Yun Miao perked up the moment she heard about such a good deal and immediately stepped out from behind Niu Rao. “So if I win this time, does that mean you owe me three Flood Dragon Scales?”
Niu Rao was startled. “Junior Sister, you can’t agree to that.”
Mo Aotian sneered coldly. “If you win, I won’t just give you three Flood Dragon Scales. I’ll also give you that top-grade Xuanxin Ore I’ve been keeping.”
Yun Miao’s eyes brightened. “Perfect!”
Niu Rao grumbled, “Not perfect at all!”
Niu Rao didn’t approve of this duel. Although Yun Miao’s condition was temporarily stable, she was still injured. How could anyone let her drag her wounded body to fight on the Arena Platform?
And what Mo Aotian said was even less credible—he claimed he’d only fight with one hand and one foot? Did he intend to jump around like a flea during the fight?
Overall, despite Mo Aotian making many concessions to Yun Miao, Niu Rao still didn’t believe their strengths were on the same level.
Yun Miao was bound to lose. As her senior brother, he absolutely couldn’t just watch two kids mess around.
Unfortunately, Niu Rao wasn’t very good with words.
After a heartfelt and earnest attempt to dissuade them, not only did he fail to stop Yun Miao and Mo Aotian, he was even persuaded by Yun Miao in just a few words.
He followed Yun Miao’s reasoning and found some logic in it: since neither would give an inch, a battle was inevitable.
With him as the senior brother watching nearby, and the Arena Platform’s formation array protecting them, no serious injuries should happen.
It was better than them fighting in secret and risking fatal wounds.
So, the usually homebound Niu Rao unusually left Dan Peak, flying with Yun Miao straight to Ti Peak, heading for the Martial Arts Hall.
The Martial Arts Hall was a wide open-air space, the ground barren without a blade of grass, pockmarked and uneven everywhere.
To the left, a group of burly men and women with broad shoulders and muscular builds were engaged in close-quarters combat, their fists landing solidly.
Suddenly! A fierce woman flipped a burly man, hoisted him up, and slammed him hard to the ground. A loud bang echoed as the man crashed into an invisible barrier, rippling the air like water waves.
Using the rebound, the man kicked off and dashed back, landing a punch that sent the fierce woman sprawling, dust flying as another crater formed on the ground.
To the right, another group of lean but equally fierce men and women fought similarly in close quarters, but their style was completely different from the rough and wild fighters on the left.
They maximized body agility, flexibility, and short-range explosive power, using nimble dodges and razor-sharp eyes to find weaknesses in their opponents, always ready to strike a fatal blow.
They didn’t hesitate to resort to eye gouges, nose pokes, or groin kicks.
“Senior Sister, seriously? You’re using ‘monkey steals peach’ tactics on Junior Sister?”
“Sorry, just now I was sparring with a senior brother and stole that move on impulse…”
Yun Miao was drawn by the voices and turned to see a petite but extremely agile female disciple suddenly flick two fingers at her.
“Hehe, no need to apologize. Eat this—Double Dragon Seizes Pearl!”
The senior sister opposite immediately covered her eyes at those words, but the petite disciple smirked slyly and abruptly changed the attack, striking the senior sister’s temple.
The senior sister’s body went limp; she didn’t even finish uttering her “last words” before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed unconscious.
Fights like this happened repeatedly all over the Martial Arts Hall, shaking the ground and leaving blood and flesh everywhere.
From time to time, disciples were beaten black and blue, fainting from injuries, only to be dragged out slowly by patrolling disciples assigned to guard the hall this month.
They were taken to a distant building emitting smoke from its chimney. Soon after, heart-wrenching screams would erupt.
Niu Rao knew Yun Miao hadn’t entered the Enlightenment Hall and was still unfamiliar with the sect, so he kindly explained.
Ti Peak specialized in body forging techniques, aiming to forge disciples’ bodies stronger than even those of the demon cultivators. Hence, Ti Peak had specially set up the Martial Arts Hall for disciples to spar.
Because of different focuses—some specializing in defense and strength, others in speed and flexibility—the physiques and attack styles of Ti Peak disciples varied greatly.
He’d heard that the Martial Arts Hall used to be as grand and spacious as the Outer Hall of Xuantian Palace, but Ti Peak disciples were so passionate and hot-blooded that whenever they fought, they went all out, losing themselves and risking life and limb. So the hall was often wrecked.
At first, the Steward Hall would allocate funds to patch it up, but after the Martial Arts Hall collapsed again one time, the Steward Hall elder got so angry that he tore it down and simply drew a circle on the ground, declaring it the Martial Arts Hall.
That was the sect’s conditions—make do with what you have.
This was just a rumor Niu Rao had heard. Whether it was true or not, the Martial Arts Hall looked simple, but its formation array was the best in the sect aside from the Great Protective Sect Array.
Even the Array Peak Master didn’t have one better than this.
Yun Miao pointed toward the distant smoking building. “Is that a crematorium? The loser just gets thrown in there? Losers ascend to heaven?”
Niu Rao hurriedly waved his hand. “No, that’s not true. So many disciples get injured sparring here every day that Dan Peak’s Yao Lu can’t handle all of them, so this place was specially built.”
“It’s a Medicinal Bathhouse with many steaming pools in various colors that help disciples quickly heal both external and internal injuries.”
