The Person Hidden in the Dark

The entire Yuan Wu Alley occupies a vast area, much larger than the Xuanguo Estate.

Its interior is divided into small sections, each section being an arena. There are a total of thirteen arenas, all open at this time.

Among these thirteen arenas, ten are for 'Stopping Point', overseen by high-level Martial Artists from Yuan Wu Alley. Fatalities and serious injuries are rare, as they will intervene to stop the fight once a winner is decided.

The other three, however, are 'Life and Death Arena'.

In the three 'Life and Death Arena' arenas, people aren't fighting all the time, but they attract the largest crowds. Looking around, it's a dense mass of people.

Most of the fighters in these thirteen arenas are Ninth Rank Martial Artists. Only occasionally will an Eighth Rank Martial Artist step up. After all, Eighth Rank Martial Artists already have a certain status; as long as they are willing to pledge allegiance to a faction, they won't have to worry too much about money.

After Chen Yao entered Yuan Wu Alley, she walked directly towards the three 'Life and Death Arena' arenas.

Soon.

She arrived outside one of the arenas.

The arena has two passages. One leads to the front, used by gamblers and ordinary people who enjoy watching martial arts fights. The other leads to the back, used by Martial Artists who want to participate.

Chen Yao, familiar with the place, walked towards the passage leading to the back. She reached the rear of the arena, where many Martial Artists were gathered, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

As Chen Yao entered, she immediately attracted many eyes.

Although she had applied some makeup to her face, her appearance and figure still clearly revealed her gender at a glance.

"How come there's a woman?"

Someone muttered.

"You don't know her? This must be your first time here."

A person next to him chuckled and said, "Her realm is higher than yours, she's Eighth Rank. Don't underestimate her just because she's a woman, she's extremely ruthless. More than one or two people have suffered greatly by underestimating her."

Upon hearing this, that person immediately gasped, surprised. "This little... bah, this woman is Eighth Rank? She's that ruthless?"

For a moment, the way he looked at Chen Yao became cautious.

It was rare to see women in Yuan Wu Alley. Although many women practiced martial arts, as long as they had a little bit of a realm and some looks, their prospects were much broader than men's.

After all, the number of female Martial Artists was much smaller, and many wealthy young ladies needed personal bodyguards, and these personal bodyguards could only be women. Therefore, even Ninth Rank Martial Artists had many opportunities and didn't need to come to a place like Yuan Wu Alley, let alone the 'Life and Death Arena'.

Others were much the same. Many people frowned slightly when they saw Chen Yao enter, then quickly withdrew their gaze.

Chen Yao walked directly to the innermost part of the back area. A large wooden board stood there, with wooden plaques hanging on it. The plaques were inscribed with 'Code Name' and 'Rank'.

Most of them were Ninth Rank.

Only a few scattered plaques were marked with 'Eighth Rank'.

Chen Yao didn't say anything. She simply hung a wooden plaque marked 'Eighth Rank · Nether Fox' on the wooden board, then found an empty corner for herself and sat down on a wooden stake.

She wasn't short on money.

She came here only for the Martial Dao.

For a Martial Artist to reach Seventh Rank, with talent, resources, and training methods, it wouldn't be very difficult. This was the case for Chen Yao; even without Chen Mu, she could reach Seventh Rank.

But this was not her goal.

What she pursued was the Sixth Rank, the Fifth Rank... the First Rank!

Martial Dao, with 'Martial' first and 'Dao' second. A thousand training methods, a hundred stances, these are all just the 'Dao'. The truly crucial part is the 'Martial'!

To reach the Sixth Rank, without a sufficiently strong will, without the determination to sacrifice oneself for the Martial Dao, without an unyielding belief, it is very difficult to cross that threshold!

Not to mention the realms that follow.

Since ancient times, whether it was the contemporary representatives of the Eight Sects of the World or the heroes who emerged from the Da Yuan Martial Temple, they all began from the Ninth Rank, forging their Martial Dao will step by step!

Chen Yao was the same!

She was also walking this path, starting from the Ninth Rank, honing herself here!

In the Xuanguo Estate, only one person knew about this, and that was Old Meng from the Martial Arts Academy. But Old Meng didn't stop her, because this was the Martial Dao, destined to be climbed step by step over blood and bone.

If she couldn't even pass the arena stage, how could she talk about ascending the Martial Dao? Chen Wu back then also fought his way from Yuan Wu Alley to the Seventh Rank before leaving.

"Second Brother has become a Sorcerer, and a Sixth Rank one at that. I can't fall too far behind either."

Chen Yao crossed her legs, murmuring softly in her heart.

Sixth Rank Sorcerer, Fifth Rank Martial Artist.

For her before, the Fifth Rank was still very distant, but now, with Chen Mu helping her improve her stance, she was already very close to the Seventh Rank.

Chen Mu said she could reach the Seventh Rank in three months, but that was only if she cultivated behind closed doors.

Fighting against others, between life and death, not only hones the will but also greatly stimulates a Martial Artist's own blood energy and unleashes their potential. If she won one more match, she wouldn't need a month to enter the Seventh Rank!

Chen Yao waited quietly.

Match after match passed.

Finally.

An attendant from Yuan Wu Alley walked in and spoke in a low voice, "Next match, Nether Fox versus Lu Sheng."

Chen Yao slowly stood up.

Nether Fox was her codename. The reason she used a codename was naturally to conceal her identity. Lu Sheng sounded like a real name, but it could also be a fake name, but none of that mattered.

She was only here to hone herself.

Eleventh Arena.

The periphery was a series of steps, packed with people, so full that there wasn't even room to sit. To the east was a high platform, and on the high platform were exquisite small rooms.

The people sitting in the rooms were all high-ranking officials and nobles with status.

Soon.

Chen Yao appeared in the arena. Her expression was calm, and she held the sword in her hand. There was no blood energy leaking from her body; she stood there like just a weak woman.

Across from Chen Yao stood a man of similar height but with full, muscular build, as if he had grown horizontally. Dense blood energy flowed within his body. Ordinary people just getting close would feel the pressure in the air, a sense of difficulty breathing.

"A woman?"

Lu Sheng glanced at Chen Yao.

Chen Yao raised her sword, giggled, revealing a bit of her white teeth, and said, "Go easy on me, okay?"

On the northern stands.

A deacon from Yuan Wu Alley walked slowly over and stood shoulder to shoulder with another deacon.

"Nether Fox is almost Seventh Rank."

"Yes, if she can win one more match."

"This should be her last time here... If I remember correctly, she should be from the Xuanguo Estate, right? It's good that she's leaving early, saves us trouble."

That deacon shook his head.

Others might not know Chen Yao's identity, but they in Yuan Wu Alley were certainly clear about it. However, Yuan Wu Alley had a heaven-reaching background; even princes hid their identities to hone their Martial Dao here. A concubine's daughter from the Xuanguo Estate was naturally nothing. When they said trouble, it was just a tiny bit of trouble.

And just as the two Yuan Wu Alley deacons were whispering to each other.

In an inconspicuous corner of the stands, a person wearing rough, patched cloth clothes withdrew their gaze from the two Yuan Wu Alley deacons and looked at Chen Yao in the arena, muttering:

"Eighth Rank, virgin..."

"Rarely suitable, but it's the Xuanguo Estate... Well, it doesn't matter. The end of the world is approaching, and the Xuanguo Estate is deeply sinful. It is fitting that they offer sacrifices to appease the wrath of heaven and attain ultimate bliss."