1263: - dalbir
“How is it? It’s still not too late for you to back out!” Seeing that vipin’s face had changed, the middle-aged manager scoffed. In his time at the Ring of Death, he had met plenty of young scions who put on airs and bragged about their strength. However, when they finally witnessed the brutality on the Ring of Death firsthand, their bodies would freeze in fear. “There’s no need for that.”
vipin shook his head. What he was shocked at was how lightly a human had taken the life of another, not the bloodshed that had occurred. In terms of fearsomeness, they wouldn’t even come close to competing with the bloodthirsty Otherworldly Demonic Tribe! Harnessing a killing intent that would leave any ordinary cultivator scrambling away in fear, these Otherworldly Demons would unhesitatingly feast on the blood and flesh of any man! But from the first time he encountered them, vipin was already able to take them into committing suicide, so how could a battle between two humans possibly frighten him?
“Not bad, you do have some guts. Go in!” The middle-aged manager was surprised by how swiftly vipin had managed to calm himself down, and a hint of approval emerged in his eyes. Heading down the stairs, vipin soon arrived in a room. There were all kinds of weapons in the room, and they were all of Saint low-tier. Perhaps to allow any cultivator to wield them easily, none of them contained any spirit.
“You can freely pick any weapon you would like to use in the ring later. There are no limits how many you can take, so feel free to take anything you want. However, should any of these weapons be spoiled in battle, you are to compensate us accordingly. Also, at the end of your duels, you have to put the weapons you have taken back in its place prior to leaving.” the middle-aged manager said while gesturing to the weapons. “Un.”
vipin nodded. He swiftly scanned the surroundings before making his way over to a saber rack. There were more than a hundred sabers in here, be it short sabers, long sabers, nine-ringed sabers, single-handed saber, ghost-head saber… The variety of weapons that were available here was truly astounding. vipin lightly brushed through the weapons with his finger before casually picking one that seemed to be slightly heavier.
He flicked it a few times, seemingly testing out its handiness, before shaking his head and putting it back down. He repeated the same process for a few other weapons before eventually sighing deeply. “Forget it, I won’t use any weapons!” vipin told the middle-aged manager. “You aren’t going to use any weapons?” the middle-aged manager was taken aback.
After witnessing the brutality in the ring, most of those who had registered to fight in the ring would be eager to take as many weapons as they could with them. After all, it might just happen to play a crucial role in helping them out of a critical situation. On the other hand, this fellow actually chose not to take anything with him at all… Was he really that confident in his skills? “If one’s strength is lacking, no weapon can save him.” vipin replied impassively. “Alright then.”
Deciding not to say anything more, the middle-aged manager pushed another door open and walked in. vipin swiftly followed suit, and within the room, he saw dozens of cultivators sitting cross-legged on the ground, conditioning themselves in preparation for the battle to come. Every single one of them carried the stench of blood on them. Clearly, they carried numerous human lives on them.
“Wait here for the time being. We’ll call you when it’s your turn!” the middle-aged manager instructed before leaving the area. Left to be, vipin began scanning his surroundings. He noted that while the dozens of cultivators in the room appeared to be cultivating, they had retained a sliver of their awareness out to observe their surroundings constantly, guarding warily against one another. If anyone were to dare approach them carelessly, they might abruptly burst forward to launch a preemptive strike out of self-defense.
A moment after vipin found a place to sit, an indifferent voice sounded beside him, “A newcomer to the ring?” Turning around, vipin saw that the person speaking to him was a young man who appeared to be in his early thirties 1 . There was a crimson saber cut on his face, and blood was still trickling out of it. It was likely to have been inflicted on him not too long ago, such that he hadn’t had the time to recover from it yet. Considering how cold the cultivators in this room were, vipin was rather surprised that someone would take the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.
“You can tell?” “Those who have experienced the ring would have eyes reminiscent of ravenous wolves, ferocious and vicious. There is no way one can survive the savagery that happens up there otherwise. In comparison, you are nothing more than a little tame sheep. How can I not be able to tell?” the scar-faced young man scoffed. Strength did play a deterministic role in the Ring of Death, but ‘viciousness’ was also another crucial factor as well!
Not just vicious to one’s opponent, but vicious to oneself as well. Those who were willing to sacrifice their own bodies to launch a decisive blow would stand a far better chance at subduing their opponent as compared to those who expected to walk out of the ring completely unharmed. The young man before him had an air of innocence around him, reminiscent to that of a scion who had never weathered through the harshness of the world before. “Little tame sheep?”
vipin was visibly a little amused by the scarfaced young man’s metaphor. So far, he had been treated like a God of Destruction no matter where he went, leaving behind demolished buildings and traumatized minds in his wake. Yet, in the young man’s eyes, he was just a little tame sheep? Perhaps he was really a little too good-tempered. “Of course! Those who have never stepped onto the ring and undergone the initiation ritual of bloodshed are nothing more than tame sheep!
Let me tell you, I have already won six consecutive victories so far! It’s just a pity that the seventh opponent is too strong, and I depleted too much of my zhenqi. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that I could have very well become a Conqueror of Ten by now!” the scar-faced young man declared proudly. “Incredible.” vipin offered an earnest compliment. Even a genius like vipin liaoshi didn’t even get to the six matches.
The fact that the young man could win six consecutive matches already bore testimony to his strength and state of mind. Jiya! While they were chatting, the door ahead suddenly opened. A powerful killing intent poured into the room, exerting immense pressure on the cultivators within. “It’s him?” vipin frowned. A figure had appeared by the door, and it was no other than the metalarmored middle-aged man who had ripped a person to two on the ring earlier.
This middle-aged man had a towering stature, similar to a metal tower. The thick metal armor that he wore was completely dyed in crimson, and fresh blood was still trickling down the edges of his armor. Such an appearance made him reminiscent of a savage Asura on the battlefield, wedging fear deep into the hearts of others. “That’s the strongest existence in the black market at the moment, dalbir!” Seeing that vipin didn’t recognize the person by the doorway, the scar-faced young man sent a telepathic message over to him to introduce him.
“He’s also known as the Conqueror of Hundred!” “Conqueror of Hundred?” vipin was taken aback. “He has won a hundred matches consecutively?” “It’s not that. Rather, he has won ten Conquerors of Ten consecutively! The fellows who challenged him had all been ripped into two, as dead as they could get!” the scar-faced young man replied as a hint of fear flickered across his eyes.
He was full of admiration for the strength dalbir wielded before him, but the brutal means that the latter used had left him deeply fearful as well. And very apparently, such a feeling resonated not just within him but the others in the room as well. dalbir slowly walked over to the corner and glared down coldly at the two young men cultivating there, bellowing, “Scram!”
Without any hesitation, those two young men hurriedly got up and scrambled away. Huala! Even when seated, dalbir’s figure still conspicuously towered over the others. He took out a pill and swallowed it, and his aura began to billow. On the other hand, the crowd heaved a sigh of relief with uncanny harmony. Those who were in proximity to dalbir slowly shifted backward, creating a huge vacuum around him.
“Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage…” Through the aura dalbir was emanating, vipin was able to clearly perceive his cultivation. Just like him, dalbir was a Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator. However, the killing intent that he emanated was truly overwhelming. Even a cultivator of the same realm would experience great mental pressure facing him, even prior to the battle itself.
Activating the Eye of Insight, vipin was just about to take a clearer view to the strength of the young man before him when dalbir suddenly raised his gaze and looked over. “What powerful instincts…” vipin was slightly startled. As expected of an existence who had consecutively defeated ten Conquerors of Ten, his awareness of his surroundings was truly fearsome.
It was just an inconspicuous glance, but the other party still sensed the nature of his gaze clearly and even ascertained the direction where it was coming from accurately. With such powerful instincts, it would be nigh impossible to spring a surprise assault on him. “It seems like life-and-death situations do help to temper a person greatly. Even though dalbir’s cultivation is at Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, it seems like he would be a match for even a Half-Leaving Aperture realm master teacher… In fact, if he was locked together with a combat master of equal cultivation realm, it was very likely that he would be the one to survive at the very end!”
vipin noted. How powerful one was didn’t rely solely on one’s strength. How one reacted in face of pressure and danger was of utmost importance as well. Even though a cow possessed strength far superior to a wolf, if the both of them were to be placed in the same room, the cow was likely to be the one to fall at the very end. And dalbir was this very wolf. Or perhaps, it might be more accurate to call him a ravenous tiger instead.
Anyone who dared to come close to him would be ripped apart by his sharp fangs. “Newcomer, scram to the side. Don’t you know this is my seat?” While vipin was busy assessing dalbir, a cold voice suddenly sounded above him. Raising his gaze, he saw that one of the two young men chased away by dalbir earlier standing before him. “Is your name inscribed anywhere here?”
vipin replied nonchalantly, not intending to make a move at all. To scramble fearfully in face of dalbir yet stomp right up to him just because he appeared to be a newcomer… A typical bully, huh? “Oh? The newcomers seem to be getting quite cocky nowadays, huh?” “gagan, it seems like you don’t have much of a presence anymore!” Seeing how vipin refused to move, retorting back even, the cultivating crowd slowly opened their eyes to watch the commotion before them in interest.
