Chapter 293: The Organizers Really Know How to Have Fun

Clang!

Following the host's command, the iron cage imprisoning the Thorn Lizard suddenly swung open. The terrifying giant lizard let out a ferocious roar and lunged out, opening its bloody maw to bite toward the Battle Slave opposite it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Almost instantly, the man and the beast on the platform began a brutal struggle.

This scene of head-on, explosive combat quickly ignited the passion of the audience. Cheers, curses, and shouts rang out, pushing the atmosphere of the entire Death Arena to its peak in an instant.

"Good hit!"

"B-rank Number Three, hurry up and slaughter that reptile for me!"

"Thorn Lizard! Bite him to death!"

…

Splat!

In just a few breaths, the Golden Core Realm Battle Slave was impaled by the spikes atop the Thorn Lizard's head. Crimson blood sprayed out, dripping onto the ground like raindrops.

Seeing that its enemy was about to be torn apart, a hint of human-like bloodlust and cruelty appeared in the Thorn Lizard's vertical pupils.

It raised its head high, lifting the Battle Slave into mid-air. Simultaneously, it extended its long tongue, wrapping it around the Battle Slave's waist and pulling downward with force, preparing to eat this ant-like human alive.

However, at that very moment, the Battle Slave, who had seemingly been defenseless, suddenly let out a roar. He swung his long saber down fiercely, slashing it across the Thorn Lizard's tongue.

Puff!

The sharp long saber sliced through the Thorn Lizard's soft tongue without resistance. The Thorn Lizard let out a series of shrill, agonizing wails as emerald-green blood surged out, causing the ground to hiss and corrode.

The intense pain seemed to stir its ferocity. Instead of backing down, the Thorn Lizard became even more violent.

Rumble!

Its spike-covered body was like an unstoppable fortress, each collision carrying a terrifying momentum.

"Beast! Die!"

That Battle Slave was also fierce. Enduring the agonizing pain of his pierced shoulder, he swung his long saber once more, unleashing a sharp and peerless Saber Qi. It struck heavily against the only part of the Thorn Lizard not covered by armor—its neck.

Crack!

Accompanied by the sound of flesh and bone being severed, the Thorn Lizard's millstone-sized head rolled to the ground. The headless corpse collapsed with a loud bang, kicking up clouds of dust.

After a brief silence, the entire arena suddenly erupted. Thunderous discussions broke out in the spectator stands.

Aside from the Demon Cultivators who came specifically for the spectacle, the gamblers who had bet Spirit Stones on either side were either overjoyed and triumphant or pale-faced and dejected. The scene grew increasingly noisy and chaotic.

"Good! Beautifully done! I didn't expect this B-rank Number Three to look so unassuming yet be able to defeat a Thorn Lizard of the same level. Truly a brave warrior!"

"I won, I won! A small gain of three thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones this time. Hahaha, how satisfying!"

"Sigh… lost another round. I can only hope to make it back in the next one."

…

"Next match: A-rank Number Seventeen Battle Slave versus the Half-step Nascent Soul Realm Yao Beast, the Frost Hou. A duel for supremacy, and a battle to the death!"

The host's booming voice once again spread throughout the venue, reigniting the audience's anticipation.

Even Qi Yuan had to admit that this cruel and stimulating death competition was practically tailor-made for Demon Cultivators. It completely hooked the audience's inner desire for slaughter; it would be hard for it not to be popular.

The ticket revenue alone would make them a fortune, and when combined with the real-time betting odds that all the gamblers flocked to, the profits involved were simply beyond imagination.

For the organizers, the cost paid was nothing more than a few insignificant human lives. It was truly a bargain.

The person who invented this model could definitely be called a Genius, or perhaps, a demon.

Of course, only a hellish Sect like a Demon Sect would allow such a dark activity to be held within its gates. It was likely a business run by some Demon Sect High Echelon.

If it were a righteous Sect, they would have been shut down long ago for daring to do such a thing.

Qi Yuan stood in a corner, watching the slaughter in the arena expressionlessly, silently calculating whether he should also kill a few Demon Cultivators later to add to the fun…

Soon, the A-rank Number Seventeen Battle Slave on stage was frozen into an ice sculpture by a blast of bone-chilling frost Qi, before shattering into countless tiny ice shards scattered across the ground.

The Frost Hou wins!

The operator of the arena was clearly a master at managing the atmosphere, handling the emotions of the Demon Cultivators on-site perfectly.

After the first two Golden Core battles, which were filled with maximum tension, the third to fifth matches became weaklings clashing in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

However, because the suspense was sufficient and occasional death-defying counter-kills occurred, the show never felt dull.

After the fifth battle ended, many spectators stood up from their seats in excitement, clearly looking forward to the next scene.

According to custom, from the sixth match onwards, it would no longer be intense fights between Battle Slaves and Yao Beasts, but rather life-and-death struggles between two Battle Slaves. This was the most exciting part of the Death Arena.

After all, for Demon Cultivators, it wasn't very interesting to always compete against Yao Beasts. Only the bloody slaughter between their own kind was more eye-catching.

The middle-aged Demon Cultivator in charge of hosting looked around the arena. A smile played at the corners of his mouth, seemingly very satisfied with the current heated atmosphere, and his tone became impassioned:

"Fellow Daoists, the next battle is between A-rank Number Thirteen Battle Slave and A-rank Number Fourteen Battle Slave."

At this point, he made a deliberate, dramatic pause before speaking loudly again:

"Before being captured, these two Battle Slaves both belonged to the same Pseudo-Dao Sect, Luoyun Valley. What's most interesting is that they are actually Senior and Junior Brothers."

"Tonight, these two former fellow disciples will fight with their lives until one has completely killed the other."

"We can wait and see if these Pseudo-Dao people, who usually talk so much about benevolence and morality, will have the resolve to personally send their own brother to the afterlife just to stay alive."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately caused a burst of laughter. The audience members showed interested expressions, clearly surprised by this gimmick:

"Hahaha… how interesting! It seems tonight is definitely worth the trip!"

"To think there's such a match. This is truly an eye-opener; the organizers really know how to have fun."

"The Pseudo-Dao crowd has always prided themselves on unity and looked down on us Demon Cultivators. Now that it's come to a point where they must kill their own kin, I want to see if they can actually go through with it."

"Tch… that goes without saying. These Pseudo-Daoists all act like they're ready to die on the surface, but they're hypocritical and devious to the bone. They'll do anything to survive!"

"Correct. If they don't cooperate, both of them will be executed. It's simply a matter of one dying versus two dying…"

Luoyun Valley?

On the other side, upon hearing the origin of the two Battle Slaves, Qi Yuan was instantly startled, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

Could someone from Luoyun Valley have been captured by Demon Cultivators?

Just as he was wondering, he saw two familiar figures—one fat and one thin—being escorted up by several Demon Cultivators.

Although the two looked disheveled and their auras were weak, Qi Yuan recognized their identities at a glance, and his gaze instantly became extremely strange.

F*ck!!!

Aren't these Li Mingwang and Zhang Caiqiang? How did they become Luoyun Valley Cultivators?

After a moment, Qi Yuan realized what was happening and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Presumably, after being caught, these two idiots were afraid of shaming the Taixuan Holy Land, so they deliberately claimed to be Luoyun Valley Cultivators.

Thinking of this, he shook his head with some disdain. Although such spirit was commendable, it still couldn't hide the fact that their IQs were severely lacking.

If he hadn't happened to run into them, this pair of 'Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix' would probably have exited the Jianghu forever…