Jin Guang Shangren stood in the center of the arena with an expression of pure arrogance, the members of the Wild Wolf Gang arrayed behind him.
Before stepping out, he had already guaranteed Jia Tianlong that he alone could handle every fighter the Seven Mysteries Sect had to offer. Naturally, as compensation for taking on the entire battle single-handedly, the originally promised five thousand taels of gold had been bumped up to eight thousand.
The mere thought of walking away with that much gold set Jin Guang Shangren's heart ablaze. He cast a contemptuous glance at the crowd opposite him, already itching to slaughter every last one of them.
Han Li was not standing with Li Feiyu. Instead, he had positioned himself on the other side of the crowd.
Li Feiyu had paired off with Zhang Xiuer, and the two were whispering sweet nothings to each other in intimate tones. Han Li was certainly not the type to be so tactless as to intrude on their little world.
"What on earth are those two lovebirds thinking?" Han Li mused. "Flirting at a time like this, in a life-or-death situation?" He felt a faint sourness rise in his mouth.
Snapping out of it, Han Li studied the dwarf across the arena, feeling just as puzzled as everyone else.
"The rest of the Wild Wolf Gang are hanging back, and they've sent out this garishly dressed little runt to lead the charge? That's absurd! Could this dwarf possess some extraordinary technique?" Han Li blinked and turned the thought over in his mind.
Sect Master Wang clearly shared Han Li's suspicion. Rather than sending everyone rushing in at once, he dispatched a Protector wielding a saber to face this opponent first. He wanted to gauge the man's abilities before committing further, so as to avoid unexpected casualties.
Even though this was meant to be a free-for-all brawl, there was nothing wrong with the two sides agreeing to a one-on-one matchup if that was how it played out. That was Sect Master Wang's reasoning, and he acted on it accordingly.
When Jin Guang Shangren saw only a single figure approaching from the opposing crowd, he understood their intention perfectly.
He let out a strange, rasping laugh—his voice like a gong struck with a hammer that made everyone who heard it feel a chill in their gut.
The Protector sent to face him was a powerfully built man in his thirties, his face bearing a fierce, hardened look. The veins on the hand gripping his saber bulged high, making it clear at a glance that he was a close-combat specialist. Even after hearing that unsettling laugh, his expression remained calm and steady—he clearly had extensive experience in actual combat.
As the burly man closed the distance, Jin Guang Shangren stopped laughing. Unhurriedly, he drew a yellow talisman from inside his robe. The talisman shimmered with golden light, its surface covered in golden characters and patterns, its value immediately apparent.
Ignoring the approaching fighter, the dwarf held the talisman in one hand and began chanting an incantation.
The Seven Mysteries Sect's Protector had no idea what the dwarf was doing, but he was extraordinarily experienced in combat. He knew that regardless of what trick the little man was pulling, it was best not to let him finish. The consequences would surely be unfavorable.
Without a second thought, the burly man lunged forward. In a few explosive strides he closed the gap to Jin Guang Shangren, raised his steel saber overhead, and brought it crashing down with a flash of cold light—a devastating overhead chop, delivered with all the strength he could muster.
The blade was moments from splitting the dwarf's skull when the incantation finished. Right before the saber made contact, Jin Guang Shangren slapped the talisman onto his own body. Instantly, a blinding golden radiance erupted from where his palm had pressed against the paper.
The searing brilliance dazzled the burly man's eyes, blinding him, but he did not panic. The steel saber continued its downward arc, smashing into the golden light with full force.
A resounding metallic clang echoed across the entire arena.
The burly man felt the heat surge through the webbing of his hand. His weapon nearly flew from his grip. Startled, and still unable to see clearly, he knew something was badly wrong. Pushing off with his toes, he shot backward several yards before planting his feet and holding his saber at the ready.
At that moment, he heard gasps and cries of astonishment from all around the arena.
The sounds only increased his anxiety. He was desperate to know what had just happened—how things had turned so strange. Thankfully, his vision finally recovered, and he quickly focused on the dwarf.
There, several yards away, the little man stood perfectly still. But enveloping his entire body was a layer of golden light roughly an inch thick. The golden radiance formed a dense, armor-like barrier around the dwarf, shielding him completely from the elements. It was now clear that the earlier saber strike had only struck this golden barrier and never actually touched the dwarf at all. Whatever this golden light was, it was as hard as steel, rendering the powerful blow entirely futile.
The burly Protector, for all his worldly experience, was stunned by this spectacle—something he had never so much as heard of before.
He gripped his saber, his mind blank, unsure whether to press forward or retreat.
It was not just the burly man who was frozen in shock. Every person on Sunset Peak wore the same dumbfounded expression.
The truth was, very few people in the martial world knew anything about the legends of cultivators. In such a remote backwater, those who did were rarer still. For the vast majority of those present, this miraculous display of talismanic power was utterly mysterious and profoundly unfathomable.
While Jia Tianlong was secretly delighted and the Seven Mysteries Sect's side exchanged bewildered glances, Han Li—standing at the back of the crowd—was far more shocked than anyone else.
Han Li was likely the only person on the entire mountain besides the dwarf who had any understanding of magical arts. It was immediately obvious to him that the dwarf had used a type of talisman similar to the Soul-Stabilizing Talisman, and one that appeared to be of an even higher grade.
While no one was paying attention, Han Li silently recited the incantation for the Heavenly Eye Technique and covertly cast it on himself, then quickly directed his enhanced gaze toward the dwarf.
Beneath the golden radiance, he could see faint wisps of white light drifting around the dwarf's body. Compared to the golden glow, these white wisps were incredibly faint—if one weren't deliberately looking for them, they would be nearly impossible to notice.
This dwarf was, in fact, a cultivator whose Magical Power was far lower than Han Li's own. This discovery filled Han Li with both elation and worry.
What delighted him was that even as a complete beginner, his Magical Power surpassed the dwarf's—meaning this little man was nothing more than an amateur cultivator himself. What worried him was that he had no idea how many techniques the dwarf knew, how powerful they might be, and whether he could actually handle them.