Fu Guo stomped his foot as he called for one of his bloodline's martial skills, and the earth responded. His aura expanded on all of the stage's surface, surrounding Bai Qi, and the wooden floor appeared to be covered by a disgusting, squishy, bog-like substance.

[Hallowed Grounds of the Earth God Killing] wasn't a defensive or offensive skill, but one of the so aptly or uncaringly called special martial skills. Its true impact was to slow and weaken one's opponent. Its effect was latching to the enemy's aura, slowly grinding at it, and delaying or even nullifying any responses the latter may have.

While Bai Qi had not released his aura, only utilizing the usual cover, and even though it was just showing the prowess of a 4th level Warrior Lord, Fu Guo did not plan to take any chances.

Seeing that Bai Qi did not react at all to the bloodline skill, Fu Guo's irritation only grew, and he did what he had avoided for this and other combats. He unsheathed his sword.

The [Tamed Winds of the Underworld]. The invisible sword that had earned Fu Guo the nickname [Unseeable Edge] for the first time in this 36th duel of Fu Guo's joined him in the arena.

*Clang*

Yet, neither the sound of the wooden sheath falling on the floor, even augmented by Fu Guo nor the nearly-invisible blade's pressure drew Bai Qi out of his closed-eyes, mechanical actions.

"I am not sure the protective formations will save you from this..." Fu Guo attempted to get his opponent's attention, yet he failed again, which only made him feel more infuriated.

Fu Guo may have kept back, but only because he treated every duel as a way to improve his sword. Still, he never allowed himself to show any disrespect to his opponent, as Bai Qi did now.

Fu Guo would only use the exact amount of strength to equal his opponent, but as soon as the duel was to end, Fu Guo would use a similarly measured approach to finish it. And now, when he, at last, found an opponent that merited authentic engagement and was probably even stronger than him, this opponent stopped fighting?!

"If you are so keen to ignore your opponent..." Fu Guo started speaking again, more a growl than actual speech, but seeing the lack of reaction from the other party, he could only stop himself and roar out, "THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE!"

Fu Guo infused all of his fury, disappointment in Bai Qi, and desire to win into the slash he released, and it was a true sight to behold.

*SLASH*

Several dozens of feet high, nearly reaching the uppermost protective formation, and wide as Fu Guo himself, the slash gave the vibes of a full-strength attack of a 5th level Warrior Lord. And in all truth, the latter could be considered an understatement. After all, Fu Guo was a 3rd level Warrior Lord all right, but his actual prowess was near a 6th level one!

Bai Qi ignored Fu Guo's actions, and that was the truth.

The [True Qi Transmission] required a lot of his mindpower and concentration. And still, it would not make him lose sight of the fight, not one where he knew the opponent was dangerous and even actually respected the latter.

So what had happened for Bai Qi to disconnect from this fight? The answer would lie in his soul, or more precisely, on the various parts of it. Stitched together in a way he himself could not explain, Bai Qi had already felt that different emotions would make him act not like his usual self. And that latter, because of the so-different beings whose souls were now his.

The [White Scroll Immortal], Bai Qi.

The mortal, inexperienced Wu Guang.

And the raging, vengeful, lacking all stoppers, the demon Kui Mulang.

All bound together by what was the new Bai Qi, even if he himself could not be sure if it was so.

Wu Guang's soul was simply too weak, it did not influence the current Bai Qi in any way, but the other two weren't weak at all. And while most of the calm and rational actions he usually took were in agreement with the Immortal part of his soul, anger and fury empowered the darker and relentless Kui Mulang.

Thus, the real reason for Bai Qi's closed eyes, lack of concentration, and nearly-total ignorance towards Fu Guo's actions had not been anything but an attempt to calm that demonic being in his soul.

Chun Hua was too close to him, and he could not overlook her being hurt by trickery if He Delan wasn't mistaken. Even more, just the manner in which Chun Hua was disrespected by the so-called victor was already enough for Bai Qi to usually allow his anger to take over.

As Fu Guo released his martial skill, Bai Qi had been really close to calming himself entirely, avoiding the sudden anger from taking over. Yet, Fu Guo had not stopped at that but sent out an attack. He sent a slash that could actually threaten Bai Qi's life.

And that changed everything.

***

[When one's life is in danger, it's not the time to dwell on memories, emotions, or anything else.]

[If someone wants to kill you, fight back in any way you can.]

Basic truths as they may be, they turned into the reasoning behind Bai Qi's nearly instinctually snapping out of his attempts to control his anger. And what should be worse, it fueled his anger.

