I'm Really Scared
"This kid's asking for it!"
The members of the Hong Dao Society were all furious. This Yi Yun was really asking for it!
They only came to find him Hong Dao Society him. He's just a newcomer in the mid-stage of Purple Blood Realm. Their leader even came personally for him, but Yi Yun is refusing to listen to reason. Who does he think he is?
Li Hong's face was terribly gloomy. He held a metal cup lying on the table, gently kneading it with his fingers, tearing it to shreds bit by bit. Under his finger strength, this metal, which had not been specially forged, was as fragile as paper.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear you. Say it again?"
Li Hong looked at Yi Yun with a smile, still like a Maitreya Buddha. But everyone knew that Li Hong's expression was a sign of extreme anger.
Even seasoned trial participants who had been in Tai'a Divine City for four or five years dared not offend a powerful figure like Li Hong, who had a large following.
Offending Li Hong has serious consequences!
"Didn't you hear me? Say it again, right? Yeah, no problem! What I just said was, go to hell..." Yi Yun responded clearly. How could Yi Yun tolerate someone who wanted to take a bite out of him while acting like he was a brother? Just because he organized some Hong Dao Society, he thought he was something special.
As for retaliation from the Hong Dao Society, Yi Yun wasn't afraid at all. The Hong Dao Society was an organization mostly composed of newcomers. People were wary of it only because they believed it would grow stronger in the future. But compared to its future strength, would Yi Yun be afraid?
Furthermore, while Tai'a Divine City allows private duels between trial participants, there are still rules. In particular, there are various restrictions on two-year veterans attacking new recruits. Even private duels between new recruits must be conducted in a respectful setting. They are allowed in private, but not in public places. For example, fighting is not permitted on the streets or in the canteen.
"Did you hear me now?" Yi Yun took another bite of meat and mumbled indistinctly.
Li Hong's voice trembled upon hearing Yi Yun's words.
"Fine! Very well! You think that means I can't do anything to you?"
Li Hong slowly crumpled the metal cup in his hand into tiny pieces.
But Yi Yun was completely unmoved; he had clearly got Li Hong under his control. He remained seated at the table and continued eating.
In the cafeteria, Li Hong didn't dare to do anything. If a fight broke out there, all the tables and chairs in the hall would be destroyed, and Li Hong couldn't bear the punishment for that.
Everyone was stunned. This Yi Yun was too fierce; he didn't take Li Hong seriously at all.
Li Hong was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Kid, you probably think I can't touch you! Don't you know? In a few days, after you new recruits finish your menial duties, you'll be fighting in the arena!"
"Do you know the rules of the newcomer competition rankings? Tai'a Divine City will give you a rough ranking based on your performance over the past few days, the Dragon Scale Rune you've earned, your cultivation level, strength assessment, and many other factors! And everyone ranked below you has the right to challenge you! If they defeat you, they will replace you and take your ranking."
"With all that money you've made from Dragon Scale Rune, it'll be hard for your ranking to drop! I'll have the new members of the Hong Dao Society give you special attention! And you won't be able to refuse that challenge!"
Li Hong chuckled. Arena battles are extremely intense. Trial participants are simulating real combat, and it's not surprising that they often suffer serious injuries.
If Yi Yun were to face a series of challenges alone, lose several arms, and have to use Dragon Scale Rune to heal himself, and if he didn't have enough Dragon Scale Rune, he would have to borrow money, and it would be perfectly normal for him to be bedridden for several months!
"Ranking battle?"
Yi Yun raised an eyebrow. Having been in Tai'a Divine City for so long, he was now familiar with the rules of the arena.
The arena rankings are also known as the Earth Rankings. Everyone who participates in the trials in Tai'a Divine City, even the weakest among them, will have their own Earth Ranking.
Those who are challenged on the leaderboard cannot refuse the challenge.
However, to prevent people from challenging others unnecessarily, there are various restrictions on battles in the arena.
One of them is—the stakes!
So, one of the ways Qin the Bald mentioned earlier to earn Dragon Scale Rune is the Arena! As long as you're strong enough, you can earn Dragon Scale Rune incredibly fast in the Arena!
In each contest, both the challenger and the challenged must place bets on themselves.
Depending on the ranking, there is a minimum betting limit.
The higher the ranking, the higher the stakes; the greater the leap in difficulty the challenge, the more stakes you have to pay!
In this way, the cost of taking on the challenge is very high, and only those who are confident dare to take it on; those who lack confidence are simply handing resources to others!
In reality, the stakes in actual arena battles often exceed the minimum bet!
The specific amount of the bet is determined jointly by both parties.
