A chilling, black mist coiled up around Gu Bao, and from within it emerged several handsome young men. They were clad in dark, winged surcoats, cloaked in blood-red capes, and wore neat round hats, their waists adorned with slender rapiers. One of them, who bore a faint, blood-colored magical crest between his brows, spoke in a measured tone:

"As the Associate Councilor for the United Council of Non-Human Races, I, Caesar Pine, patriarch of the great Pine family, am prepared to witness this fair duel."

The magical crest on Caesar’s brow flickered. He bowed gracefully towards Gu Xiechen:

"You killed Wagus's direct heir."

Gu Xiechen frowned.

Caesar Pine then turned to Wagus, stating calmly, "He killed your only direct heir."

Wagus let out a low growl. He looked at Caesar Pine in confusion, unsure why these vampires had come here. However, Caesar Pine was an Associate Councilor of the United Council of Non-Human Races, his authority far exceeding Wagus's. Wagus suppressed the anger churning within him and listened to what Caesar Pine had to say.

Caesar Pine spoke with stern authority, "The hatred between you two must be washed away with blood. But, as the United Council maintaining the interests of all non-human races, our actions must be just, fair, and impartial to neither side. After our investigation, Lieutenant Colonel Wali was not killed without cause. Therefore, both of you have equal standing in this duel. This is a fair fight; you should both exert your full strength until one falls."

"If I win, I will surely eat your heart!" Wagus snarled, licking his nose.

He paused, then continued with a cold laugh, "If you are lucky enough to win, the pursuit against you will..."

Caesar Pine interrupted Wagus, coldly sneering at him with severity, "If you lose, you forfeit any further chance to challenge Mr. Gu Xiechen. This time, settle the grievances between you completely. Afterward, no one shall be permitted to stir up further trouble over Wali's death!"

Wagus roared in fury, jumping about wildly, pointing at Caesar Pine and shouting, "Caesar... whose side are you actually on?"

Caesar Pine's eyes turned a deep, rich blood-red. He looked at Wagus coldly and mocked, "You haven't even figured out who your true enemy is, yet you let yourself be goaded into being a mere pawn. I truly wonder how you managed to become an Executive Elder of the Council." A flicker of contempt crossed his lips as Caesar Pine muttered under his breath, "Crude. Barbaric, nonsensical creature!"

Wagus was so enraged his heart felt like it might explode. He stared at Caesar Pine, panting heavily, before finally redirecting all his fury toward Gu Xiechen.

With a sharp slash of his claws, Wagus cried out in a howl and charged towards Gu Xiechen. Every long hair on his body stood out stiffly, like steel needles, each one emitting a faint hissing sound as it sprayed forth red vital energy. Wagus lunged at Gu Xiechen like a maddened bull, his claws sweeping towards his entire body like a tornado.

"I will tear you to shreds!" Wagus howled maniacally, his long claws flashing, each strike generating a blood-colored arc of light tens of meters long.

Caesar Pine held his head high with an air of detached elegance, watching the enraged Wagus with a smile that suggested everything was under control. The vampires behind him also looked down on Wagus with disdain. One of them murmured to himself, "Such beings, possessing only muscle and no brain matter, should never have existed in this beautiful world."

Facing the violent onslaught sweeping toward him, Gu Xiechen merely side-stepped and evaded with casual grace. Only when he truly could not avoid Wagus's lunges did he clash directly with him for a few rounds.

Wagus relied on the innate, formidable physique of the Werewolf clan and the bloody battle aura secretly taught by the Wolf God Temple. Gu Xiechen depended on the Snow Soul Claws, meticulously refined by his father. The bloody battle aura, as wild and fierce as raging fire, brought forth violent heatwaves with every strike, while the Snow Soul Claws summoned biting cold air. Their four arms collided fiercely, causing vast swathes of blood-light and icy air to burst outwards. The tremendous impact shook the ancient fortress continuously, and one of the towers began to crack from its base with countless fine lines.

Three minutes passed, and Gu Xiechen had not retreated an inch against Wagus's fierce attacks.

Ten minutes passed, and Wagus had unleashed one hundred percent of his strength; Gu Xiechen still had not yielded a single step.

Thirty minutes passed. Wagus was already drenched in sweat and panting heavily from exhaustion, and Gu Xiechen was likewise slick with perspiration, but he still had not taken a step back.

No matter how fierce Wagus's assault became, Gu Xiechen stood firm, like a steadfast reef blocking Wagus's path.

In a secret chamber beneath the fortress, a blonde woman and a small, lovely boy were tightly bound together with thick sinew ropes. The water-soaked ropes were constricting, having already dug nearly an inch deep into their flesh. Yet, not only did the beautiful blonde woman utter no sound, but even the little boy gritted his teeth fiercely. Although the pain made his eyebrows twitch constantly, he did not let out a single moan.

