Everything Yang Xia had done so far was intentional. He had to play the character if he wanted this crazy Fairy to accept his proposal. A demon would not pay for his ticket, nor would he make a formal challenge. He would take what he wanted and ask for forgiveness later. If he wanted to go all out he would try grabbing Xun Cai directly but he was afraid Elizabeth would kill him before he could make his case in this situation.

“Master Elizabeth!” Xun Cai's voice cut the conversation as she got up from her chair. “You can’t let this man kill Dai Hong like this over some stupid story.”

“Stories are all we have as enlightened races.” Elizabeth's voice was cold.

“But…” Continued Xun Cai but Dai Hong’s hand guided her back to her seat.

“There is no need for this, Xun Cai.” His voice was firm. “I would fight the entire Imperial Council for you, why do you think I would run away from a mortal fight?”

“Darling…” She looked up to his determined face while holding his hand on her shoulder.

“That’s wonderful then.” Elizabeth clapped. “I always thought the council was too hasty in acknowledging you as the one with Blue Eyes. I'm glad I will have the chance to put the prophecy to the test.” And with a wave of her hand her aura locked both fighters off their cultivation.

A shiver ran through Yang Xia’s spine. Everything around him seemed to change, the world lost a lot of its colors. He could not feel anymore the energy emanated from the Oldest Tree, just a wave of dread coming from its bark. Even Elizabeth had changed. Jer beauty locked Yang Xia in his position, incapable of moving his eyes away from her divine body. She just needed to say and he would do anything for her, even end his life.

She giggled and with a nod the pressure coming from her changed. He started breathing again and quickly stopped looking at her lest he got Snared again. Getting up from his kneeled position he walked towards the center of the patch of unbroken grass they were occupying. He looked around, only small roots popped here and there, but none close to where they would fight.

Dai Hong was already waiting for him holding a broad long sword with a hilt in the form of a cross. Yang Xia produced his sword from his waist. It was slender and thinner than its opponent but had an inch of reach advantage. Its hilt was circular with holes spread throughout it.

“You rich bastards really like to put your nose where you don’t belong huh.” Dai Hong's voice had nothing but contempt. “Do you think you own the world just because you were born to a powerful family? Today, I will show you that having an important surname does not make your body invulnerable to a commoner’s blade.”

“Did we come here to talk or to fight?” Asked Yang Xia as he started to walk towards Dai Hong. He snorted but also advanced.

Fighting without Qi was not something a cultivator did almost at all. At most Yang Xia fought without using elemental techniques during special training. But always with the preternatural physical attributes developed by Qi and Jing accumulation. Yang Xia would need to pay close attention to his footwork this fight, one misstep and it’s over.

Yang Xia bit a small pouch attached to one of his molars and a wave of energy ran through his body. It was very difficult to make performance enhanced drugs that affect cultivators. If you were at a party and sat still to let them do their thing you could get drunk or high. But the moment you circulated your Qi, something you had to do in a fight or competition, the drugs would immediately be cleansed. There were some Potion Masters who could make drugs that were not affected by internal Qi but these were so strong that anyone below the Earth Realm would not dare to use them.

Good thing Yang Xia couldn’t circulate his Qi right now. After he and Mei Yun arrived from their shopping trip he asked her to make 3 simple drugs with the mortal ingredients he bought. The first was a tonic that enhanced his perception, energy, numbed his pain sensors and decreased bleeding. What could he say, it’s not like demons were known for fighting fair.

Dai Hong was the first to strike. He began with an overhead strike that Yang Xia parried and stepped to the left. Dai Hong chased with a horizontal strike that Yang Xia parried and again stepped to the left. Dai Hong then stepped forward and thrust his sword towards Yang Xia's chest. Yang Xia parried and let the broader sword run through the base of his sword, almost touching its hilt. Then he stepped to the right and flickered his sword towards the incoming Dai Hong.

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The younger fighter screamed as the point of Yang Xia’s sword cut his right eyebrow. The momentum of his trust continued and he stumbled through Yang Xia’s left side. Yang Xia chased with a flurry of blows that mostly got blocked by Dai Hong. Mostly. Like a viper, the slender sword made holes on Dai Hong’s shoulder and right ear.

Yang Xia stopped and sucked air into his lungs. He had to remember, he did not have Jing to last through hours of fighting anymore. Dai Hong also caught his breath and looked at Yang Xia with murder in his black eyes. Why did the Fairy claim he was the one with Blue Eyes when his eyes were black? Maybe it's a metaphor?

Dai Hong advanced again as Yang Xia’s thoughts wander. Fuck, this drug had his mind running thousands of miles a second and that was not always a good thing.

The broader sword again came downwards towards Yang Xia’s head. He blocked holding the hilt of his sword with his right hand and the area before the point with his left hand. It took a lot of training to be able to hold a blade without cutting your own hand during a battle, training Yang Xia had.

Yet the strength of this blow was exponentially bigger than before. Even blocking like that, Yang Xia was pushed back and had to scramble to receive the trust of Dai Hong’s sword that followed him. He parried in the same way as before but when he tried to flicker his sword Dai Hong dodged and locked the hilt of both swords.

