From Death To Dominion

"Now tell me," Ye Xian said. "Your brother, Fatty, is watching with delight. How do you feel about that?"

Steve glanced at his brother, who was suppressing a smile.

Ye Xian chuckled. "Well, since you seem to be enjoying the treatment, I'll continue—"

"I ADMIT DEFEAT!" Steve shouted.

"Good. Now, hand over the Ki Stones," Ye Xian demanded.

"In... in my space pouch..." Steve muttered.

Ye Xian reached down and emptied the pouch's contents onto the ground.

A pile of Ki Stones, manuals, Steve's clothes, and...

Silence.

.

.

.

.

.

"...Well, this is awkward," Ye Xian said.

The students barely had time to process what had just happened when an unexpected sight greeted them.

Lingerie.

Adult magazines.

BDSM equipment.

A stunned silence fell over the crowd.

A few girls gasped.

A few boys whistled.

Steve's already bruised and battered face turned an alarming shade of crimson.

Ye Xian crouched down, casually picking up one of the magazines and flipping through it with interest. "Huh," he mused, tilting his head. "Didn't take you for a man of such refined tastes, Steve. This is… thorough research material."

"Sh-Shameless!" one of the girls cried, covering her face in horror.

"Pervert!" another accused.

Steve wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

Ye Xian shrugged, completely unfazed by the collective judgment.

"Well, no need to be shy. Everyone has hobbies."

He lazily stashed the thousand Ki Stones into his storage pouch and straightened.

"Anyway, a deal's a deal. Thanks for the donation."

Steve, still trembling with humiliation and anger, mumbled under his breath.

"R-release me…"

Ye Xian rubbed his chin, considering. Should I? He eyed Steve thoughtfully. If I release him and he attacks, I won't be able to fight him head-on because of that damn Ki armor.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and expanded his spiritual perception, stretching it outward over several dozen meters. His awareness flowed through the area like a tide, scanning for any immediate threats.

And then—

Sharp, piercing intent locked onto him.

Ye Xian stiffened. His senses recoiled as if struck. His gaze flickered subtly in a certain direction, where he could almost feel a pair of eyes watching him.

Crap!

He quickly withdrew his perception, suppressing the urge to look over his shoulder. Someone was keeping an eye on him. An expert… If I keep this fight going, I'll just get myself into more trouble.

Making his decision, he sighed and reached out toward Steve.

"Fine. But you won't attack me, right?"

Ye Xian asked, his voice calm.

"The duel is over. You know fighting outside of a match is against academy rules."

Steve's gaze flickered with something unreadable before he slowly nodded. "Y-yeah…" he muttered, his fists clenching at his sides.

"Good." Ye Xian tapped several acupuncture points on Steve's body, undoing the sealing technique.

The moment Ye Xian lifted his fingers, the restraints shattered like brittle glass. A violent surge of silver ki erupted from Steve, his aura flaring like a storm. He staggered briefly, regaining control, before straightening with a deep, sharp breath.

And then—

His bloodshot eyes snapped to Ye Xian, filled with nothing but burning hatred.

Ye Xian, however, remained unbothered. He crossed his arms, smirking slightly.

Steve clenched his fists, his expression twisted with barely restrained fury.

"Now that I have my strength back," he growled, his voice low and dangerous, "let's see you laugh now."

Ye Xian tilted his head, utterly relaxed.

"Oh?" he mused.

"You finally got your body moving, and the first thing you do is threaten me? How predictable. Can't you just accept your loss like a man and move on?"

Steve's face twitched violently at the remark.

The shame of being humiliated in front of the entire academy had already pushed him to the edge of sanity.

His breath came in heavy bursts, his body trembling, and his vision was tinged with red.

"The fight wasn't over. Not yet!"

With a sudden explosion of force, he lunged. Ye Xian barely had time to react. Steve's silver ki-coated fist swung toward his head like a cannonball.

Ye Xian twisted his body at the last second, narrowly avoiding the full impact, but the sheer force of the attack left a deep graze on his cheek.

A gust of wind blasted past him, ruffling his clothes. Behind him, the wall of the training ground cracked with a thunderous boom as Steve's punch slammed into it, leaving an imprint of his fist.

Gasps echoed from the surrounding students.

"If that punch had landed…" one murmured.

"He really has gone crazy."

But Steve wasn't done. He pulled his fist back, his knuckles tightening as he turned toward Ye Xian again.

"I don't care about rules," he snarled, his voice raw with fury.

"I just want to crush your skull!"

He charged again, his movements faster, more desperate. This time, Ye Xian was prepared. His spiritual perception flared, predicting Steve's attack pattern.

