Duong Quang's Poisonous Scheme

Black ash still had not been completely carried away from the arena. The scorched smell left by Lightning mixed with the lingering yin qi from Mac Ta’s death, leaving the air around the square heavy in a way that was difficult to describe.

Hao Nhien stood amid the shattered stone.

His white robe was torn in several places, and the blood at the corner of his mouth had not yet dried. More than half of the spiritual qi in his dantian had been consumed, his left arm still burned from directly opening the seal on Thunder Burst, and the meridian routes that had carried the Lightning continued to ache in waves. His shoulders and back were also burning from forcing the Spirit Wings to burst too many times during the previous battle.

Yet none of those injuries were what caused his gaze to darken now.

Hao Nhien raised his head and looked at the man standing on a flying sword in midair.

“I knew you would come.”

His voice was not loud, but the square had gone quiet enough for every word to carry far.

“I just did not expect you to be this impatient.”

The black-cloaked man remained silent for a moment before giving a faint laugh. He raised a hand and removed the cloth covering his face, revealing the sharp features of a young man. There was nothing especially vicious about his appearance. At first glance, he even carried a trace of upright bearing, except for his eyes, which were cold enough to make it difficult for anyone to feel goodwill toward him.

Duong Quang looked down at Hao Nhien.

“It seems you know more than I expected.”

Hao Nhien did not answer.

Duong Quang did not ask further.

His gaze swept across the square before returning to the man standing in the middle of the arena.

“Tieu Dao.”

“The Quan Clan.”

“Hoa Ky.”

“Cat Loi.”

“Tam Thanh.”

“And now Hoa Van.”

With every name spoken, Hao Nhien’s expression grew colder.

Duong Quang continued slowly:

“You are reconnecting too many things.”

“If you are allowed to continue…”

“it will become troublesome.”

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“That is why I came.”

Hao Nhien looked directly at him.

“To kill me?”

“Perhaps.”

Duong Quang answered with complete calm.

“First we must see whether you survive this battle.”

Hao Nhien said nothing.

Duong Quang did not descend into the arena immediately either.

His eyes moved over Hao Nhien’s current condition, from the torn robe and bloodstains that had yet to dry to the arm that still trembled faintly after the battle with Mac Ta.

Hao Nhien narrowed his eyes.

“I have the right to decide the timing and order of challenges.”

“I know.”

Duong Quang answered immediately.

“I studied the rules.”

Only then did Lieu Thien Van rise from below.

“Hao Nhien has just gone through a life-and-death battle. If you truly want to challenge him, then three days from now.”

“No need.”

Duong Quang cut him off.

The smile on his face faded.

“I know he can make me wait.”

Hao Nhien looked at him.

Duong Quang slowly turned his head toward the west.

That single motion was enough to bring a bad feeling into Hao Nhien’s heart.

“Three Heavenly Eye armies have already taken position.”

The entire square fell silent.

Cat Thanh’s expression changed.

Duong Quang did not look at him. His eyes remained only on Hao Nhien.

“If I live…”

“they wait.”

“Tomorrow…”

He paused for one beat.

“Cat Loi will be the first place they move against.”

Boom!

Lightning immediately erupted around both of Cat Thanh’s arms.

“Duong Quang!”

A powerful aura burst from him, causing several formation lines near the stands to light up at once.

Duong Quang only glanced over.

“Want to go back?”

“Then go.”

Cat Thanh froze.

Duong Quang said nothing else.

But Hao Nhien had already understood.

If those three armies truly were hidden somewhere outside Cat Loi, Cat Thanh returning now might not be the safest solution.

More importantly, Duong Quang was here.

The man holding the initiative in this game was also here.

Hao Nhien slowly asked:

“And if you die?”

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For the first time, Duong Quang’s smile widened slightly.

“Then they withdraw.”

Cat Thanh stared at him.

Hao Nhien did not ask why.

He had almost immediately understood the rest.

Those three armies had not been deployed merely to attack Cat Loi.

They were waiting for a result.

Heavenly Eye knew Hao Nhien possessed Thunder Burst.

Back at Huu Thanh, that very weapon had forced Hoang Lap to retreat. As long as Hao Nhien remained alive and still held Thunder Burst, any force that wanted to strike directly at a place where he might appear would have to accept a price none of them knew whether they could afford.

Duong Quang had come here precisely to solve that problem.

If Duong Quang won and Hao Nhien died, the threat posed by Thunder Burst would disappear with him, and the three Heavenly Eye armies waiting outside would no longer have reason to hesitate before moving against Cat Loi. On the other hand, if Duong Quang died, the problem would remain exactly as it was, and those waiting beyond would have to decide whether it was worth placing three entire armies in front of something even Hoang Lap had once refused to gamble against.

