Chapter 567 - 557: Thank You for Giving Me a Reason to Be Angry

Chapter 567: Chapter 557: Thank You for Giving Me a Reason to Be Angry

The expression behind Yun Yue’s mask was one of helplessness. She took the golden bracelet, considered it for a moment, and asked, "Do you have a Resource Meter?"

Mu Chen paused, then scratched the back of his head. "I don’t think I do, actually."

Yun Yue shook her head and handed the golden bracelet back to Mu Chen. "Since you don’t have one, you should hold onto this for now. The chances are slim, but if you do manage to win this ring battle cycle, you won’t be able to transfer the Cultivation Resources without it."

Mu Chen gave Yun Yue a grateful look. "Thanks. But let’s head to the rest area. It feels weird just standing here."

Yun Yue and Yueyun nodded and followed Mu Chen out of the alley toward the rest area. What they didn’t know was that the moment Mu Chen’s application for the ring battle cycle was approved, the arena’s inner sanctum had erupted into chaos.

"Elder, Elder! You have to see this!"

Deep within the arena’s surveillance area, Elder Lei had just returned to his room. He had barely sat down, teacup not yet to his lips, when a young arena administrator burst in, shouting as he ran.

Elder Lei frowned at the sight and set down his teacup. "Sun Li! You’re not a child! Why are you in such a panic? Have you no decorum?!"

The man named Sun Li immediately composed himself. "You are right to scold me, Elder," he said to Elder Lei.

Elder Lei was quite satisfied with Sun Li’s demeanor and nodded. "What is so urgent?"

Sun Li immediately presented a Scroll. Elder Lei had seen such Scrolls tens of thousands of times and no longer felt anything special about them. He took the Scroll, unfurled it with ease, and several lines of text appeared before his eyes.

Elder Lei’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. His mouth hung open as he turned the Scroll over and over in his hands. "A Ring Battle Cycle?!" he exclaimed in astonishment. "A fixed twenty matches?! With a stake of fifteen days’ worth of Cultivation Resources?! Sun Li, you’re not just pulling my leg with some fabricated report, are you?!"

Sun Li struggled to keep from laughing at Elder Lei’s expression, but he answered seriously, "It’s absolutely real. Furthermore, one of the arena’s Guardians is already watching the student who registered. The student doesn’t look like he’s joking."

Elder Lei read the report again, muttering to himself, ’Black Camp... Calamity? He’s from the Black Camp? Are you sure there’s no mistake?’

Sun Li replied, "That’s right. He is indeed from the Black Camp, and that codename belongs to a newcomer who just entered the arena today."

’A newcomer with such audacity... and he knew about the Ring Battle Cycle as soon as he arrived. It seems he came prepared.’ At this, Elder Lei’s eyes lit up. "Sun Li, inform Yu Lan immediately! Have her use a voice transmission to notify every student in the arena. I want to see for myself just how strong this newcomer who dared to declare a twenty-match Ring Battle Cycle really is."

"Yes, sir!"

Sun Li immediately turned and left, leaving Elder Lei to pace around the room alone. ’A newcomer? Joined today... Black Camp... Could it be that kid?!’

As he spoke, the image of a figure in a black Concealing Garment surfaced in his mind. The more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. Never mind the boy’s terrifying control over his Primordial Power; his combat style alone was enough to secure victory through surprise. On top of that, even he, the arena’s Law Enforcement Elder, hadn’t been able to discern the boy’s true strength. That proved this kid was anything but ordinary.

"Now this is getting interesting."

A grin spread across his face as a sharp glint flashed in Elder Lei’s eyes. In a flicker, his figure vanished from the room.

「...」

Mu Chen had just stepped out of the alley, meeting up with Chu Aoqing and Mu Junwu. The Yun Sisters, Yun Yue and Yueyun, followed closely. Led by Mu Junwu, the five of them found a table with an excellent view in the black-colored section. However, they had barely settled into their seats—before Mu Chen even had a chance to make introductions—when a clear, pleasant voice echoed throughout the arena, reaching everyone’s ears.

"Greetings, students of the arena. I am your administrator, Yu Lan. This likely isn’t the first time you’ve heard my voice, so there is no need for alarm."

It was a woman’s voice. Mu Chen recognized it instantly after just a single sentence. He thought back and realized at once. It was the same voice as the phantom that had helped him choose his Concealing Garment back in that room.

’So her name is Yu Lan.’

"My sincerest apologies for this sudden interruption. But I must announce something. Just moments ago, a student applied to participate in an event that has not been seen in this arena for a year and a half! The Ring Battle Cycle!"

Here, Yu Lan paused. Though not a formal announcer, she knew to give the students a moment to absorb the news.

"The Ring Battle Cycle? Now that’s a term I haven’t heard in a while. I can’t believe someone’s actually applying for it."

"It really takes me back. I wonder who it is."

"Who it is doesn’t matter. What I’m curious about is the stake. The minimum for a Ring Battle Cycle is ten days’ worth of Cultivation Resources. I wonder how many matches he chose."

