Chapter 869: Rising Fame

Just as Han Li managed to steady himself, the opposing Mountain Ape let out a thunderous roar. Its massive form blurred and, shattering countless flying rocks, charged straight at Han Li.

It threw a punch forward. Han Li, unable to dodge in time, quickly raised his arms and crossed them before his chest.

With a loud bang,

Han Li felt his arms go numb, and his body flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing directly into the wall of the arena.

The force of this blow was so immense that after the impact, his body rebounded, and his internal organs churned violently.

A mouthful of stagnant blood surged into Han Li's throat. Before he could spit it out, a shadow loomed over him, and his body was struck again, slamming into the wall.

Enduring the intense physical pain, he twisted his body at the moment of impact, kicked off the wall, and leaped high, trying to escape from this place.

But things went contrary to his wishes. As soon as his body rose, one of the Mountain Ape's giant palms came slapping down from above with a gust of wind.

Han Li had no choice but to fully activate the star power within him, raising his arms in a posture of supporting the sky to block that enormous hand.

Bang!

Another heavy sound. This time, Han Li's body was driven straight into the ground, almost buried by rubble.

The Mountain Ape naturally gave him no chance. It pursued relentlessly, raining down several more punches onto the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out continuously. Han Li and the Mountain Ape had swapped their previous offensive and defensive positions; now he was pinned beneath it, enduring a storm of heavy blows.

Dust and smoke rose in the arena, almost filling the entire space. Obstructed vision made the spectators on the stands crane their necks, trying to see what was happening inside.

"Tsk tsk, it seems I overestimated this kid. Under these circumstances, he's probably dead for sure, right? I wonder what the city lord is thinking. Does he really want him dead?" Chen Yang had also stood up, frowning as he looked over.

Amid the chaotic dust, Han Li was covered in blood, yet he still maintained the posture of blocking his chest with both hands, protecting his vital organs. But his body was already drenched in blood, a miserable sight.

His eyes were blurred with blood, his teeth clenched and grinding. He repeatedly tried to mobilize the bloodline power within him, but for some reason, he received no response.

The true spirit bloodline hidden within him seemed to be suppressed by some force, falling into a deep slumber.

If this continued, he really wouldn't be able to hold on.

Just then, Han Li's eyes suddenly widened. A transparent crystalline light flashed at his brow and vanished.

In the next instant, a small crystalline sword materialized a few zhang in front of him, passing through the Mountain Ape's descending fist as if it were nothing, and then piercing straight through its shattered eyeball.

Pfft!

A faint sound that no one noticed came. The Mountain Ape's massive fist, three chi from Han Li's head, suddenly halted, motionless.

The spectators in the stands, unable to hear the continuous explosions or see clearly through the dust, shouted impatiently. Only a few vaguely sensed a powerful spiritual sense flash by in that instant.

After a moment, a heavy sound was heard.

A strong gust of wind blew in all directions, scattering the swirling dust.

The spectators' vision finally cleared, only to find that the Mountain Ape had fallen to the ground, and the frail human named "Li Feiyu," covered in blood and barely recognizable, was still laboriously crawling toward the Mountain Ape's head.

The Mountain Ape's chest was still rising and falling, indicating it was not completely dead.

Indeed, Han Li had only used his divine sense sword at the critical moment to shred its soul, turning it into a soulless husk, but he had not fully killed its physical body.

Han Li crawled to the Mountain Ape's head, slowly raised a hand, and reached into its shattered eye socket, plunging his arm in up to the elbow. After fumbling around, he gritted his teeth and pulled it out.

When he opened his palm, a fist-sized beast core appeared in his hand. The light in the Mountain Ape's eyes gradually dimmed, and the rise and fall of its chest finally ceased completely.

Witnessing such a bizarre scene, the audience exchanged bewildered glances, unclear about how Han Li had reversed his defeat and won this arena match.

"What, we actually won?" Chen Yang's eyes widened. He hadn't clearly seen what happened, but he had some vague guesses.

After the person who had risked betting on Han Li let out a cheer, a thunderous roar followed.

Han Li held the beast core in his hand, his palm trembling uncontrollably as he brought it to his mouth.

At that moment, blood trickled from his seven orifices, his vision went dark, and he could no longer hear the sounds around him.

...

