Chapter 67 - Fighting With a Xiantian Stage Cultivator
"#1!" "#1!" "#1!"...
Numerous cultivators who had won spirit stones immediately broke into cheers of wild joy; the grandstand hustled and bustled with excitement.
Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+
Suddenly, one after another, red energy ropes swished out from the array patterns all over the walls.
Bang! Bang!
In the blink of an eye, the energy ropes fired at Gu Hai from afar, binding his limbs once more.
Although Gu Hai had recovered his cultivation, he was simply unable to shake them off.
Soon after, the blue screen at the entrance disappeared. The black-robed men controlled the array so that the red energy ropes quickly hauled Gu Hai back and bound him on a stage platform that had arrays engraved all over it.
BANG!
A gray energy emerged from the stone platform and rushed straight into Gu Hai"s dantian.
Gu Hai immediately felt an intense bout of pain coming from his dantian before he was unable to sense his True Qi any more.
The True Qi in his dantian had been sealed once again.
Owing to this, Gu Hai"s face turned extremely ugly.
At this moment, the crimson ropes retreated, freeing Gu Hai"s limbs again.
"Take him back and bring #2!" ordered the leading black robe calmly.
"Yes, sir!"
Gu Hai was once again escorted back to his cell, the very cell from which he could see the arena through the window.
Meanwhile, the dead boar demon was also taken away.
Just like before, the next man entered the arena. But he didn"t play by the rules; apparently, he had noticed an acquaintance. The moment he recovered his cultivation, he shouted towards the grandstands.
"Tianyou, it"s me, Zhenyuan!" #2 suddenly burst out with a shout.
"Humph!" a black-robed man let out a cold harrumph.
SWIs.h.!.+
Suddenly, a blue light rushed out from an array, shooting straight at that criminal"s mask.
BOOM!
The man’s head immediately exploded into pieces with a loud bang.
"Oh well! Friends, the second fighter was disobedient, he was a devious killer who had killed many people and was full of lies. He actually wanted to conjure up lies in the arena to hoodwink the audience. Obviously, we can"t use him as today"s gladiator. Let"s look at our third fighter, okay!" the MC"s voice once again rang in everyone"s ear.
"Zhenyuan? Impossible, was he that Zhenyuan?" suddenly, someone among the gamblers wondered in surprise.
However, that gambler was very soon taken away by a group of black-robed men.
Standing by the window, Gu Hai coldly looked down at the arena. "Ha, this Golden Tong sure is tight-knit!"
------
First day… second day...
Over these two days, all the humans fought with beasts. All sixteen criminals entered the arena separately. However, over the course of this round, sometimes gladiators were killed and sometimes it was the demon beasts that died, leaving only eight men behind. However, one of them made Gu Hai"s pupils contract in surprise.
It was Scar, the very Scar who had been opposing Gu Hai at every turn in the Valley of Crooks. Surprisingly, he was a Golden Core Stage cultivator. When Scar"s cultivation was restored, his imposing aura that subsequently burst forth was so fierce that it deterred a leopard demon to the point that it dared not resist and left itself at Scar"s disposal. Owing to which, that leopard demon was ripped apart alive. Scar was the eighth man to fight. Seeing such a violent disposition, the gamblers on grandstands shouted and cheered even more wildly.
In the grandstands, the number of spectators was increasing day by day. Gu Hai kept an eye on Song Jia Sect Chief and always found him sitting in the VIP box. From time to time, he would place bets; obviously; he loved gambling.
------
The third day...
Gu Hai as #1, the first fighter, was once again escorted to the entrance of the arena.
"Very well! Fellow daoists, you have watched almost every fight over the last two days! Fellow daoists must be well aware of how powerful these eight criminals are. Now, it"s time for the criminals to fight with each other. Everyone, please take out your spirit stones, we are about to start immediately. The first fight is between #1 who has torn a wild boar apart alive, and #16 who has beheaded a bull demon with his strength! Please place your bets!" the MC"s voice once again sounded everywhere.
Once again, countless gamblers began to place their bets. This time, the bets placed were far more than the bets placed two days ago. After all, spirit stones were incomparably precious to each cultivator. Two days ago, they were not clear about the situation and naturally, were reluctant to place their bets. And now, after having seen all the gladiators fight, they had a pretty good idea and would definitely want to place their bets on the winning side!
