After returning to the Skeleton Gang, Xiang Shaoyun went into seclusion again to continue healing his injuries. In order to save some time, he had even used a king medicine to increase his recovery speed. Two days later, he left his seclusion completely healed.
He called Celestial Skeleton over and asked, "Are you going to enter the Soul Foundation Realm soon?"
"Yes, master," Celestial Skeleton replied deferentially. In truth, he was thinking that he would have already entered the Soul Foundation Realm if Xiang Shaoyun had not prevented him from plucking the yin frost energy from the Han Clan sisters.
Xiang Shaoyun knew what he was thinking. He said, "Take some time off to enter seclusion and accumulate more energy. I have a way to help you form your soul foundation and enter the Soul Foundation Realm."
"M-master, a-are you serious?" Celestial Skeleton asked in excitement.
"Why do I need to lie?" Xiang Shaoyun said solemnly. "I was not planning to let you break through so quickly, but the Noxious Blood Gang is going to declare war on us at any moment. You need to be ready for it. When you reach an optimal condition for breakthrough, come look for me."
"Yes, master," Celestial Skeleton answered, still not knowing what Xiang Shaoyun could do to help him.
Xiang Shaoyun said, "I know you are not willing to be under my control. But so long as you serve me faithfully, you will be able to reach an even higher height in the future."
For some reason, Celestial Skeleton found himself believing Xiang Shaoyun's words. Perhaps he had been influenced by their recent interactions.
Xiang Shaoyun then left for the Bloodsin Arena once again. This time, he brought all three Skeletons along so as to prevent being ambushed by the Noxious Blood Gang. He believed that the Skeleton Gang would not suddenly fall just because the three leaders had temporarily left the headquarters.
After all, the Ghostface Sect had already spread word that they were backing the Skeleton Gang. Therefore, the Noxious Blood Gang would have to consider whether they would be able to withstand Ghostface Sect's anger before launching an attack on the Skeleton Gang.
The moment Xiang Shaoyun arrived at the Bloodsin Arena, he caused a commotion.
"Isn't that the Super King Xiang Shaoyun? Not long ago, he won 10 victories in a row. He is quite strong."
"Yeah. A few organizations had even tried recruiting him then, but he had rejected all of them. I reckon he has a backer already."
"Those three...aren't they the three leaders of the Skeleton Gang? They are all following behind him. Looks like he has quite a background. No wonder he has such freakish combat prowess."
"Look, he is heading to the fifth arena. He's not going to challenge the fifth arena, right?"
"Just go take a look. We'll know then."
...
That's right. Today, Xiang Shaoyun was here to challenge the fifth arena. The fifth arena was generally only used by fifth-stage Kings. Of course, those with a lower cultivation level could get on it as well, but that was essentially suicide.
In truth, Xiang Shaoyun's feat of challenging the fourth arena with a cultivation level of third-stage Skysoar Realm wasn't anything special. The Bloodsin City did not lack geniuses capable of battling those a stage higher like him.
However, very few people could battle those two stages higher. After all, the Bloodsin Arena was different from regular arenas. Here, one could only leave after killing the opponent. Therefore, anyone would think it through before actually stepping onto the arena. It was no child's play.
Xiang Shaoyun registered himself for the fifth arena and signed the waiver. The bookmaker had a look of expectation as he gazed at Xiang Shaoyun.
Each year there would be some geniuses challenging arenas two stages higher than themselves, but not many of them survive. Let's see if this kid can survive, mused the bookmaker.
At this time, Scorching Blood Monarch appeared at a certain corner. When he saw Xiang Shaoyun, a look of hatred covered his face as he muttered, "You dare challenge the fifth arena? Very well. Let's see if you are really good enough to kill those two stages above you."
He then shouted a command, "Wolf Fang, go to the fifth arena and kill that Xiang Shaoyun."
A man with cold eyes stepped forth and answered deferentially, "Yes, monarch."
Wolf Fang then walked toward the fifth arena. He was an up-and-coming youngster from the Noxious Blood Gang. He was a peak fifth-stage King also capable of punching above his weight. He was a King of Kings and had contributed greatly to the Noxious Blood Gang. He was a ruthless character who never showed mercy, not sparing even women, the old, and the weak. Scorching Blood Monarch was confident Xiang Shaoyun would not survive a battle with Wolf Fang.
Xiang Shaoyun stood beside the arena waiting for the current ongoing battle to end. He was observing the two combatants seriously while contemplating the new technique he wanted to create. He started trying to predict their moves. Unfortunately, it was quite impossible for him to straight up gain the ability to predict moves. Perhaps more accumulation of knowledge was required.
Predicting an opponent's future actions based on their current movements seems to be very difficult, lamented Xiang Shaoyun inwardly.
He understood the hardships of creating a new technique and was not discouraged. Rather, he continued contemplating, trying to figure out the key points he could focus on to help him create his new technique.
Soon, one of the two combatants was killed. The victor left the arena with rather terrible wounds. It was now Xiang Shaoyun's turn to fight. His opponent was not Wolf Fang. Rather, it was a late fifth-stage Skysoar Realm expert.
Before the battle, he instructed Celestial Skeleton to wager 500,000 mid-grade spirit crystals on his victory. The current payout for Xiang Shaoyun's victory was two-to-one. In other words, he would win one million mid-grade spirit crystals from his victory.
Generally, when a third-stage King challenged the fifth arena, the payout would be at least ten-to-one. After all, the combatant had skipped two whole stages. But due to Xiang Shaoyun's history of 10 consecutive victories, the bookmaker knew to not use the normal rate. Otherwise, they would suffer great losses if an upset happened again.
The same scene as Xiang Shaoyun's first match at the fourth arena repeated. Everyone was betting on his opponent winning. Although he had a stunning performance previously, it did not instill enough confidence to make others believe he could defeat a fifth-stage King.
Right this moment, a lazy voice rang out, "I'm betting 10,000 mid-grade spirit crystals on this kid."
Everyone turned around to find that Ugly Gambler had appeared yet again. He was still betting on Xiang Shaoyun.
As soon as Ugly Gambler placed his bet, the bookmaker quickly announced, "The bet is closed. The battle begins."
The bookmaker reacted too fast and those who wanted to follow Ugly Gambler's bet could only sigh in regret.
"We clearly have more time! How can they start the battle in advance? This is totally unreasonable!"
"Yeah! Gambler has only placed a bet of 10,000 mid-grade spirit crystals. Clearly, Xiang Shaoyun has a high chance of winning!"
"Yes. Based on Gambler's Law, only when the Gambler places a bet of above one million will the combatants be somewhat equally matched. This Xiang Shaoyun will most likely win."