Banyan City Arena

"Awesome, Lin Yu, you're the best! I'll be cheering for you when the time comes!"

Zhu Fugui gave Lin Yu a thumbs-up.

"Alright, Fatty, enough nonsense. Finish up so we can head out; I promised Mom and the others I'd be back early tonight."

"OK."

The two of them made quick work of their breakfast before heading toward the arena.

Along the way, Lin Yu's unusual eyes drew plenty of attention, and his head-turning rate was off the charts. Every so often, a passerby would come over to ask about them. Finally, having no other choice, the two found an optical shop and bought a pair of sunglasses. Once Lin Yu put them on, they were finally able to stop "enjoying" the strange looks from passersby and proceeded smoothly toward the Banyan City Arena.

The arena was a special institution launched by the Freedom Federation. It was an official organization with branches in every city across the federation.

With the arrival of the Awakening Era, firearms gradually exited the stage of history, replaced by individual martial prowess, which became the pinnacle of power in the new age.

Take the Dragon Glory Special District where Lin Yu lived, for example. It was home to the Sword Emperor Liu Mubai, known as the Pillar of the Nation. If Liu Mubai did not suppress his strength and fought with everything he had, he could easily destroy a city in a very short time—a presence comparable to nuclear weapons before the Great Events.

In the early days of the Freedom Federation, as individual power grew, people increasingly preferred to let their fists do the talking. Conflicts over the slightest friction were common, and the world, which had only just gotten back on track, became filled with anxiety and self-preservation.

To stabilize the hard-won situation, the federation stepped in, united the strongest individuals of the era, and launched the arena. They established rules: if there was a conflict, it had to be resolved in the arena. The abuse of abilities within the city was prohibited, and violators would be suppressed by a Guardian.

Under the high-pressure policies of the Freedom Federation, the budding seeds of chaos were suppressed, and the arena became an indispensable part of life for the people of the federation.

At the same time, to allow ordinary people to understand monsters more clearly and intuitively, the arena gradually added beast-fighting scenarios.

Guardians would capture monsters in the realms and hand them over to the arena, which would then place the monsters on the fighting stage to battle. This was the only occasion where ordinary people could watch monsters up close.

The Banyan City Arena was located in the city center and covered an area of nearly 100,000 square meters. The entire structure was built from a special material sourced from the realms, capable of withstanding attacks of Tier 3 and below. Each dueling stage and beast-fighting stage was covered by an individual barrier, and the entire arena was shielded by a Marquis-level barrier that could withstand attacks from Tier 7, making it as solid as a fortress.

Because of this, the arena also served as a wartime shelter.

Lin Yu and his friend arrived at the arena around ten o'clock. Since it was a day off, there was a very long line of people waiting to enter.

"I should have come earlier. There are too many people!"

Looking at the line in front of him, Zhu Fugui complained to Lin Yu.

"We don't have anything to do today anyway, so just wait!"

Lin Yu said indifferently.

"Fine, I guess. I'll just consider this weight loss for today, Master Fatty!"

The two walked to the back of the line and waited.

"Honey! I heard there's a duel today between a Tier 3 Flame Wolf and a Tier 3 Ironclad Rhino. I can't wait to see it!"

Standing in front of them was a young couple. The woman's belly was slightly rounded; she was likely pregnant.

"Yeah, we're so lucky. I heard they usually only have Tier 1 or 2 monster duels!"

"Sigh! It's a pity neither of us awakened successfully. Otherwise, I'd really like to arm-wrestle a Tier 3 monster like that!"

"Yes, yes, if you had awakened, you'd definitely be the strongest!"

"That's right! Honey, do you think our child will be able to awaken in the future?"

"They definitely will! They carry both of our hopes, after all!"

The young couple in front of them were just two among billions of ordinary people, but their thoughts were shared by almost everyone who hadn't awakened: pinning their hopes on the next generation.

In this era, if you didn't awaken, you felt inferior. This wasn't discrimination; it was a result of the current situation on Blue Star. The monsters outside wouldn't show mercy just because you were an ordinary person. Facing such a reality, the status of an Awakened was naturally more prestigious.

The line soon reached Lin Yu and his friend. After checking their tickets, the two walked into the grand-looking arena.

They asked the staff about the situation at the beast-fighting stages and then headed toward Hall No. 3, the venue for the Tier 3 monster duel the young couple had mentioned.

Following the crowd into Hall No. 3, they were met with a scene resembling an ancient Roman coliseum. In the center was a beast-fighting stage surrounded by a barrier, with spectator seats arranged in tiers around it.

The stands were already packed with people, and the atmosphere was incredibly heated.

Lin Yu and Zhu Fugui struggled through the crowd, finally managing to find their seats.

"Damn it! There are too many people. Why are they all out here instead of resting at home on their day off?!"

Sweating profusely, the fatty complained frantically as soon as he sat down. There was no helping it; Zhu Fugui was naturally heavy, and in a crowd like this, he had used every ounce of his strength to squeeze through.

"I told you to lose weight, but you wouldn't listen. You're pushing 200 pounds now, aren't you?"

Lin Yu said to Zhu Fugui, speechless.

"Weight loss is impossible. It will never be possible in this lifetime! Even if I die fat, Master Fatty will never go on a diet!"

Zhu Fugui said triumphantly. Lin Yu was almost choked to death by his words and rolled his eyes.

"Just die fat, then!"

"Boom, boom..."

A thunderous drumbeat echoed through the sky, and the crowd, which had been noisy a second before, fell silent. A referee walked slowly to the judge's stand beside the beast-fighting stage.

"Competing today are the Tier 3 Flame Wolf from the Molten Realm and the Tier 3 Ironclad Rhino from the Thick Earth Realm!"

"You can see the monster information on the central screen!"

The referee spoke quickly. He knew these people were here for the monster duel, so he didn't waste words, keeping his introduction concise and clear.

Then, the information for the two monsters appeared on the monitor hanging above the arena.

Flame Wolf: Fire-type monster, skilled in using fire-type abilities. Maximum tier: 3.

Ironclad Rhino: Earth-type monster, powerful physique, defense unmatched among monsters of the same tier. Maximum tier: 3.

Lin Yu looked at the information on the screen, lost in thought.

I haven't seen what a monster actually looks like since I arrived on Blue Star. I can get a good look this time. I wonder if I could take these two on with my current strength?