BANG!
Gu Hai and a red-robed man were thrown into the arena before an electric current struck them once again, breaking their seals. The two covered their dantians in pain.
SWIs.h.!.+ The red-robed criminal raised his head, looking at Gu Hai; it seemed he was enduring the pain to launch an attack.
However, Gu Hai also raised his head at the same time.
The plan to launch a sneak attack by the other was temporarily broken.
"#1! Kill him, kill him!" "#16, I bet on you to win, kill him!" "#1!" "#16!"...
In the grandstands, wild cheers and the shouts of gamblers who had placed bets began to ring out.
In the VIP grandstand, the Song Jia Sect Chief looked at the arena with a cold gaze.
"I bet ten middle-grade spirit stones on #16 to win!" said Song Jia Sect chief coldly.
"Yes, sir!" a Golden Tong dealer obliged.
Over these last two days, Song Jia Sect chief had gambled several times. And since he had lost spirit stones on #1 and won on #16, he naturally placed his bet on #16. He held a prejudice towards #1.
His cultivation having recovered, Gu Hai gradually stood up, coldly glaring at the red-robed man before him.
The red-robed criminal acted the same way as Gu Hai; he was also staring at Gu Hai at this moment.
Standing opposite each other, the two men were looking for each other"s flaws.
Suddenly, the red-robed criminal broke into a shrill, cold laugh. "Hahahaha, kid, you are a newcomer, am I right!?"
"So what if I am a newcomer, aren"t you...!"
When Gu Hai was in the middle of speaking, that red-robed criminal suddenly shot out like a cannonball towards Gu Hai. In a life and death struggle, all the rules were always thrown down the drain; it came down to either you or me. The red-robed criminal had only spoken to distract his opponent, that"s all.
However, how could Gu Hai be distracted with his intelligence? While Gu Hai was speaking, he was also saving up his strength.
The moment the red-robed criminal charged at him, Gu Hai placed his left foot in front and right foot in back, and fiercely stamped on the ground.
BOOM!
With similar powerful momentum, Gu Hai also shot out like an arrow fired from a bow.
In just a short moment, their bodies had True Qi wrapped around them; the curtain of the first intense collision opened.
In a life and death struggle, it was imperative to never hold back your hand. In the blink of an eye, two afterimages clashed with each other.
BOOM!
The two collided with each with a loud bang, raising a cloud of dust on the ground. At this moment, the cheers all around came to an abrupt stop as the spectators gazed at the arena with wide eyes.
BANG! Suddenly, the red-robed cultivator was knocked back by two steps.
Obviously, Gu Hai had the upper hand in the first round of the clash.
In the grandstand, the gamblers who had placed their bets on Gu Hai did not even have the time to cheer before the red-robed fighter promptly responded, and in the blink of an eye, he once again rushed at Gu Hai, stamping on the ground and arrived before him.
"You are actually so powerful!? You shouldn"t be!" roared the red-robed criminal, staring.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...
The red-robed man fired punches at extremely fast speed, so fast that no one was able to catch sight of his fists, all one could see were the after-images of his fists. Every punch tore densely through s.p.a.ce and fired at Gu Hai, just like meteors falling one after another.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...
Countering speed with speed, Gu Hai"s punches also became faster. While the two were engrossed in the fight, countless onlooking cultivators" eyes widened in surprise.
"Are they really in the Xiantian Stage? Why are they so fast?" "Are you kidding me, I am in the 8th level of the Xiantian Stage, but my punches are not that fast!" "They sure are vile and ruthless!"...
The two men desperately increased the speed of their punches. In a flash, far more afterimages of their punches appeared around them; to the onlookers, it appeared as if ten arms had suddenly grown out of their bodies and were densely clas.h.i.+ng with the other man.
As Gu Hai"s got faster and faster, a savage look also appeared on the face of the red-robed warrior.
"I"m invincible in the Xiantian Stage, arrrrr!" roared the red-robed criminal.
"If you keep saving your strength, you will die!" Gu Hai retorted coldly.
RUMBLE!
