Chapter 201: Restoration Complete

Chapter 201

The entire arena was silent, totally and utterly silent, with not a single voice or even the usual murmurs that filled the arena whenever something shocking happened.

Everyone simply stared at the scene below with undeniable shock and horror filling their gazes, as things had escalated far too quickly... far, far too quickly, even for them.

Most of them were still struggling to understand exactly what they had just witnessed: one moment, Liyu had been fighting Shi Tian, and the next moment, his body had been sliced apart into countless pieces. The sight alone was enough to make everyone shiver. Shi Tian has just killed the Honored One... hasn’t he?

No one spoke, and in fact, none of them seemed capable of speaking as they were all still trying to come to terms with what they had seen. Their gazes moved slowly between the countless pieces of Liyu scattered across the stage and Shi Tian, who stood calmly nearby.

His gaze remained as expressionless as ever, with no excitement, no satisfaction, no guilt, nothing... as though he hadn’t just murdered someone in front of an entire arena.

Then the crowd looked back toward Liyu, toward those scattered pieces and that horrifying scene. Undoubtedly, Liyu was dead. At least, that was what the overwhelming majority of them believed.

At the seats of the leaders, Li San’s mind snapped into action the moment he saw what had happened, and he immediately rushed forward.

He wanted to reach Liyu; he wanted to see if there was anything he could do, anything at all; he had to check; he had to make sure. But his body had barely moved a few steps when Elder Ting suddenly appeared before him and grabbed his clothes.

Li San’s expression instantly changed. He looked at Elder Ting in disbelief. His cousin was dying... possibly already dead... and this old man was actually stopping him? For a brief moment, Li San felt like battling Elder Ting to the death right there.

What kind of bullshit was this? How could he possibly remain calm at a moment like this? How could he just stand there while his cousin was lying in pieces on the stage?

But before Li San could lash out, Elder Ting calmly raised his hand and pointed toward the stage, his expression remaining strangely composed.

Li San’s brows furrowed. He followed Elder Ting’s gaze. And then... his expression changed.

Something had changed. Something was happening.

A large white light suddenly covered all of Liyu’s sliced-apart body. The brilliant light spread across the stage, enveloping every piece of Liyu within it, then became brighter, and brighter, and brighter, until the entire arena was illuminated by an overwhelming white radiance.

The light continued expanding and contracting, pulsing again and again until it looked like a miniature sun had appeared right in the middle of the battle stage.

Everyone’s eyes widened, some people instinctively raising their hands to shield their eyes as a powerful wave of vitality energy spread outward from the white light. It was pure, dense, and carried an astonishing feeling of life.

Elder Ting’s calm voice reached Li San: "I think the kid is safe."

Li San didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His eyes were already locked onto the brilliant white circle. His body moved, and in the next instant, he appeared on the stage, standing directly before the blinding white glow.

A wave of vitality energy washed over him, so strong that even Li San could clearly feel it. His eyes remained fixed on the white light as he searched desperately. He wanted to see Liyu; he wanted to see him alive; he wanted to see that familiar figure standing there once more. And silently... he prayed: Please... please be okay.

His gaze remained locked onto the center of the white light. Then, slowly... a shadow appeared within it.

Li San’s breathing stopped. The shadow was standing, and it was completely whole. No sliced pieces. No diced flesh. No missing limbs. Nothing. The figure was whole. Liyu... he was back.

Li San’s eyes trembled.

For a moment, he nearly shed tears. He had never expected to see this; he had genuinely thought that his cousin had just died before his eyes. Yet now, he was standing there, alive, completely intact.

Li San didn’t rush forward. Instead, he remained where he was and waited as the white light gradually began to fade, its overwhelming radiance slowly receding until, finally, it vanished completely, and Liyu’s entire body landed calmly on the stage.

He stood there, alive, whole, his expression calm and composed. But the most astonishing thing of all was his body: there wasn’t a single mark on him, not one. His skin was completely pristine. His clothes were intact.

There wasn’t even the slightest trace of blood. It was as though he had never been attacked in the first place, returned to his peak condition, completely healthy, completely restored.

Then... Ding! Restoration complete.

