The livestream for the Blue Star Deathmatch switched back—
and the viewer count spiked like a pulse on a monitor.
The screen was still black, but the chat had already become a flood.
"People are saying this match has another Dragon Nation contestant!"
"Which poor guy drew Dragon Nation this time? I want to see their nation's chat right now—must be pure tragedy!"
"Not gonna lie… Dragon Nation contestant names are wild. Wu Liuqi is unforgettable."
"Hahaha—sounds like he's gonna be a weirdo. I'm in."
"Open bets! How long can the foreign contestant last? Five minutes is the line—place your bets!"
"Five minutes? I've never seen anyone last five minutes against Dragon Nation. Not once."
"Below five. I'm putting 50 cents."
"Fifty-cents guy is back! Raise your standards!"
"I'm putting one."
"One-fifty."
"Two!"
"You guys are bidding like it's an auction!"
As they argued, the black screen slowly brightened.
A wind swept across the empty arena. Just grass bending, dust lifting—yet the silence itself felt sharpened, like the air had been honed into a blade.
Someone typed:
"I didn't notice before, but this arena is insane. Two seconds and you can feel the killing intent."
"Of course. It's Will of Blue Star's arena. Making something like this is nothing to it."
"Okay but where are the fighters? I missed the intro—I was in the bathroom."
"Dragon Nation contestants are always handsome. Look at Adrian Vale, look at Wuxian—same template."
"Yeah… handsome, but—kinda wasted on some of them."
Then—
A column of white light slammed down.
BOOM!
Dust billowed outward. When it cleared, Dragon Nation's contestant finally appeared.
At first glance: skinny.
Second glance: still skinny.
Third glance: yep—definitely skinny.
The chat hesitated.
"That's… Dragon Nation's contestant?"
"He looks malnourished."
"Dragon Nation's contestants are usually monsters, but this one looks like he's here to make up numbers."
"Third match and he's already up? That luck is cursed."
Wu Liuqi stretched his neck like he'd just woken up from a nap, then spoke in a lazy tone that the arena's translation rendered cleanly.
"Finally… I was suffocating in that waiting room."
He took off his hat, squinted around, and started strolling in circles.
"So… where's my opponent?"
He leaned forward, hands behind his back, scanning like a nosy shop owner.
"Don't tell me he's too scared to show up. I'm super friendly, you know—come out, say hi—"
He began hopping left and right as if the arena were his playground.
The audience collectively facepalmed.
"Why does this feel… embarrassing?"
"That smug little gremlin energy… yeah."
Then another white pillar dropped.
This one landed softer—cleaner.
A lean figure sprang out and touched down lightly, barely disturbing the dust.
Wu Liuqi brightened immediately.
"Oh? There you are."
He jogged over, eyes traveling up and down the newcomer with zero shame.
The opposing contestant stiffened.
The way Wu Liuqi looked at him—twice, three times—like he was inspecting a mannequin—
made a cold thought flash through his mind.
…Wait. Is this guy into men?!
He backed up fast, widening the distance like his life depended on it.
"You—!" he snapped, face twisting. "With your scrawny body you dare look at me like that?"
His voice rose into a vicious rant.
"I'll cut off your limbs—no, I won't even kill you. I'll let Will of Blue Star send you back so your own people can spit on you for the rest of your life!"
Wu Liuqi blinked.
"…Huh?"
Then he noticed the man's long hair and made a thoughtful noise.
"Man, I gotta be honest—your hairstyle is tragic. You're never getting a girlfriend like that."
He pointed at himself, dead serious.
"My barbershop's running a discount. Fifty bucks for a cut. Want it?"
The chat detonated.
"This isn't cross-server chat—this is cross-galaxy!"
"That foreign guy is mad-funny. He's acting like he's the handsome one."
"What nation is he from?"
"Mud Nation, I think. And uh… apparently this look is considered 'above average' there."
"You said nothing but somehow you said everything."
On the arena floor, the Mud Nation contestant took Wu Liuqi's words as deliberate humiliation.
His blood boiled.
"I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"
"I'll break your arms! Smash your teeth! Rip your eyes out! Tear your ribs—!"
Wu Liuqi scratched his head, genuinely confused.
"Bro… if you don't want a membership card, just say so. Why are you getting this emotional?"
He tried again, like a salesman who refused to give up.
"Okay, no haircut—how about beef offal skewers? Great for beauty and strength. Guaranteed value, no scams—"
"YOU'RE STILL TALKING?!"
The Mud Nation contestant's eyes bulged, rage vibrating through his whole body.
And right on cue—like it couldn't stand the noise anymore—Will of Blue Star cut in.
[Both contestants, prepare.]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[FIGHT!]
Speed vs Speed
The Mud Nation contestant exploded forward.
A shock-crack popped in the air—his movement was genuinely fast, fast enough to make casual viewers flinch.
He was already in front of Wu Liuqi, fist raised.
"DIE!"
His eyes glittered with cruel delight.
He didn't want a clean win.
He wanted to see fear first.
