Chapter 2421: Participation

The so-called Combat Arena was a massive, semi-circular building that, from the outside, resembled an ancient beast crouching on the ground. The three large characters for "Combat Arena" were emblazoned across the building's surface in a blood-red hue. Blood continuously trickled down from them, only to vanish into thin air, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Lu Ye had only glanced at the three blood-stained characters for a moment before he suddenly felt a wave of malevolent energy wash over him. Lowering his gaze slightly, Lu Ye looked towards the entrance. The group he had just seen had already entered, but people were still continuously streaming into the entrance. A beautiful female cultivator stood quietly by the door, and every cultivator entering the Combat Arena paused for a moment in front of her.

Lu Ye observed for a moment and then understood. Soon, he walked up to the female cultivator and, mimicking others, handed her a Dao Fish. He had seen earlier that entering the Combat Arena seemed to require an admission fee, which was not expensive—just one Dao Fish. One Dao Fish per person seemed negligible, but considering the immense daily flow of people through the Combat Arena, and that this was just one of many entrances, Lu Ye was secretly astonished. He wondered what powerful entity had established such a Combat Arena here, as the daily admission fees alone must yield an enormous profit.

"Is this your first time here, Fellow Daoist?" the female cultivator responsible for reception suddenly asked, looking up at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye frowned slightly. "How can you tell?" he asked. He believed his demeanor had been natural, leaving no clues.

The female cultivator smiled, her lips pressed together. "No need to be nervous, Fellow Daoist. It's just a rule of the Combat Arena that first-time visitors are assigned a special guide." As she spoke, she gestured, and a petite young woman stepped forward from the side. The female cultivator instructed, "Xiao Ning, this senior is a first-time visitor to the Combat Arena. Please assist him."

"Yes," the young woman, Xiao Ning, replied with a graceful bow, then respectfully said to Lu Ye, "Senior, please follow me."

Lu Ye blinked, feeling no fear, only a touch of curiosity about how the female cultivator had known it was his first visit to the Combat Arena. A moment later, Xiao Ning led Lu Ye into a private room and respectfully presented him with a jade token. "Senior, this is a Combat Token," she explained. "You can consider it an identification badge. Simply infuse it with your aura to activate it. With this token, Senior can participate in various activities within the Combat Arena."

Lu Ye now understood why the female cultivator had recognized him as a first-timer: previous visitors would already possess their own Combat Tokens. Lu Ye did not have one.

"What kind of activities are available in this Combat Arena?" Lu Ye asked curiously.

Xiao Ning was specifically assigned to this task, so she naturally began to explain everything to Lu Ye, meticulously and thoughtfully. The more she explained, the more astonished Lu Ye became. Within the Combat Arena, there seemed to be nothing impossible; it could fulfill both reasonable and unreasonable requests from cultivators. Although named after combat, its services extended far beyond. It even served as a brothel, with all service providers, male and female, being cultivators at the Integration Dao stage or even above, including Harmony Dao cultivators! Of course, the prerequisite was having enough Dao Fish.

Lu Ye couldn't suppress his curiosity. "Even Harmony Dao experts are reduced to selling themselves?"

Xiao Ning shook her head. "Under normal circumstances, Harmony Dao experts wouldn't fall to such a state. However, some are Harmony Dao cultivators trained by the Combat Arena itself, who possess the cultivation but aren't true Harmony Dao experts. Another portion are captives."

Lu Ye understood. Harmony Dao cultivators were not immune to being captured. Powerful individuals could capture suitable female cultivators and sell them here. Once confined to this place, Harmony Dao cultivators, no matter how strong their will or abilities, would be unable to exercise them and would eventually be forced to comply.

"Do you have any specific needs, honored guest?" Xiao Ning asked cautiously. "If so, I can arrange it."

"No, thank you," Lu Ye replied, shaking his head. Not only did he genuinely lack such needs, but even if he did, he didn't possess enough Dao Fish. An evening with a Harmony Dao expert would not come cheap.

"Your cultivation isn't high, is it?" Lu Ye asked, looking at Xiao Ning with some surprise. He sensed that her cultivation had not even reached the Insight Dao stage.

Xiao Ning understood what Lu Ye was implying and explained, "I was born in the Hehe Realm and have never left here."

Lu Ye nodded. No wonder she could live here; the Hehe Realm was beyond the reach of the Star Abyss's influence. As long as Xiao Ning remained within its confines, she would never face any danger.

"Does honored guest have any other needs?" Xiao Ning inquired.

Lu Ye shook his head. "You can go now."

Xiao Ning curtsied and turned to leave.

Lu Ye did not rush to leave, instead beginning to examine the Combat Token in his hand. After a considerable while, he finally rose and departed.

