In an instant, the dark silhouette shot across a hundred meters of space, slamming heavily before Kou Xi like a tattered piece of leather, utterly without movement; the black mist coiling around its form had completely dissipated.

As Zhu Huan landed, everyone felt their hearts lurch with him.

They had expected the first battle on the Heaven and Earth Arena to be fierce, yet it had concluded in the span of a single breath. Nie Kong had effortlessly, almost dismissively, hurled the Heavenly Spirit expert from the Spirit God Hall off the platform, his fate unknown.

Suddenly, the entire plaza fell into a dead silence.

Not only those arrayed on the steps, but even the powerful figures of the Spirit God Hall were struck dumbfounded. Only Mu Xueyi and Mu Qingyi, among others, wore faint smiles.

"Dead?"

Kou Xi, after all, was the Hall Master, the first to recover his senses. He immediately confirmed that Zhu Huan on the ground possessed no trace of life force; he was clearly dead.

"Nie Kong, you dare to kill an Elder of my Spirit God Hall!" Kou Xi’s voice was sharp and severe, murder blazing in his eyes.

"Kou Xi, for a Spirit God Hall Master, you seem ignorant of the rules of the Heaven and Earth Arena," Nie Kong's smile remained, his gaze toward Kou Xi laced with mockery. "Once on the Heaven and Earth Arena, life and death are entirely determined by fate. He came seeking humiliation; who is to blame but himself?"

"You..."

Kou Xi was choked with anger, his face gloomy. The surrounding Spirit God Hall experts, having snapped back to awareness, glared at Nie Kong almost unanimously, yet they could find no counter-argument to his words.

When someone establishes a sect and issues a challenge on the "Heaven and Earth Arena," death is accepted as a consequence, and no one can be blamed. However, generally, unless enmity is deep, neither side deals a killing blow. But the Spirit God Hall had come specifically to eliminate Nie Kong, so they could hardly fault Nie Kong for striking ruthlessly.

Nie Kong grinned amiably, "Kou Xi, and all my colleagues from the Spirit God Hall, what are you hesitating for? Don't you wish to avenge Zhu Huan?"

"Nie Kong, let me see what skill you possess to warrant such arrogance!"

Before Kou Xi and the others could respond, a cold, sinister voice rang out. The speaker was a middle-aged man in a crimson robe, seated a dozen meters away from Kou Xi. He was broad and tall, yet possessed pale skin, a suave and somewhat feminine face, eyes narrow and slanted high toward his temples, and pupils the color of fresh blood.

Nie Kong turned his head and drawled mockingly, "I wondered who it was. So it is Clan Leader She Qianbian. When did the Serpent Sovereign of the Serpent Spirit Clan degrade himself to being a mere lackey for the Spirit God Hall?"

"Silence—!"

Seeing Nie Kong openly ridicule She Qianbian in such a public manner, a Heavenly Spirit expert of the Serpent Spirit Clan couldn't help but roar in fury, "Nie Kong, you..."

"No need for wasted breath!"

She Qianbian waved his hand and stepped into the void, slowly walking toward the high platform.

Almost simultaneously, a dense, fiery-red aura radiated from She Qianbian's body. With every step forward, this aura doubled in size, completely obscuring his figure in an instant. From a distance, he appeared as a massive crimson cloud floating in the air.

"Hmm?"

Nie Kong let out a soft exclamation and retreated rapidly.

Just as he stopped two hundred meters away, the dense red mist descended upon the high platform like an extraterrestrial meteorite. A resounding 'Bang!' echoed, making the ears of the crowd buzz, and by then, the red mist had coalesced into a colossal serpent shadow.

The fiery-red serpent body coiled around itself, completely engulfing the entire platform. Scale upon scale of brilliant red glimmered, scattering a gorgeous crimson light, like the sunset clouds in the sky, casting the vast plaza in a dreamlike, unreal glow. Yet, this beauty carried not an ounce of warmth.

A chilling aura spiraled up along the serpent's body, reaching the towering, massive head, finally converging in the blood-red orbs of its eyes. Those two gazes seemed to solidify into substance, fixing upon Nie Kong, who stood at the edge of the platform, an icy coldness spreading wildly outward.

Witnessing this spectacle, the crowd was rooted to the spot, struck dumb.

Was this the Heart Manifestation of the Serpent Sovereign?

Everyone felt a bone-deep chill rise uncontrollably from their spines. Compared to She Qianbian's current form, Nie Kong seemed incredibly small. Given the deep enmity between Nie Kong and the Serpent Spirit Clan, any true confrontation would surely be a fight to the death. No one knew who would ultimately triumph.

"This old serpent has cultivated for several centuries; truly not simple," Long Tiangong murmured softly from the edge of the plaza, his eyes narrowed.

"Can Nie Kong win?" Long Meixian couldn't help but frown.

"My Fairy Meixian, don't worry. Even if Brother Nie Kong can't win, self-preservation is more than enough for him," Long Xuechan giggled sweetly. She held absolute faith in Nie Kong. She had scanned the crowd and noted the absence of Tai Yan, suggesting he had likely transformed into his true form and hidden within Nie Kong. With Tai Yan present, Nie Kong would face no mortal danger. Furthermore, this wasn't the time when She Qianbian and others besieged Jiyang City. With Nie Kong's current strength, he might very well be a match for She Qianbian.

"Oh."

Long Meixian let out a breath, her delicate brows relaxing slightly. But catching Long Xuechan's teasing gaze, her heart skipped a beat, and she said coldly, "I wasn't worried about him."

"Understood, understood..." Long Xuechan nodded repeatedly with a playful air.

"..."

While Long Meixian and Long Xuechan whispered amongst themselves, Hua Mei, Mu Qingying, Long Ping, Long Ting, and the others stared fixedly at Nie Kong, their eyes betraying barely concealed worry.

However, compared to them, Nie Kong's expression was astonishingly calm.

"Hiss!"

Suddenly, a sharp, piercing shriek tore through the void. The crowd snapped back to attention, their gazes focusing to see the giant serpent open its monstrous maw, its crimson tongue spitting out, shooting toward Nie Kong with lightning speed. Its thick tail simultaneously whipped upward, aiming like a sharp sword at Nie Kong’s position.

A nearly imperceptible, strange smile touched the corner of Nie Kong's lips. He suddenly whipped out his right hand, and in a flash of lightning, clamped down on the tip of the serpent's tongue, launching his body high into the air.

"Boom!"

The serpent's tail narrowly scraped past Nie Kong's body, stabbing into the high platform like a sharp spike.

The ground spanning tens of meters burst apart, throwing dust and sand everywhere. Unconcealed scorn and mockery surfaced in the giant serpent's cold eyes. As the tongue retracted like lightning, a dense, bloody mist erupted, instantly enveloping Nie Kong. When the massive jaws snapped shut, Nie Kong had vanished.

Was Nie Kong eaten?

The crowd watched, stunned, their eyes filled with disbelief. But before they could fully process it, an earth-shaking muffled sound erupted from within the giant serpent's belly.

The serpent's body trembled slightly, a distinctly humanized cold sneer flickering in its eyes.

However, an instant later, that smile froze. The giant serpent's mouth flew wide open, a mournful scream shaking heaven and earth, its massive body suddenly convulsing violently...