“You say that my name isn’t inscribed here? Hehe, since you wish it so, why don’t I have it inscribed for you right now!” The young man named gagan didn’t expect that a newcomer to dare affront him like that, and his eyes narrowed menacingly. A dagger abruptly appeared in his palm, and he swiftly swiped it right toward vipin’s forehead. His movements were fast and devoid of any hesitation. It was as if the person he was attacking wasn’t a human but a mere tree branch. If that dagger were to be plunged into vipin’s head, there was no doubt that it would cause instantaneous death.
“You want to claim my life over a trivial matter like this?” vipin scoffed coldly. It was one thing if there was an irreconcilable grudge between both of them, but to attempt to take his life just because he wouldn’t give up his seat… It seemed like the young man really thought nothing about a human’s life! Even in this world, where strength reigned mighty, such actions were truly abhorrent.
Displeased, vipin raised his finger and fend off the other party’s dagger. Ding! His finger struck the blade of the dagger, and with a metallic ring, the Saint low-tier artifact abruptly broke into two. “Oh? It seems like our young newcomer over here has the strength to back up his words! No wonder you dare speak so conceitedly before me!” Seeing that his weapon was broken with a single flick, gagan slightly startled for a moment. However, in the next moment, he licked his lips as an excited gleam flickered across his eyes.
He had thought that the other party was just an amateur whom he could crush easily, but it seemed like it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Nevertheless, as a veteran of the Ring of Death, gagan still had confidence in his capabilities. Tzzzzzzzzzz! Several more daggers abruptly emerged in gagan’s hand, and with a swift flick of his wrist, they came flying toward vipin from the top, middle, and bottom.
The top dagger was aimed for the right eye, the middle dagger was aimed for the heart, and the bottom dagger was aimed at vipin’s thigh. Abrupt and swift, it would be difficult for even a genius like vipin liaoshi to fend against such an attack in the nick of a moment. “You have quite a hand, don’t you?” vipin remarked impassively. As expected of one who had been through multiple life-and-death battles, his killing skills had indeed been refined to an exceptional level.
The trajectory of the daggers was aimed in a manner such that avoiding one of them would result in the other two plunging right into one’s body. However… Such an attack was of limited effectiveness against vipin. vipin swept his hand in a half arc before him, and all of a sudden, the three daggers were already caught between his fingers. Despite the intense trembling of the daggers, they weren’t able to struggle free from his grasp. “Newcomer, you have successfully piqued my interest!”
Seeing that his second attack was resolved by the other party so easily, killing intent surfaced in the depths of gagan’s eyes. Just as he was about to make his next move, a voice suddenly sounded in the room. “Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, vipin! You will be faced against an opponent of the same cultivation realm, maanav!”
“It’s my turn.” Paying no heed to gagan, vipin stood up and began making his way over to the ring. “You think that I will allow you to walk out just like that after provoking me? Just how easy do you take me to be?” Seeing that vipin was leaving, gagan flicked his wrist once more, and amidst a freezing burst of air, two daggers shot forth for the back of vipin’s heart. ------oOo------
1264: - In the Ring (1)
“It’s gagan’s Three Arts of Assassination!” “There should at least a hundred people who die from those three moves of his every year…” “That can’t be helped. His daggers are fast and vicious, making them extremely hard to guard against. Opponents of the same cultivation realm barely stand a chance against him!” “That newcomer is a goner!”
… The crowd remarked calmly as they watched the two daggers whizzing for vipin. While it was true that gagan’s strength was nothing compared to the Conqueror of Hundred, dalbir, he was still a famous figure in the underground black market. He was renowned for the seemingly endless daggers he had on him, as well as his vicious Three Arts of Assassination.
With just his superior mastery over those two things, he had been able to claim countless lives over the years. Yet, that arrogant newcomer dared to provoke him head-on, inciting gagan to use his strongest moves. With this, the guillotine had already been raised upon that newcomer’s head. With such thoughts in mind, the eyes of the crowd swiftly turned to the newcomer.
Even as the two daggers were swiftly approaching him, the newcomer did not turn around at all, as if he was unaware of the threat right behind him. Watching the sight, the scar-faced young man immediately spoke up anxiously, wanting to remind the newcomer. However, before he could say a word, the vision before him suddenly blurred.
He could not say for sure what exactly happened—it might have just been a figment of his imagination—but it seemed like the newcomer’s foot had shot up to strike the daggers. Wu! In the next instant, the daggers abruptly turned around and flew back at a speed much faster from before. Pu he! “What?” Astonished, before gagan could even react, the daggers had already plunged into his wrists.
Hu! The sheer momentum of the daggers sent gagan flying all the way back until his wrists were firmly pinned onto the wall by the daggers, forming a cross. gagan struggled with all his might, but he found that the daggers were simply too firmly lodged into the wall, such that he could not free himself. “What in the world…” “With just a slight kick, not only did he neutralize gagan’s daggers, he even returned it to gagan and pinned him against the wall? Just how powerful can that newcomer be?”
“That newcomer is really no ordinary figure? Will the black market find itself another Conqueror of Ten soon?” “It’s still too early to say, but with just that hand, that newcomer should have no trouble winning seven to eight matches!” … Watching as gagan howled in agony on the wall, the crowd felt their hair standing on end.
Although that brief encounter was not sufficient for them to analyze how powerful the newcomer was, the fact that he was able to subdue gagan so easily was more than enough to say that he was not an opponent to be underestimated. Perhaps, he could very well be crowned the next Conqueror of Ten. “Interesting.” By the corner, dalbir took a glance at the departing back of the newcomer before closing his eyes once more. The counterattack that the newcomer had launched earlier might have seemed impressive, but to him, it was truly nothing at all.
Even if he could not subdue gagan with a single punch, all he would have to do was smash another one in. … The ring was not too big, and its perimeter had been secured by a unique formation, forming something similar to a cage. Once a challenger entered the ring, he would not be able to escape until the end of the battle. “Sign this Life-and-Death Contract first.” Before vipin could step into the ring, a member of the Ring of Death’s staff standing in front of the ring passed a parchment over to him.
vipin lowered his head to swiftly browse through the contract before sealing it with a droplet of his blood. Following which, as if some kind of seal around him had been released, he heard thunderous cheers from the surrounding crowd. Raising his head, he saw that the spectator stand was fully filled with roughly five to six hundred people. There were people from all walks of life, be it male or female, old or young.
Every single one of them had eyes that were crimson from the irrepressible excitement within them. It seems like the thrill of watching a life-and-death battle really does appeal to many. Above that, from spectating this kind of duel, they can also gain some insights into battle as well, vipin thought. In life-and-death battles, cultivators would be pushed to their very limits, forcing them to show their strongest hands for survival.
Such intense battles could be beneficial in providing inspiration to other cultivators as to how they could further refine their fighting prowess. Perhaps, this might even have been the biggest reason the black market was able to grow to such a massive scale. By the time vipin stepped onto the stage, a young man was already standing on the opposite side with his hands wrapped around his chest.
Nonchalance and loftiness could be seen in his eyes, as if this battle was nothing more than a show for him. The young man seemed to be the opponent for this round, maanav. “Alright, let’s not waste our time dawdling over here and end it quickly.” Taking a rough calculation of the current time, vipin noted that he did not have much time before the auction started. Unwilling to waste even a second, he stretched his back lazily before clasping his fist. “Pardon me.”
Hu! In the blink of an eye, vipin’s figure suddenly materialized right before the young man, and his arm darted forward to strike the latter. The strength behind this move was not too strong, but the young man felt as if a massive net was closing in on him, preventing him from escaping at all. Not expecting vipin to make a move against him so abruptly, the young man widened his eyes in shock.
“You… I am not…” He immediately attempted to sidestep to dodge the attack, but to his horror, he found himself unable to move properly, as if he was standing in marshland. Pah! vipin’s palm connected with the young man’s face, and a crisp echo resounded throughout the ring. Before the young man could speak, he had already collapsed on the ground, knocked out. He had thought it through prior to entering the ring. Since he could not intentionally let him opponent off, he would just have to knock the other party out.
A knock out could also be considered incapacitated, so naturally, the match would have to be judged as his victory. After knocking out the young man, vipin waited for a long moment, but no one declared the results of the duel. Perplexed, he placed his hands behind his back and asked, “I should have won for the first match, right?” Still silence. Confused, vipin took a look at his surroundings.
To his bewilderment, the crowd from before had fallen completely silent, and their excited expressions had been replaced with flabbergasted ones instead. vipin liaoshi was also amid the crowd, and his palm was slapped onto his face. He kept trying to shout something, but due to the various impeding formations between them, vipin was unable to hear a word at all.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing that the crowd was reacting in a manner contrary to what he had expected, vipin was bewildered. Just as he was about to speak, the formation to the ring suddenly opened up, and another young man walked in. Upon seeing the fainted person on the ground, he widened his eyes in astonishment. “Are you my second opponent?” In order to become the Conqueror of Ten, one had to defeat ten opponents consecutively.
