Chapter 2423: Death Match

Lu Ye waited for less than a quarter of an hour in the secret chamber when his Battle Token suddenly vibrated slightly. He picked it up to check and then stood up, heading outside.

Soon, he stood before the vortex entrance again. Without hesitation, he stepped in.

The world spun around him, and when he regained his senses, he found himself inside a celestial fragment.

He looked around but found nothing. However, he knew that many cultivators were watching the battle from a certain arena; just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they couldn't see him.

Before he entered, all his previously recorded information had already been transmitted via his Battle Token to these spectators, as had the information of his as-yet-unseen opponent, to facilitate betting.

Suddenly, a violent surge of power emanated from his side. Lu Ye quickly turned to look and saw a vibrant, multi-colored tide of spells converging and sweeping towards him.

His unseen opponent clearly had no intention of getting acquainted with Lu Ye, only planning to ambush him and catch him off guard.

The moment his opponent made a move, Lu Ye pinpointed his location.

He darted forward, charging directly into the tide of spells. His long saber flashed as it left its scabbard, and under its brilliant gleam, spell after spell was extinguished.

As Lu Ye, with an unstoppable momentum, surged through the magical tide, its original vibrant colors shattered completely.

Not far away, a robed cultivator stared in astonishment at the rapidly approaching Lu Ye.

Initially, he had been pleased to see Lu Ye not evading his spells, only to realize at this moment that he had rejoiced too soon.

In the brief moment he was stunned, it was already too late for him to widen the distance from Lu Ye.

Three breaths later, Lu Ye's long saber pierced through the opponent's protective spiritual energy and entered his body. Just as blood splattered, the cultivator's figure suddenly vanished.

The battle Lu Ye participated in was a "Life Battle," where both combatants could withdraw from the arena at any time.

It was fortunate he withdrew in time; a moment later, he wouldn't have been able to retreat.

Life Battles don't guarantee zero casualties; some unlucky individuals still die on the spot, even when participating in them.

Lu Ye actually didn't want to participate in Life Battles because the Dao Fish earned were far less than in Death Battles. However, the arena had its own rules: cultivators like Lu Ye, participating for the first time, had to complete ten Life Battles and win at least six of them to qualify for Death Battles.

If they didn't meet the qualification in the first ten matches, they would have to continue into the next set of ten.

Since there were rules, Lu Ye naturally had to abide by them.

After defeating his first opponent, Lu Ye didn't leave. Instead, he stood his ground, took out his Battle Token, and signaled his intention to continue fighting.

This way, he could wait in this celestial fragment, and the arena would arrange other opponents for him, saving him the trouble of leaving and re-entering.

His Battle Token also contained some information about Lu Ye, but at this moment, Lu Ye noticed an additional piece of information that wasn't there before.

Dao Jade: Fifty.

A win in a Life Battle yielded fifty Dao Fish, which amounted to five hundred Dao Power.

The Dao Power Lu Ye consumed in his recent battle with the cultivator was naturally less than that amount, but that was because he defeated his enemy very quickly.

If it had been a battle between evenly matched opponents, and the fight had dragged on, the consumed Dao Power would certainly have exceeded five hundred.

From this perspective alone, the consumption and income were disproportionate; often, participating in arena battles was a losing venture.

However, from another perspective, a cultivator's Dao Power could be gained through arduous cultivation, whereas Dao Fish served as a common currency for various transactions. Therefore, only considering the consumption and acquisition of Dao Power held little significance.

Even with the knowledge that more Dao Power would be consumed, it didn't deter cultivators' enthusiasm for participating in battles.

But what was this "Dao Jade"? Yuan Xi had told him it was "Dao Fish," yet his Battle Token recorded it as "Dao Jade."

Lu Ye speculated they were likely just two different names for the same thing, as they sounded similar enough.

He didn't wait long. The sheer number of cultivators entering and exiting the arena daily was immense, and many, like Lu Ye, actively sought battles, making it relatively easy for the arena to arrange opponents.

When Lu Ye sensed a sign of life appearing in the distance, he knew his next opponent had entered the arena.

Without hesitation, he immediately concealed his aura and dashed towards that direction.

Perhaps he concealed himself too well, or perhaps his opponent's senses weren't as sharp, for when Lu Ye aggressively appeared before her eyes, she was visibly stunned.

It was a female cultivator.

The moment she saw Lu Ye, she didn't think of attacking or defending. Instead, she turned and fled, panicking like a startled rabbit.

As she ran, she shouted, "Wait, fellow cultivator, how about we chat for a bit? This is my first time participating in a battle, and there's a lot I don't understand."

Lu Ye had no time for pleasantries. He needed to quickly complete ten Life Battles and then move on to the Death Arena to earn Dao Fish, so his speed suddenly increased even further.

