"Who else dares to battle me?"
The words were sonorous and forceful, loud and clear.
A demon king stepped forth and yelled, "This old bear shall slap you to death!"
He was a bear king who had transformed into a human form. He had a tall and sturdy body akin to an iron tower. Even in human form, he still had hair all over his body, which made him look more like a beastman. He made it quite obvious he was not a human. After signing the waiver, the bear king leaped onto the arena, his weight rocking it as he landed. He was obviously someone with a terrifying brute strength.
"This is a strongbear king! He once ripped five Kings apart on the fourth-stage arena with his dreadful combat prowess. Looks like Xiang Shaoyun has finally met his match."
"This Xiang Shaoyun is quite strong, but I think he will only be evenly matched with this strongbear king. Looks like this will be an intense battle."
"This strongbear king is the son of a top strongbear emperor from the Demonic League. I think he has a greater chance of winning. After all, Xiang Shaoyun is only a third-stage King."
"I still think it's better to bet after Gambler makes his bet."
...
Ugly Gambler had never been wrong when placing a bet. Thus, everyone was waiting for him to place another one. After the bookmaker announced the payout for Xiang Shaoyun to be two-to-one, Ugly Gambler placed a bet of one high-grade spirit crystal on him.
From the changing amount of his bet, it was obvious Ugly Gambler was no longer as confident in Xiang Shaoyun. As for Earth Skeleton, he had won 1.2 million mid-grade spirit crystals so far. Without hesitation, he placed everything on Xiang Shaoyun's victory. Everyone else did the same.
The bookmaker was filled with regret, I should have set the payout as ten-to-one instead.
He had judged that Xiang Shaoyun would be evenly matched with the bear king. But to be safe, he had still reduced the payout for Xiang Shaoyun. In any case, that was understandable due to Xiang Shaoyun's recent repeated victories. However, he had a feeling the payout was still too high after Ugly Gambler made his bet.
The third battle began, and unlike the previous two opponents, the bear king did not take the initiative to attack. Rather, he provoked Xiang Shaoyun, "Come on, little monkey. This king will kill you with one slap."
Xiang Shaoyun smiled. "Strongbear king? Apart from strength, you are probably quite good in defense as well. Very well, show me how many of my punches you can take."
Without hesitation, he shot forward like a bolt of lighting. Sure enough, a brown radiance appeared around the bear king's body, erecting a defensive barrier as tough as a mountain. Xiang Shaoyun arrived before the bear king in the blink of an eye. He threw a Gold Helix Fist out; the spinning golden fist powered by vicious gold energy was no weaker than a Lightning Bolt Fist.
Bang! Bang!
He punched 18 times in a row, forcing the bear king to step back repeatedly. However, the bear king still remained standing and was still unharmed. Even so, he could sense how overbearing Xiang Shaoyun's punches were. The spinning fists were extremely penetrative in nature, causing his flesh to start aching.
He grew even more cautious as he raked his two hands forward, sending a powerful attack capable of turning an entire mountain into dust. The might of his attack proved him worthy of being a strongbear king. Not even a fifth-stage King would have an easy time surviving if struck by such an attack.
But with Xiang Shaoyun's nimbleness, how would he be hit so easily? He danced left and right as he avoided all the incoming attacks without stopping his own barrage of attacks. Each of Xiang Shaoyun's attacks forced the bear king to retreat again and again, and the bear king couldn't land a hit of his own. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the bear king was defeated.
"You really think I'm that weak?" The bear king was furious when he noticed that his defensive barrier was on the brink of collapse. With a roar, his aura surged.
Gravity Manipulation!
Instantly, the gravity on the arena grew by over 100 times. The sudden change caught Xiang Shaoyun by surprise, causing his movements to slow down considerably.
"Shit!" Xiang Shaoyun's face fell.
A bear paw could be seen heading toward his face.
Bang!
The paw sent him crashing heavily into the defensive barrier around the arena. The bear king transformed into a massive bear with a height of about four or five meters. He pressed on and stamped his heavy foot down toward Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun quickly bounced away from the ground and avoided the attack. Blood was dripping down his lips, but a smile hung on his face.
This is what I have been waiting for to test my Six Goldplate Manual! thought Xiang Shaoyun as he quickly circulated his gold energy.
Two golden walls appeared around him. This was the late first stage of the Six Goldplate Manual.
Xiang Shaoyun had already reached this stage during Money's breakthrough. On his way to the Bloodsin City, he had continued to train the technique to further perfect it. He believed that he could now withstand the attack of a mid-stage King without much trouble.
Bang! Bang!
The bear king missed his stomp, so he followed up by slamming his paw at Xiang Shaoyun. This time, Xiang Shaoyun stood his ground. It was unknown if he couldn't dodge due to the gravity or if he was simply intentionally staying there.
The bear king struck him several times in a row, causing Xiang Shaoyun's body to sway and look as if he wouldn't be able to last any longer. After landing a few attacks in a row, the bear king stopped and started patting his own chest. He roared, "How can a tiny monkey be a match for this bear king?"
In his opinion, Xiang Shaoyun was already dead. After all, he had landed several blows on the tiny human. Not even fifth-stage Kings could survive after he struck them. The crowd around the arena shared the same thought. Sounds of discussion rang out.
"The bear king is indeed powerful. Xiang Shaoyun is probably dead."
"The bear king's gravity technique is no joke. He had increased the gravity by about 100 times. Anyone failing to react in time will suffer. This is the same technique the bear king had relied on to slaughter many Kings."
"Xiang Shaoyun is too inexperienced. Although he is strong, he had underestimated his opponent. If he had been more cautious, he wouldn't have been defeated so quickly."
"Will this be the first time the Gambler's Law is wrong? I don't think things are so simple."
...
When everyone thought that Xiang Shaoyun was dead, he suddenly stood up. He appeared completely fine. After slightly stretching his neck, he gave the bear king his middle finger and said, "Strongbear king? Nothing special."
"Roar! You dare insult this king? Watch as I blow you apart!" roared the furious bear king as he charged Xiang Shaoyun again.
"That gravity technique is decent, but not enough to stop me," said Xiang Shaoyun as he no longer held back and used his Overlord's Nine Nether Steps.