Pfft!
A sound, as if something had been pierced, rang out, followed by crimson blood spraying into the air.
The so-called invincible defence of the mighty Immortal Prisoner King was effortlessly penetrated by Ling Xiao’s hand blade, as easily as slicing through tofu!
“I don’t get it. What’s that guy’s hand made of? How is it so sharp?”
“It seems to be wrapped in an air sword, infused with sword intent?”
The crowd couldn’t comprehend it. How could the defence, which even a half-step Heavenly Venerable at one-tenth power had failed to breach with all their might, be broken by this unremarkable boy?
Was this boy just that powerful?
Or had the Immortal Prisoner King weakened?
Wu Zonglian’s expression darkened. He had once sparred with the Immortal Prisoner King in private, though not in a life-or-death battle.
He had won, but only by relying on a sharp weapon.
While a Mortal Realm warrior using an immortal-grade treasure couldn’t achieve perfect combat enhancement, the sharpness of such a weapon was undeniable, capable of easily breaching the Immortal Prisoner King’s defence.
What he couldn’t accept was that this Moonlight Sect boy’s hand blade matched the destructive power of an immortal-grade treasure?
Ling Xiao, of course, paid no mind to their opinions. His focus was entirely on the battle.
“Immortal Prisoner King, I could have killed you with one move, but I won’t.”
Ling Xiao said calmly, “I want you to experience the pain of being sliced apart!”
His ruthlessness was no less than that of the Immortal Prisoner King, though he would never slaughter innocents unprovoked.
The Immortal Prisoner King’s actions reminded him of the deaths of his beggar relatives.
They hadn’t been killed out of hatred.
They were merely used for someone’s martial practice.
And the people of Ashen City had suffered simply because the Immortal Prisoner King was dissatisfied.
Ling Xiao despised such acts.
His air sword slashed relentlessly, and the Immortal Prisoner King let out agonised screams.
Ling Xiao was subjecting him to a death by a thousand cuts, while simultaneously refining his own techniques.
The fusion of air sword and will made the sword’s power grow even stronger.
Each of his attacks left horrific wounds on the Immortal Prisoner King.
By the end, the burly Immortal Prisoner King was stripped of all flesh, reduced to a mere skeleton.
The beast-fighting arena fell deathly silent.
Almost everyone gasped in shock.
“This boy is not only incredibly powerful but also so ruthless, to torment the Immortal Prisoner King to death like that!”
“Satisfying!”
Some felt that only such a cruel execution could appease the souls of the million lives lost.
“Seal!”
All three sealing cards now contained monsters.
One held the recently sealed half-step Heavenly Venerable at one-tenth power, the Immortal Prisoner King.
Another held the six-tenths power half-step Heavenly Venerable killed in Demon Fortress City, the Great Fortress Lord.
The third contained a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox at the first stage of the Celestial Realm!
Useful or not, having all three sealing cards filled gave some peace of mind. Though not part of Ling Xiao’s core strength, they were excellent life-saving measures.
He wouldn’t use them often, but when necessary, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“Congratulations on your victory. Would you like one million low-grade spirit stones or ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones as your reward?”
The beast-fighting arena’s host asked.
“Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones!”
For him now, mid-grade spirit stones were far more valuable. From now until the Cave Heaven Realm, mid-grade spirit stones were essential for cultivation. The more, the better.
Low-grade spirit stones, for now, were merely currency.
After claiming his reward, Ling Xiao returned to his seat. The fight hadn’t satisfied him. If a stronger opponent appeared, he was ready to try again.
Back in his seat, Ling Xiao’s breathing remained steady.
After his journey to Demon Fortress City, his strength had grown immensely, so much that even he found it somewhat unbelievable.
The Immortal Prisoner King’s corpse was cleared away, and another figure appeared in the beast-fighting arena.
There was no prisoner’s mark on his face, but another mark instead: a slave!
Where these slaves came from, Ling Xiao couldn’t know. What he did know was that they were surely connected to the Sword King Sect.
And this beast-fighting arena undoubtedly had deep ties to the Sword King Sect.
The slave wore a bronze mask, welded with burn marks, as if it had been seared onto his face. Just thinking about it was painful.
His hands and feet were shackled, his steps heavy, his breathing laboured.
Clang!
Clang!
With two sounds, the slave’s handcuffs and shackles were removed. After all, this concerned the arena’s profits, so slaves couldn’t fight in restraints; that would give challengers too great an advantage.
The mask obscured his face, but his eyes conveyed profound sorrow and helplessness.
He couldn’t even speak, as his mouth was sealed.
Yet those eyes seemed to speak, shifting from sorrow and helplessness to boundless hatred and rage.
Ling Xiao felt that only a deep, irreconcilable grudge could produce such a look.
He felt uneasy. Tormenting a warrior like this was worse than simply killing them.
The Sword King Sect’s methods were far from upright. Yet they proclaimed themselves a righteous sect, representing the justice and order of the Holy Dynasty.
Nonsense!
Were any of the twelve sects truly righteous? They were just mortals endlessly fighting for their own interests.
That wasn’t the issue. The problem was their hypocrisy, preaching one thing while doing another. It was utterly disgusting.
“This is a newly captured slave warrior, with a cultivation at the sixth stage of the Mortal Realm. This is his first fight. Who’s willing to step up?”
Be it a beast, slave, or prisoner, the reward system was the same: pay spirit stones, and win ten times the amount.
Lose, and you’re dead, so don’t expect anything.
For challengers above the Celestial Realm, mid-grade spirit stones were required instead of low-grade ones, though such cases were rare and hadn’t occurred yet.
The host announced the slave warrior’s cultivation and looked at the crowd below.
“Wu Zui, you go. After that humiliating loss, you need to reclaim some dignity this time!”
Wu Zonglian turned to the warrior who had been scared witless by Ling Xiao earlier.
This man, at the seventh stage of the Mortal Realm, technically wasn’t qualified for this challenge.
But as a member of the Sword King Sect, exceptions could be made. That was the rule in Sword King City. You could be angry, but it wouldn’t change anything.
Dissatisfaction was useless.
