The Underground Duel Arena

The next morning,

Lu Hao continued practicing his saber techniques and familiarizing himself with the Big Ring Blade, while looking forward to the trial his mother had mentioned.

That afternoon, he received a call from his mother.

When he came outside, he saw a pink Maserati waiting there. It was his mother's car, bought for her by his father to commemorate their tenth wedding anniversary.

He opened the car door and smoothly took the passenger seat.

"Mom, where are we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there. Once we arrive, don't blame me for being hard on you. No one there will know who you are. I'll have them treat you just like any other talented student from a Martial University. Knowing that, do you still want to go?"

Though Bai Qiuyao sounded cold, she was filled with worry.

"I'm going. I won't give up. This is the path I chose, and I'll see it through."

Seeing the determination in Lu Hao's eyes, Bai Qiuyao said no more. With her watching over him, nothing would go wrong.

The car drove all the way to the outskirts of Magic City.

At last, it stopped in front of a large compound.

"All right, get out. This is the place."

Lu Hao immediately got out and looked around. The area was desolate, a stark contrast to downtown Magic City, and there were even fields nearby. The compound where they'd parked wasn't a high-rise building, but it had a spacious courtyard.

There was nothing to see from the outside. However, two burly men stood on either side of the gate, and they looked like trouble.

The man opposite watched Lu Hao get out without saying anything, merely giving him a few appraising glances. But once Bai Qiuyao stepped out, he stopped looking.

"Come on, let's go in."

Bai Qiuyao led Lu Hao inside. She didn't show any credentials, and the two men didn't stop her. They must have known his mother.

They didn't stop until they reached the back of the compound, where Bai Qiuyao paused in front of a guarded door.

She asked the burly man standing opposite them,

"Are there any life-or-death fights today?"

The man looked at Lu Hao's youthful face and grinned. "There are. Tickets are ten thousand each! Since when did Director Bai start bringing rookies along?"

Bai Qiuyao replied by casually tossing him an ordinary Blood Vitality Pill.

He glanced at it and nodded. "Go on in!"

And so Lu Hao followed Bai Qiuyao into the place where his trial would take place.

Once inside, Lu Hao realized there was far more to it than met the eye. The interior was much larger than it had seemed from outside, and they were heading downward. That meant the main part of the place was underground, while the building above was just a cover.

After winding through several corridors and passing through multiple doors, Lu Hao finally heard the commotion ahead.

"Mom, what is this place? Now that we're here, you might as well tell me."

Lu Hao asked curiously.

"This is the Underground Duel Arena. There are all kinds of martial artists fighting here. You're sure to learn a lot."

"Uh... Mom, isn't this illegal?"

Lu Hao looked at Bai Qiuyao as if to say, How can the head of the Detective Bureau not crack down on crime?

"Not exactly. This place is half public, half underground, and there are people from the Detective Bureau here too. There are plenty of disputes between martial artists, but we don't encourage them to fight to the death in public."

"So places like this came into being. People with grudges, people looking for revenge, people who want to make money, train, or see blood—all of them come here. For many Martial University students, this is their last stop before taking on missions."

"So long as these places let Martial University prodigies see blood while keeping them relatively safe, the Detective Bureau won't move against them."

Lu Hao nodded. So that was how it worked: a place set aside for Martial University students to get their first taste of blood, where unruly martial artists could settle their problems.

Just then, he could hear the voices ahead more clearly.

"Kill him! Iron Fist, kill him!"

"You useless piece of trash, get up! I bet five hundred thousand on you! Get up!"

"Hahaha, I bet on Iron Fist! Iron Fist is unbeatable!"

Although Lu Hao had been prepared, the noise ahead still made him considerably nervous.

"I won't let you fight for the next couple of days. You'll just watch the matches here, get used to seeing blood, and broaden your horizons. Once you're accustomed to it, you'll have to fight in the ring yourself."

Lu Hao nodded. His Slaughter Points were nearly depleted. How was he supposed to get by if he didn't replenish them? So although he was nervous, he wasn't too nervous. If he imagined his opponent as a pig he was about to slaughter, he'd be able to bring himself to do it.

They stepped over a threshold, and a huge arena came into view, ringed by tiers of seats.

Lu Hao looked around. The stands were packed with spectators, men and women, young and old. After all, this was where they could watch the most primal kind of combat.

Lu Hao looked toward the ring. Two people were fighting, but one had already been knocked to the ground and seemed unable to fight back.

The martial artist opposite showed no sign of stopping. Instead, amid the spectators' shouts, he struck his opponent's head with all his might. Flesh and blood exploded instantly.

As Lu Hao watched, a wave of nausea rose within him. He'd seen plenty of pigs die like that at his own hands, but the person across from him was a human being.

Anyone would feel physical and emotional discomfort watching someone being beaten to death right in front of them.

The stench of blood spread through the arena. An ordinary person would probably have thrown up as soon as they smelled it.

But Lu Hao didn't vomit. The slaughterhouse had smelled even worse. He was incredibly grateful that he'd spent a month working there. The smell of blood still bothered him, but at least he could bear it.

Bai Qiuyao glanced at Lu Hao. She hadn't expected him to keep his stomach, but she said nothing. If he couldn't even handle this, he'd never make it as a martial artist.

"Come on. This is the Life-Death Arena, so people dying is normal. Spend the next couple of days getting used to the place. Then you'll start with some Standard Matches, and only after that will you fight in the Life-Death Arena."

"Once you've gone through all of that, I won't stop you from taking on missions."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll definitely pass."

As she spoke, Bai Qiuyao led Lu Hao toward the backstage area.

A few steps later, they arrived backstage, where a middle-aged man with an imposing presence was already waiting.

"What brings Director Bai here? I knew something good would happen today! It's such an honor to have you visit us."

"Cut the chatter."

Bai Qiuyao had no interest in making small talk and spoke briskly.

"Put him through the same program you use for your most talented Martial University students."

"Him? Sure. Then let's have him spend a couple of days collecting bodies first," the middle-aged man replied.

"Come here, Xiao Li. Take this young man to the Corpse Room. When someone else dies, have him go into the ring and collect the body. And make sure he's alone in the Corpse Room."

Just then, a young man came hurrying over.

Lu Hao listened to the burly man's instructions. Damn, that's harsh—to make me watch corpses and collect them. He glanced at his mother and saw that she had sat down nearby and fallen silent.

Lu Hao gritted his teeth and followed the young man toward the back.