89: Asura Armor! Combine!

She leaned against the doorframe and said lazily, "Kid, which planar rift did you fall out of? That scent of a higher plane on you can be smelled from miles away."

Lin Fan looked at her and didn't speak.

Sister Hong didn't care either, continuing, "My name is Red Diamond, the owner of this Blood Thorn Tavern. Your two female companions are still unconscious, but their injuries have stabilized; they won't die."

"Why save us?" Lin Fan finally spoke, his voice somewhat raspy.

"Save people?" Red Diamond laughed, her smile charming yet carrying a hint of mockery. "In a hellish place like the Blood Prison Battlefield, there are no kind-hearted people. I saved you because you might have some value."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Fan. "Especially you. To be able to recover so quickly after being injured like that, you must have quite a few secrets, don't you?"

Lin Fan neither denied nor admitted it.

"What do you want?"

"Simple." Red Diamond held up one finger. "First, tell me everything about how you fell into the Blood Prison Battlefield, who you offended, and what kind of trouble you're carrying."

"Second, after your injuries are healed, either work for me to pay off the debt—though the Blood Scab Ointment I used on you is the lowest grade, it's still worth ten Low Grade Blood Crystals. Or..."

A cold light flashed in her eyes:

"Be sent to the Blood Arena and fight a hundred life-and-death matches. Then the debt will be wiped clean."

Blood Arena? Life-and-death matches?

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes.

"And if I say no?"

Red Diamond's movement of playing with her dagger paused.

She slowly stood up straight, and the Aura of a Martial Ancestor Middle Stage faintly emanated from her. Although not strong, it carried a bloody Evil Qi forged from slaughtering through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Kid, I advise you not to be ungrateful."

"The Blood Prison Battlefield isn't like those peaceful planes of yours; people die here every moment. A rookie like you who just fell in won't last three days without a local leading you."

She pointed outside the stone room:

"Outside, there are eighty if not a hundred desperate outlaws who want to trade your heads for Blood Crystals. I can protect you because I, Red Diamond, still have some Face in this neighborhood."

"But Face is something given mutually."

Red Diamond stared at Lin Fan:

"Give me a reason not to throw you out."

Lin Fan was silent for a moment.

Then, he suddenly smiled.

He raised his right hand, palm upward.

"A reason?"

"Is this enough?"

Buzz!!!

A full-body armor phantom image, dark purple and covered in ferocious barbs with a helmet resembling a roaring demon, slowly emerged above his palm!

Even though it was just a phantom image, that domineering and ferocious terror of Evil Qi, as if coming from the depths of Hell, instantly filled the entire stone room!

Red Diamond's pupils contracted sharply. She retreated three steps, and the dagger in her hand almost slipped!

"This... this is..."

"Heaven-tier Battle Armor?!" she cried out in loss of voice.

Lin Fan withdrew the armor phantom image and said indifferently:

"Now, can we talk?"

Red Diamond's expression shifted. She stared at Lin Fan for a full ten seconds before finally taking a deep breath and restraining all her Aura.

"You win."

She turned and walked toward the outside of the stone room.

"Follow me, I'll show you something."

...The main hall of the Blood Thorn Tavern.

Calling it a tavern, it was actually more like an underground black market stronghold.

Rough stone tables and chairs, various ferocious beast heads and weapons hanging on the walls, and dozens of fierce-looking Martial Artists in worn leather armor were drinking, gambling, and exchanging information.

Seeing Red Diamond lead Lin Fan out, many people cast curious or greedy glances.

Red Diamond ignored them and led Lin Fan to a stone wall at the deepest part of the tavern.

She pressed a few times on the wall, and the stone wall slowly moved aside, revealing a downward staircase behind it.

At the end of the stairs was a spacious basement.

The basement was piled with various supplies—weapons, armor, medicinal herbs, Ore, and even several corpses of powerful foreign races.

And in the corner, there was a huge iron cage.

Inside the iron cage was a pitch-black beast with wings on its back, a single horn on its head, and a ferocious Aura.

Nightmare Beast!

And it was an adult Rank Four Nightmare Beast, equivalent to a human Martial Ancestor Early-stage!

At this moment, this Nightmare Beast was pacing anxiously in the cage, its crimson eyes staring fixedly at the two people who entered, letting out low, threatening growls.

