"Lord Mosquito... revived?"
Suddenly, a hesitant, astonished voice cried out from among the onlookers.
The Loose Cultivators, who had been dejectedly lowering their heads while preparing to leave the battlefield, all turned back in surprise.
"What do you mean, 'revived'?"
"Isn't his corpse still lying on the ground? In two massive pieces, no less."
"The huge corpse is right there. Are you blind?!"
"No, no, look up in the air above Jiang Xinglan!"
"That little mosquito... could that be Lord Mosquito?"
"There are White-striped Aedes Mosquitos everywhere. You can't just call any mosquito you see Lord Mosquito. That's a stretch."
"But... but it just kicked Jiang Xinglan and sent him flying!"
"Can an ordinary White-striped Aedes Mosquito send an Integration Realm Peak master like Jiang Xinglan flying?"
It was only then that everyone belatedly noticed.
At some point, Jiang Xinglan had fallen to the ground. He was clutching his side and coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
Bright red blood gushed from his mouth uncontrollably, quickly forming a small river on the ground.
He looked to be severely injured!
Meanwhile, the fingernail-sized White-striped Aedes Mosquito hovering across from him leisurely beat its wings, showing no sign of fear whatsoever.
"Holy shit! Lord Mosquito really isn't dead!"
"No way... was Lord Mosquito faking it before?"
"That's incredible! With acting skills like that, he's a shoo-in for an Oscar!"
The crowd instantly erupted.
The Loose Cultivators who had been about to leave swarmed back in an instant.
Every one of them craned their necks, even more excited than before.
"Lord Mosquito is really alive! This is awesome!"
Daya leaped up and shouted in excitement.
"Revived my ass!"
Huo Lang smacked the back of Daya's head. His voice was even more excited than hers, yet he forced an all-knowing expression.
"Lord Mosquito never died in the first place. He's been fine all along."
Looking wronged, Daya scratched her head and pointed at the mangled corpse on the ground.
"But isn't Lord Mosquito's body still lying right there?"
"Look, it's been smashed to bits."
Huo Lang rolled his eyes dramatically.
"You idiot! You can't even figure this out?!"
"That big mosquito that died just now was just one of Lord Mosquito's clones."
"It was obviously a trick Lord Mosquito used, you get it?!"
Huo Lang continued to lecture Daya, his confidence making it seem like he had everything figured out.
"First, Lord Mosquito used a clone to mislead Jiang Xinglan."
"Jiang Xinglan killed Lord Mosquito's clone, thinking he had killed Lord Mosquito himself."
"So, Jiang Xinglan let down his guard."
"Meanwhile, Lord Mosquito had already hidden his real body, looking for a chance to launch a sneak attack."
"And sure enough, just when Jiang Xinglan was focusing all his attention on Gu Yuexi..."
"Lord Mosquito seized the opportunity and sent Jiang Xinglan flying with a kick."
"That's tactics! Do you even know what tactics are?!"
Huo Lang spoke with great conviction, gesturing wildly.
It was as if he himself, not Chu Sheng, had sent Jiang Xinglan flying with that kick.
He puffed out his chest, his face beaming with pride.
"I knew it. I knew Lord Mosquito wouldn't die."
Daya tilted her head, thought for a moment, and added bluntly.
"But you didn't realize it was Lord Mosquito's clone earlier either."
"And when you saw the corpse of Lord Mosquito's clone, you cried harder than I did. You were actually tearing up."
The smile on Huo Lang's face instantly froze. He was so embarrassed his toes could have carved a seaside villa out of the ground.
"I'm the boss! What I say, goes!"
"If you don't know what to say, then just say less! No one will think you're a mute!"
...
「Atop a high-rise.」
Ye Guxuan gave a cold snort, his fingers tapping lightly on the railing.
"Our guess was correct. This mosquito didn't die after all."
Chu Nianci frowned slightly, a look of confusion on her face.
"If we hadn't noticed that Gu Yuexi was completely unharmed, we never would have suspected it was still alive."
