The zombies Tianya had summoned were surprisingly obedient, as if medicated; yellow-green slime dripped from their mouths, and the weapons they held were stiff and unwieldy, each aimed at Zhou Huan’s vital points as they charged heedlessly. “Brother, you really managed to find something to pit against me, seeing as I’m outnumbered?” Zhou Huan lamented. Tianya sneered wickedly, “Zhou Huan, let me show you the power of our zombies.” As he spoke, he swept his hair aside, revealing his face.

Zhou Huan was close enough to see it, and the sight froze him. Tianya’s face was a mass of scars, some wounds appearing utterly unhealed, with tattered strips of necrotic flesh dangling outside. From some of the gashes, thick, dark blood still oozed, carrying a heavy, fishy stench.

“Tianya, have you been practicing some evil art? Could it be that you are…?” Zhou Huan was astonished, not noticing when a zombie materialized behind him, its mouth revealing two long fangs, each dripping with a subtle, malevolent aura. Zhou Huan swung his fist in a wide arc, striking the zombie squarely on the head.

As Zhou Huan turned around, he watched the zombie’s head roll with a sickening gurgle off its body, tumbling down to the floor below the stage. The spectators below stared, utterly dumbfounded by the sight; it was unthinkable that such a thing could happen right before their eyes. “What in the blazes is that?

It just came off with one punch?” The audience began murmuring among themselves. Zhou Huan spun back and delivered a kick, sending the headless corpse flying off the stage. He watched as the zombie desperately thrashed its arms, trying to claw its way back onto the platform.

“Zhou Huan, don’t say I’m bullying you. I’m telling you, my underlings are behind you too. See how you manage that!” Tianya laughed with utter malice.

When Zhou Huan turned, Tianya was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and the string of increasingly grotesque zombies slowly closed in on him. Zhou Huan suddenly felt his mind go blank as he realized he was about to be forced to the edge of the ring. “Brother, capture the leader first!

Kill Tianya!” A voice suddenly called out from beneath the stage. The voice sounded familiar to Zhou Huan. After a moment’s thought, he realized it was Tian Lang.

How did he get back? “Brother, kill him! I know your movement technique is superb; flash past these zombies.

They are fragile and only serve to drain your strength!” Tian Lang sounded more anxious than Zhou Huan. Upon hearing this, Zhou Huan found that Tian Lang’s idea perfectly matched his own. He didn't hesitate; Zhou Huan shot towards Tianya, raising his hand high and bringing it down viciously towards Tianya’s head.

“Roar!” Tianya let out a long, guttural bellow, opening his cavernous mouth. The jaw seemed supernaturally distended, capable of swallowing a person’s entire head. In an instant, it clamped down onto Zhou Huan’s outstretched palm.

CRACK! A sound followed, making the onlookers instinctively sweat for Zhou Huan, and the noise made them unwilling to even look up at the stage. Zhou Huan struggled violently, trying to pull his hand back, but Tianya’s jaws would not release.

The sound wasn't actually his hand breaking; it was the noise made by Zhou Huan forcefully yanking on Tianya’s mouth until his temporomandibular joint popped out of its socket. As Zhou Huan wrestled with Tianya, he heard the low, guttural sounds of the zombies rising up behind him again. “Brother, watch out!

I’m coming to help!” Tian Lang, unable to bear it any longer, coiled his legs and prepared to leap onto the stage. However, he hadn't accounted for the court’s masters who guarded the venue; any disturbance would lead to the martial artists here making trouble, not to mention that not everyone in the martial world was a top fighter. From somewhere in the crowd below, a foot flew out and landed squarely on Tian Lang’s chest.

Strangely, a small paper packet shot out from Tian Lang’s chest, flying horizontally towards Zhou Huan. It had no writing on it. The zombies froze when the packet hit the ground; even Tianya, whose mouth was still agape, stared at the small package in stunned silence.

Then, Tian Lang, on the ground, mumbled to himself, “Honestly, who kicked me?” A man dressed in an official court robe, a long saber hanging at his waist, pointed a finger at Tian Lang. “Who told you to jump up there and help? They both signed a life-and-death waiver.

What’s the meaning of you interfering? Don't play games like this in front of the Emperor’s foremost master; watch it, or I’ll have your head.” Tian Lang, intending to argue back, was abruptly pulled away from behind by Shi Bingyuan. “Don’t be rash, he’s right.

A match is a match; we can’t break the rules, or Master’s victory won’t count.” “Damn it all, the Court has money, power, and men—we can’t afford to cross them. Hmph!” He then followed Shi Bingyuan towards the spectator area. Before leaving, he called out to Zhou Huan on the stage, “Younger brother, I owe you one.

