Snowflakes drifted through the air. Figures flickered in the surroundings, cheering her on loudly, but not a single person came up to help her.
This was one of the rules of the arena. If the fighter did not personally admit defeat, no one could interfere with the battle.
She widened her eyes as if she was stunned from fright, or perhaps she could not let down those expectations. She refused to give up on her dignity as a genius.
The daemonic beast swallowed the arm and leapt up, lunging over. Even now, she could not forget its graceful and vicious posture. Death rushed towards her.
A white figure charged out, and blood splattered. The daemonic beast collapsed on the ground. The battle had been interrupted, and she fainted as well.
She knew that although the person's status was very great, he had broken the sacred rules of duels, so he was severely punished.
"Bao 'er, what's wrong?" Gu Yanying noticed Si Bao's abnormality and turned her head to ask.
"What duel? How boring. This isn't the Dragon province. Let's drink, let's drink!" Si Bao poured two cups of alcohol and shoved one into Gu Yanying's hands. She took one for herself, clinked it gently, and drank it all in one gulp.
Gu Yanying smiled. "I almost forgot. I have a 'Dragon Fighter' sitting beside me!"
'Dragon Fighter' was the greatest honour for fighters. It was conferred by the Great Xia empire, and it possessed great honour.
"I don't care!" Si Bao said in disgust. Afterwards, she reattached her arm, and she never lost a single duel again. However, she never understood Si Qing, no, basically everyone around him, their fanatical love for duels.
When she was almost devoured by the daemonic beast, she subconsciously looked at her mother, but all she saw was a twisted face roaring out, "Bao 'er, kill it! Kill it! "
Just as the cultivation community of the Green province became peaceful with the world's peace, the Dragon province had always been submerged in this fervent atmosphere for several millennia. Bloodthirst and warmongering flowed through the veins of every single citizen of the Dragon province.
Li Qingshan's eyes shone. He had never thought the Dragon province would be such a great place. If he had the opportunity in the future, he would definitely go and take a look. However, tonight was his opportunity.
This was due to the tradition of the Dragon province. When a dispute arose between two parties that could not be resolved, they would resolve it with a duel.
Given Si Qing's and Gu Yanying's statuses, if they were to make a move directly, it would be considered as a declaration of war. However, if they sent their subordinates or disciples who were one realm lower than them to fight, they would not have to worry about this. It was also a competition of foundation and power.
Si Qing flipped his hand. An item was tossed out. It swelled up against the wind and landed in the empty space in the middle of the hall, stabilizing itself. At first glance, it looked like a large tent. It was round at the bottom and pointed at the top. Its surface was covered in symbols, and it emitted rings of spiritual light. A long dragon was faintly discernible as it revolved around the tent.
"The Dragon Arena!" Si Bao was mildly surprised. He didn't expect Si Qing to be able to take out such an item.
If Dragon Gladiator was the greatest honour for fighters, then Dragon Arenas were the most powerful arenas. They required tremendous amounts of resources and effort to build, enough to refine who knew how many arcane artifacts. However, they did not have any offensive or defensive abilities after they were built.
If it were not for the extravagance of the imperial family of the Dragon province and their passion for duels, he would not have been able to do so. There were probably no cultivators or sects that would build Dragon Arenas.
"Same as before, take turns to fight. A total of three people will fight. Those who die in battle or surrender will be replaced by someone else. Pills, talismans, puppets, and so on are forbidden. You're only allowed to use the arcane artifacts on you!"
Si Qing waved his hand. The old man in long robes walked over and entered the Dragon Arena first. Originally, he had to hide the order of who would fight beforehand, just in case his opponents targeted him. Si Qing's actions demonstrated his ample confidence.
Gu Yanying said, "Alright. Rongzhi, you're first. If you win, the three arcane artifacts on you will be your reward."
The Hawkwolf guards were all amazed and envious. They never thought the reward for this battle would be so generous. That was three arcane artifacts. Just how many dangerous missions did they complete normally? They would only be able to exchange their contribution for a single arcane artifact.
They could not help but think, The three people on the other side are powerful, but if I have a few arcane artifacts on me, I might still have a chance at victory!
"Yes, commander," Qian Rongzhi lowered her head. There was neither joy nor fear on her face. Putting on an act before this woman was completely useless, or she would not have been chosen to fight in the first place.
She had already made up her mind that as soon as the situation turned sour, she would immediately forfeit. The three arcane artifacts were not that tempting to her.
"Commander, this subordinate requests to fight!"
Before Qian Rongzhi had even finished speaking, Li Qingshan heard a voice filled with dissatisfaction ring out from behind him. Looking back, he saw a late Foundation Establishment White Wolf guard. His face was cold and proud, and he seemed to be in his thirties or forties. He must have been a genius, having a great chance at breaking through the second heavenly tribulation. He was also equipped with a few arcane artifacts.
Clearly, Gu Yanying had not expected Li Qingshan to make it back just in time. As a result, she had arranged for three people to fight. This man happened to be one of them. He was already displeased about being swapped out, and now that he heard there was such a great reward, he could not sit still anymore.
Gu Yanying said, "Wei Ke, you're not suited for this kind of battle."
"This subordinate insists." Wei Ke refused to accept this. Commander, you're underestimating me far too much. With my strength, am I supposed to be weaker than a woman who has just established a foundation?
