The Blood Reaver channeled essence into his shoulder, forcing the Blood Transformation healing to work. The wound immediately stopped spurting blood, but his spiritual Essence was drained. In this arena, every ounce of Essence was life.

  "You are fast, Young Master," the Blood Reaver growled, picking up his two axes, now smeared with his own blood. "But your blood is not as dense as a veteran's. I can smell it. You were injured before this!"

  The Blood Reaver was correct. The forced resistance by the Divine Cauldron shield had exacerbated Zhi Xuan's internal injuries. His spiritual blood was still turbulent, and the burning pain from the backlash of the Blood Wind Vortex technique he had felt last night struck again.

  Zhi Xuan stabilized his position in the black sand. He pulled the Blood Wind Vortex closer to his body, turning it into a rapidly spinning shield. He needed time.

  ‘Blood Transformation can quickly heal your wounds, Monkey. Hurry! Your spiritual blood is the best balm,’ Ruo Xianxue urged.

  Nodding internally, Zhi Xuan maintained the Blood Wind Vortex with his left hand, while his right hand performed an almost invisible mudra, directing his Black Jade Essence to calm the internal turmoil and heal the small tears in his blood vessels.

  "Avoiding will not win you the fight, Black-Haired Devil!" the Blood Reaver roared, realizing the pause his opponent was taking.

  The Blood Reaver knew the youth in front of him was recovering. He would not allow that opportunity.

  The Blood Reaver launched his Right Iron Axe.

  The axe spun in the air at high speed, cutting through the black sand and Essence. The axe was not headed toward Zhi Xuan, but aimed at the left side of the arena, then quickly turned, creating a deadly and unexpected arc.

  "Deadly Arc Slash!"

  The axe, reinforced by rusty metal essence, spun back toward Zhi Xuan. The Blood Reaver, with his left axe, leaped forward, penetrating the path of his own flying axe.

  Zhi Xuan snorted. The attack was clever—a dual strike utilizing the momentum and speed of the flying axe. He had no choice but to attack first before the flying axe returned.

  WHIRLLLLL!

  Zhi Xuan stomped his foot, a move that channeled his entire strength. The Blood Wind Vortex accelerated to its extreme limit, drawing up the black sand around his feet.

  He threw himself forward, crossing the distance between himself and the Blood Reaver, cutting the Blood Reaver's firing range. The flying axe only hit his afterimage.

  "Vortex Cross Slash!"

  Zhi Xuan rotated his body, releasing his Blood Wind Vortex horizontally, as if it were a solid saw made of blood. The vortex emitted a high-pitched, deafening shriek.

  The Blood Reaver only had time to raise his left axe to block.

  CLANG!

  The Blood Wind Vortex blade struck the Blood Reaver's axe with ripping rotational force. The Blood Reaver's axe shook violently, and a series of Essence sparks scattered. The Blood Reaver was thrown backward, his knee hitting the sand. The axe almost slipped from his grip.

  "Terrifying density! This is not just a Blood Transformation technique!" a cultivator in the stands shouted, his eyes wide with excitement.

  Zhi Xuan did not stop. He restrained the Blood Wind Vortex from exploding, focusing his Black Jade Essence on control. He spun the Vortex once more and threw it at the still-kneeling Blood Reaver.

  The Blood Reaver let out a desperate roar. He knew he could not withstand the attack again. He released his ultimate technique.

  "Transfusion Bleed!"

  With a deafening roar, the Blood Reaver bit his own tongue, spitting a concentrated drop of Spiritual Blood Essence onto his axe. The blood was immediately absorbed by the axe blade, and the blade radiated a terrifying blood-red light; its attack power multiplied.

  He swung his axe forward, slicing through Zhi Xuan's Blood Wind Vortex with the explosive power of Spiritual Blood driven by self-sacrifice.

  CRASSHH!

  The Transfusion Bleed attack struck the Blood Wind Vortex. The force generated by the attack exceeded Zhi Xuan's control limits. The Vortex exploded, the ten blood sword blades reverting to chaotic Essence mist.

