The 8th stage Core Formation woman and Spine faced off, their powerful auras creating a visible distortion in the air between them. Without another word, the two engaged in battle. The woman was a creature of pure speed.

Her martial spirit, a massive Gale Falcon, shrieked to life behind her, and she became a blur of motion, her hands armed with a pair of razor-sharp talons. She shot towards Spine, intending to tear him to shreds before he could react.

Spine, however, remained in his human form, his expression as placid and as sorrowful as ever. He met her lightning-fast assault not with speed, but with an ancient, unshakeable stability. As her talons came slashing at his throat, he raised a single, weathered hand, catching her wrist in a grip of iron.

The force of her charge was completely negated, her momentum absorbed as if she had flown into the side of a mountain. She stared in shock, unable to pull her arm free. With a simple, almost gentle flick of his wrist, Spine sent her tumbling back through the air.

Their first exchange had been so powerful that the shockwave alone caused the obsidian stage below to crack. The woman shrieked in frustration and shot upwards into the sky. The battle naturally went upward, and Spine, with a single, powerful leap, followed her into the sky their fight continuing in a series of brilliant, distant flashes of light.

With the two strong combatants now occupied, the rest of the group, the fourteen remaining members, refocused their attention on the helpless prey below. They remained hovering in the air where they were, a silent, predatory formation, looking down on the poisoned leaders who were struggling to remain conscious.

The man who appeared to be their leader, his mask simple and unadorned, looked at the pale, sweating faces of Mo Jian, the Blazing Sun Sect Master, and the other powerhouses. “I am impressed,” he said, his voice calm and devoid of emotion, echoing down from above.

“We have used the Silent Slumber poison on three other gatherings of this size. No one has ever remained awake by the time we arrived. Your wills are strong.”

Li Yu, who had been standing silently beside Spine’s previous position, now stepped forward, his gaze directed up at the hovering figures. He remembered in the past they had mistaken a member of the Human Revolution Faction for a beast fanatic. The resulting explosive, insulted rage from the Human Revolution member had been memorable, a display of pure, venomous hatred for the Beast Faction.

The two groups clearly despised each other. It was time to use that knowledge. He looked at the masked figures, his expression a careful mixture of arrogance and disdain. “So, the Human Revolution Faction finally shows its pathetic face in these lands,” he declared, his voice ringing with contempt.

The effect was instantaneous and exactly what he had hoped for. While the older members of the group merely narrowed their eyes, one of the younger, more hot-headed cultivators exploded in a fit of rage. “That group of scum?!” he yelled, his voice cracking with fury, his hand pointing a trembling finger at Li Yu.

“You dare say we are like those pathetic scum?! We are the Beast Revolution Faction! And today is the day you shall die for mistaking us for them!” The leader in charge sighed at the man’s reckless action.

The secret was out. Sure enough, it worked, Li Yu thought, a grim satisfaction settling in his heart. The hatred must run extremely deep, every time there was a violent outburst of anger. These two factions' histories must go back a long way.

The enraged young cultivator, his mind consumed by the insult, dove down from the sky. “I’ll tear you apart!” he screamed, his own peak Foundation Establishment aura flaring as he lunged across the stage, his hands forming into claws.

Li Yu watched the charge calmly. Just as the youth was about to reach him, he acted. He did not use a complex technique. He simply took out his staff of Condensed Sea Iron Ore, and with a single, fluid motion, he swung it. The staff became a black blur, cutting through the air with a low whistle. It connected with the charging man’s chest.

There was a sickening crunch of breaking bones, and the peak Foundation Establishment expert was smashed into the obsidian stage with the force of a meteor. The platform cracked, and the man lay in a crumpled, unconscious heap at the bottom of a shallow crater, defeated in a single, effortless blow.

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The other members of the Beast Revolution Faction froze in mid-air, their planned assault forgotten. The ease, the sheer, contemptuous power with which Li Yu had taken down one of their own, was utterly shocking. They instantly re-evaluated him. He was not just an insignificant boy who had gotten lucky. He was a hidden expert, a monster in his own right.

Li Yu rested his staff on his shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the now-hesitant group. “Now that we’ve established who you are,” he said, his voice cold, “perhaps you can tell me why you are here. Are you working with the demonic group, the Midnight Infernal Hegemony?”