Seeing that she couldn't shake off Lu Ye, the female cultivator became both frustrated and anxious. She gritted her teeth, turned around, and cried out, "I'll fight you to the death!"

Raising her hand, she unleashed her Dao Weapon and charged towards Lu Ye.

After a momentary clash, the female cultivator's panicked mind relaxed slightly. "So you're not that powerful after all," she muttered.

She could feel that Lu Ye's strength was only slightly greater than her own. She had been so embarrassed by her panicked escape earlier, but if her opponent was only this strong, then she wasn't without a chance.

However, no sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the power that had been only slightly stronger than hers rapidly escalated, quickly reaching a level that completely overwhelmed her.

The female cultivator's expression changed drastically. Without further hesitation, she quickly withdrew from the arena.

The second opponent was also dispatched with little effort. Not to mention Lu Ye's own unparalleled strength at the Dao Integration realm, the two opponents he encountered were indeed not very strong, only at the third or fourth level of Dao Integration. Even a regular sixth-level Dao Integration cultivator could have easily dealt with them.

Just as he was thinking this, Lu Ye suddenly realized something was amiss.

How could there be Dao Integration cultivators at the third or fourth level in the Inner Realm? Moreover, those two opponents were clearly very weak.

Wasn't it said that only Dao Integration cultivators with sufficient strength and profound foundations could enter the Inner Realm? The Dao Integration cultivators Lu Ye had encountered previously when contending for the Dao Integration Orb with Yuan Xi were indeed formidable. So why did such oddities appear in the arena?

If there were two, there must be more.

However, he then recalled the maid Xiao Ning. Wasn't she also present in the Hehe Realm, even though she hadn't even entered the Dao?

This was the Hehe Realm, fundamentally another independent space within the Inner Realm.

Perhaps those two opponents were Dao Integration cultivators born and raised in the Hehe Realm, or perhaps they came from other Dao Integration Cities.

A moment later, the third opponent appeared in the celestial fragment...

Followed swiftly by the fourth, then the fifth...

No opponent could last three breaths against Lu Ye's long saber; they were guaranteed to be defeated within three breaths of confrontation.

Within the arena was a secret place, essentially its central hub, known internally as the Grand Central Hall. All battles, betting, and odds adjustments were controlled from here.

Thousands of cultivators were permanently stationed here, capable of precisely and efficiently processing all kinds of information transmitted from various parts of the arena.

This included the arrangement of opponents for participating cultivators, which was also coordinated by the cultivators in the Grand Central Hall.

Cultivators working here might not have high cultivation levels or strong combat abilities, but their control over spiritual sense had to be incredibly meticulous. Only then could they accurately process the vast and complex information they encountered daily.

Cui Can was one of them.

By status, she was an arena slave, trained by the arena since childhood. She chose the name Cui Can herself, hoping that one day she could live out her own brilliance, even though she knew it was a dream that could never be realized.

For as long as one remained an arena slave, it was impossible to escape its control.

At this moment, she sat cross-legged in her designated spot, facing a massive circular console. Various streams of light flickered across it, each representing a piece of information flowing in from different parts of the arena.

What people like her needed to do was examine this information and then make the correct choices and responses.

She raised a hand and tapped, discovering it was a request to continue a battle, originating from a Life Battle arena.

She handled countless similar pieces of information daily, so she was naturally proficient.

Therefore, she first checked the information of the cultivator requesting to continue fighting.

Lu Ye, Human, Dao Integration Sixth Level, Weapon Cultivator, long saber as Dao Weapon. Life Battle participation count: nine times.

Wins: nine.

Zero losses.

While impressive, this was not uncommon. Many powerful Dao Integration cultivators never lost when participating in Life Battles; instead, they advanced triumphantly into Death Battles, only to be killed and have their cultivation dissipate in a subsequent clash.

Logically, Cui Can wouldn't have paid too much attention.

But she couldn't help but re-examine Lu Ye's information.

Because, if she wasn't mistaken, she had just arranged an opponent for this same Lu Ye a short while ago, and at that time, his battle count was only six.

How could it be nine battles so quickly?

For a moment, she thought she had misremembered and couldn't help but check the specific information of the opponents Lu Ye had faced. She had the authority to clearly view the detailed information of every opponent Lu Ye had encountered.

She finally confirmed that this Human Lu Ye was indeed the one for whom she had recently arranged an opponent.

Many cultivators entered the Death Arena from the Life Battle arena with perfect win records, but Cui Can had truly never seen anyone progress so quickly.

What surprised her even more was seeing that Lu Ye's opponent in his eighth match was also a Dao Integration Sixth Level cultivator.

Clashes between cultivators of the same realm rarely concluded quickly, yet Lu Ye had managed it, and then gone on to fight a ninth match.

This guy... he's a bit strange!