Hao Nhien looked at the man standing on the flying sword for a long time before finally understanding why Duong Quang had chosen this exact moment to appear.

He had not come three days later.

He had not waited for Hao Nhien to fully recover.

He had appeared immediately after a life-and-death battle with Mac Ta, when Hao Nhien’s spiritual qi, body, and mind had all yet to return to their best condition.

Duong Quang did not even need to break the rules of the Huyen Bang.

He only needed to make the cost of delaying too great.

“You learn quickly.”

Duong Quang raised an eyebrow slightly.

Hao Nhien continued:

“Back at Huu Thanh, I used something Hoang Lap did not dare gamble against to force him back. Now you have placed Cat Loi on the same table.”

The corner of Duong Quang’s mouth lifted.

“At least you remember.”

He shook his head faintly.

“But I did not place Cat Loi on the table. I merely showed you that it was already there.”

Hao Nhien did not answer at once.

If he wanted to cut off that plan before it happened, there was only one direct solution left.

Duong Quang had to die.

The thought made Hao Nhien understand one more layer of the position his opponent had built.

Duong Quang had not come only to force him into accepting a challenge.

He had come to force Hao Nhien onto the arena and make him kill before the deadline expired.

“Do you truly believe you will win?”

Duong Quang laughed.

“I only need you to step onto the arena.”

A shout immediately came from the stands.

“You call this a Huyen Bang challenge? This is clearly a threat!”

Other protests quickly followed, but Duong Quang paid no attention to them.

Neither did Hao Nhien turn around.

Lieu Thien Van stepped out from the seating area and stopped outside the barrier. The spatial fluctuations caused by the previous battle had already faded, and the formations around the arena had stabilized, but he still did not enter carelessly.

“Duong Quang.”

His voice turned cold.

“You are the lord of Tien Thanh and a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. Hao Nhien has just survived a life-and-death battle, yet you deliberately chose this moment to appear.”

Duong Quang looked at him.

“So what?”

“I can take his place.”

“No.”

The answer came almost immediately.

“I came for Quan Hao Nhien today, not you.”

Lieu Thien Van was about to speak again, but Hao Nhien spoke first.

“Lord Lieu, let me handle this.”

The older man turned toward him with a frown.

“You know your current condition.”

“I do.”

“And you still intend to accept?”

Hao Nhien remained silent for a moment, his gaze still fixed on Duong Quang.

“If I refuse today, he will not truly give us time to rest. The battle will simply move from here to Cat Loi.”

Lieu Thien Van said nothing more.

Hao Nhien did not need to explain further.

He understood.

Duong Quang stood above them, watching both men before giving a faint laugh.

Hao Nhien suddenly asked:

“You are willing to go this far merely because Heavenly Eye ordered you to?”

Duong Quang did not answer.

Hao Nhien watched his reaction for another beat before continuing.

“Or is it for someone else?”

Duong Quang’s gaze shifted ever so slightly.

Hao Nhien caught it.

“Someone important enough for all of you to call Master.”

“Shut up.”

Duong Quang’s voice instantly turned cold.

Hao Nhien did not stop.

“Hoang Sam?”

Boom!

Spiritual qi around Duong Quang suddenly erupted.

The aura of peak Foundation Establishment pressed downward, causing the formation lines that had only just stabilized around the arena to light up once again.

“The divine name of the God Lord…”

His eyes had become ice-cold.

“is not something you are permitted to speak.”

Hao Nhien fell silent.

But that reaction alone had already given him the answer he needed.

Duong Quang knew Hoang Sam.

More than that, he called him the God Lord.

From this moment onward, the connection between Heavenly Eye’s upper ranks and Hoang Sam was no longer merely a vague suspicion.

Discussions immediately spread through the stands.

“Who is Hoang Sam?”

“What God Lord?”

“There is someone above Heavenly Eye?”

Duong Quang also seemed to realize that he had reacted too strongly. His aura quickly withdrew, but the way he looked at Hao Nhien had completely changed.

“You know too much.”

Hao Nhien’s lips curved faintly.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Duong Quang stared at him for a while longer before answering:

“Then all the better.”

He did not need to explain further.

Hao Nhien understood.

From the moment Hoang Sam’s name had been spoken aloud, the battle between them was no longer only about Cat Loi or the top position on the Huyen Bang.

Duong Quang now had another reason not to let him leave the arena alive.