With a dark expression, Wu Qingfu sat huddled in a corner of the secret room, watching the duel between Gu Xiechen and Wagus through a monitor. When he saw Caesar Pine intentionally and unintentionally set duel rules that favored Gu Xiechen, Wu Qingfu stomped his foot in frustration. "Damn it, this bat! Who is he helping? I thought he was Wagus's hired help, so why did he switch sides at the last moment to help Gu Xiechen?"

In another corner of the secret room, Elder Wu, who had a blood tumor growing between his brows, sat cross-legged. Hearing Wu Qingfu's complaint, Elder Wu spoke indifferently, "What’s so strange about that? They must know Gu Xiechen is that old bastard Corpse Emperor's apprentice. Hmph. These Western vampires are even less reliable than the Romans. Wagus was foolish enough to invite them as allies; isn't he just asking for trouble and frustration?"

Wu Qingfu said anxiously, "So, does this mean our plan to win over Wagus to deal with Gu Xiechen..."

Elder Wu shook his head with a cold laugh. He spoke with self-assurance, "Although these vampires are unwilling to offend the Corpse Emperor, Wagus is different. He holds a very high status among the Werewolf clan. As long as he suffers a crushing defeat at Gu Xiechen's hands this time, he will cast aside that pointless pride and gather his kin for revenge against Gu Xiechen. This is precisely why I arranged for Caesar Pine to be here at the same time I invited Wagus! Only by provoking this foolish wolf with Caesar Pine will he escalate things as much as possible!"

Wu Qingfu chuckled a few times, licking his lips, his sinister gaze suddenly falling upon the blonde woman.

Glancing lewdly at the blonde woman a few times, Wu Qingfu grinned wickedly, "Master, I didn't expect this dame to still have such a good figure even after having a child... Heh heh. Since her man is Gu Xiechen's confidant, and I had no entertainment whatsoever on the journey back from Paradise Star..."

Elder Wu remained silent, closing his eyes, his breathing gradually becoming shallow and long.

Wu Qingfu understood. He sprang up in excitement and bowed cheerfully to Elder Wu:

"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master... Heh heh, a blonde woman. I truly have never enjoyed one of those!"

Vigorously rubbing his palms together, Wu Qingfu advanced step by step toward the blonde woman.

In another secret chamber beneath the castle, a plume of yellow earth energy erupted, and Xin Jia silently poked his head out from underground. Casting a cautious glance around, Xin Jia slowly crawled out of the earth, silently pulling open the door to the secret chamber. Two ninjas in black clothing were just patrolling stealthily along the wall. Xin Jia extended both long arms, grabbing the heads of the two ninjas and pulling them into the chamber.

With his fingers clamped onto the two ninjas' Adam's apples, Xin Jia lowered his voice and questioned them, "Where are the people you captured? Speak quickly, or you die!"

The two ninjas felt the tremendous pressure on their throats and were terrified. They had no doubt that this three-meter-tall muscular man could easily crush them to death. They exchanged a look and, lacking any backbone, immediately revealed the location of the room where the hostages were held. One ninja even diligently added, "Elder Wu San of the Three Witches Sect has set up a very vicious restriction in that chamber. Senior must be extremely careful when you go over. Elder Wu San's apprentice, Wu Qingfu, is also inside."

"Hmm? A restriction? No wonder this general couldn't sense that chamber." Nodding firmly, Xin Jia sneered, "Now that you’ve spoken, you're still doomed!"

With a slight squeeze, the two ninjas' Adam's apples were pulverized. Xin Jia let out a cold laugh, quickly estimating the location and angle of the secret room the ninjas had described, and silently burrowed into the ground, heading toward that chamber. Two streams of yellow light shot from Xin Jia’s large eyes; he could see a hundred wen away through the earth, and even thick layers of soil could not block his vision.

Except for the chamber protected by Elder Wu’s restriction, Xin Jia smoothly reached the area beneath the designated room by following the ninjas' directions.

Forming a hand seal, Xin Jia mentally notified Gu Xiechen. He sat cross-legged underground, focusing all his energy on communicating with Gu Xiechen.

Xin Jia’s presence was like a bright lamp in the dark night; Gu Xiechen clearly sensed Xin Jia's location.

After repelling Wagus with three consecutive claw strikes, a brilliant silver light flared on Gu Xiechen's brow. Following the mental connection with Xin Jia, he extended the majority of his spiritual power toward that point.

Xin Jia successfully received and grasped the power transmitted by Gu Xiechen. He flexed his arms left and right, and a huge pit nearly a hundred meters in diameter silently appeared underground. Streaks of silver light flashed, and Zhao Yi and a hundred of Xin Jia's subordinates strode out from the silver light. They immediately arrayed themselves under Zhao Yi's command, and everyone simultaneously recited an incantation and formed a seal, casting it towards the sky.

The formation vaguely resembled the shape of the Black Tortoise, with Xin Jia serving as the formation’s core. The magical power of all one hundred people was condensed onto Xin Jia. Coupled with the spiritual energy transmitted from Gu Xiechen, Xin Jia’s internal power surged, the immense magical force swelling every meridian in his body, a faint halo of yellow light beginning to emanate from above his head.