Chapter 16: An Old Acquaintance
The battle arenas were divided into three tiers: the Highgod Battle Arena, the Demigod Battle Arena, and the God Battle Arena. There was only one Highgod Battle Arena, three Demigod Battle Arenas, and three God Battle Arenas.
"Boss, which tier should we watch first?" Bebe asked eagerly.
"The Highgod battles are the most exciting, so we'll go there first," Linley said with a smile. The others were also looking forward to the Highgod Battle Arena, so the group followed the signs along the corridor and headed straight for it.
A moment later, Linley and the others saw the massive battle arena.
The Highgod Battle Arena had a circular fighting area at its core with a diameter of five miles. Surrounding it were densely packed, tiered spectator seats, and a quick glance suggested there were nearly a million of them.
"This Highgod Battle Arena is the largest. The arenas for the other two tiers aren't this big," the bearded Bates said. Linley and the others found some empty seats along the corridor and sat down.
God-level fighters had extremely sharp eyesight, allowing everyone to clearly see the two combatants in the central arena from several miles away.
At that moment, two figures were suspended in the air above the arena, facing each other. One was a burly, horned man, and the other was a seductive red-haired woman. What caught Linley's attention, however, wasn't the pair about to fight, but the soldiers in blood-red armor standing at the front of the spectator stands along the edge of the central arena. Every few meters along the circular edge of the stands, an island guard soldier stood.
"There are over a thousand island guard soldiers!" Linley observed carefully. That alone meant over a thousand Highgods. And they were just standing guard at the edge of the stands. There were also quite a few island guard soldiers patrolling the corridors and other areas.
The number of island guard soldiers in this battle arena was astonishing.
"Wow, there are quite a lot of island guard soldiers," Bebe exclaimed in surprise.
Achi smiled and explained, "This is the Highgod Battle Arena. They arrange so many island guard soldiers to prevent the residual energy from the battles from harming the spectators. The Demigod Battle Arena has far fewer island guard soldiers, and at the God Battle Arena, there are no island guard soldiers protecting the edge of the stands at all."
"Who would the residual energy from a God-level battle harm?" the bearded Bates said with a chuckle.
As they chatted, Linley and the others watched the battle in the arena closely. The two figures had turned into blurry afterimages, clashing at lightning speed, with streaks of light spreading through the air. Linley and his companions watched intently.
"Boom!"
The seductive red-haired woman suddenly wielded a long red staff, striking the horned man's body like lightning. A sharp, piercing scream was cut short as the horned man was sent flying. Then, his entire body eerily exploded with a "Bang!"
"Kralinda, two wins!" a voice announced. The seductive red-haired woman then left through a passage below the arena.
"Too weak," Linley thought to himself after seeing this battle. "With just a slight application of a special profound mystery of the Fire Element, she can win two consecutive matches. The level of the participants in this battle arena is really too low." Linley had seen far too many experts.
Whether it was Qinghuo, Beirut, or Rilmont, Diyi, Aliquinn, Pusro...
Even Gammontin, who had lost to him, was far superior to these people.
The bearded Bates, noticing Linley's expression, lowered his voice and said, "Linley, in this Highgod Battle Arena, any Highgod is allowed to participate. The skill levels vary greatly. A true expert only appears occasionally, so ordinary battles naturally don't meet your standards."
"Occasionally appears one?" Linley shook his head in frustration.
He had come here hoping to see some powerful fighters, but according to his plan, he would only stay on Moro Island for a day or two. After buying what he needed at the Free Castle, he would leave. He didn't have time to wait around for an expert to show up.
"What a pity," Linley sighed softly.
"Actually, quite a few experts do appear in this battle arena," Bates said in a low voice. "The Highgod Battle Arena has a rule: if you achieve ten consecutive wins, you get a ten percent discount on all purchases at the Free Castle. If you achieve fifty consecutive wins, you get a twenty percent discount. And if you achieve a hundred consecutive wins, you only pay half price at the Free Castle, get a reward of ten billion Mo Stones, and also earn the right to visit the secret grounds on the West Island!"
