Volume 1, Chapter 17: A Battle of Life and Death

As soon as Xu Que spoke, Fang Qianren realized the situation had taken a turn for the worse.

He had no time to blame his wife and son for their incompetence in letting the truth reach Xu Que; he had to silence him immediately. If anyone were to grow suspicious of the Fang family’s "Devouring Hegemonic Body," even the Xuantian Sacred Land would be unable to protect them. It might even trigger a chain reaction, leading curious minds to investigate the disproportionately high mortality rate among disciples in the Sacred Land who possessed miraculous physiques.

"Seize him!"

At the Holy Lord’s command, the disciples of the Sacred Land swarmed forward. But in the next instant, a Cloud-Piercing Spear arrived, followed by the arrival of the head of the Xu family and several elders.

Fang Qianren stood up in shock. How had the Xu family broken through the Sacred Land’s grand formation? He then saw the Xu family head holding a mysterious King-tier weapon: the Dragon Map! It was this artifact that had shattered the formation.

"How could the Xu family possess such a supreme treasure?" Fang Qianren realized at once that the Xu family’s background was likely far from simple. He quickly adjusted his strategy and raised a hand to stop the others from escalating the conflict.

Jiang Liyue’s face turned grim upon seeing the Dragon Map. It was a King-tier weapon; if activated, it would unleash eighteen King-tier dragon souls. It was the stuff of legends, and yet it was now in the hands of the Xu family. "No wonder the Xu family dares to oppose the Duanmu family," she thought, looking to her husband for a solution.

Before they could deliberate, the Xu family head roared, "Is this how the Xuantian Sacred Land operates? Do you think my Xu family is defenseless? If anyone has the guts, step forward and try me!"

Duanmu Ao clenched his fists and shouted, "Head of the Xu family, this is the Xuantian Sacred Land! Your unauthorized intrusion is equivalent to a declaration of war against our sanctuary."

The Xu family head sneered, "Then let it be war. My Xu family is not afraid. Come on, who wants to be the first to die?"

Hearing this, the people of the Sacred Land thought the Xu family had gone mad. How many members of prominent clans cultivated within the Sacred Land? By offending so many families at once, could the Xu family truly withstand the consequences?

Just as everyone expected the Holy Lord to suppress the Xu family, he spoke: "Xu Que remains a disciple of our Sacred Land. How I handle this matter is not for the Xu family to interfere with. Since this issue is disputed, we shall discuss it later. If the Xu family has any opinions, please head to the Guest Hall."

Another delaying tactic.

Xu Que was utterly disappointed in the Sacred Land. "The Holy Son stole my Divine Martial Bone, and the Holy Mother crippled my cultivation and threw me into the Immortal Extinction Death Zone—how will that be handled? If there is no justice here, then this Sacred Land is not worth staying in."

The Holy Lord retorted, "Nonsense! These are baseless accusations. Do not think that you can turn black into white simply by running your mouth."

Xu Que laughed. "These were Duanmu Yi’s own words. He also said the Duanmu family knew everything, and that they had the Holy Lord trapped with this secret. I didn't believe it last night, but seeing this today, it is clearly true."

This revelation left everyone in disbelief. What heavenly treasure could the Holy Son not obtain? Why would he need to steal Xu Que’s Divine Martial Bone?

Xu Que heard the murmurs of doubt. He had pondered this himself, and the only conclusion he could reach was that the Holy Son needed his bone to break through a bottleneck that had plagued him for years. "Duanmu Yi also mentioned that the Holy Son practices a technique that allows him to break through bottlenecks by absorbing the special bones and tendons of others. So..."

Could there truly be a technique that absorbs the miraculous physiques of others to enhance oneself? How was that any different from the demonic path? The crowd began to buzz with heated discussion.

***

Rumors are often started by the reckless and feared by the gullible, yet Xu Que’s words were dangerously close to the truth.

"Lies! Slandering the Sacred Land and its noble families—you are courting death!" Jiang Liyue shrieked. She struck out with a palm from a distance, attempting a sneak attack to injure Xu Que.

"Stones thrown by barking dogs—our Young Master hasn't finished speaking, why the rush?" Si Yuan stood in front of Xu Que, channeling his spiritual energy to counter the blow.

*Boom!* The ground shattered, and dust billowed into the air.

"Roar!" The Xu family’s Dragon Map erupted, and eighteen mindless giant dragons emerged, controlled to attack everything in their path. A large group of the Sacred Land’s ranked disciples were injured and fell to the ground. Even the elders were forced to retreat from the onslaught. This was a King-tier weapon, after all; each dragon soul possessed power comparable to a Martial Lord-realm expert.

