Hearing this, Stiles sighed.
"These things are common in this world. The strong and influential people set the rules… Only by becoming strong can I protect myself from people like them."
While he was thinking, he suddenly heard an angry voice; it was none other than Damon.
"Vincent! Today I'm going to kill you once and for all! Not even your brother will save you!"
On the other side, Vincent chuckled and grinned. "You think that just because an Inner Sect elder accepted you as a disciple, that is enough to scare me? Damon, you're nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well."
"That doesn't concern you, Vincent. Even if I wasn't accepted, I'd still kill you today," Damon replied coldly.
With a surge of killing intent, he was ready to charge toward Vincent.
Vincent laughed. "Sorry, Damon, but today it's not you; it's me who's going to kill you. And then your sister." He mouthed the last part silently so only Damon could see.
Knowing Vincent was trying to provoke him by mentioning his sister, Damon didn't react much, but rage still filled his mind.
Seeing Damon remain calm, Vincent realized his provocation wasn't working, but he still wasn't afraid.
"Well, I have good news for you," Vincent sneered. "I've already broken through to Foundation Establishment.
Hearing this, most of the outer disciples sighed. They knew Damon was finished. The gap between a Qi Refiner and a Foundation Establishment cultivator was enormous.
Even a hundred Qi-Refiners couldn't defeat a single Foundation Establishment expert. Everyone knew Damon was only at the 10th stage of Qi-Refining. Even if he were a genius, he couldn't win.
"So, what will you do now, Damon? Today is your death day," Vincent mocked.
But Damon didn't flinch; he remained composed and charged toward Vincent with a sword in hand.
As Damon approached, Vincent scoffed. "If you want to die sooner, I'll gladly help you."
With a shout, Vincent released his Foundation Establishment aura, trying to crush Damon with it but surprisingly, Damon wasn't affected at all.
Damon chuckled, appearing right in front of Vincent in a flash, slashing his sword toward him.
Seeing Damon appear so quickly, Vincent panicked. That speed… even he, who had just broken through to Foundation Establishment, couldn't match it.
"D-Did you also break through?" Vincent asked, sweat forming on his forehead.
Damon didn't answer. "Just die already."
This made Vincent even angrier. "How dare you!"
With a thought, Vincent swung his sword, unleashing a powerful slash toward Damon.
But Damon dodged it with ease. "This is what you call breaking through to Foundation Establishment? Seems like it's child's play for you. If you spent less time relying on your clan's resources and actually trained, you'd be better than this."
"It seems you're nothing more than a waste of space, I guess."
Hearing Damon's mocking words, Vincent's rage exploded.
"Me? Waste of space? How dare you! You insignificant insect from the countryside, how dare you speak to me like this!"
"No… I'm not going to kill you," Vincent shouted. "I'm going to cripple you! And I'll enjoy playing with your sister while you watch!"
A crazed, bloodshot look filled Vincent's eyes. He was a member of the Heavenly Feather Clan, and his brother was a Core Disciple of the Celestial Sect. How could he be reduced to this state by some unknown insect?
He grabbed a pill from his storage bag and shoved it into his mouth.
Immediately, his eyes turned crimson, and a faint scent of blood energy seeped from his body.
Nearby disciples reacted instantly.
"What the hell did he take?!"
"His strength just spiked!"
An elder near the arena replied, "He took a Mad-Dragon Pill. It can increase the user's strength fivefold, but it comes with severe side effects."
"Once consumed, it overloads the body and damages several meridians. The user will be bedridden for five to seven months afterward."
Hearing this, the nearby disciples sucked in a cold breath.
Stiles, who was standing nearby, heard the explanation and chuckled. "What a foolish fellow. Even if he wins, it'll cripple his future cultivation. He's basically throwing away his potential."
But what surprised Stiles was Damon, who showed no fear at all. Instead, he looked even more confident in his strength.
"Well, everyone has their secrets," Stiles murmured, not thinking too much about it.
In the arena, Vincent roared and rushed toward Damon. Vincent poured all his energy into his sword.
"Just die, Damon!" he shouted in rage as he slashed toward him.
"Mountain-Splitting Sword!"
A nearby elder said, "That's a profound-level sword technique. He's already reached the proficient stage; he's almost mid-level."
Hearing this, the disciples were amazed.
On the arena, Damon whispered,
"Raging Thunder Sword Style—First Form: Violet Severance."