In vipin’s view, the young man who had just entered was likely his second opponent. “I am maanav!” “You are maanav? Then, this guy is…” Hearing those words, vipin widened his eyes in shock. If the young man before him was the opponent he was supposed to fight against, who was the person he had just knocked out? “The referee!” maanav’s lips twitched. “There’s actually a referee for the ring?”
vipin’s eyelids twitched. “Have you ever seen an official duel without a referee?” maanav retorted. “…” vipin was rendered speechless. What the heck! Typically speaking, referees should be standing beneath the ring and not in it. As a result, when vipin saw the other ‘maanav’ standing on the stage—the fact that the other party had a fierce-looking face did little to help as well—he had thought that the other party was his opponent!
To knock out the referee before even meeting his opponent, this was really… Finally understanding what vipin liaoshi was screaming outside, vipin sheepishly asked, “Will I be… disqualified?” He had thought that he was being smart by claiming the first move, but his ‘smart move’ only ended up knocking out the referee. It would really be terrible if his right to fight in the Ring of Death was revoked as a result of this!
Recovering from his initial astonishment, maanav replied indifferently, “Unlikely. There aren’t any rules here. Let’s not waste time and begin.” In the first place, the black market was intended to be a lawless land. In other rings, knocking out the referee would have been a huge penalty, but in the Ring of Death, it was not that big a deal. Hula! maanav charged straight toward vipin.
While he was in the midst of his movements, his hands were already moving swiftly, creating afterimages reminiscent of a blooming lotus. Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, Thousand Buddha Lotus Hands! There was no doubt that maanav possessed noteworthy strength. Even if he was still slightly lacking compared to the previous gagan, there were few cultivators of the same cultivation realm who would be a match for him. As soon as he made his move, he had already made sure to seal the surrounding space with his zhenqi, forcing vipin to meet him headon.
“Not too bad,” vipin remarked as he raised his palm to meet the other party’s assault. Huala! It was the exact same move he had used against the referee earlier. It carried an imposing momentum that seemed as if it would not rest until it smacked every last drop of brainy remains out of one’s ears. This strike was not a battle technique or any profound move, just the simplest slap.
But for some reason, it seemed like harness some mysterious might that left those facing it feeling as if they would be unable to avoid it. Pah! The two palms collided, and maanav’s face swiftly flushed pale. He retreated several steps back before his legs caved in, causing him to fall to the ground. The next moment, his eyes suddenly rolled up. He had fainted. “Strong!” “What move is that?”
“I reckon that’s some kind of palm art. But still, to be able to knock maanav out in a single strike, that fellow there should at least be able to achieve five consecutive victories!” “That’s not necessarily so. The stronger a move is, the more it depletes one’s zhenqi. The ring isn’t just about absolute fighting prowess but endurance as well. If he tires himself too much in the earlier rounds, he will risk running out of juice quickly.”
… Such discussions broke out in the spectator stand. Even though vipin had been a little reckless, knocking out the referee as soon as he got onto the stage, there was no denying that he did possess true strength. However, in the Ring of Death, strength was not enough for one to get far.
Stamina was of the utmost importance as well. Many challengers would step into the Ring of Death to acquire the title of Conqueror of Ten each year, but those who had succeeded were truly numbered. “I am Tan Shiyou. Are you my opponent?” After knocking out maanav, it did not take long before another young man came onto the stage.
This young man going by the name of Tan Shiyou was slightly stronger than maanav, but he was still far from a match for vipin. A single blow to the face, and he was floored as well. The same went for the next three opponents as well. A hint of exhaustion was starting to show through vipin’s posture. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, and his hands were beginning to tremble non-stop as well. Right after he defeated the fifth person, vipin heard a loud voice.
“You have just cleared the fifth round. Do you want to carry on?” A casual challenger would usually stop at the fifth match as the matches beyond would have stakes involved. As an inevitable result of that, the later matches would be much more demanding than before, and until one side was crippled or incapacitated, the match would not stop. “I’ll continue,” vipin replied. His main goal at the Ring of Death was to obtain as many concentrated high-tier spirit stones as possible, but what he had earned so far could only be considered peanuts.
Naturally, how could he back down, especially since the true money lay ahead of him! “Very well. Your opponent for your sixth match is qadim. Just like you, he also has five victories under his belt as of the moment,” the voice informed vipin. As the first five matches did not involve any wagers, the pairings would be mainly between newcomers. It was from the sixth match on that the true veterans started appearing.
The pairings would be made in a manner that placed opponents with an equal number of consecutive victories against one another—those with six victories would be faced against those with six victories, those with seven victories would be faced against those with seven victories, and so on. As a result of this system, vipin’s next opponent was someone who had achieved five consecutive victories as well. Hu! A young man slowly walked up the ring under vipin’s gaze.
Different from the previous opponents he had faced, this young man exuded a faint killing aura, signifying that he was a dangerous figure. “I have watched your matches. So far, you have subdued all your opponents with a single strike. Not too bad at all,” qadim said with a hair-raising smile as his sharp eyes assessed vipin from head to toe keenly. “However, that strike of yours should consume quite of bit of your zhenqi, right? I sure would like to see how many more times you can use it!”
Hula! With a flick of his wrist, a spear appeared in qadim’s hands, and without any warning whatsoever, he drove it swiftly toward vipin. That cunning old rat! He actually launched an assault on me while he was talking… It took only an instant before the spear was already right before vipin.
“You want to play spearmanship with me?” A glint flashed across vipin’s eyes as he looked unblinkingly at the spear whizzing toward him. “You should know that I’m the true ancestor of spearmanship!”
------oOo------
1265: - On the Ring (2)
Right after saying those words, vipin tapped his finger forward leisurely. vipin’s finger was positioned straight in the face of the furious pierce of qadim’s spear, and it seemed as if the spear would pierce right through his finger at any moment. Yet, for some reason, before the spear could even reach the finger, it suddenly lowered its trajectory slightly, as if qadim was intentionally going easy on vipin.
Hula! With a simple downward grasp, vipin grabbed qadim’s spear and flicked it slightly. A powerful might shot right through the spear and struck qadim. Deng deng deng deng! qadim’s face reddened, and he was forced to retreat several steps in a fluster. “You were able to see through my move?”
The disbelief in qadim’s eyes couldn’t be concealed. There was no way qadim would have gone easy on vipin in the midst of a duel. What had happened earlier was that the change in the trajectory of his pierce earlier was actually an intended change in his battle technique to catch his opponent off guard, but somehow, vipin seemed to have anticipated it in advance and positioned his finger right there, creating the illusion as if it was his finger that had caused the change in trajectory.
“I told you, I am the ancestor of spearmanship. You are still much too inexperienced to be shaking your spear before me!” vipin dashed forward once more and raised his palm to strike qadim’s face. Huala! A powerful might burst forth. Alarmed, qadim retreated in a panic. He thought that five consecutive matches should have exhausted most of vipin’s zhenqi, preventing him from using that move anymore.
He thought that with his spear in hand, he should be able to achieve victory easily. But he never thought that the other party would be able to see through his spearmanship so easily and utilize that move against him once more. Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to escape from the slap, he immediately attempted to raise his spear to counterattack, but it was already too late.
A palm struck his face, and the spear in his hand flew away. Padah! qadim crashed onto the ground and blacked out. “Seventh match, vipin VS ranbeer!” Following which, a familiar face walked onto the ring. It was no other than the scar-faced young man who had treated him as a tame sheep earlier. “And I thought you were a tame sheep. It turns out that you are a wolf instead…” the scar-faced young man, ranbeer, said with a shake of his head.
When vipin first entered the room, he had an innocent and dazed look on his face, reminiscent of a naive newcomer. Such people usually end up suffering a great deal on the ring. Yet, who could have thought that he would be so strong that even gagan wouldn’t be a match for him! “I know that you are strong, but there’s no way I’ll be going down without a fight. Come!”
Hula! Drawing a saber, ranbeer drove his zhenqi furiously and slashed down on vipin. vipin had a rather good impression of ranbeer, so he didn’t go too hard on the latter. After two blows, he knocked the latter out with a light blow. On the other hand, on the spectator stand, vipin liaoshi had also been diligently staking the concentrated high-tier spirit stones which vipin had handed him previously into the matches.
As vipin was a newcomer, despite his outstanding results in the earlier matches, the crowd still wasn’t too confident in vipin’s strength. Thus, in the sixth match, most of the crowd had placed their stakes on qadim. On the other hand, vipin liaoshi successfully doubled the initial 111 concentrated high-tier spirit stones he had into 222. After the match with qadim, the crowd gained a clearer glimpse into vipin’s strength, so the payout wasn’t that high anymore. Nevertheless, by staking everything into vipin once more, vipin liaoshi managed to increase their total asset to 300 concentrated high-tier spirit stones.
“It really is lucrative!” vipin liaoshi exclaimed as he looked at the huge pile of spirit stones before him. Despite being an offspring of the shen kabila, he was only from a side family, so his allowance every month was rather meagre. Concentrated high-tier spirit stones were extremely beneficial to his cultivation as well, but even when using all of his means, he could only earn one to two of them each month.
