The sounds of cheers and shouts filled the martial arena, blending into a chaotic symphony.
In the center of the arena, Shen Fei, who had just been knocked to the ground by Nie Li with a resounding slap, slowly regained his senses.
Anger bubbled within him.
He had chosen not to summon his demon spirit at the very beginning, following Elder Shen Ming's advice to wait until after twenty moves to defeat Nie Li.
Little did he expect Nie Li to act so shamelessly and summon his spirit out of the blue!
Vexed and infuriated, Shen Fei momentarily disregarded Elder Shen Ming's instructions.
"You brought this upon yourself! I will kill you!" he bellowed, his soul realm trembling as a powerful demonic aura surged forth.
Shen Fei merged with the mighty Flame Black Tiger demon spirit, a ferocious creature personally hunted by the head of the Divine Sacred Family.
This black-gold, one-star demon beast was exceptionally strong, enough to boost Shen Fei's power severalfold!
"Young Master Shen is finally unleashing his demon spirit..."
The stands erupted into excited chatter.
"What an aura...!" The crowd gasped.
"Heavenly Father, it’s incredible, it’s a Flame Black Tiger!"
Imagining the devastating outcome of a Flame Black Tiger against the Tiger-Tooth Panda, everyone believed that the panda would be defeated in just one move!
As Shen Fei’s aura grew increasingly tumultuous, the strength of the Flame Black Tiger astonished everyone present.
Nie Hai, Nie En, and others around them grew uneasy.
Nie Li’s Tiger-Tooth Panda simply could not compete against the Flame Black Tiger.
The gap in strength was too great!
"What shall we do? Let’s have Xiao Li concede!" Members of the audience, who had bet on Shen Fei’s victory, shouted in eager encouragement, convinced that Shen Fei was destined to win!
But suddenly, all voices fell silent.
Just as Shen Fei was about to draw on the full power of his soul realm and summon his demon spirit, Nie Li took a couple of steps forward and slapped him on the back of his head.
Bam!
Just when Shen Fei was ready to merge with his spirit, he was slammed back into the ground, creating a deep pit.
The merging process halted abruptly, and the ferocious aura vanished without a trace.
The handsome young man found himself face down, his features seemingly flattened into the ground.
Nie Li, the cause of it all, simply stretched and relaxed, as if the match were nothing to him.
Stunned! The crowd was flabbergasted! Nie Hai, Nie En, and Yang Xin were left speechless.
"Despicable! This is utterly shameless!" The faces of Nie Hai and Nie En burned with shame.
It was hard to believe that such a brazenly shameless descendant belonged to the Heavenly Mark Family.
Was this how the Heavenly Mark Family had nurtured their bloodline?
Those who had bet on Nie Li’s victory turned red-faced.
Though Nie Li was indeed at an advantage, this felt... somewhat unacceptable!
In previous genius battles, it was customary to spar respectfully, with both sides summoning their spirits at the same time.
There had never been a scenario where one side ambushed the other during such a delicate moment.
The audience from the Divine Sacred Family was almost on their feet in anger.
"Heavenly Mark Family, your clan members have no shame! This is an unworthy fight!" They shouted at Nie Li and the Heavenly Mark Family.
Though Nie Hai and Nie En felt that Nie Li’s actions were indeed low, they refused to back down in front of the Divine Sacred Family.
"We haven't violated any rules of the genius battle! You can't dictate how we fight!"
"Does the Heavenly Mark Family need your instruction on how to do things?"
"Isn’t your Young Master Shen simply too foolish? A demon spirit master who refuses to summon his spirit and faces backwards towards the enemy while summoning? Who can he blame?"
Yang Xin turned to Shen Ming and said with a casual smile, "Elder Shen Ming, surely the Divine Sacred Family wouldn't be unable to handle losing, would they?" Even though Nie Li’s actions seemed a bit underhanded, her loyalty lay firmly with him.
Watching the unfolding drama, Yang Xin’s smile turned more enchanting.
Nie Li was truly difficult to pin down! He appeared innocent and good-natured, yet his cunning and deception ran deep.
Though always lecherous, when faced with temptation, he displayed undeniable tenacity.
Shen Ming’s expression darkened.
Nie Li’s cunning was too profound.
