Chapter 558 – The Match Begins
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Cultivation passed without sense of time. One month of practice was just too short…
Clear Wind Pavilion was one of the few restaurants in Skysplit Tower’s second floor that was opened by humans. The restaurant had an elegant design and brusque atmosphere. The waitresses were all beautiful young human and Fey women.
At this time, in a great lobby of Clear Wind Pavilion, several longsword-carrying blue-clothed martial artists walked in.
“I want a feast of blood sheep here!” A youth called out. Blood sheep were a sort of high quality vicious beast. Not only did they taste delicious, but they contained a very strong inherent blood vitality. Eating them was of great benefit to the human body.
Of course, this sort of blood sheep feast had a correspondingly high price.
“Good, good, come in!” With such a lavish customer in front of him, the waiter attentively greeted them before going to the kitchen.
“Haha, Big Brother, recently it seems as if us humans have been able to win some glory. At least, we aren’t despised by those fellows everywhere. This is all thanks to Sir Lin’s limelight.”
Within Skysplit Tower, there was only a small number of humans, and their strength was relatively poor. Whether it was on the first floor or second floor, humans were the minority group that was always being pushed around. Because Lin Ming killed Xue Man and even accepted Xing Tian’s challenge, he had gained glory for humanity. Because of the lingering fear of Lin Ming, the other martial artists on the second floor did not dare to bully the humans there.
“Mm. Tomorrow should be when Lin Ming and Xing Tian’s decisive duel will be. I have no idea what Lin Ming’s chances of winning are.” The man called big brother looked around 25 or 26 years old. He wore a blue scarf around his neck with a blue robe; he had a very dignified appearance.
“Sir Lin can definitely win.” A 20-some year old girl interrupted. “Sir Lin defeated Xue Man and defeated Lan Xing. The only reason he would accept Xing Tian’s challenge is that he has confidence he can win. Those that can reach this step would never accept hopeless battles.”
“Mm… that’s correct, but at the same time Xing Tian also wouldn’t make such a bold declaration without confidence in himself. In short, this fight will be filled with suspense…”
As many people were discussing, a voice suddenly rose up. “What were you fellows just talking about? Lin Ming will fight Xing Tian?”
Several martial artists turned around. The one speaking was a black-clothed youth. He looked around 27 or 28 years old, and he had a commanding appearance. Beside him was a black-clothed girl who seemed just a tad over 20 years old. Although she wore black clothes and wore a black veil, one could still make out her exquisite features.
This man and woman were Muk Gu and Muk Qing.
Muk Qing had been cultivating on the second floor for the last month, and as Muk Gu came to check up on her, they happened to hear this news.
“Ah, yes, Lin Min will be fighting Xing Tian tomorrow. Are you a newcomer? Why would you not know this?”
In the view of these martial artists, those that didn’t know Lin Ming and Xing Tian had an upcoming match were mostly newcomers. This news had long since caused an uproar.
Muk Gu sucked in a cold breath. He had been gone these past few days and suddenly Lin Ming had accepted a challenge from Xing Tian.
Although Muk Gu was a martial artist of the third floor, in terms of strength he had to admit that he was far inferior to Xing Tian. Xing Tian had already stayed on the second floor for many years and his strength had reached unfathomably deep levels. Yet Lin Ming had the courage to challenge him?
Muk Qing also found this unbelievable. Although she didn’t feel too well being overshadowed by Lin Ming, she had to acknowledge his talent. Moreover, Lin Ming didn’t seem like an idiot. If he dared to accept Xing Tian’s challenge, then did he already have the qualifications to defeat him?
“Friend, we are new to the second floor, would you mind sharing some of the particular details? What is the reason that Lin Ming is fighting Xing Tian and when was it decided? As far as I know, Lin Ming hasn’t been on the second floor for a long period of time, so why would Xing Tian challenge him?”
“The match was decided a month ago. One month ago, Lin Ming killed Xue Man, and then Xing Tian challenged Lin Ming and Lin Ming accepted.”
“Xue Man was killed?” Muk Gu was stunned. Xue Man was a famous character on the second floor. As he was cultivating on the third floor at this time, he hadn’t heard this news.
That ruthless Goliath that could kill without blinking had perished under Lin Ming’s hands?
“Yes. Ah, also, in Lin Ming’s battle it is estimated that he was hiding some of his strength. Hehe, Lin Ming and Xing Tian’s decisive battle is tomorrow. If you want to see it then you can’t miss it, but the ticket price has already reached 800 Blood Demon Crystals. Not just that, but they are extremely difficult to buy. If you want to purchase a seat, then make sure you do it early.”
“I understand. Thank you for the information.” Muk Gu lightly breathed in. He took out a Blood Demon Crystal from his spatial ring and set it on the table, “Waiter, check.”
“Senior-apprentice Brother, shall we go have a look?”
“Of course.” Muk Gu said decisively. “This battle, for me and for you, will be of great benefit. Also… I reported Lin Ming’s situation to the sect. The sect has already started to notice Lin Ming. If we can be on good terms with him, then that will be a great help to our sect.”
In the Holy Demon Continent, there were a great number of fifth-grade sects. But, there were actually very few Emperor powerhouse Holy Lands. There was said to be numerous Emperor-level talents that could break through to the Divine Sea realm, but in truth, most often perished on their journey. Within the Holy Demon Continent, human Divine Sea powerhouses were an extreme rarity. Being able to be on good terms with one had obvious advantages.
