After a brief, deathly silence, someone gasped, shattering the frozen atmosphere.

The crowd erupted in an instant, and a wave of horrified shouts threatened to overwhelm all of Jin Yu Street.

"Impossible! Su Yu killed Song Qingya in just three punches! I must be seeing things!"

"What kind of monster is Su Yu? Didn’t he just break through to the First Acupoint during the Martial Examination? How long has it been? He’s improved again! Does he face no bottlenecks when opening his acupoints?"

"A genius! That’s a true genius! You can’t measure him by any normal standard!"

Countless gazes, a mixture of awe, fear, and fanaticism, were fixed on the lean figure in the center of the arena.

Song Qingya’s sternum was completely shattered. One could even faintly see his ruptured heart through the caved-in chest. He couldn’t have been more dead.

What overwhelming power! What vicious methods!

Lu Ping took a deep breath to suppress his shock. He straightened up and announced in a booming voice, "Su Yu is the victor!"

He then turned to Su Yu, his gaze filled with scrutiny.

The handsome young man’s face was as calm as still water. He was methodically wiping the blood from his knuckles with a cloth.

’This boy has a will of iron—he’s ruthless and decisive. If he doesn’t meet an early end, he’s destined to become a titan in Black Stone City!’

’He’s someone to befriend, not to be trifled with!’

Lu Ping suppressed his shock and turned to the Qian Family’s contingent. His voice grew cold. "Qian Family, do you still want to fight?"

His question rang out like a death knell.

A deathly silence fell over the members of the Qian Family.

Patriarch Qian Mushi’s face was ashen. His body swayed, on the verge of collapse. Not a trace of his earlier arrogance remained. He stared at Song Qingya’s corpse, lips trembling, completely unable to accept this reality.

"No... impossible... How could Lord Song lose..."

"This can’t be real... The Qian Family can’t lose... We still have fighters!"

He snapped back to his senses and, as if grasping at his last straw, turned to his family’s tributor, Xu Yuanjie. "Tributor Xu!" he shrieked. "Quick! Get up there! Su Yu has been fighting for so long, he must be exhausted! Go and defeat him!"

"Up yours!"

Xu Yuanjie recoiled like a scalded cat, his face a deathly white. "Qian Mushi," he roared, "if you want to die, don’t you dare drag me down with you! That kid’s a fucking God of Slaughter! Even Song Qingya couldn’t take three of his punches. You want me to go up there to die? To hell with being a Tributor! I quit!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

With that, he ripped the Qian Family Waist Token from his belt, tossed it to the ground like a piece of trash, then turned, dove into the crowd, and vanished.

"You..." Qian Mushi was so furious he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He turned to Liu Hao in terror.

’This man is a genius from the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall, and he’s Song Qingya’s junior brother. Surely he’ll want revenge, right?’

However, Liu Hao was more horrified than anyone else in that moment.

’As his fellow disciple, I know exactly how powerful Senior Brother Song was. At the level of the First Acupoint, he fought his way through dozens of martial arts halls, and no one could stand against him.’

’Even Sun Shi, back in the day, had to greet Senior Brother Song with the utmost respect.’

’This time, for the fight against Su Yu, it was Master Xiong Wu himself who gave the order, specifically assigning Senior Brother Song to ensure a flawless victory!’

’But who could have imagined that Su Yu would turn the tables and beat Senior Brother Song to death!’

’Su Yu... He’s not someone I can fight head-on! I have to get back and report this to Master!’

Faced with Qian Mushi’s hopeful gaze, Liu Hao couldn’t even be bothered to offer any pleasantries.

SWOOSH!

Before everyone’s stunned eyes, he executed a Body Technique, transforming into a blur as he sprinted toward the end of the street without a single look back.

He fled!

A renowned genius from the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall had been so terrified by Su Yu that he’d fled without even fighting!

This was the final straw that broke Qian Mushi.

"Qian Family, your time is up. Concede," Lu Ping urged impatiently from the arena.

Abandoned by his allies, his cause was lost.

THUMP.

