The designer of the arena seemed to know no boundary of imagination. Xu Yi’s view of architecture was refreshed to some extent, as he looked around, appreciating the magnificence of this arena.

At some point, Xu Yi’s blood surged with enthusiasm, as he was proud to be encircled by millions of spectators. This also reminded him of the feeling in his previous life, when he was playing video games, leading hundreds of soldiers to storm a castle. Though the feelings were quite similar, this time, it was much more passionate and uncontrollable.

Admittedly, virtual reality games would certainly be overshadowed by a real arena, even without the millions of eyes locked on him. Xu Yi was filled with warm blood, which felt like it was about to explode.

Meanwhile, Gao Pan stood there befuddled as well as irritated by Xu Yi’s impoliteness and complacency, since the latter simply indulged himself in picturing the glory he might obtain after the fight. Xu Yi didn’t look at Gao Pan at all; instead, he kept observing his surroundings with great curiosity. More precisely, Xu Yi acted like a bumpkin, who had only just stepped into the big city, which made him dizzy and intoxicated. Right now, he seemed to have forgotten his mission in this arena, he was more like a sightseeing tourist.

- Dang! -

With the sound of a gong, the spectators stopped their noisy discussions, as they were awaiting the official announcement to mark the start of the fight.

Through the sound-gathering devices, the rules of this fight were conveyed to everyone. The rules were quite simple: weapons were allowed, tactics were allowed and the candidates held no responsibility for the death of the other during the fight.

As soon as the sound faded away, Xu Yi and Gao Pan glanced at each other.

Gao Pan stood there, holding his silver spear firmly in his hands. His big body was wrapped in the golden cassock, which gleamed brightly in the sunlight. Looking from afar, he was like a golden-armored immortal who had descended from the heavens. He furiously glared at Xu Yi, like a tiger ready to swoop onto its prey.

To the contrary, Xu Yi was kind of dwarfed by Gao Pan’s appearance. He was scrawny, unkempt and poorly dressed. The only thing that distinguished himself, was his pair of sparkling eyes.

Judging from appearance alone, Gao Pan was more like a winner. When he waved the silver spear in his hands, deafening sounds rose up from the stands, as all of the spectators cheered for him.

...

During his previous eight fights, the arenas were far from as grandiose as this one, the well-known Dragon Rising Arena.

In the earlier years, fights between cultivators in the peak state of a forged body were frequent in Guanan. However, in recent years, with the decline of such fights, people started to attach more importance to them when they did occur.

Indeed, it was not simply a fight between Gao Pan and Xu Yi today, rather, it was a competition between the guards department and the Black Dragon Palace. The 100,000 gold coins that the latter had poured into the casino didn’t only activate the slump casino market in Guanan, but also sucked in more spectators.

Due to the unprecedented popularity of this fight, the Guanan government had even decided to restart this long-unused Dragon Rising Arena.

...

Gao Pan was deeply intoxicated by the cheering from the millions of spectators that boomed in the air, as he almost forgot about Wensheng’s warning – to fight a quick battle.

Gao Pan stood there, pressing the tip of his spear against the ground. As per the usual procedures, candidates would introduce their weapons to each other before they fought. However, when Gao Pan was about to open his mouth, Xu Yi took the initiative.

Xu Yi spurted to the center of the arena, waving his arms to the spectators from all directions.

“Calm down everybody, and listen to me!” Xu Yi’s abrupt shout confused everyone, as there had never been a candidate who had behaved like this.

Out of curiosity, millions of spectators all turned their eyes on Xu Yi, in an attempt to hear what this candidate would say next.

“I want to ask you guys, did any of you bet on me? If you did, congratulations in advance! You’ll definitely win money from the casino. Now, I want to find out where you are, my supporters. Would you please wave your hands, and cheer for me?” Xu Yi shamelessly demanded.

- Boooo! -

On hearing Xu Yi’s unexpected, yet emboldened speech, most of the spectators booed from the stands, taking it as a cold and sick joke. At the same time, Gao Pan was also shocked by his opponent, as his silver spear almost slipped out of his hands. He felt so disgusted by Xu Yi’s blind confidence, as if he had just eaten a rotten egg.

However, there were several rows of spectators who stood up and violently waved their hands in the air, cheering for Xu Yi in an almost hysterical way.

Even if there was only 1% out of the millions of spectators who supported him, the sound of their cheering would still make an uproar. Even some neutral spectators followed suit and joined in the loud cheering.

The reaction from the stands surprised Gao Pan, he even felt slightly envious of Xu Yi, “I’ve obtained eight consecutive wins. I certainly have more fans than that bastard. If I shout to the spectators, there might be millions of spectators who’ll cheer for me..”

Gao Pan imagined the waves of jubilation, that would sound out from the stands. This left him so thrilled, that even his bladder became somewhat swollen, which made him want to pee. The exuberant passion from the stands definitely turned him on. Thus, he stood squarely, trying to summon up his supporters.

However, hardly had Gao Pan spoken a word, or he was hit by a strong force, so he intentionally bent his waist in an attempt to escape. However, his silver spear slipped away from his hands in the process.

The previous bravado was just part of Xu Yi’s sneak attack strategy. He had calculated that the only chance for him to succeed was to take the initiative in this fight and attack Gao Pan’s weakness by using his own advantage.

The advantage of Xu Yi included his nimble responsiveness, speed, and formidable strength. However, he was extremely lacking in the department of practical techniques. The only technique he had practiced, the Crazy Ox Palm, was just a low-grade technique, which was inefficient in real combat.

Undoubtedly, the key to win from Gao Pan was to attack him unexpectedly, and fight with him at close range, preventing Gao Pan from using any techniques.

The silver spear in Gao Pan’s hands, was Xu Yi’s first target. Without the spear, it was much easier for Xu Yi to maneuver around in the arena. Despite the fact that they were both in the peak state of a forged body, the chance for the armless Xu Yi to win from the equipped Gao Pan was rather slim. Plus, Gao Pan’s skills with the spear were matchless in the surrounding cultivating world. All the above explained why Xu Yi was so desperate to deter him from using his spear; otherwise, Xu Yi would be doomed.

Xu Yi had intentionally gotten closer to Gao Pan, when he was walking around the stage to arouse the cheering of the spectators. Knowing that Gao Pan had also been influenced by the passionate atmosphere, Xu Yi figured that it’d be the perfect time to launch a surprise attack.

Nevertheless, as an experienced arena fighter, Gao Pan escaped the approaching force almost by instinct. He successfully moved his head away, yet he slightly loosened his hands in surprise, letting his silver spear slip away from him.

- Boooo! -

The spectators were all provoked by Xu Yi’s despicable attack, as they started to shout and roar in defiance. It seemed as if the thunder-like and feverish noise was going to swallow Xu Yi and crash him into smoke and ashes.