Chapter 902: The Arena of Carnage

"Ziqing, then tell me, who are the ones that need special attention?" Zhu Ziyuan asked without the slightest hint of impatience.

"Alas... based on what you've said, Brother, aside from Qingyang City, the people from the other cities are no pushovers. If you encounter any of them, you must be extra cautious and doubly careful." Zhu Ziqing sighed softly, speaking with some helplessness.

"Wrong. You must also pay close attention to Gu Qianxun of Qingyang City. Don't underestimate her just because she's a woman; her combat prowess is by no means inferior to those others." Zhu Ziyuan frowned and said seriously.

"Right, right, right. There's also Gu Qianxun from Qingyang City. Brother, you worry too much. I can't possibly be unlucky enough to run into so many strong opponents." Zhu Ziqing nodded like a pecking chick, but then muttered softly under her breath.

"Ziqing, what do you think is the key to my consecutive championship wins in the martial tournament?" Zhu Ziyuan ignored her complaint and changed the subject.

"That goes without saying—strength, of course." Zhu Ziqing replied without hesitation.

"Strength is certainly important, but it's not the most crucial thing. The most important is to never be careless. Besides those opponents whose backgrounds you know well, you must also treat new faces participating in the tournament for the first time with caution." Zhu Ziyuan spoke with a grave expression, giving his advice.

"Mm, Brother, I'll remember that." Zhu Ziqing finally showed a bit more seriousness, nodding in agreement.

Seeing this, Zhu Ziyuan stopped his nagging and quietly gazed up at the starry sky with his sister.

But after only a few dozen breaths, Zhu Ziyuan spoke again: "Oh, and about Feng Wuchen of Zhixuan City..."

"Brother, that's enough..."

...

While the people of Xuan City were making preparations for the Five-City Alliance, on a Gobi desert countless miles away, the wind howled and dust filled the air.

Under the moonlight, the whole world seemed shrouded in chaos.

Amidst the vast dust, massive black shadows loomed faintly, moving slowly through the haze.

By the bright moonlight, the revealed black shadows were actually enormous scaled beasts.

Leading them was a black-scaled elephant over a hundred zhang tall, but its appearance was unusual.

This black-scaled elephant was covered in scales, with iron armor wrapped around its belly and legs. Embedded in its chest were seven or eight fist-sized beast cores arranged in a ring shape, fused into its flesh.

The elephant's two long tusks had been cut off, replaced by two sharp spears that glinted coldly in the moonlight through the wind and sand.

Strangest of all, the elephant's eye sockets were deeply sunken, pitch black inside with no eyeballs. Upon closer inspection, one could see obvious signs of shrinkage and dryness around the orbits.

This black-scaled elephant was actually a dried corpse.

And the dozen or so large scaled beasts following behind were also all massive corpses.

On the backs of these beasts were carried black stone halls, neither too large nor too small.

In the stone hall on the lead elephant, seven or eight braziers were lit, illuminating the interior brightly.

At the center of the hall was a three-foot-square black stone platform, on which sat cross-legged a woman in a black dress, with a delicate figure and a light veil over her face. Even her silhouette was enough to captivate all.

Not far from her, a woman with a graceful figure, also veiled in black, reclined on a black stone chair. Her body leaned back, her soft waist pressed against the chair, making her look like a seductive, boneless serpent.

"How much longer until we reach Xuan City?" the woman asked in a soft, languid voice, as if murmuring.

"Reporting to the City Lord, we are still within the territory of Kui City. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be less than a month's journey to Xuan City." The woman in the long dress on the stone platform turned slightly and said softly.

"Good. After so many years of preparation, the time has finally come..." The woman addressed as City Lord sat up, her eyes bright as stars, murmuring to herself.

...

The night passed without incident, and dawn came the next day.

Outside Xuan City, when the first rays of sunlight crossed the Chongxuan Mountains and fell upon the city, a festive atmosphere already filled the streets.

All the streets and alleys in the city were packed with dense crowds, converging toward a large circular building in the city center, which was the largest arena in Xuan City, specially named the "Arena of Carnage."

The open square in front of the Arena of Carnage was already overcrowded. The human-shaped stone statue standing in the square was surrounded by a sea of people, with newcomers constantly pushing forward, eagerly reaching out to touch the statue's robes and toes.

It was said that touching this statue would bring good luck, allowing them to win big in the upcoming Five-City Tournament betting and make a fortune. As a result, many parts of the statue had been polished smooth, coated with a thick layer of patina that reflected the morning sunlight.

A large crowd had also gathered at the four gates of the Arena of Carnage, waiting for the doors to open and let them in.