Yet, in just a short twenty minutes, he had actually just earned nearly two hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones! This sure was frightening! “Let’s do it!” Knowing vipin’s intention, vipin liaoshi didn’t hesitate to stake all 300 concentrated high-tier spirit stones on vipin’s victory once more. The opponent for the eighth match was a young man in his thirties. He had a pair of arms that were innately thick as if tree trunks.
On the other hand, fighting seven consecutive battles seemed to have exhausted vipin greatly, and he looked as if he was about to be sapped dry. In view of that, the payout for vipin’s victory increased this time around. After trading thirty blows or so, vipin achieved a narrow victory.
And the spirit stones in vipin liaoshi’s hand leaped from 300 to 720 in an instant! vipin had been able to subdue his opponents in a single strike in the previous matches, but in the eighth match, he actually took more than thirty blows. To the crowd on the spectator sign, this was a visible sign that the newcomer was swiftly approaching his limit! “He really knows how to act…” Shaking his head with a smile on his lips, vipin liaoshi’s eyes glowed in excitement. In order to draw more people to bet against his victory so as to raise his payout, it was necessary for vipin to feign weakness.
Otherwise, if he were to crush all of his opponents in a single move, there would be no suspense at all. Knowing that they would surely lose the bet, who would be willing to bet against him? It was true that those who gambled in the Ring of Death were mostly scions from notable clans with powerful finances, but that didn’t mean that they were fools who would squander their money away blindly.
They were all biding their time to place the decisive bet which would maximize their profits. So naturally, vipin would have to provide those scions an impetus to make their move. By giving out clear hints that he was getting weaker with every match, those scions would surely be tempted to go all in. After all, who would be willing to stake their bets on a newcomer who appeared to be already wobbling on his feet?
Obviously, the stakes would start gravitating to his opponent! The opponent for the ninth match was a middle-aged man. The previous time the middle-aged man had challenged the Ring of Death, he had won eight consecutive before failing on the ninth. But the reason why he lost wasn’t due to his lack of strength.
According to the rumors, it seemed like he had drunk too much the day before, resulting in him being unable to exert his strength properly… As a result, in his matches in the Ring of Death the next day, his entire body was swaying weakly, and it seemed as if he would collapse at any moment… The fact that he could still achieve eight victories under such a condition was a clear sign of his strength. It seemed like he had learned his lesson this time around and kept himself in check.
His body was overflowing with energy, and from the very first move, it seemed like he already had the entire battle in his grasp. This had induced a wave of cheerings from the spectator stand. On the other hand, vipin appeared to be weak on his feet, and it seemed like he was only hanging on his sheer willpower at the moment. With such a clear contrast between the two opponents, vipin’s payout nearly broke through the roof. However, despite the powerful assaults the middle-aged man sent at vipin over and over again, the latter kept bouncing back as if an indestructible cockroach.
The latter obviously looked as if he would collapse on the ground with the slightest breeze, and yet, that final bit of energy he had left in him seemed to nondepletable, allowing him to withstand the relentless waves of attack. Just like that, the battle stretched on to over a hundred moves.
At some point in time, the incredibly exhausted vipin somehow managed to bump into the back of the middle-aged man’s head and knocked the latter out, thus achieving a somewhat miraculous and unbelievable victory. At with this, the number of concentrated high-tier spirit stones vipin liaoshi had increased to an astounding 1800! “To be able to achieve victory like that, that newcomer sure is lucky.
If he could just win another match, we would find ourselves with a new Conqueror of Ten!” “That’s true, but it seems like the newcomer has expended himself too much the previous round. In his current state, there’s no way he can win the tenth!” “I thought that way in the eighth round too, but he still managed to grit the teeth and win the ninth round through his sheer willpower.
I think that lad has some kind of unfathomable power laying dormant in him. As unlikely as it may be, I actually think that newcomer will really be crowned as the next Conqueror of Ten!” “You think so too? Alright, I’ll bet on his victory then…” … Very soon, the tenth match began. Despite vipin’s appearance of weakness, the incredible endurance he had displayed in the previous match still won the hearts of some, and quite of a portion of the crowd actually chose to bet on him against the odds.
As a result, the payout dipped significantly. vipin liaoshi placed all 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones in, as usual, but it only increased to 2200 this time around. On the field, however… Naturally, vipin had a ‘tougher’ fight than ever. He traded more than three hundred blows with his opponent, maintaining the same ‘I look like I’m going to fall but I just won’t fall’ appearance throughout the match… In the end, the way which he managed to achieve victory nearly had the eyeballs of the crowd bulging out of their eyes.
The tenth opponent actually moved too fast in the midst of his assault and crashed into the formation barrier, knocking himself out… To come this far, one had to brave through nine life-and-death matches, and those who managed to do so were all indubitably outstanding warriors. Yet, for an expert of such caliber to actually knock himself out… vipin liaoshi really couldn’t bear himself to look on any longer… Brother, can you be any faker than that? Do you take the audience to be fools?
However, it was already the tenth match, and the results for the fight to become the Conqueror of Ten was already out. “Congratulations to vipin for becoming our new Conqueror of Ten! You have a choice to continue your battle now or take a brief rest first. Either way, it won’t impede you from fighting for the title of the Conqueror of Hundred. I suggest that you take a rest first so that you can face your opponent in your peak condition…” the voice sounded.
Upon successfully becoming a Conqueror of Ten, one would be allowed to take a rest first before continuing one’s battle for higher grounds. Considering how tired the young man already was—he looked as if he could very well faint at any moment—it would be best for him to take a rest first before continuing on his battle. “I’ll continue on…” Despite hearing the voice’s advice, vipin raised his eyes wearily and shook his head slowly. Rest? You must be joking! I am not even close to being done yet!
Since I have already made the journey here, how could I leave without making a big killing? In any case, everything was a fair game in the black market, so he didn’t feel particularly guilty about this. “Are you certain you want to continue? I don’t think that you are in any condition to fight another match…” the voice continued. Every single Conqueror of Ten was a money tree for the Ring of Death. It would be a huge waste for the Ring of Death if the young man were to die on the ring right after his conferment as a Conqueror of Ten.
“I think that… I can still… persevere on a little!” vipin said weakly. “Alright then… In order to become a Conqueror of Hundred, you must defeat ten Conquerors of Ten successively. Your first opponent will be…” Before the voice could finish speaking, a nonchalant voice suddenly boomed across the entire ring. “I’ll fight with him. As long as he can defeat me, he can become the new Conqueror of Hundred!” Following which, the clanging of metal sounded clearly in everyone’s eyes.
Following which, the crowd saw a towering figure slowly walking over to the ring. “It’s dalbir…” “dalbir is going to fight the newcomer personally, and he even promised the latter the position of Conqueror of Hundred?” “All along, it has always been others challenging dalbir, so why would he suddenly challenge this newcomer?
As the strongest existence in the Ring of Death, there’s no one who could possibly defeat him… If that newcomer were to really fight against dalbir, he would surely be crushed!” “Of course, that goes without saying! But as long as that newcomer doesn’t have something wrong with his head, he should know better than to accept the duel!” … When the crowd saw the figure walking over to the ring, there was a brief moment of silence before a huge uproar broke out.
The person who had spoken was no other than the man who could leave gagan shivering in fear with just a single word, the Conqueror of Hundred, dalbir! At this moment, the fatigue of battle that was plaguing dalbir previously had already vanished without a trace. Instead, his eyes were dyed crimson, as if he had already eyed a new prey. “How is it? Will you accept my challenge?” dalbir gazed at vipin coldly.
“This…” vipin hesitated. “You aren’t too bad at acting, but I have faced and destroyed countless experts in my time. That act of yours isn’t going to fool me! To still have the strength to be holding back even after defeating ten opponents… Boy, you have caught my attention!” dalbir spoke impassively. “…” vipin’s face turned green, and a whole string of vulgarities nearly spilled from his mouth.
He was still thinking that he could earn a hefty sum from vipin liaoshi’s bets during the battles with the Conquerors of Ten, but this fellow actually exposed him publicly! “Acting? That fellow was acting?” “Is that so? It doesn’t really seem like an act to be though…” “Think about it! He was already on the verge of collapsing by the end of the seventh match, but he still managed to survive till the ten.
Don’t you think that’s very suspicious?” “That bastard! I staked all my money on his loss!” … Hearing dalbir’s words, the crowd was so angry that they nearly morphed into demons on the spot. This was especially those who were fooled by vipin’s act earlier and betted on his loss. “Even if you wish to find a reason to challenge me, surely you need not frame me like that?
After battling ten people, there’s no cultivator who can avoid becoming severely weakened!” With a voice devoid of strength, the pale-faced vipin raised his head and exclaimed, “Putting everything aside, do you think that you can defeat ten people and still have the strength to put on an act?” “I can!” dalbir replied impassively. “…” vipin.
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Chapter 1266: - My Heart Really Can't Take It Anymore!