"It’s probably the minimum, three matches. After all, the more matches there are, the more uncertain the outcome. Just like that senior last time. He lost on his fifth match, and all the Cultivation Resources he’d worked so hard to accumulate were snatched away in a single fight. What a tragedy."

"That’s true. Someone with that kind of confidence has to be from our White Camp. As for the Black Camp, who only know how to hide during skirmishes, they wouldn’t dare apply for a Ring Battle Cycle even if they had ten times the nerve."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but Yu Lan, unaware of their specific conversations, felt the pause had been long enough. She spoke again, "This Ring Battle Cycle’s fixed number of matches will surpass all previous records, making it the undisputed highest in history! The number of matches he has chosen is, twenty!!"

"Oh, so it’s twenty matches... wait, what?! TWENTY MATCHES???"

"Did she really say twenty?! I thought I misheard!"

"Holy shit! There’s no way I heard that right!"

"He’s insane! Absolutely insane! Some fucking idiot must’ve had too much to drink and is trying to start something!" ℯℯ𝘭.

"Can’t wait to see him make a fool of himself!"

...

Listening to the crowd’s incessant jeers and taunts, Mu Chen rubbed his nose and gave a wry smile.

But the real bombshell was yet to come. As if she couldn’t rest until her words caused an uproar, Yu Lan shouted, "Even more surprisingly, the student who applied for this Ring Battle Cycle is a newcomer! And not only that, he’s from the Black Camp!"

"A newcomer!! From the Black Camp?!"

"Hahaha, the Black Camp must have nothing better to do."

"This has to be a plot by the White Camp! They probably paid someone to join our Black Camp just to pull this ridiculous stunt and make us look bad!" a student from the Black Camp suddenly shouted, leaping to his feet.

However, his words were immediately met with a fierce backlash from countless White Camp students, forcing him to sit back down in disgrace. Hearing the faint mockery in Yu Lan’s voice, Mu Chen frowned. He suddenly recalled that the phantom of Yu Lan had been wearing a white Concealing Garment. ’Could it be that the arena administrators are also divided into the Black and White Camps?’

The moment the thought occurred to him, he was certain it was true. Otherwise, an official announcer would never broadcast a message with such obvious bias.

At this realization, Mu Chen felt a surge of anger. But his disposition was such that he would never lash out on the spot. Instead, his disgust for the White Camp students in the arena simply deepened.

"Damn it! Which bastard is doing this?! Our Black Camp is already in this state, so why pull a stunt like this?! Damn it! Damn it all!"

Suddenly, the sound of a fist slamming a table came from ahead and to Mu Chen’s right. He saw another person in a black Concealing Garment sitting there. It was a woman; he could tell by her voice. She was trembling, and after a final, powerless curse, she was so overwhelmed with anger that she began to sob.

Seeing this, Mu Chen’s brow furrowed even more deeply. He wanted to say something, but no words came out. Yun Yue seemed to sense his shifting emotions. She sighed. "This is the reality of the arena now. It was created as the most direct path to obtaining Cultivation Resources, but it ended up dividing the Inner Mountain students into two camps. They were encouraged to taunt each other to fuel their competitive drive, but over time, the system has become toxic. The White Camp students are arrogant, complacent, and ostentatious; they bully the weak. The Black Camp students are timid, self-loathing, and repressed, forced to live in the shadow of others. If it weren’t for the resources here, my sister and I would have quit the arena long ago, just like many other seniors."

Just as Yun Yue finished speaking, Yu Lan’s voice rang out once more. "And so! To show this newcomer the proper... respect! We will be halting all other solo competitions! The entire screen will be dedicated to broadcasting his battle!"

As she spoke, all the other matches on the screens before the crowd vanished. They were replaced by a single, vast desert. Besides the endless yellow sand swirling in the air, there were rolling dunes in the distance. A red sun hung low in the western sky, creating a scene of vast, lonely grandeur, like a lone plume of smoke rising straight from the desert as the sun sets over a long river. Then, from the heart of this desolate wasteland, a massive battle ring erupted from the ground, rising tens of meters high before shuddering to a stop. Mu Chen didn’t even have to guess; he knew this was where he would fight.

"The battle ring is now ready! Will the defender of this cycle, the newcomer from the Black Camp, Calamity, please enter the ring!"

"It’s him!"

Over in the White Camp’s section, the faces of a few people darkened instantly. They were none other than the conscious survivors of the group that had confronted Mu Chen earlier.

In the Black Camp’s section, Mu Chen slowly rose to his feet. Before leaving the table, he took a deep breath and looked at Yun Yue. "Yun Yue, thank you."

Yun Yue was taken aback. "Thank you?"

Mu Chen smiled faintly. "I was just hesitating, wondering if I should go easy on them. It seems I was overthinking things. Thank you... for giving me a reason to be angry."

With that, Mu Chen’s figure distorted, and in the blink of an eye, he reappeared before the Black Camp’s Teleportation Gate...