Winning Streak

Only after arriving at the duel arena did Golden Horn discover that admission required a ticket—one hundred Demon Coins each. It was not expensive, and he treated it as the price of seeing Myriad Monster Star's combat standards firsthand.

The arena was astonishingly vast, large enough for enormous beasts hundreds of meters tall to charge about freely. The stands were divided into sections according to size. The front rows held giant stone seats dozens of meters wide for massive Demon Race members to sprawl across, while the back rows consisted of palm-sized seats packed densely together like a honeycomb. The scents and energy auras of various demon races mingled in the air as roars and discussions rose and fell all around.

Golden Horn had arrived late and could only sit in the back rows. His reduced form was merely eight meters tall, so he could still fit.

In the arena, a Stellar level eighth-order Bear Demon was fighting a Stellar level ninth-order Tiger Demon to the death.

Upon entering, the ticket seller had handed him a briefing on the duelists. Golden Horn had skimmed it and learned that this was not a spar, but a death match. The two races had previously fought fiercely in the universe over a life-bearing planet, suffering heavy casualties. In the end, the Tiger Demon Race had narrowly prevailed and claimed that planet. Now that the two demons had met on Myriad Monster Star, the Tiger Demon had publicly provoked the Bear Demon, who had signed a life-and-death contract in a fit of rage.

The Tiger Demon's attacks were ferocious. Its claws were wrapped in Origin Energy, and every swing tore through the air with a piercing shriek. The Bear Demon was bulky and could only defend passively. Several bone-deep wounds had already appeared across its scaled armor, and blood covered the ground.

Golden Horn watched their battle and nodded slightly. The Tiger Demon was strong offensively but weak defensively, fighting with sharp aggression. The Bear Demon, meanwhile, was a typical meat shield—its defense was astonishing, but its attack power fell far short.

"Sir, want to place a bet?" Mouse Nine-Nine stood on his shoulder, pointing a tiny claw toward the betting window by the arena, his eyes gleaming.

Golden Horn thought for a moment, then took out one thousand Demon Coins. "Bet on the Bear Demon to win."

Mouse Nine-Nine's eyes widened, his black bean-like pupils nearly popping out. "Sir, the Tiger Demon is clearly stronger! The Bear Demon can barely hold on!"

Golden Horn said calmly, "Attacking consumes more stamina and Origin Energy than defending. The Tiger Demon looks fierce, but if it cannot defeat the Bear Demon quickly, then once its stamina declines, the outcome will be hard to predict."

Mouse Nine-Nine nodded as if he understood, though he still ran off to place the bet.

Just as Golden Horn had predicted, the Bear Demon grew increasingly miserable. Its entire body was soaked in blood, yet its movements never became disordered. The Tiger Demon's assault, however, gradually slowed. Its breathing turned heavy, and the force behind its claws was no longer as sharp as it had been at the start.

In the instant when the Tiger Demon failed to withdraw an attack in time, the Bear Demon suddenly erupted!

"Buzz!"

Earthen-yellow light exploded from the Bear Demon's body, forming a heavy halo that enveloped dozens of meters around it. That was—a domain!

The Bear Demon's defense surged. Its bear paw, which had barely managed to block before, now forcibly withstood the Tiger Demon's claws, while its other paw smashed forward viciously. Terror flashed through the Tiger Demon's eyes. It narrowly twisted aside, but the aftershock still struck its shoulder, leaving one entire arm hanging limply.

The Bear Demon pressed its advantage without mercy. Empowered by the domain, both its speed and strength rose sharply. Within three moves, it smashed the Tiger Demon to the ground. The Tiger Demon struggled twice, then stopped moving entirely.

The host announced loudly, "The winner—Ironback Bear Monster, Shi Yue!"

Golden Horn collected over five thousand Demon Coins. After deducting his stake, he had made a net profit of more than four thousand. Mouse Nine-Nine stared at the credited amount, covering his mouth with his tiny claws and unable to close it for a long while.

The surrounding demons began discussing among themselves. "Since when did the Ironback Bear Race produce such a genius? Comprehending a domain at the Stellar level means breaking through to the Universe level is practically certain, and there is even great hope for the Sector Lord level!" "The Tiger Demon Race is in for trouble now. With an enemy who has comprehended a domain still alive, their days won't be easy."

Golden Horn stood and stretched his muscles. "We've seen enough. It's my turn now. Go ask whether there are any arena matches today. If there are, sign me up as soon as possible."

Mouse Nine-Nine dashed off to find the host and quickly returned. "Sir, you can take the next match! Your opponent is a Stellar level ninth-order Bull Demon. It's his first time at the duel arena, and he has no record yet. You negotiate the prize yourselves—usually anywhere from several thousand to several tens of thousands."

Golden Horn named a prize of ten thousand Demon Coins, and the other party readily agreed.

The stands were sparse for this match. Two rookie newcomers pecking at each other was hardly worth watching.

Golden Horn assessed his opponent. It was an entirely black Bull Demon, fifteen or sixteen meters tall—far taller than him—with knotted muscles all over its body and two horns gleaming with cold metallic light.