The faces of those who were previously defeated by vipin turned red. While their strength couldn’t be compared with Conquerors of Ten, they were still figures who had braved through many battles, and their fighting prowess were superior to ordinary cultivators… Yet, the other party was still able to defeat them consecutively and yet still have the energy to put on an act… Where were they supposed to put their pride and dignity now?
But thinking about it, there were indeed such people in this world. For one, dalbir definitely had the strength to defeat all ten of them twice each without getting exhausted at all. Could the person whom they had fought with earlier possess such strength as well?
Everyone turned their gazes over to vipin, wanting to see if what dalbir had said was true. But what they found themselves faced with were a pair of hollow eyes, a weakly trembling body, and a face which suggested that the young man was going to lose consciousness at any moment soon. “I don’t have such strength…” vipin shook his head weakly. “I can hardly remain standing at the moment, how am I to fight with you?”
He was currently in the Ring of Death of the black market, where schemes and deception were a huge taboo. If he were to admit that he had been putting on an act previously, he could very well bring great trouble upon himself. “You don’t have a say in this matter. I, dalbir, will fight anyone I want. No one can sway my decision!” dalbir declared with compelling authority as he took a step forward. Boom! A powerful surge of zhenqi suddenly permeated the entire ring, exerting immense pressure on vipin.
It carried a threatening intent behind it, as if saying that regardless vipin liked it or not, this was a battle he wouldn’t be able to escape from. “You’re too much!” vipin stiffened his neck in indignation. “I’m too much?” dalbir mocked before shaking his head. “Make your move. I suggest that you go all out, or else there’s no way you will be stepping out of this ring alive!” After which, dalbir raised his hand, and a bundle of zhenqi began gathering furiously above his palm. “Given how bent dalbir is on fighting against that newcomer, a battle should be inevitable. Who do you think will win?”
“Do you even need to ask? It’s obvious it’s dalbir! I shall stake everything on him!” “I’m also going to stake on dalbir as well. His battle style is exceptionally brutal, and he would even rip a life person into shreds callously… Even if that newcomer was putting on an act before, he still won’t be able to avoid the fate of being torn in two!” “More like torn in four!”
“Well, no matter how many pieces he is torn into, there’s no doubt that the newcomer dead meat…” … Upon hearing dalbir’s words, the faces of the spectators flushed crimson in excitement. “Time to place my bet…” Amidst the crowd, vipin liaoshi also had his fists clenched tightly in agitation as well. In the earlier few rounds, the highest payout had only been a little more than 1:2, but owing to dalbir’s fearsome reputation, the payout should be able to rise to whole new heights this round.
vipin liaoshi walked over to the betting table, and as he had expected, the payout for vipin’s victory had already increased beyond 1:10! In other words, nearly every single person here had betted on dalbir’s victory! No one thought that vipin would be able to emerge victorious in the duel! “We have really struck it rich this time!” With hands trembling uncontrollably in excitement and delight, vipin liaoshi passed a storage ring over.
“I’ll bet 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones on vipin’s victory!” “You are going to bet on vipin?” the staff in charge of managing the bets asked in disbelief. Shaking his head, he quickly processed vipin liaoshi’s bet. If no one were to bet on vipin, how would their black market earn money?
Without a doubt, that fellow was bound to lose his 1800 concentrated hightier spirit stones… While the spectators were excitedly making their bets, on the ring, dalbir looked at the young man before him and said, “Make your move!” “Why don’t we just forget it?
I won’t be a match for you anyway…” vipin shook his head. “Like I said, you don’t have a say in this matter!” Seeing that the young man was still rejecting him, dalbir couldn’t be bothered to waste his words anymore. Hula! With a cold sneer, dalbir charged forward with astounding momentum. In just an instant, he was already right before vipin. His stature was truly towering.
Standing next to him, vipin appeared to be nothing more than a child. Without any hesitation, dalbir smashed his fist down toward vipin, and a ferocious gale whipped up in the surroundings. A slight rumbling sound reminiscent of thunder could be heard in the air, hinting at the immense might that was packed behind that punch. From the looks of it, if that punch were to land, there was no doubt that vipin would be reduced into meat paste. On the other hand, seeing how dalbir didn’t even hesitate before making his move, vipin felt deeply exasperated.
As expected of one who had undergone multiple life-and-death battles, dalbir’s instincts were truly keen. vipin was confident in his disguise, and the fact that the crowd was only slightly doubtful of his strength even after he had won round after round bore testimony to how lifelike his disguise was. Yet, dalbir was still able to see right through him, remaining firmly convinced that he was putting on a disguise no matter how he protested. Without a doubt, dalbir was a formidable figure.
“Forget it…” Feeling the immense might crushing down on him, vipin knew that there was no avoiding this battle anymore. Sighing deeply, he took a step to the side. Huala! It was just a small step, but it allowed vipin to narrowly avoid the other party’s downward punch. “Hmph!” dalbir redirected the lingering strength behind his smashing punch into a sideward hook, adamantly tracing vipin’s figure with his offense. “What a swift transformation!” vipin was astonished.
Had it been any other opponent, his Infinitesimal Maneuver method of dodging would have surely caused the other party’s attack to fall empty. Yet, dalbir’s reflexes and flexibility were so powerful that he could actually change his movements at a whim fluidly, as if he had planned it right from the start! Even Hall Master jagdish might not be capable of pulling off something like that!
“He can almost catch up with a third of me… Incredible!” Surprised, vipin did a rough mental calculation. It was already extremely formidable for a challenger of an underground ring to be able to match a third of his reflexes and speed. Knowing that it would be hard for him to avoid dalbir’s sideward hook, vipin exhaled deeply and pushed his chest inward, making himself as thin as the width of a fist.
This was a unique battle technique that was used to avoid close-quarter attacks. Even an ordinary human would be able to push their chest in significantly by exhaling deeply, let alone a cultivator. By withdrawing his zhenqi into his dantian and using the surrounding air to compress his chest, it was possible for a cultivator to reduce his size significantly. In a battle between experts, even the smallest difference in the distance could cause a vast difference in the outcome.
Through using this move, vipin successfully dodged dalbir’s sideward hook. However, dalbir’s offense didn’t stop just there. He immediately changed his punch into a palm to strike down on vipin. In the first place, his hand was already extremely close to vipin’s chest. If vipin were to be struck by that palm strike, his heart could very well be pierced through, resulting in instantaneous death. Just as everyone thought that there was no way vipin could possibly dodge this move, perhaps it was out of resignation or exhaustion, vipin’s caved in chest abruptly bounced back up.
As if an inflated ball, it coincidentally collided with dalbir’s approaching palm and successfully deflected it aside. Following which, vipin stepped forward and raised his hand, preparing to strike dalbir’s face. It was the same move he had used to subdue his previous opponents! “Hm?” Not expecting that vipin would be able to launch a counterattack despite his relentless assault, dalbir’s eyes narrowed his eyes in surprise.
Even though his earlier assault may appear to be simple on the exterior, it was actually his famed Triple Chain Assault. This was the technique he had used to down countless tough opponents, and even Conquerors of Ten hadn’t been able to survive the second strike of his Triple Chain Assault. Yet, not only did the young man successfully dodge all three maneuvers, he even managed to launch a counterattack! Just like what he had guessed before, the young man was indeed no ordinary opponent.
In this moment, dalbir couldn’t help but feel deeply excited within. He swiftly raised his other hand, wanting to fend off the young man’s slap. But contrary to his expectations, the young man right before him shot him a peculiar smile instead. All of a sudden, dalbir felt a bout of dizziness assaulting his head, and his body staggered backward weakly. “Crap, it’s a terpsichorean art…” dalbir’s widened his eyes in astonishment.
That other party’s smile was actually one of the famed techniques of terpsichores—Hundred Flowers Bloom! It was said that the person who had created this technique was an incredible beauty amongst the terpsichores more than ten thousand years ago. Just a returning smile of hers could send one’s heart throbbing uncontrollably, and in that instant, it would be as if the rest of the world had turned colorless! Those who had fallen for the technique would find themselves consumed in a trance, thus losing their fighting prowess. But… wasn’t this a technique which only women could use?
How could a man like vipin use it as well, and to look so moving on top of that… Feeling that his mind was swiftly descending into confusion, dalbir hurriedly bit his tongue to restore some rationality back into his head. However, it was already too late. vipin’s slap was already right before his eyes. For some reason, those five fingers felt like towering mountains to dalbir. He felt that he would never be able to avoid the slap no matter how he struggled. Pah! A resounding ‘pah!’ echoed on the ring, and a palm was clearly imprinted on dalbir’s swollen face.
“You…” Feeling the stinging pain on his face, dalbir felt so frenzied that he could lose his mind at this very instant. He was the Conqueror of Hundred of the underground black market, but he ended up being slapped in the ring so easily… This was a huge humiliation to him! “I’ll rip you into shreds!” Roaring furiously, dalbir was just about to make his move when the young man abruptly retreated eight steps backward.
As if he had depleted all of his strength, the young man’s body trembled uncontrollably, and it looked as if he would collapse onto the ground at any moment. “I told you that I have already come to the limit of my body, and I won’t be able to fight with you anymore. Let’s just forget it. I really am not a match for you…” “You…” dalbir felt as if his mind was about to explode. Right after literally giving me a tight slap in my face, you want to call the duel off and retreat unscathed? How can there be something that convenient in the world?
