Next came the second round of the arena matches.
Only twenty-four contestants remained, and the drawing of lots proceeded quickly! They were divided into twelve groups!
Oh, I'm in group one.
An Yi cupped his large hand, looking at the extremely slender lot drawn in his palm.
What a coincidence, so am I!
Via of the Ghost Hand clan passed by, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth: Minotaur, you'd better pray for good fortune.
My opponent is that guy named Hu Fei.
Tu Langlang whispered: I heard him call out that he was in group seven just now.
Langlang, fight if you can, surrender if you can't. An Yi patted his shoulder and said.
Tu Langlang nodded solemnly: Okay.
After a short rest, the second round of arena matches in the afternoon began.
Arena, Group One.
An Yi stepped onto the platform. Via was already there, flexing his thick arms in wait.
Heh, interesting. I never thought a scene fit for the finals would have us meeting ahead of time.
Via said quietly.
He could tell that this ugly minotaur was undoubtedly the strongest among the many martial artists present!
Only this minotaur barely qualified as his opponent.
An Yi raised an eyebrow.
To be honest, this guy with the big rough hands did have some skill.
The scene from before, where he crushed a Level 4 demon beast with one hand, was still vivid in An Yi's mind.
Want to make a bet! Via grinned.
An Yi raised an eyebrow: Bet what?
If I win, you become my subordinate and return to the Ghost Hand clan with me!
Via said seriously.
Hearing this, An Yi broke out in a cold sweat!
No way, even looking like this, someone still covets his good looks, and it's a man!
An Yi asked curiously: And if you lose?
Via, brimming with confidence, said arrogantly: I can't possibly lose!
An Yi: ...
Ding! Triggered mission [Recruit the Ghost Hand Clan]! Mission reward: Evil Power Value +20! [Primary Dark Spirit Arts Proficiency]!
The system's voice sounded.
An Yi chuckled lightly: In that case, if you lose, become my subordinate.
An absurd wager, but I'm willing to try.
Via said, then waved his hand and clenched his fist. His entire pitch-black arm swelled to an enormous size, his fist reaching half a meter in diameter!
Seeing this, Murong Qinghong's breathing became rapid.
This is the Ghost Hand clan, born with the innate ability to control dark spiritual power! They are natural-born warriors!
Facing an unarmed opponent, An Yi naturally wouldn't take advantage.
So, he took out a handful of steel needles and scattered them.
Streaks of steel needles shot forth, dense as a curtain of rain!
Despicable!
Via's eyes turned icy. He opened his large hand, forming it like a shield.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The dense needles struck the large hand.
A flicker of coldness passed through Via's eyes.
No one would expect such a large, bulky guy to use hidden weapons, such underhanded and sneaky tricks.
Just then, Via's hair stood on end.
Without thinking, he turned and threw a punch!
Thud!
The dagger clashed with the fist. Via's body was forced back, sliding over ten meters before he slowly came to a stop.
A miscalculation. An Yi sighed slightly.
A sneak attack from behind undoubtedly maximized damage, but martial artists generally knew that exposing your back to an opponent was akin to suicide.
An opponent of Via's caliber didn't give An Yi that chance.
Via's expression darkened. He clenched his fist and struck the ground!
Threads of coiling dark spiritual power, like long snakes, swept towards An Yi.
The sharp dark spiritual power was quite intimidating!
Whoa!
An Yi let out a shout. Bound by the dark spiritual power, he was completely immobilized.
Good!
Murong Qinghong's eyes lit up, a smile appearing.
Via laughed proudly: Minotaur Chen! It's not too late to surrender!
Comfortable!
The corners of An Yi's mouth turned up in a smile as he murmured softly: Devour!
Wisps of dark spiritual power flowed along his arm, slowly surging into him, black light swirling around his body.
In that instant, Via's expression changed dramatically.
Because he discovered that the dark spiritual power he had released had vanished!
