Standing imperiously in the very center of the arena, Yang Delun gazed down at the hushed, gathered masses below, a predator surveying its prey. His eyes, sharp and calculating, shifted to his right, instantly finding Zhao Renshu and his companions. A slow, chilling smirk spread across Yang Delun's face, a clear, cruel testament to the exquisite satisfaction he felt in having forced Zhao Renshu into this elaborate trap. The perfect plan was meticulously laid out in his mind, its contours sharp and unyielding. He knew, with absolute, venomous certainty, that by the battle's end, the only one left standing, holding the undisputed title of the greatest hunter ever to live, would be none other than himself.
Yang Delun was standing in the center of the stage, a menacing figure. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, today Master Yao challenges the great hunter Zhao Renshu to a duel. Whoever wins will fight with me. Whoever wins the last battle will be named the greatest hunter ever to live." He smiled at Zhao Renshu and his friends, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Let us add spices to the noodle." He pulled down a curtain rope with a flourish. Ping'an, Lee Dachin, and Yao Lulu, their hands tied, were hanging ten feet above the stage. At their feet was a big fire pit. "No hunter can intervene in this battle. Which hunter who is unable to save their hostage, will lose the duel."
The gathered people gasped, a ripple of horror spreading through the crowd.
Yang Delun pointed at Zhao Renshu and Guo Baiyu. "Save your woman and your friends, otherwise they will burn in front of your eyes." As Master Yao and his two disciples walked onto the stage, he laughed maniacally. "Cut off another hostage's rope, and your hostage will be free."
Zhao Renshu was the first to step onto the stage, his face grim. Guo Baiyu was about to follow, but Fang Yaoting stopped him, and stepped onto the stage instead, a determined look on his face.
"Oh, it's interesting," Yang Delun sneered. He held the torch and, with a swift movement, lit three ropes, one for each hostage.
"What does he mean, no one can intervene?" Guo Longtong turned to Huang Hongse, aghast. "This is wrong!"
"The rules of hunters," Huang Hongse explained, her voice tight. "As long as two hunters agree to a duel, it means that anyone who intervenes will become the enemy of other hunters."
"This is the most shameful way to leave the Hunter World," Huang Yueliang muttered, her disgust evident.
"Stupid rules," Guo Longtong frowned, shaking his head.
Master Yao took the first step, trying to cut the rope that bound Lee Dachin. Fang Yaoting blocked Master Yao's attack with a precise sword strike, which caused Master Yao to stumble backward two feet, caught off guard by the speed.
"Young man, your sword strikes are fast," Master Yao acknowledged, adjusting his stance.
Fang Yaoting swung his sword at Master Yao, strikes after strikes, relentlessly. Master Yao flipped back, dodging Fang Yaoting's furious sword attacks.
On the other hand, Zhao Renshu fought two well-trained disciples of Master Yao simultaneously. As the hunters were fighting on the stage, the burning rope gradually became thinner, inching closer to breaking.
Guo Baiyu grabbed Huang Hongse's arm. "Miss Huang, follow me," he instructed.
"Where are you two going?" Guo Longtong asked, quickly following Guo Baiyu and Huang Hongse.
Guo Baiyu, Guo Longtong, and Huang Hongse walked back to the stage. They crawled under the stage to where Yang Delun was sitting, overseeing the spectacle.
"I will set up a demon seal magic bidding circle here," Guo Baiyu whispered. "If Yang Delun is being possessed, he will not be able to get out of this circle. Miss Hong, I need your flag to add extra protection around this circle."
Huang Hongse took out one flag and recited a spell, ready for action.
"Longtong, I need to borrow your left arm," Guo Baiyu said. He rolled up Guo Longtong's sleeve and took out a small knife.
Guo Longtong quickly pulled his arm back in a panic. "You said 'borrow,' you didn't say 'cut'!"
"I need to borrow your blood," Guo Baiyu insisted calmly. "Think about it, you won't help us fight anyway."
"Man up," Huang Hongse scoffed coldly, staring at him, clearly dissatisfied with his cowardice.
Guo Longtong reluctantly surrendered his innocent arm to Guo Baiyu. Guo Baiyu made a clean cut, dabbed the blood with one of his fingers, and began to draw a small magic circle on the ground. After drawing the circle, Huang Hongse stuck one flag into the ground, and the flag multiplied itself into twenty small flags that surrounded the blood magic circle, creating a protective barrier.
