Chapter 1909: Barbarian Beast Nine Transformations

After a while, Abulou got up and instructed Gu Sheng, who was still lying on the bed, "Good grandson, stay put. Grandpa will be right back!"

With that, his burly figure suddenly vanished.

Realizing Abulou had entered the battle arena, Gu Sheng began to wail, grimacing in extreme agony. However, the barbarian tribe's specially concocted medicinal wine, combined with their unique healing methods, indeed produced significant results. After only a short period of healing, his previous injuries already showed signs of improvement.

Abulou had said he would recover within three days, and it was not an empty boast.

But the thought of enduring such pain for three days made Gu Sheng feel utterly miserable.

He hated pain the most!

In the battle arena, Lu Ye and Abulou simultaneously appeared in the enclosed combat environment. As usual, Lu Ye looked up to check the arena number, then sent a message to Hetao.

Only then did he begin to size up his opponent for this match.

A quick glance confirmed the rumors: in terms of features, barbarians didn't differ much from humans; they were simply humans scaled up several times. Abulou's physique was immensely burly. A lifelike roaring tiger head was tattooed on his bare chest, exposed by his animal skin cloak, as he stood there nonchalantly picking his nose.

But Abulou's expression quickly froze, because he realized that this time, his challenger was not the familiar Tian Yan!

Who was this?

He widened his eyes to the size of brass bells, carefully scrutinizing Lu Ye's figure to confirm he had never seen this person before.

This was indeed strange. Although new challengers occasionally appeared in the Asura Arena, it was rare for someone to emerge so suddenly and reach this level.

Only then did he remember to check his Asura Token, because if Lu Ye challenged him, there would be a record of it in the token.

A moment later, Abulou revealed an expression of keen interest, because he found the opponent's combat record astonishingly impressive: over two hundred battles so far, with not a single defeat.

This undoubtedly meant one thing: this human was indeed a newcomer who hadn't been in the Asura Arena for long, and had advanced rapidly in the Moon-level battle arena, reaching the third position, thus earning the right to stand before him.

It was a pity he didn't know his name, as Lu Ye had hidden his name and origin in the battle arena. Abulou naturally couldn't see it; all he could see was Lu Ye's combat record.

Abulou's eyes brightened.

To be honest, Gu Sheng was indeed a very good opponent. Every time they clashed, Abulou had to give his all. But in such a vast Asura Arena, having only one opponent was a bit too dull.

Just like this time, he heard Gu Sheng was seriously injured and had to personally go heal him; otherwise, subsequent battles would be impossible.

If there were a few more opponents like Gu Sheng in the Asura Arena, why would he have to worry so much?

And this human blade cultivator in front of him, who could defeat Tian Yan, must have considerable strength!

The thirty seconds of preparation time quickly passed. The sparsely populated stands rapidly swelled with people. Clashes between the top-ranked fighters in the battle arena always drew much attention. With friends calling friends, the spectator stands were quickly filled.

The moment the forces restraining both sides suddenly vanished, two huge waves of air erupted beneath Lu Ye and Abulou's feet. Immediately, both rushed rapidly toward each other.

In the blink of an eye, they clashed.

Without any warning or preamble, Lu Ye swung his blade downwards, and Abulou raised his fist to meet it.

With a thunderous boom, the shattered magical energy from their collision swept in all directions, and the two figures instantly transformed from extreme motion to extreme stillness.

After only a moment of stalemate, both involuntarily leaned back, then their figures dropped again, and a second clash erupted.

Followed by a third, a fourth...

The spectators in the stands gasped in astonishment. Such a fierce and direct confrontation was rare in a cultivator's battle, especially one so evenly matched. Although the arena's barrier prevented spectators from truly experiencing the danger at the heart of the clash, merely observing the aftershocks of their struggle revealed that this was a confrontation at the peak of the Moon-level.

No one had ever been able to stand their ground against Abulou in a head-on confrontation like this.

Lu Ye's Pan Mountain Blade had become a blur, and Abulou's fists rained down blows. Strangely, despite such a terrifyingly intense exchange, neither of them moved an inch from their positions. Whether it was the burly Abulou or the comparatively smaller Lu Ye, their bodies seemed to be nailed to the spot.

"Hahahaha!" Amidst the fierce clash, Abulou couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. His laughter was filled with exhilarating satisfaction, as if a wild beast confined for countless years had suddenly broken free. His punches grew even more furious and astonishing.

What thrilled him immensely was that no matter how ferocious his fist attacks were, this human blade cultivator was actually able to withstand them.

After merely ten seconds of direct confrontation and countless clashes, the stalemated pair suddenly separated, drifting backward.

Standing still, Abulou's blood surged with vitality. He gazed at Lu Ye with burning eyes and shouted, "What a thrill! What a thrill! You're much stronger than that block of stone, Tian Yan. No wonder you could defeat him!"