You... what did you do! Via's face looked strange as he demanded.
He never expected that An Yi could somehow erase his spiritual power without a trace!
An Yi grinned, revealing a wicked smile.
Unfortunately, in his current minotaur form, it looked indescribably terrifying.
Devour was a unique skill of the Night Gate!
For dark spiritual power of the same attribute, devouring it was almost too easy, especially when the opponent's strength was lower than his own!
Via felt a vague sense of unease. With a loud roar, he charged forward.
Then, a chill ran down his neck.
A crimson dagger was pressed against his throat.
Take one more step, and you die. An Yi said calmly.
The Soul-Severing Dagger wasn't exactly short, but in his large hand, it looked like he was holding a toothpick, creating an indescribably comical scene.
Via's expression calmed. He said in a low voice: I've lost.
Outside the arena, a Heavenly Palace martial artist announced loudly: Group One! Victor decided, winner: Minotaur Chen!
Seeing this, Murong Qinghong stood up angrily and left the arena.
Xu Kang noticed this and sighed slightly.
Barring any surprises, this minotaur had a high chance of winning the championship outright!
Tsk tsk, now that would be interesting.
Ding! Mission [Recruit the Ghost Hand Clan] completed!
Ding! Evil Power Value +20! Obtained [Primary Dark Spirit Arts Proficiency]!
The sound of the mission completion left An Yi momentarily confused.
Didn't it say recruit the Ghost Hand clan!
May I ask, how many people are left in your Ghost Hand clan? An Yi asked curiously.
Via's eyes dimmed. He said somberly: They all died in battle. I'm the only one left!
An Yi: ...
This system reward was actually pretty good.
[Primary Dark Spirit Arts Proficiency]!
An Yi clicked to view it, and his smile froze.
It was all stuff he had learned as a kid!
The system rewarded him with nothing new!
On another side.
Gu Changfeng remained dashing as ever.
Although his strength wasn't particularly impressive, he was fortunate that the opponents he encountered weren't too strong.
Hua Fengyu had a somewhat tough fight but ultimately defeated a talented disciple from the Plum Blossom Manor at the cost of minor injuries.
Only Tu Langlang's fight was difficult, and it still hadn't ended.
His opponent was Hu Fei!
The young master of the Evil Dragon Gang, a Void Realm peak martial artist, whose strength completely overpowered Tu Langlang's.
Relying on his outstanding speed, Hu Fei attacked Tu Langlang relentlessly with his twin blades.
Tu Langlang's hands were wreathed in black light. He actually used his bare hands to block the attacks!
Little guy, why don't you fight back?
Hu Fei grinned, his blades striking faster and faster. But Tu Langlang still chose passive defense, steady and terrifyingly calm.
In contrast, Hu Fei, unable to break through after prolonged attacks, grew anxious, his blade technique becoming disordered!
Tu Langlang seized the opportunity, dark spiritual power coalescing into a sphere in his hands.
Shadow Sphere!
Tu Langlang blocked Hu Fei's blades with his hands, dark spiritual power gathering in his fist.
Weakening Force!
Tu Langlang's eyes focused with black light.
Hu Fei instantly felt his body grow weak, unable to muster any strength.
Shadow Slash!
Tu Langlang's eyes flashed sharply. The sphere in his hand transformed into two black, blade-like streaks that shot out swiftly!
Sslash!
Blood spurted from Hu Fei's chest as he fell heavily wounded!
Noticing this, An Yi was stunned.
He only now realized that this little demon brother of his seemed... not so simple!
In Huangcheng, within the Heavenly Palace dungeon.
Click!
Murong Qinghong unlocked a cell door.
Inside, a lean young man about two meters tall was imprisoned.
At the moment, the young man was sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating with his eyes closed. Beside him lay a massive black axe.
The chains on his arms made it clear he was imprisoned.
Big guy, it's your turn to act. I'll grant you your freedom.
Murong Qinghong said leisurely.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