And Hao Nhien had even less reason to allow the man before him to return to Heavenly Eye with those secrets.

He briefly looked toward the front row.

Quan Nha had long since stood up, her gaze cold but silent. Tieu Lan watched the injuries covering his body, both hands clasped tightly before her chest, while Tieu Nhan had lost every trace of her usual liveliness. Farther away, Lanh Hoa and Hoa Duong both had their hands resting on their weapons, while Luu Thanh stood in front of the Hoa Ky warriors, his gaze continuously scanning the square.

Hao Nhien withdrew his gaze and looked toward Lieu Thien Van.

“Lord Lieu, please return to your seat.”

Lieu Thien Van still did not move.

“Hao Nhien…”

“This is my battle.”

The older man looked at him for a long time before slowly lowering his hand.

“Fine.”

Before returning to the stands, Lieu Thien Van looked directly at Duong Quang.

“But if a second person from Heavenly Eye sets foot inside this arena, I will no longer care whether this is the Huyen Bang or not.”

Spiritual qi around him fluctuated faintly.

Duong Quang only smiled.

“You will not need to.”

Lieu Thien Van returned to his place.

Cat Thanh remained standing, jaw clenched, tiny sparks of Lightning continuously flickering between his fingers.

Hao Nhien looked toward him.

“Lord Cat, sit down.”

Cat Thanh did not immediately obey.

“Are you certain?”

Hao Nhien remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.

Cat Thanh froze.

Hao Nhien looked directly at him.

“But I still have to fight.”

The two stared at each other for several breaths.

Only then did Cat Thanh slowly sit down, though both hands remained on his knees, the Lightning between his fingers never fading.

At last, the referee approached the barrier.

His expression was clearly troubled.

“Young Master Quan, according to the rules, you are fully entitled to choose another time…”

“I know.”

Hao Nhien did not let him finish.

He looked at Duong Quang.

“I accept.”

The entire square immediately fell silent.

Tieu Lan’s hand tightened.

Quan Nha closed her eyes for a single beat before opening them again.

Duong Quang only smiled.

The smile was small, but it was enough to tell Hao Nhien that this was the answer he had been waiting for from the moment he appeared.

Duong Quang flipped his hand and produced an exceptional-grade spirit stone, then descended from his flying sword onto the arena.

He walked directly toward the wager platform that had only recently been repaired after the battle with Mac Ta.

Without another word, he placed the spirit stone into the slot on the right.

Click.

The sound was tiny.

Yet in the silence of the square, it rang strangely clear.

Formation lines around the wager slot immediately lit up, waiting for the other side to confirm.

Every gaze turned toward Hao Nhien.

The golden token was still in his hand.

He had only just received it back after the battle with Mac Ta.

Hao Nhien looked at it briefly.

Duong Quang had used Cat Loi to force him into this battle.

But once the token was placed down, the rules of the Huyen Bang would also lock Duong Quang inside the arena he himself had chosen.

Hao Nhien slowly walked forward.

Blood from the wound on his shoulder had begun seeping through the torn cloth again, yet his steps remained steady.

When he reached the wager platform, he placed the golden token into the remaining slot.

Click.

Hum.

Both slots lit up at the same time, and the formation lines across the platform rapidly sealed shut.

The match was confirmed.

Only then did Hao Nhien raise his head.

Duong Quang stood opposite him, the faint smile still on his lips.

“In the end, you still had to accept.”

Hao Nhien looked at him.

“Yes.”

He paused for one beat.

“But you also just locked yourself in here.”

The smile on Duong Quang’s lips faltered ever so slightly.

Only for an instant.

But Hao Nhien saw it.

The referee quickly left the arena while all four formation masters began checking the barrier again.

Layer after layer of formation lines lit up around the square.

This time there were no cheers.

No one urged them to begin.

Tens of thousands of people simply watched the two men standing opposite each other.

One had just survived a life-and-death battle against the third-ranked cultivator on the Huyen Bang.

The other had deliberately chosen the moment when his opponent was at his weakest to appear.

Hao Nhien placed one hand on the hilt of the Fire Spirit Sword.

Duong Quang slowly lowered his center of gravity.

Wind swept across the ruined arena, carrying a thin layer of Mac Ta’s remaining ash through the space between them.

The referee took a deep breath and raised one hand.

Bong!

The bell rang.

Hao Nhien looked at Duong Quang.

He knew very well that he had not stepped into this battle for the top position on the Huyen Bang.

Duong Quang had turned his right to delay into a choice whose cost was too great to accept.

But from the moment the ranking token locked into place, the board was no longer controlled by Duong Quang alone.