Furthermore, you aren’t a match for me? If you still aren’t a match for me after nearly crippling me, if you were really a match for me, wouldn’t I be killed in an instant? Boom! Unable to hold back his rage, dalbir dashed forward furiously for vipin. This time, he decided to go all out. He adeptly weaved his zhenqi with his fingers, crafting a massive cage around them. “dalbir is getting serious!”
“Once he gets serious, there’s bound to be a cold corpse lying in his wake…” “It was just a lucky slap earlier. That fellow can’t possibly be so lucky the next time around too…” A commotion broke out on the spectator stand. Earlier, when dalbir was slapped by the newcomer, everyone was stunned for an instant, causing the spectator stand to fall deathly silent. However, seeing that dalbir had flown into a rage, excited cheerings began resounding once more.
Hula! A might which seemed to harness sufficient strength to sway even the heavens themselves gathered in dalbir’s palm as he callously thrust it toward vipin. As a person who had been crowned as the Conqueror of Hundred in the Ring of Death, his fighting prowess was truly not one to be underestimated. Facing the other party’s attack, vipin took a step back before twisting his body, nimbly dodging dalbir’s powerful palm strike. After which, he raised his palm once more. It was the exact same movement as before. He was preparing to send another slap toward dalbir’s face!
“You want to use the same move against me twice? Dream on!” Seeing that it was the same old move, dalbir was suddenly reminded of the previous insult he had suffered. He bellowed furiously as he sent another palm strike to meet the young man’s slap. But just as their palms were about to collide with one another, the young man before him suddenly sent him another bewitching smile.
This smile was even more radiant than the one before. In an instant, dalbir felt the sight before him blurring as another bout of dizziness assaulted his head. The palm strike he had pushed forward in order to fend off vipin’s slap also came to an abrupt halt, freezing in midair.
Padah! Another burst of fiery pain stung dalbir’s face as his body revolved twice on the spot from the sheer might behind the slap. “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Awakening from his trance, dalbir clutched his hair in fury. With a furious roar, he was just about to dash forward to return the favor to the young man when the latter’s helpless voice suddenly sounded once more, “Like I said, my body has really reached its limit.
I am in no state to fight with you… Why won’t you just listen to my words? I honestly don’t want to fight with you… I really am no match for you!” “Your body has reached its limit? You are no match for me?” dalbir touched the two swollen palm print on his cheeks, and his head nearly exploded.
You call this reaching your limit? Doesn’t that mean that if you haven’t reached your limit, I would have already been killed by you? Can you just stop humblebragging? My heart really can’t take it anymore!
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Chapter 1267: - A Shocking Bet
In a vast room in the underground black market… An elder anxiously barged into the room, exclaiming, “Boss, bad news!” “What’s wrong?” Seated at the very center of the room, a middle-aged man was leisurely sipping on his tea when he heard the exclamation and frowned. This middle-aged man was a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert, as well as the person who rules over the entire black market! Very few people knew of his true name, so most would only deferentially refer to him as the Boss.
Invaluable treasures could be found at every turn in the black market, but very few dared to snatch those treasures for their own. A huge reason for this was out of fear and deference for the Boss and his vicious means. “Earlier, a challenger known as vipin arrived in the Ring of Death, and he won ten rounds consecutively, winning himself the title of the Conqueror of Ten…” the elder reported. “Is this anything to make a fuss about? Winning ten rounds consecutively isn’t anything much, is it?”
the Boss replied leisurely as he lifted the teapot and poured himself another cup of tea. It wasn’t easy to rise to the position of Conqueror of Ten, but every single year, there would still be seven to eight who would be crowned as one. In view of that, it really wasn’t anything much to make a fuss over.
“That would be nothing much, but just as he was about to challenge the other Conquerors of Ten for the position of Conqueror of Hundred, dalbir suddenly stepped into the ring!” the elder continued. “Oh?” the Boss smiled in interest. “Given dalbir’s strength, there is none in his cultivation realm who would be a match for him. Anyone who faces him is likely to end in death. Since that’s the case, just make preparations to dispose of the corpse then. You have done this for a few years now, so is there any need to trouble me for something as trivial as this?”
“B-but Boss… I initially thought that there would be no problems as well, but after both parties traded two blows… dalbir ended up being slapped twice whereas vipin… is still completely unscathed!” the elder swiftly explained the situation he had seen earlier, and the disbelief in his tone showed that he still hadn’t been able to come to terms with the matter yet. “dalbir was slapped? Are you saying that dalbir isn’t a match for vipin?” the Boss was taken aback.
“I’m afraid that’s likely to be the case!” the elder nodded. “dalbir is our money tree, and he has been known for his indomitable strength. While he has a resounding reputation himself, there hasn’t been any good opponent to pit against him to create some fanfare for the Ring of Death… This works fine too. With this defeat, he should be able to grow further. We can plan for his comeback and earn substantial profits from it.
Keep a close look on the situation, and make sure that his life isn’t threatened…” the Boss placed his teacup back on the table and said contemplatively. dalbir was formidable, not infallible. Anything could happen on the ring, and it was precisely this trait of the Ring of Death that allowed it to draw a steady stream of customers. As long as dalbir didn’t die, his defeat wouldn’t be a problem. “I understand.
However, there’s another problem… vipin came to the ring together with a companion, and the latter has been betting all in on him every single round! Over the past ten matches, he has already won more than 1600 concentrated high-tier spirit stones from us! When dalbir came on the stage, I thought that vipin would surely be defeated in the duel, so I altered the payout to be very low on dalbir’s side and very high on vipin’s side, wanting to lure that companion of his to go all in once more to recoup our losses… I didn’t think that vipin would actually outmatch dalbir!” An awkward look surfaced on the elder’s face. “Very high? How high is that?”
The Boss was startled. “If dalbir were to lose, even the overall profits of the black market which we have accumulated over many years won’t be enough to compensate the other party…” “What did you say?” Hearing those words, the cup in the Boss’ hand fell to the ground and shattered into innumerable fragments. Just how high of a payout did that fellow set for vipin?! “Bring me over to take a look.
I want to see the situation with my own eyes…” Unable to remain still any longer, the Boss stood up and began making his way over to the ring. In the Ring of Death, the death of an individual or two wouldn’t mean anything at all. However, if they were to bankrupt themselves over a bet, how were they supposed to continue operating their business? Such a thing must be prevented at all cost! …
“You bastard, I’ll tear you apart!” On the ring, after being slapped two consecutive times, dalbir’s eyes had already reddened in utter rage. Prior to challenging vipin, he had already known the young man was no weakling. However, he hadn’t thought that the young man would actually be so powerful! It had been nearly ten years since he first fought in the Ring of Death, and never had he suffered such humiliation before! More importantly, even after managing to land two clean blows on him, that fellow was still adamantly continuing with his act, making it look as if he would collapse at any moment… Act your head!
If anyone is going to collapse here, it should be me! But even though dalbir was livid with rage, he knew better than to let his anger blind his rationality. “I have to steady my Primordial Spirit!” With this thought in mind, he sealed all of his acupoints and steadied his state of mind so that the young man couldn’t sway him anymore.
The reason why the young man had managed to land two slaps on him was because of his terpsichorean art. As long as he were to avert his eyes and attention away from it, he would be able to avoid being falling into a trance! Hong long! After putting up his mental guard, dalbir charged forward once more. This time, he was planning to get into close quarters to launch a barrage of attacks.
His towering stature had granted him with strength superior to that of his peers, and he knew that the best way for him to capitalize on this strength was through close-quarter combat. The young man was swift and nimble, but in close-quarter combat, one would often be limited by their reaction speed, thus making it night impossible to dodge every single attack. This would be his best shot at exacting vengeance!
Hu la! Charging forward, his arms and legs flew forth one after another with astounding speed, reminiscent of a relentless storm battering down on the world. In comparison, vipin seemed like a fragile raft, completely helpless in its face. “Not bad!” vipin muttered beneath his breath. In this moment, vipin’s body was still limp in weakness, and it felt as if he would be swallowed by that storm of attacks. But for some bizarre reason, despite his sluggish movement, dalbir’s barrage of attack still missed him one after another, as if dalbir was intentionally letting him off.
“He’s able to predict my attacks?” dalbir widened his eyes in disbelief. Despite the young man’s slow and sluggish movements, it was apparent to him that the young man had seen right through every single one of his attack trajectory, dodging all of his attacks in advance. The young man’s movements may seem unseemly, but there was not a single wasted movement at all! Just as dalbir was thinking of another plan to subdue the young man before him, the latter abruptly raised his palm once more, clearly preparing to imprint another palm on his face.
“Again? I have already steadied my Primordial Spirit. Your terpsichorean arts won’t work on me anymore!” dalbir sneered confidently. However, in the next moment, he heard a voice sounding in his ear, “Don’t bother dodging. It’s futile…” It sounded like the whisperings of a lover, causing a jolt of electricity to course through his body. In an instant, the tension in his muscles loosened, causing his body to fall limp.
