Morphing Heavens - Chapter 90 - Summoning Technique

Tina and her group sat in the stands, watching the match while casually chatting about how long it would go on.

In the center of the arena, a one-on-one duel was underway. Zhang Deguan was increasingly at a disadvantage in close combat and had no choice but to leap back to fight from a distance. Unfortunately, Yun Huo clung to him like chewing gum, refusing to let go. The giant eagle’s attacks had ceased during the close-range struggle; they were too close to each other, risking self-inflicted harm. After taking several heavy hits, Zhang Deguan fell from the air, and Yun Huo jumped down after him.

Lying on the ground, Zhang Deguan gasped for air, his complexion ashen, and his breathing growing weaker. The giant eagle vanished into thin air, disappearing from the arena. Zhang Deguan slowly struggled to get up, panting heavily, his expression extremely fatigued. The earlier confrontation with Yun Huo had depleted nearly all his stamina; if another round started now, his body wouldn’t withstand it. He looked up at Yun Huo and said, “Why don’t you continue? Haven’t you seen the rules?” He hoped Yun Huo would come at him again since he sensed that Yun Huo was not planning to fight any longer. Zhang Deguan felt that for a warrior of the eagle clan, yielding to humans would be a disgrace. Therefore, he thought to himself: being beaten to death is far better than voluntarily conceding.

After hearing that, Yun Huo scratched his head, glanced at his wounds, and shrugged. “You want me to keep fighting you? You’ll get killed; it’s just a match. Why would I want to kill you? I don’t even know you!”

At that moment, Zhang Deguan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, clutching his chest that had taken hundreds of hits, trembling as he stood in the arena. He looked up at the sky, let out a faint laugh, and said, “Hmph! Sympathy? You humans are truly hypocritical. On one hand, you preach fairness and justice to the strong, and on the other, you oppress the weak! You all are so sly, despicable, and shameless. Most of our clan members being sold is largely your doing! Don’t pretend to show me sympathy; if you want to kill me, go ahead. I will never yield to you.”

Upon hearing this, Yun Huo’s expression turned serious. Indeed, compared to the aggression of other races against the birdman clan, humanity’s actions were quite excessive. In the abandoned city, he often witnessed hunting armies from the imperial capital passing through, claiming to be purging aberrations, but in reality, they were waging war against the birdman clan. Most returned victorious, imprisoning many birdman clan members, mostly females, since male birdmen tended to be fierce and, once captured, often chose to take their own lives rather than surrender.

As Yun Huo thought about this, he kept his head down, staring at the patches on his pants-remnants of holes from the last match. Since competitors were not allowed to leave the venue during the event, Yue Shuang had sewn the patches for him. Remembering her poised and graceful demeanor, Yun Huo looked at the eagle clan man before him, whose mind was clouded by tribal beliefs, and sighed, “I’ve purchased many birdman clan members as slaves, but I’ve never killed any of them.”

“What happened to them then? Did they die?” Zhang Deguan retorted angrily. Hearing that Yun Huo had bought his own clan members multiple times triggered an emotional surge within him, causing his strength to surge again. However, this also resulted in more blood flowing from his wounds. It was merely a last-ditch effort, and he couldn’t hold on much longer. If Yun Huo chose this moment to strike, Zhang Deguan’s life could very well be over.

If Yun Huo were to attack him now, it wouldn’t align with his character.

“I don’t know what happened to them after that. Birdman clan members can be quite stubborn. If they don’t eat or drink after being bought for half a month, I usually set them free. There was one who was obedient but only tried to poison me by dropping poison in my food. I set him free too. How can you say that humans are sly, despicable, and shameless? That’s just the actions of a few individuals insulting all good people,” Yun Huo defended himself. Understanding Zhang Deguan’s hatred towards humans, he didn’t want to conclude this with violence and thus justified his own actions.

Hearing this, a hint of impatience crossed Zhang Deguan’s face as he scoffed, “Hmph! You always have your excuses. Your reasoning is always on your side. What about that crane clan girl in your team? Why don’t you just let her go?” He stepped forward, his aura beginning to expand, indicating that he was ready to fight Yun Huo to the death.

Yun Huo’s heart sank at these words. He had sensed that Yue Shuang had been troubled lately, and now he realized it was because of this guy. Had Zhang Deguan approached her with something? Thinking this, Yun Huo felt the urge to rush over and beat him up again. But then he recalled the experiences he endured in the abandoned city-wasn’t that oppression by the beast clan? Countless humans had been captured and turned into slaves, and every time he witnessed such scenes, his expression had mirrored Zhang Deguan’s now-wanting to seek justice for his people. Unfortunately, their forces had been too weak to do anything, and staying alive had been an achievement in itself. With this in mind, Yun Huo’s tone softened as he looked at Zhang Deguan and calmly said, “Yue Shuang came with us from the Basse Continent. She chose to stay voluntarily; she is our family now, not a slave!”

“Hmph! I don’t know how you brainwashed her. Even if she chose to stay, she should be with her own kind,” Zhang Deguan maintained his prejudice against humans.

The emotions in their conversation grew increasingly heated, and the audience watched in confusion, wondering why the two were standing there for so long without making a move.

In the competitors’ seat, Shara looked at them with a puzzled expression, flicking off some ashes before turning back to ask, “Tina, can you hear what they’re saying?”

Tina stretched her body, stood up, and replied, “Those two weak races are comparing themselves. How can there be fairness in this world? They’re really just naive. How can they compete and develop like this? The outcome of this match is already decided. I’m going back to my apartment to get some sleep.” With that, she grabbed her coat and walked off toward the apartment.

“What a stubborn boss; no one can figure out what he’s thinking,” Xiulu said with a shrug.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Yun Lie and his team had finished off the last eagle clan warrior, and Yun Lie collapsed in exhaustion.

At this point, only Yun Huo and Zhang Deguan remained on the arena, both locking eyes with each other. Zhang Deguan had lost the ability to fight, but Yun Huo continued to engage him in conversation: “Do you know why your birdman clan is constantly persecuted? It’s not because others are overly cruel; it’s because you have your own issues.”

Zhang Deguan defended himself, “What issues could there be? If you didn’t constantly ambush our clan members, we wouldn’t have become weak.” He raged internally, thinking of how the birdman clan was a higher species compared to those ordinary humans who couldn’t fly, yet they were bullied by people like Yun Huo.

“Yue Shuang once told me that she was freed by her owner, but when she finally returned to her clan, she didn’t receive warmth from her kin; instead, she faced their indifference and disdain. They considered themselves superior birdmen, treating someone who had been a slave like a slave even upon her return. Although she wasn’t beaten, their sarcasm and mockery forced her to leave her clan. Just think about it: she’s a weak woman who could fly, yet she was targeted by human traffickers and ultimately betrayed by her own clan. You don’t reflect on your own problems and instead place all the blame on us and other races. You’re really foolish!” Yun Huo scoffed, walking toward the other side of the arena to collect his brother’s weapons.

On the other side, Zhang Deguan listened intently, carefully reflecting on how the clan treated slaves who returned. Indeed, there were some truths to Yun Huo’s words, and he fell into deep thought…

The arena became somewhat quiet with Yun Huo gathering the weapons on one side, while Zhang Deguan stood pondering on the other. A gentle breeze swept across the arena, lifting scraps of clothing and causing them to dance in circles before settling on the ground. The noon sun was uncomfortably bright, shining down on the exposed arena. Sweat dripped from the spectators and competitors, and despite the uncomfortable weather, they remained in the stands, not genuinely caring about the outcome of the match, but desperately wanting to know the result to determine whether or not they would win their bets.