  Zhi Xuan staggered backward. His Essence was chaotic, and his internal injuries reopened. This time, he could not suppress the cough of blood that escaped his mouth. Bright red blood stained his red silk robe, dripping onto the black sand.

  "Look! He's hurt! The Blood Reaver is undefeated!" the audience roared. Bets shifted wildly.

  The Blood Reaver, with his spiritual blood-smeared axe, stood tall, panting heavily. The attack had consumed almost a quarter of his Spiritual Blood. But he had achieved his goal: destroying Zhi Xuan's formation.

  "You lose, Young Master!" the Blood Reaver roared. "Now, I will harvest your Blood Crystal!"

  The Blood Reaver leaped forward, the spiritual blood-smeared axe aimed at Zhi Xuan's neck.

  Zhi Xuan wiped the blood from the corner of his lip. He felt a burning pain, but amidst the pain, he felt a new, joyful pulse from the Devil Seed. He knew he did not have time to restore the Blood Wind Vortex. He had to use a faster, denser, and more fatal attack.

  As the Blood Reaver's axe was about to slash his neck, Zhi Xuan smiled. The smile was cold, cruel, and carried the promise of calculated death.

  "You want blood?" Zhi Xuan whispered, his voice barely audible amidst the audience's roar.

  Zhi Xuan rose with a slight stagger, his palm open, and the Divine Cauldron, which previously only served as a shield, was now the only thing serving as his artifact weapon.

  The Cauldron grew larger and spun above Zhi Xuan's hand, emitting golden waves that spread throughout the arena. Zhi Xuan's eyes were sharp and cold, filled with gathering killing intent.

  "Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron!"

  The Divine Cauldron, now the size of a human head, spun wildly, radiating gold-jade rune resonance. This was not a Cauldron used for alchemy; it was a physical manifestation of Zhi Xuan's Black Jade Essence, forged by the eternal Law of the Four Seasons.

  The Blood Reaver, driven by the insane momentum of the Essence-sacrificing Transfusion Bleed, had no time to dodge. The spiritual blood-smeared axe struck the spinning Divine Cauldron with destructive force.

  BOOM!

  The sound of the impact was not metal; it was a pure, deafening Essence explosion. The resulting shockwave spread throughout the arena, causing the black sand around it to lift, and the cultivators in the stands to stagger in their seats.

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  The Blood Reaver's axe, shrouded in sacrificial spiritual blood, instantly cracked and split. The spiritual blood Essence he had injected into it vanished, completely absorbed by the rotation of the Divine Cauldron. The Blood Reaver's ultimate attack was shattered.

  Zhi Xuan was thrown backward, his body hitting the sand hard. Although the Cauldron was able to neutralize the attack, the backlash on his injured body was immense. He coughed up a large mouthful of blood, this time accompanied by small fragments of spiritual essence.

  "Damn it!" Zhi Xuan roared, feeling his head throb as if his Sea of Consciousness was splitting. He forced his spiritual blood to circulate, using Blood Transformation energy to mend his torn meridians.

  The Blood Reaver, now weaponless and staggering, stared at his empty hands in horror. The axe that had accompanied him in ten fights was now only a bent handle. He had lost half of his main weapon and a quarter of his Spiritual Blood Essence.

  "You!" the Blood Reaver roared, his single eye filled with despair turning into madness. He ignored his depleted Essence, ignored the pain.

  He channeled Blood Transformation, focusing his essence for rapid regeneration. His shoulder wound, which had just been cleaned, healed in an instant, but the emptiness of his essence remained. He leaped forward, no longer with a weapon, but with a raw fist, a wild attack from a veteran pushed to the absolute limit.

  "Devil's Bare-Hand Fight!"

  The Blood Reaver's fist, hard as Essence-forged stone, shot towards Zhi Xuan's face.

  Zhi Xuan, still kneeling in the sand, sighed. He had wasted too much Essence on defense and fusion. He could no longer rely on the Divine Cauldron for repeated attacks, and he did not have time to reconstruct the Blood Wind Vortex.

  ‘He is healing too fast, Monkey. Strike the vital points,’ Ruo Xianxue urged.