The masked figures looked at each other in genuine confusion. The leader and the remaining thirteen members slowly descended, landing on the stage a safe distance from Li Yu, their posture now wary and cautious rather than arrogant. “Demonic group? We have never heard of such a thing. Our purpose is singular.”

Before the leader could continue, one of his subordinates behind him stepped forward, unable to contain his zeal. “We are here to gather followers for our god! The only savior of this world is the great Beast God! Everything else, and everyone else, is trash that must be cleansed from the world to make way for the new era of the beasts!”

The leader sighed again, this time with more force. “Silence!” he snapped, his voice a low, dangerous growl. “All of you! I am tired of your incessant talking.” The fanatical subordinate immediately flinched and fell back into line, his mouth shut.

The leader then turned back to Li Yu, and as he did, he unleashed his aura. It was powerful, immense, a crushing weight that washed over the arena. It was the aura of a 9th stage Core Formation expert.

“You’re an elder of your faction, then, aren’t you?” Li Yu asked, the question catching the man off guard. The last time he ran into a 9th stage Core Formation expert that person was an elder of this faction as well.

The leader was visibly surprised. “You seem to know a lot,” he said, his voice losing its fanatical edge, replaced by a wary, calculating tone. “A lot more than you should. A lot more than someone so young.” He was now deeply hesitant. This boy was too calm.

He had correctly identified their faction with a clever trick. He had effortlessly defeated one of his subordinates. He knew their internal structure. And he was not afraid, not in the slightest, even when faced with a 9th stage Core Formation aura. The kind of power that would have this area trembling to their knees.

The leader was now re-evaluating his entire mission. The powerful old man fighting his second-in-command in the sky was already a major issue. Now this weird, unnervingly knowledgeable boy had appeared. He was beginning to think he should abandon this operation and retreat.

Li Yu pressed his advantage. “Where did you get this poison?” he asked, his voice sharp. Of course, the man didn’t answer him. Li Yu then changed his tone, offering a deal. “I can allow you and your people to live and leave here today. All you have to do is give me the antidote to this poison.”

The man laughed, a short, sharp, incredulous sound. “Foolish boy! You think you are in a position to bargain?” But despite his words, he did not attack. He was stalling, his mind racing. He was nervous.

“The poison does not kill,” the man said suddenly, his voice a low growl. “It only renders one unconscious for two or three days.” Why he revealed this, he wasn't even sure himself, but the boy’s unnerving calm was getting to him.

A wave of slight relief washed over the conscious leaders on the balcony. They didn’t know if that was for sure the truth but they hoped it was. If every single one of their disciples died today and they themselves died, they would be a huge loss for their sect or clans.

“Then no one has been truly harmed today,” Li Yu said, his voice reasonable. “Give me the antidote, and you can leave. My offer still stands.”

To the absolute surprise of his own subordinates, the leader reached into his robes and produced a small, crystalline vial filled with a clear liquid. He tossed it to Li Yu. “One drop is enough to negate the poison for a single person,” he said gruffly. He then turned to his group. “We are leaving.” He called out to the sky, a sharp whistle that signaled the woman to disengage.

“Wait,” Li Yu said, catching the vial. “I have to test it first, to make sure you are not lying.” He walked over to one of the unconscious Asura Demon Clan disciples, opened his mouth, and administered a single drop. He then stood back and waited.

For about five minutes, nothing happened. The Beast Faction members fidgeted, their leader’s gaze fixed on Li Yu. Then, the disciple groaned. His eyelids fluttered, and he slowly sat up, looking around in a daze. He was unharmed. It worked. “You can go now,” Li Yu said, turning back to the leader.

“Now we attack!” the Blazing Sun Sect Master roared from the balcony, his voice filled with fury. “They are vulnerable! Kill them all!” But he couldn't move, still paralyzed by the poison. The Beast Faction leader mocked them. “See? Humans cannot even keep their word. This is why you are inferior. Beasts are better.”

Li Yu countered, his voice cold. “You speak of honor after using poison on thousands of unarmed people? Is that what beasts do?” He then turned back to the leader. “My word is my own. Leave.” The leader gave him a final, long, calculating look, then with a gesture, he and his entire group shot into the air and vanished into the sky.