Chapter 365 - 220: Martial Combat

Chapter 365: Chapter 220: Martial Combat

Those slaves and captives included demons, as well as human Martial Artists who had been captured by demons.

"Junior Brother Su, Bao Lingyun does not come with good intentions."

Xu Chongyuan said in a low voice, "The demon he sent said that Bao Lingyun has just returned from a trip and brought back some captives. He invites you to watch them duel."

"Humans, or demons?"

Su Mu mused.

"I don’t know."

Xu Chongyuan shook his head. "According to our previous wager, we won the third trial. Logically, the Demon Court should have released all their human captives. They shouldn’t be making humans participate in duels, right?"

"The Demon Court only said they would release them, not when."

Su Mu shook his head and said calmly, "Tushan Hanyu and Niu Zhong also said they would only release the captives when the Da Xuan Envoy leaves the Demon Court. Even if they really force human captives into the Martial Arts Arena now, there’s nothing we can do about it."

"I understand."

Xu Chongyuan frowned. "Bao Lingyun is trying to use the lives of human captives to force you into a spar with him! How shameless! Junior Brother Su, you can’t go!"

Although he had great faith in Su Mu’s strength, they knew nothing about the Thirteenth Prince of the Demon Court and had no idea how powerful he was.

Besides, this was the Demon Court’s territory. They called it a spar, but who knew if he’ll strike a killing blow?

"This is an open conspiracy."

Su Mu said coolly, "If I don’t go, I’m afraid this Thirteenth Prince will widely publicize that I stood by and did nothing, turning a blind eye to the suffering of my own people."

Xu Chongyuan was speechless.

He wanted to say, ’Let him spread his propaganda. We all know what kind of person you are, anyway.’

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Slanderous rumors, repeated enough, can become truth. Even if Su Mu didn’t care, if someone with malicious intent were to exploit this, it would only be detrimental to his future.

More importantly, forgetting his reputation for a moment, there was no guarantee the Thirteenth Prince of the Demon Court wouldn’t do something even more shameless.

For example, he could hang the heads of the human captives in front of the Da Xuan Embassy.

Or, he could move the dueling grounds right to the gates of the Da Xuan Embassy.

Unless they could truly ignore the human captives being tortured by demons, the problem was almost unsolvable.

That was why Su Mu called it an open conspiracy.

They knew exactly what their opponent wanted, but they had no way to counter it and were forced to accept the challenge.

"How about I go fight the Thirteenth Prince, Bao Lingyun, first and test his strength?"

Xu Chongyuan said with a frown.

They knew nothing about Bao Lingyun. The fact that he dared to force Su Mu into a spar like this proved he was confident he could win.

Considering the strength Su Mu had displayed on their journey, for his opponent to still have such confidence meant his power was absolutely extraordinary.

"Since it’s a spar, his Cultivation Realm won’t be higher than mine."

Su Mu said slowly.

Only a fight between those of the same realm could be called a spar.

A True Essence Realm Martial Artist fighting a Rebirth Realm Martial Artist wasn’t a spar; it was a lesson.

The Demon Court wouldn’t possibly send a Tier Three Demon, let alone a Tier Four Demon, to spar with me.

Therefore, the Thirteenth Prince of the Demon Court, Bao Lingyun, must be a Tier Two Demon.

Although it was a bit strange. The Eighteenth Prince was a Tier Three Demon, so why was the Thirteenth Prince, who ranked higher, at a lower realm?

But not all Tier Two Demons are the same.

It was just like how Su Mu, despite only being in the Rebirth Realm, could defeat an ordinary True Essence Realm practitioner.

Humans have prodigies, so naturally, demons have them too.

Back in Wuling, Su Mu had encountered human prodigies who deliberately suppressed their realm in order to build a more solid foundation.

Perhaps this Bao Lingyun was following a similar path.

"His realm is the same as mine, yet he dares to force a spar. I wonder who gave him such confidence."

Su Mu said calmly.

He originally had no intention of dealing with this Bao Lingyun, but since the challenge had been brought to his doorstep, he wouldn’t cower like a turtle in its shell.

