In an instant, Yanhuan switched places with one of the clones closest to Levi's opening... without hesitation, he pointed the back of his Briar in Levi's direction and fired off tiny liquid bullets, point-blank!
Alas, the expected outcome he wished dearly upon didn't arrive... instead, he was left stunned to see the crimson chains stiffening in front of the bullets.
Splash!...
The liquid blue bullets imploded into mist, failing to break off the chains with their concentrated, spatially distorted energy!
Yanhuan thought that if he changed his fighting style against Levi, he was going to catch him off-guard... unfortunately, Levi had gone against genuine monsters to be alarmed by anything he used against him.
Just because he got stronger, it didn't mean that things had changed... it only meant that he was going to have his ass beat in front of his father, and this time, the entire World Tree's population.
In almost a blink, Levi's head snapped in Yanhuan's direction, and he used Aetheric Combustion on the already swung crown, increasing its speed by almost tenfold!
Whoosh!
The crown instantly made a full circle and arrived behind Yanhuan... if this was before, Yanhuan's life would flash in front of his eyes.
But the enhancements weren't for naught... his empowered reaction speed made him reflexively duck his head before he could even understand what the threat was.
The agitated, forceful crown passed by his head with mere inches to spare. His heartbeats increased to dangerous levels as he could smell the stench of death behind Levi's attack.
Yet, Levi wasn't even fazed by his insane evasion... he didn't win those death games because his attacks landed successfully the first time; he won because he always prepared three steps ahead or more.
"You're still too green..."
As his indifferent voice landed in Yanhuan's ears, he lifted his head slightly to see Levi having his mouth open widely in front of him.
And then... there was no then.
All Yanhuan felt was his mind shutting down as his ears were assaulted by one of the most horrid noises he had ever heard in his life... the pitch was so overwhelmingly complex, his ears and mind couldn't even comprehend it.
Low, high, rough, smooth... nothing. It had no label besides Pure Chaotic Agony!
His sensitive eardrums imploded into a cloud of blood, followed by an instant deafness... it sounded bad, but in reality, this was the best protective measure the brain had against such hellish frequencies... the sacrifice of the sense that was about to kill it!
As expected, a wave of relief washed over him the moment his world was silenced... but that second of dizziness was more than Levi needed to finish the job.
With insane fluidity, Levi controlled the chains to entrap Yanhuan, binding him into a sushi roll before pulling him closer and then smashing him with his feet!
Yanhuan's body was hurled away, then pulled back again by the chains for another kick... this repeated not once, not twice, but dozens of times until the cheering viewers were left watching this scene speechlessly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Yanhuan spoke so confidently before the battle that he had instilled some hope in the hearts of the watchers that this battle might not be so one-sided... but as they watched the Imperial Sun heir getting beaten senseless like a ball-and-cup toy, their dreams were dashed.
As Wei-Lan watched this scene unfolds before his eyes, he simply refused to believe it... his face slowly lost color as he stared at his son getting manhandled like a toy after his heavy investments, as if they meant absolutely nothing.
While he watched this saddening but hilarious scene... he finally began to understand.
The problem was never his son's strength... it was him simply not having what it took to defeat Levi.
Smash!!
With one final round kick, Levi let loose of the chains, allowing Yanhuan's injured body to roll on the wooden floor, stopping only when he neared the edges... his clothes were torn apart, exposing his bloody and bruised body for all to feast their eyes on.
He had one arm dangling outside the arena while his signature weapon was nowhere to be seen... as the blue mist cloud slowly retracted away, all that was left was Levi and Yanhuan.
Yanhuan jumped between consciousness and unconsciousness, barely staying awake.
Levi was collecting his chains casually... barely breaking a sweat.
Whoaah!!
The World Tree's citizens exploded into thrilled cheers, not expecting another humiliating defeat... they genuinely thought that Yanhuan was going to put on a decent show, but they weren't complaining about this either.
To have the brazen Imperial Sun heir beaten up like this in front of his own father was an experience worth retelling to their friends or in social gatherings.
"Well... that went quicker than I expected."
Dominic coughed once and then lifted his hand to announce the end of the battle... but just as he opened his mouth, he was left surprised to see Yanhuan standing back up.
His form was hunched, his legs were trembling, his head was bleeding all over... he looked like he was on the verge of collapse any second.
Yet, he didn't.
He lifted his head slowly... instead of looking in Levi's direction, he eyed his father, who was sitting on one of the highest branches in the arena. His vision was muddled, bloody, and barely showed him anything.
Still... Yanhuan could feel it. His father's gaze of death was directed at him. He was still deaf, which spared him the noise of cheers at his expense and left him with a small window of clarity.
Yanhuan clenched his teeth until blood seeped from the corners of his mouth... Lose consciousness? Admit defeat? Those words didn't even exist in his mind anymore.
To collapse here... knees buckling, body giving in, eyes closing while the entire arena watched... would be no different from kneeling before his father and confessing that he was unworthy of carrying the Zhang name.
Worse than pain, worse than death, was the image of Wei-Lan's lineage being laughed at in front of his father.
He would rather die.
Slowly, Yanhuan straightened his back... every movement felt like his muscles were tearing apart from the inside, his bones screaming in protest after the heavy beatdown he suffered under Levi.
Even when his legs shook violently, threatening to give out, he forced them to hold... not for himself, but for his father. For that dreadful gaze, which was burning into him like a blade pressed against his spine.
'If I fall… it will be forward... failure is not an option.'
Scenes flashed in the back of Yanhuan's mind about the hellish month he experienced under Bishop Va'ren... of course, Yanhuan had no clue about his real identity. He was just a crazed Alchemist who made him strong through an unnatural evolution.
Unnatural evolutions were just like the normal ones... they were sometimes accompanied by a mutation.
This was the case for Yanhuan!
Suddenly, Yanhuan's breath turned rough while his heartbeats pounded so violently that it felt as though it was trying to shatter his ribcage.
Yanhuan felt the tiny mutation inside his heart... beneath muscle, beneath bone, layered on his heart's valve.
A fleshy switch.
Yanhuan reached out with his trembling hand and pressed against his own chest... doing something that the Alchemist told him not to do... at least, not until his body had adjusted to his unnatural evolution.
But his warnings... whether in kindness or for other reasons, at the moment, they were the last thing Yanhuan thought about.
Crack.
A sharp, internal sound rang out as if something fractured within him the moment he pressed it... then his heart spasmed violently as blood started pouring down his nose, mouth, and eyes.
"Yanhuan... what are you doing?!" Dominic shouted sternly, noticing the drastic changes occurring within his body.
However, just as he wanted to stop him from damaging himself, Wei-Lan's cold voice resounded across the arena.
"Dominic... did he admit defeat?" He asked, his voice laced with authority.