"Touch my brother, and you're courting death!"
Seeing Mad Dog kicked away, Ye Chuan acted immediately without any hesitation.
Han Qianye, Zhang Chen, Lin Ruomei, and a few other team members saw this and instantly stepped forward to block Brother Long.
Han Qianye gave a signal to all the hunters, and they prepared their hand seals, ready to teach these troublemakers a lesson.
Control, disrupt, attack.
"Go!"
Han Qianye targeted a guard in blue first. With a punch from a distance, he knocked out several of the guard's teeth.
Ye Chuan, without moving his feet, flashed in front of Brother Long.
He grabbed Brother Long by the neck and lifted him high, then smoothly drew his knife with his right hand.
Crack!
With one swift motion, blood sprayed out like a fountain.
"My hand, my hand! Ah!"
The screams declared someone was hurt.
Brother Long's arm fell to the ground, twitching and clawing at things aimlessly.
No need for many words; inflicting physical pain was the most effective method.
Actions speak louder than words!
At this moment, no rules in the bounty sect could restrain this bounty hunter team.
"Take Young Master Long away. I'll deal with these brats!"
Brother Long was rescued by a few guards, leaving behind a guard captain at the Qi Opening Realm.
"You've picked the wrong fight," the guard captain said, taking off his shirt to reveal horrifying scars.
The scars were moldy, emitting toxic fumes, and soon would grow maggots — not just terrifying, but disgusting.
Despite such scars, they seemed to have no effect on the guard captain.
"Qi Opening Realm, so what?!"
"Brothers, kill him!"
Facing such an opponent, Han Qianye, fully aware of the strength gap, showed no fear.
All team members pushed their speed to the limit, launching deadly attacks at the guard captain.
"Die!"
Several fist imprints and palm strikes flew through the air.
"Such attacks, and you dare act recklessly?" The guard captain shook his head and with a swipe of his large hand, all attacks dissipated.
"See the difference in our realms? Now it's my turn."
As he finished speaking,
Thud!
The guard captain punched each hunter once.
Ugh!
The speed was tremendous, the punches overpowering, causing Han Qianye to spit blood.
"Everyone..." Seeing her companions injured for her sake, Sophie felt deeply apologetic.
"I'm just a slave..." She thought as a slave, she shouldn't have so many people protecting her, shedding blood for her.
In fact, such incidents were common in the death arena for every slave.
Slaves were for use, merely commodities.
Those with money, power, and strength could freely control these commodities.
Seeing this, Ye Chuan elevated his aura to an even stronger state, a dark aura swirling around him.
It was as if he was in the eye of a storm, sweeping across the entire arena.
"In my eyes, there are no slaves." When Ye Chuan uttered these words, the entire death arena fell silent.
Eyes hidden in the shadows watched him intently.
Just as the battle between the two was about to break out, a voice boomed through the entire death arena like a great bell, shaking everyone to their core.
"Who dares to cause trouble here!"
Boom!
An incredibly imposing figure descended from the sky, creating a large crater on the ground upon landing.
Everyone felt it immediately.
A strong presence!
This was a powerful individual; there was no mistaking it.
Both Ye Chuan and the other hunters found themselves overwhelmed by the aura, struggling to breathe.
This formidable man wore a black robe, with a long scar running across the right side of his face, and his right eye covered by a black patch, adding to his intimidating aura.
"One-eyed Six Blades!"
Someone shouted his name. He was the overseer of the death arena, a high-ranking member of the bounty sect.
His status in the bounty sect was on par with the chief commander, though they were responsible for different departments: one for bounty tasks and making money, the other for the death arena.
"No matter the reason, anyone causing trouble here must provide a show, or the troublemakers will all die!"
One-eyed Six Blades spoke with a slightly hoarse voice that still sent chills down everyone's spine.
Everyone knew that the "show" he referred to meant a death match.
"Someone, bring the life-and-death contracts!"
"Sign the life-and-death contracts. The loser dies by the sword; minor grudges are ignored, major enmities are sealed."
With a wave of his hands, air currents swirled around One-eyed Six Blades, drawing everyone involved towards him.
All troublemakers were to enter the death cage for a life-and-death duel. Refusing meant immediate execution of one person from each side.
Relying on his higher cultivation level, the guard captain grabbed a pen and signed without hesitation.
Meanwhile, among the bounty hunters, Zhang Chen, Ye Chuan, Han Qianye, and Mad Dog exchanged glances.
"I'll do it!"
"I'll do it!"
Han Qianye and Ye Chuan simultaneously decided.
"I am the captain; it is my responsibility."
Han Qianye decisively picked up the pen.
As he was about to sign the life-and-death contract, Ye Chuan knocked him out from behind.
"Leave this to me. If you die, the team will fall apart."
Ye Chuan also signed the life-and-death contract.
This was no ordinary life-and-death contract. Signing with one's real name meant being bound by the contract, traceable anywhere.
Violating it would result in being struck by the contract's magic.
Seeing Ye Chuan and the others fighting for her, Sophie felt only guilt. She slumped to the ground, feeling dejected.
If not for her, no one would have been hurt or forced to sign the life-and-death contract.
Signing meant someone would die here.
"It's all my fault..." Sophie wept with self-reproach.
At this moment, Ye Chuan walked over, bent down, and extended his hand, smiling at Sophie. "Don't worry, it'll be alright. You don't need to blame yourself."
Sophie took Ye Chuan's hand, and he helped her up. As Ye Chuan was about to release her hand, Sophie threw herself into his arms.
Tears soaked Ye Chuan's shoulder.
No one had ever gone to such lengths to protect her.
Ye Chuan gently patted her back, comforting her. "Don't cry. We won't lose." His gentle tone gave Sophie a bit of solace. At this time, the other team members also approached, showing their trust in Ye Chuan.
"We handled the Dragon and Tiger Abyss before. A mere Qi Opening Realm opponent is no match for you, big brother," Mad Dog said, fully confident in Ye Chuan.
The duel was set for the next morning!