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Excitement over Lin Ming’s battle with Xing Tian spread more and more. The price for an admission ticket began to rise dramatically. First it was 500 Blood Demon Crystals, then it jumped up to 800, 900, and even broke through to 1000.
Even so, it was difficult to find a ticket.
There were many martial artists that were undergoing closed-door cultivation for several months or even half year that especially left their seclusion in order to watch this battle.
Although they weren’t tower challengers, a great number of rich and powerful individuals of the second floor were also very interested in this battle.
On the day of the match, at dawn, a great number of people had already left their residences. Bustling noise filled every corridor, and a flowing surge of people gathered at the martial arena. Looking down from the sky, there were over 10,000 people. It was a spectacular sight.
The martial arena was originally only able to accommodate 8000 people. But for this match, the staff specially added seats.
There were many people that came who weren’t even from the second floor.
Over four hours before the match was set to begin, the entire martial arena was already occupied.
“Damnit! We started here before dawn started and yet there are people that came earlier than us. All of the front row seats are taken.”
Skysplit Tower’s martial arena issued tickets, but these tickets did not assign seats. The quality of one’s view depended all on one’s own ability to find a good spot.
“Is there something wrong with these people? Did they start arriving last night?”
“Heh, that’s right, some of them came last night. Look at them, some of them are still practicing. They’ve probably been in meditation all night.”
“That’s so kickass. If I knew about this earlier then I would have practiced here and meditated also.”
“Well, what’s done is done. Sitting here is fine too. Those sitting in the front will be overwhelmed by the shockwaves of the match; they might even spit out blood or be seriously injured! The weaker ones shouldn’t sit in the front row.”
It wasn’t known who said this, but a great number of martial artists looked at each other in alarm. This was right. When Lin Ming had fought Xue Man, several people had been injured. Now in his fight against Xing Tian, it would inevitably be much fiercer. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the weaker ones would cough up blood.
“Eh. Well, uh, let’s sit here then.”
“Mm. Keeping our lives safe is most important. In this damned place, being injured is far too dangerous.”
As several martial artists were speaking, someone suddenly said, “Look… it’s Xing Tian. Xing Tian has entered the stage.”
Everyone glanced over. At the entrance of the martial arena, Xing Tian was casually walking in. His chest was bare with an animal pelt tossed over the shoulder. He strode with confidence; this was undoubtedly Xing Tian.
Xing Tian carried a black-edged heavy sword. His long red hair was wild and his blue skin illuminated his rock hard muscles. His body was wrapped in thick chains that the Giant Demon race liked. To the Giant Demons, these sort of chains were similar to the necklaces that humans like to wear.
As Xing Tian entered the arena stage, the audience burst out in heated cheers.
Especially the Giant Demon Race. Their voices were originally loud, but with thick demon essence poured into their shouts, their cries seemed to shake the entire arena.
There were also a number of Fey women wantonly screaming. To them, a powerful and vigorous man like Xing Tian was undoubtedly the most attractive sexual partner.
Xing Tian’s popularity was much higher than Lin Ming’s. This was because the majority of those present were Giant Demons and Goliaths – it was impossible for them to support a human. In addition, Xing Tian had accumulated power and renown over the years, thus Xing Tian had several times more supporters than Lin Ming.
“That fellow Xing Tian, he is increasingly unfathomable.” In a corner of the martial arena, Muk Gu was brilliantly staring at Xing Tian. Xing Tian’s aura was completely restrained without the least bit leaking out. But even so, he still gave off a fearful and gripping feeling. Seeing Xing Tian, Muk Gu felt a faint trembling in his heart.
“It won’t be easy for Xing Tian to defeat Lin Ming…” Muk Gu was truly worried. Lin Ming was not a reckless or arrogant person. If he accepted Xing Tian’s challenge then he naturally had some belief in himself. However, although Muk Gu told himself this, the moment he saw Xing Tian his confidence dropped to zero. When he was still on the second floor, Xing Tian was already a famous character, so he had some understanding of him.
Xing Tian’s attack power was extremely terrifying, his defensive capabilities were incredible, and his soul force was not weak. He even had a good comprehension of Concepts. In addition to all that, he was also fast. It could be said that he didn’t have a single weakness. From the very start he was a versatile martial artist. Now, his strength had increased over the past year, and it was difficult to estimate just how far ahead he was.
“I am completely not his match. If I were to face him, I probably wouldn’t be able to withstand three moves.”
Muk Gu sighed. Beside him, Muk Qing was also silent. Whether it was Xing Tian or Lin Ming, both of them were at a level that surpassed her understanding. All she could do was sit here and quietly watch the match.
“Lin Ming arrived!”
Soon after Xing Tian appeared, Lin Ming also showed up. He wore a simple blue robe. As he grasped the Purple Comet Spear in his hands, his expression was calm.
“Lin Ming, you can do it! Don’t give up!”
“Sir Lin, we believe in you.”
Compared to the roiling shouts from the crowd when Xing Tian appeared, Lin Ming’s supporters were much quieter. Most of them were humans, along with a few Fey, in particular young Fey girls. Besides that, there were also some Ferals who had joined Lin Ming’s support troop.
“Hehe, you really showed up today.” Xing Tian faintly smiled as he looked at Lin Ming.
“Since I agreed, I naturally came.” Lin Ming stood on the martial arena stage, the Purple Comet Spear pointed straight at Xing Tian.
The two of them stood 200 feet apart, directly opposite each other.