Liyu’s eyes snapped open. His consciousness fully returned. He slowly opened his eyes, and the first person he saw was none other than his uncle, Li San.

Li San stared at Liyu for a long while, seeming unable to believe what he was seeing, before eventually walking forward. He carefully examined Liyu’s body from head to toe, checking everything... his arms, his chest, his abdomen, his neck, everywhere. After a while, he finally confirmed it: Liyu was safe. He was completely healed, not merely alive.

Li San didn’t think about how the hell Liyu had survived that attack. He didn’t care, not right now. There would be plenty of time to ask questions later, but at this moment, none of those questions mattered. His cousin was alive. That was all that mattered.

Li San finally let out a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding. He looked at Liyu: "Are you alright, lad?"

Liyu’s face remained blank. He stood quietly on the battle stage, staring ahead without showing any emotion... no fear, no anger, no panic, nothing. Then, slowly, his gaze shifted upward. He looked at his uncle, and a small, warm smile gradually appeared on his face.

When he finally spoke, his voice was completely calm, completely relaxed, without even the slightest trace of fear or anger in it: "I am fine."

Li San stared at him for a long while, his expression gradually becoming several degrees more solemn. He wanted to say something, anything, but he had no idea what to say. Liyu had almost died, and it had happened under his watch.

There was no way Li San could forgive himself for that. How could he? How could he have allowed something like that to happen? He was supposed to be there; he was supposed to protect his cousin; yet Shi Tian had nearly killed Liyu right in front of him. The thought alone made Li San’s heart ache.

Just then... Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of rapid footsteps suddenly came from behind. Before Liyu could even turn around to see who was coming, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around him from behind as someone hugged him firmly, very firmly. Then a trembling, tearful voice reached his ears: "You’re safe... Thank goodness that you’re safe..."

Liyu’s eyes softened. He immediately recognized the voice belonging to none other than Li Yuexin. She had rushed onto the stage, and from the way she was holding him, it was obvious that she had been scared completely out of her mind, truly believing that Liyu was dead.

Her arms tightened around him, her body trembling, and her tears soaked into his clothes as she struggled to control herself: "I was so scared... I thought that you were dead. I thou... I thought... I thought that you were gone..."

Her entire body trembled, that trembling being a testimony to just how badly the scene had frightened her. She had watched Liyu get sliced apart; she had believed she had lost him; and now that he was standing alive before her, she simply couldn’t hold her emotions back anymore.

Liyu gently released himself from the hug and raised his hand, patting Li Yuexin on the head. A small, calm smile remained on his face, completely at odds with the terrifying scene that had unfolded only moments ago: "Junior Sister, you don’t need to worry yourself. Killing me is not enough to get me killed."

"Ahem." The system immediately cut in: Host, you do realize that you are not making any sense right now, right?

Liyu completely ignored the system. Instead, he continued patting Li Yuexin’s head, his movements gentle and reassuring as the girl cried harder and harder, her tears flowing freely and her shoulders trembling as the overwhelming fear she had experienced finally began to subside.

She had truly thought he was dead, watching him get sliced apart right before her eyes, and for those few moments, she had genuinely believed that Liyu was gone. Now that he was standing right in front of her, alive and completely unharmed, all the fear and relief she had been holding back finally poured out.

"It’s alright," Liyu said softly. "I am right here."

Li Yuexin nodded repeatedly, still crying as she slowly calmed down.

At the Li camp, the two anomaly brothers, Li Jie and Li Xie, both collapsed onto their knees almost at the same time: "Haah..." They gasped for breath, as if they had only just remembered that they were supposed to breathe. The two of them looked toward the stage, their expressions filled with immense relief.

They had thought Liyu had been killed, watching him get sliced apart into countless pieces, and at that moment, neither of them had believed there was even the slightest chance that he could survive.

But somehow... he had, and that was all that mattered to them. Liyu was alive. That alone was enough to make them feel as though a massive weight had been lifted from their chests. They were happy, extremely happy.

Li Feng, however, had far more complicated emotions. A part of him was also relieved that Liyu had survived, because regardless of everything else, Liyu was still his cousin, and seeing him die right before his eyes had genuinely shocked him.

