Damned Healer-Chapter 618: Strange Turn Of Events

At the center of the martial stage, behind Giltei, it was as if a sea of blood had emerged.

At the same time, the shadow of a violet tree appeared behind Saelil, with branches and leaves reaching toward the skies.

That was the power of cultivators from that universe. The power of the Void cultivated within their bodies could be externalized and form something called a *Manifestation*. When activated, this manifestation drastically amplified the cultivator’s power and allowed them to influence the environment in their favor.

When both manifestations appeared, their range was still quite limited, initially only a few dozen meters wide. However, as time passed, they grew uncontrollably, spreading out even under the intense pressure coming from the arena.

All of this was happening on that special martial stage, located in the central arena, which was the most powerful one in the city. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

There were a dozen arenas, and each one had a different level of power. The stronger the Fighters, the greater the pressure needed; otherwise, the entire city and the island would collapse under the maximum power they released.

Battles between extremely powerful cultivators had always been a major problem in all universes. It wasn’t uncommon for two peak cultivators to destroy several planets around them when they fought.

Because of that, it was better for battles of this level to take place in enclosed environments that pressured both sides equally, reducing the level of power being released.

Giltei and Saelil remained in their original positions, while the fluctuations of their manifestations grew more and more intense. Even so, both maintained relatively uniform sizes, and their fluctuations were extremely similar...

...which made the expressions of the Violet Sky Clan members change.

"What’s going on? With Lady Saelil’s power, she should be crushing him without mercy!" the woman from the clan said in surprise.

"That bastard! Was he hiding his true power this whole time? How devious!" Padir ground his teeth, his confidence in Saelil wavering as he watched the balanced manifestations.

The pressure of the martial stage was evenly distributed, forcing both competitors to endure it, with no room for tricks or hidden power. No one would dare hide their true strength under that oppressive atmosphere.

If someone concealed power and the other side’s manifestation grew larger, the pressure on them would increase drastically. Because of that, both sides tried to take the initiative from the very start.

The expansion of their manifestations marked the initial phase of the battle. It was a tie.

Maeyu clenched her fists, her fingers turning pale from the force. She could no longer hide her nervousness.

"Sir Darian, do you think my older sister can win?" Maeyu suddenly asked.

The mere fact that she asked that question showed her immaturity. At that moment, she was desperately craving an answer that would comfort her.

Darian looked at her with curiosity, realizing that despite her reasonably powerful aura, Maeyu had little combat experience. Perhaps she had never even taken part in a real-life-and-death battle.

But Darian wasn’t the type to lie. He shook his head.

"What?!" Maeyu’s expression changed completely.

Niara answered in his place: "It’s still far too early to draw any conclusions."

The fight had barely begun. In a real battle, anything could happen. How could he possibly know who would win? To Darian, it felt like he was sitting next to a group of children.

*BUZZ!*

At that instant, the martial stage trembled, and the growing pressure dissipated. Both manifestations expanded rapidly. At that moment, it seemed as if the power restraining them had completely vanished.

"Blade of the Sea of Blood!"

Giltei roared. Blade-shaped points of light appeared within his manifestation; they were flying swords that immediately shot out.

"These swords are extremely hard to forge. He only has a few dozen... WHAT?!", Padir commented, but suddenly fell silent, staring in shock.

"H-hundreds?!"

Everyone in the arena was stunned. This type of flying sword was about as expensive as it got, and his having hundreds was absurd. He was only the clan’s genius, and geniuses emerge in every generation. There were other, more important figures who should receive that kind of treatment, like Caoming, for example.

Giltei’s attack surged forward like a devastating wave of blades.

At that moment, Saelil made her move.

She wielded a short, crescent-moon-shaped saber with a shimmering violet blade. With a swift downward motion, a violet slash tore through space.

The swords coming from all directions were instantly frozen.

Saelil’s violet power was a peculiar technique. It acted like ice and was capable of sealing both space and energies.

After freezing the offensive, Saelil’s saber advanced, breaking through the sword formation and shooting straight toward the enemy’s head.

Giltei snorted. "Haha... interesting! But you’re not capable of freezing three hundred of my scarlet swords."

He retreated and waved his hand, turning the frozen swords into smoke. Then, in a bizarre manner, they reappeared right in front of Saelil while she was still attacking, blocking her strike.

Without even looking back, Saelil spun her saber in a reverse arc, sending more than a hundred swords flying that had silently appeared behind her.

