Life-Death Arena

On March 17, Lu Hao competed in another Standard Match and began improving through actual combat.

Facing different opponents every day and their varied attacks, Lu Hao improved rapidly. Each day, he came away with new injuries.

If his family hadn't been well-off and able to provide him with Healing Pills, Lu Hao wouldn't have been able to fight in the Duel Arena every day.

Bai Qiuyao's role was to prepare delicious meals for Lu Hao every day and help him stay in a good frame of mind.

Lu Hao didn't think there was anything wrong with his state of mind, but he didn't argue with his mother's kind intentions.

On March 19, Lu Hao felt that opponents at the high stage of Rank One no longer put any pressure on him, so he raised the difficulty and started facing opponents at the peak of Rank One.

Lu Hao lost that fight. His opponent also wielded a staff, but he was on a completely different level from Lu Hao's first staff-wielding opponent. Though Standing Void Stance let Lu Hao evade attacks, his opponent still caught him off guard several times.

The defeat didn't hit Lu Hao very hard, because he knew where he stood. If anything, it only stoked his competitive spirit.

Lu Hao began fighting even more relentlessly in the Duel Arena. Many people came to know Blood Blade as a young, tenacious, and fearsome fighter.

As a result, plenty of people watched and bet on each of Lu Hao's matches. Lu Hao himself didn't place any bets. He wasn't short on money; what he needed now were Slaughter Points and combat experience.

On March 24, after fighting that day, Lu Hao came up against the peak Rank One opponent who had beaten him before.

Since they'd fought each other before, both knew the other's moves.

As soon as they stepped into the arena, they skipped the probing and went straight into a contest of strength. The two burned through their Vital Blood, and the clash of blade and staff ignited the crowd's passion.

In the end, Lu Hao came out on top. His opponent ran low on Vital Blood, leaving him at a disadvantage against Lu Hao's attacks, and he lost.

Lu Hao had expected this result. He was in the middle of tempering his bones, and his Vital Blood was growing by one card every two days. His combat experience was also improving by leaps and bounds under the pressure of such intense fights.

His opponent's Vital Blood, on the other hand, had already reached its limit. He might have been stuck at the peak of Rank One for decades, and his Vital Blood could even have started to decline.

Peak Rank One martial artist: The village boys bully me because I'm old and weak.

After that match, Lu Hao reviewed what he'd learned and continued challenging opponents at the peak of Rank One.

On March 30, after nearly six days of actual combat—facing two peak Rank One opponents every day—Lu Hao had reached a whole new level of combat experience.

Today, it was time to take the next step.

Lu Hao arrived at the Duel Arena early.

"Xiao Lu, who are you fighting today? The usual, an opponent at the peak of Rank One?" Viper asked.

Viper had originally agreed to Bai Qiuyao's conditions to expand his connections with Lu Hao's father's side of the family. But after half a month, what mattered to him now was Lu Hao himself.

For half a month straight, Lu Hao hadn't taken a single day off. Healing Pills helped, but they couldn't ease the pain.

Viper had watched the young man before him transform over the past half month. He'd gone from the middle stage of Rank One to the high stage, then to the peak, fighting nonstop the whole way. Now, Lu Hao's combat strength could be called invincible among Rank One fighters.

Viper understood the young man's potential better than anyone. As long as he didn't die in an accident along the way, he was guaranteed to become a Grandmaster at the very least.

Viper knew which was the smarter choice: building connections through a Grandmaster or befriending someone who would become a Grandmaster. So now, he agreed to whatever Lu Hao asked and kept a close eye on his safety.

"Uncle Wang, set up a Life-Death Arena match for me this time. I've already fought everyone in the Standard Matches. They can't help me improve anymore. From now on, only life-and-death battles can hone me."

"Huh? Xiao Lu, why not wait a couple more days? The rules for life-and-death matches are different from those of the Standard Matches. The fighters there are colder and more ruthless, and quite a few of them have mental problems."

"Uncle Wang, I've made up my mind. Set me up against someone at the middle stage of Rank One first. I'm confident I can handle that. Besides, actual combat doesn't count for much if there's no bloodshed."

Viper looked at the determined young man and didn't try to stop him again. Instead, he went to make the arrangements for the match the day after tomorrow. He knew he couldn't hold Lu Hao back, but if things came down to it, he would make sure Lu Hao survived.

Lu Hao sat in the stands without watching the ongoing match. He'd fought both men in the arena before, so he knew their moves inside out.

There was nothing more for him to learn by watching, so he closed his eyes and focused on steadying his mind and body. The next Life-Death Arena match wouldn't be against fighters like these. It would be against thugs who'd do anything to survive.

A short while later, Viper came over.

"Xiao Lu, it's arranged. Your opponent is Mad Lion, a fighter at the middle stage of Rank One."

"Mad Lion isn't like most people. He didn't train with cold weapons; he chose to fight with his fists. He's fully tempered both fists, and apparently he also obtained a fist technique. That's why he gave up cold weapons."

"This will be Mad Lion's second Life-Death Arena match. The first time, I heard he smashed the other man's head to pieces with his bare hands."

"You have a good chance of winning with Standing Void Stance and your leg techniques, but be on your guard against whatever tricks he might pull."

As Viper led Lu Hao toward the arena, he analyzed Mad Lion's strength for him.

"Now, please welcome the Life-Death Arena fighters!"

"Mad Lion, a Rank One martial artist at the middle stage!"

"Blood Blade, a Rank One martial artist at the middle stage!"

When the referee finished speaking, Lu Hao walked onto the arena and saw his opponent. He was a fairly young man, probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

The young man chewed gum, looking relaxed and utterly brazen.

"Kid, you're out of luck running into me."

"You look pretty young. Don't tell me you're a Martial University student. I can't stand you students trained by the government."

"Your combat ability is clearly worse than ours, so why do you get ten or even dozens of times more resources than we do?"

"Today, I'll show you how a martial artist forged through real combat differs from someone like you, who was trained in a school."

The Life-Death Arena and the Standard Matches took place in separate venues, and the fighters in the Life-Death Arena looked down on those in the Standard Matches. So the young man didn't know how Lu Hao had performed in the Standard Matches. He thought Lu Hao was just some green kid who'd recently left Martial University and blundered into a Life-Death Arena match without knowing his place.

Lu Hao didn't react to the young man's taunts. As far as he was concerned, his opponent was already a dead man. Why would anyone want to talk to a corpse?

Besides, the man had said "Martial University students." Lu Hao wasn't one.

He was just a high school senior who was afraid of violence and bullying. What did that have to do with the Martial University students the man was talking about?