Ficknilas didn't seem eager to quickly end Aiven's life. He was more like a wild cat toying with a helpless mouse, intent on utterly destroying Aiven's spirit and will. Every time he saw Aiven's calm face, an inexplicable irritation rose in his chest.

"You're nothing special," Aiven said flatly. While his body bore numerous wounds and he appeared rather disheveled, the injuries were not severe—Aiven had managed to evade the critical strikes of Fick's attacks.

When it came to battle experience, Ficknilas was worlds apart from Aiven!

"Your little sidekick won't make it!" Jenny exclaimed, unable to contain herself as she gazed at the bloodied Aiven. "Are you really going to just watch him die on stage?"

Ling Feng's expression remained calm, with no sign of concern. Instead, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "This is Aiven's battlefield. As his elder brother, I need to give him the chance to fight for himself. And besides… while Ficknilas is formidable, he is by no means invincible to Aiven. After all, Aiven has already figured out Fick's weaknesses!"

"That makes sense! You've fought Fick before, so of course, you know his weaknesses!" Jenny suddenly realized, though her expression soured shortly after. "No wonder you bet against me—looks like you were confident in the outcome all along!"

Ling Feng merely smiled, saying nothing.

In truth, while Ling Feng knew Fick's weaknesses, he hadn't shared them with Aiven. For someone with Aiven's keen perception, such insights wouldn't mean much. From the previous exchanges, Ling Feng could see that Aiven had slowly grasped Fick's vulnerabilities. Otherwise, Aiven wouldn't have walked away with such relatively minor injuries.

"This time, I'll cripple your tendons!" Ficknilas declared coldly from the stage. "I'll make sure everyone knows the price of challenging the Nilas Family!"

Aiven's eyes narrowed. Though he had yet to reach the Demi-God Domain, he had already begun sensing the flow of energy and the atmospheric currents on the battlefield.

He drew a deep breath, reminiscing about what Ling Feng had told him the night before: "Aiven, you've already reached the Peak of Grade A cultivation. If you want to step into the Demi-God Domain, you need a catalyst. I hope tomorrow's battle will be your chance to break out of your cocoon and transform. But until you've broken into the Demi-God Domain, I won't intervene to save you. Do you understand?"

"Not enough! This is far from enough!" Aiven muttered, licking his lips. Though Ficknilas had put immense pressure on him, it wasn't the kind of pressure that brought about a lethal threat!

Aiven had no idea how to break through to the Demi-God Domain. For now, his only thought was to plunge the short blade in his hand into Ficknilas's heart. He would use Fick's blood to honor his mother's memory. Killing Ficknilas was merely the first step on his road to vengeance!

"Bring it on!" Fick roared as his figure blurred into a phantom, launching himself at Aiven.

Aiven's body crouched slightly, his hairs standing on end. Every inch of his skin, every pore on his body was poised and ready for action!

"I may not be able to see your shadow, but I can feel your presence!" Aiven murmured, slowly closing his eyes.

Vision could deceive, but presence could not hide! Moreover… Aiven keenly observed that every time Ficknilas executed a chain of strikes, there was a brief momentary pause. Though subtle, for a professional assassin like Aiven, this pause became the key to turning the tide of battle!

With a whooshing sound, Fick's figure appeared to Aiven's right side, his soft sword darting like a venomous snake toward Aiven's right ankle.

Fick was confident in this strike; he had even begun envisioning how he would taunt Aiven after severing his tendons.

Yet the very next moment, a scream tore from Fick's throat. His soft sword clattered to the ground with a crisp sound.

In the instant Fick launched his attack, Aiven's body made an eerie, abrupt turn, darting straight into Fick's arms. At the same time, Aiven's short blade struck with precision, stabbing into Fick's wrist.

"Get lost!" Fick cried out in pain, throwing a palm toward Aiven.

Aiven had no choice but to abandon his short blade, retreating several steps to avoid Fick's attack.

Drip, drip, drip—the short blade remained embedded in Fick's right wrist, blood dripping rhythmically down his hand.

Fick's face twisted in pain. "Well, well… I didn't expect you could hurt me! I had planned to prolong this little game, but now you've forced my hand!"

With that, Fick aggressively yanked the short blade out. After using his internal energy to seal the wound, he glared at Aiven with a gaze full of killing intent and began stepping toward him.

The counterstrike from Aiven had pushed Ficknilas into a state of utter rage. He no longer toyed with his opponent; he had decided to tear Aiven into pieces.

Aiven's expression was grim. The enraged Ficknilas had tapped into his half-divine power, and Aiven felt as though the surrounding air had thickened to an unbearable degree. He cautiously flexed his fingers, realizing he seemed to be caught in a slow-motion trap.

"Damn, the air-swamp effect of the Demi-God Domain!" Aiven muttered, his face growing tense as the density of the air around him increased, making every movement feel laborious and sluggish.

"Kid, the strength of someone who's mastered the Demi-God Domain is beyond what you can handle!" Ficknilas sneered as he leisurely approached Aiven. Using his domain's ability to restrain Aiven's movements, Fick turned him into little more than a motionless statue, incapable of mounting any resistance.

Fick gazed at Aiven's furious glare with satisfaction. "I know you're angry right now, but this is the price of challenging the Nilas Family. This is the price of provoking the Demi-God Domain!"

As he spoke, Fick's soft sword flicked like a serpent, piercing through Aiven's flesh several times in quick succession. Blood quickly drenched Aiven's entire body.

"Are you despairing yet? Are you feeling the fear?" Fick cackled cruelly, his venomous eyes glancing toward Ling Feng in the distance.

Ever since he was humiliated by Ling Feng days ago, the shame had lingered like a shadow. He constantly felt the mocking stares of those around him, as if everyone was ridiculing his weakness and incompetence.

That was why, when he found out Aiven was Ling Feng's subordinate, he immediately stepped onto the stage. Fick knew he couldn't defeat Ling Feng, but he could brutally crush Ling Feng's follower.

Yet, much to his dismay, Ling Feng's expression remained calm and composed, utterly devoid of anger!

"Why!?" Fick roared internally in frustration. His attacks grew faster and more vicious!

"Kid, your big brother has abandoned you!" Fick taunted menacingly. "If you don't want to die, you might as well kneel down and beg for mercy. Curse Ling Feng as a worthless bastard, and I might grant you a chance to live. What do you say?"

Aiven grinned faintly, staring directly at Fick, before spitting out his reply: "Ficknilas, you worthless bastard."

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