As Damon murmured, lightning wrapped around his sword. He slashed toward Vincent.
It was a clean, decisive strike. When the slash reached Vincent, he panicked—if he took that attack head-on, he would die for sure.
Without hesitation, he tried to activate a high-grade profound bell for defense, but before he could, the slash severed his arm.
Seeing his arm fall, Vincent screamed in agony and fear. His eyes were filled with blood, and hundreds of thoughts raced through his head. He truly regretted offending Damon now.
Seeing Damon approaching, Vincent was terrified. He didn't even pick up his severed arm; he only tried to crawl away.
"Damon! You can't kill me! I'm a member of the Heavenly Feather Clan, and my brother is a core disciple of the sect! If you kill me, it will bring death upon you! We can forget all our grudges after this!"
Vincent tried to pressure Damon using his clan and his brother, but Damon kept approaching, making Vincent tremble even more.
Damon paused and looked at him.
Seeing Damon stop, Vincent became excited and hurriedly said, "That's right, Damon! We can forget our old grudges after this fight. Otherwise you won't be able to face the retribution of my clan!"
"Retribution?" Damon laughed loudly. "A waste of space like you wants to bring retribution on me? What a joke."
Suddenly, a sea of killing intent erupted from Damon.
"You dare to threaten me with retribution? No… it's you who will face retribution today. And I'll make sure it's the cruelest one you've ever experienced and the last."
With that, Damon slashed his sword again, severing Vincent's other arm, leaving him completely handless.
"GAAAAAA—MY HAND! AHHHHHH!"
"See? Now who's the insect?" Damon laughed.
Vincent was terrified and even wet his pants.
The bystanders watching were also frightened by what was happening in the arena.
Seeing this, the elder near the arena shouted, "Damon, that's enough! Even if you have a grudge, he is still a disciple of our sect. You cannot humiliate him like this!"
Damon laughed. "Humiliate him? Sect disciple? Then what about my sister? Isn't she a sect disciple too? Why didn't you say the same when she suffered? Why didn't you intervene? WHY?" Damon roared with rage.
Hearing this, the elder became angry. "How audacious! How dare you talk to me like that!"
In the arena, Damon replied, "Elder, I respect you deeply. But right now, I am in the Life and Death Arena. According to sect law, no one has the right to interfere. Are you going to disobey sect law, Elder?"
The elder was stunned. Damon was right. He couldn't interfere. But a mere junior daring to speak to him this way.
Damon continued, "As for disrespecting you, Elder… I will accept the punishment after this."
The entire crowd was shocked; even the elder froze.
Stiles, on the other hand, was impressed by Damon's response. Another thought crossed his mind is Damon some kind of protagonist? A child of luck?
If Damon survived, Stiles thought it might be worth befriending him. Having a child of luck as a friend was always good.
On the other side, the elder chuckled coldly. "Fine. After this match, come meet me. As per sect law, you will be punished for insulting a sect elder."
Damon bowed slightly and walked toward Vincent.
Seeing Damon getting closer again, Vincent panicked.
Damon said, "I will let you live."
Hearing that, Vincent felt relieved-until Damon continued:
"But only if you confess what you did to my sister."
Vincent's happy expression froze.
"Damon… You're making a mistake. Only if you let me go will you survive."
Damon didn't flinch. "I'll ask one last time: are you going to confess or not?"
Vincent remained silent. If he confessed, it would destroy his brother's reputation… and stain his entire clan.
Seeing Vincent still refusing, Damon slashed again, severing Vincent's right leg.
Vincent screamed as his leg separated from his body.
"GAAAAAA—PLEASE, DAMON! I'll confess! Please let me live!"
"Speak," Damon said coldly, killing intent pouring from him.
"Yes… yes…" Vincent stammered.
"Last year… during the Crimson Battle Summit—"
But just as he was about to confess, a shout rang out from afar.
It was Vincent's brother, Adrian, and his master, Alistair.
Seeing his brother arrive, Vincent felt relieved despite his severed limbs.
Adrian shouted, "Damon! I know you're angry, but how could you treat a fellow disciple like this? Where is your heart for the sect? How can you mutilate someone this badly? And do you have any evidence that my little brother assaulted your sister? Without evidence, how dare you slander him?"
Adrian spoke with righteousness and dignity.
Damon laughed loudly. "Adrian… Are you here to act like a clown, wearing your fake righteous face?"