Bai Qi switched from martial arts to sabers, then to his sword, and back to martial arts. Attacking without giving Xun Gengxin any respite, he even followed every round with some commentary.

"So, you amount to only this much?"

"You looked far more impressive before."

"Could it be that you can only use your trump card once?"

"Or, you are only so sure against an opponent weaker than you?"

"This is simply boring. It seems I was a fool to expect anything from this fight."

Bai Qi wasn't usually keen to diminish his opponents or insult them while fighting. Despite that, when he had the reasons to do so, he did it as naturally as it came.

Xun Gengxin was nearly howling out of rage, and yet he could not find any way to retort to the accursed bastard in front.

Bai Qi was strong even while showing off and holding back. He could easily overpower, overrun, and probably suppress Xun Gengxin if he wanted to do so. And while Xun Gengxin wasn't the worst, heavens, he was on a very high level among similar cultivation fighters, Bai Qi was a damned monster, a demon-tier genius, something untouchable by anyone but others like him.

Xun Gengxin had only one chance to regain some face, and if he did it right, there was a slight chance that Song Lin would help him, no matter what the [Void King] had said.

It was as if that despaired shout, even if made in an inner voice, reached the heavens or whatever else one could believe. After all, Bai Qi suddenly stopped his barrage, as he pronounced yet one more of his veiled insults, "This is simply boring. It seems I was a fool to expect anything from this fight."

*Tear* *Swoosh*

Bai Qi deliberately paused for a while after his last words. Xun Gengxin's mental state should be the one of dealing with Bai Qi in any possible way, so it was now a matter of allowing him to act.

While Xun Gengxin disappeared from the stage, Bai Qi remained still.

It was true that Bai Qi's speed and power would diminish inside the void, as without particular methods, be they trained or innate ones, a cultivator's qi, and aura would be seeped out only by remaining inside, limiting one's available reserves. Yet, even if Xun Gengxin was entirely confident that Bai Qi counted with none, it was clear that they would still not be evenly matched, not with Bai Qi's full strength taken into account.

Bai Qi lightly smiled at this thought and suddenly turned around, his left hand a claw, wisps of dark flames escaping from the qi enclosing it.

*Tear* *Grasp*

Bai Qi quickly, nearly unnoticeably, tore a small opening in the planar space, and his claw entered the void, clasping around something.

"I was occupied and never intended to pay attention to what you uttered before, but it was something like - A very high level of control over the Void, yet, it's not enough - was it?" Bai Qi spoke, half of his arm inside the void, before pulling it out in a swift motion.

*Swoosh* *Crash*

Along the claw, Xun Gengxin's body appeared and then crashed against the floor, all part of Bai Qi's move. Only after that, Bai Qi freed Xun Gengxin's shoulder from his grasp and, with the use of a few light steps, created some distance.

-*-*-

Bai Qi fishing out Xun Gengxin, as it didn't look any different from someone catching a fish in muddy waters, provoked several amazed and admiring exclamations to be heard from the crowd.

Not only did Bai Qi disguise how and when he sensed Xun Gengxin, but he also did so with absolute certainty!

And only a few experts, like He Delan, could be sure that Bai Qi did not use any methods. Furthermore, he did not even spread his senses, and his aura remained retracted since the combat's start. Confident in all that made them think that Bai Qi had some unique talent to sense into the void. Even He Delan proceeded on such a line of thought, though she probably would have known if it was so.

As for the truth, it was uncomplicated, not that any expert would think that Bai Qi guessed where Xun Gengxin would be at that moment. Although, one could say that Bai Qi actually goaded his opponent to attack him from behind, having shown that he was too powerful, and by making a show of not releasing either aura or senses during the combat.

-*-*-

"YOU! JUST WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! THAT I SURRENDER?! THEN-" Xun Gengxin hollered in a mix of rage, desperation, and not without a bit of fear, but before he could complete his phrase, he found himself gasping for air, Bai Qi's kicking him with so much force that he flew up from the ground for not a few feet.

