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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
The massive arena contained a plethora of things as fluctuations of a Space protective array permeated the air. Both sides of the arena were filled with seats, and cultivators excitedly came from all corners of the world, gazing at the battle arena, creating an atmosphere of great exhilaration.
Though a unique barrier separated the seats, it was practically non-existent to the high-level cultivators, and they could see whatever their surrounding cultivators were doing. That said, simply doing so could easily be seen as a sign of provocation by some old monsters. Hence, no cultivator would be stupid enough to get themselves in trouble.
Meanwhile, the person in charge of the arena welcomed Gu Changge personally after hearing he had shown up. He provided the young man with the best private box, allowing him a panoramic view of the entire arena.
The private box was filled with a clear radiance and the aroma of tea, and many beautiful maid servants came in with refreshments and sparkling spirit fruits and delicacies.
Many prominent figures, too, pretended to unintentionally approach Gu Changge, wanting to find out his purpose for visiting the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. To them, Gu Changge’s every action possessed extraordinary significance, and they needed to carefully and meticulously analyse everything.
“In a while, the person in charge here will open the entrances on both sides of the arena and release the condemned or guilty prisoners, making them battle each other down there. Sometimes, he will introduce the backgrounds and general strengths of the two fighters to the audience so that they can place bets. Upper Realm Forces could even offer a price to directly buy these condemned or guilty prisoners. As for those participating in these battles, most of them do it for their opponents’ points.” Celestial Mist lingered in the elegant room, and curtains were used to provide some privacy. While Gu Changge sat incredibly leisurely behind the curtain and blew the steam lightly off the jade teacup in his hand, Ah Qing gazed at the battle arena below while explaining to him.
After asking the person in charge for the participant list of the night, she continued, “There’s a Point Exchange Centre behind halls like the Vermilion Bird Hall, Azure Dragon Hall, and White Tiger Hall that specialises in exchanging various divine powers and techniques for points. Many cultivators will try their luck here because they can find many ancient forbidden techniques and scriptures that have been lost to the outside world. They might be able to exchange them for supreme scriptures or techniques.”
The Great War of Hundred Worlds had yet to begin. Therefore, even if many Lower Realm young prodigies shows up, they wouldn’t be participating in the battle either. They only came in advance to experience the harsh environment.
[Are the headquarters of Neraka and Pagoda really hidden here?] Alas, a different thought popped into Gu Changge’s head after he heard Ah Qing’s introduction.
In fact, he had come to the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds to find the headquarters of Neraka and Pagoda, to wipe them out for good. As for what would happen to the Lower Realm, it wasn’t something he needed to bother himself with.
“Young Master Gu, this is the list of all the cultivators who will be fighting tonight. Some of them are condemned prisoners from Vermilion Bird Hall, while others are outside-world young prodigies who came here seeking training,” Ah Qing explained as she handed the jade scroll with the list of names to Gu Changge.
The Battlefield of Hundred Worlds was vast, and the cultivators there came from all walks of life. Although Ah Qing was an important Young Lady of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants, she couldn’t guarantee that the name list she had was complete. Hence, Gu Change put it down after taking a rough glance.
Relying solely on this list wasn’t enough for him to determine the location of Neraka and Pagoda, let alone find their contact points and headquarters. The difficulty was tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack.
[Perhaps I need to try a different approach,] Gu Changge frowned and suddenly thought of another possibility. [If Neraka and Pagoda are smart, they should be wary of my intentions and not reveal anything. It’s likely I won’t find anything if I snoop around at this time.]
In recent years, the rise of the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion has been unstoppable, and the two ancient assassin guilds were eager to remove it as they long regarded it as a pain in the neck. Therefore, they must have investigated the origins of the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion and even found a way to infiltrate it.
The Alliance of Thousand Merchants had been in close contact with the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion recently. No doubt the Masters of Neraka and Pagoda would suspect the two had allied. Plus, there were too many of his fingerprint in the Alliance of Thousand Merchants.
