Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

Tuba stood at the end of the passage, carrying a massive axe weighing thousands of pounds. The veins on his thick arms were like gnarled old trees. The axe blade dragged across the stone ground, leaving a harsh scraping sound.

He looked down at Jiang Yining, who was leaning against the wall, and grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.

"Since you've been poisoned by the Mu family's wine, you should just lie there and wait to die. Why did you have to come up on stage and entertain me?"

Jiang Yining stood up straight, leaning against the wall. Her face was still pale, and even her breathing seemed a little unsteady.

She raised her hand and tucked the stray hairs that had been ruffled by the wind behind her ear, as if she hadn't heard his threat at all.

"Since you're so confident, why don't you think about how you're going to lose in a more dignified way?"

Tuba was taken aback at first, then threw his head back and burst into laughter, the heavy laughter causing dust to fall from the stone walls of the passage.

"I like women like you who are stubborn. Wait until I break all your limbs, then let's see if you can still talk to me like that."

Hu Yanlie stood outside the passage, sweating profusely with anxiety. He tried several times to stop her, but Fan Chenxin blocked him with her sword.

"Miss Jiang's aura seems off; there's no need to continue this battle."

Fan Chenxin gripped the hilt of the knife, his gaze fixed on Jiang Yining's pale profile, his voice kept extremely low.

"If she really doesn't want to fight, she'll come down on her own. Rushing over there now will only ruin her plans."

Huyan Lie looked at him in disbelief.

"Buddha's disciple, you know perfectly well that Tuba is in the mid-stage of the Qi Refining Realm, are you still going to let her drag her poisoned body onto the arena?"

Fan Chenxin did not answer, but he saw Jiang Yining's fingers, hanging at her side, gently beckon to him.

The movement was so fast that almost no one noticed, but it allowed him to suppress the murderous intent churning in his heart.

"You keep an eye on April for her. If anyone tries to get close to the child while things are in chaos, cut off that person's hand immediately."

Hu Yanlie followed his gaze and saw Wu Bao sitting below the high platform, holding a wooden tiger, with half a red jade spirit fruit in his arms.

When the little girl saw Jiang Yining about to enter, she immediately stood on tiptoe and waved.

"Mother, be careful. That big guy doesn't seem as smart as the big red chicken."

The Fire Spirit Falcon huddled behind Wu Bao, and when it heard itself being lifted up, it quietly buried its head in its wings.

Jiang Yining turned around and smiled at her daughter.

"Mother will be back soon. After April finishes eating the fruit, you'll see that big guy lying on the ground."

Tuba's face darkened, and he slammed the axe handle heavily onto the ground.

"You're asking for it, woman. I'll show you what happens when you're stubborn."

Sand swirled around the semi-final arena, and a semi-transparent, blood-red barrier rose from the formation, shutting out the shouts and noises from the outside world.

The referee, standing at the edge of the ring, frowned as he saw Jiang Yining's unsteady steps.

"Miss Jiang, if you are sure you are not feeling well, you may choose to postpone the competition. The City Lord's Mansion will make other arrangements according to the rules."

Jiang Yining looked up towards the VIP table, where Mu Ziying was holding a teacup, her smugness almost unbearable.

She withdrew her gaze and slowly stepped onto the arena.

"Thank you for the reminder, but I am still standing, so there is no need for the City Lord's Mansion to worry about me."

The referee glanced at the giant axe in Tuba's hand and finally sighed.

"In the third match of the semi-finals, Tuba from Giant Axe City faced Jiang Yining from Barbarian Stone Tribe. On the stage, each would rely on their own abilities and bear the consequences of their own actions."

Tuba didn't even wait for the referee to step back before stomping his foot hard on the ground and charging forward like a wild beast crashing into a mountain.

The massive axe, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, whipped up a gust of wind that swept up yellow sand. Before the axe blade even fell, the stone slab at Jiang Yining's feet was already cracked inch by inch.

Some people in the stands were so startled that they stood up and backed away.

"Tuba actually used the Mountain-Shattering Axe right from the start; he clearly intended to kill Jiang Yining outright."

"After she was poisoned, her blood and qi collapsed. If this axe were to fall, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to preserve her whole body."

Mu Ziying gripped the teacup in her hand tightly, a look of satisfaction finally appearing in her eyes.

"Yesterday she broke my sword, today I will make her understand that Tianhuang City is not a place that anyone can trample underfoot."

The elder of the Mu family beside her frowned slightly.

"Ziying, don't go too far with this. That woman is currently holding the hand of the young master of the Lou family. If she really dies on the stage, Lou Xiaotian may not let it go."

Mu Ziying chuckled and kept her eyes fixed on the center of the arena.

"Life and death in the arena are at your own risk. Tuba didn't know she was afflicted with the Blood-Devouring Gu. Even if Lou Xiaotian returns, she can only blame her own bad luck."

The giant axe was already right above Jiang Yining's head, no more than three inches from her brow.

Jiang Yining seemed to be pressed down by a strong wind, her steps swayed slightly, and even raising her hand to block seemed slow.

When Tuba saw her pale face, the ferocity in his eyes intensified.

"If you kneel down and beg me now, I might let you die a little more quickly."

Jiang Yining raised her head, but at that moment, a cold smile curved her lips.

"Tuba, have you ever thought about why Mu Ziying specifically sent you to kill me?"

Tuba's giant axe did not stop for even a moment.

"The dead don't need to know that many things."

"Then you should test it on her first to see if my poison has taken effect."

The moment the words fell, the purple-gold qi and blood that Jiang Yining had suppressed for so long exploded in her dantian.

Her pale and weak figure suddenly straightened up, and her violent blood and energy rushed away the sand and stones around her. Her clothes fluttered wildly, and even the blood-red array at the edge of the arena was shaken and rippled.

The oppressive aura of a half-step Qi Refining Realm expert swept across the entire arena.

Tuba's sinister grin froze on his face, and the trajectory of his giant axe's charge was also slowed down by half a point by that momentum.

"You're not at the peak of the Qi and Blood Realm? That's impossible. You've clearly been afflicted by the Meridian Locking Gu."

Jiang Yining did not answer. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and swept her body up before the giant axe fell.

Her slender legs drew a clean arc in the air, her purple-gold energy condensing at her toes as she kicked the side of the giant axe with great force.

With a deafening roar, cracks began to appear on the blade of the massive, hundred-times-weight, refined steel axe.

Tuba's arms trembled violently, his tiger's mouth was instantly torn open, and blood flowed down the axe handle.

Before he could react, a second crisp sound drowned out the gasps from the crowd.

The giant axe shattered into pieces under Jiang Yining's kick, and iron filings mixed with sand flew everywhere. Tuba was left with only a broken axe handle.

Mu Ziying suddenly stood up in the stands, slamming her teacup onto the table, the scalding tea soaking half of her sleeve.

"That's impossible. She was clearly poisoned just now, so how could she still unleash such a powerful aura?"

The elders of the Mu family also changed their expressions.

"She hasn't broken through to the true Qi Refining Realm, but she's already touched the threshold of Qi Refining. Tuba is probably in danger this time."

Tuba roared and threw away the broken handle, gathering heavy qi in his fists, attempting to forcefully ram into Jiang Yining with his bare body.

"You destroyed my weapon, so I will tear you apart with my bare hands."