"Dong..."

With a heavy, distant chime, the four great gates slowly swung open, and the crowd surged in, flooding into the arena and dispersing around the eight massive Xuan Dou Platforms within.

At the same time, deep beneath the arena, in a circular hall, dozens of people were gathered, roughly divided into five groups, each scattered about and conversing with one another.

These were the sixty-four Xuan Dou Warriors participating in the Five-City Martial Meet, and Han Li and Gu Qianxun were among them.

"Fellow Daoist Li, how is the blood plasma wine coming along?" Gu Qianxun asked, walking up to Han Li, who was sitting alone in a corner.

Yi Liya and the others were huddled together; seeing this, they no longer found it strange and merely glanced over before continuing their own idle chatter.

Xuan Yuan Xing and Du Long kept some distance between them—the former remained composed, while the latter looked somewhat tense.

"Almost done... Here, I should first congratulate you, Fellow Daoist Gu, on resolving the Black Calamity Insect infestation ahead of schedule." Han Li looked up at her and said with a smile.

"Six Flowers... that old man has a strange mind, insisting that you bring him the Heavenly Lin Meteorite Crystal. I'm truly sorry... I can't help much with this matter." Gu Qianxun said, half in jest and half in earnest.

"I, Li, know well that there is no free lunch in this world. Senior Six Flowers' request is also quite reasonable. For now, I only hope that the Heavenly Lin Meteorite Crystal, as a reward, is not placed too far ahead." Han Li smiled and said.

"Let me give you a tip in advance: the Heavenly Lin Meteorite Crystal is one of the rewards for the top three, so you still have a good chance of obtaining it." Gu Qianxun glanced at Han Li and transmitted her voice with a meaningful tone.

"Thanks to your faith in me, Fellow Daoist Gu, and for the sake of my own life, I, Li, can only steel myself and strive for it." Han Li said with a smile.

As the two were speaking, the entire space suddenly shook violently, and a rumbling sound came from directly ahead.

Five openings sank into the thick wall, each letting down a beam of heavenly light, revealing five stone stairways leading to the surface.

"Xuan Dou Warriors of the Five Cities, ascend the Xuan Dou Platforms!" a loud shout came from above.

The native Xuan Dou Warriors of Xuan City, led by the bone-armored siblings Zhu Ziyuan and Zhu Ziqing, were the first to enter one of the stone stairways and head toward the surface.

Seeing this, the other teams also entered the stairways one after another, led by their leaders, and emerged from the underground hall.

As soon as they reached the surface, a wave of magnificent cheers swept over them, converging from all directions toward the central Xuan Dou Platforms, interspersed with the names of certain individuals:

"Zhu Ziyuan, Zhu Ziyuan..."

"Feng Wuchen..."

...

The stands were packed with people, and all kinds of sounds mingled together, creating a lively scene.

Although Han Li had participated in many Xuan Dou matches in Qingyang City, this was the first time he was shaken by the roar of the audience in the stands. Listening to the waves of sound growing stronger, his own blood began to seethe with excitement.

His gaze swept across the surroundings, and he saw that every hundred-odd zhang, a Xuan Dou Platform was built, eight in total, arranged in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams. On five of them stood the Xuan Dou Warriors of the five cities.

On the Xuan Dou Platform where the native Xuan City warriors stood, there was one extra person.

He was tall, with a pair of cyan ox horns on his head and a swarthy complexion—he was the master of ceremonies.

At the center of the eight Xuan Dou Platforms stood a hundred-zhang-high platform, on which were placed six black stone chairs.

These were clearly reserved for the city lords of the five cities, but for some reason, there was one extra.

"Silence, everyone! Welcome the City Lord!" the swarthy man shouted loudly.

The entire arena instantly fell silent, with not a sound to be heard, which surprised even Han Li.

Then, a whistling wind sounded, and five figures suddenly fell from the sky, crashing onto the hundred-zhang-high platform like meteors.

With a loud bang!

The entire platform, along with the whole arena, shook, and six figures appeared before the crowd.

Everyone looked up and saw City Lord E Kuai standing in the center, with the other five standing on either side, slightly offset behind him, as if following in his wake.

At that moment, the seemingly unremarkable City Lord E Kuai exuded a majestic aura of ruling the world, like a lion subduing all around, inspiring no thought of resistance.

In the stands, many people involuntarily lowered their heads.

Han Li squinted as he examined the high platform, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind—why him?

On the left side behind E Kuai stood a man of short stature but robust build, mostly bald on top, with a thick beard twisted into a braid.

He was none other than the master refiner, Madame Six Flowers!