The two fought at extremely high speed. In one moment, they would separate from each other, and in the next moment, they would be up close to each other. In a flash, the arena was covered in endless clouds of dust while rocks flew everywhere.
"#1!" "#1!" "#1!"...
"#16!" "#16!" "#16!"...
On the grandstands, many gamblers" eyes had already turned red from staring. Only this kind of gambling could be considered as the most hot-blooded; watching the criminals they had bet on locked in heated battle made them feel like they were in the criminals" shoes, it was like one of the fiercely fighting gladiators was their own doppelganger.
The desperate battle between these two was particularly delightful!
Gradually, the two"s speed and strength seemed to have reached the limit. At such a high speed, the two were locked in a stalemate for a while. The red-robed man was already drenched in sweat.
BOOM! BOOM!
Suddenly, two loud bangs resounded through the Colosseum.
Gu Hai"s right palm caught the red-robed man’s left fist, while red-robed criminal"s right palm caught Gu Hai"s right fist. The violent battle between the two came to an abrupt stop. Suddenly, they were locked in a stalemate, as the fight turned into a contest of strength.
The violent battle stopped and turned into something that looked like bullfighting, where the two bulls" horns were locked with one another.
Both of them refused to give in to the other, because both knew that this kind of clash was the most dangerous. If either of them slacked, the opposite party"s entire strength would land on his body, which would lead to grievous injuries.
"What a fast speed! For the first time, someone can match with my speed. In the Xiantian Stage, I should be the fastest!" stated the red-robed man, his eyes wide and staring.
Gu Hai coldly looked at his opponent, but did not utter anything.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Sounds of bones cracking rang from the two"s fists and palms.
The two were exerting more and more power.
"How is this possible? How can you be so powerful with that kind of speed!?" the red-robed criminal shouted in surprise.
A gloomy look appeared on Gu Hai"s face, but he didn"t utter a word and continued to exert his strength.
In the grandstands, numerous gamblers clenched their fists as they cheered for the criminals on whom they had placed their bets.
This was the most exciting kind of gambling. Even the Song Jia Sect Chief bent down, staring at the arena while mumbling “#16” again and again as if he was cheering.
"It seems you cannot go on!" Gu Hai stated coldly.
The red-robed criminal opened his eyes wide before pursing his lips suddenly.
Gu Hai was slightly taken aback.
SWIs.h.!.+
Suddenly, a white needle shot out from the red-robed criminal"s mouth.
"Not good!" Gu Hai"s countenance changed as he c.o.c.ked his head at once to dodge, at the same time, he fiercely pushed all his strength into his arms.
BOOM!
Suddenly, Gu Hai"s right palm knocked the man’s left fist away and while at it, turned into a hand blade, piercing into his opponent’s chest.
BANG!
With a sound akin to one"s entire bones cracking, blood gushed out from the red-robed man’s chest.
The two separated in the blink of an eye.
There was a b.l.o.o.d.y gash across Gu Hai"s face.
The red-robed criminal, on the other hand, covered his chest as he fell down on the ground. Apparently, Gu Hai"s strength had crushed his heart; he could not hold on for much longer.
"Your strength suddenly increased by three times. You… you weren"t using your whole strength!?" the red-robed man looked at Gu Hai in disbelief.
Whereas Gu Hai, wiping at the blood on his face, walked to one side and picked up the hidden weapon fired by the red-robed criminal.
"Bone?" Gu Hai narrowed his eyes.
Over these days, from the food that was supplied in the cell, the red-robed criminal quietly ground a bone into a knife and hid it inside his mouth, to use it as his final card.
At such a close distance, it was a very close call; Gu Hai was almost killed.
"#16 is dead. #1 has won!" "#1!" "#1!" "#1!"...
The shouts and cheers of gamblers shot through the sky.
"Humph, #1?" Song Jia Sect Chief coldly snorted as a look of annoyance appeared on his face.
Gu Hai carefully took the bone knife before turning his head to look at the red-robed man, but his fallen foe had already stopped breathing.
"If this bone knife was poisonous, perhaps I would have also been dead. Thank you for reminding me that I cannot be careless at any time. Once you are careless, you will lose your life. I will keep it close in order to remind myself of this moment!" said Gu Hai, taking a deep breath.