Chapter 51

"Let the tournament officially begin!"

Just as the three instructors from Jitian Academy had taken their seats, the old man in the brocade robe saw that Jiang Yi's side had already started the battle, and reluctantly announced the start of the competition.

"Jiang Hong? What is he doing on the stage?"

Jiang Yunshan did not recognize Jiang Hong, but Jiang Yunshe, the head of the Jiang family's internal affairs, knew him very well. He furrowed his brow in confusion, exchanged a glance with Jiang Yunshan, and both felt that something was about to happen.

"Whoosh!"

After hearing Jiang Hong's words, Jiang Yi moved. His hand shot out like a venomous snake, but instead of grabbing Jiang Hong's arm, he easily dodged the other's hands and directly pinched his neck. Then he suddenly lifted Jiang Hong's body, suspending him in mid-air. His eyes, cold to the extreme, stared at Jiang Hong, and the overwhelming killing intent from his body made everyone near the stage feel suffocated. He suppressed his voice and said, "What did you say? Say it again!"

"Cough, cough!"

Jiang Hong, with his neck pinched, could hardly breathe, let alone speak. He could only keep coughing and point to Jiang Yi's hand, indicating that he should loosen his grip.

Jiang Yi did not loosen his grip but instead suddenly slammed Jiang Hong's body against the stage floor with great force, causing the sturdy stage to shake. Jiang Yi punched Jiang Hong's head, making his nose bleed profusely. He lowered his voice and fiercely shouted, "What's wrong with the little slave? Speak! If you don't, I'll beat you to death!"

Seeing Jiang Yi's fist about to strike again, Jiang Hong hurriedly said in fear, "Jiang Xiaonu is fine now. You should hurry to West Mountain, or she will definitely be in trouble. Stop hitting me... I'm just delivering a message."

Boom!

Jiang Yi's fist landed with full force, directly smashing Jiang Hong's head into the thick wooden boards of the stage...

Whoosh!

Jiang Yi's figure shot straight down from the stage, then quickly leaped up, passing over the heads of countless people in the square, and shot straight toward the Jiang family compound.

"Huh?"

The entire square was stunned. What was Jiang Yi doing? His opponent hadn't surrendered or been knocked off the stage, yet he left first. Who won? And the competition had just started. Why did he want to leave without saying a word? Was he planning to withdraw from the competition?

The old man in the brocade robe, with his gray and sparse brows, frowned. Seeing Jiang Yi already sprinting dozens of meters away, he shouted, "Wusanliu, where are you going? Come back quickly, or I will disqualify you from the competition."

Jiang Yi did not stop for a moment, nor did he turn back. He rushed toward the Jiang family compound with all his might. The old man in the brocade robe became furious and shouted again, "I'll say it again, come back immediately, or you will be considered to have automatically forfeited and be disqualified from the competition."

Jiang Yi's figure had already reached the edge of the square. He finally stopped, turned around, and shouted, "No need to judge, I'm not fighting in this competition anymore!"

"Whoosh!"

As Jiang Yi's figure disappeared into the distance, the entire square erupted into a cacophony of noise. Even many important figures in the stands looked stunned.

Jiang Yi had endured the most difficult day yesterday. He had successfully broken through the Ma family's blockade, defeated one of the ten great geniuses, Ma Heiqi, and achieved twenty consecutive victories.

Jiang Yi was right; no family was prepared to block him today. Unless he achieved ninety consecutive victories, the final day would see the strongest from each family join forces to block him. In other words, if Jiang Yi continued to compete and survived the final day's blockade, he would likely achieve a hundred consecutive victories and directly secure a spot at the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy.

However, he suddenly said he would not participate? He was giving up the twenty consecutive victories he had fought so hard for yesterday...

Something must have happened!

This was the thought that flashed through the minds of countless people. But what could be more important than a spot at the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy? Wasn't he highly regarded by the Martial Hall? Wasn't he a member of the Jiang family? Why didn't he let others help him? Why did he choose to impulsively give up his competition eligibility?

Everyone was puzzled. Ji Tingyu looked regretful, Jiang Henshui's lips curled into a cold smile, Leng Qianqian kept scratching her head, the three academy instructors and Ji Tian looked confused, and even Jiang Yunshan was baffled. Only Jiang Yunshan and Jiang Yunshe exchanged a meaningful glance and smiled.

"Yunshe, send someone to check what's going on!" Jiang Yunshan, somewhat surprised, instructed Jiang Yunshe. Jiang Yunshe immediately nodded and walked out of the pavilion, giving a low order to a guard from the Jiang family's martial hall, "Jiang Qi, go and see what's happening. Remember... act according to the situation. If you get the chance, take care of him, and do it neatly!"

This guard was clearly part of Jiang Yunshe's faction, around thirty years old, and not particularly strong, only at the Purple Mansion realm. However, he was more than enough to deal with Jiang Yi.