The three friends heard the sound of feet stomping on the stage above them as they crawled back out from under the stage. They walked back to the front of the stage, and the five men were still fighting intensely. So far, more and more people had come out to watch the performance on the stage.
Guo Baiyu noticed that Boss Xiong and his family were not far away, and they had also come to witness the battle with their own eyes, like everyone else.
Master Yao directly dispatched three small daggers to Fang Yaoting as a diversion. Fang Yaoting dodged the three daggers, but Master Yao went straight to the middle and first ropes, aiming for Ping'an and Lee Dachin. Zhao Renshu did three backflips towards Master Yao, but Master Yao had already cut the two ropes. Zhao Renshu, enraged, kicked Master Yao forcefully, then flipped back and managed to grab the two ropes with his two hands, catching Ping'an and Lee Dachin just as they fell.
Due to the combined body weight of Ping'an and Lee Dachin, Zhao Renshu was being dragged toward the fire pit. Zhao Renshu quickly rolled forward on the floor, winding two ropes around his waist, using his body as an anchor. Master Yao kicked him hard in the stomach, causing him to slide forward, closer to the fire pit. Zhao Renshu groaned in pain but managed to stand up slowly. Zhao Renshu held the two ropes tightly in his left hand and walked deliberately to the center of the stage, pulling his loves to safety.
Fang Yaoting now began to attack the two disciples relentlessly. One of the disciples loosened the grip of his sword from the force of Fang Yaoting's attack. Fang Yaoting flipped the sword with his right foot to his left hand, and then, with precise aim, threw the sword directly at the last rope, the one holding Yao Lulu.
The disciple shouted, "Master Yao, the rope!"
Master Yao turned around, startled. Zhao Renshu took the opportunity to kick him hard in the chest, causing Master Yao to step back, but Master Yao managed to grab the rope with his left hand, securing his daughter. Zhao Renshu and Master Yao stared at each other, their duel momentarily paused.
"One defends him, the other attacks!" Master Yao shouted to his remaining disciples, a strategy for the two against Zhao Renshu.
When one of Master Yao's disciples tried to escape Fang Yaoting's relentless attack, Ping'an grabbed the rope with her hands and pulled herself up, her spiritual energy beginning to flow. She used her teeth to loosen the rope tied tightly around her hands.
After fighting with Fang Yaoting for a while, one of the disciples finally escaped from Fang Yaoting and began to attack Zhao Renshu, creating a two-on-one situation. Fang Yaoting quickly shifted his attention back to his opponent, while Zhao Renshu defended himself against the combined assault.
"Childe Fang, no mercy!" Zhao Renshu shouted, urging him to finish his opponent.
Yang Delun noticed that Ping'an was able to remove the first layer of the rope around her hands. Then he quickly sent a knife and cut Ping'an's rope, believing she was still helpless. Ping'an fell directly towards the fire pit.
Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu both shouted, their voices ripping with terror, "PING'AN!"
Zhao Renshu was momentarily distracted by the sudden fall of Ping'an. When a disciple swung his sword at Zhao Renshu, he instinctively retreated, sliding backward, dangerously close to the fire pit.
"Be careful!" Guo Baiyu shouted, seeing the danger.
Ping'an, however, broke the rope apart completely using her spiritual energy just before she hit the fire. She sprang from the edge of the fire pit and shouted at Zhao Renshu, "Down!"
Zhao Renshu clutched down onto the floor, instinctively obeying.
Ping'an released her whip, the whip striking the disciple's left cheek with a crack, knocking the man down. Ping'an then kicked the fallen man towards Fang Yaoting.
Fang Yaoting, without hesitation, brandished his sword and stabbed the injured disciple on his left thigh. The wounded disciple screamed in pain. He then kicked the injured disciple off the stage, leaving him lifeless on the ground.
Ping'an used her whip to wrap around Lee Dachin's waist and pulled him onto the stage safely.
Fang Yaoting flew over and stood beside Lee Dachin, his gaze soft. He quickly cut the rope that bound Lee Dachin's hands with his sword.
Ping'an saw her three swords in a glass jar with a talisman on top of the jar, now just within her reach.
"Dachin, get off the stage," Ping'an whispered to him, her voice urgent.
Master Yao's remaining disciples stepped onto the stage, preparing to continue the fight.
