Black Tiger, enraged, activated the Blood Sacrifice Secret Technique, and his skin began to show a bizarre pattern of blood-red flowers. The foul scent of blood rose in the Secret Realm Heavens and Earth as ten thousand tormented souls gathered in a bloodthirsty, blood-qi condensed tiger form, charging forth as ferociously as a tiger devouring its prey.
Zhu Qing and the other Martial University team members' eyes were full of hope, all waiting to see Emperor Qin Shi Huang's stone sculpture once again display its divine might and shatter the bloodthirsty Sha Tiger with one strike.
But this time, the stone sculpture seemed to hesitate; the sword was raised, but in the end, it did not strike down. Faced with the devouring bloodthirsty Sha Tiger, it only used the sword to block.
"Clang!"
The Sha Tiger, formed from Black Tiger's Blood Evil Qi and with tens of thousands of vengeful souls within it screaming with boundless resentment, had already reached the limits of the First Grade. If it weren't for the suppression of the heavens and earth's rules, its power would have been even stronger. With one blow, the Stone Sword began to crack.
"Roar—"
The momentum of the bloodthirsty Sha Tiger increased drastically, and the wails of the souls inside it became even more desolate and heaven-shaking.
With each charge, although repelled, the cracks on the surface of the Stone Sword grew increasingly numerous, and tiny droplets of stone chips began to fall.
"Damn it, why isn't he fighting back?"
"Yeah, why is he only defending and not attacking? Where did the momentum from before go?"
"Logically speaking, one strike should be able to break through this Sha Tiger."
The Martial University team members were already at the peak of their impatience. They couldn't understand why the once valiant stone sculpture was now timid and playing turtle.
"Look over there!"
"Quick, look at the eyes of the stone sculpture."
Someone exclaimed in surprise, and all eyes immediately focused on it.
To their astonishment, the lifeless eyes of the stone sculpture were now shedding tears of blood, and the crimson tears were falling down the corners of the statue's eyes.
It seemed so noticeable, as if the stone sculpture were a living being.
But in everyone's eyes, it was clearly just a sculpture; how could stone weep, let alone blood tears?
Seeing the stone sculpture's majestic face shedding blood tears, everyone inexplicably felt a heart-wrenching discomfort, as if something was lodged in their hearts.
"What's going on?"
"Why is this happening?"
The Martial University team members couldn't understand the cause but were still infected by a certain emotion.
"Roar—"
"The decisive and ruthless Emperor Qin Shi Huang, why can't he make his move now?" the Mountain Lord said with a sly and fierce gleam in his eyes.
"Such mercy can lead to downfall."
The bloodthirsty Sha Tiger, growing more ferocious, held ten thousand wailing souls within it, their cries as if emanating from the depths of hell, voracious enough to devour a person alive.
"I understand."
"I get it now," Pan Ren said, his body trembling and his eyes complex. "The souls inside that Sha Tiger—all belonged to the people of Jiang City who perished."
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang is an emperor of the Human Race, how could he bear to personally slay his innocent subjects."
In that instant, everyone had an epiphany; a tingling sensation surged from their toes to the crown of their heads and refused to subside for a long time.
Zhu Qing murmured, "Is this really the remnant soul of Emperor Qin Shi Huang not having the heart to make a move, or is it Brother Xiao Luo, or perhaps...?"
"Both are possible," Cao Ritian said, his expression contorted.
"They are already dead."
"They have become the enemy. At this time, mercy is not an option. If there is no counter-attack, everything will be over."
"More people will die."
Pan Ren said blankly:
"Given Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tyranny and pride, how could he deceive himself and others? No matter what they become, they are still his subjects."
"How could an emperor of the ages do something like slaughtering a small number of people without any compassion to save the majority?"
Cao Ritian shook his head and retorted:
"The Emperor Qin Shi Huang I know of from legends would never lose the big picture for the small, a decisive and powerful figure who wouldn't hesitate or waver at such a moment."
"Legends are just legends, the reality is right before you, can't you believe it?" Zhu Qing spoke out loudly.
"Bang, bang!!"
Under the ferocious attack of the bloodthirsty Sha Tiger, the huge stone sword swung by Emperor Qin Shi Huang was now riddled with fine cracks, its blade chipped and incomplete, its momentum weakening while the Mountain Lord and his controlled Blood Tiger's might flourished increasingly.
Unnoticed by anyone, behind the towering stone sculpture, Luo Yu, with his eyes shut, also began to overflow with crimson blood at the corners of his mouth.
At the same time, outside the Tiger-Dwelling Mountain Secret Realm.
A large group of strong people had gathered; leading them was Shi Kai, as well as the second and first-grade strong persons from the province. Lord Qian Han of Guang Yuan City had also arrived.
Everyone looked grim, staring down at the temple entrance at the bottom of Tiger-Dwelling Mountain.
The entrance was filled with a surge of blood light and rising evil energy, strong enough to immediately overwhelm a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist's Divine Spirit, turning them into a ferocious creature.
"How could this be!" Shi Kai exclaimed in rage: "Damn it, this Tiger-Dwelling Mountain is clearly a Third-Grade Secret Realm, why did it rapidly ascend to a top-ranking First-Grade Secret Realm after everyone entered?"
"Principal Shi, such an incident has never happened before, I fear a major change has occurred inside. We must immediately enter and support our children."
"Yes, we must make a decisive decision now and go in to rescue the children. These are the elites of the Martial Universities from various provinces. If they were to perish, Great Xia would face a dire shortage of talents ten years later. They absolutely cannot be harmed."
"But if we all enter, the defense forces of all the cities in Substantial River will be greatly depleted. If enemies attack from outside the territory or the mastermind behind the destruction of Jiang City strikes again, the trouble will be too great."
Feeling the powerful aura emanating from the entrance to the Secret Realm, Shi Kai's heart raced with trepidation.
"It's useless for you to go in; there must be a terrifying presence inside the Secret Realm. Otherwise, it couldn't have risen from a Third-Grade Secret Realm to a First Grade."