In the Red Rock Territory, one of the eighty-one territories of the Nine Abyss Domain, on the city streets.
Lin Lei and Bei Bei walked side by side, and a rare hint of a smile graced Lin Lei's face. Inside that restaurant in Flame Bone City, the two had finally settled on their target — the "Lord of the Red Rock Territory" — and had thoroughly researched his detailed background, as well as the phantom recordings related to the Lord of the Red Rock Territory.
After watching those phantom recordings, Lin Lei couldn't help but marvel...
This Red Rock Lord's speed was truly monstrous. Among everyone he had ever encountered, none had been this fast. Still, Lin Lei was brimming with confidence. Those who excelled in speed, when faced with the "Black Stone Space," would be reduced to a turtle's pace no matter how swift as a rabbit they were!
"Combat is forbidden within the city. Only challengers inside the Blood Arena are permitted to fight." Before long, Lin Lei and Bei Bei arrived outside the Blood Arena.
The Blood Arena's grounds were roughly comparable in size to the "Fighting Arena" Lin Lei had encountered on Miluo Island. However, this Blood Arena was circular. Even from outside, Lin Lei could feel powerful waves of energy pulsing outward from within.
"Whooo~~~" A roar of excited cheers erupted.
"The atmosphere is really something," Lin Lei chuckled. "Bei Bei, let's go in and have a look."
"Mm." Bei Bei's eyes sparkled. "Just standing outside, the excitement already feels more intense than the Fighting Arena on Miluo Island."
Entering the Blood Arena to watch required an admission fee as well, though it was lower than Miluo Island's. Each person needed to pay ten Nether Stones. After paying, Lin Lei and Bei Bei followed the corridor and soon arrived inside the arena. The moment they drew close, a wave of heat surged outward.
"Whoa, there must be close to a million people in here." Lin Lei surveyed the spectator stands.
The stands were packed with spectators. Because the seating area was so vast, the people on the opposite side from where Lin Lei stood looked like a teeming mass of ants. The crowd was enormous. Among them were burly, powerfully built men, cold and gaunt youths, what appeared to be elderly oldsters, and a great many women — some aloof, others passionate.
One person after another was either shouting excitedly or watching in cool, focused appreciation.
Some looked human, while many others maintained their own exotic racial features — three eyes, four ears, six arms, and so on.
"The atmosphere really is intense! The Blood Arena fights must be the most thrilling spectacle in the entire Nine Abyss Domain." Lin Lei understood that almost everyone who made it to the Nine Abyss Domain was battle-hungry, someone who craved the pinnacle of power. And the Blood Arena was the essential stepping stone for challenging the "Lords of the Nine Abyss."
That gave the Blood Arena fights a uniquely important standing within the Nine Abyss Domain, attracting enormous attention.
Lin Lei then turned his gaze to the Blood Arena stage at the center.
Two figures were battling above it. A fire-red silhouette suddenly shot skyward, and a blurred blade shape flashed through the air in an instant before slamming into the black-robed man opposite. The black-robed man was blasted off his feet, blood spraying into the air — but his head had already exploded into fragments.
Then the black-robed man's body crashed heavily to the ground and lay motionless.
"He's dead." Lin Lei frowned.
"ROAR~~~" The fire-red figure finally landed, revealing himself — a young man with wild, fire-red hair. He waved his fists in the air, roaring with elation, and then called out confidently, "Next! Who's next!"
The entire Blood Arena immediately erupted in cheers, though many spectators also screamed, "Kill him! Someone go kill him!" Lin Lei's lips curled slightly upward. The Blood Arena's atmosphere was indeed fierce — truly, the Blood Arena fights were perhaps one of the rarest forms of entertainment in the Nine Abyss Domain.
"That fellow has decent strength." Lin Lei smiled.
Bei Bei glanced at Lin Lei and grinned. "Boss, are you planning to take him on first?"
"Bei Bei, wait here. I'm going to sign up." Lin Lei rose to his feet.
"Mm." Bei Bei nodded eagerly. He had complete faith in Lin Lei.
"Oh?" The spectators seated near Lin Lei and Bei Bei overheard their exchange and turned to look at Lin Lei with surprise, clearly realizing he intended to fight in the Blood Arena.
"Well, you've got guts." A dark-haired woman with crimson eyes nearby fixed her gaze on Lin Lei, her eyes lighting up. "You'd better hang in there for a few rounds — I'm rooting for you!" Around this section of the seating, quite a few people began calling out to Lin Lei, most of them offering encouragement and support.
Simply because Lin Lei had been sitting beside them, they were now backing him.
Of course...
The Blood Arena fights ultimately came down to individual strength.
Registering to fight was free, but the administrator still looked at Lin Lei in disbelief. "Mr. Lei, what did you say? Ten consecutive battles?"
"That's right." Lin Lei smiled and nodded.
"Don't rush into this. Ten consecutive battles — that's not something you can just declare and do. You win one fight, and only then can you decide to continue to the next." The administrator explained. That was the rule. If a challenger died in the first fight, how could they continue the other nine?
Lin Lei glanced at the administrator. "Then just watch."
Still... there were quite a few people signing up to fight.
Lin Lei had to wait in line, and by the time his turn came, seven or eight bouts had already taken place. The red-haired young man had long since left the stage. He had won ten consecutive fights that day. When that red-haired youth walked out through the challenger's tunnel, he swept a haughty glance over Lin Lei and the rest of the group.
Lin Lei merely offered a faint smile.
Suddenly —
A wave of thunderous cheering rolled through the Blood Arena, accompanied by a voice that boomed like a clap of thunder: "Our champion 'Wute' has won three consecutive victories! Now, challenger 'Lei' — enter the arena!"
Lin Lei's eyes lit up.
"Lei" was the name he had given when registering.
"Mr. Lei, hurry up!" the administrator called out to Lin Lei. Lin Lei simply smiled, and in a single motion, strode directly through the challenger's tunnel, emerging onto the Blood Arena stage, still tinged with the scent of blood.
Cheers erupted from the spectators throughout the arena. There, making his way onto the stage, was a young man in azure-blue robes who looked as though he were taking a leisurely stroll through his own garden. He rose gently into the air, facing off against his opponent — a man in tight-fitting black attire with crimson eyes, wielding a long whip.
The entire Blood Arena burned with intensity.