He sidestepped, weaving through the barrage of punches with minimal movement. Each time Steve's fists grazed past him, they shattered the air with their sheer force.

Ye Xian smirked. "Is that all? Weren't you about to 'crush my skull'?"

The students stood frozen, their eyes glued to the battle unfolding before them. Ye Xian weaved through Steve's relentless attacks like a phantom, his movements effortless, his spiritual perception allowing him to predict each strike before it landed. His agility and composure left the spectators awestruck.

"How the hell is he dodging all of those?" one student whispered.

"He's making it look easy," another muttered.

Then—

A silver ki-coated punch came hurtling toward Ye Xian's face.

His pupils contracted. With no room to evade completely, he bent backward, his spine arching like a bow. The punch barely missed, passing just inches above his head. He felt the wind pressure graze his forehead, ruffling his hair.

Seeing an opening, Ye Xian lashed out with a counterattack, aiming a sharp kick at Steve's crotch.

Thud!

The impact barely fazed Steve. Instead, Ye Xian felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg, as if he had just kicked a steel wall.

Steve let out a snort. "That all you got?"

Before Ye Xian could recover, Steve raised his fist and swung down like a hammer, aiming to crush him.

Damn.

Thinking fast, Ye Xian twisted midair. His leg, still pressed against Steve, became the pivot point. Instead of trying to retreat normally, he channeled the force of Limit Release into his leg, using the impact to propel himself backward like a bullet.

Boom!

Steve's punch landed where Ye Xian had been a fraction of a second ago, creating inch deep cracks in the ground.

Ye Xian landed several meters away, sliding to a stop. He exhaled sharply. That was close.

But Steve was already on him again.

Like a rampaging beast, he charged forward, throwing punches with wild, unrelenting force.

First punch!

Ye Xian ducked.

Second punch!

He sidestepped.

Third! Fourth! Fifth!

Each blow carried devastating power, enough to crush bones and shatter stone. Ye Xian's spiritual perception was pushed to its limits as he dodged with razor-sharp precision.

Ninth! Tenth! Eleventh!

Steve was moving even faster now, his attacks relentless.

Twelfth!

Ye Xian's reserves were running dangerously low.

His breathing grew heavier. He could use Reverse Yin-Yang to absorb energy from his surroundings and recover instantly, but…

No.

The technique was too eye-catching. If he used it here, the academy's experts would sense the disturbance and investigate. That would lead to unnecessary trouble.

Just as this thought crossed his mind—

Steve roared, his ki flaring. His strikes grew wilder, faster.

Ye Xian dodged once—

CRACK!

A sharp, searing pain shot through his left arm.

Shit!

Steve's punch had connected.

The impact sent Ye Xian reeling backward, his feet skidding across the ground. He barely kept himself upright, but when he looked down at his arm—

His left forearm was bent at an unnatural angle.

For a brief moment, Ye Xian's usually confident smirk vanished, replaced by a grimace of pain and determination. The tension in the air grew even heavier, the students' whispers and gasps punctuating the brutal reality of the fight.

The students gasped in horror.

"He actually broke Ye Xian's arm…!"

"Shit… this just got serious."

A low, dangerous aura began to rise from Ye Xian.

Steve, grinning savagely, cracked his knuckles.

"What happened to all that arrogance, huh? Not talking anymore? Feels different when you're on the receiving end, doesn't it?"

Ye Xian exhaled slowly. His usually playful expression was gone, replaced by something dark, something cold.

"You just made a mistake," he said, his voice eerily calm.

Steve snorted. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Ye Xian's ki surged.

"You wanted a fight?" His eyes burned with an ominous glow. "Then you'll get one."

His body trembled slightly, his limit approaching. He had two uses of Limit Release left.

He stepped forward, his right hand gripping his sword.

Steve's grin faltered.

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

"Should we stop them?"

"Someone get the teachers—hurry!"

Ye Xian ignored the noise.

Ye Xian was not finished. With his remaining energy and the last vestiges of his Limit Release, accelerating him in an instant. His body moved like a phantom—swift and elusive.

In a breathtaking burst of speed, Ye Xian closed the distance between them in an instant. His sword, now an extension of his very will now glowing with a Cold glint , blurred as it slashed toward Steve's throat with deadly precision.

Steve, sensing the danger, roared and swung his silver ki-coated fist with all his might : For a moment, time slowed.

Ye Xian's sword was mere millimeters from Steve's neck.

Steve's fist was inches away from Ye Xian's skull.

Some students squeezed their eyes shut, unable to watch.

And then—

Snap!