The battle raged on with the Chi Zheng duo devoting their body, mind and soul to it, whilst Min Hong just kept using his 'Dao Realm' level 'Song of the Wind Spirit' to toy with them as he got more familiar and efficient with his new cultivation.

Then about ten minutes later which had brought the blood boiling and intense battle for up to 15 minutes, they all separated, with Min Hong landing softly and gracefully on the death ground like a leaf graced by a gentle wind.

​​

"Fei Hong, you bastard! We have played with you long enough, prepare to meet your maker!"

Chi Zheng growled in fury which distorted his handsome face making him appear more hideous and beastly.

He then looked towards all the wooden spikes on the death ground which numbered over a hundred and stretched his arms towards it as they all exploded successively into dust and vanished from sight shocking the entire crowd who began to feel ominous sensation of an impending danger.

Zi Kun also made several complicated hand seals with his hand as the clouds gathered preventing any ray of light from the sun from seeping through their thick mass.

The clouds roiled intensely as loud thunder which was akin to the roar of a thousand lions boomed through the clouds as lightning began to flicker within.

Min Hong gazed at Chi Zheng and realised that he was about to use the technique the Elder who came with him used in their fight outside the Sunfire City; the 'Splinter Execution'!

Then he shifted his glance to Zi Kun who was the cause of the massive rumbling and brewing thunder within the thick clouds as he muttered to himself;

"You have amused yourself enough, and I have grown a little bit more familiar with my powers… Let's end this!" he said.

"As you wish…" He muttered to himself in response.

Instantly, Min Hong took a step and vanished as Zi Kun attacked first because Chi Zheng's ultimate move will take longer to execute due to the limitations of his cultivation.

Min Hong didn't dash towards them this time and neither did he bolt towards, rather he was more like moving through the air.

Like the air was not brushing past him but he was brushing past the air instead, making him appear like a ghost or spectre especially with the absence of sound or ripple in his movement and approach.

This was of course the 'Dao Realm' level of the 'Chaotic Shadow Steps' which Min Hong had improved upon in the short 15 minutes bout he just had with the Chi Zheng duo.

Then a massive bolt of lightning the size of windmill pole descended from the sky and landed on Zi Kun as he redirected it towards Min Hong who he just noticed was nowhere to be found.

Shweein!

This was the sound Zi Kun heard before his view was lifted slightly, followed by a 360-degree rotation, then a heavy fall and stillness which normally arises when someone landed with a thud.

With shocked and surprised expression etched and plastered on his face, Zi Kun's mouth was left agape at the sight that greeted him with his fall.

He was currently looking at his headless body which was still wrapped in lightning and was still making the [Sub-zero] pose as he was about to shoot the lightning bolt at Min Hong...

Then he saw a nonchalant, overbearing and tyrannical image of Min Hong appear behind his body which descended to its knees before falling lifelessly on the death ground.

The lightning covering his body flickered out as the raging clouds dispersed allowing rays of sunlight to finally spill into the death ground.

Hisss!

Several outer court disciples within the death arena drew in a cold breath of cold air as they began to realize that their backs were drenched in cold sweat.

80 percent of the disciples, just like Zi Kun, didn't see how Min Hong made the move.

They could only remember that, at one point, Min Hong's figure was about ten metres away and before their eyes could blink open, Zi Kun's head was already on the floor.

It was as if Min Hong made the entire move in the time it took for them to close and open their eyelids in a blink.

"What? How did he-"

That was the last thing that crossed the unfortunate Zi Kun's mind before his consciousness entered an endless sleep.

Chi Zheng saw this and broke out in cold sweat as he retreated to put a bit of distance between himself and Min Hong.

But Min Hong simply looked at him with an expression which a lazy predator gives a helpless prey which had been thrown into the same cage as it.

Instead of attacking Chi Zheng, he simply stowed away his 'Soul Slayer Blades' as he put his hands together in a manner that only the ten fingers of both hands were touching.

Then he pulled his finger apart as a metal thread formed out of Metal Qi which was so thin that it was invisible to the sight but not the senses pulled out of the tips of the ten fingers.

Then he opened his palms wide as these thin metal threads shot out in random and chaotic directions before covering almost every part of the death ground before he channelled his Oblivion Qi into the metal strings as they vanished to both the senses and the sight plunging Chi Zheng who knew just how sharp the threads were into a very deep nightmare.

Min Hong then looked at the terrified Chi Zheng as he calmly spoke;

"This is a trial for your survival. I will tell you a story and ask you three questions."

"If you fail one, you will lose both arms, if you fail the second you will lose both legs and finally, if you fail the last one, you will lose your life." Min Hong casually walked around as he spoke.

But to Chi Zheng whose heart was thumping with every step Min Hong took, that calm voice sounded like the call of death from the god of death himself.

