"You don't know Old Jing's sequence either?"

Hearing Old Jin's words, Jiang Wuji was slightly taken aback, initially unable to comprehend.

Chen Zaikun, being Old Jin's apprentice and the most obedient, loyal disciple, hadn't shared his sequence information with Old Jin?

But after thinking about it carefully, he realized it wasn't that surprising after all.

Old Jin always respected his students, and he wouldn't ask if they didn't want to share.

Because of this, whether it was Vitinya or Tang Jin, Old Jin never blamed them for leaving or betraying him.

He always allowed his students to choose their own fate, offering only a little guidance and never forcing them to make unwilling choices.

...

The conversation between the two couldn't be heard by Vitinya in the duel arena.

And even if he could hear, he likely wouldn't want to dwell on it.

Because at that moment, Chen Zaikun was walking toward him step by step, wielding his knife and giant shadow single-handedly.

With each step Chen Zaikun took, Vitinya felt the pressure on his wrist increase, even forcing his feet to sink deeply into the ground.

Oddly enough, to pin someone down from top to bottom, one must be taller. Only tall people can exert a downward pressure on shorter individuals.

Yet, at this moment, Chen Zaikun's "altitude" was nowhere near the towering shadow's, or even Vitinya's.

But he was still able to suppress the one man and one shadow, leaving them no way to move.

"I told you, junior brother."

"You're not my match."

Chen Zaikun had already arrived in front of Vitinya, with his honest and naive expression still intact, yet Vitinya felt as if he was facing a fierce tiger that hadn't fully bared its fangs.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead; he had never imagined facing Chen Zaikun one day, let alone losing so miserably.

From start to finish, he never wished to bow to either Chen Zaikun or Old Jin, but at this moment, he had no means of counterattack.

Summoning the "Shadow of the Guard" greatly enhanced his attributes and the lethality of his moves—this was Vitinya's ultimate technique and his distinguishing confidence among all guards.

However, every powerful move has corresponding side effects, and the Shadow of the Guard is no exception.

Releasing the Shadow of the Guard granted him attack power far beyond the Close Guard Sequence temporarily, but also lost the guards' greatest trait—astonishing endurance.

Once the giant shadow was suppressed or dispersed naturally, Vitinya's stamina would be completely exhausted in a very short time, with no way to replenish it.

So, in the end, no matter how unwilling, Vitinya had to abruptly withdraw his shadow and retreat several steps, forcibly exiting the ring.

Thus, the final slaughter belonging to the "chessman" came to an end.

"Detecting the left main combatant has lost all chessmen, the first stage of the duel concludes. Now initiating the 'final kill' segment!"

As the voice of the Great Colosseum's host slowly faded, under the despairing gaze of the middle-aged main combatant, the high platform beneath him completely collapsed.

And amid the rumbling, he himself plummeted into the duel arena, transitioning from a "spectator" to a "gladiator."

According to the Supreme Heaven's initial rules, when one main combatant loses every chessman, he does not immediately fail but becomes his side's final "reserve chessman" on stage.

This chessman cannot voluntarily forfeit; he has only two choices—single-handedly defeat all of the opponent's remaining chessmen, or...

Be killed by the opponent's chessmen.

But the middle-aged main combatant clearly wasn't meant to fight.

Despite his floating white robes and profound appearance, he was merely an ordinary person, even less capable than Mokaka.

The people behind him promised that as long as he dressed the part and acted the sage, manipulating chessmen in the Great Colosseum, he could effortlessly defeat Mokaka.

And once he completed it all, he would receive a lifetime of wealth and carve out a spot among Upper City's nobility.

So, he came unknowingly.

But...

The events that followed seemed quite different from what he had imagined!

He had watched every bit of the previous battles—those Apprentice Death Gods were not human! Knocking down one or two buildings was the least of their feats; some could even turn their fists into weapons of mass destruction...

Facing such enemies, surviving was impossible, with not a sliver of hope.

He swallowed, looking at Old Jin at the forefront of the oppressive crowd, who were also watching him, their eyes devoid of murder but tinged with pity.

In front of this group of burly men, even the once fierce-looking Yun You appeared suddenly benevolent and kind.

"To be honest, we didn't want to start a bloodbath, but there's no way around it."

Jiang Wuji clenched his fists, lightly smiling as he spoke, "After all, you were the ones who started this, and we're merely defending ourselves."