*SWOOSH* *BOOM*

Fu Guo's massive slash reached Bai Qi, and the enormous amount of qi and aura within was released, provoking an explosion so severe that even the formations meant for peak Warrior Lords wavered and cracked.

*Drip* *Drip*

Yet, to the surprise of observers and Fu Guo alike, Bai Qi stood there as the raging qi subsided. Bloodied, with ragged clothes, severe wounds all across his chest, now bare. Still, he stood on the same spot as if he was rooted to it.

"YOU!" Fu Guo's cried out not of surprise but in anger. After all, the damned Bai Qi's eyes were still closed!

Though there was a difference, he did obtain a reaction now, though it was far from what he had wished.

***

"You could have waited for a few breaths, and we would continue to fight. Yet, you did not." Bai Qi's words were spoken out in a strangely saddened voice, but before Fu Guo could understand the reason, he felt himself clutching at his sword with all the strength he could muster.

*Twitch*

Bai Qi's entire body twitched, and what appeared to be a weakened, impaired aura waned.

*Shake* *Shake*

The last traces of Bai Qi's aura disappeared, and his entire body shook.

"And now, there will be no fight." Bai Qi spoke up again, but Fu Guo could not even be sure it was the former speaking. The manner, tone, or the odd grimace that accompanied the words,

*Twitch* *Clank*

Bai Qi's body jerked again, and the blue sword from his right hand fell on the stage.

*SWOOSH*

The next moment, Bai Qi's body vanished from the spot. Only to reappear an instant later, right next to Fu Guo.

***

Why did he drop his sword? Was I right, and it's not his main weapon?!

Why can't I sense any trace of his aura? It can't be that he just recalled what remained, can it?!

What is going on?!>

A dozen if not more questions flew through Fu Guo's mind in the brief instants before Bai Qi suddenly arrived before him. And still, the two main ones only did as he did,

***

When Fu Guo's attack was about to hit, Bai Qi had no choice but to stop his process of calming himself, stop soothing his soul. This led to the release of the contained anger and as a consequence, Kui Mulang's part of his soul. It wasn't like Bai Qi stopped being himself, yet the emotions influencing his actions changed, and in such a setting, his strategy changed as well,

And Bai Qi acted.

His full aura was released just as the attack connected, and for a brief moment, his actual prowess, one of a 7th level Warrior Lord, was made apparent. The attack was strong, and Bai Qi's defense was a few moments too late. Even so, he only received flesh wounds, with no real damage except for spending most of his available soul power.

The shaking had been an act, Bai Qi's masking the release of the seals he himself put before entering the arena. Seals that kept part of his qi pool stored away and meant to allow him to improve even in battles that, in all reality, weren't so dangerous as they had to.

And with the additional qi entering his circulation, Bai Qi simply did not need to use the sword either. After all, the [Ghostflame] was nearly entirely back under his control, and Kui Mulang's essence interacted with it even better than Bai Qi himself.

*SWOOSH*

Bai Qi's real speed was comparable with a peak 7th level Warrior Lord. So the mere act of desiring to move towards Fu Guo, coupled with the unspent qi, had been enough for him to ignore the minuscule thirty feet distance separating them.

*ROAR*

And on command, the usually silent [Ghostflame] roared as Bai Qi clawed at his opponent.

***

Fu Guo was an experienced fighter, and like any swordmaster, his reaction speed was above any average cultivator. He had not even noticed Bai Qi's attack as his four-foot invisible sword already went into a position to intercept the latter's flame-covered claw.

*GRIP*

Yet, Bai Qi's claw neither clashed nor overpowered the sword. It simply grabbed it as if the Fu Guo was a mortal, not a cultivator of a similar level.

"There will be no fight." The repeated phrase was the last thing that Fu Guo would remember of this battle, as just a moment later, he found himself flying out of the arena, his sword still in Bai Qi's claw.

Or maybe he would remember another thing, how Bai Qi's eyes opened at the last moment, and what he saw in them wasn't triumph, mock, or any other emotion normal for such an ending.

Fu Guo's mind started going blank, not even understanding that he had lost the combat, had been wounded by Bai Qi's free claw, or that his sword landed near him just a breath later.

***

The sudden changes on the 3rd stage took everyone in the arena by surprise. No expert, manager, and not even the three arena masters, all glued to the sudden developments, had expected it to end so quickly.

A single instant was all it took Bai Qi to entirely destroy an opponent that had been giving him so much, feigned as it seemed, trouble.

"...Winner, Bai Qi."