Chapter 153

Wu Tie.

Gongsun Yuan hefted a demon-subduing pestle nearly the size of his body, giving Wu Tie a carefree smile.

Gongsun Yuan.

Wu Tie raised the White Tiger Split at an angle, furrowing his brow as he pondered Wa Mu's words. Why, he wondered, should he kill Gongsun Yuan bit by bit?

"Is Wu Jin your older brother?" Gongsun Yuan laughed brightly, gripping the demon-subduing pestle's thick handle with both hands, swinging the massive pestle three times before gently setting it on the ground.

This demon-subduing pestle was also extremely heavy; when set on the ground, the entire stone platform emitted a low, rumbling boom.

"I have here Wu Jin's battle footage from the arena." Gongsun Yuan smiled, pulling from the bracer on his wrist a fist-sized black crystal stone. Its pitch-black surface was smooth, with countless images flickering inside.

"When he first came to the arena, he lost terribly." Gongsun Yuan pointed, and a strand of blood‑flame magic poured into the crystal, great light and shadow rising up to form a ten‑meter‑wide light screen before him.

"Look, your older brother back then was truly miserable…… because he was weak……" Gongsun Yuan's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, intending to deliberately provoke Wu Tie.

Deliberately, to make Wu Tie furious, to make him uncontrollably angry.

This is one of Gongsun Yuan's little quirks, not fit for outsiders: he loves provoking his enemies, loves watching them rage and rush at him to fight to the death, yet finding themselves helpless under his terrifying power.

The enemies' furious roars, and the miserable howls of the defeated crushed beneath him, are Gongsun Yuan's greatest pleasure.

Provoke Wu Tie, then wound him severely, announce before his face that he has won Wa Xiao Xi's marriage rights, announce before countless spectators that he is the ultimate victor…… he has won so many bets, won Wa Xiao Xi, and in the envious gazes of countless onlookers, tear out Wu Tie's heart!

As a true powerhouse, that's what he should do.

To seize everything he likes by violence, to crush all enemies with force, Gongsun Yuan trembles with excitement just imagining the scene of slaying Wu Tie. So Wu Tie must be furious, must be furious!

Wu Jin's figure appeared in the light screen.

It was the same arena, the same stone platform suspended above lava, the surrounding spectator stands filled with countless people howling and roaring, tossing one cosmos bag after another into the arena, their faces flushed red, their expressions twisted like demons.

Wu Jin was covered in blood, staggering as he walked through the arena.

A stout giant bird spider with a shriveled abdomen, a short dagger embedded in its belly, fiercely trailed Wu Jin in pursuit.

A giant bird spider twice Wu Jin's size lunged forward, biting his shoulder; its fangs were about to inject venom when a spear whistled in and killed the spider.

"The first time, your mother's people saved your older brother……" Gongsun Yuan sneered, "The cost was her taking on all the bets placed on his death in the arena…… spending money to buy his life…… tsk tsk, that was a huge sum."

The giant bird spider's sharp teeth snapped Wu Jin's clavicle, the wound a bloody mess, looking horrifically gruesome.

"By the way, that giant bird spider is Gongsun Ying's pet……" Gongsun Yuan chuckled lightly.

Wu Tie's eyes were bloodshot, his pupils completely red.

Light and shadow flickered; Wu Jin bore a broken round shield on his left hand and gripped a heavy sword in his right, two gray dwarfs at his heels as he roared toward the three iron dwarfs ahead.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, the two gray dwarfs who ought to have been Wu Tie's comrades struck from left and right, two blades hacking hard into Wu Jin's buttocks. The short blades nearly severed both of his thighs at the root; Wu Jin cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

The three iron dwarfs laughed loudly, rushed to Wu Jin's side, raised their weapons, and brought them down on his head.

A single blow from an iron hammer dented Wu Jin's helmet.

In the light and shadow, a girl at the arena's edge flung out a cosmos bag…… the three iron dwarfs burst into wild laughter, while the two gray dwarfs stared in disbelief; in just a few strokes they were hacked to pieces, leaving only the gravely wounded Wu Jin lying on the ground……

"This is Gongsun Xiong's method…… he bribed those two gray dwarfs…… those two fools…… heh, but he also made a tidy sum from this, after all, your mother laid out a huge amount of money, once again buying Wu Jin's life."

Gongsun Yuan laughed brightly, lightly tapping the pestle at his foot with his toe, pleased to see the blood color in Wu Tie's eyes growing deeper.

