Chapter 25: Those Cat-Eye Contact Lenses Are Quite Nice!

In one corner of the stands, atop an ancient tree, Gu Shaoqing unleashed his Golden Needle Web. Su Yao’s brows drew together as her slender hands swept out, firing countless silver beads like bullets, streaking toward the path of Gu Shaoqing’s needles. Yet her expression remained grim. No matter how swift the silver beads, the distance was too great—they simply couldn’t intercept in time.

It seemed this young man called Xiang Nan was doomed to die on the arena today.

As everyone condemned Gu Shaoqing’s dishonorable tactics and worried for Xiang Nan, he, sensing the danger at his back, suddenly leaped skyward like an eagle, soaring twenty meters straight up. In mid-air, he spun through twenty full rotations, and before landing with flawless precision, his staff was already aimed at Gu Shaoqing, whose face twisted with malice.

“Go to hell!”

The staff swept down from above with a force that seemed to blot out the sky, the air exploding with thunderous sound.

Bang!

Gu Shaoqing had barely looked up before the staff, multiplied in its afterimages, came whistling down and struck him.

A blood-curdling scream rang out.

A crater blasted open in the ground, and Gu Shaoqing was driven into the earth by the blow, half his body buried.

With that single strike—

A rustling sound followed as the web of golden needles Gu Shaoqing had fired was struck by the countless silver beads, all falling harmlessly to the ground.

Xiang Nan glanced aside and saw that the needles were blackened, clearly poisoned, which stoked his fury.

“Damn you! I showed mercy, and you tried to poison me with needles?!”

In that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless!

With another twist of his staff, he drove its end into the ground, pried up the half-buried Gu Shaoqing, and sent him flying.

“Let’s see you fly to heaven!”

With spiritual power collecting at his brow and strength channeling into his arms, Xiang Nan swept his staff upward, striking Gu Shaoqing between the legs as he was launched into the air.

A sickening tearing sound echoed, accompanied by a scream so hoarse it could barely be called a cry. Gu Shaoqing’s body was sent flying, only to crash down heavily moments later.

Fortune favored Gu Shaoqing, for he landed right in the stands, where the astonished crowd stared up with mouths agape. Suddenly, a small black shape plummeted from the sky—Gu Shaoqing’s battered form falling like a mountain. Those unable to dodge in time were crushed beneath him.

The worst of the impact, however, was absorbed by Gu Yun, who had rushed to catch his son as soon as he was sent flying.

No matter how unfilial, he was still the last hope of the Gu family. He couldn’t be allowed to perish so easily—though now, that last hope seemed unlikely ever to bear fruit again.

Looking at his son’s barely breathing, unrecognizable form, with his most vital parts ruined beyond description, Gu Yun’s fury boiled over. Cradling Gu Shaoqing in one arm, he summoned spiritual energy with the other, a mighty gale rising behind him, his presence oppressive and suffocating.

Just as Gu Yun was about to strike—

Xu Qingshan darted between him and Xiang Nan, his body aglow with spiritual energy, golden light flickering about him like a deity descended.

On either side, the two stewards, Xie Zhan and Su Mingzhe, also took their places. Though they did not summon their power, the pressure radiating from them was palpable.

“Gu! Don’t break the rules!” Su Mingzhe’s words pierced Gu Yun’s chest like an arrow, reminding him that Gu Shaoqing had brought this upon himself by violating the rules and using despicable tricks that none could respect.

Xiang Nan might have been ruthless, but he had not broken the rules.

If Gu Yun insisted on fighting, even Xu Qingshan, with his cultivation, would not back down, and neither would Su Mingzhe or Xie Zhan stand idly by. No matter how he calculated, the Gu family would have to swallow this bitter loss in silence—they had only themselves to blame for their inferior skill and fragile mindset.

Three against one, Gu Yun had no choice but to restrain his murderous intent. He gathered the mangled Gu Shaoqing in his arms and withdrew in sorrow.

“A minor interlude! The contest continues!” Su Mingzhe called out with a broad smile.

Continue the contest? Was there even a need? The crowd was dumbstruck. Xiang Nan’s explosive power just now—was it not astonishing? The rumors must have been false—how could a first-tier master possess such strength? At the very least, he had to be high in the second tier! Gu Shaoqing was a second-tier, six-star fighter, and was destroyed so easily!

Looking at Xiang Nan, he stood immaculate, not even a speck of blood on him. Was there really any point in continuing? Among the under-thirties, who could possibly match him now? Who would dare risk the arena, only to be humiliated?

Yet at this moment, Xiang Nan’s gaze fell to the scattered silver beads on the ground. Each was the size of a soybean, yet their force was formidable. Xiang Nan hadn’t been mistaken—every single silver bead had struck a golden needle, no more and no less. To achieve such accuracy in so short a time, the person who threw them must possess astounding cultivation.

Hearing Su Mingzhe’s call, he knew: among the young generation of the Eagle League, there must still be hidden masters.

Xiang Nan smiled calmly. “Since you’ve already made a move, why not come down and say hello?”

The next second, a gust of wind stirred the old leaves, and a figure in black and white leapt down from the ancient tree. Silver cropped hair framed skin as pale as snow, captivating to behold. A short, fitted white T-shirt, revealing a slender waist and the faint outline of eight defined abs, exuded an athletic beauty. Black leather pants accentuated long, shapely legs, enticing and enchanting.

But it was the star-bright gleam in Su Yao’s eyes that made Xiang Nan wary.

Meeting her gaze for a moment, Xiang Nan felt a strange sense of being stalked. Oddly, Su Yao’s pupils were elliptical—only a cat’s eyes were like that.

“Uh... that’s quite a pair of cat-eye contacts you’ve got,” Xiang Nan blurted out.

Su Yao burst out laughing. “You’re really something! I enjoy playing with interesting people.”

Below the stands, Xu Jiya’s fists clenched tight. “She’s back! She’s finally back! Those aren’t cat-eye contacts—that’s one of her gifts: a cat’s keen senses and night vision!”

Many of the young disciples of the Eagle League did not recognize Su Yao. Yet seeing her looks and attire, they could barely contain their excitement.

“So beautiful! She’s like a fairy!”

“When did the Eagle League get such a goddess? How did I never hear of her?”

“She’s so gorgeous, I bet Brother Nan won’t have the heart to fight her! He couldn’t possibly hurt such a flower, could he?”

“I wish I could go three hundred rounds with her—if you know what I mean!”

“You wish! Toads dreaming of swan meat—beat it!”

Meanwhile, in the VIP seats, Su Mingzhe wore a doting smile, his eyes alight.

“Old Su, when did your niece come back? You never breathed a word to us.”

“The sly old fox! He was just waiting for this!”

“No wonder Old Su seemed so calm today—he knew victory was in the bag all along!”

“Our niece Su Yao is one of the rarest prodigies in all of Jiuzhou! She was already a martial arts grandmaster with awakened abilities at sixteen. She’s been studying mechanical arcana abroad these past years. Didn’t she have a second awakening last year? What level is she at now, Old Su? Come on, give us a hint!”