The Yin Devouring Aura surged like a dark tide, swallowing even the faintest traces of spiritual qi that lingered in the arena.
Su Ye stood at the center of it all.
Across from him, Li Tao struggled on the ground.
His sharp features twisted with strain, veins bulging as he tried to circulate even a trace of qi.
But every attempt ended in failure.
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.
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 winced at.
Inside his body, the black aura spread through his meridians, eracing every trace of spiritual qi it encountered.
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.
"An eye for an eye. 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.
Similar to Heavenly Merit, it was something that couldn't be take away unless the person themselves did something horribly wrong.
Su Ye looked down at him.
"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.
Su Ye's eyes grew colder.
He himself didn't know the exact reasoning, but he had a theory.
The Yin Devouring Aura must have deleted the Spiritual Qi that were built by Righteous Qi. Then the Yin Devouring Aura used the remnants to locate the source of the Righteous Qi.
Well, Su Ye couldn't care.
He just wanted to break Li Tao.
So he began spewing out nonsense.
"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?"
"..."
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. Li Tao's body fell to the ground once more.
"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.
If this young man grows up and becomes out of control...who can stop him?
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."
"And now—"
His 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.
"Stop—!" he tried to shout.
But no sound came out.
Because at that moment—
The Yin Devouring Aura descended.