In this chaotic time and place, almost all of those who held seats of power had slaughtered their way out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood relying on their own abilities. On this abandoned continent, there was no room of survival whatsoever for those incompetent wealthy hedonistic youths.
Once Instructor Liu moved, the dignitaries that were watching the fight were instantly hooked. This was a killing technique from the battlefield!
Compared to him, those two bloody fights earlier were just mere street brawls, all brawn with no brains. In comparison, the techniques of the assassins were highly deadly, but were lacking in confrontational ability. They were completely unable to demonstrate them on the stage.
But Qianye was of a different style. He was extremely agile, constantly changing positions around Instructor Liu so quickly that it made others dizzy. But out of ten of his moves, about seven or eight of them were feints. Added to the fact that Qianyeâs silhouette possessed such beauty, they couldnât help but wonder which family his particular brand of martial arts had come from. It was so mesmerizing that not to mention those powers, but even the audience couldnât help but think of it as being an extremely flowery display of martial arts.
Instructor Liuâs fighting style should, by right, have been the most adept at curbing Qianyeâs insubstantial fighting style, but what the audience couldnât have predicted was that the two of them were extremely evenly matched in strength. The battle turned into a stalemate.
Although it was a virtual combat system, his strength was the complete strength of a rank one Fighter. As Instructor Liu fought, his forehead gradually wet with sweat.
Qianye could be said to have a hundred flaws, but every single time Instructor Liu tried to catch one of these, he would inexplicably fail. Once or twice could be written off as coincidence, but this many times, if he still hadnât realized that something was wrong, then he wouldnât have been fit to be called âinstructor.â
Instructor Liuâs face darkened, Qianye was evidently an expert that was worth his full effort to deal with. Suddenly blowing a long whistle, his face became incomparably calm, and his breathing slowed, as if he was preparing for a long, drawn-out fight.
Instructor Liuâs solemnity made the audience clamor with excitement as he seriously assessed Qianye.
In a box seat, a certain big shot quietly said, âThereâs more to Qianye than it seems.â
A youth that was sitting in another box seat heard it and turned to laugh. âAre you afraid that Liu Zifan would lose? Heâs the current combat instructor on active duty, you know?â
âAn identity doesnât mean anything.â
The youth playfully pondered, looking at Qianye, and then said, âI favor Liu Zifan, to the contrary. Want to make a bet with us?â
That big shot whose face was obscured entirely in the shadow mulled it over, and then nodded. âAlright.â
The youth gave a smirk. âA small bet is boring. How about this, letâs make the stakes one hundred imperial gold coins?â
âJust as you said, a small bet is boring. Other than one hundred imperial gold coins, I want that âBlackfangâ youâve got, how about that?â
Killing intent flashed through the youthâs eyes, and then slowly faded. He said blandly, âIf youâre willing to bet your âIgniterâ as well, then Iâm fine.â
âThatâs that, then.â
The two box seats quieted down, the two sides no longer talking as they concentrated on observing the battle.
The battle had already gone on for fifteen minutes but neither side looked like they were winning. Both partiesâ foreheads were sweating, but their movements were just as they were earlier, and it looked like they could continue fighting like this for an hour or two without an issue.
After activating the first origin node, the condition of oneâs body would see a massive increase and their physical strength would far outstrip commonersâ. In one prolonged battle, a rank one Fighter could often consecutively slaughter several dozen common soldiers and still have enough energy left to continue battling.
Liu Zifan still had that clean and practiced military style, while Qianye was still as flashy as ever, just that he had started to reduce the number of silly leaping actions.
The audienceâs cheering had subsided, but nobody had lost their patience.
This was practically an exhibition match in fighting technique and many people were secretly trying to figure out and learn the fighting techniques of the two, with some success. Even the little tricks that Qianye was using would have great value in a real fight.
But Tiger Yan was somewhat unsettled. He suddenly turned around, saying something to his subordinate, and that subordinate immediately left, returning a short while later with a woman in hand.
The woman was young and pretty, and she possessed a certain wildness of character. Even in Blackflow City she was considered one of the greatest beauties. Her face was pale after being forcibly pulled into the area and then to Tiger Yanâs side.
Tiger Yan suddenly raised his voice, calling out, âKid! Youâre called Qianye, right? Take a good look at this woman! She seems related to you!â
Qianye turned to look, and was struck dumb for an instant. Minâer was right beside Tiger Yan. She didnât usually leave Lighthouse Town, so how was she here?
But in this moment of distraction, Qianyeâs movements slowed a tiny bit, and Liu Zifan instantly grasped the opportunity, sweeping his leg across Qianyeâs thighs. Qianye staggered and Liu Zifan instantly grasped at the chance to unleash a flurry of vicious attacks. Qianye took a series of punches, and the two of them separated.
A few slightly red regions began to show on Qianyeâs virtual body, and that was a sign of damage. If the damage reached the point where it was fully red, then it would be rendered unusable. If it was the brain, the chest, or the lower half of the body that was red, then it would be judged to be an instant loss.
Sir Zhaoâs face became extremely ugly. Standing up abruptly, he called out, âTiger Yan, are you this shameless? You want to play dirty?â
Tiger Yan laughed, spreading his hands. âBut I didnât force that kid to lose! Qianye, did you hear that? Fight brutally, fight to the death! Fight! Haha!â
As he laughed, Tiger Yan stood up, and pulling out a short blade, he stuck it into Minâerâs collar, and forcefully pulled down! With a ripping noise, Minâerâs blouse had been completely torn open. Tiger Yan pulled off her blouse with a tug, letting her entire upper body be exposed.
