All members of the Shang Family, including those from the north like Shang Yan and Shang Ying, watched as Shang Huiyu continually shook his left hand, while a blood-red flame danced up and down between the movements of his right hand, resembling a flickering fire spirit, appearing both eerie and terrifying.
Witnessing this scene, Yun Xiao also felt somewhat alarmed, because he had not anticipated this outcome at all, nor had he expected that the blood-red flame, upon contact with human skin, would erupt with such formidable power.
Since Yun Xiao had broken through to the Meridian Introduction Realm and activated his first Ancestor Vein, he had never used the power of this vein to fight an enemy. At most, he had used the Meridian Fire to refine a single Meridian Rushing Pill.
During the alchemy process, Yun Xiao felt that the flame of the Ancestor Vein was extraordinary, but he had never imagined that this extraordinariness could reach such a degree.
After consuming the Blood Erosion Pill, Shang Huiyu managed to forcefully break through to the Meridian Gathering Realm; even so, he could not withstand the scorching burn of the Ancestral Vein Fire.
The blood-red Ancestral Vein Fire’s details were not entirely clear even to Yun Xiao, but its power was genuinely formidable. In just a moment, the flesh on Shang Huiyu’s left palm was charred, and even the stark white bones inside gradually turned pitch black under this extreme flame.
At this point, in front of the northern seats, Yan Cheng, a Mortal Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master, finally sat back down in his chair and murmured, "Such an ultimate Meridian Fire, if one could become a Meridian Refining Master, the future would truly be boundless!"
"Meridian Fire? Meridian Refining Master?"
Upon hearing these two key terms, Shang Yan and Shang Ying exchanged glances, suddenly recalling the words Yun Xiao had said in the Commerce Medicine Pavilion that day, and the Elixir Jade Bottle lingering in their minds.
Due to the presence of the major figure from the Jade Pot Sect, Fu Du, they had hurried to the Commerce Medicine Pavilion and did not dare to delay, but unexpectedly, instead of meeting Fu Du, they saw Yun Xiao come out of the Alchemy Room.
Because Yun Xiao had disgraced them before, Shang Ying instantly wanted to slander Yun Xiao for stealing the family’s elixirs, but it was unexpectedly thwarted mysteriously by Shang Li. At that time, they seemed to have heard Yun Xiao claiming that the Meridian Rushing Pill was refined by himself.
Regrettably, no one believed Yun Xiao’s words at that time; after all, to become a Meridian Refining Master, one must at least activate an Ancestor Vein, and moreover, this vein must be of the Fire Attribute.
However, now, as Shang Yan and Shang Ying witnessed the extreme red flame, they suddenly had a realization—it was possible that the Meridian Rushing Pill was indeed personally refined by Yun Xiao, and that this ’insignificant one’ had not deceived them.
In this moment, Shang Yan and Shang Ying felt a sense of being played; if they had known earlier about Yun Xiao activating the Ancestor Vein and the formidable nature of its fire, their response would certainly not have been so casual.
In fact, their plan had already been meticulous. Shang Huiyu, with the help of Yan Cheng, had broken through to the late stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm and even activated an Ancestor Vein, greatly enhancing his strength; they had even prepared a Blood Erosion Pill that they might not have needed at all.
With such enhancements, probably even a real early-stage Meridian Gathering Cultivator could have been easily handled, right?
But, it just so happened that they encountered an unconventional Yun Xiao, and this previously inconspicuous young man from the family actually took action in such a bizarre and ruthless manner, leaving even Shang Huiyu, who had broken through to the early stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm after consuming the Blood Erosion Pill, no match for him.
However, just as Shang Yan and Shang Ying were inundated with thoughts, a distant voice came from behind them: "Hey, I say, if you don’t take action now, that young man Shang Huiyu’s arm, and perhaps even his life, might not be spared!"
It seems Yan Cheng truly had an extraordinary vision, having seen from afar Shang Huiyu’s left palm reduced to ashes, with even the bones starting to melt, he instantly realized that Yun Xiao’s blood-red Ancestral Vein Fire was absolutely extraordinary.
As Yan Cheng said, if these powerful members of the Shang Family did not take action to help, not only would Shang Huiyu’s left arm be gone, but even his body might vanish under the extreme flames.
Spurred by Yan Cheng’s reminder, Shang Ying finally snapped back to reality, and in a blur of motion, he rushed onto the central arena in a few breaths. However, upon seeing his beloved grandson’s charred right arm still enveloped in blood-red flames, his heart ached tremendously.
"Grandfather... save... save me... ah!"
At this moment, Shang Huiyu, nearly having his left hand and forearm burned away, was in extreme pain, his breath becoming very weak. Seeing his grandfather, he grasped at this lifeline, gasping for air and pleading for help.
However, feeling the blood-red flames at such close range, even Shang Ying, a peak Meridian Gathering Realm cultivator, couldn’t help but feel secretly alarmed and even a bit apprehensive, as even he was not sure that he could remain unharmed under such flames.