  Zhi Xuan nodded, channeling his Black Jade Essence. This time, he did not use an external technique. He relied on his solid cultivation foundation.

  He tilted his head, avoiding the Blood Reaver's punch aimed at his jaw. In an almost impossible movement, Zhi Xuan channeled his Spiritual Blood Essence into his fingers, manifesting five thread-thin blood claws.

  "Jade Blood Claws!"

  The blood claws shot like lightning at the Blood Reaver's body, aiming for the tendons in his legs.

  SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!

  Three of the five claws penetrated the Blood Reaver's thick skin. The veteran let out a scream of pain as his Achilles tendon and popliteal tendon snapped. His speed instantly dropped drastically.

  The Blood Reaver fell, but he was a veteran. Even as he fell, he twisted his body, swinging his strong fist at Zhi Xuan's abdomen.

  THUD!

  The blow struck Zhi Xuan with full force, shattering his thin Essence defense formation. Zhi Xuan was thrown across the black sand, rolling until his back hit the arena's iron chains. Blood spurted from his mouth—this time more, darker. He felt several of his ribs crack.

  "Kill! Kill!" The audience's roar reached its peak. They did not care who won, as long as there was blood.

  Zhi Xuan smiled, even as blood flowed from his lips.

  This pain, this pain that pushed him to the limit, was the validation of his Dao. He allowed his black jade essence to cleanse the remnants of the Blood Reaver's essence trying to penetrate his meridians.

  The Blood Reaver, now crawling brutally in the sand, returned to using Blood Transformation. The severed tendons quickly reconnected, but the process consumed his Spiritual Blood Essence to a critical point.

  Zhi Xuan did not give him a chance. He rose with a stagger, his eyes fixed on the small Divine Cauldron spinning in the sand.

  He knew the Blood Reaver still had Spiritual Blood for one or two more healings, but each healing brought him closer to Essence death.

  "If you want the Blood Crystal, then take it yourself, veteran."

  Zhi Xuan leaped toward the Divine Cauldron, snatched it, and in a quick movement he had practiced last night, he condensed his remaining chaotic spiritual blood essence.

  He wasted no time on formations. He ignored his realm limitations. He just forced his remaining black jade essence, channeling the Law of Summer from the Divine Cauldron, and condensing everything he had into a single focal point.

  "Single Blood Devil Sword!" Zhi Xuan roared, his voice hoarse but filled with cold authority.

  There was no vortex, no pseudo-blade. Only a brutal condensation of Spiritual Blood Essence. From the Divine Cauldron, a single sword blade emerged, extremely thick, radiating an almost dead red-black color. It was the Peak Fusion Attack from his training last night, the attack that had almost killed him.

  The Blood Reaver, who had just finished healing his legs, stared at the single sword blade manifested from the Divine Cauldron in horror. He felt a spiritual blood pressure that surpassed Blood Transformation—an Organ Transformation attack.

  Zhi Xuan, bloodied and looking like a devil who had just been deposed from his throne, lunged forward. He plunged the Single Blood Devil Sword forward, aiming for the spot where the Blood Reaver's Divine Wheel was located.

  The Blood Reaver could only let out one final desperate roar. He tried to channel Blood Transformation for defense, but his Essence was depleted.

  THUD!

  The red-black sword blade pierced the Blood Reaver's Essence defense as if it were paper. It stabbed the veteran's body, instantly killing the Blood Reaver's Divine Wheel.

  The Blood Reaver's body froze. His single eye stared at Zhi Xuan with a mixture of respect and regret. He had used everything, but his opponent had manifested something beyond the Dao he knew.

  Zhi Xuan, panting heavily, pulled out the Single Blood Devil Sword. The sword's Essence vanished, leaving a clean hole in the Blood Reaver's body.

  The Blood Reaver's body fell to the sand. This time, there was no more healing. From the hole in his chest, a drop of extremely concentrated blood, radiating a crystalline red glow, began to form, slowly solidifying on the black sand.

  The promised Blood Crystal.

  Zhi Xuan staggered, but he forced himself to stand. He bent down, picked up the blood crystal, and raised it high. The Blood Crystal's light reflected in his cold sapphire eyes.

