Chapter 711: I'm Asking — You Answer! (5/10, Autumn Subscriptions)

On the arena stage, there was a scene no one had ever anticipated.

Tai Yuema was seen half-kneeling on the ground, imprisoned within a cage of ice forged from Frozen, his face full of shock and disbelief.

His sword-wielding right hand had already been chopped off and lay on the ground, blood pooling everywhere before freezing solid.

The severed arm's wound had also been sealed over by frost.

He had lost.

And lost utterly.

At this moment, he had to take back the words he had spoken earlier.

That ring, in Yese Liming's hands, had not been a waste of Heaven's gift.

"You... actually know how to use this ring!?"

"What do you think?"

Fang Yue let out a cold laugh.

The Ningtai Ring transforms boundlessly.

He had once seen with his own eyes Ni Dongmei and Lord Han casually toying with the Ningtai Ring, shifting it through many forms, and naturally understood where the true value of the Ningtai Ring lay.

But back then, Fang Yue couldn't even maintain the most basic frequency of internal force to lock a form in place, let alone shift forms at will.

Now, however, the situation was different.

In the process of cultivating the Frozen Heart Method, Fang Yue had not only tempered his internal force, but his mastery and understanding of it had risen to a new level, giving him a far clearer grasp of it.

He had long since been able to break free of the Ningtai Ring's guidance, no longer confined to the single fixed form of a blade; as long as the transformation wasn't overly complex, he could handle it.

For instance, right now — the cage of ice surrounding Tai Yuema was formed from the Ningtai Ring.

And the earlier strike that severed Tai Yuema's right hand had come during the clash, when the ring's form suddenly shifted, extending from the original blade a serpent-like, coiling blade-head that caught him completely off guard and chopped his right hand clean off in one move, taking Tai Yuema down with ease.

Only afterward did he have the Ningtai Ring form the ice cage to pin the man inside.

The freezing cage began to contract, and across its surface, sharp little blade-edges that whirled at high speed like chainsaw teeth condensed into place, studding the ice cage's structure like barbs.

The cage shrank into a sphere, enveloping Tai Yuema within; the moment the cage touched the surface of his skin, the razor-sharp ice blades pierced into it, and blood welled straight out.

Tai Yuema screamed, his whole body drenched in blood, a pitiful sight, glaring furiously at Fang Yue.

"How dare you do this to me!"

"Tell me what you know! Otherwise you can wait to be ground into a pulp of flesh and blood by the ice cage!"

"Try touching me and see what happens!"

The instant the words fell, the color drained from Tai Yuema's face.

Because he felt the cage contract inward a notch the very moment his voice died away.

Blood sprayed straight from his head, his skull riddled with tiny holes by the razor edges, and the rest of his body was instantly riddled with wounds.

The sheer volume of blood was already terrifying, and at this rate, once the spherical ice cage shrank by another third, his skull would be split open and his body hacked apart into pieces!

This bastard really is trying to kill me!

Realizing this, Tai Yuema screamed in terror.

"I concede!!"

Tai Yuema... actually conceded?!

This outcome took everyone by surprise.

Yet what no one expected even more was that after the referee announced the result, Fang Yue did not release the ice cage — he didn't even shift his feet.

As if Tai Yuema's declaration of surrender had never been shouted at all.

"What did you people do to Captain Wu? Where is An Dong'er? Where is the Ox Seat? And where is the Phoenix Organization's base in Chunuan City? Spill it, or you won't leave this place alive today!"

The ice cage's contraction did slow somewhat, but it was only the fuse of a countdown burning a little slower — in essence, there was no difference.

Tai Yuema's life was still firmly held in Fang Yue's hands.

This turn of events was something the crowd hadn't anticipated.

Judging by the way things were going, Yese Liming was prepared to kill the man right on the arena stage, paying no heed whatsoever to the matter of the martial decision.

"H-Heaven Alliance Lord, save me!"

Tai Yuema was finally panicking.

For the first time, he felt his life drawing toward its end.

