Chapter 48: Lin Yuan vs Gu Shiyan (3)
Lin Yuan widened his eyes, watching blood drip from Gu Shiyan’s eyes, ears, and mouth.
"Gu Shiyan?" Lin Yuan took a slow step forward. "Are you okay? Let’s stop this fight!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Gu Shiyan repeatedly murmured the same word.
Lin Yuan frowned in confusion.
On the sidelines, Lin Cangxuan prepared to command his Seven-Tailed Fox beast with a flick of his fist. But instantly, a loud, rattling sound echoed across the academy grounds. A thick, transparent crimson dome materialized around the battle stage, trapping only Lin Yuan and Gu Shiyan inside.
"Do you think you can meddle with this battle, old bastard?" Gu Shiyan scoffed, pointing his spasming hand toward Lin Cangxuan. "I will kill and devour your beast... Hehe, I hope it tastes delicious!"
Gu Shiyan’s words sent a biting chill down Lin Yuan’s spine. Thick, visceral drool oozed from Gu Shiyan’s mouth.
"What the fuck, Gu Shiyan?" Luo Zhen yelled, punching the dome hard. "Remove this fucking dome now!"
Lin Cangxuan flicked his wrist, his eyes burning with anger. Forthwith, a giant wolf slammed its face vehemently against the barrier. Yet, it failed to leave even a single scratch on the surface.
"W-what?"
"How can a Spirit Beast Realm cultivator stop the Headmaster?"
"Demon... It’s a Demonic Dome!"
"A Demonic Dome?! No one can break it now!"
The spectators screamed frenziedly, leaping up from their seats.
"Haha... Old geezer... Get the fuck out, you and your fox bitch!" Gu Shiyan bellowed, spraying blood as he yelled. "Your grandson dies today!"
"GU YANLUO!!!" Lin Cangxuan shouted, grabbing Gu Yanluo’s robes vehemently. "What the hell is wrong with that bastard? Why can he use a demonic dome?"
"I-I don’t know, Headmaster," Gu Yanluo muttered, his eyes blinking frantically. "I don’t know why he is behaving like that—"
"Shut the fuck up, Master Gu Yanluo!" Gu Shiyan interrupted, laughing maniacally. "Isn’t it obvious? Hehehe... I am the one who killed Mei Jian Li! Hahaha!! His beast was tasty! Every piece of flesh I swallowed was elegant... Poor Mei Jian Li, he trusted me and let his guard down."
"Hahaha! Ahahaha!" Gu Shiyan threw his head back, his laughter changing into a twisted screech.
He began to stomp his legs maniacally against the stage floor.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The rhythmic stomps echoed through the academy grounds, keeping pace with his mad laughter.
"Killing him was so good! Hehehe! Hahaha!" Gu Shiyan yelled, his voice cracking as he stomped faster. "So damn good! The way he screamed! The way his blood splattered! Ahahaha!"
The truth stunned the academy grounds. A suffocating silence fell over the arena before exploding into sheer panic.
Every single spectator was scared as shit now. The crowd scrambled backward, pushing over seats and trampling one another to get away from the crimson dome. Some of the disciples paled, their knees buckling under the weight of the raw, demonic malice radiating from the stage. Elders trembled, staring in horror at the monster posing as a student. They were trapped in an arena with a crazed, beast-eating demon.
Every master — Mo Qinghe, Dan Zhenren, Teng Lianhua, and Gu Yanluo called out their beasts immediately to shatter the dome. Instantly the Serpent, Flame Panther, Blue Bear, Lightning Falcon silhouettes appeared, rushing toward the crimson dome. All of them slammed onto the crimson dome at the same time. Still, there is no single scratch on the dome.
"It’s a waste..." Lin Cangxuan sighed, clicking his tongue. The masters frantically snapped their heads toward him, hanging on his every word. "Only a demonic cultivator or a Saint Beast Realm cultivator can break the dome. Trying to destroy it now is a futile effort that will only deplete our beast essence!"
The realization of the Headmaster’s words hung over the arena like a heavy, suffocating shroud. Outside the dome, the masters of the academy stood powerless, their mighty beasts snarling in futile frustration against the unyielding, shimmering walls.
Gu Shiyan’s laughter changed from a human chuckle into a guttural, rattling hiss like a serpent. His skin began to mottle, veins turning into a bruised purple as they throbbed against his temples and arms.
"You like this power, Lin Yuan?" Gu Shiyan shrieked, his eyes wide, blood dripping out, and void of any remaining humanity. "Mei Jian Li’s beast was just food to me. A mere snack to unlock the true potential of the dark path! Look at me! Look at what I have become!"
With a sickening screech, Gu Shiyan unleashed his beast essence. It was a rageful wave of dark green beast essence erupted from his form, twisting and swirling like a toxic miasma. Within the fog, many silhouettes of Blood Serpents materialized. Thick, venomous liquid dripping out from their fangs, hissing after touching the ground.
The pressure in the air spiked vehemently. The sheer heaviness of the aura pushed Lin Yuan back half a step, his chest tightening.
’Spirit Beast Realm... Peak stage!’ Lin Yuan thought, his hands quivering against the aura.
Gu Shiyan had forcibly broken through his stages by consuming the flesh of his peers, ascending to the peak of a realm. He was a monster.
"Die! Die! Die!" Gu Shiyan screamed, thrusting both hands forward.
The dark green miasma surged. The Blood Serpents shot forward like a barrage of arrows, tearing through the air with deafening shrieks. Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, concentrating his beast essence to dodge and parry, but the attacks were powerful.