"Ma Yin, you go and check too. Ma Fei went to see Heiqi yesterday, and I don't know what they're up to. Make sure nothing goes wrong!" On the other side, Ma Fei's father, Ma Yongji, quietly instructed a guard from the Ma family. The man immediately left and soon disappeared into an alley.

"Lord, something has happened!"

Inside the Martial Hall, Manager Yang urgently sought an audience with the Martial Hall Lord, reporting Jiang Yi's abnormal behavior. The Martial Hall Lord pondered for a moment and sighed in disappointment, "This kid doesn't know the gravity of the situation. He's given up such a good opportunity, wasting so many precious elixirs. Sigh... send someone to keep an eye on him. He's considered to have lost the bet, and if he dies, the Martial Hall will suffer a loss."

Jiang Yi's departure had alarmed three major forces. However, the situation in Tianyu City was complex, and none of the three sides dared to take drastic action. They only sent people to secretly follow Jiang Yi and act according to the situation.

The square quickly calmed down. Despite the countless people feeling regret, many were excited. After all, Jiang Yi's withdrawal gave them a chance.

After witnessing the intense battles of the previous day, no one dared to step up to the stage to continue the tournament for a while. In fact, He Dao, the young master of the He family, was already regretting it. The tournament was too difficult...

Without Jiang Yi, the tournament seemed somewhat dull and not as intense as the previous day. The tournament turned into a martial arts competition, making many people feel drowsy. Many secretly missed Jiang Yi, wondering what had happened to him and where he had gone.

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Yi raced like the wind, heading straight to the Jiang family compound. He did not enter but turned and rushed toward West Mountain.

To others, a spot at the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy was invaluable, but he did not care. If it weren't for wanting to take Jiang Xiaonu away from Tianyu City, he wouldn't have bothered to participate in the competition. Now that Jiang Xiaonu was in trouble, if she died, what would be the point of winning a spot?

He had climbed West Mountain many times and was very familiar with the path. He did not take the main road but a small path to quickly ascend the mountain.

He knew that many martial artists were likely ambushing on West Mountain, waiting for him to come. He was not afraid of death, but no one wanted to die if they could live. He was there to save someone, not to die.

"Someone is ambushing ahead!"

Halfway up the mountain, he paused. As soon as he climbed the mountain, he had gathered a thread of black essence energy in his ears, making his hearing incredibly sharp. He stopped because he heard a faint breathing sound from a bush about ten meters to his left.

A hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes. He channeled essence energy, moved lightly to the side of the bush, and then leaped up, his Qingming Sword flashing as he quickly stabbed into the bush.

"Ah!"

The person in the bush felt a fierce killing intent and looked up, only to see a short green sword flashing toward him. He screamed in terror.

"Chirp!"

Before his scream was fully out, Jiang Yi's short sword had already pierced his throat. He looked at Jiang Yi in shock, pointing at him with a finger, his eyes full of disbelief. He couldn't believe that Jiang Yi would really kill him so decisively.

"Bang!"

After killing the person, Jiang Yi's expression did not change. He kicked the man's chest, pulled out his short sword, and sneered, "Jiang Bao, you go first. Your parents, the Jiang family will take care of them."

Jiang Yi took a deep breath. He hadn't planned to kill anyone, but when he saw that the person in the bush was Jiang Bao, his Qingming Sword did not hesitate to pierce his throat. Jiang Bao's presence on West Mountain today clearly indicated his involvement in the kidnapping of Jiang Xiaonu.

Whoever dared to harm Jiang Xiaonu, Jiang Yi would kill them, no matter who they were!

"Ugh..."

Suddenly, Jiang Yi bent over and started vomiting. He wasn't naturally cold-blooded. The first time he killed, he might not have felt it, but now, staring at Jiang Bao's corpse, seeing his unblinking eyes and the blood gushing from his throat, he instinctively felt the urge to vomit, and his body trembled in fear...

But after a moment, he stopped vomiting, wiped his mouth, and walked up the mountain with a pale face. His eyes turned cold again, and his ears were always listening to the slightest movements nearby. His steps became even lighter.

"Someone is here!"

Soon, he discovered another hidden scout. He easily bypassed him, and upon seeing a Jiang family member hiding in the grass, he did not kill this time but knocked him unconscious and pierced his dantian with a sword.

Those involved in today's incident did not necessarily have to die, but they must pay for their mistakes. This was Jiang Yi's current thought.

All the way up the mountain, he cleared out the hidden scouts. Each one was knocked unconscious and had their dantian destroyed, without exception.

"Why hasn't the signal been sent? Hasn't Jiang Yi come yet?"

"Brother Long, Brother Hu, should we send someone down to check?"

"Yeah, this girl is just a servant. Would Jiang Yi give up his bright future for her?"

"Don't worry, wait a bit longer. Jiang Yi cares deeply for this little girl. He will definitely come up the mountain!"

Before reaching the top of the mountain, Jiang Yi heard many familiar voices. His eyes grew colder. When he quietly looked out from a bush and saw Jiang Rulong, Jiang Ruhu, and more than twenty others, the killing intent in his eyes could no longer be hidden.

"Xiaonu