I, a dignified Rabbit Seat of the Twelve Seats of the Phoenix Organization, am going to die here? Die at the hands of a bastard like this?!

Tai Yuema clenched his fists and looked up toward the seat where Tian Wangchuan sat.

Yet Tian Wangchuan seemed unmoved; in the wavering firelight of the Human Soul flame, his seat happened to fall within a certain shadow, making it impossible to read his expression or bearing — he sat as silent and still as a mountain, watching the situation unfold.

"Tian Wangchuan! Don't forget who you are — come save me at once!"

Tai Yuema roared again, a touch of madness surfacing on his face.

Fang Yue took in the whole scene, and once more slowed the ice cage's contraction a little.

Clearly, Tai Yuema had been driven to a dead end; to pry the information out, this slightly unhinged state was, in fact, the best condition.

At that moment, Luo Yijie in the distance suddenly furrowed his brow, as if receiving some order, and spoke up with clear reluctance.

"Yese Liming, listen to me — you've already won. Mercy costs nothing; we're all members of the Heaven Alliance here, and we'll keep running into each other."

Fang Yue shot him a glance. "On the arena stage, life and death are governed by fate — that is the rule."

"... But Tai Yuema has already lost."

Saying so, Luo Yijie lifted his foot and walked toward Fang Yue.

"Don't come any closer. One more step and I'll kill him on the spot."

Fang Yue spoke those terrifying words in a flat tone, and Luo Yijie stopped dead in his tracks.

The nature of the situation seemed to have shifted from an ordinary arena duel into something else entirely.

The people around them didn't dare to breathe, completely failing to understand how the atmosphere had suddenly grown so tense.

Yang Hongxia panicked.

She had only wanted the Great Sun Merchant Caravan to climb the Heavenly Merchant Alliance's rankings; she had never thought about breaking with the Heavenly Merchant Alliance, let alone killing someone.

Yet it was easy to invite the gods but hard to send them away. Fang Yue had already blown the matter wide open, and even if she wanted to cut ties, there was no way to do so.

The dangerous gazes of the surrounding people were cast, to varying degrees, upon Yang Hongxia—especially the members of the Eagle Merchant Caravan that Tai Yuema belonged to; the killing intent in those people's eyes was practically overflowing.

"Miss, this place is not suitable for a long stay…"

Mang Liuzi always had precise judgment when it came to sensing danger, but Yang Hongxia did not retreat.

She wanted to know what exactly Fang Yue was going to do.

Although the situation had undergone some subtle changes, the fact that Tai Yuema was about to be executed by the Ice Prison had not changed.

"Tian Wangchuan! Tian Wangchuan!!"

Tai Yuema, anxious, roared out once more. After still receiving no response, his expression darkened.

At this moment, Tai Yuema fully understood that he was being treated as a discarded pawn!

"Fine! Since you show no benevolence, then don't blame me for being unjust!"

With a cold laugh, Tai Yuema endured the pain and looked toward Fang Yue.

"Don't you want to know where An Dong'er is? As far as I know, An Dong'er has already been transferred to Qing Cheng, the Capital of Qing Guo! And our Phoenix Organization's base is at…"

Squelch—

A spray of blood burst from the back of his head. Tai Yuema's mouth hung open, his eyes wide, and his body gradually went limp.

He was dead.

Fang Yue was stunned for a moment, then his expression darkened as he looked toward the person seated at the high place.

"Tian! Wang! Chuan! Why did you kill him!"

"Winner of the arena, Yese Liming, please go down quickly and hand the stage over to the other two contestants."

Tian Wangchuan did not answer, but said lightly.

Fang Yue let out a cold laugh. The Ice Prison transformed in place into a tier of ice-carved steps, and as Fang Yue stepped up, he actually walked, step by step, toward the high platform where Tian Wangchuan sat!

"I'm asking you, why did you kill him!"

Killing intent, overflowing!

Still breathing!

Making up for yesterday's chapter, today aiming for 2-5 updates.

(End of this chapter)