Qian Mushi’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. It was as if his spine had been ripped out, leaving his eyes hollow and full of despair.

"We... we won’t fight..."

His voice was hoarse, filled with endless desolation and regret. "The Qian Family... concedes."

"We won!"

The Yang Family’s side erupted in cheers.

Su Yu dusted himself off and calmly walked over to the Yang Family.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Tributor Su!" The steward, Yang Quan, his eyes rimmed with red, led the way by dropping to his knees with a thud. Behind him, a large group of servants and guards followed suit, their foreheads striking the stone pavers with heavy, muffled thumps.

As servants who depended on the family for their survival, they knew better than anyone that if the Yang Family fell, they would be like duckweed in a storm. Their fate would be little better than death. Su Yu’s victory had saved not only the Yang Family’s business, but the livelihoods and futures of every single one of them.

Yang Chongren took several deep breaths, forcing down the jubilant feeling surging in his chest. He straightened his robes, then gave Su Yu a deep, formal bow. His tone was as solemn as could be. "Nephew Su, today you saved the Yang Family from ruin. I, Chongren, am grateful beyond words! The Yang Family will never forget such an immense kindness!"

Yang Zhen’s eyes were already brimming with tears. She gazed at the young man, now the object of everyone’s awe, and her heart pounded in her chest.

’Brother Su is a true genius... and he’s my hero!’

’He saved the Yang Family. Without him, we would have already lost most of our business, and the Qian Family would have eventually crushed us completely.’

’I can’t imagine what would have become of Father, Mother, my sister, my brother... all of us...’

’Brother Su... I’m afraid that for the rest of my life, there will be no room in my heart for anyone else.’

"Brother Su! Wow, you’re incredible!" In contrast to her sister’s reserved nature, the little wildcat Yang Ai was far more direct.

She strode forward on her stunningly long legs and, with a fragrant breeze in her wake, threw her arms around Su Yu’s arm right in front of everyone, pressing her entire body against him.

Feeling the soft sensation against his arm, Su Yu felt a touch of exasperation.

"Ahem. We have an audience," Su Yu said, giving her smooth forehead a light flick.

"I don’t care! I want to hug you!" Yang Ai said, covering her forehead and pouting, not looking the least bit bothered.

Su Yu shook his head in resignation and turned to Yang Chongren. "Uncle Yang, since this matter is settled, I’ll be heading back to my residence."

"Yes, yes, of course! Nephew Su, you’ve performed a great service today and must be exhausted. Please, go back and rest! Once I’ve finished up here, I will personally visit to express my gratitude!"

Yang Chongren then glanced at his two daughters and said with a smile, "Zhenzhen, Ai’ai, the two of you will escort Nephew Su back to his residence for me. Be sure to take good care of him!"

"Yes, Father!" the two young women replied in unison. Without giving Su Yu a chance to refuse, they took his arms, one on each side, and practically lifted him into the carriage.

As the crowd watched the three of them leave, a wave of jealous remarks rippled through the onlookers:

"Tsk, tsk. So that’s the kind of treatment a genius gets. The Yang Family’s twin daughters are famous beauties. Looks like that kid is going to get lucky with both of them."

"Hey, if you could kill Song Qingya in three punches, you’d have plenty of young ladies from prominent families throwing themselves at you, too!"

...

「Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall — Main Hall of the Inner Courtyard」

The atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

"So you’re saying... not only did Qingya fail to defeat Su Yu, but he was beaten to death by the boy in just three punches?" Xiong Wu sat ramrod straight in a Grandmaster’s Chair, rolling two heavy Profound Iron Galls in his palm. They made a cold, sharp, CLACKING sound.

Down below the dais, Liu Hao’s back was already drenched in a cold sweat. He could only force himself to speak.

"Yes... I saw it with my own eyes. That Su Yu has not only broken through to the Front Mirror Acupoint, but he’s also mastered the Black Stone Body Forging Skill. His defense is astonishing, and his Fist Technique is brutal. Senior Brother Song... he was completely outmatched."