Her movements were graceful and precise, showing vast combat experience. On top of that, her reaction speed revealed sharp judgment and extremely keen senses. At that moment, Padir and the others began to applaud her.

However, Darian frowned. "This is bad."

Niara sighed, agreeing.

"What do you mean? Can you tell me what’s wrong?" Maeyu asked, clearly worried.

Niara spoke seriously: "Your sister fell into that guy’s trap. He deliberately said he had three hundred swords and only used one hundred and fifty to block her attack. Your sister noticed the numbers didn’t match and reacted immediately, deflecting the one hundred and fifty swords that appeared behind her. Now, she believes he only has three hundred swords, so she’ll start paying attention to their quantity and changes to try to predict his attacks. That’s the trap."

Maeyu and the others had barely managed to process what Niara was explaining when Saelil intensified her offensive, forcing Giltei to retreat more and more.

"!"

Suddenly, a shocking scene was revealed to the spectators. Tens of thousands of swords appeared behind Saelil, without emitting the slightest fluctuation.

They were completely covered by pure Void power. Only the eyes of the people in the stands could see them. Saelil herself didn’t even seem to notice their existence as she continued advancing.

"Big sister, watch out!" Maeyu let out a heart-wrenching cry.

In that instant, the ten thousand swords fused into a single gigantic blade that charged straight toward Saelil’s back.

Saelil had been pressing the enemy the entire time, suppressing his three hundred swords, which made her believe everything was under her control.

However, when she noticed a treacherous glint in Giltei’s eyes, a bad feeling washed over her. By the time she realized something was wrong, the attack was already rushing toward her.

Giltei sneered. "Die! Ten thousand swords into one!"

Suddenly, Saelil made her manifestation vanish. All of her power condensed at the tip of her saber.

*BOOM!*

The collision sent shockwaves in all directions, making the entire arena tremble.

Amid the chaos, people felt as if both manifestations had exploded at the same time.

Just as Maeyu and the others began to celebrate, believing Saelil had survived the deadly attack...

*Pierce!*

...a sword silently pierced through Saelil’s chest.

Giltei smiled sinisterly. "You little bitch, I’ve wanted to kill you for a long time. You thought you were hot stuff and looked down on everyone, huh? Hahahah..."

With a perverted look, Giltei’s sword sank even deeper into her chest. Without hesitation, the blade trembled, releasing an explosion of power.

"Big sister!" Maeyu screamed.

"No!" the disciples of the Violet Sky Clan shouted.

*BOOM!*

The sword in Giltei’s hand exploded, but Saelil had already vanished into the air before that.

Giltei was startled. Looking around, he saw Saelil in a corner of the martial stage, furious, clutching her clothes and spitting blood.

Unexpectedly, she had a hidden trump card that allowed her to escape with her life.

"You little bitch, you really do have some skill. But I know you care about your dignity and won’t just admit defeat. Come on, show how you fight in that state. Show the determination and bravery of your clan, if that even exists. Show all this trash from your clan how weak you are, hahaha!"

Giltei laughed, acting as if he had already won, while his gaze swept across the stands.

When he saw Darian, his expression instantly turned sinister. Then he vanished and reappeared in front of Saelil like a ghost.

She was already seriously injured. Even though she had escaped with her life, she was practically incapable of continuing the fight. Still, she refused to admit defeat. Giltei’s words, especially, had ignited her pride, and that was why she insisted on going on.

When Giltei appeared before her, Saelil clenched her teeth. The black flower on her forehead disappeared. She burned her last traces of power.

*BOOM!*

She swung her saber and forced Giltei back with an explosive sound, as if violent flames were roaring around her.

"Hahaha, just as expected. Come on, let’s see what happens first: your life ends, or all that pride of yours." Giltei laughed.

Without hesitation, he unleashed a continuous torrent of flying swords. At the same time, Saelil charged through the attack, her eyes overflowing with icy killing intent.

Clearly, that hateful enemy wasn’t aiming for her vital points. He was seeking maximum humiliation, trying to tear her clothes or make her scream in pain.

In the stands, Maeyu was already in tears.

Darian remained silent. Niara sighed and murmured, "If your sister hadn’t fallen into his trap, her chances of winning in a fair one-on-one fight would’ve been around fifty percent. But now..."

At that moment, a sharp sword sliced Saelil’s leg, leaving a shallow wound that she ignored as she kept advancing.

