A genius like Jason May entering Savage Beast Gorge and being killed—no one would think it had anything to do with the Fiend Beasts there. With Barton May's influence, sending Jason May into Savage Beast Gorge, he would never let Jason be taken out by a mere Fiend Beast.
And it’s not just Jason May. In fact, throughout history, very few top talents from major powers have ever been killed by Fiend Beasts during the Savage Beast Gorge trials. Those from powerful backgrounds always have ways to defend themselves or escape.
Since it’s almost certain Jason May wasn’t killed by a Fiend Beast, it must have been a cultivator stronger than him. Scoring points in Savage Beast Gorge depends on true skill—there’s no room for trickery.
As for true skill, the only one stronger than Jason May is likely Joe Di. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Bryce Hu scored two more points than Jason—such a difference is purely coincidental and has nothing to do with actual strength.
The people in the Pavilion could guess it, and so could the spectators in the plaza. Sean Zell was in the plaza, and he naturally suspected it was Joe Di's doing.
The moment Sean Zell thought of Joe Di, a chill ran down his spine—a sudden sense of foreboding. He decided to leave the plaza immediately. But Barton May was too fast. Almost as soon as he learned Jason May had been killed by Joe Di, Barton May burst from the Pavilion, grabbed Sean Zell, and flung him out. Four Array Banners pinned Sean Zell’s limbs, nailing him to the giant Leaderboard Array.
The plaza fell utterly silent. Barton May hadn’t acted out in arrogance recently, but everyone in the True Domain knew about his massacre of Kun One Domain—how he turned the land into rivers of blood and fields of corpses.
Joe Di killed Jason May, so Barton May killing Joe Di’s friends was only natural. If he didn’t, that would be the real surprise. Still, no one expected Barton May to act right there in the plaza—it was outrageous.
"I won’t kill you now. When that brat Joe Di comes out, I’ll kill you then." Barton May stared coldly at Sean Zell, nailed to the giant array screen, his voice chilling.
"Domain Lord May, you’ve gone too far. This cultivator was just watching the trials in the plaza. Not only is it unclear if he killed Jason May—even if it was confirmed, it happened during the competition. To vent your anger on an innocent bystander—isn’t that excessive?" To everyone’s surprise, someone actually spoke up for fairness at that moment.
Barton May slowly turned his head, killing intent radiating from him. He stared coldly at the person who had spoken up. "Lincoln An, do you really think I can't kill you?"
Lincoln An had a refined, scholarly appearance, but he met Barton May’s gaze without fear. "Domain Lord May, even if you could kill me, I’d still say the same. The True Domain exists today thanks to everyone’s efforts—not because one person or one faction can rule over all. If you act like this now, what fairness will remain in the True Domain? What meaning will the Genius Trials have? If it’s all about strength, then let the strongest take every spot—wouldn’t that be simpler?"
Barton May burst out laughing. "Lincoln An, today I’m going to kill you. What can you do about it?"
Lincoln An’s face turned blue with anger. If he were as strong as Barton May, he would have already rescued Sean Zell. Now, not only had he failed to save Sean Zell, but Barton May was threatening to kill him too. Lincoln An was, after all, a domain lord of the True Domain.
Everyone stared in shock at Han Wushui. Clearly, he was siding with Lincoln An. Otherwise, given Barton May’s temper, he might have really killed Lincoln An on the spot.
For Han Wushui to speak up for Lincoln An at such a moment, no matter how tactful his words, it still meant offending Barton May. The others couldn’t figure out his reasoning.
Barton May’s expression grew even darker. Lincoln An was said to be at the sixth layer of the Domain Stage, but in truth, he was halfway into the late Domain Stage, while Han Wushui was a fifth-layer Domain Stage expert. Of all the domain lords in the True Domain, Barton May feared Lincoln An the most. Lincoln An was weaker now, but one day he might surpass him.
Killing Lincoln An wouldn’t be easy—not a quick victory. If Han Wushui joined in while Barton May fought Lincoln An, he might even suffer defeat.
More importantly, Barton May wanted to understand why a cunning man like Han Wushui would risk offending him to speak up for Lincoln An.
Barton May didn’t continue his attack, but the killing intent in his heart only grew stronger. Whether it was Lincoln An, Han Wushui, or Lord Goldwin, after the Genius Trials, he intended to eliminate at least one of them. Barton May hadn’t killed anyone in a long time—perhaps many in the True Domain had forgotten what he was capable of.
……
Joe Di felt no burden at all for killing Jason May. It wasn’t that he didn’t worry about Sean Zell, but even if Barton May wanted to kill Sean Zell, he’d have to wait until the trials ended and it was confirmed that Joe Di killed Jason May. Besides, this was the Genius Trials, and there were tens of thousands of cultivators at Ascension Plaza. Barton May was a domain lord—if he had any decency, he wouldn’t kill an unrelated person without evidence.
Joe Di never imagined Barton May could be so shameless—acting against Sean Zell without knowing for sure who killed Jason May, and ignoring all the cultivators watching at Ascension Plaza.
By now, the fiend beasts in Savage Beast Gorge were getting harder to find, so Joe Di had to speed up and rush deeper in. On the seventh day, he finally managed to kill seven or eight more beasts.
At this moment in Savage Beast Gorge, while other cultivators were hiding and ambushing from the shadows, only Joe Di was openly hunting fiend beasts.
On the ninth day, just after Joe Di finished hunting a Mar Leopard, a figure suddenly appeared within his divine sense, flying backward through the air. Clearly, this cultivator had been ambushed and was sent hurtling into Joe Di’s range, crashing to the ground.
Joe Di paid little attention, pocketing the Mar Leopard’s beast core and preparing to investigate. Suddenly, another figure rushed over, landing before the fallen cultivator.
The cultivator who had fallen struggled to her feet—a female cultivator, covered in blood and badly injured. The pursuer was a young male cultivator at the second layer of the Transforming True Stage, while the woman was only at the eighth layer of the Tribulation Birth Stage.
Joe Di couldn’t help but look down on the young man—a second-layer Transforming True cultivator chasing an eighth-layer Tribulation Birth woman, and he still hadn’t managed to kill her.
"Simon Bai, you’re the son of a domain lord, and my father is one of the five great domain lords. You dare to kill me here in Savage Beast Gorge—aren’t you afraid of a war between the two domains?" The woman wiped blood from her face, her voice shaky.
Simon Bai? A domain lord’s son? Joe Di immediately recalled Byron Wu, who was killed by Geng Ji. So this guy was Hugo Bai’s son, the Starshatter Domain Lord. Hugo Bai had even sent a Transforming True cultivator to kill Geng Ji, but was driven off.
Talk about enemies meeting on a narrow road—Joe Di hadn’t gone looking for this Bai, but he’d come to him instead.
"Ha, Sherry Ann, you’re far too naïve. I guarantee that after I kill you, your father will hear that Joe Di was the one who did it." Simon Bai laughed.
Sherry Ann was stunned, then blurted out, "What does this have to do with Joe Di?"