Chapter 1282: Hong Yang

"How about it? It's still not too late to back out now!"

The young man beside him saw his expression change and scoffed. He had seen many young masters from noble families who, before arriving, made various boasts and acted arrogantly. But once they truly witnessed the brutality of the arena, they would be scared stiff, unable to even walk.

"No need!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. His shock was merely at the internal strife among humans, not at the gore or out of fear.

If one were to speak of terror, who could be more terrifying than the Spirit Clan? Cannibalistic, bloodthirsty, imbued with a murderous aura... sometimes they didn't even spare their own kind. When he first encountered such beings, he was told to commit suicide. How could he possibly be afraid of some human battles?

"Good, then, come in!" Seeing his composure return so quickly, the young man was a little surprised and said no more.

Following the stairs down, they soon arrived at a room. The walls were lined with various weapons, all of low-grade Saint realm quality, and none possessed spiritual sentience, making them easy to control and master.

"You can choose any of these weapons... one or ten, it's up to you. However, if you break them, you'll have to pay compensation, and you must return them after your match!" The young man gestured casually.

"Understood." Zhang Xuan nodded, looked around, and walked a few steps to a weapon rack. There were easily hundreds of different types of blades displayed: single-edged sabers, waist knives, ghost-head broadswords, longswords, short swords, wind-breaking blades, Minghong blades, nine-ring sabers, Green Dragon Crescent Blades... a dazzling array.

He lightly traced his fingers over each weapon, picked up one that looked somewhat heavy, swung it a few times, then shook his head. He tried several others in the same manner, eventually putting all the weapons back down.

"Never mind, I won't need any." With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"No weapon?" The young man seemed surprised. Having witnessed the arena's brutality, many participants wished they could take all the weapons with them as a precaution. Yet, this man just casually touched a few and chose none... He must have incredible nerve!

"If I can't win, having more weapons won't make a difference," Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Alright then!" Saying no more, the young man opened another door in the room. Following him inside, Zhang Xuan saw dozens of people, each seated cross-legged, cultivating. Each of these individuals carried the scent of blood, indicating they had taken many lives.

"Wait here. When it's your turn, you'll go straight out!" With that, he turned and left.

Zhang Xuan looked around the room. Although the dozens of people in the room were cultivating, they were constantly alert, quietly watching their surroundings. It seemed as if they would lash out and injure anyone who approached.

"Are you new here? Never participated before?" After finding a place to sit, a faint voice spoke beside him.

He turned to see a young man in his thirties with a prominent saber scar on his face, raw with fresh blood. It seemed he had just been injured and hadn't had time to recover. The others around them seemed indifferent, so it surprised Zhang Xuan that someone would proactively speak to him.

"You can tell?"

"Those who've fought in the arena have eyes like wolves, full of ferocity. Otherwise, they'd just die up there... You, on the other hand, look like a lamb. How could I not tell?" The scarred young man scoffed. In deathmatches, strength is certainly a factor, but what's more important is ruthlessness! Ruthlessness towards enemies, and ruthlessness towards oneself! Only then will one inspire fear. This person in front of him, with his innocent eyes and naive expression, clearly looked like a pampered young noble who hadn't experienced anything.

"A lamb?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. Everywhere he went, he caused a stir and gave countless master teachers headaches. Yet, in this man's eyes, he was just a lamb? It seemed his temper was still too good.

"Of course, if you haven't competed or gone through a baptism of blood, you're a lamb! To be honest, I've won six matches in a row at most. Unfortunately... the seventh opponent was too strong, and I expended too much true qi. Otherwise, I would very likely have earned the title of Ten-Time King by now!" The scarred young man's face was filled with pride.

"Impressive!" Zhang Xuan nodded sincerely. Even a genius like Zhang Jiuxiao didn't participate in the sixth match. For this man to win six consecutive matches was indeed remarkable.

*Creak!* As they were talking, the door ahead opened. Immediately, a wave of murderous aura washed over everyone, creating an intense sense of oppression.

"It's him?" Zhang Xuan frowned. It was none other than the man who had just torn his opponent to shreds in the arena. This man was exceptionally tall, like an iron tower, and wore heavy armor that was as red as blood, giving him an incredibly sinister appearance.

"This is Hong Yang, currently the most powerful figure in the black market!" Seeing Zhang Xuan didn't recognize him, the scarred young man nodded, filled with admiration. "He's also known as... the Hundred Battles King!"

"The Hundred Battles King?" Zhang Xuan was stunned. "He won a hundred matches?"

"Not that he won a hundred matches, but that he consecutively defeated ten 'Ten-Battle Kings'! And everyone who challenged him was torn to shreds, dead beyond dead!" The scarred young man showed a look of fear. He greatly admired this man's strength but was also extremely afraid of his brutality. Not just him, everyone else also became vigilant upon seeing this man emerge.

"Get lost!" Taking a few steps to a corner, Hong Yang glared at two young men who were cultivating on the ground and barked at them. The two men didn't dare utter a sound, turning to leave immediately.