Light and shadow flickered again; Wu Jin, now bearing over a dozen scars and with no companions behind him, charged alone toward a rock giant and five iron dwarfs.

After a bloody melee, Wu Jin's limbs were broken, yet he had also slain all his arena foes……

Around the arena's stands, countless people jeered, making vicious throat‑slitting gestures at Wu Jin……

Wu Jin lay in a pool of blood, his eyes dark and gloomy, thick with death‑air and killing intent……

Wu Tie's heart clenched painfully—was this still the cheerful, enthusiastic older brother who constantly radiated boundless vitality?

One scene after another of light and shadow flashed, Gongsun Yuan proudly recounted to Wu Tie how he and his brothers Gongsun Ying and Gongsun Xiong had repeatedly plotted against Wu Jin.

Wu Jin's size kept growing, his aura becoming ever more violent; in the end he stood nearly three meters tall, his body covered in scars, his skin taking on an eerie metallic hue—he had practically become a metal puppet.

His aura too had become…… not that of a living person.

His performance in the arena also grew ever more brutal and savage, often tearing his enemies to pieces……

"Look, this is your older brother Wu Jin." Gongsun Yuan smirked, "I'm also amazed he's managed to stay alive under our hands for so long. After all, aside from the first three or five matches, your mother paid to buy his life, letting him escape death…… but after that, so many arena bouts……"

"He actually survived? Unbelievable." Gongsun Yuan slipped the black crystal back into his bracer and sighed at Wu Tie: "But a perfectly normal young man has turned into a lifeless killing machine…… a blood‑loving madman…… aren't you heart‑furious? Don't you want to kill me?"

Gongsun Yuan extended his right hand, hooked a finger toward Wu Tie, and laughed brightly: "Come, kill me…… at least half of your older brother Wu Jin's transformation is my fault. Indeed, I deliberately schemed against him time and again—it was me and my brothers who did it…… so, come kill me."

Gongsun Yuan grinned triumphantly: "You're not here to wager your life, are you? Come, my life is here…… not just my life, but also your sister Wa Xiao Xi's marriage rights…… heh, remember what I said? When I win, I'll make her bear children desperately."

"The Wa clan's noble daughter status is fine, but bearing children isn't up to her…… no matter how much she despises or hates me, I can do whatever I want to her…… she cannot resist this." Gongsun Yuan's excitement made his pores shrink and every hair stand on end.

"Wu Tie, come on, kill me, my life is right……"

Before Gongsun Yuan could finish, Wu Tie let out a low roar, his eyes bleeding; he planted his feet, his boots shattering simultaneously, the flesh on his soles splitting into deep fissures, blood spraying, immense force propelling his body forward like an arrow.

With a long 'ah‑oo' howl, the White Tiger Split flickered with white light all over; though Wu Tie had previously transformed it into a plain, pallid spear, at this moment it returned to its original form.

The pallid spear bore a huge white tiger head at its tip, spewing forth sharp light.

The spear shot forth; Wu Tie poured all his power into the White Tiger Split in an instant, and a heaven‑shaking, earth‑trembling tiger roar surged up the shaft, making the rock strata of the arena tremble violently.

Everyone present clapped their hands over their ears, but the terrifying, brutal, violent tiger roar, filled with endless killing intent, rang directly in their minds.

Before their eyes appeared a pair of blood‑red pupils.

Those were the eyes of a greedy, ferocious beast; the blood‑red pupils locked onto them, seizing their souls, shuddering their bodies, leaving them rigid and their thoughts utterly frozen.

The White Tiger Split is a weapon forged purely for slaughter.

Its sole purpose in this world is to utterly destroy enemies, from flesh to soul.

Gongsun Yuan stared wide‑eyed as a blade of white light came straight at him, a point of cold light flashing—so fast it left him despairing.

He strained with all his might to reach out both hands, hoping to grasp his massive demon‑subduing pestle that could smash foes and also serve as a shield.

The tiger's roar echoed in his mind, wave after wave of tiger roars shook him until golden stars flashed before his eyes, his soul felt excruciating pain, almost shattered by the tiger's roar, his body stiffened and he could not move, he strained with all his might to stretch out his hands, but his fingers only twitched minutely, extremely slowly wriggling toward the demon-subduing pestle.

The so-called Gong Sun family's secretly transmitted Nine Dragons Nine Elephants immense strength…

At this moment, there was no way to help him.

