Chapter 71: Strike While He’s Down!

“Shi Jian! You old scoundrel!” Mo Tuo’s eyes brimmed with endless resentment, his body trembling violently. With a furious roar, he suddenly rushed onto the martial arena, shouting, “You killed my son Zhan, destroyed the hope of the Mo family’s future—today I’ll make you pay with your life!”

Mo Zhan’s death had deeply shaken him. He cared nothing for the rest of the martial tournament, throwing himself into a desperate fight. As Mo Tuo moved, the grief-stricken members of the Mo family also stood up, flooding into the arena and charging toward the Shi family.

“Mo Tuo! My two grandsons are still lying on the ground!” Shi Jian erupted in anger, standing abruptly and glaring coldly at the approaching Mo Tuo. With a sneer, he said, “You don’t celebrate when you win, but throw a tantrum when you lose? Hmph! If you can’t accept defeat, you shouldn’t have come to the tournament!”

“Everyone, calm down!” Bei Ming Shang rose to his feet, his expression icy. A chilling aura suddenly radiated from him, dropping the temperature of the arena. Though the sun blazed overhead, all the martial artists around the arena felt a bone-chilling cold spreading slowly across the grounds.

“Stand down!” Mo Tuo suddenly turned and barked at the grieving members of his family. The Mo family’s venerated elders and warriors, faces full of hatred, retreated step by step at his command.

“Shi Jian, do you dare face me in single combat?” Mo Tuo thundered from the center of the arena as his kin dispersed.

“Wow, really?”
“This is truly a rare spectacle! The duel between two family patriarchs!”
“I traveled thousands of miles to witness this—how incredible!”

The crowd of martial artists exclaimed in excitement, all eyes fixed expectantly on Shi Jian.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Shi Jian snorted contemptuously, stepping into the center of the arena. He cupped his hands toward Bei Ming Shang, saying, “Master Bei Ming, a fair fight between Mo Tuo and myself—this doesn’t break any rules, does it?”

Bei Ming Shang radiated cold, frowning in thought. He slowly sat down again, sighing, “Why must you do this? But since you insist, I won’t stop you. Just do your best not to harm the bystanders.”

Shi Yan, seated among the Shi family, watched with a calm expression. Seeing Shi Jian enter the arena, he frowned deeply, knowing this would be a fight to the death.

But just as the two men prepared for their desperate struggle, a thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from the direction of the Ethereal Pavilion not far away.

The boom was so fierce that all of Tianyun City seemed to tremble. A stone tower, dozens of meters tall in the distant Ethereal Pavilion, collapsed in an instant.

From thousands of meters away, the spectators saw, hovering above the ruins of the collapsed tower, a flawless figure shrouded in black gauze and wearing a bamboo hat.

Clearly, she was a stunningly beautiful woman.

She floated in the air like a goddess, raising her hands high above her head as if bearing some tremendous force. In that patch of sky, time and space seemed distorted, swirling with strange currents within the clouds.

From the river of time hidden in the clouds, mysterious forces transformed into pillars of light, pouring down from the heavens and streaming into the woman’s upraised hands.

A world-shaking aura suddenly spread from her body!

Despite the distance, everyone in the martial arena felt the terrifying pressure emanating from her.

Brilliant, multicolored beams of light shot from her body, wrapping around her like rainbows.

“A Heaven-ranked expert!”
“Who is she? So powerful!”
“What’s going on? How is there a Heaven-ranked expert inside the city?”

The martial artists in the arena forgot Mo Tuo and Shi Jian, gazing toward her.

Beneath the scorching sun, the woman with the perfect form pressed her delicate hand into the void.

In that patch of sky, a gigantic, multi-colored hand materialized, descending like a mountain.

Following the trajectory of the hand, the onlookers saw a black speck growing larger…

Beneath the giant hand, the black speck rapidly transformed into a person, also floating in midair.

The giant hand, like that of a god, covered hundreds of meters and pressed down fiercely. The figure twisted abruptly, erupting in a burst of black light before vanishing mysteriously.

Boom!

The giant hand slammed down, and three twenty-meter towers of the Ethereal Pavilion collapsed instantly, the hard ironstone reduced to rubble and scattering in the air.

The woman in black gauze and a bamboo hat stood in the sky above the Ethereal Pavilion for a moment before soaring toward the martial arena.

In just a few seconds, she appeared above the arena, looking down upon the masses below. Her voice, melodious as heaven’s music, rang out: “Half the treasure map is in my hands. If you want it, Mo family master, you may take it by force—no need for any tricks.”

“It wasn’t my Mo family who did this!” Mo Tuo shouted up at her, though surprise flickered in his eyes.

Mo Tuo was only at the third stage of Nirvana, while this woman could walk in the void—a mark of a Heaven-ranked expert!

How could Mo Tuo not be afraid?

“Miss!”
Two towering giants crashed through the crowd, scattering martial artists like broken branches, and appeared at the edge of the arena.

The goddess in the sky pointed at Mo Tuo and ordered, “Teach him a lesson.”

“Yes!”
The two giants responded, their muscles swelling. Already over two meters tall, they grew even larger in an instant, thick black hair sprouting rapidly.

In a flash, they seemed to transform into primordial beasts, their eyes filled with bloodthirsty ferocity.

