Jin Xiao stepped into the golden formation, his expression calm, unreadable.
The moment his foot touched the ground, a faint pulse ran through the arena.
"A domain?"
His eyes flickered. The formation wasn't just decorative—it was suppressing external qi, making sure the fight happened on their terms.
And yet… Jin Xiao didn't look surprised.
"Typical. This entire thing is a performance."
His gaze locked onto Bai Ling.
She stood at the center of the formation, her silk robes unmoving, her pale skin almost unnatural in the dim light.
Not a single wasted motion.
Jin Xiao's instincts whispered: she wasn't an idiot.
Unlike the arrogant system users he had killed before, this woman was a trained fighter.
The crowd didn't matter. The auction didn't matter.
For her, there was only the kill.
"A puppet of the one watching above, no doubt."
He could feel that cold, hungry gaze from the VIP balcony.
"Whoever she is, she's testing me."
Jin Xiao smiled faintly.
"Fine. Let's see who plays who."
Observation: The Key to Victory
He didn't move immediately.
Instead, he watched.
Bai Ling also stood still, her icy eyes scanning him in return.
A silent battle had already begun.
Jin Xiao wasn't just looking at her stance—he was studying her.
Her breathing? Steady. No signs of nerves.
Her hands? Empty. No visible weapons.
Her feet? Positioned to move swiftly in any direction.
Her body language? Relaxed, but too relaxed.
"She's baiting me."
She wanted him to attack first.
Jin Xiao didn't take the bait.
Instead, he smirked.
And he spoke.
The First Psychological Blow
"You're not just a fighter."
Bai Ling's cold expression did not change.
"You're an assassin."
A single flicker in her pupils. A fraction of a second.
Jin Xiao saw it.
Confirmation.
"You kill people for a living."
Another flicker.
"Not with brute force. Not with power. With precision. With techniques that don't waste a single ounce of movement."
He tilted his head slightly, watching her reaction.
"That means you're not built for direct confrontation."
The crowd was silent. Most of them had no idea what Jin Xiao was doing.
But Bai Ling knew.
Jin Xiao was peeling her apart.
"You rely on ambushes, on surprise, on controlling the battlefield."
He gestured around them.
"This golden formation? It's not for me. It's for you."
A slight twitch in her fingers.
"I wonder..."
Jin Xiao took a slow step forward, voice calm.
"What happens... when an assassin is forced to fight openly?"
Bai Ling's breath hitched.
The crowd didn't notice.
But Jin Xiao did.
She was already losing.
Forcing Her to Break
Jin Xiao could feel Xue Lian's gaze intensifying from above.
She was enjoying this.
But he wasn't done yet.
"You're strong. But you're conditioned."
His voice was smooth, mocking.
"Your body has been trained to react to the smallest details. To anticipate. To kill instantly."
He smiled.
"So what happens... when your opponent doesn't play by the rules?"
Bai Ling's muscles tensed.
"Let's find out."
Then he vanished.
The Psychological Attack Becomes Physical
He didn't charge her directly.
That's what she was waiting for.
Instead, he circled.
Fast. Unpredictably.
He moved in bursts—left, right, then suddenly stopping.
He altered his rhythm, making sure his movements didn't follow a pattern.
Bai Ling was struggling.
Her head tracked him, but not perfectly. She was used to reading patterns, anticipating actions.
"No pattern, no prediction."
Jin Xiao's grin widened.
Then, he faked a lunge.
Bai Ling instinctively reacted.
"Got you."
Her knee shifted slightly, weight adjusting—a defensive reflex.
Jin Xiao switched directions instantly, exploiting her moment of adjustment.
BAM!
His elbow slammed into her ribcage.
Bai Ling coughed, her body jerking backward.
"She's durable, but she felt that."
The crowd gasped.
She hadn't even attacked yet, and she was already losing ground.
Jin Xiao didn't let up.
"Come on, assassin. Fight me like a warrior."
He mocked her.
Bai Ling gritted her teeth.
Her calm, icy demeanor was breaking.
"Tch. I see."
Jin Xiao's eyes glinted.
She wasn't just any assassin.
She had pride.
She wanted to prove herself.
And that was the real weakness.
The Trap Within the Trap
Bai Ling attacked.
Faster than a viper, her hand shot out—no weapon, just sheer precision.
Jin Xiao barely dodged.
A strand of his hair was cut.
"Sharp fingers?"
His grin widened.
She was no longer waiting. She was fighting emotionally.
And that meant—
"You already lost."
He shifted his weight, sliding under her next strike.
Then, he grabbed her wrist.
Bai Ling's eyes widened.
"Too slow."
CRACK!
A single brutal twist—her wrist snapped.
She gasped.
It wasn't just pain.
It was shock.
"You were trained to kill. But I was trained to survive."
Jin Xiao yanked her forward.
SMASH!
His knee drove into her stomach. Bai Ling coughed, her body bending forward.
Then—his fist crashed into her jaw.
Blood splattered onto the formation.
The crowd was silent.
The assassin staggered.
Jin Xiao stepped closer, whispering.
"You don't fight people like me."
His grip tightened on her broken wrist.
"You kill from the shadows. You eliminate weak prey."
He leaned in, his voice dropping lower.
"But I'm not prey."
Bai Ling shook.
She realized it now.
She was the one being hunted.
The VIP Balcony
Above, Xue Lian smiled.
She swirled her wine glass, golden eyes gleaming.
"Beautiful."
Jin Xiao had flipped the game.
Instead of proving himself, he had proven Bai Ling's inferiority.
The trap had been turned inside out.
Xue Lian licked her lips.
"I want him."