Without understanding the details of the blood-red flames, Shang Ying wouldn’t dare let his body come into contact with the flames; he did not want to end up like Shang Huiyu, because those flames were indeed too bizarre and unpredictable.
Since he dared not touch the blood-red flames, Shang Ying’s ascent to the arena appeared rather awkward. However, being the head of the Shang Family’s main branch, his nature was extremely ruthless.
Seeing further delay, Shang Huiyu’s entire left arm would be lost, and even his life was in jeopardy. A fierce glint flashed in Shang Ying’s eyes as he shouted sternly: "Huiyu, endure it!"
A glint of cold light flashed, and unbeknownst to the onlookers, Shang Ying had drawn a gleaming short dagger from his waist storage. As his loud shout fell, the sharp dagger swung out instantly, emitting a light sound.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene on the arena, still not regaining their senses. Under the swing of Shang Ying’s dagger, Shang Huiyu’s left arm was severed at the elbow, turning into ash in the blink of an eye.
Even Yun Xiao had not anticipated that Shang Ying would be so decisive, hence he felt slightly disappointed because if the delay had continued a little longer, Shang Huiyu’s entire left arm would likely have turned to ash just like the severed section on the ground.
For this genius of the Shang Family, who constantly sought to put him to death, Yun Xiao had never harbored any pity. Perhaps the old him would have thought differently, but after the rebirth of the Long Xiao Battle God in a Soul Fusion, he became a person of ruthless and decisive slaughter.
A piercing scream finally erupted from Shang Huiyu’s mouth, echoing distinctly throughout the vast Arena Hall of the Shang Family.
At this moment, everyone knew that in the fight for the Outer Disciple spot of the Jade Pot Sect, it was Shang Huiyu who had lost. Despite having activated his Ancestor Vein and taken the Blood Erosion Pill to enhance his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the early stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, he was defeated by Yun Xiao in a single move.
Listening to Shang Huiyu’s shrill screams and seeing the plainly dressed youth who had retracted his Meridian Fire and stood calmly on the arena, everyone inexplicably felt a sense of reverence for this youngster whose name they could scarcely recall.
Shang Li and Yun Wei, mother and daughter, felt the most exhilaration and complexity. They simply believed that after today’s battle, Yun Xiao’s status in the Shang Family would surely rise dramatically, and he would no longer be the little youth everyone dared to bully.
On the other hand, Xue Qi’s eyes held a different, more intense expression. Unlike the naive mother-daughter duo, he knew more about the nature of those in power in the Shang Family. He had absolute reason to believe that today’s fight in the arena would not end so simply.
"Ah... Grandfather, kill him, kill Yun Xiao!"
The extreme pain from the severed arm almost made blood burst from Shang Huiyu’s face. The next moment, when his eyes caught a glimpse of that calm youth, venomous resentment overwhelmed his pain, and a roaring shout came forth from him, startling Shang Li and her daughter.
Listening to Shang Huiyu’s roar, Shang Ying felt a chilling shiver and shifted his gaze from the ashes on the ground to Yun Xiao, around whom a faintly dangerous aura now hovered.
"Yun Xiao, it was just an arena duel, why did you act so mercilessly?"
At this moment, even though Shang Ying was furious inside, his tone became unusually calm. These words abruptly quieted the entire Arena Hall.
"Too ruthless? Didn’t you see Shang Huiyu’s strike at me just now? Those deadly, vicious moves, why didn’t you stop him?" A scornful smile flashed through Yun Xiao’s mind, and his consecutive questions revealed the true nature of the previous battle.
Indeed, as soon as Yun Xiao stepped onto the arena, he remained unflustered, while it was Shang Huiyu who was constantly shouting to fight. The series of Meridian Techniques he used were all aimed at Yun Xiao’s vitals.
Had it been a real cultivator at the middle stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm, they might have been gravely injured or even killed under Shang Huiyu’s fierce onslaught.
"Do not make excuses. The current situation is that Huiyu has lost an arm. The rules of the Shang Family do not allow such a ruthless person like you to go unpunished!" Deciding he had made up his mind, Shang Ying brought up the family rules, making many of the Shang Family members pensive.
Actually, these Shang Family members were well aware that Shang Ying’s grievances with Yun Xiao were not simply because he was ’too ruthless.’ Such incidents had occurred before and always ended unresolved.
The deeper reason was that Shang Huiyu was the leading genius of the Shang Family’s younger generation and Shang Ying’s most treasured grandson. Now that he had lost an arm and become disabled, his future cultivation foundation was likely destroyed.
With a cold smile on his face, Yun Xiao stared at Shang Ying, who was exuding a mighty aura. Suddenly, he had a feeling that even after defeating Shang Huiyu, he might still not secure the Outer Disciple spot of the Jade Pot Sect, and even his own life might come under severe threat.