He let his mind roam, gazing to the ends of the horizon. The magnificent buildings, grand enough to shatter the limits of imagination, deeply shook Xu Yi's soul.
Suddenly, an overwhelming excitement surged from deep within Xu Yi. He knew what it was: the urge to perform, that familiar feeling that had risen in him when he commanded his guildmates to besiege cities in the game world.
Only this time, that urge to perform was tens of millions of times stronger than before—indescribable, impossible to restrain.
Indeed, how could the glory of commanding a hundred people to dominate a virtual network compare to having ten thousand people focus their attention on him?
Xu Yi's blood was boiling, his heart soaring with boundless ambition.
While Xu Yi was hopelessly lost in his wild daydreams, Gao Pan, not far away, was consumed by shame and fury. In his eyes, that fellow surnamed Yi was far too arrogant; he had completely disregarded Gao.
Gao Pan stared at Xu Yi for a long while, but Xu Yi didn't even spare him a glance. His eyes kept darting around, taking in everything. That alone would have been bad enough, but the fellow's face was so animated, as if he were some country bumpkin seeing the city for the first time, too busy feasting his eyes to remember that he was about to face a merciless, bloody beating at the hands of the mighty Gao Pan.
Just as the two men were each lost in their own thoughts, a loud clang rang out, and the uproar in the stands instantly fell silent. A deep voice, amplified by the sound-gathering array, echoed across the entire arena. The host of the duel was announcing the rules.
The rules were simple enough: no restrictions on weapons or methods, and no prohibition against killing!
The moment the deep voice fell silent, Xu Yi and Gao Pan's gazes finally met.
The sky was cloudless, and the sun stood directly overhead.
The towering Gao Pan held a twelve-foot silver spear. Clad in golden armor, he glared at Xu Yi as the dark-red sunlight washed over him. He looked just like a golden armored deity who had stepped out of the sun.
Xu Yi, by contrast, was lean. Though he wasn't short, he barely reached Gao Pan's shoulder. His face was stubbled and sallow, and his blue robe had been washed until it faded nearly white. It was clean enough, at least. Apart from his unusually bright black eyes, he was the sort of person who could vanish into a crowd without a trace.
The moment the two appeared together, the difference between them was plain to see!
Gao Pan merely raised his silver spear, and the entire arena erupted in deafening cheers. The whole city seemed to tremble.
In an instant, Gao Pan's satisfaction reached its peak.
He had taken part in eight arena battles, but had never once stood on the Ascending Dragon Platform, renowned throughout Guang'an.
In those years, however, Guang'an City had been rife with conflict. A showdown between Body Tempering Peak experts had been nothing special.
In recent years, though, duels between Body Tempering Peak experts had become all but unheard of. That was why this duel had been elevated to such a lofty status.
What was more, on the surface, this was merely a contest of strength between Gao Pan and Yi Xu. Behind the scenes, however, it was also a clash between the Patrol Division and the Black Dragon Hall. To make a grand show of its might, the Black Dragon Hall had thrown a hundred thousand gold into the betting market, breathing life into one that had been dormant for a long time and raising the attention surrounding this duel to unprecedented heights.
Only then had the Guang'an Prefecture Governor decided to reopen the long-closed Ascending Dragon Platform as the battleground.
Tens of thousands were cheering for him. Gao Pan's heroic spirit soared rapidly to the clouds, and he had long since forgotten Ma Wensheng's instructions to finish the fight quickly.
With a resounding clang, the silver spear cut through the air before striking the ground. Gao Pan lifted his head and puffed out his chest. He was about to swagger through the usual introduction of his spear when Xu Yi broke the rules and spoke first.
"Quiet down, everyone! Quiet!"
Xu Yi suddenly strode forward, spreading his arms and waving to the stands on all sides. Amplified by the sound-gathering array, his deep voice rang across the arena.