When Han Li woke again, a strong smell of blood filled his nostrils. He found himself in the blood pool, leaning against one edge, with bubbling sounds all around and a layer of crimson blood mist hanging in the air.

He lifted his arm slightly, only to find that his entire body ached fiercely, and even his chest throbbed with pain.

Han Li didn't lower his arm; he wiped his face with his hand, only to find that the dirt and bloodstains were still there. So he plunged his whole face into the blood pool to wash it thoroughly.

"I've already let you stay an extra quarter of an hour. If you want to continue soaking, it will cost you your points," a somewhat familiar voice came from behind him.

Han Li turned his head and saw the one-horned man standing behind him.

"If it weren't for your advice, I wouldn't be in this blood pool right now," Han Li said indifferently.

"Heh, don't mistake good intentions for ill. Take a look at that guy over there before you say anything," the one-horned man sneered.

Hearing this, Han Li propped himself up on the edge of the blood pool and stood up with difficulty. Following the direction the one-horned man pointed, he saw through the blood mist a pile of dark red minced meat on the ground by the wall, barely recognizable as a mutilated corpse.

"This guy was unlucky. Since you chose the Mountain Ape, he could only pick the larger Scaled Elephant. Even though he had seven more acupoints opened than you, he still ended up like this," the one-horned man said expressionlessly.

"Since this man was here, why didn't you let me fight him?" Han Li asked, his expression unchanged.

"He wasn't a city lord's mansion arena fighter like you, but a free arena fighter. He came here to challenge beast or other fighters voluntarily. To earn more rewards, he chose to fight the beast, and we naturally had to respect his choice. But by the same token, once you enter the arena, life and death are your own responsibility," the one-horned man said nonchalantly.

Han Li didn't fully believe his words. Without a word, he walked out of the blood pool, passed around him, and went straight to the exchange hall.

This battle, because his opponent was a genuine Xuan-tier scale beast, earned Han Li ten more points than before. He did not use them all, but instead, as before, exchanged them for seven Taluo beast cores and returned to his stone house.

After returning to his stone house, Han Li first spent some time treating his injuries and recovering slightly, then sat cross-legged on the stone bed and began to cultivate with his eyes closed.

The beast core within that Tongshan Ape contained even more star power than the Tiger Scale Beast, and after absorbing it, its effect would surely be more significant than before.

…

Time flew by, and more than half a month passed.

After absorbing the vast star power from the Tongshan Ape's beast core, Han Li then consumed all the Taluo beast cores in succession. The forty-second acupoint on his calf had already been opened, and the forty-third was beginning to stir, showing signs of opening.

This speed of opening acupoints was astonishing compared to others. Fortunately, his current number of acupoints was not yet outstanding among all Xuan Fighters, and since he had not appeared many times, he had not attracted attention.

Even if Chen Yang and the others learned that he now had over forty acupoints, since the increase was not large, he could still make some excuses. After all, there were methods of premature growth that sacrificed something in exchange for short-term strength enhancement.

However, he knew this was not a long-term solution and must find a way to conceal it.

Once he felt his injuries had fully healed, before the one-month period was up, he voluntarily applied to participate in another Xuan Fight.

This time, his opponent was no longer a scale beast but a demon Xuan Fighter with thirty-eight opened acupoints.

Although the latter had fewer acupoints than him, his acupoints were more concentrated, mainly distributed on his right hand and arm, so his offensive power was no less than that of the Tongshan Ape.

However, his weaknesses were equally obvious: his movement speed and physical strength were insufficient. Han Li took advantage of his speed, seized an opportunity, and broke the other three limbs except his right hand, forcing him to concede.

From then on, the name 'Li Feiyu' became increasingly famous in the Ninth District, causing his Xuan Fight odds to drop significantly. Yet the popularity he gathered was extraordinary, with almost every match drawing a full audience.

This match, Han Li won relatively easily and suffered no serious injuries. So after only half a month, he participated in another Xuan Fight, surprising even the one-horned big man.

Over the next three months, Han Li participated in a total of five Xuan Fights. Although two of them were narrow victories, his fierce determination to forge ahead and his spirit of fighting to the death shocked the audience in the Xuan Fight arena.

As a result, many people in the Ninth District began to actively befriend him.

One night, while Han Li was cultivating the Feather Ascension Art, there was a knock on the door. When he opened the stone door, he saw Chen Lin standing outside.