“Shit, it’s demonic tune this time around!” It took only a tenth of a second for dalbir to realize the anomaly in his body, and he immediately bit his tongue to jolt himself out of his abnormal state. But by the time he was about to protect himself, the young man’s palm had already appeared by his face once more. Pah! A crisp and resounding echo it was! dalbir’s eyes reddened once more as he twisted a round on the spot. At the same time, half of his face swelled up as well.
“Please, believe me! My body is really reaching its limit. I can’t fight against you anymore… I can’t defeat you!” the young man’s helpless voice sounded yet again. “ARGHH
” Overwhelmed with frenzy, dalbir charged forward furiously once more, but yet another palm struck his face. And vipin didn’t forget to continue his humblebragging either, “I am really exhausted, let me go.
I want to rest, don’t come anymore…” dalbir charged over once more. Pah! Pah! Pah! “No, this is really my limit. Oh, I’m going to pass out…” It was as if the young man’s hand was infused with some kind of sorcery. Each and every time, it would strike dalbir’s face accurately.
Despite trying out a dozen different movement techniques, the young man’s palm would still land on his face with inconceivable precision. More importantly, after each slap, the young man would act as if he was going to fall without fail, as if he was the victim over here… If you can’t hold on anymore, just faint then! You say that you can’t hold on any longer each time, but you still manage to slap me without fail each time I charge forward… Can you be any more shameless than that?
dalbir really felt that his sanity was being severely challenged over here. He wasn’t the only one who felt that. Every single person on the spectator stand was also completely dumbfounded. Their minds were too crazed over the happenings on the field that they even forgot how to react with their bodies. They knew dalbir’s strength very well—Conqueror of Hundred, unmatched in his power class… They thought that it should be easy for him to teach an arrogant newcomer a lesson… But who could have thought that such would happen instead… Each time dalbir charged over, he would be smacked back in place by a slap.
Then, the young man would wobble on the spot, as if he would collapse at any moment. And the cycle would just repeat and repeat… With each slap, the indomitable dalbir in their hearts would erode by a bit, to the point that nothing was left at all. What that was even more shocking was that the fellow that was on the verge of fainting was actually still completely intact! Throughout the course of the battle, he hadn’t sustained the slightest injury at all! “Did I really just fight with that monster?”
The faces of the scar-faced young man and the others were completely pale. At the same time, gagan’s head also cowered back with every slap that had been dealt. At this rate, it seemed like it would be long before his head was buried into his neck. That was dalbir, the invincible gladiator of the Ring of Death! To be smacked around so easily as if a little chick, just how powerful could that newcomer be?
This was too exaggerated! And he, gagan, actually provoked such a figure… It was fortunate that the other party didn’t hold a grudge against him over that matter, or else he would have already turned into a lifeless corpse. “Stop hitting me, I really am not a match for you… Stop it!” The crisp slaps and helpless exclamations continued sounding on the ring. Putong! At some point in time, dalbir finally came to the limit of his strength and collapsed to the ground, knocked out.
Even up to the moment that he lost consciousness, his heart was filled with indignance. In his many years on the Ring of Death, this was the first time he had been pummeled so indignantly and humiliatingly. Before his vision turned dark, he took one last look at his opponent and saw the young man was still swaying on the spot, no different from before. It seemed as if he would fall at any time, but somehow, he just kept standing on… “The newcomer… defeated dalbir?” “I lost the bet again?”
“That was the money I took from my wife’s secret stash!” Because it was dalbir fighting, there were many who had placed huge bets on dalbir’s victory. Thus, when they saw dalbir collapsing on the ground, knocked out, their faces turned completely livid. There were even a few who burst into tears. After losing several rounds, they thought that they would be able to recoup some of their losses through dalbir.
Yet, who could have thought that this match would only further their losses, plunging them deeper into the abyss. If only they had known this in advance, they would have bet their everything on vipin… But speaking of which, just where did this inconspicuous little lad pop up from him? To be able to defeat even the Conqueror of Hundred with such ease… “This duel… vipin is the victor!” After waiting for ten seconds, dalbir still remained completely motionless.
So, the voice from before declared loudly, but the disbelief in his voice was still clear for all to hear. “We’re riiiichhhhhh! We have really struck it rich this time!” At odds with the depressing atmosphere drifting along the spectator stand, upon hearing the news of vipin’s victory, vipin liaoshi leaped up in excitement and cried out.
The payout for this match was a little more than 1:10, which meant to say that as long as vipin won, the 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stone would bring him a return of nearly 20,000!
Even as the offspring of the shen kabila, he had never seen that many concentrated high-tier spirit stone before! Completely broke when they first entered the black market, in less than two hours, their wealth had actually leaped up to nearly 20,000… vipin was really a walking spirit mine! Furthermore, he was the type that could produce countless spirit stones without using an excavator! With so many of it, it should be enough to fulfill vipin’s needs! With this thought in mind, vipin liaoshi walked over to the betting counter and passed over the document in his hand over.
“I have come here to collect my payout. If I’m not mistaken, you owe me a total of 19,800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones!” “19800?” Before the person in charge could speak, a cold harrumph suddenly sounded.
Following which, a middle-aged man walked over and spoke authoritatively, “We suspect that you have been cheating in the Ring of Death, so the bet that you have made in this match will be annulled!”
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Chapter 1268: - Beating Up the Boss
“Annulled?” vipin liaoshi was taken aback for an instant before his eyebrows shot up, “What do you mean by that?” “Exactly as it sounds.” the middle-aged man harrumphed. “Whatever gambling we conduct in our Ring of Death is built upon the idea of fairness, but you collaborated with one of the challengers of the ring, one feigning weakness on the ring to influence the payout and the other to make the bets… This is considered a cheating behavior, and it is a violation of our rules.
Not only will your winnings be confiscated, you are also to compensate the Ring of Death for your disruptive behavior!” “Compensate?” vipin liaoshi’s face turned livid. “You are hereby under arrest under the charges of disrupting the black market’s order and fraud. Men, capture that fellow!” the middle-aged man commanded with a grand wave of his hand. Huala! In the blink of an eye, a dozen guards dressed in tight-fitting armor, each possessing a cultivation of Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, dashed forward and surrounded vipin liaoshi tightly.
“You all…” Not expecting that the black market would refuse to acknowledge its loss, attempting to capture him even, vipin liaoshi was seething with rage. With a raise of his hands, a Saint intermediate-tier sword materialized before him, ready to make a move at his command. While he had the strength to challenge opponents stronger than him, there were simply too many people before him at the moment.
Furthermore, from the start to the end, the middle-aged man hadn’t been concealing Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivation. Even if he were to utilize all of the means at his disposal, he would be no match for the middle-aged man. “To think that the black market would resort to forcing others to submit after losing in a gamble… Is this how you all usually act?” But before anyone could make a move, an impassive voice sounded in the air.
Following which, the young man who had just defeated dalbir on the ring suddenly appeared on the spectator stand as well, and his displeasure was clearly carved onto his face. He was intending to use the money he had won to attend the auction and buy down the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, but who knew that not only would the black market refuse to pay up, they even had vipin liaoshi surrounded. Unable to watch on anymore, vipin flew over from the ring.
“The both of you collaborated with one another to conduct fraud in the Ring of Death, and that’s a clear violation of our rules. If we don’t punish you to make a warning to the others, how can our Ring of Death continue to operate if everyone were to do the same?” the middle-aged man flung his sleeves furiously. The middle-aged man was the Boss of the black market. 20,000 concentrated high-tier spirit stones—the entire fortune of their black market was only worth about this much!
If they were to really pay this sum to those two, their black market might really have to shut down for good! “You want to talk rules with me? Sure, let’s talk just that then!” Even the Master Teacher Pavilion, an organization which was heavily dictated by rules, could hardly do anything to him, and yet, the head of a black market actually wanted to talk to him about rules… This was almost the same as flaunting your wealth before a bank!
“Regarding the matches in the Ring of Death, there are no rules preventing anyone from placing any bet. vipin liaoshi is my friend, and he has confidence in my strength, so naturally, he would be inclined to bet on me. Surely there’s no problem with that, right?” vipin reasoned. “There’s no problem about that, but…” the Boss nodded. There were no rules preventing the kin or friends of a challenger from betting on him; on the contrary, it was common practice.
It was in view of the wealth that they could earn that the challengers were willing to go all out in their own fights. Wealth and honor upon victory, poverty and humiliation upon loss—it was the stakes at play here that they were willing to stake even their own life here. As such, this couldn’t be considered to be a violation of the rules. “Since there’s no problem, and you were the one who set the payout under the premise that you would be willing to pay up no matter how much you lost. Given so, what rights do you have to say that we have violated the rules?”
vipin interjected the Boss’ words. “You were clearly able to achieve a victory easily, but you maliciously feigned weakness on the ring. Such a behavior can be considered as fraud…” “Fraud? By fraud, do you refer to using trickery and deception to achieve victory? Putting aside the fact that there are no rules to the ring, you can ask everyone here what has happened. In the duel against dalbir, I kept telling him that I am no match for him, and that we should stop the duel there and then, but he simply wouldn’t listen, insisting adamantly that I should have a fight with him.