Hwa Seung-zan had once possessed the glorious title of "greatest genius" in the Clear River prefecture, while Wei Ke also possessed the same title in the Leping prefecture. However, unlike Hwa Seung-zan, who had suffered so many setbacks and sunk into depravity, Wei Ke had maintained this title until now. Having reached his current realm of cultivation smoothly, he had always been highly trusted by Gu Yanying, so he obviously had some self-confidence.
Qian Rongzhi said, "I'm willing to give up on this opportunity and give it to senior Wei Ke."
Gu Yanying originally frowned, but when she heard Qian Rongzhi's words, she could not help but smile. "Don't worry, you won't be able to escape. If you don't do your best later, I won't spare you."
Qian Rongzhi said nothing more. She only lowered her head even further. The hell snake slithered rapidly on her body, as if it wanted to eat her.
Si Bao berated, "Wei Ke, the commander has already chosen a candidate. Why don't you back down quickly?"
"Hehe, that's simple. We just need to add one more person. Your Highness, didn't you get a pretty good fighter recently?" The pale-faced scholar waved his black feather fan and said with a chuckle.
Si Qing said, "But brother Jia, that bastard's wild nature has yet to be tamed. He's tried to run away several times."
"Only wild beasts can fend off wild beasts. I think if we don't send him out, it'll probably be very difficult to kill this little brother surnamed Li here." Jia Zhen glanced at Li Qingshan from the corner of his eye. His eyes were deep and sunken.
Li Qingshan smiled resplendently, revealing his teeth.
Gu Yanying nodded at Wei Ke and said, "Be careful!"
"Thank you, commander!"
Wei Ke was overjoyed. He strode into the Dragon Arena with his head held high, and the scenery before him changed. An extremely vast, empty space constantly extended into the distance. In the extreme distance, there was a tiny, black speck. It was the old man in long robes who had entered first.
As Li Qingshan walked, the tent gradually became transparent. From above, he could see Wei Ke and the old man in long robes facing each other on a vast expanse of land that spanned several dozen kilometers.
This feeling was like he was watching a cricket fight, while the Dragon Arena was the cricket jar, and the two of them were the tiny crickets.
Si Qing said, "Yanying, you can choose the location first!"
Wei Ke was about to rush up and fight the old man in long robes when the surrounding scenery suddenly twisted. Returning to his senses, he discovered that the ground beneath his feet had already turned into fine, yellow sand. The flat ground had also turned into undulating sand dunes, blocking the old man in long robes.
In the beginning, he even doubted it to be an illusion, but when he grabbed a handful of sand in his hand, he discovered that it was real. The surroundings were even permeated with dense earth spiritual qi.
He beamed inside. With this, his chances of victory had increased slightly. He cultivated the earth element, so in an environment like this, he could obviously unleash a hundred and twenty percent of his power.
Li Qingshan was surprised too. As it turned out, this was the so-called choice of location.
The Dragon Arena was not as simple as expanding a space for duels. There were also many layers of space layered on top of each other. Each layer had a different environment, such as deserts, swamps, mountains, and rivers, to increase the interest and variety of the duel.
By choosing a suitable environment and gaining the geographical advantage, one could seize the initiative and change the outcome of the duel. When Gu Yanying chose this desert as the location of the duel, she had considered many things.
In such an open desert, no matter how experienced the old man in long robes was in battle, it would be difficult for him to make use of the environment. All he could do was clash head-on and even out the difference between them a little.
In the desert, Wei Ke used a technique. Rumble! The ground beneath his feet trembled, and the sand gathered into eight tall towers. Eight large, earthen puppets emerged, shaking off the sand on their bodies.
Wei Ke glanced at the earthen ring on his finger and became even more confident. This Earthen Puppet Ring really is an arcane artifact after all. Its power is startling. Combined with my own techniques, it's even more powerful. Every single one of these eight earthen puppets can defeat that Qian Rongzhi. Victory is mine for sure.
A streak of golden light whistled over from afar, dragging a golden streak of light behind it as it flew past the sand dunes. Wei Ke controlled the puppets in a hurry, standing guard in front of him.
The golden light approached him, and only then did he see that it was a golden awl. It was covered in strange inscriptions and spun rapidly, easily stabbing a puppet towards Wei Ke's chest.
Wei Ke summoned a green flying dagger, which collided with the golden awl. There was a sharp clang, and the golden awl was sent flying. Fortunately, his flying dagger was a high grade arcane artifact, while his opponent's golden awl was only an inferior arcane artifact.
Wei Ke let out a sigh of relief. Right when he was about to launch a large-scale counterattack, he suddenly heard the sound of whistling through the air. It was densely packed and shrill.
Wei Ke's eyes widened, reflecting specks of golden light. Several dozen streaks of golden light formed a formation, passing over the sand dunes and rushing over.
A complete set of arcane artifacts!
The number of spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts that cultivators could wield was limited, but if it was a complete set, this limit could be broken. However, even spiritual artifacts like that were extremely rare, let alone arcane artifacts.
Gu Yanying furrowed her brows, and Si Qing smiled. "There are a total of thirty-six Heart Piercing Awls of the Heavenly Spirit. Although every single one of them is inferior, their combined power is passable."
A while later, Wei Ke was sent out of the Dragon Arena. His face was filled with fear and reluctance, lying on the ground without moving at all. A bloody hole had appeared in his head.
Originally, he had the opportunity to reach Golden Core, but now, everything was over. A dead genius was not a genius. (To be continued)
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