The so-called favorite disciple of the chief seat of the Six Paths Palace's Hall of Dharma Transmission couldn't help him at this moment either...

Wu Tie erupted with all his strength; the skin on his soles split from the immense force, the cracks spreading through his flesh, and the muscles on both his calves also burst open, revealing deep‑colored bone.

He thrust forward with both arms at full force...

The Great Strength God Magic burned, frantically devouring Wu Tie's mana and blood qi...

His arms swelled to an unimaginable degree, thickening to three times their normal size; cords of veins coiled like poisonous snakes around his arms, then the skin split and blood within the vessels surged, roaring like a gale.

Wu Tie let out a heaven‑shaking curse from deep within his chest.

That was what he had learned from Lao Tie—the most vicious, foul, base, obscene language, the most insulting terms one could use against Gongsun Yuan's female elders... That was almost a sacrilegious evil, the kind of filthy speech only a demon could utter.

'Swish!'

The White Tiger Split pierced Gongsun Yuan's throat and burst out the back of his neck.

The massive white tiger head on the spear shaft struck Gongsun Yuan's neck like a heavy hammer.

An earth‑shaking tiger roar rang out; a ring of white explosive gas burst from the white tiger's mouth, blasting Gongsun Yuan's entire upper torso into flying flesh and blood that exploded into a crimson mist spraying backward.

The blood mist formed a cone, howling as it blew over ten‑odd li, instantly striking the distant cliff face.

The great fissure shuddered violently.

A hole several zhang wide and nearly a li deep appeared silently on the cliff wall.

After roughly a dozen breaths, a stream of gold‑red magma gushed from the hole, turning into a crimson fire dragon that roared as it poured into the lava river below.

Wu Tie raised the White Tiger Split and savagely stabbed it into the remaining half of Gongsun Yuan's body.

One thrust, two thrusts, three thrusts...

One hundred thrusts, two hundred thrusts, three hundred thrusts...

Until the remaining half of Gongsun Yuan's corpse became a chaotic mess, a muddy blur...

Wu Tie's eyes filled with the images Gongsun Yuan had projected.

Gongsun Yuan and his ilk, with the arrogance of superiors, repeatedly schemed against Wu Jin as if toying with ants.

Wu Tie could see that on several occasions they had the chance to kill Wu Jin.

They deliberately refrained, merely mocking him, intentionally humiliating Wu Jin...... and by doing so they indirectly struck at Qimu behind him......

Wu Jin was Qimu's eldest son.

His eldest son was repeatedly singled out and gravely wounded in the arena...... without mentioning the shame Qimu felt, just seeing the terrible wounds on Wu Jin's body, how anguished and furious must she have been?

But what could Qimu's anger do then......?

Wu Tie suddenly understood why Qimu had told him to kill Gongsun Yuan bit by bit.

But kill Gongsun Yuan bit by bit?

Wu Tie grinned, turned, and looked up at the stunned scions of the great powers on the high stands of the cliff wall.

After a long while, a young man suddenly screamed hoarsely: "This is a sneak attack......"

Countless voices rose in uproar.

They couldn't believe...... the Gongsun Yuan they had placed their hopes on, the outstanding genius of this generation of the Gongsun family who walked the world, the most outstanding disciple of the Six Paths Palace's Hall of Dharma Transmission Chief Seat, the inheritor of the Gongsun family's 'Nine Dragons Nine Elephants' immense strength, Gongsun Yuan......

Like a little chick, he was felled by a single thrust from Wu Tie!

This is wrong, completely wrong...... even the most absurd script on earth couldn't be fabricated like this!

What level of cultivation in the Chonglou Realm does Gongsun Yuan have?

Wu Tie's aura is merely the first tier of the Chonglou Realm—just the first tier!

He killed Gongsun Yuan with just a single thrust?

The crowd was inflamed, and some even hurled abuse at the Gongsun family members present.

Wu Tie laughed brightly, his smile as radiant as Gongsun Yuan's.

He raised the White Tiger Split in his hand and pointed at the stunned Gongsun family retainers standing at the edge of the arena: "Sneak attack? On the battlefield, life and death are left to fate—do you call this a sneak attack?"

"Fine, everyone of the Gongsun family here, dare you come up and fight me again?"

"Or a fight to the death...... I only need one attendant to fight alongside me...... dare you take me on again?"

The arena fell dead silent, and everyone stared at Wu Tie as if he were a fool.