"But how on earth did it manage to pull a switch right under our noses?"
"Even though we were standing far away, we've been paying close attention to the battle."
"And yet, it managed to secretly release a clone and hide its real body, right under our noses."
"And we didn't even sense the slightest fluctuation of Divine Power?"
Ye Guxuan fell silent for a moment, then quickly pieced it all together.
"A mosquito is naturally very small. If you're not paying attention, it's as easy to overlook as a speck of dust."
"First, it summoned a clone, then had the clone rapidly expand into a massive, five-hundred-meter form to attract everyone's attention."
"Our eyes were all drawn to the giant clone. Who would notice a tiny, fingernail-sized mosquito?"
"Its real body must have secretly concealed its form and aura while the clone was expanding."
"It's a classic case of hiding in plain sight. In a situation like that, it would indeed be very difficult to spot."
Chu Nianci nodded in sudden realization and couldn't help but remark with a sigh,
"This mosquito is truly cunning, more scheming than any person."
"However..."
She turned to look at Jiang Xinglan, who was still on the ground, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Jiang Xinglan has been lying there for a while and still can't get up."
"It's clear that mosquito's kick dealt him considerable damage."
"From the looks of it, he's almost completely lost his ability to fight."
Ye Guxuan narrowed his eyes, his tone laced with a hint of amusement.
"If Jiang Xinglan doesn't pull out another one of his trump cards..."
"This time, I'm afraid he's really going to fall to this mosquito."
Ye Guxuan paused, then suddenly chuckled.
"The Jiang Family's number one prodigy, defeated by a mosquito. No one would believe it if you told them."
"Tomorrow, the trending topics in Luoping City will all be about the Jiang Family's scandal."
"No matter how many online shills Patriarch Jiang hires, he won't be able to quell the buzz around this."
Chu Nianci covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh, her eyes twinkling.
"It seems Brother Gu Xuan has already figured out how to use this opportunity to stir up some buzz about the Jiang Family?"
The corners of Ye Guxuan's mouth lifted slightly, but he didn't reply.
His meaning, however, was perfectly clear.
The Jiang Family was rich and powerful, so suppressing a trending topic wouldn't be difficult.
Unless...
Other families meddled and intentionally fanned the flames.
Although the Eight Great Clans presented a united front to the outside world, appearing as a single, indivisible entity.
But the pie in Luoping City was only so big.
If the Jiang Family took a smaller bite, the other families could take a bigger one.
The infighting among the Eight Great Clans, both open and secret, was nothing new.
Of course, there were limits.
Take this battle, for example.
Jiang Xinglan could lose, he could be humiliated, he could be crippled.
But he could not die.
Even though Jiang Xinglan was now severely injured and at a complete disadvantage.
Neither Ye Guxuan nor Chu Nianci believed that this mosquito could actually kill Jiang Xinglan.
It had nothing to do with Realm or strength.
This was the confidence that came with being one of the Eight Great Clans.
The Jiang Family would never allow a prodigy of their Direct Lineage to die here.
'It's time to put an end to this battle.'
Just as everyone once again turned their gazes toward Chu Sheng and Jiang Xinglan,
Chu Sheng moved.
[Nine Tribulations Thunder Prison!]
With a single thought, it summoned its Thunder Domain.
The sky instantly darkened.
Roiling dark clouds filled the sky, and bolts of purple Celestial Thunder howled as they rained down from above.
They fell as densely as raindrops, smashing mercilessly toward Jiang Xinglan on the ground.
"RUMBLE!"
The thunder was deafening, and every bolt of Celestial Thunder carried a terrifying Power of Destruction.
Jiang Xinglan gritted his teeth and mustered all his Divine Power, condensing it into a thick Divine Power Barrier as he struggled to withstand the bombardment.
But Chu Sheng's Celestial Thunder was not so easily blocked.
Jiang Xinglan's Barrier trembled violently under the assault, its surface rippling like water.
Before long, a crack as thick as a fingernail appeared on the Divine Power Barrier.
...