  Hundreds of cultivators in the stands fell silent for a moment, shocked. Then, a roar of excitement erupted, engulfing the cave.

  "BLOOD CRYSTAL! HE PROMISED, AND HE DELIVERED!"

  The Arena Guide, with his red dragon tattoo, stepped to the center, grinning wildly. "Death! Blood Crystal! The Black-Haired Devil has won!"

  Zhi Xuan clenched his fist, allowing his internal pain to fuel his recovery. Blood dried on his face, but his cold smile remained. He had obtained his first Blood Crystal.

  ‘One path, one sacrifice. You have stepped onto the path of blood, Monkey,’ Ruo Xianxue echoed, her voice filled with satisfaction.

  Zhi Xuan merely stared at the Blood Crystal in his hand.

  He had won the fight, but he knew he had just paid the cost of forging his sword with the remnants of his life. And the show had just begun.

  The Arena Guide, with a dramatic gesture, raised his hand, demanding a costly silence. The audience's roar subsided into a calculated hum of excitement. The newly harvested Blood Crystal was proof that their bets were valid.

  Zhi Xuan, with calm movements despite his body screaming in pain, walked towards the side of the arena where Jue Mu and Chu Feng were located.

  He ignored the gaze of hundreds of eyes that now looked at him no longer as a 'lost Young Master,' but as the Black-Haired Devil, without scorn, purely bloodthirsty adulation.

  Jue Mu, with his single eye, grinned widely. It was the smirk of satisfaction of a merchant who knew he had found a gold mine.

  "As you promised, Black-Haired Devil," Jue Mu said, his voice low and filled with newfound respect. "A Blood Crystal. Truly a pure Blood Crystal, without contamination. Even its essence feels denser than what we usually harvest."

  Zhi Xuan threw the Blood Crystal to Jue Mu. The solid object landed in Jue Mu's hand with a sharp clink.

  "One," Zhi Xuan replied, his voice hoarse and cold, like frost coating a sword. "I need ten. Quickly."

  "Of course," Chu Feng interjected, now standing beside Jue Mu with an excited expression. "I will lead you to the healing room. You can recover briefly. Don't worry, the next wager will begin in two hours."

  Zhi Xuan nodded. He knew he could not fight again in this condition. The Blood Reaver's punch had cracked his ribs, and the impact with the iron chains had exacerbated them.

  "I will recover," Zhi Xuan said. "But do not cheat me. I need my Spiritual Stones."

  Jue Mu took out a beast skin scroll thicker than before, adorned with the official arena seal.

  "Of course, Sir. This Arena has rules," Jue Mu said, pointing to the scroll. "The wagers for this round are closed. All the spiritual stones you won from the Blood Reaver's wager will be accumulated. After ten blood crystals are achieved, you will receive all the betting proceeds that are your share, including the prize from the arena. We only take a quarter share for management and prize costs."

  Zhi Xuan frowned. A quarter cost was a very large figure, but it was the price for using the stage and gaining quick wealth. He could not negotiate further.

  "How much did I win from this round?" Zhi Xuan asked.

  Jue Mu chuckled softly. "Thanks to the Blood Crystal promise, the audience's madness increased. You won two thousand low-grade spiritual stones from just one fight. However, do not forget that the spiritual stones still belong to you and the Arena."

  Zhi Xuan's eyes flashed sharply. Two thousand spiritual stones! That was far beyond what he had hoped for. Enough to pay the rented cave debt and have enough left over to buy a stronger technique.

  "Next opponent," Zhi Xuan said, ignoring his pain. "I want an opponent of equal or greater strength. Do not give me fodder again. I need Blood Crystals quickly."

  "You are insane," Chu Feng whispered, but there was clear admiration in his voice. "You almost ripped your own Essence just to fight the Blood Reaver."

  "The Immortal Path does not allow weakness," Zhi Xuan retorted, his tone cold and unyielding.

  Jue Mu nodded seriously. "I understand, Young Master. I will give you the Death Bringer—a Blood Transformation cultivator who uses poison essence. He has won twenty fights. He will be the right opponent to yield a denser blood crystal."