"Activate… Gate of Sight."

As soon as he activated the gate he unlocked, a raw and volatile energy surged through him, which appeared more potent than anything he had felt before.

The aura surrounding him shifted for the fourth time as the power of a Rank-7 warrior coursed through him. His muscles tightened, his vision became razor-sharp, and his senses expanded by tenfold.

Meanwhile, Zion Fireheart stood at the opposite end of the terrace, watching with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance as Qin Wei slowly regained his stance.

"What is this? Is he a zombie or what… he keeps getting stronger every time he is beaten to near death…" Zion muttered under his breath, narrowing his eyes. He is no longer simply serious. Zion, right now, no longer had that absolute certainty of a win that he had a few moments ago.

"Oraaa..."

With a cry, Qin Wei then charged forward again, turning into a blurring figure. But his speed was too fast for even Zion to follow this time, despite both of them being in the same realm.

Zion immediately raised his guard, his fists positioned defensively. "You're still not a match for me!" he shouted, rushing toward Qin Wei with unparalleled speed.

But with lightning speed, Qin Wei has already closed the distance and then threw his palm forward, slamming it into Zion's chest heavily before Zion could even properly block the attack.

The sheer force sent Zion stumbling back, his breath knocked out of him as he barely managed to regain his balance. The shockwave rattled his bones for the first time since they started the fight.

Qin Wei also stopped thinking. He moved purely on his intuition, his fists turned into a blur, landing one blow after another. "Die... Die... die... die... die..." As Qin Wei struck, his damage increased further with every fist. Zion was pushed back again and again, his body continuously faced the blows one after another.

With an attack forming a vicious arc that split the air aimed at him, Zion barely managed to raise his arm in time, but the force of the blow sent him staggering back once more.

This is not possible! Zion's mind screamed. He was a Rank-7 warrior, the Prince of Dawnmere, and yet he was being pushed back by this trash of the House Phoenix?

"Take this, you shit." Qin Wei shouted, his body launching into the air. His legs collided with Zion's chest, sending him flying backwards like a broken doll.

The force of the kick cracked the stone beneath him, and Zion crumpled to the ground with a grunt.

Vanessa, who had been watching from the sidelines, felt her heart skip a beat. Her hands clasped, watching Qin Wei. "Is he the same person who struggled to exercise?" It was like watching a completely different person.

The elders of the House Griffin exchanged looks, their mouths agape. "How is this possible?" They all had a collective thought.

Even the eunuch at Zion Fireheart's side, who had been silent until now, had narrowed his eyes.

Qin Wei completely destroyed their beliefs about him.

Zion coughed up blood, his body shaking uncontrollably as he struggled to rise.

His once-proud aura had shattered.

He staggered to his feet, barely holding himself upright.

His robes were tattered, and his face was streaked with blood. But despite the agony, the fire in his eyes was far from extinguished.

"Damn you!" Zion snarled, clenching his fists.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stand still.

Everyone watched in silence, waiting for the next move. In a turn of events, Zion was the one left barely standing, his body at the breaking point, while Qin Wei appeared as though he had barely even broken a sweat. All of his injuries were healed. His body seemed like it was in peak state.

But then, something changed in Zion's eyes. "I will kill you."

With a roar of frustration, Zion slammed his hands to his chest. His mana flared around him, suddenly burning brighter than ever before. The Air twisted around him like a tornado.

"Tiger's Wrath!" Zion bellowed.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him trembled, and the manifestation of a tiger made entirely of condensed mana exploded from his body once again.

But this time, the beast didn't attack Qin Wei. Instead, it went into Zion's body.

A beastly aura erupted from him, turning him into a humanoid tiger. Stripes generated over his skin, his muscles bulged, his body rippled with power, pushing past his limits to rank 8.

"What? He managed to master the Lost Art of Spirit Beast?" said an Elder.

"His realm is pushed to rank-8," said another Elder.

"Does Master Icarus have anything more up his sleeves?" The third elder muttered.

"Did the Duke go crazy?" Kaelan frowned at the sight. "The Spirit Beast guild is an enemy of the Empire. How could he let his son learn that forbidden art?"

The Eunuch of the House Fireheart spoke, "When His Highness was young, he was abducted by some bandits on the way. In the wilderness, he was saved by Spirit Beast Master, Ra, and inherited the cultivation art when Master Ra was eliminated by the Duke."

After a pause, he added. "Nothing to worry, though. His Majesty already knew about it, and he didn't question it. But you need to worry about Master Icarus, though. Because of the Duke's orders, his highness cannot control his own strength. And the fact that the battle pushed him this far means he will go for the kill."

Vanessa was worried. "We should stop this battle. There's no reason for such a simple fight in the market should evolve into a battle to this degree."

Kaelan, however, sternly said. "Vanessa, we cannot until we are absolutely sure that Zion's attack could kill Icarus. We, the House Griffin, are the rulers of Ashenford. We have to uphold the laws and rules we enforced on our own."

"But…" Vanessa was about to say something, but right then, Zion closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Qin Wei's breath hitched in his throat as Zion's claws slashed down toward him.

"Activate… Exploding Seal!" Qin Wei shouted, slamming a seal onto the ground beneath him.

The seal glowed bright for a moment before detonating, sending a shockwave of energy into the air that momentarily halted the tiger's attack as Qin Wei wanted. He wanted to counterattack by stopping it for that moment.

However, Qin Wei didn't anticipate the strength of rank-9 even with his heightened intuition.

Zion's claws tore through the air in the next fraction of a second, and its enormous paw struck Qin Wei directly in the chest, knocking him backward with bone-crushing force.

The impact was so powerful that the ground itself cracked beneath him.

Qin Wei's body was flung across the terrace, crashing into the stone wall once again. His body crumpled to the ground, motionless for a moment.

The entire audience went silent as they watched, breathless.

Zion staggered, a cold sweat dripping from his forehead for a moment before he charged forward again, reaching Qin Wei in an instant, not intending to give him any opportunity to counter.

"Die, you bastard." Zion reached him and raised his paw. The claws had gotten bigger as he pierced Qin Wei's chest, right where his heart was located.

"Argh…"

Qin Wei screamed in pain as the blood gushed out and started losing consciousness.

Zion's eyes burned still with fury. He started laughing like a maniac. "How does it feel now, you bastard?"

*Gaaah*

Qin Wei's screams got higher as dark energy flowed from Zion's claws into his body, invading his system.

Zion further spoke, crouching down and leaning closer to Qin Wei, "Should I tell you something interesting? Do you know what the imperial princes think about you? They think that your mother didn't have you with your father. She had you with her secret lover. But your father… sorry, I mean your stepfather, Aegis Phoenix, couldn't reveal it to others because he couldn't let his reputation go away. He needed a perfect reason to trash you. That's why you were never taught discipline, despite your family being filled with such influential figures. That's why you were never given the title of Prince. That's why you are abandoned as a matrilocal husband to the House Griffin. You were just thrown away as they need the perfect reason, haha… How does it feel? Feeling ashamed?"

*mumble*

"Hah? What did you say?" Zion put his ear closer. "What did you say?"

Qin Wei growled low, "Shut the fuck up."

"Oh, you can still talk? Don't you want to shout about admitting defeat?" Zion raised his left paw and pierced him in the abdomen with another set of claws.

*Gaaah*

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