The Yin Devouring Aura surged like a dark tide, swallowing even the faint traces of spiritual qi that lingered in the arena.
Su Ye stood at the center of it all, his black-and-gold robes fluttering lightly, his pale face calm yet terrifying. His crimson eyes burned with a cold clarity, as if he had already seen through everything.
Across from him, Li Tao struggled on the ground, his once imposing figure now reduced to a shadow of himself. His sharp features twisted with strain, veins bulging as he tried to circulate even a trace of qi, yet everything vanished the moment it formed.
Above, the four great families watched in silence.
Su Ye's voice rang out once more.
"If this is your righteousness…then let me see how far it can go."
He slowly raised his hand.
The Yin Devouring Aura responded instantly.
The mist thickened.
Then—
It moved.
Threads of black aura slid toward Li Tao's body, seeping into his meridians like silent serpents.
Li Tao's pupils shrank.
"You—what are you doing?!"
Su Ye did not answer immediately.
Instead, he took another step forward.
"You rely on righteous qi," he said calmly. "You temper your body with it, nurture your meridians with it, and shape your dao around it."
His gaze sharpened.
"So tell me…what happens when it is taken away?"
The moment his words fell—
The Yin Devouring Aura pierced deeper.
Li Tao's body jolted violently.
"AAARGH—!"
His voice tore through the arena, filled with pain that even seasoned cultivators could not ignore.
Inside his body, the black aura spread through his meridians, eracing every trace of spiritual qi it encountered. But it did not stop there.
Cracks began to form along his meridian pathways.
Li Tao's aura fluctuated wildly.
His cultivation…was destabilizing.
One step down, then another. Slowly but surely, he was losing his cultivations.
Above the stage, Li Meng's expression changed completely.
"Stop him!"
He half-rose from his seat, but a calm voice stopped him.
"Brother Li," Shen Mo said evenly, "have you forgotten the rules?"
Li Meng's fists clenched.
His gaze burned with fury, yet he forced himself to sit back down.
"What a sin..." He could only mutter beneath his breath.
On the stage, Li Tao's voice trembled.
"My…my meridians…!"
Su Ye finally spoke again.
"This is only the beginning."
He raised his hand slightly.
The Yin Devouring Aura pulsed.
Li Tao's screams grew sharper.
"My righteous qi…it's disappearing!"
"No…" His voice cracked. "No! That's impossible!"
For cultivators of the Li family, righteous qi was not just power.
It was their foundation.
Their pride.
Their dao.
And now—
It was being erased.
But how could it be so easily erased?
Righteous qi was earned through acts of righteousness and is the reward for following such a path.
Su Ye looked down at him, his expression indifferent.
"Say," he said. "Does having righteous qi prove that your actions were just?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Then why is it disappearing?"
Su Ye gasped.
"Could it be?" He smiled devilishly, "You were wrong?"
Li Tao's body trembled violently.
His mind shook.
This should not be happening.
Righteous qi could not be destroyed so easily.
Unless—
Unless the very foundation of it had been cracked.
Su Ye's eyes grew colder.
"Your righteousness is built on your belief that you are right."
"But belief…is fragile."
The Yin Devouring Aura surged again.
"This aura does not care about your beliefs."
"It devours everything equally."
Li Tao's breathing became erratic.
"No… no! I was right!" he shouted hoarsely. "You were not normal! Look at you now! A threat that can consume the entire world! I acted for the greater good!"
His voice echoed with desperation.
Above, some cultivators began to waver.
"…He does have a point."
"Reviving from the dead…that is not natural…"
"But if it was me...I wouldn't be able to do it..."
Su Ye heard everything.
And he laughed softly.
"So this is your justice?"
He turned his gaze toward the crowd.
"A decision made out of fear…dressed up as righteousness?"
His voice sharpened.
"If killing the innocent can be justified by 'possibility'…then what separates you from monsters?"
Silence fell.
No one answered.
Because no one could.
Su Ye turned back to Li Tao.
"You feared what I might become," he said. "So you chose to kill me before I could prove you wrong."
He took another step forward.
"Tell me—"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Was that justice…or cowardice?"
Li Tao's pupils trembled.
"I… I…"
For the first time in his life—
He hesitated.
The Yin Devouring Aura reacted instantly.
His meridians shattered further.
"AAAGH!"
His cultivation dropped again.
"Tell me! Who made me the way I am!?" Su Ye kicked Li Tao's body away, "Say it! Why aren't you saying anything!?"
Above, Su Daoxuan's expression grew serious.
"…He's not just suppressing him," he murmured. "He's planting a seed of destruction for the Li family."
Shen Mo's eyes narrowed while muttering.
"To damage the dao itself…this is no ordinary power."
Even Wang Lie, who had been full of confidence, no longer spoke lightly.
"S-Su Daoxuan...nothing will happen right?"
"Aigh~" Su Daoxuan smiled and said playfully, "Brother Wang, shielding yourself isn't shameful. Be careful~"
Wang Lie looked back at him with a annoyed look.
You damn old fox! I really regret taking your damn pill! I won't really get injured will I?
On the stage—
Su Ye raised his hand one final time.
The Yin Devouring Aura gathered into a single point above Li Tao's dantian.
"This is what you took from me," he said calmly.
"My life."
"My mother."
"My future."
The aura trembled.
Then compressed further.
"And now—"
His crimson eyes locked onto Li Tao's.
"I will take yours."
The pressure in the arena reached its peak.
Even the spectators felt their breathing grow heavy.
Li Tao's eyes filled with fear.
Real fear.
For the first time—
He felt something worse than death.
But as an inevitability.
"Stop—!" he tried to shout.
But no sound came out.
Because at that moment—
The Yin Devouring Aura descended.