In the past, when his strength was low, he often had to compromise and use various schemes to contend with powerful enemies.

But now, that was no longer necessary.

At the very least, this Bao Lingyun was not qualified to make him back down.

"Tell Bao Lingyun I will be there on time."

Su Mu closed the invitation, his tone calm.

"Junior Brother Su—"

Xu Chongyuan said anxiously.

"It’s fine. I know what I’m doing."

Su Mu said, "Call the brothers who are off-duty. It’s a rare trip to the Demon Court, so let’s all go and see what the Martial Arts Arena is like."

...

The Martial Arts Arena was a circular structure.

In the center was a large open space, surrounded by tiered spectator seats.

When Su Mu walked into the Martial Arts Arena, he felt as if he had arrived at the Beast Fighting Arena of Ancient Rome from his past life.

But this Demon Court’s arena was far larger than the Beast Fighting Arena of Ancient Rome in his previous life.

The seats were designed for demons, making humans look particularly small and frail in them.

"Lord Su, my Prince is on the arena floor. He has specially arranged these seats for you."

A demon led Su Mu and his men to seats in the very center of the stands.

From here, they could see the entire Martial Arts Arena. It was the best vantage point.

Su Mu scanned his surroundings. The stands of the Martial Arts Arena were already filled with demons, at least ten thousand of them.

Most of the demons were not very strong; the majority were Tier One, with quite a few Tier Two, and he could even spot several Tier Three and Tier Four demons.

This many demons would be enough to trigger a Tier Six Demon Tide.

Lu Mingyang was right. The Demon Court had already become a nation with strength comparable to Da Xuan.

The faces of the few Taiping Captains who had come with Su Mu were a little pale.

They were like a few cats who had walked into a den of rats.

Even a cat would be brought to its knees before tens of thousands of rats.

Only Su Mu remained calm, his expression unchanged.

"My Prince has long heard of the prosperity of Da Xuan’s Martial Dao. He invited Lord Su to watch the fight today so you could also see the Martial Dao of our Demon Court."

The demon said, "Why don’t you sit and see for yourself, Lord Su? We shall find out whose Martial Dao is stronger: Da Xuan’s, or my Prince’s."

"Your Demon Court has a Martial Dao?"

Although Xu Chongyuan’s face was a little pale, he couldn’t help but retort.

The strength of demons lay in their naturally powerful bodies and their Innate Divine Techniques.

Their attacks were simply a matter of speed and power. Except for the few who possessed Innate Divine Techniques, the attacks of other demons were extremely crude.

Although they had heard the Demon Court was researching cultivation methods for transforming into human form, they had never seen it.

The Demon Court armies that had attacked Da Xuan in the past had never demonstrated a true Martial Dao.

At most, they had learned a few human martial skills, and their attempts were laughably crude.

A demon practicing martial arts? Wasn’t that just a joke?

"You’ll find out soon enough."

The demon said with a grin.

Just then, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted from the Martial Arts Arena.

The demons in the stands roared, howled, or shouted in human speech.

The entire Martial Arts Arena was a chaotic din.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the center of the arena.

The Thirteenth Prince of the Demon Court, Bao Lingyun!

He had the body of a man and the head of a leopard. He stood nearly three meters tall, his muscles rippling with explosive power.

What especially drew the eye was the thick-backed, great saber he carried.

The blade was over two meters long; it was less a saber and more a door plank.

He hoisted the great saber onto his shoulder, his gaze sweeping across the arena before finally landing on Su Mu, full of provocation.

"I want to fight ten."

Bao Lingyun spoke. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it easily silenced the clamor in the Martial Arts Arena.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of CLANKING iron chains echoed from all sides of the arena.

Gate after gate slid open.

And from behind them, ten figures emerged.

They were ten humans!

Dressed in ragged clothes, they looked miserable as they staggered to the center of the arena.

"This prince does not bully the weak. Give them weapons."

Bao Lingyun glanced at the ten men and said.

"You ten, if any of you can so much as scratch this prince, I will spare your lives."