Colosseum

Fang City was located in the northwest of the New Imperial Capital.

During the early stages of the Abyssal invasion, Yan Mountain was occupied by Abyssal monsters, and this place once became a fortress city.

Later, the rifts were cleared and controlled, and Fang City also transitioned from military to civilian use.

For over a hundred years, relying on the martial artist economy brought by the Yan Mountain rifts, it grew increasingly prosperous.

And the Fang City Jiang Family was the shining pearl of this prosperity.

Jiang Han parked the hot-pink supercar steadily in front of the main building, glanced at the empty entrance, and sneered. "Hah, where are the people to welcome you? Quite the grand reception, 'Eldest Miss'."

Li Wei twitched the corner of her mouth.

Well, no wonder Jiang Xue harbored towering resentment; it seemed there was a reason for it. A daughter returning home after four years away, and not even a ghost in sight? This kind of treatment...

Before the thought even finished turning in her mind, Jiang Han had already jumped out of the car, rushed to the tightly shut main building entrance in a few strides, and delivered a solid kick with a loud bang!

He roared, "Where is everyone?! Are you all dead?! Get out here--!"

Startled, Li Wei hurried out of the car and ran over, grabbing his arm. "Cut it out! So noisy! Help me take my things to a room first."

Jiang Han shook off her hand and said impatiently, "Fine, pick any guest room you like."

"Guest room?" Li Wei froze. "Where is my room?"

She still remembered the oversized bedroom Jiang Xue had described, the kind with a walk-in closet and a balcony! Yet Jiang Han was telling her to go stay in a guest room?

Fine, although it didn't matter to her, it had to matter to "Jiang Xue"!

"Your room?" Jiang Han gloated. "It's been turned into Jiang Yao's training room."

Li Wei feigned a fit of temper.

"Isn't there a dedicated training room in the annex?!"

Jiang Han spread his hands and shrugged. "You'll have to ask her. If you've got the chops, win it back yourself."

Li Wei narrowed her eyes, calculating swiftly in her mind.

Should she make a fuss? If she didn't, would she look out of character for Jiang Xue?

Ah, ah, ah~ So annoying, why couldn't she just head straight to the battlefield fair and square? Why were there so many tricky complications?!

Right as she was hesitating, a rattling noise sounded from behind.

Li Wei turned around and saw Jiang Han pulling her precious luggage--bundled up in a skirt that looked extremely familiar, like a package of garbage--out of the front trunk.

"What the hell! Jiang Han, you prodigal! That skirt! Do you know how much it costs?!"

She pointed at a sharp corner on the skirt obviously poked out by a hard object, her heart aching so much her voice distorted. "Can it even be worn after being treated like this?!"

Jiang Han was stunned by her roar, and then his face darkened, ready to toss the "large bundle" in his hands onto the ground.

Frightened, Li Wei hurriedly reached out to stop him.

"Jiang Xue, are you sick in the head? How much can a skirt even be worth? Do you want me to carry these pieces of junk inside one by one?"

"Ninety..." Li Wei wanted to emphasize that this skirt belonging to Jiang Xue cost 970,000.

Yet once she started the sentence, she couldn't finish the rest.

Damn it, almost forgot, I am 'Jiang Xue' now, I'm not short of money... like hell I'm not! It was over nine hundred thousand! It broke my heart!

Suppressing the heartache, she waved a hand. "Whatever, whatever... Let's go up, just find any room to drop it off, I have serious business to ask you."

The two found a sunny guest room on the second floor.

Jiang Han tossed the "luggage" onto the bed, clapped his hands, plopped down onto the foot of the bed, crossed his legs, and lifted his chin slightly as he gazed sideways at Li Wei.

"Spit it out, what's up?"

Li Wei rubbed her hands together and spoke cautiously. "Um... is there... well... any place around Fang City where you can see Abyssal monsters? Or... where you can kill Abyssal monsters with your own hands?"

Jiang Han looked at her as if she were an idiot. "You? Kill Abyssal monsters? Big sis, did you take the wrong medicine today?"

Li Wei took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch him in the face, squeezed out a smile she deemed sweet, pressed her palms together, and softened her voice. "Seeing them is fine too, just to broaden my horizons. Please~ my dear otōto~"

Seeing her acting so soft and sweet all of a sudden, Jiang Han abruptly recalled the near-blunder when they first met at the airport, and his cheeks burned slightly.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself not to look at Li Wei's face, and said awkwardly, "In a few days, the Investigation Bureau is going to process a Sixth-Tier Abyssal Monster in custody. The fourth uncle is in charge of this matter, so if you want to see it, I'll find him."

"See it, see it, see it!" Li Wei's spirits perked up, and she grew excited.

"Mn! I'll contact him tonight," Jiang Han recalled.

Li Wei was still not satisfied; she wanted the main course, but she didn't want to let go of the small snacks either.

"Then, besides the sixth tier, are there any of those... steady, trickle-type ones?"

"Steady and trickle-type?" Jiang Han found Li Wei's phrasing truly incomprehensible.

"I mean, places where Abyssal monsters keep dying..." Li Wei tried to explain, "Or those unranked little weaklings, let me kill them myself."