Half price and a ten billion Mo Stone reward—Linley didn't care about any of that.
"Visit the secret grounds on the West Island? What does that mean?" Linley asked, puzzled.
The East Island of Moro Island was open to the public, while the West Island was off-limits to outsiders. But Linley had never heard of any secret grounds on the West Island.
"Moro Island is jointly managed by five major clans. The members of these five clans and the island guard soldiers all live on the West Island. However, it's said that the West Island has a very important secret ground. Only those invited by all five clans together, or experts who have achieved a hundred consecutive wins, are qualified to visit it," Bates said with a sigh.
Linley couldn't help but feel curious.
The five major clans jointly managed Moro Island. What could this so-called secret ground on the West Island be?
"Bates, have you never been to see it?" Linley asked, looking at him.
"I'd love to go," Bates said with a wry smile. "But I value my life too much. Getting ten consecutive wins in this battle arena isn't hard for me. But a hundred consecutive wins? After all, it's impossible for all the participants to be weak. What if a strong expert suddenly shows up? I'd be done for."
"Couldn't someone get lucky and face weak opponents for all a hundred matches?" Linley inquired.
"Impossible," Bates shook his head. "Even if someone is lucky enough to win ninety-nine matches against very weak Highgods, for the hundredth match, the five major clans would send out their own experts to test them. Those who truly achieve a hundred consecutive wins are all experts. At the very least, they have to be at my level."
Linley nodded slightly.
That made sense. The five major clans probably wouldn't just hand over a ten billion Mo Stone reward to someone who was lucky but weak.
"A reward of ten billion Mo Stones—these five major clans are really generous," Linley thought to himself.
"Linley, if you went, getting a hundred consecutive wins would be a breeze," Bates urged. "Generally, someone at the Six-Star Demon level can secure a hundred consecutive wins. A lucky Five-Star Demon might also have a chance. After all, a Seven-Star Demon participating in the battle arena battles probably only happens once every ten thousand years or so."
Linley smiled. That was true.
Powerful Seven-Star Demons wouldn't care about a mere ten billion Mo Stones. Of course, over a long period, like ten thousand years, a Seven-Star Demon-level expert might still occasionally show up to participate.
"Boss, look!" Bebe said urgently.
"Hmm?" Linley looked at Bebe in confusion. Not just Bebe, but Delia and the others also reminded him, "Linley, look at the person who just came out into the arena. It's that person we met before!" After watching the previous battle, Linley hadn't had high expectations for the arena fights.
But now, he still followed their advice and looked over. What he saw startled him!
In the empty arena stood a familiar figure. "I didn't expect that this once-in-ten-thousand-years possibility would actually become reality. A truly strong expert has really appeared."
Standing in the arena was a cold, proud figure in a black robe, carrying a warblade on his back. His ink-black hair flowed freely, and he stood there like an iceberg that had existed for eons—cold and untouchable.
When his eyes opened and closed, faint lightning flickered within them.
"It's him," Bates also swallowed hard, shocked. "If he participates, isn't he guaranteed a hundred consecutive wins?"
Bebe, beside him, asked in confusion, "Hmm? I remember his travel speed was faster than ours. Logically, he should have arrived at Moro Island long before us. We shouldn't have run into him." That black-haired man was traveling alone, so his speed was indeed very fast.
Linley recalled the discussions he had overheard in the restaurant.
Along the route from Blue Maple City to Moro Island, all the large bandit forces had been wiped out.
"Maybe he was destroying those bandit forces along the way, or perhaps he stopped to train halfway," Linley thought to himself.
Linley immediately focused on watching this battle. After all, the one participating was this powerful black-haired man.
"You're too weak. Get lost!" A cold, indifferent voice echoed through the battle arena. It was the black-haired man speaking. His opponent was a handsome purple-haired young man in a white robe, holding a staff that shimmered with white light.
The spectators immediately erupted in commotion. It had been years since they had seen someone so arrogant. He hadn't even fought yet and was already telling his opponent to leave.
