“Please lead the way then.” Zhou Weiqing motioned to Lin TianAo politely.
Lin TianAo walked in the front, leading Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li along as they rushed to follow. Just as Shangguan Bing’er was about to follow them, she was stopped by Qin Feng.
“Young lady, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for them here. The Underground Arena rules are such that no audience is allowed, and only those who are undergoing the bet can enter. With such favourable conditions, I believe that Bro Zhou and Master Yun Li should have no problems winning.”
Zhou Weiqing turned around and nodded to Shangguan Bing’er, and she stopped as well, pursing her lips at him with a dissatisfied look on her face, as if saying. You are always making me worry!
As Lin TianAo led the two of them deeper into the heart of the Trading Center, he kept silent all the way. Yun Li’s brow was furrowed, and the three of them walked along in an awkward silence.
Very soon, Lin TianAo stopped right in front of a large circular building. Without being told, Zhou Weiqing knew that they had reached. The building was only a single level, and seemed rather nondescript, except for the two large bright red words on the front: Underground Arena.
The door was wide open, looking like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast. Lin TianAo motioned towards Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li, before heading in ahead, with the pair following close behind.
After entering, Zhou Weiqing was a little surprised. Here, the entire floor was black, but the walls and ceiling were all blood red, and the entire area seemed to be permeated with a rather eerie and forbidding air around. After concentrating a little, he noticed a stairway leading down.
In front of the stairs, there was a red table, with an one-eyed old man sitting behind. The old man looked aged and frail, as if he was barely alive.
Lin TianAo took a big stride forward to the old man, giving a slight bow before saying: “We wish to fight and place a bet.”
The old man nodded, saying: “You know the rules then, please pay up.”
Lin TianAo did not say anything further, taking out a blue membership card like the one Zhou Weiqing had, passing it to the old man, who swiped it along a unique looking item, before returning the card along with a plaque to Lin TianAo. Waving his hand, he motioned the three of them to go ahead.
Yun Li quickly explained to Zhou Weiqing: “The fee is ten thousand gold coins for using the arena once, non-negotiable. Due to the authority and power of the Underground Arena and the securities it provides, the fee is not considered high.”
Zhou Weiqing inclined his head in agreement, and the two of them continued following Lin TianAo down the stairs.
At the start, it was pitch black, but as they continued along after two bends, it gradually brightened. However, even the lighted walls were all blood red, and as they continued along, the eerie feeling grew stronger.
After they had descended more than thirty metres down, a tunnel finally appeared. Lin TianAo looked at the number of the plaque in his hands, and walked down along the path. He moved rather quickly, and it was obvious that this was not his first time here.
Zhou Weiqing could see that along the two sides of the walls of the tunnel, there were thick large doors, with a number on each of them. From the look of it, they corresponded with the plaques, and each should have an individual arena ring behind them.
Lin TianAo stopped right in front of the door with the number seven on it. Pushing open the door, they entered together.
In contrast to the dimly lit corridor outside, the large room was brightly lit, causing Zhou Weiqing to squint involuntarily for a while.
It was a huge round room, with a red robed man standing silently behind the door, his face covered in a cloth mask which hid his features. Seeing the three enter, the man said solemnly: “Do you require a betting contract before starting the fight?”
Chapter 59 Ultimate Defense - Shield Assembly! (1)
The red robed man’s voice was rather strange, sounding rather inhuman with a very low, deep, raspy and even slightly warped feel. After listening for a while, Zhou Weiqing finally realised that it was done on purpose, and coupled with the cloth masked, it was clearly done to hide his identity. It was clear that this person had another identity outside of the arena, otherwise he had no need to go through such measures to hide himself. Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but feel his curiosity rise about this Underground Arena.
Of course, being curious was one thing, and actually investigating it was another. Zhou Weiqing was not foolish enough to pry into the matters of a mysterious place which could easily finish off a High Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master. At least, for him, the most important thing no was to ensure he could win the upcoming bet.
Having finally won this Yun Li, and gotten a Consolidating Equipment Master Follower, if he were to lose this fight, that would wipe out everything he had worked for, and even lose his own freedom to boot.
“Yes, we would like to sign a contract…” Lin TianAo said solemnly.
“Alright, please sign…” As he said that, the red-robed man took out a piece of white paper, placing it on a table by his side. Lin TianAo walked forward and quickly wrote their agreement on the paper according to what they had discussed. After examining it, Zhou Weiqing, Yun Li and Lin TianAo all signed on the paper.
After looking through the contract, the red robed man kept the paper and said: “You may all begin then.”
Only then did Zhou Weiqing start examining the fighting area.
The fighting area was actually the large room, which was wide, spacious and brightly lit from all sides, though the light source could not be seen. On the floor of the round room, there were quite a lot of blood stains. On the walls and floor, there was a slight metallic glow.
The entire circular room was about thirty metres in diameter, and with it as the fighting area, it was considered very huge.
Lin TianAo walked to the center of the room, and as soon as he stood there and widened his stance, his entire aura changed. Currently, he seemed to give a feel of being totally melded with the room, like a statue there instead of a man, an inner glow shining forth from his eyes.
“Please.” Lin TianAo cried out softly towards the two of them, who could clearly see the muscles bulging out exaggeratedly under his shirt, the sheer strength and power almost breathtaking.
Yun Li glanced towards Zhou Weiqing, a questioning look in his eyes. Zhou Weiqing raised a brow, saying: “You test his defences first.”
Right at that moment, the red robed man said coldly: “The moment the both of you start your attack, the timing for the bet will begin. The time is the amount for a single stick of incense to burn down.” As he said that, an incense stick appeared in his hands.
Yun Li took a deep breath and stepped forward, his Heavenly Jewels appearing around his wrists, glittering. His gold-green Cat’s Eye and Dragonstone Jade shining with their respective colours, he struck the ground with his right foot, and his entire body shot forth like an arrow shot from a bow. Due to his speed when cutting through the air, a shrill sound ensued as he flew towards Lin TianAo.
“Haaaiiii….” Lin TianAo gave a low shout as he lifted up his left hand, the five Yellow Jade Physical Jewels shining brilliantly. The Yellow Jade depicted toughness, or defense, and immediately the first one coalesced in a burst of light into his first piece of equipment.
Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 7 (Chapter 55-Chapter 105)
Tang Jia San Shao's books
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 1 (Chapter 1 - Chapter 7)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 2 (Chapter 8 - Chapter 14)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 3 (Chapter 15 - Chapter 21)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 4 (Chapter 22 - Chapter 24)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 5 (Chapter 25 - Chapter 35)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 6 (Chapter 36 - Chapter 54)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 7 (Chapter 106-Chapter 156)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 7 (Chapter 157-Chapter 207)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 7 (Chapter 208-Chapter 258)
- Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 7 (Chapter 259-Chapter 308)