Every single pair of eyes was looking at Fang Yaoting, who stood alone on the fighting arena. They were waiting for the moment when the snake competitor would hit Fang Yaoting, who had no visible weapons to defend himself.
On the other hand, Fang Yaoting stood still, his posture relaxed, waiting calmly for the snake competitor to attack him.
The fairies in the fighting stadium were cheering loudly, their voices a cacophony of bloodlust.
"Kill him!"
"Finish him!"
"Eat him alive!"
The fairies chatted everywhere, their whispers carrying through the arena. "He is done for sure. He has no weapon to defend himself."
Their words made Lee Dachin more worried than ever. Everywhere he turned, people were talking about the same things, doom and defeat. He saw the long, big snake competitor hovering, with a sword in her right hand, pointing straight at Fang Yaoting. He wanted to close his eyes, but he also worried that this might be the last time he saw Fang Yaoting alive. When the snake competitor attacked Fang Yaoting, who appeared to have no weapon, his heart almost stopped beating.
Fang Yaoting threw his side robe back with a flourish, and he stretched his hand behind him. He took out Ping'an's whip, which had been hidden beneath his robe. He sent the whip directly to the upcoming charging snake competitor and hit her on the left shoulder with a sharp crack. The whip attack caused the competitor to fall heavily to the ground. The injured snake competitor screamed in pain and twisted all over on the ground. Fang Yaoting, swift as a viper, wrapped the neck of the competitor with the whip, then he flipped forward and pulled her head in the direction opposite of her nailed tail, a precise and brutal maneuver designed to incapacitate.
The crowds cheered loudly, especially members of the Fox Clan, elated by Fang Yaoting's cunning.
Meanwhile, Zhao Renshu grabbed the other snake competitor's right wrist and expertly threw her forward, thereby preventing her attack. The tossed snake competitor, disoriented, sent out a magic attack wave at Zhao Renshu's foot. Zhao Renshu jumped up, easily avoiding it, then he conjured the magic binding circle, locking the snake competitor inside. The snake competitor immediately dropped her sword down on the ground. She covered her ears and screamed, her body convulsing.
"It's too hot! My ears... stop it... too loud! Stop it..." she screamed in pain inside the magic binding circle.
Zhao Renshu turned around and sent another magic bidding circle to the pinned snake competitor (the one with the nailed tail).
Fang Yaoting released the whip from the snake competitor's neck and put the whip away, tucking it back into his robe. Fang Yaoting's sword, which he had used to pin the tail, returned to his hand with a flash. He wiped the blood from the sword with a handkerchief.
Zhao Renshu and Fang Yaoting then joined Guo Baiyu, who was now fighting against the last and most skilled snake competitor of the three.
The snake competitor sent out ten magic strings toward the three men, a deadly flurry. The three men flipped backward, agilely avoiding the strings attack.
Guo Baiyu held onto six strings, diverting them, while Fang Yaoting held onto the other four strings with his free hand, deflecting them with his sword.
Zhao Renshu, seeing an opening, went straight to the final snake competitor with a strong, focused kick. The kick made the snake competitor fly ten yards away, staggering her, as a series of deadly spikes was released towards the injured snake competitor from the arena floor.
Guo Baiyu, with incredible speed, put his hands on the ground, forming a retaining wall of earth, blocking the snake's competitor from harm, and blocking the impending spikes.
Everyone gasped inside the stadium and questions erupted through the crowd, "Why would he save her?"
The wounded snake competitor hit the dirt wall created by Guo Baiyu and fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. She looked at her two partners, who were locked inside the magic bidding circles, their screams still echoing. Her two partners could do nothing but scream in pain, their spiritual energy draining.
"Sister, please stop," Zhao Renshu said, his voice firm but offering a chance. "You are no match for us."
"Surrender," Guo Baiyu advised, his voice calm and reasoned. "The longer you fight with us, the more pain your clan members suffer inside the magic bidding circle." He pointed to the two snake competitors. "The longer they stay inside, the more their spiritual energy will be lost."
"Do you really want something like that to happen to them?" Zhao Renshu added, pressing the point.
"You don't have to do what you just did?" the injured snake competitor asked, her eyes wide with surprise and a hint of respect. She looked up at Guo Baiyu. "Other clans would have killed us already." She coughed, a pained sound.
"We are not them," Guo Baiyu stated simply, his gaze unwavering.
The snake competitor sighed deeply, then placed her right hand on her chest and bowed to the three men, a gesture of defeat and surrender.
The Fox Clan members sitting inside the fighting arena cheered loudly, elated by their team's victory. Ping'an and Lee Dachin were confused by the sudden bow.
Xiao Huli turned to Ping'an. "Once they put their hands on their chest," he explained, "it means they surrendered."
Ping'an and Lee Dachin felt relieved, understanding the gesture.
"Heh...?" Zhao Renshu was confused by the formal surrender. He looked awkwardly at the injured snake competitor. "What does this mean?"
"We surrender," the snake competitor said, repeating her intention. "Please release my two sisters."
"Oh..." Zhao Renshu said, understanding finally dawning on him. Zhao Renshu closed his eyes, put his two hands together, and shouted, "Dispel!" Then, the two magic binding circles slowly disappeared, releasing the screaming snake competitors.
Guo Baiyu walked to the wounded snake competitor whose tail Fang Yaoting had stabbed. The snake competitor had already transformed back into human form. He carefully pulled her pants to about knee height to examine the wound. He took out a bottle from inside his robe and sprinkled some medicine powder on the snake competitor's injured leg.
"You will be fine," Guo Baiyu reassured her. "There is no arterial damage."
As the snake competitors walked off stage, the limping snake competitor smiled at the men and said, "A word of advice." She looked pointedly at the three friends. "Don't show mercy, because other clans won't show you any."
"Our intention is to bring peace," Guo Baiyu replied, his voice firm. "We are not here to kill."
The surrendered, injured snake competitor smiled and said, "Good luck, hunters."
The injured snake competitor put her arms around her two clan members, supporting them, and the three snake competitors walked off the arena, heading towards their clan leader.
The elder senior put the Fox Clan's bamboo stick name tag into another wooden box, signifying their victory. He said, "The winner of the match is Fox Clan."
"When did she give you the whip?" Zhao Renshu asked Fang Yaoting, curious about the hidden weapon.
"Just before we came," Fang Yaoting replied. "She told me that this was the magic whip of the late Master Zhao."
The three men walked off stage, having secured their first victory.
Everyone sat inside the stadium, watching other clans compete. One clan after another, they either were killed, surrendered, or forfeited. The day was long and brutal.
The elder senior man finally said, "Since many clans had lost or forfeited, there are only four clans remaining. Let the competition continue. For the four remaining clans, please step onto the arena."
The four clans, a total of twelve people, walked onto the arena, preparing for the next round of deadly duels.
The elder senior said looked at the competitors, "Begin."