Aside from himself and the two assassins that escaped earlier, William killed his entire group. In fact, Su Mian was likely only alive because he was the leader and carried valuable information.

Su Mian had been in William's position several times before, and he knew exactly what the boy was thinking. Rather than ruthlessly killing everyone, why not take advantage of the situation to learn more about the Riverveil Family?

"So, tell me about your group." William walked forwards calmly. The kunai flipped and twirled in his hand as if he'd been handling kunai his entire life.

"As if I'm going to tell you anything!" Su Mian backed away from the approaching William while he thought of a way to counter the flashbang Artifact.

William tilted his head slightly, "You must know a lot, then, if you're willing to trade your life for it! Flashbang!"

Su Mian found himself blinded once more, stumbling backwards as he tripped over a tiny change in elevation. He panicked, channeling Mana into a reusable defensive Artifact while the blindness lasted.

William saw a pale blue halo surround Su Mian in a radius of one meter, resembling an older version of his Forcefield but with strength surpassing the Deity Realm. Even for William, this shield would take a long time to break through.

When Su Mian's vision cleared and he saw that William had paused, he relaxed.

Smirking, he said, "You're strong, but not strong enough. I can hold this shield for a full day, but it will only take my Family Head a few hours to send someone. Once they get here... you're doomed!"

"Hahaha!" William burst out laughing, a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

He looked at the kid whose bone age placed him at twenty-eight years old, trying to decide whether the so-called genius had been dropped on his head at any point in his childhood.

-Ironic.

"Are you an idiot?" William asked.

-Very ironic.

"Are you?" Su Mian retorted, "Don't you understand the situation you're in?"

William laughed again, "Don't YOU? Whose territory are you in? Riverveil or Slightwing? What's stopping me from doing the same? How are you going to call your family?"

He paused briefly before continuing, "Do they even care about you?"

The last question really hit Su Mian hard. As one whose last name wasn't Riverveil, he knew better than anyone that no matter how talented he was, he is merely a tool to be used by the Riverveil Family.

With his impressive battle-record, though, the Riverveil Family started providing many high-tier resources in the last five years, all to prepare him for the Slightveil Competition. His status already exceeded some of the actual Riverveil Family descendants, and he was only a step away from marrying into the Family.

Alas, Su Mian knew this would all end here, if he failed this mission.

He pondered, did the Family Head know how powerful William was? Did he send him on this mission to sabotage his future?

It can't be! The Family Head would never do that to me!

He reached for his Space Ring.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" William looked at Su Mian weirdly.

Su Mian's hand froze in midair, his face paling.

That's right, the Space Mana Particles were destroyed, by none other than himself! The spatial Arrays wouldn't activate!

He can't get to his communicator!

He switched tactics, "That doesn't matter. Two of my subordinates have already left to inform the Family Head. I have a whole army of Cultivators ready to move on my command! Even if I can't speak to him myself, even if I'm trapped here, even if—"

"You mean these two?" William pointed to his left, Su Mian's right.

Su Mian looked, the remaining blood draining from his face when he saw a ten-meter purple cat dragging two corpses with its mouth. It spat the two assassins on the ground, then reduced its size and jumped on its Master's shoulder with a purr.

Deity Realm, Peak! Su Mian was terrified.

He only knew of an Ascension-Realm snake, where did this Deity Cat come from?!?

Why is everything I heard about this guy so, so... wrong!

Magical Beasts are more often than not stronger than Cultivators of the same Realm, especially when it was something unfamiliar with strange abilities. Playing out a scenario in his head, a simulated fight between two weakened assassins with hardly any Mana versus a Peak Deity Realm Magical Beast...

There was no need to imagine how that fight would end. The snake wouldn't even need to appear. If anything, it'd only get in the way!

Su Mian lost all hope of contacting his Family. What he said about his Artifact was true, he would last an entire day with the shield, maybe eight hours if William and the cat attacked together, but afterwards he'd be a sitting duck.

Do I really have to use them? Su Mian hesitated. He is aware that William has a very powerful physical body and impressive regeneration. If he uses his trump cards here and William doesn't perish, there's a good chance they won't work during the competition.

But, when he realized that William was also of the correct age to participate, Su Mian realized this was no different from being on the Competition Platform. This might as well be a preliminary match, held between two contenders for the top five spot. At the very least, Su Mian acknowledged William to this degree.

"Fine, then. If you want to know so badly, I'll just have to show you what our Family is capable of!" Su Mian shouted before throwing a tiny white orb into the air, reinforcing the shield around his body further and encasing it with Blessing Mana.

Within the shield, Su Mian's strength and speed increased rapidly, until he was comparable to an early Solar Deity Realm Cultivator. Channeling Mana of the Lightning and Darkness Elements, Su Mian's legs became shrouded in sparks, while a dark veil protected his eyes from William's flashbang Artifact.

He adopted a strange pose, channeling a pale white Mana that didn't belong to Blessing, nor of the Light Element. It was special, dignified almost, as if it was a royal among the Elements, a leader.

It made the rules, and the other Elements must follow. Even the Chaos Mana particles in the room became somewhat calm, slowing their movements and reaching towards Su Mian as if he was a magnet.

Order! William's eyes widened in surprise. Was it truly Su Mian's Elemental Affinity, or did it have something to do with the white orb? He couldn't tell!

Su Mian wasn't reading William's expression, nor did he care to explain. He gathered ambient Order Mana particles together, creating a pale cube that enveloped the entire room. By the command of the Order Element, Mana Particles belonging to all Elements became easier for Su Mian to use, and disabled many of William's Arrays embedded in the floor and walls.

Three trump cards activated simultaneously, proof that Su Mian had become serious. He deeply regretted not using these sooner, but Su Mian was determined not to become another of William's victims. He had to win here!

A one on one scenario, Su Mian versus William.

The winner will move on, and the loser...

Will die!