Acquaintance in the Gladiator Arena

A few days later, Xu Changqing successfully snuck from a life planet next to the Eternal Star Domain into the Eternal Kingdom.

He looked at the streets, which were filled with steel everywhere, and felt dazed. He thought to himself, "I once fantasized about entering a cyberpunk world, and it's actually come true."

He saw things he had dreamed of during his Mortal Period, but his heart no longer held excitement or anticipation. There was only endless peace and a sense of daze from his memories.

Everything he saw were sci-fi scenes: steel buildings thousands of meters high, with train tracks floating in mid-air, winding and piercing through the sky, emitting a cold silver light.

On the streets, some people rode on greatswords inscribed with mysterious patterns – a combination of runes and technology. Blue and white light flowed from the swords, with patterns resembling a glowing stream.

The sword hilt was a thruster, and with a gentle push, blue flame-like hydrogen gas would jet out.

Beside the streets were countless shops, densely packed and incredibly brilliant, a sight of a thousand lights.

Others drove hovercars, soaring through the air and entering black holes.

The wondrous scenes left Xu Changqing dazzled and disoriented.

There were many pedestrians on the road, dressed fashionably. Some were not even human, but purely mechanical beings.

A silver robot lay in an alley, wires tangled behind it, a white charging cable plugged into its body.

This world seemed chaotic, yet there was no trash, and it was very spacious everywhere. The shops on either side of the street sold unknown items, mostly glowing stones.

"Ugh, look, that person is cosplaying an ancient person. I have to say, he's so handsome, especially that flowing white hair that reaches his waist," some young women on the street whispered, pointing at Xu Changqing and telling their companions.

Who knows how many tens of thousands of years ago the Eternal Kingdom had already developed into a technological world, and Xu Changqing's attire had long been obsolete for countless years.

Some women, blushing furiously, ran in front of Xu Changqing and stammered, "Handsome guy, can I get your contact info?"

Xu Changqing glanced at the women, said nothing, and walked away without a response.

"Hmph, what's the use of being handsome if you have no manners? You're not even as handsome as my readers."

Xu Changqing changed his appearance.

His long hair vanished, replaced by a white, side-parted style that reached his eyelashes. His sharp eyebrows gave him a somewhat cool look.

His black robe was now a black combat suit, exuding a strong sense of technology, as if forged from meteorite iron, shimmering with metallic luster.

Walking on the street, various dreamlike streams of light shone on him. At this point, not many people noticed him anymore.

After all, handsome people were not uncommon in the Eternal Kingdom.

After walking for about two hours, he arrived at a massive platform forged from iron refined from meteorites. Starlight seemed to emanate from it.

The platform was huge, at least the size of five or six football fields. In the center of the square stood a colossal pillar with a giant screen on top.

Many people had already gathered here, and the noise and clamor were like those of a bustling marketplace.

Although Xu Changqing couldn't understand what they were saying, the human mind processed thoughts during speech. Thus, he extended his divine sense and instantly grasped the meaning of their words.

"As expected of a strong individual from the Starry Sky. Even Qi Pei was defeated, and he used a second-tier precious medicine! To be defeated like that is truly unbelievable."

"What are you talking about? If he wasn't strong, how could that slave dare to enter the Ancient Path alone and chase them all the way to our star domain?"

"The main event is about to begin. I heard that a peerless Heavenly Pride is coming to face this Heavenly Pride from outside the Starry Sky."

"It's a shame we can only watch from the plaza. If I had Shattered Gold Stone, I could personally witness their battle."

Various discussions spread, becoming increasingly irritating.

Xu Changqing's face remained expressionless, but a hint of curiosity flickered within him. He followed some people onto the platform.

Several soldiers in silver armor were stationed on the platform. Behind them was a black hole, surrounded by silver iron-like material, with various patterns and flowing lights rotating around it.

One by one, living beings lined up. A fully mechanical being swaggered up and threw out five stones of different colors, which the soldiers then put away.

Seeing this, Xu Changqing also took out five ores, each emitting a different substance, and handed them to the soldiers. Without any surprise, he successfully entered.

A few days ago, those three women had plenty of these stones. According to them, these stones contained the Power of Five Elements and the Laws of Five Elements.

Collecting these stones allowed for the extraction of their substances and laws, which could then be mixed with Destiny Stones to form a body-refining precious liquid.

However, it seemed useless to him, so he might as well spend them.

Stepping into the passage, he found a golden metal road and followed the beings ahead.

After a while, he finally heard the noise. With a flash of light, a massive coliseum appeared before his eyes.

It was a circular coliseum with rows of seats. On opposite sides, there were giant screens.

