The tree demon lunged, missing its target, and its face contorted in disbelief. It instinctively looked around, searching for Si Qing.
But Si Qing appeared behind it, then pressed a claw against the tree demon's heart.
"Surrender?" Si Qing asked from behind. "If you don't, your heart will shatter in the next moment."
The tree demon threw down its token and surrendered.
Si Qing clapped his hands and gracefully exited the stage.
Meanwhile, the arena for Qi Yu had also begun.
Qi Yu's opponent was from the Netherworld race. It was unclear if it was male or female, and its appearance couldn't be discerned. It stood opposite like a wisp of ghost fire.
Ethereal and intangible.
Si Qing frowned. "Sister's opponent seems difficult to deal with, very troublesome."
The most troublesome aspect of such opponents was that it was hard to truly injure them; attacks would often pass through.
Yan Hua and Chen Xi also looked troubled.
Yue Zhiyin pondered, "The Netherworld race, especially those with high cultivation, are all very difficult to deal with."
Unlike humans, their weaknesses weren't obvious, nor did they have fatal flaws like other races.
The Netherworld race could even transform into white smoke and become invisible. In a real fight, one could only outsmart them.
Qi Nian and Sui You knitted their brows.
Chi Ming, who arrived later, held Xiao Ming Lou, his face etched with worry.
Shao Feng and An Nuo stared intently, both appearing ready to rush forward at any moment.
Only Qi Yu, on the stage, didn't look particularly solemn. She calmly cupped her hands in a salute to her opponent.
The Netherworld race contestant opposite also returned the salute. Immediately after, the Netherworld energy around them transformed into sharp spears, which then scattered like falling flowers, multiplying into countless identical spears that assailed Qi Yu.
"Sister," Si Qing took a step forward, his voice laced with concern.
Shao Feng and An Nuo's expressions turned serious.
Yan Hua and Chen Xi simply stood with their hands behind their backs, looking towards the arena, silent.
On the stage, Qi Yu, faced with a sky full of spears, suddenly formed a hand seal and spread her arms to the sides.
A round, glistening mirror appeared before Qi Yu.
Within the mirror was not the Mirror Realm, but a hellscape covered in ice and snow, a chilling abyss.
This chilling abyss continuously drew things in. The countless spears were all absorbed into it. Furthermore, even the Netherworld opponent standing opposite seemed to be getting pulled in.
Qi Yu stood to the side, motionless, simply maintaining the hand seal. "Do you wish to surrender? If not, I'll send you in. Though I'm not sure if you can get out once you're inside."
What Qi Yu said was actually the truth.
Since the chilling abyss had returned, although she didn't constantly trap people in it like in her previous life, it still contained many unfortunate souls who had been trapped there before.
If someone were to be sucked in and wanted to find a way out, they would have to search one by one amidst the ice and snow.
With so many snow-capped mountains in the chilling abyss, searching bit by bit would be like looking for lice on a cat. Who had the leisure for that?
The Netherworld opponent remained silent, stubbornly resisting.
Seeing this, Qi Yu directly increased the output of her spiritual power, and like sucking up trash, *slurp*, she pulled her opponent into the chilling abyss.
Then... the surrounding Netherworld race members became displeased.
"Judge, this is unfair! Wasn't it agreed to stop at a mere touch? Why did the Dragon Girl harm our clansman?" one Netherworld person roared in anger.
"Silence," Chi Ming, who had just arrived, stepped forward to intervene before Qi Yu could speak. "How audacious! Didn't you just see that on the stage, Qi Yu showed restraint?"
"I will say this once more to all Netherworld race members: although the War God Ranking competition is meant to stop at a mere touch, if you do not concede, being beaten to death is not a violation of the rules."
Chi Ming was not speaking falsely. The War God Ranking clearly stated this.
However, many who participated in the War God Ranking challenges didn't carefully examine every rule.
Most people subconsciously believed that winning was all that mattered; if you couldn't win, you lost.
Only a few stubborn individuals would refuse to yield until death.
Upon seeing Chi Ming, the Netherworld person immediately fell silent and quietly walked back to their seat.
Qi Yu opened the door to the chilling abyss and, like discarding trash, began throwing out ice blocks one by one.
