A Small Win

In the Virtual Universe, Arena 0021.

"Betting is closed!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this Life-and-Death Battle is about to begin."

"The two combatants in this Life-and-Death Battle are Warrior Kelly and Warrior Emperor. Both are Stellar level nine!"

"This Life-and-Death Battle will take place on an ordinary barren planet near Imperial Capital Star of the Gan Wu Universe Country."

"Now, switching to the live broadcast of the final battle."

As the host spoke, the Arena was plunged into darkness. At the same time, a snow-white planet appeared in the center of the Arena and steadily enlarged. Violent winds howled across its surface, sweeping white ice fragments and sand into a frenzied dance. Faintly, two figures could be seen amid the swirling dust.

One was a stern young man in a dark blue battle robe and combat boots, with a saber and round shield on his back. He was Kelly!

Far in the distance stood a strikingly handsome young man dressed in black battle armor, his long hair flying in the wind. A dark golden rod-like object was strapped to his back, while he held a golden saber in his hand. He was Emperor!

The Life-and-Death Battle was taking place on a barren planet.

Of the two of them, only one would leave this planet alive!

"Begin!"

A deep, resonant voice came from the starry sky and reached the ears of the two powerful fighters on the ground.

Within the planet's extremely thin atmosphere, a bald, burly man in golden battle armor and combat boots looked down below.

He was a Universe level powerhouse and the supervisor of this Life-and-Death Battle. If either combatant dared to flee before the battle had decided life and death, he would personally strike and kill the escapee!

Stellar level battles were supervised by Universe level experts.

Universe level battles were supervised by Domain Lords.

Domain Lord level battles were supervised by World Masters.

World Master level battles were supervised by immortals!

Those were the rules of the Giant Axe Arena. Once a contract was signed and one agreed to fight, there was no turning back.

"Emperor." The blue-robed youth muttered softly. Then his eyes lit up like twin beams of light as he stared at the black-clad man in the distance.

"You're lucky to have run into me. I'll free you from this early!" Emperor said calmly, as though he were merely out sightseeing.

Boom!

Without waiting for Emperor to reply, Kelly raised his saber and slashed at him. The twenty-kilometer distance vanished in an instant.

The blade was only a centimeter away from Emperor. Kelly's face had already twisted into bloodthirsty madness.

Then Kelly discovered that he was flying through the air. Yet the headless corpse below him looked so familiar.

I'm dead? How is that possible? Until his consciousness vanished, Kelly never understood how he had died.

Inside the private room.

"So strong!" Luo Feng and the others had not even managed to see Emperor's strike clearly.

Kelly, a fighter of the same level who had won 121 consecutive battles, had died to a single slash.

Even if it had been them, even if they had comprehended a domain, they had no confidence in being able to kill an opponent so effortlessly.

"The payout came pretty quickly. Feels good." Jin Yu happily collected his betting winnings. The frustration caused by the Giant Axe Arena's stinginess earlier was swept away at once.

At odds of 2.98, 98,000 Hun Yuan units had become 292,040 Hun Yuan units.

Hearing Jin Yu's words, Luo Feng and the others looked at him enviously.

If they had gone all in earlier too, they might have made a fortune.

"What are you staring at? I'm happy today, so everyone gets a share." Like some rich tycoon, Jin Yu divided the remaining 2,040 Hun Yuan units among his adorable junior brothers.

"Wow, I received 510 Hun Yuan units! Senior Brother, you're so generous!" Thor was the first to cry out.

"Senior Brother, you're awesome!" Jia Yi looked at his email balance, his mouth splitting into a broad grin.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Even Hong, with his boundless state of mind, flushed from the sheer amount. What an enormous sum! Even immortal experts would go mad over it!

"Senior Brother, call me along more often when something like this comes up." Luo Feng happily counted his balance. He had become rich overnight!

"Stick with Senior Brother, and you'll never lack money." Jin Yu tossed his head and waved smugly.

The junior brothers found that smug expression more and more pleasing the longer they looked at it. All of them gazed at him with admiration—the look one gave the God of Wealth.

After dispatching his opponent with one strike, Emperor was taken aboard a spaceship by the peak Universe level referee. He still had another fight to make.

"Made a tidy profit with no effort. I earned back the money for the bounty on the clone in one go. But the odds for the next match will definitely drop. For now, I'll keep my strength suppressed at around the Third Level of the domain." Emperor muttered to himself.