The towering Hong Yang sat down, took out a pill, and swallowed it. His aura immediately surged as if boiling. The moment he sat down, everyone collectively exhaled in relief. Those nearby quietly retreated, leaving a large empty space around him.

"He's also at late-stage Primordial Spirit realm..." As the man cultivated, Zhang Xuan discerned his cultivation level. Just like himself, he was at late-stage Primordial Spirit realm. However, despite being at the same level, the murderous aura radiating from him was thick and powerful, exuding an intense pressure even before combat.

Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight, intending to thoroughly assess the man's strength. Just then, Hong Yang across from him raised his head, his gaze flashing as he looked over.

"What powerful perception..." Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed. He was indeed worthy of being someone who had consecutively defeated ten Ten-Time Kings. Such perceptive ability was terrifyingly strong. To be able to identify his direction and pinpoint his location after just a couple of glances, amidst so many people, meant that a surprise attack to eliminate him was virtually impossible.

"Life-and-death situations are incredibly tempering for people. Although this man is only at late-stage Primordial Spirit realm, even half-step Leaving Aperture realm master teachers might not be able to contend with him. Indeed... if locked in a cage with a battle master of the same cultivation, he would certainly be the one to survive!" Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly. A person's strength isn't solely dependent on their power; their comprehension and utilization of danger are also crucial. It's like how a bull's strength is equal to or greater than a wolf's, but if they were placed in the same room, the bull would surely be the one to die. This Hong Yang was a wolf, even a tiger that had been hungry for an unknown number of days. If encountered, he would immediately unleash his sharp fangs, making him impossible to resist.

"Newcomer, get lost... Is this your designated seat?" As he was secretly pondering, a cold voice rang out. He looked up to see one of the two young men who had just been driven away by Hong Yang. Having nowhere to sit, he was venting his frustration on Zhang Xuan.

"Is your name carved here?" Zhang Xuan said indifferently, without rising. Hong Yang's single word had scared him into immediate retreat, yet seeing Zhang Xuan was a newcomer, he rushed over... a typical bully.

"Oh? Newcomers are quite bold these days!""Qian Xu, it seems you lack deterrence!"

Seeing that the newcomer not only didn't move but also retorted, the cultivating crowd all opened their eyes, filled with a teasing, spectating amusement.

"Carve my name? Heh heh, since you want it, I'll carve it for you right now!" The young man named Qian Xu hadn't expected a newcomer to directly confront him. His eyes narrowed, and he sneered. Before he finished speaking, a dagger appeared in his palm and lunged straight for Zhang Xuan's forehead. The strike was incredibly fast, without the slightest hesitation, as if he weren't stabbing a person but a branch or a plant. If it connected, Zhang Xuan's head would undoubtedly explode, resulting in instant death.

"Killing at the drop of a hat?" Zhang Xuan was somewhat displeased. If it were a bitter life-or-death feud, such ruthlessness might be acceptable. But to directly resort to violence and treat human life as a game, simply because he wouldn't yield his seat... that was truly too cruel!

He raised a finger and met the attack. He flicked it against the back of the dagger. With a soft clang, the low-grade Saint artifact broke into two pieces.

"So you do have some skill. No wonder you dare to be so arrogant!" Stunned for a moment that his weapon was flicked in half by a single finger, Qian Xu then licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He had thought Zhang Xuan was a rookie he could easily manipulate, but it seemed things weren't that simple.

Without any extraneous movement, several more daggers appeared in his palm and flew swiftly towards Zhang Xuan's upper, middle, and lower vital points. The upper one targeted his eyes, the middle one his heart, and the lower one, Zhang Xuan's thigh as he sat on the ground. This move was both vicious and swift. For an ordinary late-stage Primordial Spirit realm cultivator, even a genius like Zhang Jiuxiao, it would likely be difficult to dodge and would result in immediate death by stabbing.

"Remarkable!" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but nod, seeing so many attacks launched without any prior warning. Truly worthy of someone who had faced death countless times; his killing techniques were perfected. With attacks targeting the upper, middle, and lower vital points, blocking one would inevitably leave him vulnerable to the other two, making it incredibly dangerous.

However... against Zhang Xuan, such an attack was equally ineffective. With a gentle sweep of his palm, he traced a semicircle in the air. In an instant, the three daggers appeared in his palm, twitching like live fish that had been caught.

"You've piqued my interest even more..." Seeing his second attack still effortlessly blocked, and so lightly at that, Qian Xu's eyes flashed with murderous intent. Just as he was about to make another move, a faint voice echoed through the hall.

"Late-stage Primordial Spirit realm Zhang Xuan, your arena match is beginning! Opponent: Meng Fuxing, same cultivation level!"

"It's my turn..." Ignoring Qian Xu, Zhang Xuan stood up and strode towards the arena.

"Heh, you think you can just walk away after provoking me? It's not that easy!" Seeing him about to leave, Qian Xu's hand flicked again, and two more daggers shot straight towards Zhang Xuan's back, whistling through the air, their chill piercing the skin.