Ye Xiu hadn't anticipated getting into a spontaneous duel in a place like this, yet at this very moment, his own hands were trembling with excitement. He genuinely wanted to see what capabilities this Sun-Blind clansman possessed. Ye Xiu slowly approached the man in black below and asked civilly, "Hey Bird-Man, what's your name?"

The man in black was brimming with fighting intent; being addressed like that stunned him for a moment before he finally replied, "Lin Jingyu of the Sun-Blind Tribe. And you?"

"Lin Jingyu? That name is too poetic and doesn't suit you at all. 'Bird-Man' is much better," Ye Xiu chuckled dismissively before introducing himself, "Ye Xiu. Most people don't call me by my name, or perhaps I rarely have cause to use it."

"Can we start now?" Lin Jingyu seemed more eager than Ye Xiu. As Ye Xiu moved, his wings constantly shifted direction. That mechanism didn't seem like it was under his direct control, but rather derived from the feathers' own defensive system—truly astonishing.

Ye Xiu said no more and simply raised his right hand, palm facing Lin Jingyu. At that instant, Ye Xiu focused his energy, maximizing the infusion of Purple Flame. With a roaring blast, the Purple Flame surged upward like a giant dragon, streaking directly toward the Bird-Man.

"Fire again?" The Bird-Man showed no fear toward the Purple Flame. His wings retracted uniformly toward his chest. By the time the Purple Flame attacked, they had solidified into a metallic substance, completely isolating the flame outside. The Bird-Man tilted his head back and laughed, "Ye Xiu, did the previous fight give you no inspiration? Fire is useless against my wings."

"Reaper, are you that confident in your Purple Flame?" Old Liu, who had been observing the fight, couldn't help but bellow over, "Why aren't you bringing out your signature weapon to scare him stiff?"

"What, you're the Reaper!" Upon hearing Old Liu's shout, the Bird-Man’s body convulsed, and his stance became momentarily unstable. Just then, the metal-like sheen of his wings actually showed a faint deep-red tinge from the searing Purple Flame. Unable to fully resist, he had no choice but to spread his wings and fly away, dodging the direct impact of the flame. "What is the deal with this Purple Flame? It actually managed to breach my defense."

Ye Xiu walked across the lawn with a smile. It seemed the Reaper's Purple Flame was far stronger than the Fire wielded by the Bone Gatherer. He cheerfully called out to the sky, "Hey Bird-Man, how can wings withstand fire?"

"You are a soul from the Death Realm!" The Bird-Man lowered his head, his voice taking on a somber tone. "The era ruled by the Reaper ended long ago. Why are people from the Death Realm still active in the present world? Furthermore, aren't the people of the Death Realm supposed to have transcended reincarnation, playing games between life and death? Why are they still so interested in eternal life?"

Ye Xiu pouted, looking vexed. "I know nothing about the Death Realm. Coming here was purely accidental, but I have an extremely strong curiosity; I want to know everything."

"How about you try my Feather Blades!" Ye Xiu's casual attitude enraged the Bird-Man. At that moment, he soared to a higher altitude, and the feathers on his wings instantly transformed into sharp blades, raining down toward Ye Xiu like a dense shower.

Ye Xiu raised both hands and gathered the Purple Flame. Just as the Feather Blades were about to make contact, the flame erupted in a massive blast, scattering them all. To his surprise, the moment the Feather Blades were blasted away, they instantly reverted back into feathers, drifting gently toward the ground. As they neared the ground, however, they all morphed into sharp spikes, stabbing upward toward Ye Xiu’s feet from every direction. He gasped, intending to use the Purple Flame to escape, but the Feather Blades moved with blinding speed, as if guided by eyes, striking both of his feet precisely. Wracked with pain, he collapsed onto the grass.

"Concede, Reaper!" The Bird-Man now held all the advantage. He spread both his wings and hands wide, causing all the feathers covering his body to scatter in the wind like blossoms tossed by a maiden. He sneered coldly, "The Sun-Blind Tribe doesn't just symbiotically coexist with divine eagles; the divine eagle on me possesses its own consciousness. Thus, our battle is a fight of three. You are destined to lose to me."

"Damn it, you actually got taken down by this Bird-Man!" Old Liu stood up and cursed fiercely, while Hong Ling beside him was also visibly unable to hold back and looked ready to rush forward.

Ye Xiu pulled the feathers lodged deep in his thigh out. Remarkably, these things had managed to pierce out the black blood within him. It turned out that there were many weapons in this world capable of wounding the Reaper; the Thin-Faced Blade and the Sun-Blind Tribe's feathers both ranked among them. Ye Xiu looked up; the entire sky was a dark, dense mass of feathers. He watched them sway slowly as they descended, and just as they drifted near him, they instantly transformed into instruments of murder.

"Hah!" Ye Xiu, with lightning-fast reflexes, tightly gripped the Reaper's Scythe protruding from his palm. At that moment, the world was filled with flashes of steel. The Scythe met thousands of Feather Blades, inciting intense killing intent everywhere. The Feather Blades attacked from myriad, unpredictable angles, while the Scythe spun wildly, batting the blades toward the bamboo forest. The green stalks couldn't withstand such an assault and began to topple. In less than half a moment, the entire bamboo grove was utterly annihilated.

Old Liu used an ice crystal barrier to protect Hong Ling beside him. Staring at the surrounding ruins of the bamboo forest, he suddenly rejoiced, "So, destroying this bamboo grove cleared the path to the second wall! We must have been incredibly foolish."

Ye Xiu ignored Old Liu. The Bird-Man's Feather Blades were far more than mere weapons; once struck away, they swiftly returned to his side. Ye Xiu couldn't possibly withstand this endless barrage for long. In desperation, he unleashed his Purple Flame at full power, causing his body to move at high speed across the open ground. In an instant, he found the gap when the Bird-Man’s feathers were in the process of recovering their mass and shot straight up, meeting the Bird-Man on the same aerial plane.

"What!" The Bird-Man had not anticipated the Purple Flame could be used this way. Before he could even turn around, he found his body contorted and exposed beneath Ye Xiu's Scythe.

Ye Xiu sighed and used the edge of the Scythe to lock firmly around the Bird-Man's neck. At that moment, he distinctly felt the dense mass of feathers surrounding him. Seeing their master in danger, the feathers instantly merged together, forming a powerful, muscular eagle. The eagle’s gaze was sharp, its beak pointed, capable of piercing Ye Xiu's arm with a single strike.

"Enough, Sui Ren. We lost!" The Bird-Man called out to the eagle, signaling it to halt its attack. He placed one hand on the eagle’s claw and slowly descended to the ground. He kept his head bowed, looking deeply disappointed. "A bet is a bet; I concede."

Ye Xiu descended from the air, his mind unsettled. The savage look of that eagle had genuinely startled him. He forced himself to appear steady. "Bird-Man, what is this eagle? You called it Sui Ren."

The Bird-Man stroked the eagle’s neck and explained, "We Sun-Blind tribesmen are born in symbiosis with eagles. Usually, the eagles transform into feathers covering our bodies. They possess independent thought and sometimes revert to their original form to protect their master. I lost; I no longer want the scroll."