Soon after, more and more swords cut her skin, but Saelil pressed on fearlessly.

Watching the scene, Darian and Niara showed expressions of disgust. Niara ground her teeth in anger. "That bastard is completely shameless!"

At that moment, a hidden power within one of the flying swords erupted. It scraped Saelil’s leg, tearing part of her pants and exposing her pale skin.

Then, a horizontal slash from another blade skimmed across her chest. Her clothes split open, creating a large, revealing cleavage.

"Hehe... so close, so close. I wonder if other parts are just as pale?" Giltei laughed, launching yet another wave of devastating attacks.

Saelil had already realized that any hope of defeating Giltei was just a dream, and that persisting would only lead to even greater humiliation. So she crushed a crystal and, wrapped in a flash of light, disappeared.

"The genius of the Violet Sky Clan lost!"

"It wasn’t just a loss... it was a miserable defeat."

"It was also a loss of prestige... heavens..."

Sighs echoed through the stands.

A flash of light suddenly appeared in front of Darian and the others, revealing blood-covered Saelil standing before them.

"Big sister!" Maeyu exclaimed, quickly covering her sister with a blanket.

Saelil looked devastated, her aura fluctuating erratically, as if she were on the verge of collapse. The people of her clan panicked, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, she spat out a large amount of blood, then fainted. Mixed in with the blood...

Everyone saw something green and sinister.

"NO! It’s Titanoboa poison!" Everyone in the clan turned pale in terror. That was one of the deadliest poisons, coming from a demonic beast.

Niara snorted. Giltei had many tactics and hid things well up his sleeve. He had hidden that he had hundreds of swords, hidden that one of them was stronger, and also hidden that the one that created the cleavage in Saelil’s clothes contained poison.

The Scarlet Cloud Clan was truly sinister. It was obvious they knew she could escape using the crystal. So they made sure the enemy clan’s genius would either die or be weakened for a long time after the battle because of the poison.

At that moment, Darian made a gesture.

A white light, about the size of a small pearl, flowed out of his body and touched Saelil, invading her. Instantly, she felt her body grow lighter. All the poison was cured.

Darian didn’t heal her completely because he didn’t want to expose himself too much.

When the people of her clan were about to take her away for treatment, Giltei’s mockery echoed through the arena.

"Hey, cowards of the Violet Sky Clan, don’t you want revenge? Come on, I’ll give you that chance!"

"That bastard! I’ll kill him!" Padir gritted his teeth and was about to rush forward, but Maeyu grabbed him.

"You’re no match for him. You’ll just lose your life for nothing, and that’ll only make them even more arrogant."

"Hahaha, the Violet Sky Clan really is a bunch of useless trash. Keep hiding like turtles for the rest of your lives. Don’t come out and embarrass yourselves!" Giltei laughed loudly.

The battle was over, but the show wasn’t. According to the city’s rules, the winner had the right to keep fighting, while the loser could also send another challenger, if they wished.

Even though Giltei had that right, if the other side didn’t accept, the battle would officially end. If Darian and the others left, they would lose their chance for revenge.

At that moment...

Niara couldn’t hold back and cursed, "Hey, you son of a bitch! Are you blind? Challenge the right person. Or are you too scared to challenge my husband right here beside me?"

The eyes of Giltei and everyone in the stands changed.

"Him? Haha... he’s just trash who hides behind a woman’s protection. Does he dare to fight?" Giltei mocked.

When Giltei directed the challenge at Darian, the people of the Violet Sky Clan immediately looked at him.

Darian snorted and replied calmly, "I don’t do demonstrations or games. If you want to challenge me, be prepared to die."

"See?" Niara mocked, fanning the flames even more. "Kid, we don’t even see you as an opponent. If you’ve got the guts, try challenging him for real. It’ll be a life-and-death battle. A little piece of shit like you doesn’t have that kind of courage, right?!"

Everyone in the arena fell silent, confused and shocked.

"If he has the guts, I don’t mind making him reincarnate early." Giltei sneered, tossing his golden tablet away.

Niara smiled disdainfully. Darian, in turn, made a gesture and also threw his tablet away.

The tablets collided in midair, and Darian vanished from the stands, reappearing at the center of the martial stage.

"Hahaha, now this is going to be a good show!" Niara exclaimed excitedly.

Ailik’s eyes were shining, and her heart was racing. Ramel stared at Darian, equally thrilled.

At that moment, everyone in the stands watched closely, focused on that strange turn of events.