And at the same time, Gu Shiyan’s movements suddenly shifted. The fluid, slithering grace of the serpent attacks abruptly mutated into overwhelming rage. Mimicking the late Mei Jian Li’s beast’s attacks, Gu Shiyan’s arms seemed to be surrounded by a fist with dark fur. He swung his fists with the terrifying, shattering force of a rampaging Ape Beast.
Boom! Boom!
The combination was devastating. One moment Lin Yuan was dodging a venomous, piercing strike from a Blood Serpent, and the next, a heavy, mountain-splitting ape strike would smash into his guard. The sheer force reverberated through Lin Yuan’s bones, fracturing his beast strength.
Gu Shiyan pursued him like a shadow, unbothered by the recoil of his own chaotic techniques. He was a madman who felt no pain. With a brutal double-fisted punch infused by the Ape beast essence, Gu Shiyan slammed Lin Yuan vehemently in the chest.
CRACK!
The defensive barrier around Lin Yuan shattered wholly. The force launched him backward across the stage abruptly. Lin Yuan crashed onto the inner surface of the crimson dome. The impact against the rigid, demonic barrier sent a jolt of agony through his spine. He slumped against the base of the dome, coughing up a mouthful of bright crimson blood.
There was nowhere left to run. The dome offered no escape. Gu Shiyan let out a triumphant, demonic roar. The dark green essence shimmered to life, concentrating at the tip of his fingers, transforming his hand into a lethal, venomous spear of pure malice. He lunged forward, covering the distance in a fraction of a second, thrusting his hand straight toward Lin Yuan’s throat to end his life.
’This is it,’ Lin Yuan thought, his vision swimming as he tried to raise his arms.
Suddenly, a voice echoed. It was a pleasant, calm, and utterly serene voice that cut through the chaotic noise of the arena like a sharp blade.
"Move aside..."
The command was gentle, but carried authority.
’Who was that?’ Lin Yuan was stunned, his mind quivering with confusion, but his survival instincts acted instantly. Trusting the voice, Lin Yuan gathered every ounce of his remaining strength and pivoted his body to the left, rolling along the curved edge of the dome.
SHLICK!!!
Gu Shiyan’s thrusting hand missed Lin Yuan, piercing into the surface of the demonic dome. Because he had used his entire Peak Spirit Beast Realm cultivation into the attack, the impact was catastrophic. The tip of his strike met the rigidity of the barrier, resulting in an explosion of dark green and red fire energy.
A thick cloud of black and green smoke instantly erupted from the point of impact, filling the interior of the dome and obscuring everything from sight.
The spectators gasped, unable to see through the dense fog. Inside the smoke, Lin Yuan lay on his side, panting quickly, his heart hammering against his ribs. He couldn’t see an inch in front of his face.
Suddenly, the voice returned again. This time Lin Yuan caught the voice’ origin, emanating from the ring resting on his finger. It was the voice of the Turtle Beast.
"Lin Yuan... Kill him now!" the Turtle Beast commanded, its tone urgent and pleasant. "His hand is trapped in his own barrier, and his demonic nature is not in his control! He is vulnerable! Do not hesitate!"
A surge of raw adrenaline flooded Lin Yuan’s veins. Lin Yuan lunged forward. Gu Shiyan was indeed stuck, desperately trying to wrench his hand out of the demonic dome, his back exposed.
Lin Yuan leaped over Gu Shiyan’s shoulder, twisting his body in mid-air to face the demon head-on. The sudden impact of the twist instantly broke his trapped hand free. Before Gu Shiyan could even process the movement through his pain, Lin Yuan extended his hands. His fingers shimmered with green beast essence, sharpening into lethal talons. With a brutal thrust, Lin Yuan drove his fingers forward, gouging Gu Shiyan’s eyes out.
"AAAGHHH!!!" A blood-curdling shriek ripped from Gu Shiyan’s throat as crimson darkness consumed his vision. Blood splattered from his ruined eye sockets, dripping rapidly down his pale face.
"Left! Crouch!" the Turtle Beast’s voice boomed in Lin Yuan’s mind. Lin Yuan instantly crouched. A blind swing from Gu Shiyan’s arm slashed up over his head, missing him.
"Step right, strike the knee!"
Lin Yuan pivoted, launching a crushing kick to Gu Shiyan’s knee, cracking the bone and forcing Gu Shiyan to drop to his knees.
"Now! Use everything in your right hand! Rip it out!"
Lin Yuan jerked back his right arm, gathering his remaining whole beast essence. Lin Yuan yelled, thrusting his shimmering hand straight into Gu Shiyan’s chest, tearing through flesh, muscle, and bone. His fingers wrapped around the throbbing heart of the demon. Lin Yuan ripped the heart out of Gu Shiyan’s chest vehemently.
For a second, the arena fell still. The thick cloud of smoke slowly began to settle, drifting away to reveal the gruesome scene inside.
Lin Yuan stood panting, his robes covered in red blood splashes, holding the heart. And with a heavy grunt, his fingers tightened.
Splatch!
The heart pieces were crushed by Lin Yuan’s bare hands, splattered down like a horrific splash across the battle stage. Gu Shiyan’s body shuddered one last time. His strength depleted, he fell down onto the floor. The matters of his gouged eyes, torn flesh, and blood splashed vehemently across the stage, staining the ground with crimson red color.
The demonic dome, losing its master’s authority, shattered into glittering red fragments that melted into the air. Lin Yuan stood alone in the center of the ruins, his breathing ragged, staring down at Gu Shiyan who had abandoned his humanity for power. The silence of the academy grounds was heavy, broken only by the steady dripping of blood from Lin Yuan’s hands.
