Chapter Twenty-Nine: Victory and Defeat

Everyone stared with wide eyes, not daring to blink for fear of missing that most spectacular moment. Yet, in the next instant, the entire arena flashed red, and Levin's figure vanished.

An unbelievable outcome—no one could accept it. Levin had evaded Xia Yan's lethal blow, and it seemed he hadn't even exerted much effort.

"The second ability..." Chang Duo Su was the first to react. She stood up involuntarily, exclaiming in astonishment, "He’s actually developed a second ability..."

Many members of the organization caught on immediately.

"It's the second ability."

"This Levin... has actually developed a second ability?"

"How could this be? Rumor has it one can only hope to develop a second ability once the brain domain surpasses thirty percent, but that's just a hope."

"Normally, the brain domain must reach thirty-five percent to safely develop a second ability."

"Levin’s strength is so formidable, he could easily rank among the top three in the organization."

"No one who develops a second ability is easy to deal with."

"Xia Yan is finished. Facing a Levin with a second ability, he’s lost completely."

"No chance now. What a pity!"

Many lamented—Levin, having developed his second ability, was undeniably powerful. Still, many wondered: why hadn’t he used it from the start?

Miyako’s eyes sparkled with brilliance. She marveled, "That’s... the ability called 'Blood Sacrifice.'"

"Blood Sacrifice?" asked the freckled girl beside her.

"It’s a price-exchange ability, similar to those of the Demon Race. To use it requires a heavy price—at least a part of the body, like a finger or an arm." Miyako frowned. "Look closely, Levin is demonizing again, but his left arm is gone."

"He lost his left arm?" The freckled girl was shocked, noticing that Levin’s left arm was indeed missing.

"That arm was already severely damaged by a plasma beam. So he used Blood Sacrifice, traded his left arm for power." Miyako shook her head. "Who knows how much his strength has increased."

"He’s developed a second ability—even fighting people like us, once he uses Blood Sacrifice, his combat power increases dramatically. His overall strength is definitely among the top three in the organization." The freckled girl was also amazed. "What a pity that such a powerhouse was forced into this by Xia Yan, and had to use Blood Sacrifice just to escape."

"Xia Yan is going to lose." Miyako’s face was tinged with regret. "Once Levin uses Blood Sacrifice, the battle becomes a complete crushing. But Levin is miserable too—he’s lost his left arm forever."

Many present were astonished, and those with broader knowledge recognized the 'Blood Sacrifice' ability. In that moment, they all agreed—the fight was truly over. With Blood Sacrifice, Levin could not lose.

Xia Yan was pitiful, yes; he had created a miracle, only for another 'miracle' to shatter it. Those who had previously cheered for Xia Yan now bowed their heads. They would not shout empty encouragement; the outcome was already determined.

...

Xia Yan only felt a flash of light rushing toward him. He raised his blade to block, but his body was sent flying uncontrollably...

He was struck, and the force was immense. He spat blood in an instant, his face pale.

That figure kept charging, batting Xia Yan around the air like a ball, at least seven or eight times, before slamming him heavily to the ground.

Xia Yan coughed up blood three or four more times, feeling utterly powerless for the first time.

Standing in the sky above, Levin gazed down at Xia Yan with nothing but cruelty and ferocity in his eyes. He hated him—a mere Xia Yan, an ant, less than trash, had cost him an arm.

The price was simply too heavy.

"Xia Yan, I’ll make your death miserable... very miserable..." Levin roared madly, his body shimmering like a stream of light as he rushed toward Xia Yan, his hand glowing with a faint black energy, threatening to engulf even space.

Many present could no longer bear to watch. The battle had been full of twists, but the ending was as expected: Xia Yan lost, and lost so utterly.

Miyako’s face was bitter and helpless, while Tao Lu’s expression was twisted with madness and unwillingness...

...

For Xia Yan, victory was no longer possible, but that didn’t mean he could only sit and wait to die; there was still hope.

That hope was not for victory, but for mutual destruction.

What is the greatest advantage of firearms? If one disregards self-injury and adopts a mutually destructive strategy, the opponent must retreat.

If they refuse to retreat, both die.

But Xia Yan needed to wait. He had to wait for the moment when his opponent couldn’t retreat and could only choose death together. That was his only chance—to make Levin pay not just an arm, but his life.