In the stands, Tian Yan, who had received the news and come to watch the battle, immediately darkened his face. He almost couldn't resist cursing aloud: "Just fight your battle; why drag me into it? Did I provoke you?"

Abulou remained in his excited state: "It seems like the Asura Arena has gained another opponent from now on!"

And this was an opponent perfectly to his liking. In comparison, Gu Sheng was simply a pile of dung!

It wasn't that Gu Sheng lacked strength; it was because Gu Sheng was a magic cultivator. When he, a barbarian, fought Gu Sheng, Gu Sheng constantly jumped around, making him feel like he was chasing a rabbit. He simply couldn't experience the pure power clash and exhilarating pleasure he desired.

Suddenly, the smile on Abulou's face turned to wild enthusiasm, showing a true hunter's delight. With his vital energy surging, his already burly figure seemed to swell even further, and his eyes gleamed with fierce light. "Then let's both fully enjoy this battle!"

The moment he finished speaking, he charged at Lu Ye again.

Although he was large in build and, in terms of cultivation system, should belong to body cultivators, he possessed a swift speed that ordinary body cultivators simply did not have. This was the unique aspect of the barbarian tribe's cultivation system. Looking across the entire starry sky, there was no other place with such cultivators besides those from the Ancient Barbarian Realm.

As he charged, the lifelike tiger head on his chest suddenly glowed. At the same time, lines of patterns lit up all over his body, and his burly figure rapidly began to transform.

"Here it comes, the Nine Barbarian Beast Transformations!" an excited voice shouted from the stands. The speaker clearly had some knowledge of Abulou's background. The Nine Barbarian Beast Transformations he mentioned were indeed Abulou's secret barbarian technique and his reliance in battle.

Looking across this entire Moon-level battle arena, only two people could make him use the Nine Barbarian Beast Transformations: one was his archenemy Gu Sheng, and the other was Tian Yan.

However, Tian Yan was ultimately much weaker. Under normal circumstances, once Abulou employed this secret technique, Tian Yan would be defeated. This was a clear manifestation of the vast difference between the two Moon-level cultivators.

When Abulou first moved, he was still in human form. But as he charged, his flesh and bones rapidly shifted and transformed. By the time he reached Lu Ye, he had completely transformed into a monstrous, terrifying, black-and-white striped giant tiger, over five zhang long!

In ancient times, living beings didn't have advanced cultivation methods. To contend with the attacks of ancient beasts, the barbarian ancestors of the Ancient Barbarian Realm created the initial Barbarian Beast Transformations by observing the forms of those ancient beasts. The art of barbarian tattooing also became popular at that time, as performing Barbarian Beast Transformations required the aid of the tattooing art.

It was precisely because of the barbarian ancestors' extraordinary talent and ingenuity that the barbarian tribe was able to survive in the harsh ancient environment, passing down their legacy through generations to this day.

This was a secret technique exclusive to the barbarian tribe, difficult for cultivators of any other race to master.

"Roar!" The roar of the fierce tiger echoed, and visible ripples spread outwards, clearly more than just a loud sound.

Lu Ye, who bore the brunt of it, immediately noticed that this tiger roar had a soul-shaking effect.

He was very familiar with this. Amber also possessed such divine might. When he was weaker, fighting enemies alongside Amber, it was often Amber's roar that signaled the start of a battle.

He clearly felt his soul's defensive barrier being impacted, and then... nothing.

Such a soul-shaking roar would often have a miraculous effect if it encountered someone with weaker soul cultivation than the caster, but if it encountered someone with strong soul cultivation, then it was truly just a loud sound.

Lu Ye's soul cultivation had never been weak. From the very beginning of his cultivation, he had refined many treasures that enhanced soul power, which directly led to the birth of his Divine Sea when he was still in the True Lake realm.

Many years ago, he had even obtained the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus. This item had the effect of nourishing the soul. Even if Lu Ye did nothing, it was constantly nourishing Lu Ye's soul and strengthening his soul power.

Therefore, such a tiger roar was nothing more than a passing breeze to Lu Ye.

The tiger roar was merely a probing attack. The true killing blow followed immediately. The fierce tiger, transformed from Abulou, pounced downwards. Chilling light swirled around its two enormous, basin-sized claws. As it ferociously swung them down, it simultaneously opened its maw and bit at Lu Ye.

Its fanged maw gaped wide, and if one were truly caught in its bite, half their body would likely be gone.

At such a ferocious strike, countless cultivators in the stands held their breath. Yet Lu Ye remained motionless, holding his ground. As his long blade spun, the moment the fierce tiger pounced, a great sun suddenly burst forth.

That great sun was like a lotus flower, blooming layer by layer. Each petal was a blade-light of extreme ferocity, engulfing the tiger's form.

The tiger's roar echoed again, deafening. The blade-lotus rotated, its light dazzling, obscuring the scene of the struggle from view.

Among the spectators, Hetao was undoubtedly the most nervous.

At her master's urging, she had once again placed her bet on Lu Ye this time, and naturally, she was filled with trepidation.