Holy Battlefield

Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo also raised their brows. Since the opponent was at the Grandmaster level, all of them were competitors.

“We’re going to the Sacred Battlefield too. We can travel there together.”

Xu Mu addressed the people in front of him, taking the opportunity to ask about the situation.

“That’s wonderful.”

Cheng Zhiyi smiled at Xu Mu. “My name is Cheng Zhiyi. How did you know we were members of the Blood Alliance?”

“I have a technique that lets me hear sounds from several hundred meters away. I heard the words ‘Blood Alliance’ just now.”

Xu Mu pointed to his ear.

“I didn’t know there was a technique like that.”

Cheng Zhiyi was filled with surprise.

The armored old man and the middle-aged man beside her were equally astonished. This was the first time they had ever heard of such a technique.

It seemed they would have to be careful from now on whenever they whispered to each other.

“Which race does your Blood Alliance belong to? From the way you look, you seem somewhat like descendants of Yanhuang.”

Xu Mu asked his question.

“We do indeed possess the bloodline of Yanhuang’s descendants. In the Inner World, the largest population isn’t made up of those so-called pure-blooded races, but people like us—mixed-bloods.”

With a smile, Cheng Zhiyi explained the general situation in the Inner World.

Thousands upon thousands of years of war had resulted in the emergence of many so-called “mongrels” in the Inner World.

They had originally come into existence through war. For example, when two races clashed, the women captured by either side would be forcibly taken.

Their own races looked down on these mixed-bloods as well, and often drove them out.

Over time, the mixed-bloods united and formed forces that transcended racial divisions.

However, these mixed-bloods were not united as one. They still divided themselves according to their individual bloodlines.

For instance, all the mixed-bloods in Cheng Zhiyi’s Blood Alliance possessed the Yanhuang bloodline.

It was precisely this bloodline that had brought them together.

Xu Mu and the others nodded inwardly. No wonder their appearances were barely different from those of Yanhuang’s descendants.

“How strong is your Blood Alliance? I’ve never heard of it before.”

Tong Guoguo asked from the side.

“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of us. In Qingqiu, the Blood Alliance can only be considered a mid-to-low-tier force.”

Cheng Zhiyi gave a bitter smile. “The strongest person in the Blood Alliance is my father. He’s currently at the fourth level of the World-Breaking Realm.”

“The Alliance Leader is already extremely powerful. If he hadn’t gathered us together, most of us might have been killed long ago.”

The old man beside her clenched his fists tightly. “Among the mixed-bloods, those who possess bloodlines from the outside world are the ones most likely to be discriminated against.”

Hearing this, Xu Mu asked, “Why don’t you consider living in the outside world?”

“Our ancestors have lived in the Inner World for generations. As far as we’re concerned, this is our home. If we want to grow stronger, the Inner World is more suitable than the outside world.”

Cheng Zhiyi smiled as she explained. “That’s also why many experts from the outside world choose to come to the Inner World once they can no longer make further progress.”

“That’s true.”

Xu Mu nodded. Pointing to himself, he said, “People like us came here to gain experience.”

“I guessed as much.”

Cheng Zhiyi looked at Xu Mu. “If I’m not mistaken, you should be Xu Mu, right?”

“No way. Am I really that famous? That’s going to make things very inconvenient for me.”

Xu Mu regretted it once again. He should never have taken part in the Martial Arts Tournament.

“Hehe, you’re not really that famous. I just happen to watch a lot of videos.”

Cheng Zhiyi glanced at Xu Mu. “If someone only watches a video once, they’ll usually forget it very quickly—unless you’re especially active.”

Only then did Xu Mu relax.

…

After another two hours of travel, the group finally caught sight of the area around the Sacred Battlefield.

Standing atop a mountain peak, Xu Mu gazed into the distance.

He saw that the basin below was covered in stone buildings as far as the eye could see.

At the very center stood a massive castle.

The large castle had a distinctly Western style. A broad area around its perimeter had also been developed into a plaza.

Looking down at it from the mountain peak, the entire place looked almost like a park in a major city from the outside world.

Taken together, it covered an area roughly the size of a large town.

The castle stood among the surrounding stone houses, resembling something from an alien civilization and appearing completely out of place.

“What an impressive place.”

Xu Mu took out his phone and glanced at it. “This area has already entered the territory of the Flood Dragon race, right?”

“That’s right. Sacred Battlefields are generally established within the territories of powerful races, as that makes them safer.”

Cheng Zhiyi spoke to Xu Mu. “Every year, they pay the Flood Dragon race a share of their profits. The Flood Dragons are more than happy to let the Sacred Battlefield operate on their land.”

“They invested so much. How do they make money?”

Xu Mu was curious about their business model.

“Their biggest sources of income are betting with spirit stones, as well as food, lodging, transportation, and other necessities. For example, if you and I fight, everyone can place bets, and they take a cut.”

Cheng Zhiyi explained, “Besides that, there are accommodations, restaurants, and all kinds of entertainment venues inside. All of those generate revenue too.”

Xu Mu nodded slightly. “Then how do competitors like you make money?”

Cheng Zhiyi smiled. “One way is through challenge wagers. For example, I could put up ten tons of spirit stones on the rankings. If you’re willing to fight me, you’d have to put up ten tons as well. The winner takes everything.”

The people beside Xu Mu all nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“Another way is through the rankings. The top ten in every realm receive spirit-stone rewards each month. The higher your ranking, the greater the reward. In addition, if the total amount wagered on a match exceeds one hundred tons of spirit stones, the victor can also claim five percent of the betting pool.”

At this point, Cheng Zhiyi couldn’t help but boast a little. “I’m currently on a winning streak and ranked seventh among the Grandmasters.”

“Can you challenge the person ranked first directly?”

Dai Xingluo asked, her face full of confusion.

“I can challenge them, but the person in first place has to agree. Normally, challenging someone above you requires offering them a large number of spirit stones or heavenly treasures.”

Cheng Zhiyi shook her head. “Otherwise, I can only challenge the person directly above me. Since I’m ranked seventh, I can challenge the sixth-ranked fighter.”

As they spoke, they had already descended the mountain and arrived at the plaza of the Sacred Battlefield.

The place truly resembled a park. The trees and flowers had all been carefully trimmed, and the ground was paved entirely with white stone slabs.

Benches had been placed along the edges of the paths for people to rest.

It was Xu Mu and the others’ first time there, and they were all amazed by what they saw. The plaza was filled with all kinds of races.

In the Inner World, they had no need to disguise themselves.

Dai Xingluo and Meng Wanyue in particular looked around at this new world with great curiosity.

“As long as you’re in this plaza, you’re safe.”

Cheng Zhiyi glanced at Xu Mu. “Anyone who dares to fight here would be offending the Flood Dragon race and the several top-tier races behind the Sacred Battlefield at the same time.”

“If my life is in danger, can I avoid being killed simply by staying here?”

Xu Mu asked.

“That’s right. But at night, the plaza will be sealed off by an array formation. If you want to remain here, you must have a room.”

Cheng Zhiyi raised one finger. “The cheapest accommodation here costs thirty jin of spirit stones per night, and it’s explicitly limited to one person.”

“That expensive?”

Xu Mu recalled that when Fu Jinyu and Nalan Shisan had been captured, they had been put up for auction.

At the time, some people had even thought that four or five hundred jin of spirit stones was too much to pay for them.

Yet staying here for just one night cost thirty jin.

So does that mean that after staying for a month, you could afford a stunning Transcendent-level beauty?