After Emperor left, Jin Yu did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited silently.

After all, he had arranged for this Flame God race clone to participate in a thousand consecutive Life-and-Death Battles.

Within the Virtual Universe, Giant Axe Arena, Gan Wu Universe Country, Stellar Combat Investment Department.

"Ding-dong!"

Wu Dou, the head of the Investment Department, frowned in confusion. "Come in."

"Director, there's an Arena data report that requires your review."

An Investment Specialist entered from outside and nervously handed over a printed data report.

He then stood to one side, scarcely daring to breathe as he waited.

Wu Dou picked up the report and quickly scanned it.

His furrowed brows grew increasingly grave, and soon his breathing quickened.

"What exactly happened? Why did we suddenly lose half a month's profits? Nearly 200,000 Hun Yuan units?" Wu Dou asked, forcing himself to remain calm.

"Director, according to the backend data, there was abnormal betting activity during a Life-and-Death Battle involving a Stellar level newcomer."

"The betting amount for that single match directly reached the maximum limit, and the bet went through. Our Investment Department had to pay out a huge sum." The Investment Specialist answered uneasily.

They had never encountered such a situation in their careers. True big shots would not care about this sort of thing, while even ordinary immortals did not have the means to put up that much money.

Though such cases had occurred in history, they only happened once every ten thousand epochs or so. Yet they had actually run into one.

The Investment Department, usually flush with extra income, would probably only receive base salaries this month.

Wu Dou was even more worried. He was the department head, and if he mishandled this, even his position would be in jeopardy.

"You can leave first." Wu Dou waved the Investment Specialist away, then walked directly to a large machine and entered his authorization command.

"Emperor? First time participating in Arena combat? Instantly killed Kelly? Strength assessment: level three?" Wu Dou stared in surprise at the evaluation data provided by the Virtual Universe.

Such assessment data was enough to show that the other party was a genius. What kind of force would be willing to let such a genius participate in Arena combat?

Anyone evaluated at level three while still at the Stellar level had at least comprehended a domain. They definitely counted as a genius within the Gan Wu Universe Country.

If their domain reached the Fifth Level or above, their strength assessment would be level two. If their domain was at the Eighth Level or above, their strength assessment would be level one.

As for those who had comprehended laws? Their strength assessment would be special grade.

Under normal circumstances, a level-three genius was enough to obtain the Stellar level Giant Axe Martial Artist title.

Generally speaking, the Giant Axe Arena was a place where powerful fighters slaughtered one another while others placed bets.

For example, when Stellar level experts engaged in "Arena combat," two "Stellar level experts" would fight to the death on an uninhabited planet or in space under the Giant Axe Arena's live supervision! Only when one died would the other be declared victorious!

The death rate for every Arena combat match was as high as 100%, because these were genuine life-and-death fights. Those who dared participate all possessed a certain degree of confidence and some hidden trump card.

Participants were known as "Arena fighters."

Win ten matches, and one received the Giant Axe Arena's "Warrior" title.

Win a hundred matches, and one received the Giant Axe Arena's "Battle King" title.

Win a thousand matches, and one received the Giant Axe Arena's "Giant Axe Martial Artist" title.

Generally speaking, a Battle King's combat strength already placed them among the strongest ordinary Stellar level fighters. Without a special trump card or an overwhelming gap in strength, it was difficult to win.

Unfortunately, Kelly had encountered someone like Emperor, who had comprehended a domain. The overwhelming disparity in strength had led to an instant kill.

"Since we know where the problem lies, we can only lower the odds." Wu Dou was helpless. Faced with someone like this, he was at a complete loss.

If nothing unexpected happened, they would not earn a single cent before Emperor achieved a thousand victories.

"Looks like I need to apply for a Giant Axe Contract." Wu Dou checked how such cases had been handled historically and found several possible solutions.

The first was to quickly arrange a thousand battles and send this plague god away as soon as possible.

The second was to sign a Giant Axe Contract, recruit him into the Giant Axe Arena, and make him an internal core member.

The third was to apply for outside assistance, inviting geniuses from other factions or the Giant Axe Arena's own geniuses to participate in Arena combat and deal with Emperor.

However, both the first and third options required spending a large sum of money. The third, in particular, carried the risk of unforeseen accidents. If the genius they invited was killed instead, they would not only have to pay compensation, but the problem of Emperor would return to square one.