After a long time, she finally found the Netherworld opponent who had been sucked in earlier.
The opponent had already frozen solid, limbs stiff.
Even the Netherworld energy on their body was frozen in place.
"So, surrender when you should, otherwise it's very troublesome to clean up. All this ice, and after throwing it out, I have to kick it back in. Housekeeping is so difficult, can't you have some civic duty?" Qi Yu muttered as she tossed all the ice blocks back into the chilling abyss, then dispelled her spell and closed the gate to the abyss.
She patted her pants and walked off the stage.
Seeing this, Si Qing felt a wave of relief.
Shao Feng's tightly furrowed brow finally began to relax.
The arena competition was in rounds of three. Those who remained after a round would proceed to the next venue.
Nine Heavens was the first competition venue, where the first matches were held. After the first round, the second round's venue was the center of the South Sea.
This was a very advantageous location for Qi Yu, Si Qing, and Yan Hua.
Because there were still two more matches to fight in the first round.
After Qi Yu descended from the stage, Yan Hua went up to his own arena.
He had advanced through the ranks, not even needing to use his hands, effortlessly defeating his next two opponents in the first round, one after the other.
And he had done so by flicking them off with his dragon tail.
Si Qing had a slightly harder time.
His next two opponents were one from the Netherworld race and another from the South Sea Dragon race.
Neither of these opponents were easy to deal with.
Si Qing also took some time to perfectly send them off the stage.
As for Qi Yu.
Her final two opponents were from the Phoenix race and the Demon race.
Qi Yu easily sent them both off the stage with a simple Mirror Realm technique.
The first round of the War God Ranking concluded.
Qi Yu, Si Qing, and Yan Hua were all on the list, ranking in the top three.
Qi Yu felt a sense of relief and was about to go find An Nuo and Shao Feng when she suddenly heard someone call her name from behind.
Qi Yu, holding Si Qing's hand, turned around in confusion.
She saw Feng Mingqi, Feng Yunzui, and Feng Sixian, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, walking towards them.
Feng Mingqi looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, appearing very weary.
Feng Sixian and Feng Yunzui also looked equally tired.
It seemed as though the three of them hadn't rested at all recently.
"What's wrong with you all?" Sui You asked Feng Mingqi, noticing his fatigue, his face filled with confusion. "Did something happen in the Demon Realm?"
"A strange illness has broken out in the Demon Realm recently," Feng Sixian frowned. "We don't know what kind of illness it is. We only know that infected demons gradually lose their demonic power. The three of us have been investigating for a long time, but we still haven't found anything."
Feng Mingqi rubbed his temples. "Yes, it's been too tiring to investigate. We haven't rested at all."
After speaking, Feng Mingqi looked at Qi Yu and Si Qing, hesitating. "By the way, I heard that you two..."
He wanted to say, "You've recovered your memories?"
But the words caught in his throat, for some reason, he couldn't speak them.
Feng Mingqi felt a pang of worry, concerned that Qi Yu and Si Qing might hold ill feelings towards them because of Yu Zhen, their mother.
"We have recovered," Qi Yu's response surprised Feng Mingqi. "We originally intended to come to the Demon Realm to find you, but various matters piled up, and we never had the time. I didn't expect you to come today."
Si Qing's tone was also natural. "Yes, and we hadn't heard about this happening in the Demon Realm."
Feng Mingqi's awkwardness dissipated, replaced by a relieved smile. He then looked crestfallen and rubbed his temples. "Yes, that illness in the Demon Realm occurred too suddenly. I've tried many methods but couldn't resolve it. Those infected lose their demonic power and can't recover. They even lose their immortality and gradually age, becoming like mortals."
Yue Zhiyin frowned. "Why wasn't I told about something like this happening?"
Although he was in the Nine Heavens, he wasn't privy to everything.
Feng Yunzui looked at Yue Zhiyin. "We originally intended to tell you, but many in the Demon Realm still cannot accept the Nine Heavens, so under pressure, we couldn't inform you."
"But it seems you haven't sealed off the Demon Realm's barrier?" An Nuo asked, confused.
"There's no seal because it's completely unnecessary," Feng Sixian waved his hand. "That illness only infects demons. Infected demons have come into contact with people of other races, but those of other races have shown no strange phenomena."