Inside the fighting arena, a formidable competitor, seeing that the hunters who represented the Fox Clan were not ordinary hunters, slowly walked towards the Scorpion Clan with a teamwork offer.
"Let's work together and finish the Fox Clan," one of the Wolf Clan competitors said, his voice gruff.
"We don't work with other clans," Xie Fangsu, a powerful Scorpion Clan competitor, said indifferently. She immediately began to attack the wolf competitor standing next to her, sending hundreds of big scorpions scuttling towards him. She then turned, her movements swift, and attacked Hu Qingge, who was now a rival.
When the other two Bee Clan competitors flew around the friends, they attacked Zhao Renshu, Guo Baiyu, and Fang Yaoting.
"Don't get stung, or you will be immobilized!" Guo Baiyu shouted, a warning to his comrades.
Zhao Renshu stubbornly attacked one of the Bee Clan competitors. "Good thing, we don't have to fight their leader!" He conjured a talisman and sent three ropes that tied one of the Bee Clan competitors down.
The other Bee Clan competitor went straight to the tied Bee Clan competitor, trying to free her, but Fang Yaoting wrapped Ping'an's whip around her waist and dragged her down to the ground.
Zhao Renshu, quick to react, sent out another rope talisman and tied the Bee Clan competitor down.
"Why don't you sheathe your sword?" Fang Yaoting asked Zhao Renshu, noting his preference for magic and hand-to-hand combat.
"Because every time when I draw my sword, blood will spill," Zhao Renshu replied, his voice grim.
Fang Yaoting looked at the struggling Bee Clan competitor on the ground, who was trying desperately to get rid of the magic rope. He raised his scabbard and hit the Bee Clan competitor hard on the back of her head. He said, "Stay down."
The Bee Clan competitor lay out cold on the ground, unconscious.
Zhao Renshu noticed that Hu Qingge was losing the battle against Xie Fangsu, who was relentless. Xie Fangsu threw a sword directly at the fallen Hu Qingge, a killing blow. He stopped the attack on time, deflecting the sword with a burst of spiritual energy. He conjured three fire talismans, which transformed into three scorching fireballs, and the three fireballs flew towards Xie Fangsu, who was sprinting towards them.
Hu Qingge stood up slowly and stood behind Zhao Renshu, leaning on him. "Thank you....." She stopped, feeling a severe, agonizing pain in her upper left chest. She looked down at her upper left chest and saw Zhao Renshu holding a familiar knife in his left hand, piercing her upper left chest, the blade buried deep. Hu Qingge grunted, a strangled sound. "Ren...Shu..." She groaned in pain. "Why?"
Zhao Renshu stared at her coldly, his eyes burning with fury. "I have told you before, for you to pray not to meet me in the arena." He turned fully to face her. When the blood poured out, he slowly pulled out the knife, making her gasp. "I remember telling you that if you dare to hurt my wife, I will kill you."
Hu Qingge stumbled to the ground, collapsing. "Ren... Shu..." Tears fell from her eyes, mixing with the blood. The pain in her chest was not as severe as the pain in her heart, a profound betrayal.
"Surrender," Guo Baiyu urged, his voice calm amidst the chaos. "We don't want to hurt you."
Zu Fengmei, the Bee Clan leader, stood up, her face pale with defeat. "That's enough. We forfeit the match." She knew that if they continued to fight, they would lose. Even if the Guozhao Hunters didn't kill her disciples, the Wolf and Scorpion clans would kill them. She signaled for her other disciples to help Hu Qingge off the arena, evacuating their injured members.
Zhao Renshu's actions shocked everyone. Before the start of the competition until now, Zhao Renshu had only disabled the members of other clans, but this time, Zhao Renshu took extreme measures to ensure that Hu Qingge shed blood, a clear message.
The arena began to change form again. The ground broke apart, and the lava boiled like the sound of thunder down below, as sharp rocks emerged from the red, boiling lava, creating a deadly new landscape.
"Tell me, this is just an illusion?" Fang Yaoting asked, a hint of unease in his voice as he surveyed the treacherous environment.
"I, welcome you to the Hunter World," Zhao Renshu smirked with a smile, a grim invitation.
"I rather would rather stay home with Dachin," Fang Yaoting muttered, clearly unimpressed by the deadly scenery.
"Enough talk. Concentrate. They are grouping us," Guo Baiyu warned, his gaze sharp.
On the left were two wolves, and on the right were two scorpions. In front was Xie Fangsu, leading the charge.
"Baiyu," Zhao Renshu looked at Guo Baiyu. "At this speed, saving lives is impossible."
Guo Baiyu warned the competitors. He said loudly, his voice cutting through the rumbling lava, "Once Renshu draws his sword, blood will shed, and lives will be lost. Are you guys sure you really want it?"
"Enough said!" Xie Fangsu shouted at Guo Baiyu, dismissing his warning.
"You two heard it," Guo Baiyu said to Zhao Renshu and Fang Yaoting, a grim confirmation.