He had to accept defeat this round, but Nie Li had promised to fight three matches.
Losing this one was not a big deal; knowing that Nie Li’s spirit was the Tiger-Tooth Panda, he smirked inside—no matter the outcome of this match, he would win back every loss in the next one!
Shen Ming shot a glance at Yang Xin.
"Of course not, we can afford to lose this much money!"
Meanwhile, in the arena, Shen Fei was near the boiling point from rage.
Having endured two heavy slaps from Nie Li, his handsome face was battered and bruised, blood streaming from his nose.
Just as he had tried to merge with his demon spirit, Nie Li’s slap had disrupted his soul realm, preventing the fusion.
"Young Master Shen, are you alright? This is merely a spar. If you can't get up, just concede!" Nie Li squatted beside Shen Fei, speaking with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Concede? That would mean losing fifty million demon spirit coins!
He would never accept such a fate!
With a furious roar, Shen Fei once more activated his soul realm.
A fierce aura surged forth as he prepared to merge with his demon spirit, flames of power erupting around him.
The Flame Black Tiger’s roar filled the air, promising unmatched might.
"Once I merge with my demon spirit, even your Tiger-Tooth Panda wouldn’t stand a chance! Attempting to thwart my fusion is futile. The flames of the Flame Black Tiger are enough to scorch you to ashes!" he thought, flames blazing around him.
"Young Master Shen is about to unleash his wrath!" The crowd erupted into excitement.
"This is the fusion of the Flame Black Tiger’s fire! This fire will incinerate everything nearby!"
"Truly worthy of Young Master Shen, how can Nie Li stand up against that fiery strength? Once Shen Fei finishes his fusion, he’ll likely take out the Tiger-Tooth Panda in a single move!"
"How could a mere Tiger-Tooth Panda ever compete with the Flame Black Tiger? Even if it had a head start, what would that matter?"
The excitement in the martial arena was palpable.
"Flames? Is it really that powerful?" Nie Li, now merged with the Tiger-Tooth Panda, stood within the searing fire yet felt none of its heat.
While Shen Fei’s Flame Black Tiger was indeed a good quality spirit, it stood no chance against the Tiger-Tooth Panda! Ordinary people couldn't comprehend just how powerful the panda was, so how could they even dream of making an impact?
Yet, the time to show their true strength had not come yet.
Just as Shen Fei was about to complete the fusion of his demon spirit, Nie Li raised his foot and stomped down heavily, shaking Shen Fei’s soul realm once more.
Again, the fusion failed, and the demon spirit remained trapped within.
Once more, the previous uproar became a stunned silence.
The crowd expected to see the Tiger-Tooth Panda rolling around in flames, but instead, it was Shen Fei battered and defeated.
"Another fusion failure?"
"How could this be?"
Nie Li relished the sensation of victory, having vented his frustrations on Shen Fei.
Although he had beaten him severely, he still felt unsatisfied.
"I heard Young Master Shen is quite the ladies' man, playing with many women. For your own good, perhaps you should stop fooling around!" Nie Li cruelly kicked Shen Fei at a vital point, effectively ending Shen Fei's chances of enjoyment.
Those who had bet on Shen Fei in the stands rolled their eyes in dismay.
After hearing the roars, they had thought a comeback was still possible, only to have their hopes crushed by Nie Li's relentless barrage.
"What is this nonsense?"
"Could it be that the Alchemists' Guild and the Divine Sacred Family set up this trap to ruin us?"
"They made me lose so much! I will despise the Divine Sacred Family for life!"
In a corner of the stands, Ye Ziyun couldn’t help but chuckle.
She had heard about the genius battles organized by the Divine Sacred Family from the City Lord's Mansion.
Concerned for Nie Li, she rushed here, choosing to hide in a corner.
At first, she had thought Nie Li would be at a disadvantage, but seeing him so lively, her worries melted away.
It seemed that up till now, no one had managed to challenge Nie Li’s dominance.
Her bright eyes watched Nie Li’s figure, and she smiled softly.
Sitting in that corner, her graceful and charming demeanor caught the attention of many around her.
They had no idea she was the City Lord’s daughter; such a beautiful girl was a rare sight indeed.
(End of Chapter)