20: Chapter 20 Two consecutive victories

Bang!

Li Canglan held his blade horizontally, and his Thunderbolt Slash tore through the air.

The sound of metal clashing rang throughout the Octagonal Cage.

The burly man wearing the Iron Bull mask felt as if he couldn't even grip the hilt of his sword.

His long blade was instantly knocked flying from his hand.

He looked down and saw that the webbing between his thumb and index finger was already seeping blood!

Without giving him a chance to be shocked,

Li Canglan kicked him squarely in the chest.

He felt a sharp pain in his chest, followed immediately by a sensation of flying through the clouds.

A harsh crashing sound rang out as Iron Bull was kicked against the fence of the Octagonal Cage, completely unable to fight back.

The audience watching this particular Octagonal Cage froze for a split second.

Then, they quickly erupted into a frenzy.

"Holy crap, is this a fixed match?"

"I just looked up to take a sip of water; what happened? How is it already over?"

"You're worried about water? I feel like I just blinked, and Iron Bull flew out the moment he rushed in."

"Are you telling me this is a rookie competing for the first time? He couldn't be aiming for the King of the Ring, could he?"

Iron Bull, who had slid down from the fence to the floor, took a few heavy breaths.

Facing the slender, masked man, he felt as though he had absolutely no room to resist.

Watching Ghost Reaper rush toward him, Iron Bull swallowed hard and steeled himself to meet the charge.

In the Duel Arena, unless one has lost the ability to win, one cannot easily admit defeat.

Because doing so would create suspicion of a fixed match.

Over time, the audience would refuse to place bets on his matches.

Once that happened, Iron Bull would lose this source of income!

In order to let his child become a Martial Artist, he could not admit defeat!

Even so, the audience below the stage could clearly see the gap in strength between the two.

Apart from a few gamblers holding onto false hope, they had basically already realized the reality of the situation.

A dozen breaths later, Iron Bull was kicked to the ground once again.

This time, he couldn't stand up before the countdown ended.

Boos erupted from the audience stands.

That is how the Duel Arena is; the winner takes all.

The loser is nothing.

Before leaving the stage, Iron Bull whispered a word of thanks to Li Canglan.

He could clearly feel that his opponent had held back.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so simple for him to leave the stage in one piece.

Li Canglan waved his hand, signaling him to rest well.

He came here both for money and to gain experience.

There was no enmity between them, so there was no need to go for a lethal strike.

"Ghost Reaper! Ghost Reaper!"

Some of the gamblers who had bet on Ghost Reaper to win began to cheer.

Betting small to win big; losing money was their norm.

But once they won, they would be raking it in!

Guan Zhenyue, sitting in the audience, smiled knowingly.

"Old He's eye for talent is truly as sharp as ever."

"Now it seems this will earn me some pocket money."

The battle concluded, and Li Canglan returned to the preparation room.

The payment for the fight had already reached him.

The three-thousand-dollar appearance fee wasn't even enough to buy a single bottle of Blood Tempering Agent.

He was still savoring the fight he had just had.

If that burly man with the Iron Bull mask was also in the Body Tempering Realm Late Stage, the gap in strength shouldn't have been that large.

After all, when they fought side-by-side back then, he felt that Uncle Dayong, while stronger than them, was only limitedly so.

Only after becoming a Martial Artist would a huge gap open up.

But the fact that Iron Bull had absolutely no power to fight back against him left Li Canglan slightly surprised.

"Could it be because of my talent?"

Li Canglan thought about it for a while and could only attribute everything to the Qi and blood that Gluttony Desire helped him increase, as well as his Body Tempering.

The effects were much stronger than those of other Martial Apprentices.

Otherwise, he couldn't find a reasonable explanation for this.

Because of Li Canglan's clean and efficient performance.

Many people in the audience were calling for him to continue fighting.

In the Duel Arena, the most common fights were between those in the Body Tempering Realm Late Stage and One-Star Warriors.

Higher-level Martial Artists could go into the wilderness to hunt Yao Beasts for resources, without needing to be watched by people here.

Those who were weaker lacked the strength to handle the battles in the Duel Arena.

Before Li Canglan could request an additional match, a staff member from the Duel Arena walked up.

"Ghost Reaper, there is a Martial Apprentice in the Body Tempering Realm Late Stage who hasn't been matched with an opponent yet. Would you be interested in entering the ring?"

Li Canglan put his thoughts aside. "Sure."

Winning three consecutive matches would earn him an extra reward.

Now, two more matches remained.

Before heading to the Octagonal Cage, Li Canglan took out all his savings.

Five thousand dollars to bet on himself to win.

He returned to the Octagonal Cage.

This time, his enemy was a short man with sharp eyes.

He didn't seem to have as much of an oppressive presence as Iron Bull, but he gave Li Canglan an uncomfortable feeling.

"Contestant, Ghost Reaper, one win, zero losses!"

"Phantom, five wins, five losses!"

The host's introduction confirmed Li Canglan's thoughts.

Five wins and five losses—the intensity was much higher than that of Iron Bull earlier.

The roars from the audience stands rose wave after wave.

However, battles were happening simultaneously in other Octagonal Cages, so not everyone's attention was focused on the cage Li Canglan was in.

"The duel begins!"

As the referee's words fell, the Martial Apprentice named Phantom curled the corners of his lips.

With a 'swish' sound, he crossed a distance of several meters.

A dagger flashing with a cold glint appeared in Phantom's hand, pointed straight at Li Canglan's chest.

Li Canglan stepped back slightly and drew his blade.

Thunderbolt Slash!

Violent thunder, mixed with the sound of tearing air, slashed down.

However, Phantom twisted his body at an eerie angle and actually dodged Li Canglan's Thunderbolt Slash!

"The weaknesses of this common Martial Skill are too obvious!"

Phantom taunted, hoping to use this to break Li Canglan's psychological defenses.

As a common Martial Skill, the power of Thunderbolt Slash was actually quite decent.

But this Martial Skill lacked flexibility.

Unless one reached the level of mastery, it was just a straight slash forward.

It was very easy for an enemy with sufficient speed to dodge it.

Li Canglan felt a jolt in his heart; he truly still had a lot of room for improvement.

However, he was not afraid in the slightest. He held his blade horizontally, perfectly blocking Phantom's attack.

However, unable to exert force in his haste, Li Canglan was jarred back a few steps.

"Damn, I bet on Ghost Reaper this time. He's not going to lose, is he?"

Some of the audience who had bet on Ghost Reaper to win panicked upon seeing this scene.

Phantom, pressing his advantage, continued to rush forward.

Li Canglan seemed not to have noticed Phantom's tactics and slashed down with his blade again.

Phantom sneered; this hot-headed tactic was already set.

There was no way to make a suitable response in such a short time.

He twisted his body, repeating the same trick.

However, just at that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

With a 'bang', Phantom was kicked flying directly.

"I will not fall in the same place twice!"

Li Canglan tapped his toes and caught up in two or three steps.

He grabbed Phantom's ankle and slammed him heavily onto the ground.

With a 'crack', it seemed two of Phantom's bones had broken.

"Phantom has lost the ability to fight; Ghost Reaper wins!"

As the referee's whistle blew, cheers erupted one after another from the audience stands.