But another part of him was filled with nothing but disbelief and horror at what he had just witnessed. It seemed as though Liyu could simply come back to life whenever he wanted. How was that even supposed to be possible? What kind of ridiculous ability was that? What kind of monster had his cousin become?

And then there was a third part of him... a darker part. A part that wondered if perhaps everything would have been better if Liyu had simply remained dead.

At least then, he wouldn’t have to live beneath Liyu’s shadow anymore; he wouldn’t have to constantly compare himself to him; he wouldn’t have to watch the person he had once considered a weakling, a failure, and a disgrace continue to surpass him again and again.

But what he felt or thought no longer mattered, did it? After all... Liyu was back, alive, whole, and the consequences that were about to follow were certain to be enormous.

At the Shi camp, the candidates who had been beginning to lose hope the moment they saw Liyu get killed suddenly had their hopes completely renewed, their eyes brightening as they stared at the stage. Liyu was alive. That changed everything.

Now, there were only a few ways this situation could possibly turn out. The best possible outcome for them was simple: Shi Tian gets killed. That would be the absolute best case. If that didn’t happen, then perhaps Shi Tian would be disqualified from the tournament, which would still be a favorable outcome.

And finally, there was the possibility that he would be imprisoned, which too would be a good enough result. Either way, Shi Tian would definitely get into trouble for what he had done... attempting to assassinate another participant in the middle of the tournament, and worse, his assassination attempt had failed.

The three possibilities flashed through the minds of the Shi clan candidates, knowing that whatever happened next, Shi Tian could no longer simply walk away from this without consequences.

Back on the stage, Li San had finally come to terms with the fact that Liyu was safe, and now... he could finally turn his anger toward the person who had nearly killed him in the first place. His gaze gradually darkened, the warmth and relief that had been present in his eyes moments ago vanishing completely as Li San turned his head, his eyes locking directly onto Shi Tian.

The young man was still standing there, his expression remaining cold and emotionless. There was not even the slightest hint of panic on his face.

He didn’t look startled, he didn’t look nervous, and he didn’t even seem surprised that his attempted assassination had failed. He simply stood there calmly, his gaze composed as if everything that had just happened was completely irrelevant to him.

That calmness only made Li San’s anger burn hotter. He slowly raised one hand, a terrifying aura beginning to gather around him with an unmistakable intention. He was going to kill Shi Tian. A crime like this deserved only one punishment: death.

Before Li San could launch his attack, however, a figure suddenly appeared before Shi Tian. It was Shi Gubing, the clan lord of the Shi clan, standing directly in front of his son with his expression stern and tense: "Clan Lord Li, reconsider this. You don’t want to make an enemy of the entire Shi clan."

Shi Gubing was trying to save his son from certain death, knowing exactly how dangerous the situation had become and that if Li San truly launched his attack, there was almost no chance that Shi Tian could survive.

But Li San didn’t even give Shi Gubing a second glance, his eyes remaining cold. If Shi Gubing wanted to die alongside his son... then he was more than welcome to: "Since you want to die with him... Then die with him."

With those words, Li San launched one of his sure-killing moves: Spatial Tear.

BOOM!

A terrifying force erupted. The space itself seemed to distort and tear apart as a domineering power filled with absolute destructive force rushed forward, surging toward both father and son, the entire area seeming to tremble beneath the overwhelming might of the attack.

Shi Gubing’s eyes widened in pure horror, knowing for certain that he was going to die. He couldn’t stop this attack, not at all, because the difference between them was simply too great, leaving him with no way of blocking Li San’s Spatial Tear.

Yet Shi Tian’s gaze remained unchanged... cold, expressionless, unmoving. He didn’t even seem concerned by the terrifying attack rushing toward him, as if he didn’t realize that death was already approaching, or perhaps... he simply didn’t care.

I wouldn’t die. Shi Tian’s thought came with absolute certainty.

And then... in the next moment... a figure suddenly appeared before the father and son, stepping directly between them and Li San’s devastating attack, and without hesitation... he intercepted it.

----------

Hey everyone don’t forget To Vote And Support For Faster Update Of The Chapters.

Check Out The Mass Release Goals For Extra Bonus Chap And Massive Releases.