Zhao Renshu conjured a single talisman floating on his right palm. Fifty sharp icicles suddenly appeared, aiming directly at the disciples, stopping them dead in their tracks, paralyzed with fear.
"I have no patience anymore," Zhao Renshu said angrily, his eyes glowing with power. "If you move, you die."
Master Yao was sweating badly, because now the two of them were outnumbered by the Guozhao Hunters' power. He knew that these hunters were not just ordinary hunters.
"Master Yao, do you still want to continue fighting to satisfy this lunatic's fantasy?" Zhao Renshu challenged. "If you still do... I will show no mercy, and all of your disciples will die right now for breaking the rules." Zhao Renshu turned to Ping'an, lightly and gently pinching her on the left cheek. "You are the best."
Zhao Renshu looked at Guo Baiyu, and Guo Baiyu nodded, ready for their next move. He put his hands together and started chanting. Suddenly, Yang Delun screamed in pain and covered both ears, clutching his head.
"STOP IT! STOP IT!" The eerie, layered voices of both man and woman came from Yang Delun. "It's too hot! Stop it!"
"Abandon the vessel!" Zhao Renshu demanded, his voice resonating with power.
Xianmu screamed in agony and violently pulled herself out of Yang Delun's body. "Ah!" she shrieked.
Ping'an sent out a rope talisman at Yang Delun. The rope tightly wrapped around Yang Delun's body, binding him. She then pulled Yang Delun's body out from the center of the demon seal magic circle.
Yang Delun struggled and resisted fiercely. In his struggles, Yang Delun's body knocked down the glass jar that had contained Ping'an's swords.
The jar broke when it hit the floor, and the three swords floated backwards, coiling gracefully around their master, Ping'an, returning to her command.
"Everyone, stand down," Master Yao commanded his disciples, his voice defeated. The disciples stepped back from the stage, and the icicles vanished. Master Yao pulled his daughter, Yao Lulu, to safety.
Yang Delun, still struggling against the rope, managed to break free with a burst of power and grabbed Yao Lulu's neck, using her as a shield once more. "Master Yao, kill Zhao Renshu or your daughter will die!" he screamed.
A female hunter in the crowd shouted, "Master Yao, don't do this!"
Another female hunter said, "If you attack Zhao Renshu, you will become the enemy of Guozhao Hunters and other hunters!"
"Your good name will be forever tainted!" a Male Hunter warned.
"If you dare to attack, I won't go easy!" Fang Yaoting said madly, pointing his sword at Master Yao, ready to strike.
Master Yao was in a difficult situation. If he saved his daughter, then he would be the enemy of the hunter world and a disgrace to the Yao ancestors. If he did not save his daughter, then he would lose his only child.
Zhao Renshu bit his lips, a plan forming. He winked at Ping'an, and then he shouted, "Baiyu, attack from behind!"
Yang Delun's head tilted back, then Ping'an's whip wrapped around Yang Delun's hand, and she swiftly removed his hand from Yao Lulu's neck.
Zhao Renshu brandished his sword, and quickly flew past Yang Delun, cutting off his arm with a clean strike. He swung his sword backward, stabbing Yang Delun from the back. His sword pierced Yang Delun's upper abdomen from his back.
As blood dripped from his abdomen, Yang Delun, in a last desperate act, grabbed Zhao Renshu's sword with both hands, trying to hold onto it.
"Make you look!" Zhao Renshu smirked, delivering his final taunt. He drew out the sword with a swift motion and kicked Yang Delun's body into the hot fire pit, ending his threat.
Master Yao nodded at Zhao Renshu, his face filled with grim gratitude. "Thank you." Yao Lulu, released, ran to her father's arms.
"Wow, his sword is fast," a man in the crowd murmured, impressed.
"That's the famous Hunter Zhao Renshu," a Male Hunter announced. "Those who do evil will never live to tell their tale if they face Zhao Renshu."
"They deserve their title," a Female Hunter agreed.
"Who are they?" another spectator asked, referring to the trio.
"Their title is 'Guozhao Hunters'," the Female Hunter replied proudly.
Boss Xiong couldn't believe his eyes. His lips trembled. Throughout his life, the daughter he had hated had now become a famous hero in the eyes of others. She was the "child of the devil" and had achieved nothing in the sixteen years of living with him, but now, standing before him, was a hero, praised among the men and women of the Hunter World.