"Can unranked Abyssal monsters exist outside a rift?" Jiang Han looked at her with contempt. "Did you throw all the knowledge taught by your teachers down a dog's throat?"

"Just tell me if there are any or not!" Li Wei grew urgent.

Jiang Han answered quite readily. "There are. The Shark Martial Arts Hall has a colosseum in the basement. Every day, Abyssal monsters beat each other up, and occasionally some death-defying martial artists go down to fight the monsters."

"Let's bounce!" Li Wei waved her hand domineeringly.

Jiang Han asked, "Now?"

Li Wei was as firm as a warrior. "Right now! Hurry it up!"

On the outskirts of Fang City, at the foot of Yan Mountain, sat the Shark Martial Arts Hall.

Jiang Han's hot-pink supercar didn't take the main entrance; instead, it went straight along a hidden ramp, all the way down, and drove into the fifth basement level.

Along the way, it passed through at least three heavily guarded gates.

Especially at the final security checkpoint, both of them were asked to step out of the car.

A man and a woman dressed in matching tank tops, with fierce dispositions and menacing shark patterns tattooed on their arms, walked over holding detectors.

The tattooed man first bowed to Jiang Han, his attitude respectful. "Brother Han! Official business, pardon the offense."

Jiang Han was clearly a regular here, impatiently tossing his cellphone, car keys, and lighter into a nearby metal storage basket all at once. "Understood, understood, make it quick! Don't dawdle!"

"You got it!" The tattooed man spoke politely, but his hands moved meticulously, scanning back and forth with the detector several times until he confirmed everything was correct before stepping aside to clear the way.

Li Wei followed suit, placing Jiang Xue's delicate small crossbody bag into the storage basket and openly spreading her arms to let the sharp-eyed short-haired woman inspect her.

As the instrument passed her belt...

Beep, beep, beep, beep--!

Li Wei smiled awkwardly, flipped the buckle, unfastened her soft sword, and tossed them together into the storage basket.

Damn, stricter than boarding a plane...

At that moment, behind the security checkpoint, a man in a black suit who looked like a manager came over, bowing and scraping. First, he handed Jiang Han a lit cigarette, and then his gaze landed on Li Wei, a flattering smile piling up on his face. "Young Master Han, this is... your new girlfriend? Tsk tsk, what a blessing! Your fortune..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Han delivered a backhanded slap, landing it neither too lightly nor too heavily on the suit man's back of the head.

"Get lost! Grow eyes in your crotch?!" Jiang Han rebuked unpleasantly. "Take a good look! This is my older sister! My biological sister!"

The suit man came to his senses, bowing repeatedly and apologizing to Li Wei while addressing her as "Eldest Miss".

Jiang Han couldn't be bothered with his routine, grabbing Li Wei's arm and walking further inside.

Seeing Li Wei turn back to look at the storage bin, he said,

"Cellphones and personal items aren't allowed here for fear of candid photos and stuff. They'll return the things when we leave, so don't worry, they won't get lost."

"Oh, okay."

Pushing open the final soundproof door, a wave of fanatical heat mixed with sweat, tobacco, alcohol, and a certain musky stench rushed right at them.

It was like being in a giant disco; dazzling spotlights flashed and danced wildly, and heavy metal music and deafening roars and growls almost blew the roof off.

The tiered circular audience stands were packed with people whose faces were indistinct; they waved their arms and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Ghost Sheep! Ghost Sheep! Tear it apart!"

"Rip it to pieces!!"

"Kill--! Kill 'em--!"

Li Wei narrowed her eyes. The strange scent filling her nasal passages and the frantic scene before her made her instinctively feel a trace of discomfort.

Catching sight of her slightly furrowed brows, Jiang Han let out a cold snort and, without a word, turned and walked down the steps toward the front row near the railing.

Li Wei hurried to follow, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the battle taking place in the colosseum.

It was a circular arena about the size of two basketball courts, with a dark, special-material floor enclosed entirely by tall, thick alloy wire netting.

Right now, within the arena, two pitch-black monsters with twisted and terrifying forms were engaging in a primitive and bloody slaughter.

One of them, slightly larger in build with a pair of menacing, curved horns atop its head resembling a goat but far sturdier and more ferocious, clearly held the upper hand.

It used those sharp horns to pin its opponent's shoulder and neck area, forcefully pressing another six-legged, hound-like Abyssal monster against the alloy wire netting at the edge of the arena.

Roar--! Growl--!

The pinned six-legged canine Abyssal monster let out an unresigned roar, twisting its body and struggling frantically while its sharp claws scraped uselessly against the ground and wire netting.

Regrettably, its movements grew increasingly smaller, and its sounds gradually faded away.

About to die?

A thought stirred in Li Wei's heart. Ignoring Jiang Han, she quickened her pace, almost breaking into a jog as she pressed against the outer corridor of the alloy cage, approaching the two monsters.

When she was less than ten meters away from the six-legged canine Abyssal monster, the monster's body twitched violently and went completely still.

At the same time, an extremely faint black light, visible only to Li Wei, flew out from the corpse of the canine Abyssal monster, lightly passed through the alloy net, and instantly plunged into the center of Li Wei's brows!

Abyss Essence: 7→103