"This is a Nightmare Race predator caught just yesterday." Red Diamond pointed at the iron cage. "Tonight's appetizer at the Blood Arena, with a bounty of five hundred Low Grade Blood Crystals."

She turned to look at Lin Fan:

"That set of battle armor of yours just now is very strong, but I can feel that your own strength is only at Peak Martial Master; you won't be able to wield it for long."

"So, I'll give you a chance."

Red Diamond took out a pitch-black metal card from her bosom and threw it to Lin Fan.

"This is a Deathmatch Invitation for the Blood Arena."

"Tonight, take that armor and go down for a fight."

"If you win, the five hundred Blood Crystals are yours, the debt for the three of you is wiped clean, and I, Red Diamond, will consider you a friend. In the future, I'll cover for you in the Blood Prison Battlefield."

"If you lose..."

She paused, her tone flat:

"You will die in that cage, your armor will be mine, and your two female companions... I will sell them for a good price."

Lin Fan took the invitation, looked at the anxious Nightmare Beast in the iron cage, and then at the pitch-black card in his hand.

He suddenly laughed.

"Just this?"

He looked up at Red Diamond, his eyes showing no fear at all, but instead full of eager excitement.

"Five hundred Blood Crystals is too little."

"Add one more condition!"

Lin Fan grinned, revealing pearly white teeth:

"If I win, this tavern of yours will have to listen to me from now on."

Red Diamond's pupils shrunk slightly.

"Kid, do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know." Lin Fan played with the invitation. "This tavern of yours has a good location and connections, but the scale is too small."

He looked at Red Diamond, a cold and domineering golden light flashing in his eyes:

"Follow me, and I'll show you..."

"What true scale looks like."

Red Diamond stared fixedly at Lin Fan for a long time, then suddenly threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"Hahahaha! Fine! Arrogant enough!"

"Deal! This old lady will bet with you!"

"At the Blood Arena tonight, if you win, this old lady will follow you from now on!"

"But if you lose..."

A ruthless look flashed in her eyes:

"I will personally hang your head at the entrance of the tavern."

Lin Fan put away the invitation and turned to walk out.

"Prepare good wine."

"Wait for me to return and celebrate your gaining a new boss."

[Ding! Betting with Red Diamond, domineering Aura revealed, prestige value +3000!]

[Current prestige value: 79,570 points!]

...Night, Blood Arena.

The circular underground coliseum was large enough to hold thousands of people.

At this moment, the spectator stands were filled with all kinds of Martial Artists, foreign races, and even a few mysterious creatures with eerie Auras.

The air was thick with the smell of blood, fanaticism, and money.

"Next match! Fresh goods—a Human Race kid from an unknown plane, challenging a Rank Four Nightmare Predator!"

The host's roar spread throughout the arena via a sound-amplifying Formation.

"Odds: 1.2 to 1 for the Nightmare Beast, 10 to 1 for the Human Race kid! Place your bets! Place your bets!"

The spectator stands erupted in laughter.

"Human Race? Which corner of the world did this rookie fall out of?"

"A Nightmare Predator, that's a ferocious beast capable of solo-killing a Martial Ancestor Early-stage. This Human Race kid is dead meat!"

"I bet on the Nightmare Beast! Five hundred Blood Crystals!"

"I'm betting on the Nightmare Beast too!"

Almost no one favored Lin Fan.

The iron gate of the coliseum slowly rose.

Lin Fan entered the arena alone, walking slowly.

He wore ordinary black martial arts attire, and no powerful Aura emanated from him. He looked like a little lamb that had wandered into a wolf pack.

The iron cage opposite opened.

That Rank Four Nightmare Beast growled as it stepped out, its crimson eyes locking onto Lin Fan as saliva dripped from its fangs.

"Begin!!!"

The host gave the order.

The Nightmare Beast turned into a black afterimage, pouncing in front of Lin Fan in an instant, its sharp claws tearing through the air, aiming straight for his throat!

The spectator stands were already filled with excited howls, as if they could already see the scene of Lin Fan being torn to shreds.

However.

Lin Fan simply raised his right hand.

With his five fingers spread, facing the pouncing Nightmare Beast, he softly uttered two words:

"asura armor!"

"Fit!!!"