But looking not to lose any more face than he had already lost, he summoned the remaining scraps of fake courage that he has as he responded through gritted teeth;

"Make such statements after you have defeated me…"

"Oh? You think this was still a battle between us, you lot really hold yourselves in such high regard unh?"

Min Hong asked sending a message to the rest of Chi Zheng's group who clearly got the hidden message.

Then he abruptly vanished, and immediately Chi Zheng retreated in fright but just as he moved a few feet backwards, one of his fingers fell.

There was no yelling because the cut was so clean and smooth that Chi Zheng only felt a little itch on his fingers.

It was only when he saw his finger fall to the floor that he remembered the metal threads Min Hong had released earlier so he stopped only to feel the itch in both of his shoulders in the next moment.

Then, just like Chi Zheng himself expected, his arms fell to the floor as blood sprayed out like fountain, as Min Hong's voice rang out from a few feet behind him;

"Wrong answer!" It was until Min Hong made that statement that Chi Zheng finally spurted a mouthful of blood as if in line with some strange laws.

Min Hong then approached him with leisure steps as he began to narrate a story;

"A long time ago, when wars were considered a common occurrence, there existed a peerlessly gorgeous woman, who happened to be the general of some powerful army."

"Her beauty was said to be charming enough to destroy entire continents and her talents with weapons were unrivaled…"

"Many military captains, commander and generals tried to court her, but she was only looking for someone who was stronger than herself, which in every ramification of life including wealth was nigh impossible during that time."

Min Hong's calm voice and perfectly paced story instantly made the entire arena grow silent and attentive.

"Then there was this young cadet from within her division who fell in love with her."

"However, this this young man was from a common background and could be regarded as an ant in the presence of those captains, commanders and generals; he was someone who wasn't meant for her, not even in a million lifetimes."

"However, despite knowing that he was only a frog who was reaching and thirsting for a swan, the young cadet never gave up and earnestly rose through the ranks in a bid to close up the massive and enormous ravine between their ranks…"

Min Hong stopped the story at this point and glanced towards Chi Zheng with a calm but yet overbearing gaze;

"What do you think happened to that young cadet?" He asked.

"He is just a fool chasing an impossible dream… what else would happen besides the obvious?"

Chi Zheng sneered through gritted teeth and a pained expression which seemed to stem from his severed arms.

Min Hong smiled casually as he stretched his hands towards Chi Zheng.

"Don't worry I would be sure to send a message to your parents, so they would know how you died…"

Chi Zheng directly threw up a mouthful of blood after hearing Min Hong's taunting words.

To hear Min Hong say such words after all the grievances he had suffered, Chi Zheng was already on the brink of exploded from sheer fury!

"I will f*cking kill you, Fei Hong!"

Chi Zheng threw away his cautious mentality and bolted towards Min Hong like a rabbit which had just had its tail stepped on.

He was so infuriated that he didn't see Min Hong clenching his outstretched palms towards his direction. Min Hong sighed inwardly;

"I hope your death would end the trouble tied to my fate…"

While Min Hong wasn't the type of person who will kill someone over such small grievances, even in his first life as an assassin, knew he needed to make a statement for the others, so such things wouldn't happen again.

"Wait!" Elder Feng hastily called out in a bid to stop Min Hong, but alas, it was already too late.

Min Hong clenched his fists and several whooshing sounds echoed through out the arena as Chi Zheng was diced and cut into several chunks of meat and bones.

Shocking gasps suffused the entire arena as the splattering sounds of meat and diced organs could be heard by everyone within.

Blood flowed on the death ground as all the outer court disciples stared at the nightmare inducing scene with wide eyes and slacked jaws, looking as though they were watching an execution take place in hell.

Nobody there, including Elder Feng and the rest of Min Hong's group, had seen such a merciless slaughter in this life before, not even in the cruelest of battles.

Min Hong then turned around as he faced the shocked audience with a nonchalant expression, and flatly spoke;

"A dog that follows a lion to hunt should know that, even if the lion finds no game, it would still eat anyways…"

The overbearing and domineering imperial pressure that Min Hong was currently caused many of the disciples who bowed slightly earlier to fall back on their seats in fear.

He looked like an infuriated emperor with an unfathomable presence.

"As for the story… that young man not only conquered the general's heart but also achieved numerous impossible feats that none of his captains, commanders and other generals could imagine to be possible for themselves, let alone someone who they felt was an ant…"

Min Hong approached Elder Feng, who stood there with a dazed expression plastered on his face, and then spoke calmly;

"Thanks for ensuring fairness in this duel, we would be seeing each other very soon…" Min Hong said as he began to calmly walk out of the arena before he was joined by the rest of his group.