Hearing this, the purple-haired young man was furious. "We'll see after we fight!"
The black-haired man stared at him.
"Swish!"
Suddenly, two bolts of lightning shot out from the black-haired man's eyes. Their speed was so fast that the purple-haired young man had no chance to dodge. They struck directly into his body. The young man's body trembled slightly, then collapsed limply to the ground, lifeless.
The hundreds of thousands of spectators in the stands were momentarily stunned.
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
"All you weaklings, don't bother coming. It's suicide. Next one—someone stronger. I'll take on consecutive challenges right here!" the black-haired man said coldly.
Consecutive challenges!
This was an extremely arrogant move. Once you chose consecutive challenges, you lost the right to choose your opponent. No matter who the next fighter was, you had to face them. Even if the next one was an Asura, you had to fight.
Of course, an Asura wouldn't appear.
So, choosing consecutive challenges meant you were either hot-headed or a true expert.
"Lomio, one win!" a voice announced from within the arena. "Everyone, Mr. Lomio has chosen consecutive challenges. Any Highgod, regardless of who they are, can challenge him. Those interested can come down and register immediately. Now, let's proceed directly to the second match!"
Linley watched without blinking.
He watched from the first match all the way to the tenth!
As for the eleventh match, it wasn't that Linley didn't want to watch, but there was nothing to watch.
Because participants in the battle arena could only fight a maximum of ten matches per day. Even if someone wanted a hundred consecutive wins, it would take at least ten days. Lomio had fought ten consecutive matches and won each one effortlessly. His strength was so overwhelming that the spectators held their breath.
"Too strong," Linley thought, deeply shocked. "This man is skilled in both material and soul attacks. And from start to finish, he never even drew his blade."
"Lomio," Linley committed this name to memory.
They also watched a few matches in the Demigod Battle Arena. Bebe even entered the God Battle Arena and fought ten consecutive matches. With Bebe's strength, he only had to show a little to easily achieve ten consecutive wins!
Leaving the battle arena, Linley and the others headed straight for the Free Castle.
"Bebe, you're really bored, going in to compete like that," Linley said with a laugh.
"Ten consecutive wins, huh? At least I got this token. With this, I can get a ten percent discount on purchases," Bebe said smugly.
Linley was speechless. How much money were they going to spend on purchases anyway? A ten percent discount would only save them a little. With the wealth Linley and Bebe now had, it was nothing.
"This Free Castle is really beautifully built," Linley said, looking at the ancient castle with its deep green walls and red roof. The entrance was bustling with a constant stream of people going in and out.
"This place has all kinds of goods—some from the Stellar Sea of Mist, some from other continents. It has everything. It's even better than the Black Sand Castle in the Violet Continent," Achi exclaimed in admiration.
Linley and the group followed the crowd toward the entrance.
At the edge of the street leading to the Free Castle's entrance, a black-haired man in loose robes was lying lazily on the grass by the roadside, holding a bottle of wine and drinking. If Linley had seen him, he would have immediately recognized him as an old friend from the Yulan Continent—Hisse!
Hisse looked very dejected.
"The last time? Haha, the last time?" Hisse threw his head back and laughed, but tears were streaming down his face.
Many people on the street glanced at him but didn't bother with him.
"Hmm?" Linley, who had already reached the entrance, suddenly turned his head and looked into the distance. He stared intently, but there were too many people around. "Did I mishear?" Linley had vaguely thought he heard Hisse's voice.
But there were too many people with similar voices. Linley looked carefully but didn't see Hisse.
"I must have misheard," Linley thought to himself, shaking his head.
"Boss, come on in. What are you looking at?" Bebe said. Delia also turned to look at Linley.
"Let's go, inside," Linley said with a smile, and together with Delia and the others, he entered the Free Castle.
How could Linley have known that Hisse was actually lying on the grass by the street? If Hisse had been standing, Linley might have seen him. But he was lying down... How could Linley have noticed him?