There were all kinds of criminals kept in the holding cells of the capital. Thieves, robbers, drunkardsâŚ
All of the cells, hundreds of them, were nearly full. Most of the criminals had been caught on that very day.
Since the capital was extremely busy those days, public security had become the most urgent issue. The dynasty had deployed thousands of soldiers to patrol.
As the captain of these soldiers, Gao Xiong had great authority, as well as heavy responsibility.
âCaptain, the fights of the top twelve will start soon. So will the duel between the Third Prince and the masked man. Arenât you going to watch?â his subordinates tried to get in his good graces.
âYeah, Iâm going to start my shift there with my team. Any problem if I leave you in charge of things here?â Gao Xiong said.
âTrust me, captain. Just go. Iâll take care of things here,â the deputy captain guaranteed him. Something occurred to him all of a sudden. He said, âCaptain, the savage people we just brought here are all being kept in one cell. Itâs too hot in there so they might faint. Shall weâŚâ
He didnât go on, but looked up to wait for Gao Xiongâs response.
Gao Xiong hesitated for a while. He recalled Wen Xinâs words and smiled.
âKeep them there. Donât give them any water. Iâm curious to see how Iâm supposed to regret it.â
Then, he swaggered to the square.
By then, the competition would be over soon. Even the top twelve couldnât sit still anymore, not to mention the spectators outside the square.
The draw had already started, after the judges had confirmed everyone was in their best status.
Jiang Chen and the Third Prince didnât have to draw. They just waited there for their upcoming fight.
Soon, the results were out.
Yi Shuihan and Lu Fei were opponents. Their fight was regarded as the fight between swords and knives.
But in this round, the participants would fight successively instead of at the same time, because the old man in the gray robe wanted to observe each participantâs performance. In case someone was extremely excellent, he could accept them into the Sacred Institute even if they lost.
The old man looked towards the Third Prince and the mask man before the start of the competition. âYou two, are you going to fight first, or later?â
âFirst!â the Third Prince answered him without hesitation.
âNo problem.â Jiang Chen didnât mind either. He was excited, since the long-awaited moment had finally come.
âSo, get in.â
The spectators cheered. The fight between the Third Prince and Jiang Chen was the most anticipated one. If they fought later, spectators would be unable to focus on the other fights.
The Third Prince picked the ring in the middle. He was holding nothing in his hands. His face was blank, as if this was a fight he was sure he would win.
The masked man followed him and jumped into the ring.
âSince itâs a fight to the death, you wonât be restricted to the ring. Iâll deploy a barrier around you. It wonât disappear until one of you dies.â
The old man in the gray robe was taking this fight very seriously. He flew into the air over them and trapped them with a transparent light cover very quickly.
Indeed, this became a life-or-death fight after the barrier was erected.
Many sighed. They thought the masked man would have no chance to survive.
They respected him, but felt sorry about the expected result.
They were afraid that after this day, no one else would be brave enough to provoke the Third Prince, and this bully would keep doing evil in the Fire Field.
But there were also people that were gloating, and quite a few.
After all, theyâd been used to the Third Princeâs great power, but the masked man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere was way too excellent for them to accept. They would be happy to see him fall.
âWonât you take your mask off before your death? You know the next few minutes are the only chance for people to remember your face,â the Third Prince said.
He was curious to know whether the masked man was regretful or frightened after learning he was so powerful.
âItâs a pity that you will be remembered by the people of the Fire Field as an evil man forever. You wonât have the chance to change this image anymore,â Jiang Chen said.
Oh?!
His voice was deep. There was no trace of fear in it. He sounded as casual as before. It seemed like he wasnât taking anyone seriously.
âDoesnât he know the Third Prince has forty-nine holy points?â
âHe should know. Chu Luo must have told him about it.â
âDoes he know?â
An audacious assumption occurred to them. They tried to shake it off, since it was too absurd.
The fight in the ward started while the spectators still had contradictory opinions.
The Third Prince threw a fit again and stopped talking. He raised his right arm and punched his fist against the ground of the ring.
âYouâre not even qualified to stand before me!â
The power of the fist immediately erupted. The ground made out of flagstones rapidly burst apart. Sprays of gravel from the explosion flew into the air.
A crack appeared under the masked manâs feet. The fierce fist power was like the eruption of a volcano, formidably powerful.
The masked one didnât stand still to wait for his death. He dodged the power of the fist swiftly.
âPower that doesnât hit anyone is only a toy for showing off,â he said.
âYeah?â
The Third Prince smiled disdainfully. The fist power erupted again and smashed all of the flagstones into pieces. The masked manâs feet were trapped by his power.
âIâll crush all of your hopes with one punch!â
At almost the exact same time, the Third Prince darted towards him. The power from his feet fractured the ground, sounding like thunder. His body moved like lightning. He went up to the masked man extremely fast.
âFist!â
His raised arm carried tremendous power. A small light disk with runes that no one could understand appeared on his fist.
âGorgeous!â the spectators exclaimed.
The holy yuan was all over his body. He didnât have to convert it at all. This made his attack extremely powerful, almost irrepressible.
Bang!
With a blare, his fist punched against the masked manâs spiritual sword, which the latter hadnât yet drawn out.
It was a class-four spiritual sword. The punch had dented it so it was shaped like a crescent moon. The blade and the sheath were stuck together, which made it impossible for the masked man to draw the sword out.
However, while the spectators were still in shock of the Third Princeâs punch, which had destroyed the class-four spiritual sword, they suddenly realized the masked man had managed to take this fist attack!
One of his hands grasped the handle of the sword, while the other was grasping the tip. The muscles of his both arms were bulging, his feet sunk into the ground. He hadnât flown off the ground as others had expected.
âImpossible.â
The Third Prince was surprised. He had thought the masked man would have spit a gallon of blood after being punched by him, and he had planned to torture the latter after that.
He had planned to show those who hated him how they would end up if they opposed him, which, in his mind, was like opposing God!
He hadnât expected the masked man to be able to take it.
It was like a large man had tried to punch a three-year-old kid, and the kid had stopped him with his slim arms.
âThird Prince, itâs time for me to kill you.â
This time, Jiang Chen stopped keeping his voice low, saying it in his normal voice instead.
âWhat?!â
The Third Prince was totally shocked, feeling like he had seen a ghost. He kept stepping back unconsciously.
âYou! Who the heck are you?!â the Third Prince shouted.