So he slowed slightly—just to savor it—waiting for Wu Liuqi's expression to break.
Wu Liuqi… kept staring curiously, like he was watching a customer argue about shampoo.
The punch dropped—
and at the last instant, a breeze passed.
Wu Liuqi vanished.
The fist smashed through empty air.
"What?!" The Mud Nation contestant's eyes widened. "Where—?!"
Something brushed his hair from behind.
He whirled and threw another punch—
and missed again.
Wu Liuqi had already retreated, light on his feet, shaking his head like a disappointed stylist.
"Bro… your hair's splitting. Like, badly. Washing and cutting won't save you—get a treatment. Three sessions, guaranteed results, full refund if it doesn't work."
The Mud Nation contestant stared, mouth half open, brain trying to catch up.
Then—he smiled.
"Oh. So you're fast."
Wu Liuqi nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah. On average I finish a wash-cut-blow in fifteen minutes. But customers get suspicious, so I drag it to thirty."
Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"You're not… a barber too, are you?"
The audience was choking.
"He's still pitching haircuts in a deathmatch."
"Is he joking?"
"He looks… painfully sincere."
The Mud Nation contestant finally snapped.
"GO TO HELL!"
He surged again—faster than before—fists coming down like a storm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The air thudded with impact.
But Wu Liuqi kept blinking out of range—appearing, vanishing, reappearing—always just outside the killing line.
The Mud Nation contestant spun wildly, trying to predict him.
"Behind me!"
He punched—missed.
A voice came from somewhere else.
"Why are you so violent?"
Not behind.
Above.
The Mud Nation contestant looked up—
and saw Wu Liuqi dropping from the air.
Perfect angle.
No escape.
He laughed, confidence returning in a rush.
"Tsk. You're airborne. You have to take my punch now."
He launched his fist upward.
"This one hits!"
Wu Liuqi's playful expression disappeared.
His eyes went flat—cold enough to make the arena feel quieter.
"I never said," he murmured, "I was running."
A blade appeared in his hand.
Demon Blade: Thousand Shards.
He held it across his body like a simple bar.
The Mud Nation contestant's fist collided—
KRAK—!
The blade shattered into countless fragments.
The crowd gasped.
"What kind of garbage weapon—?!"
"That sword was already cracked earlier!"
"Dragon Nation couldn't give him something better?!"
The Mud Nation contestant burst out laughing.
"Trash weapon. That's your trump card? Want me to lend you a real blade?"
He rushed in, grin wide, bloodlust rising.
But as he crossed into Wu Liuqi's space—
a chill stabbed through his spine.
Goosebumps crawled across his skin.
He realized why.
Not wind.
Not fear.
Killing intent.
A pressure so sharp it felt like invisible needles were already inside him.
His body froze.
A thin line of blood slid from his lips.
Then—
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Red points appeared on his chest.
They spread instantly, blooming into holes.
PFFFT—!
Blood punched outward.
His torso collapsed into a spray of crimson.
He staggered, eyes blank—then his legs failed.
He crashed to the ground.
Only then did the cameras catch it clearly—
his back was riddled with matching holes.
The fragments of Wu Liuqi's shattered blade… weren't on the ground anymore.
They were everywhere.
And they had already passed through him.
Like an assassin's kiss.
Will of Blue Star announced, cold and absolute:
[Congratulations. Dragon Nation contestant Wu Liuqi wins and advances.]
A white flash swallowed him.
He vanished back to the contestants' waiting room.
And the arena—after a moment of stunned silence—erupted into chaos again.
"WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!"
"He shattered his own blade on purpose?!"
"Those fragments… were the real weapon!"
"That's not a barber—that's a demon with scissors!"
"Dragon Nation contestants are all abnormal!"
"And that's why we love them!"
Back in the Divine Domain
Deep in the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw stood over the place where the Earth-Drilling Mountainbreaker King had died.
Or rather—
where it had vanished.
It didn't just crumble.
It took everything with it.
The peeled scales. The torn flesh. Even the blood.
Not a single scrap remained.
Raven clicked her tongue.
"Neat trick."
Adrian's gaze stayed on the Divine Tree.
"It's not for neatness," he said. "It's to deny profit."
They didn't linger.
Because the real prize wasn't in the dirt—
it was in the tree.
The Divine Tree stood calm, swaying in the breeze like it hadn't just watched an SS-Rank creature die at its roots. The soil beneath it was unnaturally firm, bound tight by roots like braided cables.
Adrian and Raven exchanged one look.
Then stepped forward together.
They placed their hands on the trunk at the same time.
The leaves continued to dance—
but the movement grew wider, heavier, like it was breathing in.
The seven-colored glow that had once floated outward drew back into the bark, flowing across the surface in slow luminous streams.
For a few seconds, it looked like the entire tree had turned into a living circuit of rainbow light—
charging.
Then it released everything in one violent exhale.
BOOM—!
A pillar of seven-colored radiance erupted upward—thicker than the trunk itself—punching straight into the sky.
And in that instant—
the forest fell silent.
As if something far away…
had finally noticed them.
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