Referee Work

Heavenly Arena's 1st Floor was divided into four competition zones—A, B, C, and D—with many small arenas in each zone.

The spectator seats on the 1st Floor were free, and anyone could enter to watch.

However, matches starting from the 10th Floor required tickets. They were not expensive, costing about as much as a bottle of juice, though tickets became pricier the higher up the matches were held.

Besides the competition areas, Heavenly Arena also had many commercial districts. The entire Heavenly Arena was essentially a massive commercial hub.

The city had also become famous because of Heavenly Arena, which single-handedly made it prosperous.

Under the guidance of a referee, Lucky arrived in Zone B.

Lucky's appearance immediately drew some attention.

"Look!"

"Isn't that a referee's uniform?"

"Are there referees that young?"

Lucky's clothes were easily recognized by some of the spectators, and they immediately began discussing him.

Becoming a referee at Heavenly Arena was not so simple. Applicants had to pass assessments and possess a certain level of combat strength.

Contestants who had spent years struggling below the 100th Floor without being able to advance would also apply for referee positions at Heavenly Arena, constrained by financial concerns.

With those basic requirements in place, it was difficult for someone Lucky's age to become a referee.

Lucky was assigned to stand beside an arena and observe first.

Before long, a match was arranged for the arena he was watching.

As Heavenly Arena grew famous, enormous numbers of people came to Keli City every day. After all, this was the only place where one could earn money simply by fighting.

Although Heavenly Arena had been built for Martial Artists, what truly attracted so many people to challenge matches was the generous prize money.

Matches on the first floor were also the most frequent, since it was where everyone started.

There were probably tens of thousands of matches held on the first floor every day.

Lucky observed like this, and whenever he had to wait, he would go watch other arenas as well.

Starting from the first floor, the contestants' skill levels varied wildly.

Many matches looked more like street brawls. Contestants with actual fighting ability would generally reveal it during battle.

Lucky noticed that contestants with a solid fighting foundation would generally be sent directly to the 30th Floor by the referees, while those meeting the standard for the 50th Floor were much rarer.

Unless they were especially outstanding.

There were not many contestants on the first floor whose moves and techniques Lucky could "copy." It mostly just familiarized him with the referee's work process.

By the end of the day, he had gained something.

The next day, he could officially begin work.

However, unlike the heavy workload of first-floor referees, he would judge at most twenty matches a day. After all, he still needed time to train himself.

The next day.

Today, Lucky was assigned as the referee for Arena No. 85 in Zone C.

Naturally, another round of discussion rose from the spectator stands.

"Contestant No. 2558 and Contestant No. 3648, please proceed to Arena No. 85 in Zone C for your match."

The broadcast announced the contestants.

Soon, the two contestants stepped onto the arena.

Both were young men in their twenties, and one of them had bandages wrapped around his hands.

Lucky could tell from the way they mounted the arena that they were not ordinary contestants. They should both have fighting experience.

"Heavenly Arena has referees your age?" the bandaged young contestant asked directly.

The other contestant was skeptical as well. "Can a referee like you really judge properly?"

Lucky chose not to answer their questions.

Instead, he asked, "Are you two contestants ready? If you are, shall the match begin?"

"Forget it." The bandaged young man did not want to dwell on it. Right now, he only wanted to fight his way upward.

As for the other contestant, Lucky's attitude made him somewhat displeased.

At Lucky's shout to begin, the two contestants immediately started fighting.

Since both possessed a certain level of fighting skill, they quickly drew the attention of the spectators.

The two fought in a tangled melee. Lucky could tell that the bandaged young man was weaker than his opponent, but he could still put up a fight.

The bandaged young man had faster reflexes. Even though he was inferior to his opponent, he could swiftly respond to his attacks.

While watching, Lucky could tell that these two were probably ordinary Fighters, at most around the level of the 70th to 80th Floors. Neither could possibly make it past the 100th Floor.

Lucky had been at Heavenly Arena for a long time and had watched many matches. He understood the standards of each floor.

When one was weaker, defending for too long would inevitably lead to a mistake.

At last, the bandaged young man failed to react in time and was struck by a flying kick, sent flying away.

And he was headed directly toward Lucky.

Lucky easily dodged aside.

"Clean Hit. Contestant No. 3648 scores one point," Lucky declared.

His gaze fell on Contestant No. 3648, who even smiled at him.

That had been deliberate.

Because Lucky had ignored him earlier, he intended to "get back" at him?

That kind of mindset was truly... disgusting.

The fight continued, and the bandaged young man quickly climbed back to his feet.

Though he had some fighting skill, was he more of a self-taught brawler?

As he watched, Lucky analyzed even more.

Before long, Contestant No. 3648 scored another five points.

The result of this match seemed already decided.

And as time passed, the bandaged young man seemed increasingly unable to hold on.

"Your level is pretty good, but unfortunately, your opponent is me." No. 3648 was already delivering his victory speech.

As if he had already won.

He knocked his opponent down once more and gained another point.

Lucky impassively declared the score.

But he could see something.

Contestant No. 2558 was deliberately showing weakness.

Was he trying to make his opponent lower his guard?

If he wanted to win that way, then he could only land a single KO blow that left his opponent completely unable to resist.

When Contestant No. 3648 reached nine points, Contestant No. 2558 fell before Lucky once more.

Lucky looked at him. He was really provoking him again and again.

"Why haven't you started counting yet?" Contestant No. 3648 shouted at Lucky.

He was extremely displeased by the sight of Lucky's face. If Lucky had not been the referee, he probably would have wanted to beat Lucky up too.

Lucky glanced at the bandaged young man, who seemed too weak even to get up.

But Lucky knew he was acting.

"Ten, nine..." Lucky began the count.

Contestant No. 3648 seemed to think Lucky was counting too slowly, so he walked over, intending to kick the bandaged young man off the arena and claim the final point.

But the instant he approached, the bandaged young man lying on the ground sprang up and attacked.