“I admit defeat,” Dark Blade looked at Xu Zimo with a dejected expression and said, “And thank you, brother, for sparing my life.”
“Your Sword Dao is not pure. You should think about that,” Xu Zimo waved his hand and said.
“Thank you for the guidance,” Dark Blade nodded and smiled bitterly. “Perhaps the honor I’ve enjoyed these past few years in Fury City made me lose my way.”
After using his final move, Dark Blade was completely drained of strength. In the end, the people from the arena had to carry him off.
Seeing Dark Blade defeated, the audience was unusually silent.
Upon hearing the news, Nu Shiwu personally arrived at the arena.
“My lord,” the arena referee quickly stepped forward to greet him.
Nu Shiwu waved his hand, stood near the viewing area, glanced at Xu Zimo from a distance, and smiled, “That young man?”
“Yes, he’s already won thirty matches. According to the rules, we must pay him fusion stones at thirty times the rate,” the referee quickly reported. “My lord, if he keeps winning, the more fusion stones he earns, the more we lose. We might end up paying out the arena’s entire annual earnings.”
“Why panic? The arena’s been open for thousands of years, we’ve seen it all,” Nu Shiwu snorted. “If he doesn’t know when to stop, everything he’s won will be taken back.”
“You mean to send someone from the thousand-tier to deal with him?” the referee asked cautiously.
“Strike the snake at its vital spot, make it a clean kill. Send someone from the ten-thousand-tier instead. No need for accidents,” Nu Shiwu said calmly.
“My lord, those old guys from the ten-thousand-tier are expensive,” the referee said hesitantly.
“Even so, it’s better than this. Besides, they still owe the House of Fury some face, they won’t ask too much,” Nu Shiwu waved his hand and sat down nearby.
…
Backstage in the waiting area, the disciples of the World Sovereign Empyrean Sect stared in shock as Xu Zimo dominated.
“Lin… Lin Junior Brother…” Fang Xiang stammered.
“Junior Brother Lin was really hiding his strength,” Liu Rufeng narrowed his eyes and said.
“But he’s a bit too flashy. ‘The tallest tree in the forest catches the wind.’ I’m afraid the House of Fury won’t let this slide.”
“Should we tell him to stop while he’s ahead?” Yin Rong asked.
“How? Unless we go on stage, and right now the House of Fury likely won’t send any more hundred-tier opponents,” Liu Rufeng shook his head. “Let’s wait and see.”
The arena fell into a brief silence again.
Then the underground door opened, and Elder Withered Bones walked out wearing a dark green robe.
“These young brats have been too wild lately,” Withered Bones said coldly. “I just killed one yesterday, and now here’s another one looking to die.”
“Well, well, what a coincidence,” Xu Zimo smiled.
“So you’re with them,” Withered Bones raised his eerie face to look at Xu Zimo.
“You want to avenge your comrade, little brat?”
“Revenge doesn’t matter. But if you block my path to a hundred wins, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” Xu Zimo said.
“You do have reason to be arrogant, but you’ve picked the wrong opponent,” Withered Bones sneered.
He raised his head, and a ghostly blue skull rose in his eyes. A shockwave surged toward Xu Zimo’s mind.
Xu Zimo had the Nine-Revolutions God-Tower Physique. Unless the Nine Towers were broken, no soul attack could threaten him.
Even without defending, this level of attack meant little to him.
When the soul shock hit, Xu Zimo stood calmly and unaffected.
“Not bad,” Withered Bones chuckled, twisting his head 360 degrees.
Then he raised both hands, and sharp white bones shot up from the ground.
The bones pierced the solid arena, each one nearly a meter long and razor-sharp, gleaming coldly.
They were densely packed, covering the entire stage.
Xu Zimo stepped into the air to avoid them, but surprisingly, they kept growing.
Each bone stretched tens of meters, forming a massive cage that enclosed him.
Withered Bones clenched his fist, and the bone cage began to contract.
“Little brat, there’s always someone better. Shame you had to learn that too late,” Withered Bones laughed.
“Sigh, how boring. I was expecting something new,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.
He unsheathed his long blade. With one strike, boom, the bone cage shattered entirely.
He then threw the blade toward Withered Bones.
“Bone Shield!” Withered Bones frowned slightly and waved his hand, summoning a bone shield in front of him.
With another loud bang, the shield cracked from the center. In his stunned gaze, the blade pierced into his body.
“This…” the referee beside the arena was alarmed.
“Don’t panic. No one from the ten-thousand-tier is simple,” Nu Shiwu said calmly.
Withered Bones looked at the blade in his abdomen and pulled it out.
Oddly, there was no blood.
“Can’t underestimate you,” Withered Bones said as he stood up. “But now you’ve pissed me off.”
He tossed the blade aside and let out a furious roar.
His skin and flesh began to peel off, and in just a moment, he became a skeleton.
The transformation was extreme, he went from a living man to a skeletal figure.
Most disturbingly, two wings sprouted from his back. With his roar, the stage trembled as if something massive were about to emerge.
Boom! The spiritforce from all around gathered toward the arena. As a giant head emerged from the ground, the wide arena split apart.
“Activate the barrier, and keep the spectators calm,” Nu Shiwu ordered.
The staff responded swiftly. A circular barrier enclosed the arena from the stands.
With Withered Bones now fully transformed, the beast beneath the arena revealed itself.
It was a centipede with eight tentacles, specifically, a white bone centipede.
Its body took up nearly half the arena. Its skeletal surface shimmered in seven different colors.
“It’s the Seven Venom Centipede!” someone in the crowd shouted in surprise.
“Something’s wrong. Why does the Seven Venom Centipede look like this?”
“That’s Withered Bones’s meridian beast. He mutated it into this form,” someone nearby explained.