[Actually, Neraka and Pagoda must have already realised from the moment I showed up here… Over-investigating will only backfire, so why not go with the flow and take a different approach instead?] Gu Changge shook his head lightly and sighed inwardly.
A loophole he hadn’t noticed hit him just then, and now that it occurred to him, he realised he had oversimplified the situation. After all, Neraka and Pagoda naturally had their own ways of surviving when they could evade the countless avenging Forces for aeons.
Alas, he had over underestimated the two Forces and had descended onto this place so audaciously, ignoring the very fundamental cautiousness when one wishes to survive.
Take Neraka, for example. It was said that there were ten palaces, and each palace was responsible for the assassination and underhand dealings in the various lands of the Upper Realm.
Thirty million years ago, the Lord of the First Palace of the Neraka, King Qinguang, suffered serious injuries from being attacked by a powerful enemy and died. Because of that incident, the First Palace of Neraka almost fell apart. Even the high-level officials who controlled life and death in the First Palace, such as the judges, Old Lady Meng, and Heibai Wuchang, were killed by the other palaces of Neraka.
It was then the various Upper Realm Forces realised that the Neraka was not a solid entity internally but was rather divided.
Of course, Gu Changge learned about the incident from an ancient record in the Gu Family.
Later, it was said that the Lord of Neraka re-established rules and regulations and rebuilt the First Palace. After all, even King Qinguang was personally selected from among his disciples.
After thirty million years, if King Qinguang had not died and the First Palace of Neraka hadn’t changed hands, King Qinguang may have far surpassed the cultivation base of ordinary True Daoist. Thus, it could be concluded that the powers of the Lords of each Palace were even more unfathomable then him, not to mention the Lord of Neraka, who had never changed.
[The Lord of the Neraka had lived for aeons. A character like that would never act recklessly. Anything that will affect his plans will surely not go unnoticed by him.] Gu Changge put down his cup, feeling a sudden increase of interest. He had underestimated the Lord of the Neraka, and now it seemed that the latter had already tightened his grip on the situation within the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds.
If he really wanted to get to the bottom of things, it would be difficult to solve it before the wedding.
[Since all the Forces are guessing my purpose of coming here, let’s play a game between us.] Gu Changge smiled suddenly as he gazed out to the battle arena.
The fences on both sides, made of special divine gold, drew up, and then two figures walked onto the arena under the gaze of the audience, commencing the gruesome battle.
Everyone in the audience watched the battle closely. Some appeared excited and bloodthirsty, while others appeared worried, each with their own emotions.
As the host announced the rules and the background of both parties in the arena, the fight finally began.
Brilliant and dazzling radiance filled the arena, with complex and intricate formations spreading out like forbidden spells, instantly sealing off the surrounding void.
Various terrifying moves clashed, with divine fire and Sword Qi tearing through the air while blood mist filled the space, creating a terrifying and frightening scene.
If not for the powerful arrays inscribed in this place, the mere shockwaves caused by the battle would’ve been enough to destroy the entire area. Though, this was only to be expected. After all, the cultivators who dared to step into this arena were no ordinary individuals. At least, it was difficult to find opponents of the same level.
The two of them fought for hundreds of rounds, with each side attacking and defending brutally.
One of them was even torn apart, with blood gushing out like a spring, but he remained calm and continued to fight his opponent.
The shocking and brutal scene startled many first-time visitors, and they reeled in the shock for quite some time.
Meanwhile, the organisers were also placing bets in front of the crowd.
Large piles of Spiritual Stones, Sacred Herbs, and even secret manuals were placed on the betting table, shining brightly and dazzlingly, making many cultivators’ eyes turn red with anticipation.
It wasn’t just about the well-being of the two battling out in the arena. To them, it was also indescribable fortune.
“To think these two fighters are so strong. Usually, they would’ve been in the finale.”
“Do you suppose the owner of the arena pushed them out in advance because Young Master Gu is here?”
