The very instant Ye Tian's longsword pierced Sun Yibin's heart, Sun Yibin was preparing to toss the Paper Talisman in his hand into the air. This entire process would have taken only a brief moment, perhaps a single breath.
Less than a breath's time passed between him pulling out the Paper Talisman and Ye Tian's sword piercing his heart. So fast! It was indescribably fast—so fast it filled him with bitter resentment!
A sharp pain shot through his chest, and Sun Yibin's face instantly went pale. He could clearly feel his life force draining away, yet the Paper Talisman in his hand was now useless.
Activating the talisman's immense power required injecting it with Spiritual Power. Now, everything had come to an abrupt and helpless end—an end filled with resentment and despair.
"How does it feel? Full of regret? Once you stepped onto the Decisive Battlefield, your death today was a certainty. Did you really think I was some pushover you could bully as you pleased? And trying to use a Paper Talisman on me? That just sealed your fate!" Ye Tian said with a faint smile.
Then, he snatched the Paper Talisman from Sun Yibin's hand. Sun Yibin knew he was truly done for. It was his first, last, and only time feeling the approach of death.
"Ye Tian, you're strong. I regret ever provoking you. But you won't get away with killing me!" Sun Yibin said, gritting his teeth through the searing pain.
With his last ounce of strength, he clawed at Ye Tian, trying to land one final attack before death. He knew he couldn't truly hurt him, but he couldn't accept dying so meekly.
How could Ye Tian possibly let him land a blow? With a flick of his wrist, he swiftly retracted his longsword. His body blurred, retreating several meters in an instant, where he stood and watched Sun Yibin in silence.
An arc of blood sprayed from Sun Yibin's chest, staining a large swath of the Decisive Battlefield crimson. In that same moment, his body collapsed.
Dead. Killed by a single sword strike to the heart from Ye Tian. He left this world full of resentment, his eyes wide open—a death of lingering grievance.
Ye Tian, however, felt nothing, as if he were numb to it all. He glanced at Sun Yibin's body and said, "This is the law of the jungle. The weak are destined to be slain by the strong."
The spectating students were all stunned. Ye Tian had killed his opponent with such ease. Many hadn't even processed what had happened, and looks of terror spread across their faces.
Some students, seeing a man killed for the first time, turned pale with fright. Ye Tian's power was far beyond their reach. In their minds, he was now a dangerous individual who must never, ever be provoked.
Xiao Yaoyao's expression was also grim. Ye Tian's composure, his speed, and the detached look on his face led her to believe he was a man forged by countless life-and-death struggles.
She had a feeling that even if Ye Tian were to fight a student from the Intermediate Class right now, he wouldn't necessarily lose. Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Murong Rufeng's cousin, who stood a short distance away.
After Ye Tian killed Sun Yibin, smiles appeared on the faces of Ye Feifei, Qin Xiaowan, Chu Hongyuan, and the others. The wretched man was finally dead. No one felt a shred of sympathy for him. A person like that deserved to die; even dying ten thousand times over wouldn't be enough.
Ye Tian's speed and his calm demeanor in the face of conflict struck a chord with Qin Xiaowan. She felt the gap between herself and Ye Tian widening. Avenging the Qin Family's deep-seated grudge, she feared, was becoming an ever more distant goal.
Meanwhile, Ye Tian slowly began to walk toward Murong Rufeng in the distance. With every step he took, Murong Rufeng's body seemed to tremble. Sun Yibin's death had clearly filled him with genuine terror. The once insufferably arrogant young master could now smell the stench of death.
The thick scent of blood hung in the air. Ye Tian, his face expressionless, stopped five meters in front of Murong Rufeng.
"Now, it's your turn. If I kill you, Sun Yibin won't be lonely on his journey. See? Aren't I good to you guys?" Ye Tian said with a faint smile.
To Murong Rufeng's ears, that voice sounded like it belonged to a Demon, and his entire body began to shake uncontrollably.
"Ye Tian, we don't have any deep-seated grudge, do we? C-could you spare me?" Murong Rufeng said, his words surprising everyone present.
The onlookers found it incredible. Murong Rufeng's cousin, however, felt utterly humiliated. 'How can I have such a coward for a cousin? This is an absolute disgrace to the Murong Family!'
"Spare you? Why should I?" Ye Tian said coldly.
"You're the bigger person. I offended you unintentionally. I swear, I'll never bother you or your friends again. Just let me go, and I'll leave Linyuan Academy immediately. I'll disappear from your sight forever. How about it?" Murong Rufeng pleaded.
At this, many of the spectating students began to whisper amongst themselves, their words sharp and mocking. Murong Rufeng's face flushed red, then drained of color. His once-imposing demeanor vanished completely.
"Murong Rufeng? You're a young master of the Murong Family, aren't you? Have you no regard for your status? Are you trying to disgrace the Murong Family?" Ye Tian asked with a laugh.
"As long as you spare me, I'll give up anything!" Murong Rufeng cried.
Ye Tian glanced at him, then at the crowd. He then raised his voice and asked everyone, "What do you all think? Should I let him go? Remember, this is the Decisive Battlefield!"
For a moment, silence. No one dared to speak, perhaps wary of the Murong Family's terrifying power. The looks on their faces, however, clearly showed they wanted Ye Tian to finish him off.
"Brother Tian, rid the world of this scumbag! Kill him!" Ye Feifei suddenly shouted.
"That's right, kill that maniac! People like him shouldn't be allowed to live!" an unfamiliar female student added furiously.
Her words were the stone that stirred a thousand waves. The crowd erupted, everyone demanding that Ye Tian kill Murong Rufeng. Such a menace had to be eliminated. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch.
'In his heart, Ye Tian had already sentenced the man to death. He had only asked the crowd to lighten the mood. After all, he was killing a man, not butchering a chicken.'
Just then, Xiao Yaoyao used a Secret Transmission to send a message to Ye Tian. "Kill him. I'll take care of any trouble that comes of it!"
Ye Tian glanced back at Xiao Yaoyao and found her staring right at him. The instant their gazes met, Ye Tian felt a strange discomfort and quickly looked away, giving a slight nod.
'This strange phenomenon happening again left Ye Tian feeling helpless. What secrets was that girl Xiao Yaoyao hiding? Why did his Pure Yang Qi stir whenever he met her gaze? But he couldn't afford to dwell on it now.'
Just then, a Paper Talisman appeared in Murong Rufeng's hand, identical to the last. His expression twisted viciously as he roared, "You brat, go to hell!" As the words left his mouth, he hurled the Paper Talisman into the air…