Wait, wait until the plasma pistol cooled down, grasp that last sliver of opportunity.

He was struggling to hold on!

Xia Yan appeared like a punching bag, taking blow after blow, seemingly on the brink of death. But thanks to the fire element and his C-class defense suit, he still retained consciousness.

Wait, just a few more seconds—the overheating would end.

"Xia Yan, die die die!" Levin was at the peak of madness. The dark energy in his hand formed balls that he hurled at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan struggled to endure, barely managing to fend off the dark energy. There was not a single sound part of his body left, except for two bright eyes, which spoke of final will.

"Die!" Levin pounced.

"This is it!" Xia Yan felt it—this was the chance of a lifetime!

He began to charge his plasma pistol...

But at that moment, his expression faltered. This surely mutual destruction blow—he couldn’t focus, his vision blurred, his mind dizzy, and he could not keep from falling unconscious.

Was this because his life force was nearly exhausted, too much blood lost?

No... not right...

Damn it, his dizziness had returned at this critical moment. Last time he fainted was a long episode, during his fight with Mimi.

Why was this happening...

Xia Yan was filled with utter unwillingness.

Everyone saw Xia Yan and Levin nearly brush past each other. In that instant, Xia Yan pulled the trigger, and the charged multicolored beam shot toward Levin.

At such close range, there was no time to dodge...

This beam should have hit Levin’s heart, but—Xia Yan’s hand trembled, and it veered off course.

Then Xia Yan sank into endless darkness, his body drifting like a dandelion in the air, ready to scatter at any moment.

He should be dead—such a heavy blow, no chance of survival!

At the same time, Levin’s body was penetrated by the beam—not a fatal spot, but still grievous.

The arena erupted with noise, filled with disbelief.

"Who won?"

"Who was the winner?"

"Could it be mutual destruction?"

"Xia Yan took that blow, he must be dead. As for Levin, with Blood Sacrifice, he didn’t receive a fatal wound."

"Xia Yan’s likely dead; Levin still has breath, still conscious!"

"Levin can move, he’s not dead."

"But Levin is finished too, his demonization ended, the price of Blood Sacrifice too steep, his injuries too severe—he may not survive."

"A miracle—Xia Yan’s last shot forced Levin to this state!"

"Even if Levin survives, he’ll probably be a cripple. In this duel, I think Xia Yan still won, though it was terribly brutal."

"Xia Yan is amazing—if Levin hadn’t developed his second ability, Xia Yan would have won."

"Xia Yan just had bad luck. If he’d chosen a slightly weaker member of the 'organization management,' he would have won. Instead, he faced Levin, who had a second ability."

"What a pity... such a pity..."

Many lamented—Xia Yan’s defeat was unexpected; he should have won. In this hopeless situation, he fought to the end, creating a final miracle.

Though Xia Yan was dead—a dead genius is only a tombstone—his brilliant achievement would remain in people’s hearts for a long, long time.

Tao Lu sat in place, her body numb, her heart full of despair. In the end, this was the result.

...

Gu Yue’er stared at the light-brain, unable to believe it. "No... How could this happen? How could Xia Yan lose... I don’t believe it, I won’t believe it."

Her expression bordered on madness.

"No... Xia Yan, you can’t die." Gu Yue’er shouted, her spirit collapsing. She spat several mouthfuls of blood and fainted with darkened vision.

"Excellent..." Director Aiyou was ecstatic. "It’s almost done, almost there! Gu Yue’er, develop the purification ability!"

She felt no regret for Levin’s destruction. She only cared that the experiment would succeed—this was a world-changing achievement that would turn humanity into history.

From now on, this world would no longer need humans; everyone, from birth, could awaken bloodlines of other races!

She laughed madly, infinitely delighted!

Wonderful, truly wonderful!

...

The Earth Federation was divided into ten regions. Regions one through six belonged each to one of the six major racial powers; the remaining four were mixed regions.

At the same time, a distinguished figure was watching the battle.

The setting was a villa reminiscent of a western castle, with elegant and exquisite décor, clean and tidy, and a view of the blue sky.

A woman sat on a sofa in the bedroom, a cup of freshly brewed black tea steaming on the coffee table.

Her figure was exceptionally petite—smaller even than Tao Lu, barely over one and a half meters tall. Her skin was frighteningly pale, not like that of humans, and her eyes seemed to come from the depths of the underworld: deep and bright, as if capable of piercing one’s soul.