In an instant, the entire arena fell silent. Everyone opened their eyes wide and stared at him.
The Ascending Dragon Platform had opened countless times, but never before had one of the fighters addressed the stands.
The unexpected sight struck everyone as novel, and they instinctively wanted to hear what Xu Yi had to say.
Countless gazes converged into a mighty pressure. Xu Yi steadied himself, spread his arms, and called out, "I just wanted to ask if anyone here bet on me to win. If you did, let me congratulate you in advance, because you're guaranteed to make a fortune! Come on, if you bet on me, stand up and wave so I can see you. Give me some encouragement!"
Boom!
People toppled all over the stands. Even Gao Pan's grip slipped, and he nearly let his silver spear fall from his hand.
"I've seen plenty of shameless braggarts, but I've never seen one this shameless!"
Gao Pan felt sick, as if he'd swallowed a rotten egg.
Just then, countless people in the stands really did rise to their feet, waving their arms and cheering Xu Yi on at the top of their lungs. The scene was spectacular.
Indeed, with tens of thousands watching, even if only one percent had dared to bet on Xu Yi, their combined cheers would have been enough to make a mighty din.
Besides, countless onlookers who loved nothing more than watching the chaos joined in, their roar shaking the clouds and rattling the sun, sweeping over the mountains and rivers.
The sight filled Gao Pan with envy, then excitement so intense he could barely contain himself. Who's more popular, me or that fellow surnamed Yi? Isn't it obvious? If he can whip up a crowd like this, I can outdo him a hundredfold.
At the thought of ten thousand people cheering for him, Gao Pan's bladder swelled with excitement.
He couldn't be bothered to worry about repeating Xu Yi's stunt. With a furious shout, he silenced the arena and was about to speak when he heard a sharp breeze beside his ear. He instinctively tilted his head to dodge, just as a tremendous force slammed into his hand. The silver spear flew from his grasp, sailing far away.
A sudden upheaval!
Xu Yi had struck first!
As it turned out, that little greeting and show of force had been nothing more than a flash of inspiration from Xu Yi.
He had already thought through his battle against Gao Pan: use his own strengths to target his opponent's weaknesses, and strike first.
His strengths were his quick movements and immense power. His weakness was his lack of Martial Skills.
The only technique he knew, Demonic Ox Great Strength Fist, was merely a body-tempering method, with no real means of attack.
Without a doubt, the key to this battle was to catch his opponent off guard and fight at close range. He absolutely couldn't let Gao Pan use his Martial Skills.
The silver spear in Gao Pan's hands had been Xu Yi's first target all along.
When two opponents of equal rank clashed, one armed with a powerful weapon and the other bare-handed, the one with the weapon had the advantage. Even if Xu Yi's opponent was a peerless spearman, how could Xu Yi let him exploit that advantage?
So he deliberately riled up the audience. While he spoke, he moved around the arena, using the opportunity to close the distance between himself and Gao Pan while searching for Gao Pan's blind spots, waiting for his chance to strike.
Who could have known that before the audience had even gotten worked up, Gao Pan himself would be swept up in a strange fantasy, his blood running hot?
With such a heaven-sent opportunity, how could Xu Yi let it slip away? He shot forward in a blur, both fists driving toward Gao Pan.
Gao Pan was a formidable fighter. He had spent half his life in countless battles, and fighting had practically become instinct. Before the killing intent even arrived, his warning signs had already flashed. At the very last instant, he managed to shift his head half an inch, making Xu Yi's punch miss.
But Xu Yi had thrown both fists at once. Gao Pan avoided the blow to his head, but his hand was ultimately half a beat too slow. Xu Yi's fist struck the shaft of the spear. His powerful punch sent the shaft shuddering violently, and Gao Pan couldn't keep hold of it. The spear flew from his grasp.
The stands exploded in an instant, their thunderous roar like a storm. If sound could take solid form, Xu Yi would have been blown to smithereens.
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