"Stop!" The Holy Lord exerted his supreme power as a peak Martial Lord to suppress the crowd, forcing both sides to disengage.

The Holy Lord continued, "Xu Que, Duanmu Yi is currently missing. Your words are unsubstantiated—what is it you intend to do?"

Seeing that the Holy Lord remained biased toward the Duanmu family despite the chaos, Xu Que felt a wave of apathy. He no longer wished to stay. "In half a month, there will be the grand competition for the secret realm quotas among the sects and factions of the Eastern Wasteland. I will settle this grudge with Fang Wu then."

Xu Que did not want to rush into a slaughter here, as he did not want to rely on his family’s elders for revenge. For the Holy Son who stole his Divine Martial Bone, he wanted to take him down himself.

"You want to leave? Do you think you can?" Duanmu Ao was furious—Duanmu Yi was his nephew, and he assumed he had been killed by Xu Que.

Fang Qianren remained silent; the situation was becoming increasingly troublesome. He had to silence Xu Que as soon as possible and then kill him in secret, for Xu Que threatened to expose the Fang family’s greatest secret!

Fang Qianren said, "You may leave, but only after you settle your grudge with the Duanmu family on the Life-and-Death Platform." He then gave Duanmu Ao a look. The latter understood immediately: they would find a few people to fight Xu Que and his two brothers. If Xu Que refused, he could not leave; if he agreed, he would die on the platform.

The Xuantian Sacred Land had always valued martial prowess above all else, and this was true for all geniuses. Once the Xu family accepted the challenge of the Life-and-Death Platform, they would have no excuse if they lost, and public opinion would finally shift in favor of the Sacred Land. Fang Qianren wanted the world to believe the Fang family was innocent, while Duanmu Ao wanted an opportunity for revenge. As for Xu Que’s claim that he would defeat Fang Wu in half a month? It was a joke.

Fang Qianren did not believe Xu Que would live through the day.

Duanmu Ao laughed, "Holy Lord, the Duanmu family has no shortage of talent. My brothers are of one mind and wish to avenge Duanmu Xiong and Duanmu Yi. I just fear the Xu family is too small-minded and cowardly to accept the challenge."

Si Yuan replied with disdain, "A boring provocation."

Xu Que’s heart stirred. How could he not see this was a trap? But would he lose? No. Traps are often double-edged swords.

Xu Que said, "Fine, I accept. We shall sign the life-and-death contracts and resolve the grudge with the Duanmu family once and for all."

The Xu family members did not object; since Xu Que had the confidence, they would support him with everything they had. A martial artist must always push forward.

Fang Qianren was overjoyed. By steering the conflict toward the Life-and-Death Platform, he had successfully silenced the topic of his son stealing the Divine Martial Bone. As long as the subject wasn't dug deeper, he could remain the "great and righteous" Holy Lord of the Xuantian Sacred Land.

"I give both sides one stick of incense to prepare."

***

Below the platform, the Xu family gathered.

"Young Master, are you truly going to fight on the Life-and-Death Platform?"

Xu Que replied, "If we don't, will the Duanmu family stop? No. So we will fight until they feel the pain and learn fear."

"The Young Master helped us improve our cultivation and provided us with Spirit-tier weapons; we will not lose."

"Today, we handle the Duanmu family. As for the grudge against the Fang family, I will deal with that personally."

On the other side, inside a grand hall, a beautiful woman was gritting her teeth as she mobilized the Duanmu disciples. "You are all experienced disciples who have trained for years longer than Xu Que and his lot, and your cultivation levels are higher. With these Breakthrough Pills, the Xu family disciples will surely die. You must avenge my son, Duanmu Xiong!"

Jiang Liyue, standing nearby, remained calm. "That Xu Que is only at the seventh level of the Martial Sect, and the three of them are only at the sixth level. Every disciple here is at the ninth level of the Martial Sect; the advantage is ours." She then produced four secret medicines. "These are Dragon-Soaring Pills; they will allow you to heal rapidly even from severe wounds. Take down Xu Que, and you will all be guaranteed a place in the Sacred Land’s Light Sequence."

"Thank you, Holy Mother!" the four Duanmu disciples responded in unison before marching out.

At the Sacred Land’s fighting arena, the two sides stood in opposition. The atmosphere was tense. Xu Que brought his three clansmen who were training in the Sacred Land onto the platform. Upon arrival, he realized that the Duanmu family had not sent their peers, but disciples from previous years.

The Xu family elders cursed the unfairness, but Duanmu Ao retorted, "These are all disciples of our Duanmu family training in the Sacred Land. Are you afraid? If you’re afraid, hurry up and kneel for mercy."

Xu Que’s expression darkened, but he showed no fear. "Enough useless chatter. Kill them all!"

"Understood, Young Master."