The martial arena was filled with shouts and cries from every direction.
At the center of the arena, Shen Fei — who had been sent reeling by a single slap from Nie Li — had finally cleared his head a little. He struggled to his feet, absolutely seething with rage. He hadn't summoned his Demon Spirit at the start of the fight because Elder Shen Ming had instructed him to wait at least twenty moves before defeating Nie Li. Who could have guessed that Nie Li would be so shameless as to summon his Demon Spirit without warning?
Suffering a setback for absolutely no reason, Shen Fei was practically exploding with fury. He completely forgot everything Elder Shen Ming had told him.
"You asked for this — I'm going to kill you!" Shen Fei roared, his Soul Sea churning violently as a powerful Demon Spirit aura erupted from his body.
The Demon Spirit Shen Fei had fused with was the fearsome Scarlet Flame Black Tiger — a terrifyingly savage beast. This Demon Spirit had been personally hunted and obtained by the head of the Sacred Family. It was a Black Gold One Star Demon Beast, extraordinarily powerful, and would multiply Shen Fei's strength several times over!
"Young Master Shen is finally using his Demon Spirit…"
The spectator stands erupted.
"That aura…"
"Oh my heavens, that's incredible — it's a Scarlet Flame Black Tiger!"
A Scarlet Flame Black Tiger against a Tiger Fang Panda? The outcome was easy to imagine. Almost everyone felt the Tiger Fang Panda would be taken out in a single move!
The aura radiating from Shen Fei grew more and more overwhelming. The sheer power of the Scarlet Flame Black Tiger left everyone stunned.
Nie Hai, Nie En, and the others were growing restless. With Nie Li's Tiger Fang Panda Demon Spirit, there was simply no way it could stand up to a Scarlet Flame Black Tiger. The gap in strength between them was far too great!
"What do we do? Let's have little Li forfeit!"
The people who had bet on Shen Fei were shouting continuously, cheering him on. In their eyes, this battle was as good as won for Shen Fei!
But then, all the noise abruptly stopped.
Just as Shen Fei was channeling his Soul Sea, on the verge of summoning his Demon Spirit, Nie Li stepped forward a few paces and brought his palm crashing down on the back of Shen Fei's head.
BOOM!
Shen Fei — in the very act of fusing with his Demon Spirit — was once again slammed face-first into the ground, creating a deep crater. His fusion process came to an abrupt halt, and the violent aura immediately dissipated. At this moment, Shen Fei was a truly pathetic sight. His once-handsome face had been completely flattened, pressed tightly against the ground.
The mastermind behind all of this, Nie Li, casually stretched his limbs with a spring in his step.
Dumbfounded!
The entire arena was stunned!
Nie Hai, Nie En, Yang Xin, and the others were all dumbstruck.
"How shameless! That's absolutely disgraceful!" Nie Hai and Nie En flushed with embarrassment, nearly covering their faces and fleeing in shame. Was this guy really from the Tian Hen Family? The Tian Hen Family bloodline had produced such a shameless junior?
Those who had bet on Nie Li turned red in the face. Although Nie Li did hold the advantage, this was… somewhat… improper!
In all the Genius Battles of recent years, when had anyone ever seen a showdown like this?
In previous Genius Battles, both sides would exchange martial techniques with great regard for martial spirit. They would typically summon their Demon Spirits simultaneously, and the fighting would be confined to exchanging combat techniques. Nothing like this had ever happened — Nie Li had caught his opponent completely off guard, summoning his Demon Spirit preemptively and launching a sneak attack to interrupt the other's summoning.
The Sacred Family delegation nearly jumped out of their seats.
"You Tian Hen Family people have no shame at all! This kind of victory is dishonorable!" The Sacred Family members hurled insults at the Tian Hen side.
Though Nie Hai and Nie En also felt Nie Li's behavior was admittedly a bit shameless, they certainly wouldn't back down in front of the Sacred Family: "Our side hasn't violated any rules of the Genius Battle! It's not your place to criticize!"
"The Tian Hen Family conducts its affairs — do we need you to tell us how?"
"It's your Sacred Family's Young Master Shen who's too stupid — he's practically a pig! He's a Demon Spirit Master who refuses to fuse with his Demon Spirit in combat, and when he finally tries to summon one, he turns the back of his head toward his enemy. Who can he blame?"
At that moment, Yang Xin looked over at Shen Ming and said coolly, "Elder Shen Ming, the Sacred Family wouldn't happen to be unable to handle a loss, would they?" Though Nie Li was admittedly a bit shameless, she naturally stood on his side.
Watching the situation unfold, Yang Xin's smile grew even more enchanting. That little Nie Li was truly hard to figure out. He looked so innocent and pure on the surface, yet underneath he was this cunning and crafty. He always had that lecherous look on his face, but when someone actually tried to seduce him, he was so steadfast and resolute.
Shen Ming's expression was grim. This kid Nie Li was far too underhanded, and he could only accept the loss. In any case, Nie Li had agreed to fight three rounds, so losing this one didn't matter much. Now that he knew Nie Li's Demon Spirit was a Tiger Fang Panda, Shen Ming sneered inwardly. Even if he lost this round, he would win everything back in the next one!
Shen Ming glanced at Yang Xin and replied, "Of course not. The Sacred Family can certainly afford to lose this much money!"
At that moment, in the fighting arena, Shen Fei — still lying face-down in the crater — was practically about to explode. Having been slapped by Nie Li twice in a row, his face had smashed hard against the ground, blood streaming from his nose, his entire face bruised and swollen. Just moments ago, he had been about to fuse with his Demon Spirit when Nie Li's slap had sent his Soul Sea into turmoil, ruining the fusion.
"Young Master Shen, are you all right? This is just a spar — we keep it civilized. If you can't get up, just concede!" Nie Li squatted beside Shen Fei and spoke with a rather unkind tone.
Concede?