"Surrender? That would bore me even more, but if you want to end it now, the same as me, then-" Bai Qi's voice contained nearly palpable dominance, but yet, his following actions surprised many, as he did not continue the attack as he should, sending Xun Gengxin out of the stage, but in place tore a gap in the space, and sent his opponent inside, following right after the latter!

Between the formations, distance, and usual difficulty following anything happening in the void, only a few people could make themselves an idea of what happened between Bai Qi and Xun Gengxin during the time they both were inside.

He Delan probably was the only one that could follow all of the developments thanks to the [Void Palace] methods, but she abstained from it. Not because she wasn't interested, as she was probably the one who wanted it most, but because she feared it would interfere with whatever trick or skill Xun Gengxin used before, or even worse, with Bai Qi's plans. She was also genuinely curious about how Bai Qi would reveal the deceit if it took place.

Time passed. Moments turned breaths and some more. About half a cup of tea later, a tear appeared on the planar space wall, and nearly everyone caught a glimpse of the happenings inside the void.

"What?!

Who is that?!

So the elder that rushed unto the stage before was right!

Such a scheme and the dog-born bastard had the gall to utilize it here?!"

The image revealed to the multitude, to both the average and mortal, the experts and managers, the arena masters and VIPs merited the angry shouts indeed.

Bai Qi, moving at the utmost speed he could, gliding over a void current, trying to reach the crack that he seemingly opened.

Xun Gengxin, bloodied and lacking nearly all flesh on the left arm, and yet, laughing like crazy.

And the cause for anger; A murky, impossible-to-identify individual rushing behind Bai Qi while releasing power far above a Warrior Lord!

***

"FREEZE!" Yi Bingwen roared as he stomped down his foot, sending his qi to activate the central, hidden formation of the arena, one enough to block even an advanced Warrior King, concentrating the entirety of it unto the 2nd stage. He had come to expect some trick, even a forbidden skill or item, but this?!

*Swoosh*

Yet, while Bai Qi and Xun Gengxin's forms were immediately surrounded by the golden glow of an active formation, one that assumed the forms of chains that penetrated the void from the arena's floor, the strange figure somehow pushed back the effect. This development made Yi Bingwen summon a whole stack of talismans, and as if a fan they were, sent them flying towards the stage, "BREAK!"

Any physical formation effect would be weaker inside the void, so Yi Bingwen acted as any experienced cultivator would, attempting to force the offender out.

*BOOM* *SHATTER*

With the force of several Earth-tier talismans activating as one, it was like the entire plane shuddered and then shattered.

"What?!" Yi Bingwen's exclamation was echoed by half of the crowd, as when the whirlpool of qi subsided, the now torn wooden stage only had two people on, Bai Qi and Xun Gengxin.

As Bai Qi entered the void after his opponent.

Aware that only a select few could follow after his actions and that any such interference would be at least slightly felt, Bai Qi's manner changed.

There was none of the holding back, none of the sneering. For several breaths, Bai Qi's actions could only be described as torturing his opponent. Xun Gengxin was, indeed, slightly better set inside the void, but Bai Qi did not hold back at all. By rousing his demonic essence to the limit before actually losing control, he overpowered the meager attempts of his opponent to fight back.

Attack after attack, each leaving wounds, bruises, and inner damage.

Screaming and wailing like a pig in a slaughterhouse, Xun Genxin lost any hope of escaping the crazed demon that tortured him. Any attempt to fight back or try to open a passage out of the void was met with even more pain, Bai Qi resorting to even harsher methods.

[Ghostflame] infused claws and talons tore at Xun Gengxin's body, and without being contained, as usual, the flame burned flesh, qi, and even soul alike.

Bai Qi did not enjoy such a way of fighting, but if Xun Gengxin hid something, then it would be revealed, "You will either break, or I will know what you did to Chun Hua. So, it's your call, talk, or I will continue to injure you without allowing the life-saving formation to activate."