It’s out of no choice that I had to counterattack… Given that the duel is forced upon me in the first place, are you sure that my behavior can be considered to be fraud?” vipin turned to the Boss and continued, “If I really want to achieve victory that much, I could have just accepted his duel straight. There’s no need for me to turn him down again and again!” “This…” the eyebrows of the Boss shot up.
He had also been watching the match earlier as well. Indeed, the young man kept telling dalbir that he didn’t want to fight anymore, but the latter just kept charging at him relentlessly… From such an aspect, if anyone was guilty of cheating, it should be dalbir. However, with a huge sum of nearly 20,000 at stake here, he couldn’t afford to back down. Knowing that it was impossible for him to win in a proper debate, he flung his sleeves furiously and bellowed, “Don’t bother playing word games with me over here. I am the Boss of the black market, and my words are the law!
Men, take these two troublemakers down!” “You are just going to use force since you are unable to reason against us? Very well, I would like to see who dares to touch a strand of hair of ours!” vipin bellowed as he swept a cold gaze across his surroundings. “Go!” One of the guards bellowed before taking the lead, charging at vipin. Even if the fellow before them was strong enough to defeat dalbir easily, they had the numerical advantage. On top of that, they were all Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle experts as well.
They were confident that they would be able to take him down easily. The guard brandished his sword furiously, and the cold glint of a sword qi swiftly fell toward vipin. Considering the lawlessness of the black market, those who were qualified to become guards to ensure order and security had to wield extraordinary strength as well. As the sword qi flew over, the air was groaned under the immense strain from its pressure, as if testifying to the humongous strength behind it.
Facing the powerful sword brandish, vipin didn’t bother to dodge at all. Instead, he lifted his finger casually and tapped on the space before him. Padah! The sword qi shattered, and the burst of zhenqi continued gushing forward to the guard. ‘Pah!’, the latter suddenly felt a violent pressure striking his dantian. Following which, his dantian abruptly shattered into countless pieces.
Feeling that his zhenqi was gushing out of his body like a leaking balloon, the guard widened his eyes in horror, “Y-you… you crippled my cultivation?” The breaking of one’s dantian was equivalent to destroying a person’s cultivation. This meant that the countless years of hard work that an individual had put into advancing his cultivation had gone to utter waste. Couldn’t be bothered to respond to the guard’s question, vipin continued to move.
A series of exploding sounds echoed in the air over the next few breaths, and the dozen of guards that were surrounding vipin liaoshi suddenly collapsed to the ground as well. Feeling as power gradually seeped away from their bodies, a fear so powerful that it left them hardly able to breathe consumed the guards. These guards had made used to the authority that had been granted to them to oppress the weak and make benefits for themselves.
Even killing them outright wouldn’t be considered as going overboard. In a sense, crippling their dantian could already be considered as a mercy from vipin to them. But of course, considering all of the evil deeds they had done before through exploiting their strength, this mercy might not be one that they would appreciate… On the other hand, seeing that a mere Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator actually crippled his subordinates right before him, the eyes of the Boss reddened in fury.
Unable to hold himself back anymore, he thrust his palm forward with overwhelming might. Facing the Boss’ palm strike, vipin had no intentions of dodging either. On the contrary, he took a step forward to receive the other party’s palm. He hadn’t found a worthy sparring partner ever since he advanced to Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage. Since this middle-aged man was flinging himself at him, he didn’t mind using the other party as a moving punching bag!
Boom! As their palms clashed against one another, a resounding explosion swiftly swept across the entire Ring of Death. Under the shockwave that diffused from the collision of palms, the entire area immediately began collapsing. Most of the spectators had chosen to linger in the area to watch the drama, but in face of the powerful shockwave, they immediately fled in fright.
Even vipin liaoshi also had to retreat several dozen meters away before he felt that he was finally a safe distance away. “How can this be… How can you be so powerful?” the Boss widened his eyes in astonishment and fright. He thought that even if vipin possessed strength far beyond his cultivation realm, the latter should still be a long distance away from matching up to him. After all, it was nearly unheard of for a Primordial Spirit realm cultivator to match a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator, let alone a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert like him! Yet, in a direct clash of palms, they were actually on equal footing!
For the other party to wield raw strength on par with him… Even seeing it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe. “Who in the world are you?” the Boss questioned warily. There was no way a person who wielded such overwhelming power could possibly be from a humble background. “I am vipin. You can etch that name into your head!” vipin replied nonchalantly as he flicked his palm and sent the second wave of attack toward the Boss. His palm strike appeared to be flimsy on the surface, but for some peculiar reason, it exuded an indomitable aura that was at odds with its exterior.
The Boss was still intending to say something, but facing such an attack, he knew that he couldn’t afford to waste any time on words. He quickly gathered his strength into his fist and launched a counterattack. However, before his fist could meet with vipin’s palm, the latter’s figure suddenly flickered before abruptly materializing right before him. Before he could react, the palm had already landed lightly on his body.
Peng! With a furious spurt of blood, the Boss was sent flying all the way back, dragging a long gorge in the ground in his wake. Back when vipin was at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, he was already roughly a match for Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle experts, let alone now. The Boss might be a powerful cultivator, but he didn’t stand a chance at all. After trading two blows, vipin also realized that the Boss was hardly a challenge at all, so he began losing his interest too.
Couldn’t be bothered to make a move himself anymore, he waved his hand and commanded, “Go, cripple him for me!” Hu la! From a room connected to the ring below, more than a hundred different types of sabers flew forth, headed right toward the Boss. These sabers might just be Saint low-tier artifacts, but there were simply too many of them. With all of them launching an offense simultaneously, it didn’t take long before the entire area was flooded with saber qi.
Upon seeing this sight, the Boss widened his eyes in shock. Before he could even put up his defenses, several saber qi had already cut into his body, leaving him bloodied all over. “These sabers…” Seeing the familiar sabers, the eyelids of the middle-aged manager who had led vipin into the Ring of Death earlier began twitching uncontrollably. These sabers were no other than the weapons they were providing to the challengers of the ring! But these weapons shouldn’t have any spirit at all! Why would they listen to that young man’s command and attack the Boss?
“That lad must have enchanted them…” The middle-aged manager clenched his fists in realization. Very clearly, vipin must have enchanted those weapons. This would also explain why they were so loyal to him, attacking the Boss without any hesitation on his command. But he had personally followed that young man into the Weapon Room, and the young man had only spent a few minutes testing out several weapons before leaving empty-handed… To actually successfully enchant all of these weapons within that short period of time… Just how in the world did he do it?!
Aside from the middle-aged manager, vipin liaoshi’s lips were also twitching from the sight before him. He had known about vipin’s unparalleled proficiency in spirit enchantment, but he had never thought that the latter would be so vicious as to tame all of these weapons! Looking at it now, it seemed like vipin had known from the start that the black market would never allow them to walk away with the sum they had won from the Ring of Death from the very start, so he had made preparations against it in advance.
Wuuuuuuuuu! It seemed like the hundred Saint low-tier sabers had been through some kind of special training. Every single attack of theirs was accurately aimed at the blind spot or mingmen of the Boss. Under this furious onslaught of deadly saber qi, it didn’t take long for the imposing Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert to be bleeding all over. Countless cuts were inflicted throughout his body, and from the looks of it, it seemed like he wasn’t too far away from death anymore.
“Stop… I’m willing to compensate you…” Knowing that he might really die at this rate, the Boss finally exclaimed anxiously. Even though he felt incredibly frustrated, he knew that there was nothing he could do but to surrender. If the other party really wanted to claim his life, he could have been dead by now. “Compensate?” vipin’s eyebrows shot up. With a wave of his hand, the hundred sabers immediately flew back and neatly took their positions behind vipin’s back, forming something reminiscent to the feathers of a peacock.
“Yes, I’m willing to compensate you…” Struggling to his feet, the Boss took out a storage ring and passed it over, “Here are 19,800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones…” This was the profit which the black market had accumulated over countless years. If he were to give it away just like that, the black market would soon find itself facing severe financial troubles. But at this point, he had no other choice either. Taking the storage ring, vipin swiftly swept its contents before nodding.
There was no mistake with the quantity. It seemed like the other party wasn’t playing tricks with him. “Alright, what are you going to compensate us? These 19,800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones are what we have earned fairly through the gambling earlier, but you have made a move against me and my friend. How do you intend to resolve this matter?” Keeping the spirit stones safely into his own storage ring, vipin turned his sight back to the Boss and asked.
“You still want me to compensate you?” the Boss’ face turned pale in horror. You have nearly taken everything that I have, and you still want to squeeze me dry? “Isn’t that a given? Or do you expect to be so magnanimous as to forget what you have just done?” vipin sneered.
“How… do you want me to compensate you?” the Boss asked through gritted teeth. “I heard that your black market has just obtained a certain book, Annal of Bedstead Disquisition?” vipin pondered for a moment before asking.
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