Arriving at an entrance, a chaotic vortex slowly spun before him. Stepping into this vortex would lead to the actual Combat Arena. However, there wasn't just one arena; there were many, categorized by Integration Dao and Harmony Dao levels, further divided into life-and-death duels and ordinary battles, and then into large, medium, and small zones. All of these could be accessed through this single entrance. To enter a specific Combat Arena, Lu Ye needed to use the Combat Token in his hand. He had no particular arena in mind, so he casually chose one and stepped into the vortex before him.

His vision blurred, and he found himself in a wide, semi-circular arena with an open space in the center that was sizable but not overly vast. This was an Integration Dao level Combat Arena, and such a space was naturally too small for Integration Dao cultivators to fully display their abilities. However, Lu Ye soon realized there was more to the seemingly modest open space; looking closely, it appeared to contain a miniature starry sky, clearly a fragment of the cosmos. The outer perimeter of the arena featured tiered spectator seating, capable of accommodating over ten thousand people.

At that moment, the spectator stands of this particular Combat Arena held around three to four thousand people scattered about. When Lu Ye entered, the battle had already begun. Within the miniature starry sky fragment in the arena, two figures were engaged in a fierce battle. From the spectator stands, it looked like two ants biting each other, but the cultivators at the Integration Dao stage possessed incredibly keen eyesight, allowing them to clearly discern every detail of the two combatants' clash.

Lu Ye had barely found a seat when the battle concluded. It ended with one party victorious and the other slain. This was a deathmatch arena, where the battle only concluded upon the death of one of the combatants. Lu Ye casually glanced, noticing that the victor also seemed heavily injured. A burst of light enveloped him, and he vanished into thin air. Cheers erupted from the spectator stands, while others groaned and sighed as if they had lost a parent. Lu Ye understood that most cultivators who came to watch placed bets, and the two vastly different emotional reactions among the spectators were a direct reflection of their wins and losses.

Shortly after, two white lights suddenly flared within the starry sky fragment, indicating that two more cultivators were about to begin a deathmatch. Lu Ye immediately checked his Combat Token. He quickly found general information about the two combatants through the token, such as their respective races, estimated cultivation levels, and the quality of their Dao weapons. It also listed the number of battles these two cultivators had participated in and won within the Combat Arena. All this information was provided by the Combat Arena, primarily to facilitate betting for the spectators.

Lu Ye also saw the betting odds, which were not fixed but constantly changing. When a greater number of bets were placed on one side, the odds for that side would naturally decrease, and vice versa. The Combat Arena was clearly using this method to maximize its earnings of Dao Fish. Yet, even though the betting cultivators were not fools and clearly understood this, few could resist, as the Combat Arena had seen too many instances of overnight riches. Everyone wanted to be that lucky individual.

The previous battle had been evenly matched, ending with a slight advantage for one side, but this current battle was a complete crushing defeat. One combatant was clearly much stronger than the other, gaining an absolute advantage from the start and ending the fight in less time than it takes to brew a cup of tea. Just like before, the cultivators in the spectator stands erupted with two distinctly contrasting emotions.

Lu Ye stayed for a while, watching a few more battles, before he squeezed the Combat Token in his hand. In moments, a female cultivator, dressed as a maidservant, approached Lu Ye, crouched slightly, and asked in a low voice, "How may I assist you, honored guest?"

Lu Ye turned to her. "I want to participate in a battle!"

The female cultivator showed no surprise; such requests were clearly common. She gestured with her hand, saying, "Please follow me." She then led the way.

Lu Ye followed her, and they soon exited the arena. A moment later, he was seated in a private room, facing a seemingly young man with a genial smile. The man questioned Lu Ye while meticulously recording various pieces of his information. This was a mandatory procedure before participating in a battle, as all the information Lu Ye had seen about the combatants on his Combat Token had been gathered this way.

Lu Ye concealed nothing, stating his name and cultivation level, as there was no need to hide such details. The young man quickly finished recording and told Lu Ye enthusiastically, "Please wait here for a moment, Fellow Daoist. Apart from keeping your Combat Token on your person, there are no other restrictions. We will arrange your participation in a battle shortly. I wish you good luck!"

Lu Ye's decision to participate in a battle personally was not a whim; rather, he intended to seize this opportunity to earn some Dao Fish. With his strength, he was virtually invincible among Integration Dao cultivators, so participating in battles at that level posed no risk. Furthermore, after each victory, he would receive some Dao Fish, which served as the currency of the inner realm. Although Lu Ye didn't need them currently, they would surely be useful in the future. Moreover, if he ever needed to replenish his Dao power in an area beyond the Star Abyss's influence, Dao Fish would be his only option. He had previously considered earning Dao Fish through betting, but his initial capital was limited, and such wagers involved too many unpredictable factors. The Combat Arena always held the dominant position; while individual cultivators might earn some if they were lucky in their gamble against the arena, the Combat Arena would never incur a loss.