Many big names furrowed their brows lightly as they watched the gruesome fight going on in the arena.
They were considerably regulars and had long gotten used to the brutality that could happen. Still, in their opinion, fights like these were typically held in the finals, yet it had been arranged as the first match of the day. This made them wonder if Gu Changge had come to the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds to select condemned prisoners.
“Is this the kind of battle we will be facing?” The group from the Blue Flood Ancient World looked at the terrifying battle in the arena, their expressions somewhat dazed and unbelieving.
Many people quietly gulped before they could calm down.
They would have zero chances of survival if this was the level of battle they would be facing, let alone leave their names on the ranking board or obtain this Realm’s Fortuity.
It was simply unrealistic.
At that moment, they even wanted to give up just like that and return to their home world. The Upper Realm was too terrifying and too cruel. It was no place for narrow-minded people like them!
“This is exactly the kind of tempering I need to become even stronger.” Unlike the others, who were fearful, Lu Ming, who had mostly recovered, was full of fighting spirit as he clenched his fists.
He thought about many things, and the reason he was insulted and bullied before was that he was too weak. So how could he easily give up on a chance that would challenge him?!
“Junior Sister Xue Yan…” Many thoughts surged in his head, and Lu Ming couldn’t help looking towards Xue Yan, who still seemed somewhat distracted.
Xue Yan had been absent-minded since she had been rescued. She seemed to be riddled with worries, and Lu Ming knew it had to do with the big shot named Gu Changge.
They had learned many things about Gu Changge from the man in a scholarly robe, and it would be a lie to say that they weren’t shocked. In fact, they still had goosebumps.
Lu Ming also came to realise why the haughty and overbearing disciples of the Ancient Royal Clans would behave differently in the end. Gu Changge was a character that stood on the apex of the Upper Realm. He could decide the birth and destruction of worlds and change the fate of the Upper Realm.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that his one decision was enough to destroy the Blue Flood Ancient World countless times. Yet someone like Gu Changge crossed paths with them of all people and even spoke a few words to Xue Yan.
This is simply unimaginable, like a dream.
One should know that the man in a scholar robe snubbed them and acted condescending before Gu Changge showed up. But now, he was sucking up to Xue Yan at every chance he got. Not only him, but even the big shots in the Vermilion Bird Hall gave Xue Yan many treasures to show their goodwill.
The news here had been transmitted back to their base, and he believed the Elders were already on their way here. It was ecstatic news.
“Senior Brother Lu Ming, were you calling me just now?” Xue Yan came to herself when she heard Lu Ming calling her.
Actually, everything still felt somewhat surreal to her, even at this point. Even when she was a prodigal damsel adored by many and also the daughter of a Sect Master, it didn’t stop her from thinking everything that had happened was absolutely surreal.
“Xue Yan, you…” Lu Ming was somewhat befuddled, then a bitter smile appeared on his lips, and he eventually fell silent. He had many things he wanted to say, but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything all of a sudden.
It seemed that there was an infinite distance between him and Xue Yan right now, and they were no longer as familiar as they used to be.
“Lady Xue Yan, listen to me. Since Gu Changge has noticed you, you must find a way to get close to him. It will give you, your Sect, and even your home world endless benefits. In fact, you don’t even have to enter the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds to get this Realm’s Fortuity. It’s that easy!” The man in a scholar robe continued to suck up to Xue Yan with a fawning smile, having never noticed the change in Lu Ming’s expression.
However, Lu Ming unknowingly clenched his fists after hearing the man’s words. [Who does he think Xue Yan is?! Is he telling her to suck up to that man!?]
Soon, the first battle came to an end, with the victor claiming all the loser’s points and the loser met with his demise.
Meanwhile, another pair of condemned prisoners appeared behind the fence for the next match, and the cycle continued.
Gu Changge watched until the fourth match before shaking his head in disappointment and leaving. The onlookers who had been watching him closely were also taken aback, for they had assumed the man had come to select something.
Thanks for the chapter)