For the crimson corpse to be selected by the High Priest to enter the Arena of Champions, it naturally couldn't be an ordinary undead.
This was a supreme specimen among mummies, known as the Crimson Flame Corpse. Buried deep beneath the desert, it had been refined by the sun's true fire for countless years. As all moisture in its body evaporated, it underwent a bizarre transformation the moment it became a dry corpse, eventually nurturing a core of flame within its body. Born with the Crimson Flame Life Aperture, it contained a unique kind of corpse fire known as Crimson Flame Corpse Fire.
Its power was so intense it could burn anything to ash.
Not only was it immune to pure Yang energy, the flames within made it nearly impervious to most divine techniques and spells. Ordinary exorcism arts were completely ineffective. Moreover, it could control the crimson flame to refine and temper its own body, making its physique incredibly formidable.
Unlike typical zombies, it wasn't slow or rigid—It moved with astonishing speed.
Its cultivation had already reached the Life Aperture Realm, and within its eyes, crimson flames danced.
With a flick of its arm, scarlet iron chains whipped out like living snakes, weaving themselves into a crimson shield wall, blocking its entire body from view.
Clang!!
Guan Xiong's war blade struck the shield wall formed of chains. Crimson flames surged violently as the wall trembled, on the verge of collapse. But the power within those chains was not inferior to the war blade's. A wave of crimson fire surged along the blade toward Guan Xiong, but his blade intent erupted instantly, erasing the flames into nothing.
Divine abilities represented the laws of heaven and earth.Blade intent stemmed from the soul and will.
Both were powers of the same level—divine abilities were mystical, but martial intent was overwhelmingly domineering.
Clatter!
In the Crimson Flame Corpse's hand, the chain was like an extension of its limb. After blocking Guan Xiong's first strike, the shield wall instantly shattered. The chains then twisted like serpents and suddenly wrapped around his war blade. With a yank, it tried to rip the weapon from his grip.
But Guan Xiong was a veteran of countless battles.Sensing the pulling force, he didn't resist. Instead, he stepped forward, leveraging the momentum, and drove the war blade straight into the corpse's heart.
The strike was lightning-fast, impossible to evade. The blade pierced deep into the mummy's chest, and at that very instant, a savage blade intent erupted and began rampaging through its body, tearing its organs to shreds, obliterating all life.
"Yes!!"
"Amazing! General Guan is incredible! A direct hit—even a corpse can't survive that!"
Countless eyes were drawn to this battle. The exchange was blisteringly fast—life and death decided in a flash. In battle, there was no give and take. If the opportunity arose, the next strike would always aim to kill.
Guan Xiong clearly understood this to perfection.Once he saw an opening, he attacked without hesitation.
The spectators began to cheer. But in the next second, they froze—A twisted, sinister grin formed on the Crimson Flame Corpse's face. Its body suddenly erupted in scarlet flames. In a blink, its whole form transformed into fire.
It showed no concern for the war blade lodged in its chest.
With a lunge, it shot toward Guan Xiong like a firestorm. The terrifying Crimson Flame Corpse Fire exploded upon contact, instantly engulfing him. In that moment, he was reduced to ashes—Completely incinerated.
Clang!
His war blade dropped to the ground.
All that remained was a pile of ash—Guan Xiong had been annihilated, not even a trace of bone left behind.
The battlefield flipped in an instant. The people, who had been ready to cheer, were struck silent. It felt like a hammer had smashed into their skulls. Their faces turned numb and disbelieving.
"How... how could this be? General Guan is dead?"
"That undead is terrifying. He took a direct stab to the heart and didn't even flinch, then turned into fire and burned the general alive!"
"We lost... General Guan is gone. We've lost the first match of this five-round trial!"
The people couldn't accept it. It had all happened in a few breaths. From first strike to death, it was brutally decisive.
"What a terrifying Crimson Flame Corpse... its fire is fierce enough to burn even Life Aperture cultivators to nothing. And it can phase between solid and flame form. That must be a divine ability tied to its Life Aperture. The moment Guan Xiong landed the strike, he subconsciously relaxed—and that was when the corpse launched its killing blow. These undead... they're not mindless. They're just as intelligent as humans."
Yi Tianxing's pupils contracted as he pondered silently.
"These undead are going to be a real problem."Wushuang Ghost narrowed his eyes and spoke grimly.
Boom!!
The Crimson Flame Corpse quickly withdrew from the arena. Yi Tianxing clearly saw an invisible wave of fate surge from the void and fuse into its body—along with a trace of Guan Xiong's essence blood. The aura around the corpse instantly surged.
At that moment, the towering mummy jumped onto the stage with terrifying force, landing squarely in the arena.
Raising its scythe, it pointed straight at Yi Tianxing and the others.
"Who dares to fight me!!"Its voice was cold and lifeless.
"What a mummy... I've slaughtered pigs, butchered bulls, and skinned beasts. But I've never dissected a mummy. They say the innards are all removed—let me verify that myself."
The man surnamed Pao stepped forward without hesitation. His eyes gleamed as he stared at the mummy. That gaze sent shivers down the mummy's spine—it was as if it had become a slab of meat awaiting dissection. Even with its strength, a trace of disgust crept into its heart.
"Who is this butcher? Why do I feel like his eyes are glowing like a predator's... That's just creepy."Even Wushuang Ghost felt chills and muttered.
"I have a guess... If he is who I think he is, then we might not lose this round."Yi Tianxing narrowed his eyes, watching the arena with intense focus, unwilling to miss a single instant.
"Kill!!"
The mummy swung its scythe. With one strike, seven scythe blades appeared, sweeping through the air and sealing off all space.
"They're not illusions—each one is real!"Yi Tianxing's ghost eyes flared, instantly discerning the truth.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But the butcher calmly drew his cleaver. With a casual swing, a clear shattering sound echoed as every scythe blade was broken and sent flying.
Then—He stepped forward and cleaved down at the mummy.
"Skinning!!"
The white wrappings binding the mummy unraveled instantly. A full layer of human skin peeled away like a cloak, falling to the ground.
"Slicing!!"
The next strike shaved its flesh like beef slices—thin as a cicada's wing, falling neatly to the floor.
"Tendon Separation!!"
A third cut cleanly removed all the sinews and muscle strands, intact and ready to be used as bowstrings.
"Deboning!!"
Crack!!
The fourth cut reduced the mummy to a neat pile of white bones.
Four strokes.Only four strokes to dissect a top-tier Life Aperture realm mummy—skin, flesh, sinew, bone—all separated cleanly and arranged like an art exhibit.
It happened so fast, no one could react.By the time they registered it, the mummy was already dismembered.
The dismemberment was clean and precise, like a butcher's masterwork. It almost felt as though the mummy had been paralyzed, unable to resist at all. As if it had been petrified by some unknown technique.
Ssshh!
The crowd gasped as one.
"That blade... it's too fast. Too precise. To peel skin, slice meat, remove sinews, and strip bones without damaging anything... that's almost a form of Dao in itself."Even Wushuang Ghost inhaled sharply.
And he wasn't alone. All around the oasis, people shuddered in awe and fear.
No one had expected the Butcher Pao to be so terrifying.