They suddenly charged forward, shattering all the hard ironstone in their path!

“Who are you? This is the Martial Arena of the Trade Alliance—you cannot cause trouble here!” Bei Ming Shang suddenly cried out, his body radiating cold as he soared into the air.

Clusters of strange, bluish fire erupted from his body, quickly forming clouds of icy flame. The chilling clouds, carrying the power to freeze the world, swept toward the woman.

“Bei Ming Shang, is it?” The woman’s voice remained melodious. “The Ethereal Pavilion is not your concern. Your Bei Ming family may rule within the Trade Alliance, but in the Endless Sea you wouldn’t even rank as a third-rate family! You’d best behave yourself.”

“How arrogant!” Bei Ming Shang hovered opposite her, his expression icy as an ancient glacier. He sneered, “I’d like to see what you can do, to speak so boldly!”

The clouds of "Extreme Cold Ice Flame" surged like waves in the ocean, rolling toward her.

She snorted, her perfect form rising and vanishing into a cloud. Her enchanting voice echoed, “Come up and fight—let’s avoid harming the innocent.”

“Fine!” Bei Ming Shang replied, his body shooting into the clouds and disappearing.

Thunderous booms, like world-ending thunder, erupted from the sky.

Everyone in the arena knew that Bei Ming Shang and the mysterious woman were now locked in battle, but none could witness their duel.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two giant men were already surrounding Mo Tuo, attacking him without mercy.

They seemed like steel giants, their bodies so robust that they ignored the lightning bolts thick as arms encircling Mo Tuo.

Lightning dragons swirled in the sky, originating from Mo Tuo’s body—fifteen in total, forming a dense net that attacked the two giants.

“Mo Tuo! Surrender the treasure map, or don’t blame me for striking your Mo family!”
Mu Xun’s voice came from one corner of the arena. He led a group of experts from the Valley of the Medicine King, striding toward Mo Tuo with a cold expression.

“Mu Xun! The map isn’t with my Mo family! Release Chao Ge immediately, or you’ll never leave Tianyun City alive!” Mo Tuo raged, even under the combined assault of the giants, daring to threaten.

“Fine! You forced my hand!” Mu Xun’s voice was icy. He ordered the Medicine King Valley experts, “Kill all the Mo family!”

With that, Mu Xun joined the giants in besieging Mo Tuo.

Crack! Boom!

Lightning dragons roared, the two giants wielding blocks of ironstone the size of millstones, each weighing thousands of pounds, smashing them toward Mo Tuo whenever they drew near.

Mu Xun unleashed strange silver rays, followed by dark red flames from his palm, blasting at Mo Tuo.

In an instant, lightning darted across the arena, stones flew, fire blazed, and silver light streaked everywhere.

Some spectators with weaker cultivation were instantly burned black by the lightning dragons or crushed into pulp by flying stones.

The battle between these few powerful figures completely destabilized the scene!

Martial artists cursed, screamed, and roared, fleeing in all directions.

Those with weak cultivation scrambled out of the Divine Stone Square, no longer daring to watch.

Medicine King Valley’s experts seized the chance to attack the Mo family’s elders and clansmen.

But the Mo family’s elders and clansmen were formidable, not fearing the Medicine King Valley’s experts, and even holding their own against them.

Shi Jian had become almost a spectator…

He watched the Mo family’s misfortune with surprise, feeling immense satisfaction.

“Grandfather, let’s take action!” Shi Yan stepped forward and spoke in a low voice.

“Take action?” Shi Jian was startled, frowning. “You mean…”

“Mo Zhan is dead, Mo Tuo will surely seek revenge! Instead of waiting for the Mo family to recover and strike us, it’s better to strike while they’re weak and finish them! Join Mu Xun and those two in killing Mo Tuo, while we hunt down the Mo family’s second and third generations. It’s best to cripple them entirely today so they’ll never have the chance for revenge,” Shi Yan said coldly.

“Big brother, Shi Yan is right! Mo Zhan is dead, and Mo Chao Ge probably won’t survive either! Mo Tuo won’t let this go! At this point, let’s go all out! Forget the tournament—let’s destroy the Mo family first!” Shi Tie stepped forward with a deep voice.

Shi Tianluo and Shi Tianyun were seriously wounded, still lying on the ground. Holding back his fury, Shi Tie could no longer restrain himself seeing such a perfect opportunity.

Han Feng also came forward, nodding lightly to Shi Jian.

“Bei Ming Shang is being delayed, so the Bei Ming family has no one in charge right now. Without his approval, they won’t help the Mo family. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If we miss it, we’ll never get another,” Shi Yan urged again, “Grandfather, you deal with Mo Tuo. I’ll kill Mo Qi and Mo Yan Yu, who wounded Tianluo and Tianyun, and cut off their Mo family’s future!”

“You’re ruthless, boy!” Shi Tie slapped Shi Yan hard, and without waiting for Shi Jian’s consent, suddenly charged forward, shouting, “Mo Tuo, you old dog, you’re doomed today!”

As Shi Tie attacked, Shi Jian no longer hesitated. He turned to Han Feng, saying, “Madman, protect Shi Yan!” With that, he roared and rushed out, shouting, “Mo Tuo! It’s time to settle the score!”

…