I didn't prepare anything for you, but take this packet of Power Enhancing Powder. Xiao Yun and I traveled far to get it. Once you consume it, it will guarantee a hundredfold increase in your internal true energy.” Zhou Huan was too bewildered by Tian Lang’s antics to understand what was happening.

He used his free hand to pick up the small packet from the ground, staring at it blankly. The zombies behind him had already piled onto him, but he barely resisted, simply kicking them away one by one. Those who landed below the stage tried desperately to climb back up.

Coincidentally, one zombie Zhou Huan kicked landed near the foremost master, its hand grabbing at the master’s ankle. This instantly enraged the so-called foremost master. “Damn your ancestors!

Not only is this whole venue stinking because of some broken zombie, but now they’re bothering me? Anyone who steps off the stage is considered defeated—I’m going to start killing!” The master raised his hand, drew the treasured saber from his waist, and began slashing down relentlessly. Every single zombie Zhou Huan had kicked off the stage was instantly killed by this man.

Seeing this, Tianya on stage became furious, his anger palpable. He released Zhou Huan’s arm; his massive mouth was likely now permanently unclosable. He approached Zhou Huan step by step, cupping his hands.

“Let’s pause for a moment. Don’t I have that right too?” Zhou Huan nodded helplessly. “Yes, a rest is a rest.

Anyway, I was about to eat the medicine my big brother gave me!” As Zhou Huan spoke, he slowly opened the small packet, revealing a handful of pills. Just as he was about to put them in his mouth, Tianya’s huge jaws shot forward, swallowing every single pill in Zhou Huan’s hand in one gulp. “Hahahaha!” Tianya roared with laughter through his unclosable mouth, his words whistling out.

“I’m telling you, Zhou Huan, now that I’ve eaten your medicine, hehe, let’s see how you hold up later!” Seeing this, Zhou Huan’s heart sank. This fiend had just ingested medicine designed to boost physical power—was this intended to kill him? He immediately turned and berated Tian Lang in the audience.

“Big Brother, aren't you harming your little brother? Why would you bring out pills? Now it’s finished; he ate them all!

What happens when the fight resumes?” The ‘Number One Under Heaven’ below the stage had just finished off the last struggling zombie. He then smiled and said, “Master Zhou on stage, I have high hopes for you. Win this match for me.

I bet my entire lifetime savings on you. If you lose, I’ll kill you; if I lose, I won’t survive anyway.” “Ah? Big Brother, don’t be like that!

You bet so seriously!” Zhou Huan was utterly resigned. Tian Lang, however, seemed thoughtful now. “Don’t worry, little brother.

This medicine I gave you will actually help you in a bit. Whatever he consumed is likely useless for him. Watch; before three counts are up, he’ll be writhing on the ground, smoke pouring off him.” “What?

Old brother, what did you give him? Didn’t you say it was medicine to boost power a hundredfold?” Zhou Huan asked Tian Lang, visibly shocked. Tian Lang smiled.

“Mine is specially formulated Exorcism Powder for Zombies. Humans eating it can increase their power, but for someone who has cultivated an evil art and achieved a zombie body, I have no idea what the result will be. I am not a zombie, I haven’t tried it, nor have I ever seen it.” At that moment, Tianya on stage seemed to lose his sanity.

He grabbed his jaw, which had fallen loose, and yanked it violently, holding the detached jawbone in his hand. Black blood poured out as he writhed on the ground in agony. “See?

It’s working, little brother! You’ve definitely won this match!” Tian Lang said. Just then, the ‘Number One Under Heaven’ leaped in front of Tian Lang, his face contorted with pain and excitement, tears welling up as he clutched Tian Lang’s hand.

“Big Brother, thank you! For the rest of my life, I can send my head home; I won’t have to carry it tucked into my belt every day!” This fellow was apparently quite emotional, weeping, shouting, and laughing all at once. Zhou Huan stood on the stage, watching the tormented Tianya.

Tianya tore off chunks of flesh from his own body, tossing the pieces everywhere until all that remained of him was his skull atop a skeleton. Zhou Huan watched from the platform, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of sorrow and desolation. Why would a person resort to this?

Was there truly no other way to continue living? Before he realized it, the crowd below erupted into loud cheers, all rooting for Zhou Huan. But in Zhou Huan’s mind, he was contemplating how to provide a peaceful passing for Tianya.

Just as this thought formed, the gong sounded on the platform. “Master Zhou Huan is the winner of this bout. Tianya’s death was self-inflicted; no outside interference is noted.

He automatically advances to the next round and may now rest!” Zhou Huan felt a pang of sympathy for Tianya, but the treacherous disciple was dead nonetheless; he deserved a proper send-off for an early reincarnation.