Chapter 174: Rules of Contention

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Rules of Contention

Hearing this, the crowd looked up curiously at the King of Shang, all wanting to know what this "Creation" he spoke of was.

The King of Shang smiled mysteriously and continued, "In some respects, that Creation is no less valuable than the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence. I believe every single one of you will be incredibly excited and eager to obtain it. As for what it is exactly, allow me to keep you in suspense for a little while longer."

At once, the faces of the combatants below lit up with joy.

They had been worried that with only one Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, they stood no chance against Shangguan Tianjian. But now, it seemed they had more opportunities. Even if they couldn’t obtain the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, they could still compete for the Creation offered by the King of Shang.

After the King of Shang finished speaking, he nodded to the Asura Field Master, Qing Luo, behind him. Qing Luo immediately flew forward and began directing the Cyan Armored Army on the ground to part the crowd, as if preparing for something big.

"Yi Xiaoyao, you’re actually going up against Shangguan Tianjian?"

Sword Wind Breaker walked over to Yi Xiaoyao’s side and said with a look of astonishment.

Yi Xiaoyao narrowed his eyes slightly, a smirk playing on his lips. "My rivalry with him was destined from the start."

"In that case, let me give you a word of warning. You’d better be careful, because that Shangguan Tianjian is a terrifying man."

At this, Sword Wind Breaker’s expression grew grim. He continued, "I fought him once. I was defeated in just three moves."

"Oh?" Yi Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow at that.

’The second-ranked expert on the Hidden Dragon List... using a word like "terrifying" to describe someone at his own level?’

’And there’s only one rank separating Sword Wind Breaker and Shangguan Tianjian, yet the gap in their strength is that massive?’

’It seems this Shangguan Tianjian is truly not someone to be trifled with.’

However, he, Yi Xiaoyao, was also not to be trifled with.

"Thanks for the warning." Yi Xiaoyao gave Sword Wind Breaker a faint smile, his face devoid of any worry.

Sword Wind Breaker was a bit skeptical, thinking to himself, ’He knows all this and he’s still not worried? His strength was barely enough to scrape a win against me. Where does he get the confidence to face Shangguan Tianjian?’

Indeed, when Yi Xiaoyao and Sword Wind Breaker had fought before, they had agreed to only use fifty percent of their strength, and Yi Xiaoyao had only barely gained the upper hand.

But Sword Wind Breaker didn’t know that Yi Xiaoyao hadn’t used fifty percent of his strength. In fact, Yi Xiaoyao himself didn’t know the full extent of his power, so how could he have accurately used just fifty percent?

However, Yi Xiaoyao was certain of one thing: the power he had used against Sword Wind Breaker was less than half of his total strength.

Therefore, Yi Xiaoyao’s true strength was far greater than Sword Wind Breaker estimated.

If Sword Wind Breaker knew Yi Xiaoyao’s true power, he would probably use the word "terrifying" to describe him as well.

Just then...

RUMBLE!

The ground suddenly began to tremble violently, sending the crowd into a panic.

"Everyone, there is no need to panic!"

Qing Luo called out to the crowd from above, "The upcoming competition will be held in the underground battlefield of my Asura Arena. We are opening the battlefield now!"

Before his voice had even faded, a stunning fissure cracked open in the long stretch of ground that the Cyan Armored Army had cleared in the center of the crowd.

The fissure grew wider and wider as the ground where the crowd stood slowly moved apart to either side.

Finally, a massive underground canyon appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Everyone gasped in amazement. To think that such a place existed beneath the Asura Arena was truly inconceivable.

Once the underground canyon was fully revealed, Qing Luo continued, "Now, I will explain the rules to all combatants."

"As you can all see, there are twenty-five valleys within this underground battlefield. Inside each valley, there is a Demon Beast."

"Your task is to hunt the Demon Beasts in this underground battlefield and obtain their Demon Cores. You will be ranked based on the number of Demon Cores you collect."

"As for the rewards, you should already be aware. First place will receive the inheritance of the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, and the top five will be granted the right to the Creation offered by the King of Shang!"

Qing Luo’s voice, infused with Spiritual Power, was loud and majestic, echoing through the air so that everyone present could hear him with perfect clarity.

’All we have to do is hunt Demon Beasts for their Demon Cores to get the rewards?’

The combatants’ faces lit up with joy. If that was all, then they wouldn’t have to directly confront the monstrous prodigies at the top of the Hidden Dragon List.

But before they could even enjoy a moment of happiness, Qing Luo’s next words made the smiles freeze on their faces.

"Oh, right. I forgot to mention one thing."

Qing Luo said with a strange smile, "Every Demon Beast in this underground battlefield is a fourth-tier Demon Beast, comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm! If any of you wish to withdraw now, there is still time."

The moment he said this, everyone cried out in alarm, and an uproar erupted across the grounds.

"What!"

"Fourth-tier Demon Beasts!"

"All of us combatants are in the Golden Core Realm, and you want us to hunt fourth-tier Demon Beasts comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm!?"

"Are you kidding? Isn’t that just sending us to our deaths?"

At this, Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze narrowed slightly, and he shook his head with a small smile. "I knew it wouldn’t be that simple."

’After all, with only twenty-five Demon Beasts and so many combatants, if they were just ordinary beasts, it would be impossible to fight over them.’

’But this... this is enough to weed out the vast majority of the contestants.’

Sure enough, combatants began to leave the participation area one after another. Even many of the lower-ranked experts on the Hidden Dragon List gave up on the competition.

They all understood one simple truth: no matter how precious the final reward, it wasn’t more important than their lives.

Then, Qing Luo added a few more instructions.

"During the process, you may steal, and you may kill... but you are forbidden from consuming any Elixirs that boost your strength. Violators will be disqualified immediately!"

"The final rankings will be based solely on the number of Demon Cores you turn in to me!"

"Now, you may enter the battlefield!"

The moment Qing Luo’s voice fell, the fifty-some remaining combatants who hadn’t given up rushed into the designated passageways, eager to be the first into the underground battlefield and gain an advantage.

As the members of the Cloud Transformation Sect entered the underground canyon, Shangguan Tianjian glanced back at Yi Xiaoyao, his eyes cold and filled with intense Killing Intent.

"It won’t be long now. Your time of death is at hand!" Shangguan Tianjian said menacingly.

Yi Xiaoyao, who was also staring at Shangguan Tianjian, sneered back, "This underground battlefield will be your grave."

The two glared at each other for a moment before heading their separate ways into the underground battlefield.

Meanwhile, the crowd on the surface spread out along the edges of the chasm, from where they could see everything happening in the canyon below.

Every one of them was inwardly thrilled and full of anticipation.

They knew that this great canyon, sealed beneath the earth and unknown to all for years, was about to become the stage for an incredibly fierce and bloody contest.

At the same time, everyone was also extremely curious. Who would ultimately claim the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, and what exactly was the "Creation" the King of Shang had mentioned...?

...