At this moment, more than a hundred thousand people were already present, but for this place, a hundred thousand people were like only ten.

Xu Changqing casually found a seat and touched the chair beneath him. With a gentle pull, he discovered that Saint-level Runes were faintly glowing.

"A powerful being has set up formations here, blocking the energy waves from the center of the coliseum, so sitting here is absolutely safe," Xu Changqing thought to himself.

He wondered what level of expert had set up the formations.

Thus, Xu Changqing closed his eyes to rest, awaiting the arrival of the grand battle.

After an unknown amount of time, more and more people entered, and soon all the seats were filled.

To his right sat an incredibly handsome man, and to his left sat a woman of peerless elegance, looking extremely beautiful, her wine-red hair swaying gently in the breeze.

Xu Changqing took a closer look and realized these two weren't simple individuals, but it was best not to provoke them.

Soon, he discovered that the place was filled with young people, with no middle-aged individuals in sight. The middle-aged people were all off to the side.

This struck him as very strange.

"Fellow Daoist, do you think Gan Long can win?" Suddenly, Xu Changqing heard someone ask him a question. He turned his head and saw it was the handsome man.

This was a man with long, disheveled hair, wearing a blue robe. He also looked like he was from ancient times, giving off an impression of sunshine, handsomeness, and cheerfulness.

Xu Changqing shook his head and said indifferently, "I don't know."

However, he thought of someone in his heart.

In his memory, there was also a man named Gan Long.

He was the Holy Son of Qiankun Holy Land, and they were once rivals. This was because Qiankun Holy Land and Misty Holy Land had a generations-long marital alliance.

His ex-wife, as the Saintess, was naturally the wife of Qiankun Holy Son. But she had a child, so Xu Changqing became the target of Gan Long's resentment.

Gan Long had caused him a lot of trouble back then, but in the end, he was defeated by Xu Changqing in the Immortal Second Realm at the Slaying Emperor Dynasty.

"Fellow Daoist, why don't you make a guess?" the handsome man asked with a slight smile.

He found Xu Changqing to be extraordinary. Just sitting there, he exuded a sense of pressure, not intentionally released, but from his casual actions.

For example, he saw Xu Changqing resting his head on his hand, yawning, and completely ignoring the people around him. One had to realize that anyone who could reach this position was a master among the younger generation.

Moreover, this was the best viewing spot, specifically provided for the younger generation.

Anyone who could so easily dismiss the younger generation was either truly powerful or incredibly arrogant.

However, he had no intention of harming Xu Changqing; he merely wanted to befriend him.

"I can't be bothered to guess," Xu Changqing said with boredom. What was there to guess? The great battle was about to begin.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

At this moment, several bell tolls sounded, signaling the start of the battle for everyone.

Boom!

As soon as the bells stopped, a muffled sound echoed through the venue. An iron gate beneath the fighting arena slowly opened, and several people dragged a cage onto the stage.

"Please welcome, Gan Long from Burial Emperor Star! Currently, he has participated in two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine battles, with a perfect winning streak!"

"However, this time, his opponent is a special individual, a renowned peerless Heavenly Pride from our Eternal Kingdom. It remains to be seen if he can maintain his winning streak and reach three thousand victories."

As soon as the referee finished speaking, from a dark corner, the cage was slowly pushed out. Inside the cage was a young man.

His black hair was disheveled, and he kept his head down, his hair obscuring his entire face. He wore a dirty, tattered robe covered in stains and blood.

Upon hearing Gan Long from Burial Emperor Star, Xu Changqing had already confirmed it was an acquaintance. However, he looked quite pathetic now.

Seeing this scene, his heart remained calm. A little bit of patheticness was nothing; he had experienced far worse.

If one gave up or fell into depravity just because they were enslaved, they wouldn't be worthy of being his opponent.

Currently, Gan Long was also at the Half-Saint cultivation level.

Suddenly, the person inside the iron cage raised his head, revealing a pair of tired eyes. He abruptly looked towards Xu Changqing in the seating area, his eyes filled with surprise.

He sensed an extremely familiar aura, yet it also felt strange. This aura was contradictory.

His physique and talent were miraculous. Even if Xu Changqing had hidden his aura, he could still sense a trace of it.

However, he did not speak. After glancing at Xu Changqing a few times, he lowered his head again.

At this moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. His former enemy had reappeared. He no longer harbored the same hatred as before; instead, there was joy at seeing an old acquaintance and a sense of his own wretchedness.

After years of wandering the Starry Sky, he had been captured and brought here. Every day, he was either bled dry or forced to train Heavenly Prides. He had become numb.

He no longer harbored any hostility towards Xu Changqing. The hatred had vanished the day he was defeated, leaving only existential doubt.