The soil here was especially fertile, the water and grass lush and abundant, reaching up to a person's knees.
This was the famous Jade Field of the Northern Plains, hailed as one of the most bountiful grasslands. Today, it was teeming with people, banners fluttering in the wind.
The Heroes' Assembly at the Jade Field had already been underway for half a month.
For the first seven days, every tribe had made its voice heard, the clamor rising like dust in a storm, chaotic and tumultuous. But gradually, through alliances and political maneuvering, the various factions merged and consolidated. Now, only two powerful forces remained.
On one side was Liu Wenwu of the Liu family. On the other was Hei Loulan of the Hei family.
At this moment, both sides presented their most formidable fighters, standing in tense opposition.
Between the two groups was a broad, hastily constructed fighting stage.
On the stage, two Northern Plains Gu Masters were locked in fierce combat, both at the Fourth Transformation level.
Most of the spectators below watched with unblinking attention. Battles between patriarch-level cultivators were rarely this easy to observe up close.
Moreover, the two on stage — one from the Righteous Path, the other from the Demonic Path — were both famous figures, and they harbored a deep, personal vendetta against each other!
"Water Demon, surrender your life!" One of the middle-aged Gu Masters bellowed, stamped his foot, and launched himself into the sky.
In midair, he drew a deep breath, then opened his mouth wide, spitting a dark flame the size of a large basket down at his opponent below.
In the heart of the Water Demon Hao Jiliu, alarm bells were already ringing.
A flash of blue light glinted in his eyes as snow-silver True Essence from his Empty Orifice surged wildly into his Water Wall Gu.
"Rise!"
He raised both palms, pushing upward from below. The motion was heavy, as if he were lifting something weighing ten thousand tons.
Following his movement, a torrent of water vapor coalesced into a blue waterfall, surging upward from the ground.
The waterfall shot into the air, then crashed downward in a broad arc, forming a thick, arched wall of water.
The dark flame drifted slowly onto the water wall and was promptly extinguished.
"Hah?" The spectators gasped in surprise. Just as they were about to mock the Water Demon for his overreaction, the last remaining ember suddenly detonated.
BOOM!!!
The explosion was deafening, like a bolt of thunder from a clear sky.
A massive burst of fire erupted violently, vaporizing the thick water wall in an instant.
The powerful shockwave spawned a raging gale that swept outward in all directions.
But ultimately, the blast did not reach beyond the arena's perimeter. Surrounding the fighting stage, Gu Masters stood in position, activating defensive Gu to form a spherical barrier of light that shielded the arena completely.
"What a fearsome technique!"
"That level of explosion is practically on par with a Fourth Transformation Gu Insect's power. Clearly, this was the Fire Prodigy Chai Ming's hidden trump card!"
"Although the Water Demon sensed it, he still underestimated Lord Chai Ming's strike."
Recovering from the tremor of the explosion, the crowd erupted into animated discussion. A cacophony of voices filled the air.
Countless eyes were fixed on the fighting stage.
Even Hei Loulan and Liu Wenwu had become transfixed, watching without blinking.
But within the spherical barrier of light, steam rose in thick billows, a vast expanse of white that made it nearly impossible to see anything.
The crowd could only wait patiently. As the steam gradually dissipated, Chai Ming was revealed standing tall on the stage, panting heavily, glaring down at the corpse beneath his feet. He roared: "Water Demon! Back then, you killed my father — did you ever imagine this day would come?!"
The Water Demon Hao Jiliu lay beneath Chai Ming's boot, blood trickling from his mouth, his face twisted in agony.
"Hahaha, we've won!"
"Lord Chai Ming is magnificent!"
Seeing this scene, the spectators were stunned for a moment, and then Liu Wenwu's side erupted into earth-shaking cheers.
On Hei Loulan's side, there was either silence or contemptuous smirks.
"Brother Loulan, I'll have to thank you for your generosity." Liu Wenwu rose from his seat, smiling as he cupped his fists toward Hei Loulan in a courteous gesture, every inch the refined gentleman.
Hei Loulan's expression was displeased. He let out a cold snort and was about to say something to save face, when just at that moment—
Shk!
A soft sound. Chai Ming looked down at his chest in shock.
A blade of water had protruded from his heart, glistening with a sharp light.
He turned his head with great difficulty, and there was his father's killer, Hao Jiliu — his face covered in burn blisters, wretched and savage, sneering coldly back at him.
"If that's the real one, then what's under my feet...?" Chai Ming's mind reeled with confusion.
Thud.
At that very moment, the "Hao Jiliu" beneath his foot collapsed into a puddle of flowing water and dissipated.
"It's the Water Image Gu!" someone cried out.
"The Water Image Gu is already a rare Fourth Transformation Gu, but the Water Demon clearly used additional techniques to make his water image appear so lifelike."
The shouts reaching his ears told Chai Ming the reason for his defeat.
"Despicable..." were the last words he ever spoke, and with a heart full of unwillingness, he died on the spot.