Chapter 782, Tempering
Fresh blood stained the ground and Yang Kai looked more and more distressed. On the other hand, his opponent only became fiercer, trying to capitalize on his current advantage.
The burly man struck mercilessly, sending Yang Kai flying up into the sky with a punch to his jaw, then knocking him into the ground as soon as he fell back down.
Dust flew everywhere and no one was able to see what was happening on the battlefield. On top of that, because of the multi-layered barriers around the Death Arena’s stage, even the Saint Realm masters in the audience couldn’t gain anything more than a vague impression with their Divine Senses. All anyone could tell was that the fight had come to an end.
[How boring!] Many people thought to themselves.
However, before they could start grumbling out loud, a burst of murderous intent filled the air and a gust of wind burst forth, expelling all the dust from the stage.
After everyone saw the situation in front of them, they couldn’t help calling out in shock.
Yang Kai, who should have fallen to the ground and been beaten to death, at that moment, had used his unbroken arm to grab hold of his opponent and pin him to the stage.
That hand was firmly gripped the back of the burly man’s neck, like a great vice, and no matter how the latter struggled, he couldn’t break free.
No one saw what happened just now, all they knew was when the dust scattered, this scene had appeared before them, it was truly surprising.
They had seen before Earth shattering counter attacks launched at the last moment in order to win a battle, but never once had a situation as strange or confusing as this one occurred.
As silence filled the arena, the mask worn by Yang Kai’s face seemed to give off a cold glint.
Wind and Thunder Qi surged up in Yang Kai’s palm and then poured into the burly man, forming a killing storm inside his body.
*Peng…*
In the next instant, the big man’s strong body directly burst into a bloody fog, not even leaving behind any bones!
High up in the stands, Xue Li’s beautiful eyes lit up as a hint of surprise flashed across them. She hadn’t thought Yang Kai would put on such a strange and wonderful performance, her thin red lips curling into a grin.
“How great is his real strength?” Xue Li suddenly whispered to An Ling’er.
“I won’t tell you!” An Ling’er shook her head repeatedly.
“You won’t tell me?” Xue Li didn’t get angry and instead showed a thoughtful expression while flashing a playful smile, “Then I’ll just have to figure it out myself.”
Turning her eyes back to the Death Arena below, Xue Li watched the scarred and broken armed Yang Kai walk step by step towards the exit, thinking to herself that this human brat she had randomly picked up was indeed out of the ordinary!
In the stands, after a long silence, an eruption of noise burst out, most people complaining loudly about this nonsensical result, discussing what exactly had just happened.
When Yang Kai returned to the dark ramp, Yu Mo’s eyes flashed a cold light as he stared fixedly at him.
As for the yellow-faced man, he just dumbly stood in place, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
After less than the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, this arrogant little human boy had really killed his opponent.
“Did the match look difficult enough for you?” Yang Kai took off the mask and shot a glance towards Yu Mo.
Yu Mo’s mouth twitched once before he nodded lightly.
Not only did the match appear difficult, it was quite realistic, without the slightest flaw. Even Yu Mo thought that Yang Kai was dead, only to be surprised at the last moment.
[This boy’s courage really isn’t normal. Wasn’t he even slightly worried about taking so many attacks head on?]
Yang Kai tightened his muscles and with a crisp sound his broken arm snapped back into place.
“Next time, arrange a Second Order Transcendent opponent for me, that way I can earn more profits. The sooner I accumulate enough wealth, the sooner I can go free!” Yang Kai grinned.
Yu Mo couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed suddenly.
Returning Yang Kai to the palace, Yu Mo then left to allow the former to recuperate.
After this time’s victory, Yang Kai’s treatment also improved greatly. Many good dishes to help him recover his stamina and strength were served to him and An Ling’er even received permission from Xue Li to visit him once.
The two of them talked for quite some time before An Ling’er left.
After a three day interlude, Yang Kai’s second bout was scheduled.
Perhaps because of his bizarre performance last time, when the masked Yang Kai appeared again, he attracted a lot of attention.
This time, his opponent was a genuine Second Order Transcendent.
After a hard fight, Yang Kai barely managed to escape death and obtain a come-back victory, causing all the Demon Race spectators cry out in surprise, none of them able to believe what they had just seen.
Defeating someone in a higher realm was a feat not many could achieve, especially after one reached the Transcendent Realm where each Minor Realm represented a massive increase in combat power.
Normally, a Second Order Transcendent cultivator would easily be able to put a First Order Transcendent to death, but this common sense was actually flipped on its head by Yang Kai.
Just like last time, Yang Kai’s True Qi had been restricted by Yu Mo’s sealing technique, so he wasn’t able to display his full strength, so unlike the act he had put on before, this time Yang Kai really was fighting desperately.
In a life or death struggle, Yang Kai was able to grasp many things he had been unable to before, causing him to somewhat rejoice. He felt fighting such a desperate battle was of great benefit to his growth.
As such, Yang Kai didn’t actually feel much resentment about having to participate in these fights and was instead almost looking forward to it.
This was a rare opportunity for him to temper himself!
The growth of a cultivator couldn’t be separated from reality, fighting real life or death battles would often bring one more benefits than simply remaining in secluded retreat. Of course, this was premised on being able to survive such fights.
After thoroughly understanding this, Yang Kai began urging Yu Mo to arrange stronger opponents for him!