Ordinarily, such a woman would not be regarded as beautiful, but she was different. Overall, she possessed a unique beauty—an allure beyond mere attractiveness, a beauty that transcended beauty itself.

If one had to describe it, perhaps it was a shock that came from the soul—certainly not a beauty possessed by ordinary women.

A female butler approached respectfully, standing beside the girl.

"Vivian, do you know that there are people who, even when gravely injured and facing certain death, can rapidly recover and become whole again..." The girl stared at Xia Yan on the light-brain, speaking word by word.

"My lady, I do not quite understand," the butler named Vivian replied softly.

"For example, this human—he should be mortally wounded, yet he did not die, and his injury is rapidly healing!" The girl looked at Xia Yan. "But this is not an ability, because this human’s first ability has already been developed, and the second is far from maturity."

"My lady means..." Vivian was incredulous.

"In my experience, there’s only one phenomenon that could explain this—a pureblood Angel Race..." The girl narrowed her eyes.

"My lady, you mean this human is a pureblood Angel?" Vivian asked in surprise.

"No, any race’s pureblood will awaken their bloodline at birth, but this one did not." The girl scrutinized Xia Yan. "He ought to be human, but I don’t know how his genes mutated to this degree."

"Could it be that he cannot be killed?" Vivian wondered.

"To kill such a person, there must be at least ten thousand ways—simply decapitate him, and he’ll surely die." The girl smiled gently, like a 'demon,' or perhaps she was a demon herself, a pureblood. "Have our people investigate what Aiyou is scheming in District Nine’s Fuxiang City."

Her tone was grave, her expression serious. "Depending on what they find, I may consider visiting Fuxiang City myself."

"My lady... you’ll go personally?" Vivian was so stunned she could barely speak. Given her stature, why would she go in person? Aiyou was but an ant; even if she accomplished something great, it should be handled by subordinates.

Yet the lady intended to go herself—what did it mean? Vivian could not think that someone like Aiyou was worthy of her presence.

...

At that very moment, after the girl finished speaking, Xia Yan’s wounds nearly healed.

His skin was as pale and rosy as a newborn, the wounds all but vanished—only the most lethal ones left faint traces, but they too healed visibly.

He opened his eyes, their brightness undimmed; his body’s development had improved again—how much, Xia Yan did not know.

After a slight movement, he was sure: his body development had surpassed twenty percent.

This was his second post-fainting enhancement—the first was after Su Zhu stabbed his heart with a dagger, when he awoke and broke through human limits.

The battle was truly over, and the victor was not Levin, but Xia Yan. His unharmed body was the final punctuation, and his strength had soared—far beyond Levin’s.

Yes, after this unconsciousness, his abilities had grown so much that, if he were to duel Levin now, victory would be easy!

Blood Sacrifice? So what—abandoning the body, could the old Levin challenge the new Xia Yan?

Impossible! But for Levin, there was no such chance; he was on the brink of death.

Everyone present gaped, mouths wide enough to hold an egg; none could believe it. Xia Yan had resurrected, and his body was as light as the wind.

He was faster, stronger, his overall strength like a towering peak—not only suppressing them, but making Levin’s previously formidable combat ability seem insignificant.

No matter who, no matter how strong, all were compelled to marvel. It was a dazzling reversal. None dared believe this reborn figure was Xia Yan.

No, miracle was not enough to describe it...

This was the pinnacle of the organization’s management, far above the top three—far above...

It was not an illusion, definitely not. Xia Yan’s fist struck Levin’s body, sending his incredulous face flying skyward.

That exaggerated expression of terror, like a slow-motion scene, flashed before the crowd, evoking pity and confusion.

Tao Lu’s tense features finally relaxed. She smiled like a blossoming flower, showing her most beautiful self...

Yet her gaze held a trace of resolve...

Just a little more, the very last bit... Xia Yan...

Xia Yan did not stop. Under Levin’s incredulous stare, he punched him again, sending him soaring, like a rising firework, spraying blood in the air. After a long while, he fell to the ground, the earth stained crimson.

Now, Levin had only one last breath, he could die at any moment...

Many rubbed their eyes, but the result was clear—the outcome of the battle was not mistaken!

Though disbelief lingered on every face, the result was irreversible.

The battle was over, and Xia Yan had won!