The battle began.

Golden Horn did not attack immediately. Instead, he sidestepped several times, testing his opponent's attacks. The Bull Demon's heavy fists howled through the air, each punch smashing a deep crater into the ground, but its speed and angles were far too crude.

Too weak. Golden Horn shook his head inwardly.

He could not be bothered to waste time. His body flashed, and his tail lashed out like a steel whip.

"Bang!"

The Bull Demon did not even see what had happened before a heavy blow struck its chest. Its whole body flew away like a cannonball, crashing through the stone wall at the edge of the stands. Half its body was buried in rubble, and it passed out on the spot.

The entire duel arena instantly fell silent.

After a brief silence, cries of astonishment erupted from the stands. "Who is that?" "Defeated in one move?" "A Gray-Horn Beast? Never heard of that race..."

Golden Horn stood in the arena, his vertical pupils sweeping across the stands. His tone was calm. "Next. Raise the prize to twenty thousand."

The host froze for a moment, then hurriedly flipped through the registration list.

A moment later, another Bull Demon leaped onto the stage. It was an entire size larger than the previous one, murderous intent radiating from its body as it stared fixedly at Golden Horn.

"You dare hurt my brother? You're dead." The Bull Demon's low voice was filled with fury.

Golden Horn narrowed his eyes slightly. He could tell that this one had come to avenge the previous fighter. According to the host, this Bull Demon had participated in many large-scale wars and had once achieved a five-match winning streak at the duel arena. Its strength was far beyond that rookie's.

The battle began again.

The Bull Demon erupted with full force from the start. Its fists were wrapped in dense earthen-yellow Origin Energy, and every strike carried a dull sonic boom. Golden Horn still focused on defense at first, sidestepping, blocking, and retreating as he effortlessly defused the other's attacks.

Its attack power is indeed far stronger than that last one's. Golden Horn nodded inwardly.

He began to counterattack, unleashing Heaven-Splitting Earth-Rending. A pale golden glow condensed over his claws as they clashed head-on with the Bull Demon's iron fists several times.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Shockwaves exploded, sending shattered stones flying. The Bull Demon was forced back several steps, its arms trembling slightly, yet it had not suffered much damage. Its defense was exceptionally strong. Its thick hide, combined with its Origin Energy protection, had resisted Golden Horn's attack even when he used half his strength.

The Bull Demon suddenly let out a low roar and slammed both fists into the ground. A ring of earthen-yellow light burst from beneath its feet. Golden Horn felt his feet sink as though the ground had turned into a swamp, and his speed plummeted.

"Gravity Domain?" Golden Horn narrowed his eyes. This Bull Demon had actually touched upon the threshold of a domain as well. Though it was merely a rudimentary form, combined with its brute strength, it was indeed troublesome.

The Bull Demon charged forward, taking advantage of the moment, its fists crashing down like meteors. Golden Horn had no time to dodge and could only withstand them head-on.

"Boom! Boom!"

Golden Horn was shaken back two steps, leaving two faint white marks on his scales. Though he was not injured, the fact that his opponent had forced him back still surprised him somewhat.

"Interesting." A trace of excitement flashed through Golden Horn's eyes as he swiftly increased his strength as well. The two traded blows, metallic explosions ringing without end as they exchanged more than a dozen moves.

The Bull Demon grew more alarmed the longer they fought. The Gray-Horn Beast's strength seemed to have no limit. It had already gone all out, yet its opponent remained at ease and was even steadily increasing his power.

That's enough. Golden Horn murmured inwardly. I've tested everything I needed to. There's no need to drag this out any longer.

He suddenly raised his strength to its fullest.

The first claw tore through the Bull Demon's Origin Energy protection;

The second claw shattered its defensive stance;

The third claw struck its chest, blasting its entire body away and into the wall of the stands, leaving a humanoid indentation several meters deep.

The Bull Demon slid down, blood spilling from its mouth.

This time, the stands did not fall silent. Instead, they erupted in thunderous cheers. Two Bull Demons had been defeated one after another, and their opponent had clearly not even used his full strength. This kind of overwhelming battle was the best at igniting the Demon Race's fighting spirit.

Golden Horn flicked the dust from his claws and looked around. "Next. Keep adding to the prize."

The host smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Sir, you've already fought all the opponents registered for arena matches today. Why not leave your name and fight again tomorrow?"

Golden Horn felt slightly disappointed and jumped down from the stage. Before leaving, he tossed out a sentence. "Find me some stronger opponents tomorrow. If there are any at the Universe level, I'd like to try them too. Of course, don't find any Universe-level opponents that are too strong."

The host's mouth twitched. He wondered whether this fellow was getting a little too cocky, but as he watched Golden Horn's departing back, he ultimately did not dare say anything.

Mouse Nine-Nine stood on his shoulder, trembling with excitement. "Sir, you're too strong! Two consecutive wins, and you earned thirty thousand Demon Coins in prizes!"

Golden Horn remained calm. "This is nothing." He glanced back at the duel arena's gates, a trace of fighting intent flashing through his vertical pupils.

Tomorrow would be the true beginning.