In response, Xun Gengxin only whimpered. Gone was his arrogance. Gone was his feeling of being blessed by meeting Song Lin. He even felt the [Void King] abandoned him to his fate.

An icy voice entered Bai Qi's mind, {I will not allow you to cripple him. I still have my uses for him.} It wasn't a qi-transmission, but something sent using the void itself, and Bai Qi almost shivered from the hate and fury in it.

Without time to decipher how it was done, Bai Qi chose to speak up in response, certain he would be heard, "I have been told such words many times, and yet, I am alive."

{It seems that your luck has run out, then.} Accompanying the menacing words, a spiritual pressure far above a Warrior Lord started gathering near Xun Gengxin.

Bai Qi quickly evaluated his chances to endure an attack of such caliber, but finding them too slim, followed up with his prepared plan.

Before the combat, Bai Qi had considered several options for what had happened to Chun Hua, and he settled on the most probable one, an attacking talisman of high tier. Prohibited by the arena rules and impossible to summon from one's storage treasures while on stage, Bai Qi assumed it to be hidden inside a special void pocket by some skill or treasure.

Aware that even his body would not resist a Warrior King or similar attack, Bai Qi settled on a plan. One that involved forcing Xun Gengxin to use it inside the void and, by opening a last-moment passage, escape harm while shining light on the cheat.

He did not expect to see a genuine Warrior King, even if it appeared to be just a projection of one. And yet the plan, if timed right, should serve him reasonably.

***

While the usage of such high-level formation, especially with Bai Qi never noticing it before, was surprising, it did actually save Bai Qi from being reached by the mysterious Warrior King's attack. And now, on the stage, Bai Qi stood nearly intact, even though he had used most of his reserves to enlarge that planar rip. As for Xun Gengxin, he was on the floor, bound and restrained.

Sometime later, in a closed, hidden room on the 2nd floor.

"I am truly sorry for my incompetence. Esteemed Elder He said that this Xun Gengxin did not win cleanly, but I did not believe her, didn't take the measures I should have." Probably for the first time in his life, Yi Bingwen inclined his head before a youngster, but neither he nor anyone of the few people observing considered it wrong or pathetic. It was clear that the arena manager had nearly failed to prevent what could have turned into a killing.

"Your apology is unrequired, Senior. Neither will I request any compensation or consider myself slighted." Even before any of the latter was voiced, Bai Qi had already stated his position, winning not a few points among the present managers and the three arena masters behind them.

"Yet, I am uneasy we can be entitled to ask you to simply forget about what happened." Yi Bingwen spoke without entirely raising his head even now. Inwardly, he did not consider himself to be required to act like this, but it was a fact that he was guilty. And very deep inside his mind, the actual reason was,

"And I will not forget about it. I will not ask for anything, but I do hope to know, as soon as you do, who was the one who attacked me and wounded Senior He's disciple before." Bai Qi stated what he wanted but did not wait for an answer. Just a breath after, he finished the conversation, "I am yet unsure where we will be staying for the next few days, but I will inform you later. With that said, I will take my leave."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Suddenly, one of the arena masters, someone at least eight feet tall, draped in an Earth-tier material robe from head to toe that didn't allow to notice anything about him except a pair of burning eyes in a small opening of the cowl, exclaimed.

"Hmm?" The sudden exclamation made Bai Qi turn around to face the managers and masters again.

"What do you mean you will inform us later? You do not plan to fight anymore?!" Now asked another of the arena masters, a burly man, twice the age and twice the width of Bai Qi.

"It would be a shame not to clash with you, particularly after all you showed off today." The first one to speak followed up.

"Mmm, I agree. Would it be too much to ask to fight here again To challenge us?" A young woman in flashy clothes, with a veil hiding most of her face and yet a revealing attire asked, her voice saddened by the prospect of a refusal.

"I..."