Sometimes, when arch-rivals come to power, both sides are giving it their all, raising the stakes higher and higher until it becomes quite frightening!
In such battles, the two sides are often those who rank high on the leaderboard, naturally attracting many spectators.
When Qin Haotian dethroned the number one on the Earth Ranking, the entire arena was packed with people; almost all of the more than 10,000 trial participants from Tai'a Divine City were there.
Many instructors and Enforcement Envoy also came to watch the battle!
"Want to fight me in the arena?" Yi Yun chuckled, chewing up a bone about the thickness of a thumb, which Yi Yun ate like a peach shortbread.
He's been in Tai'a Divine City for so long, but he hasn't really had a proper fight yet. He was cultivating diligently in the Desolate God Hall, which raised his cultivation level by one realm. After absorbing the Heavenly Auspicious Purple Sun Ginseng, his physical strength increased greatly!
Now, he has also obtained the qualification to cultivate the <Tai'a Sacred Law, which is a top-level technique that integrates cultivation, combat, and Movement Technique.
A good knife will rust if you don't use it to cut people.
Learning a top-tier cultivation technique but not using it in combat will greatly reduce its effectiveness.
Yi Yun was already thinking about going to the arena to test his skills in a few days, but unexpectedly, someone came to be his sparring partner.
Moreover, they're just a group of sparring partners; not only do they not ask for payment, but he might even earn Dragon Scale Rune from them.
How could Yi Yun refuse such a good offer?
"A whole group of you challenging me? You're all being incredibly shameless... I'm terrified." Yi Yun looked completely at a loss.
"Hey! Scared now? Too late!" A henchman behind Li Hong said with a sneer, "Even if you kneel down and kowtow to Brother Hong now, it won't do you any good. We'll beat you until your bones are broken and you'll be broke from all the medical bills!"
Upon hearing this, the people behind Li Hong burst into laughter.
"You worthless herb gatherer, you just stumbled upon a half-dead Primordial Relic Medicine by sheer luck, and you think you've got some real skill? Tai'a Divine City is a place where strength speaks for itself. What good is your herb gathering ability! You've offended the Hong Dao Society, and you can forget about living in Tai'a Divine City for the next six years!"
"You country bumpkin from Yunhuang, just wait until we get to the arena, and I'll show you the true strength of the geniuses from the imperial families!"
Seeing that they had suppressed Yi Yun, Li Hong's underlings felt a surge of satisfaction. Some of them came from powerful families in the capital of Zhongzhou, and they had an innate sense of superiority, looking down on Lineage from other states, let alone someone from Yunhuang.
Previously, Yi Yun had been so arrogant in front of them, and they had long wanted to beat Yi Yun up. Now that they had finally brought Yi Yun down, wouldn't they be doing themselves a disservice if they didn't kick him a few more times?
However... Li Hong frowned. He sensed that Yi Yun wasn't being honest; he didn't seem afraid at all...
That kid's got some nerve!
"The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow on forever, kid, just you wait!"
Li Hong uttered this harsh remark and left with his men.
Zhou Kui was left standing there like a wooden statue, not knowing what to say.
He had initially thought that Li Hong and his group were there to recruit Yi Yun into the Hong Dao Society, but he never expected it to turn out like this...
As for the other trainees around the canteen, they were also dumbfounded. Most of them were newcomers and dared not offend a powerful force like the Hong Dao Society. They were shocked to see that Yi Yun had been targeted by the Hong Dao Society in the blink of an eye, and that the other party had already threatened to beat Yi Yun to a pulp in the arena and make him go bankrupt from taking medicine.
How will Yi Yun face the world after this?
Many people looked at Yi Yun with more sympathy. Li Hong had only been a soldier for two years; he still had to stay in Tai'a Divine City for five more!
"Yi... Yi Yun... I didn't expect... this to be the result." Zhou Kui swallowed hard and stammered. Although he and Yi Yun had always been competitors, they weren't mortal enemies.
After all, he was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and Zhou Kui was a bit straightforward. Even if he was just trying to win a fight, he wouldn't really want to kill the other person.
Zhou Kui felt that by bringing Li Hong and his group here, he had put Yi Yun in a difficult position.
Yi Yun was quite easygoing. He smiled slightly, picked up the good meat on the table, and continued to eat heartily. He said indistinctly, "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Do you want some? This meat tastes pretty good."
"Uh..." Zhou Kui was speechless. Even at a time like this, Yi Yun was still able to eat meat!
(I went back to the hotel early after the live stream ended, after the silkworm cocoon scene was over. I just finished writing and uploaded this. This is the second chapter.)
...(To be continued~^~)