that completely overwhelmed him, and his willpower was outstanding.

  From having met a worthy opponent like this, Xue Wei could truly feel his blood boil. Such a person was worth killing!

  Xue Wei activated Forbidden Rush. He vanished from where he stood and appeared next to Tiger Triplet Daddy.