141: Fighting Tournament, the Sealed Challenger

The “display of power” incident, full of dominance and crushing force, finally concluded with City Lord City Lord’s ashen face, forced to squeeze out a smile, personally raising his wine glass to “apologize.”

The atmosphere of the banquet became incredibly strange because of this. All the local forces of Guixu City looked at Lin Tian’s main table with undisguised awe and… fear.

They finally understood that this “fierce Dragon” crossing the river was far more terrifying than they had imagined.

After the banquet, to further curry favor with this “ancestor” he absolutely could not offend, City Lord City Lord proactively introduced Lin Tian to the true characteristics of Guixu City.

“Your Highness Lin Tian, our Guixu City is located on the edge of the forbidden zone, with a fierce populace that most reveres absolute strength.” City Lord’s posture was extremely humble, even showing a hint of flattery, “Therefore, the biggest and most popular grand event in the city is the ‘Martial Arts Tournament’ held daily.”

“Martial Arts Tournament?” Lin Tian’s eyebrows slightly raised.

“Yes,” City Lord quickly explained, “It’s an existence similar to ancient Roman gladiatorial arenas, except our ‘gladiators’ are powerful exotic beasts captured from the Eye of Guixu, or powerful Martial Artists who have offended top forces and been relegated to combat slaves.”

“Everyone who comes to Guixu City can participate by betting or personally entering the arena to challenge. And to welcome the full opening of the Eye of Guixu, tonight’s Martial Arts Tournament is grander than ever before. The ultimate winner can not only obtain a massive amount of Cultivation resources from the bets of various forces but also receive a ‘Platinum Pass’ jointly issued by the City Lord’s Mansion, the Iron Arm Merchant Guild, and the Mercenary Guild… to enter the core area of the Eye of Guixu!”

“Platinum Pass?” This term finally sparked a genuine interest in Lin Tian… Under the night sky, Guixu City was even more dazzling and wild than during the day. Countless neon lights and holographic projections adorned this steel metropolis suspended above an bottomless abyss, making it resemble a bizarre, magical world.

In the center of the city, a circular building resembling a giant bird’s nest, with an area comparable to a small stadium, was the venue for the Martial Arts Tournament.

When Lin Tian led his team through the City Lord’s Mansion’s exclusive VIP channel to the highest viewing platform, like an ancient Roman emperor’s box, he was instantly engulfed by the fervent cheers that roared like a mountain and a tsunami from below.

The entire Martial Arts Arena was packed. Hundreds of thousands of Martial Artists, mercenaries, and wealthy individuals from all over the world were waving their arms, shouting themselves hoarse to cheer for the “gladiators” they had bet on.

In the center of the arena was a massive alloy gladiatorial stage with a diameter of over a thousand meters. At this moment, an S-rank Hell Three-Headed Hound, with a body like an armored vehicle and covered in dark scales, was engaged in the most primitive and bloody combat with an S-rank combat slave wielding a great axe. Each collision erupted in earth-shshattering roars, and the splashing blood and shattered limbs intensified the wild and cruel atmosphere of the scene to its extreme.

Lin Tian merely glanced at it casually and lost interest.

His gaze fell on the front row of the audience. There, he saw quite a few “old acquaintances.”

Arthur, the Saint of the European “Holy Temple,” those few Prodigies from the African “Beast King Hall,” and even some young powerhouses from other continents whom he had defeated with a single move at The Peak of the Forbidden City.

Clearly, this “Platinum Pass” held a fatal attraction for everyone who came to explore the Eye of Guixu.

Just then, the battle in the arena concluded. The combat slave wielding the great axe, at the cost of an arm, successfully severed all three heads of the Hell Three-Headed Hound, winning the final victory.

The entire arena erupted in thunderous cheers!

“‘Mad Axe’! ‘Mad Axe’! ‘Mad Axe’!”

“It’s the tenth match! ‘Mad Axe’ has won ten consecutive matches! He is definitely the strongest dark horse tonight!”

Countless gamblers who had bet on him went wild. On the holographic projection, the odds of him winning were rapidly decreasing.

Long Qingtian looked at the burly figure in the arena, bathed in blood and cheers, roaring with his great axe raised, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “What a powerful Physical Body, what a dominant axe technique. This person’s strength is probably no less than that of a typical S-rank Peak powerhouse.”

However, Lin Tian, hearing this, merely shook his head dismissively.

He picked up the red wine Qin Yubing handed him, took a light sip, and with a tone full of absolute disdain, commented faintly:

“All show and no substance.”

“His strength, his Foundation is unstable; it’s clearly been forcibly boosted by special drugs. His potential is exhausted; he’s just a slightly stronger… piece of trash.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Long Qingtian and the others felt a chill in their hearts and dared not say more. They knew that their master’s vision had long surpassed their comprehension.

Lin Tian’s gaze did not linger for even a second on the “popular gladiator” who was the focus of everyone’s attention in the arena.

His deep eyes, as if capable of seeing through all illusions, pierced through layers of iron cages and Restrictions, finally locking onto the deepest, darkest, and most inconspicuous corner of the gladiatorial arena.

A man was imprisoned there.

A mysterious man, thin, in ragged clothes, bound by dozens of special alloy chains engraved with Seal runes, and wearing a special collar around his neck that glowed with a dangerous red light, clearly designed to suppress genetic power.

He was quietly curled up in the corner, his aura as faint as a candle in the wind, as if he would die the next second.

But Lin Tian, on him, felt a terrifying power, suppressed in the deepest part, like a dormant volcano, capable of making heaven and earth change color!

…After several bloody and boring “preliminary matches,” the host’s inflammatory voice, amplified by the sound-amplifying array, resounded throughout the arena.

“Ladies! Gentlemen! Next, will be the final segment of tonight’s Martial Arts Tournament!”

“And it is the… grand finale we have prepared for you all!”

Accompanying his suspenseful words, the huge iron cage in the deepest part of the gladiatorial arena, holding the mysterious man, was slowly pushed to the center of the gladiatorial stage.

“He is the ‘trophy’ that our City Lord’s Mansion’s hunting team, half a month ago, risking total annihilation in the deepest part of the Eye of Guixu, fortunately captured!”

“We don’t know who he is, we don’t know his origin, we don’t even know his strength!”

“We only know that he is very dangerous! So dangerous that we had to use the top-tier ‘gene inhibitors’ and ‘Law chains’ to barely contain him!”

The host’s words successfully piqued everyone’s curiosity.

Just then, the heavily sealed mysterious man, as if sensing the countless probing gazes from outside, slowly raised his head.

Although he wore a metal mask that obscured all his features, the moment he raised his head, an extremely subtle, yet incredibly pure, incredibly noble, and even more ancient and powerful than Simba’s Bloodline… “Primordial Divine Beast” aura flashed from him!

This aura was imperceptible to ordinary people.

But Lin Tian, and the Golden Lion Simba who was feigning sleep at his feet, caught it at the same time!

For the first time, a truly interested, brilliant gleam erupted in Lin Tian’s eyes!

And Simba at his feet instantly bristled! He suddenly stood up from the ground, his golden fur standing on end, and let out an unprecedented, low roar towards the direction of the iron cage, a roar mixed with extreme awe and extreme… hostility!

As if he had encountered his destined… natural enemy in his Bloodline!