Minâer hugged herself, covering as much as she could, but she was slapped instead.
âWho let you cover up? Youâre just a whore. Since youâve already taken the cash, why are you still pretending to be some f*cking innocent? Put your hands down!â Tiger Yan yelled in anger.
Minâerâs face was pale and half of her face rapidly swelled, blood flowing out of the corner of her mouth. Shaking, she put down her hands, letting the entire audience look at her body willfully.
From the arena came the sound of several dull exchanges of blows, and Qianyeâs virtual warrior body had two areas that were on the verge of being completely red. The edge of Qianyeâs actual bodyâs mouth had also swollen, and begun to bleed. The feedback of the force field was, after all, the force of a true rank one Fighter.
Seeing this, Tiger Yan gave a maniacal smile, poking the knife into Minâerâs beltline, hoarsely calling out, âYou guys want to see something exciting? This whore ainât cheap, sheâs a silver a night!â
That price was expensive even for Blackflow City. Minâer had an extraordinary figure, and commanded an equally extraordinary price. Already, many members of the audience was catcalling and hooting, and wolf-whistling as well.
Sir Zhaoâs face went livid. After giving Minâer a death glare, he turned to Tiger Yan. âGood, very good! Iâll concede your ruthlessness. After this, youâd better watch out!â
Tiger Yan gave Sir Zhao the middle finger, laughing maniacally. âAfter losing this round, what right would you even have to contest me? If I donât exterminate you, itâll already be magnanimous!â
In the box seat, that youth gave a faint smile. âTiger Yanâs really shameless! So, if you feel that itâs really unfair, then Iâll get someone to take the girl away, and have them re-fight this, how about that?â
The man coolly replied, âItâs alright. If a single woman could sway his heart, then he wouldnât be worth me placing such a heavy bet on.â
âIs that so? Then weâll continue watching.â The youth quietly sat back down.
In the arena, Qianye easily dodged Instructor Liuâs pounce, and as the two side swapped positions, he suddenly looked at Tiger Yan. âSo, I heard you placed a really big bet.â
Qianyeâs voice was incredibly calm, piercing through the raucous crowd to enter Tiger Yanâs ear, causing him to feel a mysterious chill in his heart.
Tiger Yan immediate jumped up, and he yelled. âSo what!? Daddy here can afford to lose it!â
The corner of Qianyeâs mouth twitched upwards into something that could be said to be a smile. âIs that so? Then lose!â
In the arena, Qianye suddenly retreated, and then shifting from extremely quick movements, he instantly stilled!
Liu Zifanâs heart suddenly gave off an intense warning sign, the feeling of being stared at by a hungry wolf! Under the influence of his opponentâs killing intent, he couldnât hold back his own intent any further, and with a wild roar, he pounced ferociously toward Qianye!
Qianye gave off an equally low growl, and drawing power from his core, he, for the first time, didnât dodge, instead meeting his opponent head on! The two of them collided without a shred of flowery tricks and their attacks smashed toward each other like a storm!
With the sound of a boom, the whole audience stood up, and even the youth in the box seat was shocked into silence, involuntarily standing up and rushing forward to the windowsill to watch the battle.
At this very moment, Qianye and Liu Zifan were tightly glued together, and both sidesâ attacks were exactly the same, with exactly the same style. Punches, knee strikes, elbow smashes, every single one of them was executed with lethal force, seeking the otherâs life!
What Qianye was using was exactly the same as Liu Zifanâs military martial art, but every strike he threw was faster, and in a few strikes, he destroyed Liu Zifanâs posture, smashing into his range, and his left elbow smashed three times into Liu Zifanâs chest like lightning!
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of the three strikes was almost completely blended into a single long boom.
Qianyeâs first strike had already caused Liu Zifanâs chest to become completely red, the second caused his torso to become completely red, and the third elbow strike completely blew apart Liu Zifanâs virtual fighter!
The youth in the box seat clapped both his hands on the windowsill, involuntarily crying out, âWhat an impressive military combat art! This kidâs an expert!â
Even he had lost his cool. The audience, comparatively, was even more shocked, now completely silent. But after this instant of silence, they burst into a roar that echoed across the whole arena, exclaiming out one after another!
In the circular control platform, Liu Zifanâs face flushed with red, and he suddenly spurted out a large mouthful of blood! Although he had the ability of a rank two Fighter, the force of the feedback was still equal to the full strength of a rank one Fighter. He took three hits in a row to the chest. Even if he were physically stronger, he still could not take such an attack. Therefore, he was grievously injured on the spot.
Qianye remained calm. Even his gaze was steady without a single ripple, except when he looked at the fresh blood on the arena, which would cause an imperceptible bloody light to flash in the depths of his eyes.
At this point, he let down both of his arms, both legs still slightly apart, maintaining the exact same military posture as Liu Zifan. Turning to face Tiger Yan, he mildly said, âDid you enjoy losing?â
Tiger Yan was momentarily stunned, completely unable to respond.
This timeâs failure to him was simply too costly. Merely to invite Liu Zifan to the arena, the amount heâd paid and the contacts heâd mobilized were almost as costly as the bet itself.
Tiger Yan had lost a whole five yearsâ worth of income! After this loss, he was already unable to maintain his position in his old haunt in Dongxin Town. Without an exit strategy, Sir Zhaoâs men would soon come knocking on his door. Even if Sir Zhao didnât, there would naturally be other ambitious powers who were looking to make a move.
In those two box seats that were side by side, the man who was constantly in the shadows laughed. âIt seems that my eyes arenât bad!â
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