The battle in the arena entered a relentless stalemate from the start, with Saraf, his hands enveloped in a green glow, launching an almost frenzied attack on Nero like a tiger down the mountain. Watching those arms swiftly swing and create afterimages, even Pei Yan, standing outside the ring, could feel Saraf's hatred and killing intent toward Nero.

Everyone outside could sense this, and naturally, Nero, at the center of the stormy attacks, wouldn't feel any better. Amidst Saraf's rapidly fierce assault, Nero seemed to have lost his previous composure. Every punch that landed on him made the impacted area swell into a conspicuous bruise, which then quickly subsided in the next second, leaving the area shriveled and lifeless.

The spectators around the arena quickly noticed this change. Within just a few minutes of the fight starting, Nero's two clones were left pitted and unrecognizable from Saraf's blows. The people from the investigative hall, who had worked in Hell and with the Demon Race for years, were surprised upon seeing this. Liang Qian moved to the edge of the ring, watched closely for a moment, then sat back in place with a puzzled expression: "Is he using the death aura of Hell Demon Race? But the aura doesn't feel the same! However, the effect is similar; the parts of Nero hit seem to have lost their vitality."

Liang Qian's words voiced the doubt in everyone's hearts. Sharing the same confusion, Pei Yan observed the situation outside for a while before realizing something, explaining with a smile: "The effect is similar, but the process is entirely different. The death aura of the Hell Demon Race is a true death aura; the harm it does to the body accelerates the passage of time locally, causing rapid aging and death! In contrast, Saraf's attack does not contain any death aura on his arms, but is instead filled with vigorous life force."

"Vigorous life force?" Xia Yu asked, puzzled.

"That's right, look at the swollen areas on Nero after being hit." Pei Yan pointed to Nero's wounds and continued explaining: "That's not the red swelling we think is caused by striking, but the result of Saraf injecting life force into his body with both arms."

"I didn't expect Saraf to have this trick up his sleeve. After the life force is injected into Nero's body, it quickly absorbs and assimilates the surrounding life force into the same aura. In the subsequent attacks, this life force will leave Nero's body and return to Saraf's body." Saying this, Pei Yan showed an expression of admiration: "What a rogue strategy, using one's own life force to assimilate and seize others' life force and then feedback to oneself. With this, Saraf will only grow stronger the more he fights, while the enemy will ultimately exhaust their life in an endless consumption. Life-Severing Hand is very fitting."

"Oh, then doesn't that mean he has a chance of winning again?" Jiang Feiyang asked, eyes bright with delight.

"Hard to say, at least I've already thought of a way to counter this move. With just this technique, Saraf won't find it easy to win over his opponent," Pei Yan hesitated for a moment before responding.

But just as they were speaking, the situation in the arena changed once again. One of Nero's clones had its vitality entirely drained, with a bang, it shattered into a pool of blood on the ground. The one still struggling to hold on should be Nero's original body, which seemed to also be nearing the point of exhaustion.

However, just when Saraf's momentum seemed unstoppable, his outstretched punch stopped abruptly, and with a pained expression, it was as if a great shift occurred inside him. The previously agile body became sluggish, stumbling and swaying on its feet.

"How does my life force taste? Bah!" Nero spat a mouthful of blood spit on the ground, straightened his battered and bruised body, and pressed his hand against his chest. Quickly, those areas that had become withered due to lost vitality swelled up like inflatable balloons. As the aged dead skin fell away, it revealed fresh, tender skin underneath. Because of the contrasting colors of new and old skin at the wound and other areas, Nero's body surface looked like it was left with palpable fist imprints, reminiscent of cupping, prompting Pei Yan below the stage to laugh uncontrollably.

But Saraf on stage had no such good mood. Seemingly in great pain, he barely managed to keep from collapsing, looking up angrily at Nero, whose expression was restored and smug: "You actually poisoned yourself?"

"Hehehe, your move is indeed impressive. If used against ordinary cultivators, their only fate would be death and dispersal." Nero seemed to also notice his own sorry state. After changing into a new set of clothes to cover the wounds, he continued, "However, you forgot you are facing the Child of Origin, who also possesses Primordial Qi. Although your life source qi has unique characteristics, it's not difficult to disguise my poison using the Six Paths of Origin to imitate your life source aura! Then, I just needed to spread this camouflaged poison throughout my body, waiting for you to take the bait. The urgency to win made you neglect to carefully filter the Primordial Qi inhaled into your body, right."

Crack! Crack! A sound of bones breaking came out, Saraf's back skin cracked open, and a white bone whisked out. As muscles rapidly grew, dragon scales covered over them, forming a dragon tail behind him; at the same time, Saraf's entire body was covered in dragon scales.

"Now you know to enter a defensive state! True, my aura is not easy to digest. Well, it's my turn to counterattack. Hold on tight!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Seeing Saraf's transformation, Nero mocked him and then, with a flicker of movement, lunged at the barely standing enemy supported by a tail. He wouldn't miss this opportunity to hit a man when he's down.

But just as he entered Saraf's attack range, he was startled to find the anger on Saraf's face quickly dissipated, replaced by a disdainful and cruel smile. That hunched body also straightened again, and detecting a bad turn, he silently cursed, but it was already too late to retreat.

"Space Lock, Life Lock!"

Saraf's roaring shout confirmed Nero's grim premonition. The surrounding space twisted from the pressure and lock, which completely cut off Nero's escape routes using space techniques. At the same time, the life mark previously injected by Saraf ensured that regardless of any stealth or concealment techniques used, Nero could not disappear from his opponent's attack sight.

With these two possible escape routes sealed, what followed swiftly was Saraf's agile dragon tail. This robust dragon tail drew a graceful arc through the air at lightning speed, slicing the air with a tearing sound, then coiling tightly around Nero's waist.

"Now who's the one who's lost their mind? Fool!" Saraf sneered, tightening his tail's grip and pulling Nero closer.