"Show me your strongest power from the start, Basil Bertram, or you don't stand a chance."
The smile vanished from Xu Fu's face as he stared at Basil Bertram with icy eyes.
"You're speaking too soon, Xu Fu. Do you really think victory is yours?"
Xu Fu nodded.
"Letting you take the stage was a mistake on Yin Choujian's part. Didn't he consider that over these past months, you've spent most of your strength just maintaining your domain? That's enough to guarantee my victory."
Basil Bertram smiled calmly and shook his head.
"It's true. I've burned through a lot of power keeping the domain intact."
A rustling sound echoed. Basil Bertram's feet twisted into something like tree roots, black tendrils spreading in all directions. Xu Fu, looking relaxed, shed his long robe and clenched his fists, quietly watching as Basil Bertram vanished, leaving only a solitary ancient tree on the field.
"Basil Bertram, you've never been one for fighting. Why is your spirit so fierce today? This isn't like you at all."
"Xu Fu, enough with the tricks. They won't work on me."
The instant Basil Bertram finished speaking, black tendrils erupted from the earth with a sinister hiss, lashing out and binding Xu Fu in a heartbeat. Xu Fu raised his hand, a wicked smile curling his lips as he studied the dark roots coiling around his wrist.
"If that's all you can do, then this is laughably easy for me."
With a series of sharp cracks, Xu Fu snapped the black tendrils constricting him and shot skyward, hovering above as he gazed down at the writhing, crawling roots below.
"I once heard a story. There was a man of great power, who for some reason lost everything and died in despair beneath the Wishing Tree. His spirit could not rest, and he began to wreak havoc in the world of the living. In the end..."
Before Xu Fu could finish speaking, Basil Bertram appeared behind him in a rush of wind, swift and silent.
"So what if it was me? What does that even prove?"
Basil Bertram pressed his right hand against Xu Fu's back; in an instant, it transformed into a mass of black tendrils that wrapped around him, dragging him mercilessly toward the ground.
As soon as they struck the earth, Basil Bertram vanished into the ground. Thick, black roots slithered relentlessly over Xu Fu, pinning him tight and dragging him downward, inch by inch, into the suffocating darkness.
"But I also heard that when he died, he dragged many others down with him—some exiled, some executed. So many believed in him, yet in the end, he betrayed them all. Hahaha, isn't that fascinating? Basil Bertram, what were you thinking back then? Did you never regret it?"
As Xu Fu spoke, his face twisted suddenly. He tore free the roots binding his right hand, then frantically ripped at the black tendrils crawling up his body.
"That guy still loves to pick at other people's wounds."
I couldn't help but speak out angrily.
"Basil Bertram may have seemed to betray his subordinates, but in truth, he took all the blame onto himself. Xu Fu, if you want to provoke someone with these stories, you'd better get your facts straight first."
Yin Choujian sneered as he spoke.
"Is that so? Looks like I made a mistake. Basil Bertram, do you really think these tricks work on me? You'd better show me your real strength—maybe then you'll have the tiniest chance of beating me."
Suddenly, Xu Fu's brow furrowed. With a resonant hum, the black tendrils binding him shattered instantly, pulverized by a surge of transparent energy. Xu Fu soared into the air again, stretching out both hands and hurtling toward a spot on the ground.
With a heavy thud, Xu Fu's hands slammed down on a thick root. Basil Bertram reappeared, staring at Xu Fu in astonishment as Xu Fu dragged him out from the mass of roots.
"It's over. I don't like to drag things out."
With a low hum, two black halos rippled from Xu Fu's hands. Basil Bertram stood frozen, eyes wide, his body seemingly trapped by Xu Fu's power. He coughed up blood, staring silently at Xu Fu, while I stared in shock as the roots on the ground rapidly vanished.
"See? Basil Bertram, I warned you from the start—bring out your strongest power. Now it's already too late."