Dai Hong then pushed Yang Xia to the side and tried to trip him up with his left leg. Yang Xia stumbled but managed to keep his balance, even if barely so. This time was Dai Hong’s chance to advance and punish Yang Xia. His sword danced in the air like a whirlwind, opening wounds throughout Yang Xia’s body before he could get enough distance between them.

Fuck. Even the wound in his right hand had opened, wetting his grip on the sword. He looked at the young man in front of him, both seizing each other. Dai Hong’s chest was going up and down like a drum. Blood ran from the younger man's right eyebrow, obstructing his view. Yang Xia on the other hand was way more composed, blood was only dripping from his wounds.

As Dai Hong’s chest went down Yang Xia advanced. He stepped towards the younger man's right side, trusting and slashing at his blind spot. Dai Hong tried to control the flow of the battle but Yang Xia nullified every one of his counters and all the younger man could do was prevent the slender sword from driving through his chest or neck.

Dai Hong retreated more and more in a seemingly random direction, sometimes going to his left side, other times going to his left side. It was just a question of time, sooner or later Yang Xia’s blade would do more than small cuts. Just a question of time huh. Yang Xia thrusted his sword again and Dai Hong blocked and slashed diagonally towards Yang Xia’s chest, the older man sneered as he blocked but had to take a step backwards thanks to the impact, hitting a small root and falling over.

A sinister light could be seen in Dai Hong’s eyes as his plan succeeded and he pounced on Yang Xia before he could even hit the ground. The broad sword was like the lances of the Imperial Army, ruthless and efficient. Yang Xia rolled, waved his sword and crawled away but he was almost defenseless. His left thigh and shoulder, the top of his head, his chest, Dai Hong’s sword visited all these spots more than once.

Yang Xia rolled one more time but when Dai Hong tried to follow him again the older man threw a handful of dirt in the younger man’s face. He screamed as sand and small rocks entered his eyes and eyebrow wound. Yang Xia took advantage of the time it took for Dai Hong to wipe them away to finally get up.

Fuck, even with the drug he was drenched in blood already. His purple robe was falling apart in several spots and deep gashes could be seen in the holes made by Dai Hong’s sword. Dai Hong looked at Yang Xia with bloodshot eyes. The fight would be decided in the next exchange. Both knew about this. Dai Hong’s lips curved upwards, no matter how you look at it Yang Xia was on his last legs.

Yang Xia was lifting his left leg and putting it down repeatedly. It was clear that he could not put any weight on it anytime soon. His left arm was also useless, barely able to hold the sword without support from his right hand. Dai Hong took a step forward to finish this fight and stumbled.

The second drug Mei Yun made. A colorless slow acting poison that Yang Xia had bathed his sword on. It couldn’t be something that would end the fight or Elizabeth may get suspicious. But after several blows and wounds were traded, who would question if a fighter lost his strength due to blood loss?

Yang Xia then bit a small pouch on his right molar and activated his third drug. A way more potent version of the second drug. Energy flew through Yang Xia’s body like a torrent of fire. He couldn’t think clearly anymore; he just ran towards Dai Hong who was still trying to maintain his balance. His blows did not have any techniques behind them anymore. Just wild swings and thrusts to end the fight as soon as possible.

Dai Hong tried to block but soon all the strength left his body and his sword was forced from his hand. He could only watch as Yang Xia’s blade pierced his right eye. It went through the eye and exited through the back of the younger man’s head. Yang Xia could not pull it off and let go of it as the body of the younger man fell to the ground convulsing.

“NOOO!!” A scream pierced the sky. Xun Cai ran towards the two fighters and threw herself on top of Dai Hong’s body. Rivers of tears destroyed her beautiful face as she sobbed. “MASTER ELIZABETH PLEASE SAVE HIM WHILE HE IS STILL ALIVE.” Dai Hong's hands were still twitching.

“It looks like we will stand alone at the Final Night, huh.” Elizabeth smiled. “So much for our Chosen One.” She waved her hands and Yang Xia felt his connection to his cultivation return. He used his Jing to stop his bleeding and heal his internal wounds but didn’t dare to circulate his Qi. Without the drug on his system he would probably collapse from exhaustion. “But don’t get too cocky, little Xia, these Chosen Ones types have ways of defying our expectations.”

“Will you bring him back to life?” Yang Xia’s voice was even more rough, as if his throat was being crushed from inside out.

“Of course not.” Elizabeth’s declaration pushed Xun Cai into the pits of despair. Her sobs cut through all the noises in the Garden.

“Then let’s fucking go.” Yang Xia grabbed his sword from Dai Hong’s eye socket, put his foot on his chest next to Xun Cai and pulled. It got off with a nasty wet sound, he cleaned it on Xun Cai’s robe and grabbed her by her waist. She tried to cling to Dai Hong’s lifeless body but she was barely a Foundation Level expert. Yang Xia kicked her hands until she had to let go.

Seeing someone walk out of the Garden with a sobbing woman in his left arm and a sword in his right hand while covered in blood was not a scene most of the clients there would soon forget. Neither would the people in the streets of the Pleasure District.