But Mengdie's attack was far from over; in fact, it was just the beginning. As ripples began to surface on Beto's skin, the tiny ice needles gathered, growing thicker and more lethal. Mengdie's hand-sealing speed accelerated under her ferocious assault, forming seals at a frequency too rapid for the naked eye to follow. Between her nimble fingers, the frosty dew of the void quickly took the form of a majestic azure dragon, dancing in the sky above.

At the same time, a successive barrage of ice needles shot towards Beto... and even more ice dragons and jade butterflies were taking shape in the void.

Beto's invisible air wall finally cracked in that instant, with a snap, it shattered, and countless ice needles explosively peppered his skin, while the approaching ice dragon did not deliver a fatal blow to Beto, otherwise, his life might not have been spared.

Even so, Beto fainted, his skin bloodied as if slashed by numerous cuts.

It was clear that Beto's physical defenses were not truly robust but were instead relying on some technique to become immune to normal attacks. As he faced Mengdie's increasingly overwhelming onslaught, his defenses were ultimately breached, leading to his current state.

Feng Yi, secretly observing, couldn't help but be surprised. He recognized the move all too well—it was the Butterfly Dance Jade Clear, which he had faced in combat before. The technique was immensely powerful, even if it wasn't much use against someone at his mid-Legendary Realm level, it was more than enough to overpower the average person. Clearly, Beto was no average person—such was the might of this technique that even a high-level practitioner of Ancient Martial Arts would struggle to defend against it.

Medical staff had already rushed to the scene to check Beto's injuries, thankfully, they were only superficial wounds that hadn't reached his internal organs.

The people of Holy Hall looked awkward, with Archbishop Forbes shaking his head silently. How should he put it? He knew that Beto, the child, had strength, but he was too fond of showing off. Well, now he's faced the consequences. However, the martial arts tournament battles were not really about fighting to begin with, especially when the opponent was Mengdie—it was normal to lose to her. What was abnormal was failing to put on a good enough act.

Nevertheless, Mengdie seemed to have expended a considerable amount of energy herself, her chest heaving more sharply than it had in previous battles.

Once the martial arts display concluded, the four major factions would engage in a true blood battle.

The strife between the factions was likely to persist for a long time. Feng Yi was not clear on the specifics of the rules, but seeing the tens or hundreds of inner disciples from each faction, he could guess that this process was not something that would be easily resolved in a short time. Fortunately, Ancient Martial Arts battles were different from Mecha Battle Competitions—they didn't require the resetting of arenas or have too many restrictive rules, so the events would likely proceed much faster.

Still, Feng Yi couldn't afford to waste this time. He was never one to wait, except under special circumstances; he often preferred to spend his time focusing on other pursuits. Bored, he turned to Eggy, "How's the progress of the Mecha Battle Competition now? Has a result been determined?"

"It's still in progress. We're down to the last five matches of the top 32 advancing to the top 16—don't even think about participating in the Mecha Battle Competition, given your current condition. From that match with Hugo, you should know what the outcome would be."

"You're right. In my last battle against Hugo, I almost lost. Analyzing my current physical condition, it seems even worse than then."

"Yeah, you know that clearly, don't you?" retorted Eggy, continuing, "Considering the issues with Revenge Shadow Rider, I suggest that for the upcoming battles, no matter what happens, you shouldn't show your face. This involvement isn't just about a simple win or loss anymore. If you win, all might be well, but if you lose the battle, there's a high chance that unpredictable events could occur, like stock market fluctuations, public opinion, and so on. For foreign countries, it's a zero-sum game. Of course, all of that is to be expected, but there might also be instances of your devoted fans experiencing emotional breakdowns, or worse, suicides."

Feng Yi nodded slightly, "I understand all that. But how is the competition progressing now?"

"The competition? After you left, in the fifth match, Weibang's Lily died in battle, and Pross's... whatever that quartet... suffered serious injuries."

"What about the sixth match?" Feng Yi persisted.

"Ah, the sixth match is quite interesting. Kexiao used a tactic to expose Shabak's conspiracy. Shabak is now being sued for crimes against humanity by multiple countries, including the Federation, which is demanding Saudi pay numerous expenses. The trial is still ongoing."

Feng Yi couldn't help but exclaim, "Sued?"

"Yes, that guy had a mini 'nuclear bomb' aboard his Mecha. Although it wouldn't destroy the entire space station, I think he'd be remembered in infamy as one of the worst criminals in human history."

Eggy's explanation left Feng Yi speechless... It went on, "The seventh seed—that's your match—was a bye, so no need to explain that one. The next battle was between Margaret and Dovir. Dovir managed to come back from his previous loss and beat Margaret. That was followed by Zana's victory for the Republic of Falanst. After that was the ninth seed—a match you're probably most interested in."

"Who's next in line or whatever, I can't remember, but you're not talking about the battle between Blue Electric Rain and Desert Storm, are you?"

"Smart, do you want to guess the outcome of that battle?"

Feng Yi fell silent for a while, then shook his head gently, "It's hard to guess the result between the two, probably a fifty-fifty chance."

"About that." Eggy hopped onto Feng Yi's shoulder and said, "The battle was pretty fierce, Blue Electric Rain died in battle, and Desert Storm was seriously injured. I think he won't be able to participate in the upcoming fights."

Feng Yi was startled upon hearing that. Blue Electric Rain had actually died in battle? For such a top pilot who had dominated the world, he never expected him to fall in a Mecha Battle competition... Of course, he was also quite worried about Desert Storm's condition. As the leader of the rebel forces and one of the four most wanted fugitives, even if he and TK weren't comrades in the same trench, they were still kindred spirits as rivals.

"What's his condition now?"

"I'm not sure, I stopped following after finding out TK was seriously injured."

"I see..."

Hearing Feng Yi's seemingly reflective tone, Eggy rarely spoke seriously, "Given your own situation, you shouldn't be too concerned about others, right? Do you still want to continue listening?"

"Yes, of course."

"The eleventh in line, two pilots from Rekart, fought yesterday. Since it wasn't broadcasted across the Star Domain, the outcome is unclear. Today, only the last five fights are left."

Feng Yi asked Eggy, "Which are the last five fights?"

Eggy continued, "The twelfth in line, Angelina versus Blaria. I think there's not much suspense in this fight for Angelina. After all, as captain of the federal super soldiers team, she's superior in experience and skills. Moreover, she's an X Ability Wielder."

"Heh, not a bad analysis."

"Of course. Who do you think Eggy is? The next fight in line is Saudi Xia Mu versus Jiu Ling. You might as well analyze this one too."

"Xia Mu and Jiu Ling, huh..." Feng Yi stroked his chin and pondered for a while, then said, "This fight is an internal one. Judging by Xia Mu's injuries, I think he probably won't participate in the battle. It's undoubtedly the best choice to willingly give up the spot to Jiu Ling."

"Buddy, you and I think alike. The fifteenth fight in line is Zana Raymond against Hell's Gate's one of the Heavenly Kings, Jason."

Feng Yi laughed, "Heh, Hell's Gate and Zana really can't seem to avoid each other. Who do you think has the better chances of winning?"

Eggy spoke, "Jason is heralded as one of the Heavenly Kings, famous much earlier than Raymond. But Raymond, starting as one of the top three, has a talent comparable to Angelina and Sky Shadow's. He has been imitating you and created his own unique martial art. So I'm leaning more towards Raymond in this fight—however..." Eggy's voice suddenly trailed off.

"However, what?"

"Have you noticed a problem?"

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