The moment Bai Hu Lie's match ended, the patriarch of the peacock people held another drawing to decide who would fight again.

Once again, Bai Hu Lie was the first name drawn.

This time, the fight dragged on a few minutes longer, but only because he was clearly toying with his opponent.

In the end, with a single punch packed with brute force, the tiger drove his opponent into the arena floor.

The stone shattered beneath the impact, splintering outward in jagged shards, and a thick cloud of dust billowed into the air, hiding the freshly carved crater.

And so, only one match remained before the finals.

Knowing his turn had come, Qingyi rose to his feet and turned his gaze to the sect leader.

"Father-in-law, you remember the promise I made to Aoxue, don't you?"

The leader had already sealed off the sound around them with a discreet technique, ensuring no one could overhear.

"Ah… yes…" The sect leader nodded slowly. "Just make it look like an accident. I'll handle the consequences. Aoxue's value doesn't even come close to yours… After this, even the Celestial Orthodox Martial Alliance will try to recruit you."

Hearing those words, Qingyi flashed a satisfied smile and leaped toward the arena.

"Don't worry. I'll finish this with a single punch."

He landed softly on the platform, his eyes immediately finding the Central Region delegation.

Long Aoxue stood there, staring back with an icy glare.

In truth, Aoxue was a little anxious.

Qingyi should already be crippled by now. What the hell was he still doing there, unscathed and calm, as if nothing had happened?

Out of the corner of his eye, Aoxue glanced at the cosmic emperor master. The old man remained completely impassive, barely sparing him any attention at all.

Gritting his teeth, Aoxue leaped into the arena.

[You really ignored my warning, huh? You could have just cowered like a chicken and accepted defeat. But since you want to die so badly...]

Qingyi sent the mocking sound transmission, and Aoxue roared with laughter in response.

Despite his previous defeat at Qingyi's hands, Aoxue wasn't afraid. He, too, had trained hard over the past few months.

[You're too confident in yourself, worm. I'll show you my family's most powerful secret technique! May the heavens have mercy on your sou—]

Aoxue didn't have time to finish the sentence.

The moment the Peacock Patriarch announced the start of the battle, Qingyi moved, unleashing all his power for the first time since the tournament began.

Aoxue had no time to react, much less keep pace with the figure hurtling toward him.

A deafening crash shook the entire arena as Qingyi's fist slammed into Aoxue's face, and in the next instant, the excited buzz of the audience fell abruptly silent.

The reason?

Something had flown out of the arena, but it wasn't Aoxue's body. At least, not his entire body.

It was only his head, hurled at an absurd speed, carving a crimson arc through the air before slamming into the coliseum wall with a wet, sickening thud.

The skull burst apart on impact, scattering flesh fragments, pulverized bone, and bloody splatters across the gray stone.

The decapitated body remained standing in the arena for several seconds, as if it had not yet grasped its own end, before toppling backward with a dull thud. Everyone fell silent.

A terrible, heavy silence took hold of the coliseum, so dense it seemed to stifle the spectators' very breath.

The Peacock Patriarch stared at Qingyi with trembling pupils, as did the entire entourage from the Central Region.

None of them could process what had just happened.

A young master trained by the Orthodox Martial Alliance itself, killed just like that, so easily?

Shocked gazes followed Aoxue's soul as it escaped his body, not toward some life-saving formation of his family, but directly toward the wheel of reincarnation.

It was over. He was dead.

"Oops… my apologies, I didn't realize Aoxue was so weak and ended up using too much force!" Qingyi said, feigning the same shock as the spectators and bringing a hand to his chin as if he truly regretted what had happened.

Honestly, no one could truly argue against that.

It was clear to anyone with eyes that Qingyi had simply stepped forward and thrown an ordinary punch.

He hadn't even drawn his weapon or actively tried to sever Aoxue's head.

Being too strong wasn't a crime, and the two possessed equivalent cultivation levels on paper.

In the end, intentionally killing an enemy was forbidden and could result in terrible punishments, but fists and blades had no eyes.

Everyone present was well aware of the chances of dying, even by pure accident.

"H-how dare you?!"

One of the star sovereigns watching the confrontation suddenly shot to his feet, roaring with fury, but he didn't get far.

The cosmic emperor accompanying the group rose at the same moment, raising his hand and demanding silence with a firm gesture.

He stared at Qingyi for a long moment.

Over the past few months, he had studied the young man extensively, trying to decide to whom he would entrust the information that Qingyi was the heir to the Dragon God of Corruption.

After all his research, after listening to dozens of people and deploying informants to gather data even among the disciples of the Cosmic Dawn Sect, he already knew very well what kind of person Qingyi was.

An arrogant young man, yet one who knew when to be humble.

He had a deep love for his fiancée, Rou'er, as well as for Xue Hua and was gentle.

He was ruthless toward his enemies, yes, but such was the world of cultivation.

Who wasn't ruthless toward their enemies?

Even that old man himself had killed tens of thousands of people who had offended him over the years.

The path to immortality was a bloody one, and this was recognized by all.

The old man remained silent for a brief moment before finally opening his eyes, his decision made.

He already knew to whom he would report Qingyi's existence.