Arena

Lin Yuan returned to the Nine Flame Sacred Land area of the Nine Flame Continent in the Virtual Universe.

After teleporting in, Lin Yuan recalled that every time he connected to the Virtual Universe, he appeared on a street. He still hadn't bought any property in the Virtual Universe.

Property in the Virtual Universe wasn't expensive. The few billion Universe Coins he had left were more than enough.

Lin Yuan headed straight for Fire Cloud Pavilion, the hottest-selling residential area in the Nine Flame Sacred Land.

He soon picked out a small villa in Fire Cloud Pavilion, paid for it, and set his login location. He was about to log out of the Virtual Universe when—

"Lin Yuan? You bought a place here too?"

Lin Yuan looked up. It was the chubby Cohen.

"I've got a place here too, not far from yours."

Cohen walked toward Lin Yuan as he spoke.

"What a coincidence. I just finished paying for this villa."

Lin Yuan replied.

"Brother, good thing I ran into you. You're free now, right? Come with me somewhere. I bet you haven't been there yet."

The chubby Cohen said mysteriously.

"Most of my consciousness is still training in the real world. Where are we going? Not drinking again, are we?"

"What are you thinking? It's somewhere related to cultivation, of course. Come on."

The chubby Cohen led Lin Yuan deeper into the Holy Land area.

They arrived at a vast open space. A number of arenas stood in the middle.

At that moment, people were fighting on many of the arenas, and crowds had gathered around some of them to watch.

The chubby Cohen grinned and explained:

"This is the Nine Flame Sacred Land Arena. It's where the Holy Land students fight and spar. Some even hold wagered battles here."

On the arena closest to Lin Yuan, two students were locked in a fierce fight, with a crowd gathered around them.

Lin Yuan looked over. They were both Domain Lord Level students: one was a four-meter-tall, muscular member of the Wolf-man Race, and the other was a young man from the Ape-man Race.

The Wolf-man Race man wielded a set of sharp claws, while the young man from the Ape-man Race held a Battle Blade. Their fight was intense, with constant crashing sounds and the space itself faintly trembling.

The Wolf-man Race man was incredibly fast. Suddenly, more than a hundred Phantom Bodies of him appeared on the arena. The young man from the Ape-man Race struggled to fend them off, but he couldn't keep up. The Wolf-man Race man tore him apart with a swipe of his claws.

Cheers rose from the crowd below.

"You're still too weak. The next Ranking Tournament is only ten years away. You need to work hard to improve, or you'll drop out of the Core Layer by the time the next one comes around."

The Wolf-man Race man spoke to the young man from the Ape-man Race, whose figure had reappeared.

The young man from the Ape-man Race remained silent, his expression grim.

Hearing what the Wolf-man Race man had said, Lin Yuan turned to Cohen and asked:

"The next Ranking Tournament is in ten years?"

"Yeah. That's why the Arena is livelier than before. Quite a few students come here to spar every day."

"Do I have to take part too?"

"Of course. You just joined the Holy Land, so they gave you the privileges of a top-ten student. But that's only until the Ranking Tournament."

"After you take part in your first Ranking Tournament, your rank will depend entirely on you. That's how it was for me."

The chubby Cohen explained.

"Wouldn't training in the Killing Field be just as good?" Lin Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Fighting in the Arena is different from the Killing Field, of course. When you train in the Killing Field, you're relaxed. It's only suitable for making mistakes, learning, and practicing Secret Techniques. Real fights in the Arena are the best way to test your strength."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"How about we go up and fight? I've been wanting to see what you can do, brother."

The chubby Cohen grinned, as if he were inviting Lin Yuan for a drink rather than challenging him to a match.

"Sure."

Lin Yuan was curious about Cohen's strength too. To rank fifth in the Universe Level Core Layer, he had to be formidable.

They picked an arena and leaped onto it together.

On the arena,

the chubby Cohen hovered in the air, holding the Blood Edge God Weapon.

Lin Yuan, meanwhile, wielded the Thousand Mountain Axe.

"Let's begin," Lin Yuan said, his expression turning serious.

Lin Yuan activated his Domain and charged straight at Cohen with the Thousand Mountain Axe in hand.

Lin Yuan had faced many Spirit Reader Controllers in life-or-death battles. When fighting a Controller of comparable strength, he had to close in quickly and end the fight; otherwise, he could easily get dragged into a prolonged struggle.

"Mountain Collapse!"

The Thousand Mountain Axe in Lin Yuan's hands flashed with an earthy yellow light as he swung it in a mighty, weighty blow. It was the Secret Technique Mountain Collapse from the Thousand Mountain Secret Code.

Cohen activated his Domain too, and its strength was no weaker than Lin Yuan's.

Cohen swiftly retreated through the air. Suddenly, nine flaming red blades flew out of the blade-shaped Blood Edge God Weapon in his hand, all of them shooting toward Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan could sense the fluctuations of the Law of Fire Origin on the blades.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The blades and the giant axe clashed again and again, gradually slowing Lin Yuan's charge.

Lin Yuan was surprised. Those nine blades alone could keep him from closing in on Cohen.

"How about that? This is the first form of the Blood Edge God Weapon, Fire Blade Style. Not bad, right?"

The chubby Cohen said smugly.

"It's powerful, all right. Take this!"

Suddenly, Lin Yuan vanished, leaving only a shadow behind. In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Cohen.

"Mountain Collapse!"

The chubby Cohen was stunned by the sudden burst of speed Lin Yuan had just displayed. He barely managed to use the Blood Edge God Weapon to block the blow, but the force was too great, and he was sent flying.

A sharp glint appeared in the chubby Cohen's eyes.

"Blood Blade Style!"

Cohen controlled the nine blades, joining them into a Blood-colored Battle Saber that lunged at Lin Yuan. This was the second form of the Blood Edge God Weapon that Cohen had mastered.

Lin Yuan sensed that the Law of Fire Origin fluctuations around the Blood-colored Battle Saber were much stronger than before, and that they now carried a trace of the Law of Space Origin as well.

Lin Yuan immediately shifted his body to dodge the attack, but the Blood-colored Battle Saber was too fast. With his current speed and footwork, he couldn't evade it.

Lin Yuan steadied himself. A heavy, earthy yellow aura poured from the Thousand Mountain Axe in his hands, merging with his Domain.

"Earth Tremor!"

The space covered by Lin Yuan's Domain grew heavy. He swung his axe to meet the Blood-colored Battle Blade.

"Boom!"

The tremendous impact numbed Lin Yuan's palms, but he still managed to stop the Blood-colored Battle Blade's terrifying attack.

The fight gradually settled into a stalemate.

As they fought, Lin Yuan grew more familiar with the axe techniques he had already learned. He had now mastered the two simplest forms from the Thousand Mountain Secret Code, Mountain Collapse and Earth Tremor, as well as the first level of the Ten Thousand Shadow Steps, Single Shadow Step. His footwork, speed, and the power of his moves had all improved fundamentally.

Even so, he had only managed to draw with Cohen. Lin Yuan began to admire the chubby fellow. If it had been him when he first arrived at the Nine Flame Sacred Land, Cohen would have beaten him soundly.