Zhao Renshu smirked with a cold smile. "You should have said this a while back." He unsheathed his sword from the scabbard on his back, the blade glinting ominously. "Here I come." He flew fast directly at the two lead competitors in front of him, a blur of motion. He shouted back to Guo Baiyu, "Close it!"
Guo Baiyu put his hands together, and a huge dirt wall emerged from the lava, isolating the two most skilled competitors and Zhao Renshu from the others, sealing them in a private, deadly arena.
Outside of the arena, the other clan leaders were speechless, watching the display of power. They had heard of Guozhao Hunters, but it was amazing to see it with their own eyes.
Fei Weifeng flapped his fan and said, "I'm glad we didn't participate."
"If they win, Baiyu will be a great leader," Shui Ushi remarked, his eyes gleaming with admiration.
"I understand why you admire him," Fei Weifeng replied, the handsome young man smiling.
Ping'an sighed, a worried sound. "Renshu."
"What is it? Don't worry, those competitors are no match for them," Xiao Hui tried to reassure her.
"I don't worry about Renshu," Ping'an corrected, her voice low. "I worry about other competitors. Every time he draws the sword, one person will die, and there will be another soul added to the sword."
"No wonder why he doesn't like to pull his sword," Lee Dachin murmured, finally understanding Zhao Renshu's aversion.
"He is most powerful when the sword is sheathed," Ping'an continued, her gaze fixed on the dirt wall, "but it also means someone's life will be lost."
Fang Yaoting smiled, a grim satisfaction on his face. "I agree with Renshu." He pointed his sword at the wolf. He attacked fiercely, remembering how their Wolf Clan members had kicked his beloved Lee Dachin down the cliff, which made him very angry. A wolf pounced at him with its paws, slashing right at his face. He bent back, pointed the sword straight at the wolf man's stomach, then used his left hand to flip over and kicked the injured wolf twenty yards away with his right foot. The wounded wolf fell into the boiling lava with a splash. He then attacked another wolf competitor. The wolf competitor tried to escape his attack, but Fang Yaoting unleashed Ping'an's whip, whipping the wolf's back when it jumped away from him. The wolf competitor fell straight toward the boiling lava. He quickly released the whip wrapped around the wolf man's hand, preventing him from falling into the boiling lava, choosing to spare him for now.
Guo Baiyu fought two Scorpion Clan competitors on the other side, his movements fluid. One of the Scorpion competitors stabbed him in the chest with a spear, but he flew back just in time to prevent the spear from stabbing him. The angry Scorpion competitor began to attack him again, but this time he held the competitor's hand and kicked the Scorpion competitor with his foot, which caused the competitor to fall to the ground. He then kicked the Scorpion competitor's abdomen, which caused the scorpion competitor to slide ten yards towards Fang Yaoting.
The injured scorpion transformed into a half-human, half-scorpion form, a grotesque sight, and went straight to Fang Yaoting, attacking him.
The Scorpion competitor who was still fighting with Guo Baiyu also changed himself, transforming into a full scorpion.
Guo Baiyu conjured his weapon and shot two arrows at the right shoulder of the scorpion. The injured scorpion competitor grabbed the magic strings from the arrows and tried pulling Guo Baiyu closer to him. Guo Baiyu sprinted straight at the scorpion competitor.
The scorpion competitor shot out ten black spikes from his tail at Guo Baiyu, but Guo Baiyu's dirt wall, summoned in an instant, stopped the ten black spikes.
Guo Baiyu slid under the competitor's abdomen, wrapped the magic rope around all eight legs, and then slid towards the competitor's tail. He flipped back and stood firmly on the back of the scorpion.
The scorpion competitor tried to throw Guo Baiyu off his back, but he couldn't get rid of Guo Baiyu, who was now firmly attached.
"Tighten up," Guo Baiyu commanded the rope.
The rope tightened, binding the eight legs, and the Scorpion competitor fell to the ground, immobilized.
When the other Scorpion competitor made his way towards Fang Yaoting, the dirt wall shattered, and a wolf the size of a pony was violently thrown onto the ground next to Fang Yaoting, sent flying from Zhao Renshu's isolated battle.
The wolf competitor slowly got up, grunting in pain and shaking the dirt off of him.
A fast flash went straight through the scorpion competitor's tail, and then, standing between the injured scorpion competitor and Fang Yaoting, was Zhao Renshu. With blood and guts everywhere, the injured Scorpion screamed in pain as Zhao Renshu stood over him. Then Zhao Renshu jumped into the air and swung his sword directly in the middle of the injured scorpion. Zhao Renshu's sword cleanly divided the scorpion into two, killing it instantly.
"Wow... he is so powerful!" one of the young Fox Clan members exclaimed from the stands.
The injured wolf slowly retreated behind Fang Yaoting, clearly terrified.
"Brother!" Xie Fangsu screamed, seeing the death of her fellow Scorpion Clan member.
Zhao Renshu sent a single, powerful energy sword ray directly at Xie Fangsu. She was able to stop it, but the sheer power caused her to vomit blood. She was seriously injured, crippled.
"Surrender or die," Zhao Renshu said harshly, his voice cold and unforgiving.