Yu Mo was dumbfounded and often stared at Yang Kai as if he was staring at someone screwed loose in the head. He had never seen a captured prisoner like Yang Kai actually requesting to fight more often in the Death Arena.
Xue Li on the other hand was quite open-minded, arranging fights for Yang Kai whenever he requested them.
The strength of Yang Kai’s opponents also continuously increased, causing him to suffer more and more hardships with each passing bout. But each time it looked like it was all over for him, Yang Kai would somehow pull off a miracle and win.
(PewPewLazerGun: Plot Armour… get some!)
(Silavin: Well, not really Plot Amour when he has done it multiple times by now. I think his actual strength is at Saint Stage already but barely at that level.)
Over the next three months, Yang Kai fought a total of fourteen times on the Death Arena’s stage. All fourteen of his opponents were Second Order Transcendents. Some were from the Human Race and Monster Race, while there were still others belonging to the Demon Race, each of them competing in this blood sport for one reason or another, but all of them eventually finding defeat at Yang Kai’s hands.
Through these life or death battles, Yang Kai reaped a huge harvest, not only gaining a greater understanding of his own strength, but also all the accumulated insights into the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao of his defeated opponents after he devoured the remnants of their Souls.
The rate at which his strength grew could only be described as astonishing.
After three months of repeated fights, Yang Kai had also inadvertently become something a celebrity, there was basically no one who lived in Sand City that didn’t know of him. Xue Li’s masked human subordinate who, despite only having a First Order Transcendent cultivation, had killed more than a dozen Second Order Transcendents.
In the Death Arena, the odds of Yang Kai winning changed over and over again, but this still couldn’t stop others from betting on him with great enthusiasm.
Xue Li, as the arena’s banker, naturally wouldn’t lose money in this kind of gambling, but seeing Yang Kai’s horrifying rate of growth caused her some suspicion.
She, compared to anyone else, understood what was happening, how Yang Kai was achieving his rapid increase in strength by constantly defying death in combat.
One day, a messenger arrived at Xue Li’s palace and requested an audience. After meeting with Xue Li for some time, the messenger finally departed with a satisfied look upon his face.
An hour later, Yang Kai was summoned.
Inside a side hall, Xue Li was lying upon a great bed, her perfectly shaped bottom facing upwards as her proud peaks were squeezed beneath her body, her chin resting gently upon her hands, a most stimulated posture.
An Ling’er was half-kneeling beside her while massaging Xue Li’s shoulders.
There was a delicate, mature fragrance lingering about the hall that tickled one’s nose.
Yu Mo brought Yang Kai into the hall, bowed, and then moved to the wall, not daring to lay eyes upon Xue Li.
On the other hand, Yang Kai stood at the edge of the bed and swept his eyes over Xue Li’s wondrous body.
This Demon General was as vicious as a snake, but it was undeniable that she was a great beauty filled with mature charm, unlike An Ling’er who still retained a kind of youthful innocence.
Such a woman had a fatal enticement to any man.
However, a character like Xue Li probably would not be tempted by any man, the only thing that could move her was strength, overwhelming and all conquering strength!
After waiting for quite some time, Xue Li suddenly said, “Gou Qiong sent me a messenger a moment ago.”
“Hm?” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, “Is it related to me?”
“Yes, Gou Qiong seems to want to kill you.”
“Then how did you reply?” Yang Kai looked at her coldly as he mockingly asked, “Don’t tell me you agreed to sell me?”
“This King indeed thought about it, but I still refused him!”
“Why is that?”
“Because he is Gou Qiong!” Xue Li sneered, “If he wants something, obviously I won’t happily comply; however, his messenger made an interesting proposal which I did agree to.”
Yang Kai didn’t ask anything and just waited for her to explain.
“Tomorrow, on the Death Arena’s stage, you’ll fight someone sent by Gou Qiong! If you win, you’ll be able to earn enough ransom money to free yourself. If you lose, you’ll have nothing, including your life!” Xue Li said lightly.
Yang Kai raised his brow and snickered, “The fighter sent by Gou Qiong shouldn’t be weak, right?”
Xue Li glanced at him teasingly and nodded, “A Third Order Transcendent!”
Hearing this, even Yu Mo, who had been keeping his head down to the side, also showed some response.
“Seems you two are collaborating to put me to death,” Yang Kai grinned wryly, not showing the slightest sign of panic.
“He indeed wants you dead, but I, I want to know where your limit is!” Xue Li’s pretty face became slightly cold, “Don’t think this Queen doesn’t know you’re still concealing your true strength, it seems you still have a lot of cards you’ve yet to play!”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, not acknowledging or denying her speculation.
“Therefore I am very much looking forward to your performance tomorrow, don’t disappoint me.”
“You’ll just have to wait and see!”
Xue Li sneered lightly, calling out to Yu Mo next, “Remove all the seals on him, I want to see if he can survive against Gou Qiong’s pawn!”
Yu Mo nodded lightly, quickly revolving his True Qi and lifting the seals that had been dampening Yang Kai’s strength.
“I have a question. If I win tomorrow’s match, you said I’d have collected my own ransom. What about An Ling’er?”
Xue Li looked at him and grinned, “Of course you’ll only have collected enough for yourself, but… I can give you a chance. If you win tomorrow, I’ll let both of you go!”
“You’ve said so yourself!” Yang Kai laughed, “A Demon General’s words should be credible, yes? I hope you won’t go back on them!”
Xue Li closed her eyes and made no response.