“But when Ti Peak developed these medicinal baths, they only cared about effectiveness, not comfort. So soaking might hurt a bit.”
“Sometimes if the disciple preparing the bath shakes their hands, some ingredients get overused, and you might end up soaking in all sorts of colors.”
“That’s why, although the bathhouse is open to all of Xuantian Sect, disciples from other peaks with only surface injuries would rather take medicine and heal naturally than soak here.”
“Ahhh! Help! No, let me die!!!”
Just as Niu Rao was explaining, another agonized scream echoed from the bathhouse like a slaughtered pig.
Yun Miao looked back at Niu Rao. “Senior Brother Niu, are you sure it’s just a little pain?”
Embarrassed, Niu Rao scratched his bull horns. “When I soaked, my wounds felt like mosquito bites, not painful at all.”
Yun Miao studied Niu Rao’s dark skin and thought, no wonder this Yuanying old bull has lived over eight hundred years—bullskin really isn’t ordinary thick.
She then glanced at the ten massive Arena Platforms neatly arranged in the open field, each marked with a flag.
“The Arena Rankings in the Air Domain are related to these platforms?”
Niu Rao nodded. “All ten platforms have level restrictions, which are written on their flags. The lowest is Qi Refining Stage, the highest is Nascent Soul Stage.”
“If a Nascent Soul cultivator steps on a platform marked for Qi Refining Stage, their strength is suppressed to Qi Refining level, ensuring relative fairness.”
“Since the formation array on the platform can only suppress up to Nascent Soul Stage, Out-of-Body Stage cultivators and above are forbidden to enter, to avoid damaging the array.”
“The ten disciples listed on the Air Domain Arena Rankings are the champions of these platforms. Defeat one and you replace them as champion, gaining a hefty amount of Contribution Points.”
An unripe idea instantly popped into Yun Miao’s mind. “Three platforms have Qi Refining Stage flags. Who are their champions? I want to challenge them!”
“Huh? Who wants to challenge me?”
A scar-faced fierce woman, just having kicked her opponent flying and wiping blood off her face, glared fiercely around.
Yun Miao immediately poked her head out from behind Niu Rao, hands on hips, taunting, “It’s me… ugh ugh ugh!”
A hand covered her mouth faster than lightning. Yun Miao twisted around, only to meet Huaxin’s cold face.
Yun Miao was shocked. “Ugh ugh ugh?!”
Huaxin, frowning, lowered her hand. “Because my master is Ti Peak Lord. Didn’t you see me offer tea to my master at yesterday’s disciple enrollment ceremony?”
“Also, I messaged you on the Dizi Ling yesterday afternoon saying I’m living at Ti Peak now.”
“Then why are you here? I didn’t see you all day, and now you’re causing trouble. Weren’t you seriously injured and recovering at Dan Peak’s Yao Lu?”
“How dare you boast about challenging a champion? Didn’t you see how that senior sister’s fist is bigger than your head?”
Yun Miao raised a hand, gesturing toward the scar-faced fierce woman. Then she seriously declared that her head was still bigger.
Huaxin took a deep breath. “Tell me, why are you here?”
“Is this junior sister close with Yun Junior Sister?”
Niu Rao was delighted and immediately recounted the duel between Yun Miao and Mo Aotian, eagerly waiting for Huaxin to convince Yun Miao to give up.
Huaxin was startled too, then looked toward the armored man who had already moved ahead.
Mo Aotian was growing impatient, glaring fiercely at Niu Rao and Yun Miao.
“Old Niu, you’ve been nagging nonstop the whole way. Aren’t you tired of talking?”
“And you, stopping every two steps to ask questions—is the fight still on or not? Afraid? If you’re scared, just admit defeat now, run back to Dan Peak and shout that you’re a coward, and save me wasting my precious time.”
Huaxin furrowed her brows deeper, but this time she didn’t stop the fight as usual. Instead, she turned to stare intently at Yun Miao. “Do you really want to fight him?”
Yun Miao clenched her fist until the knuckles cracked, face cold. “Of course I do. My sandbag-sized fists are itching.”
Huaxin’s voice was even colder. “Fine. Then fight. I’m waiting for you to beat him bloody.”
Moments later, Yun Miao and Mo Aotian stepped onto the Arena Platform. The blood-red flag of Qi Refining Stage fluttered motionless, and a small invisible barrier enveloped the two.
Fighting on the Arena Platform wasn’t a friendly spar, nor child’s play. Once on, unless one side verbally surrendered or was severely injured and near death, the formation array wouldn’t disengage.
This defensive barrier was both protection and a kind of imprisonment.
Ordinary disciples sparred without needing to enter the platforms, so most of the ten platforms were usually empty.
Only during sect competitions or secret realm selections were they frequently used. As the platform’s formation activated, many onlookers turned their attention curiously.
Some lost interest when they noticed it was just a Qi Refining Stage platform and looked away, but many others, lured by the excitement, walked over to watch.
The disciples who had just attended the enrollment ceremony yesterday immediately recognized the newly minted direct disciple of the sect leader—Yun Miao—rumored to be a genius who had awakened overnight, possessed the lowest-grade Five Spiritual Roots, blamed for haunting the Air Domain, and suspected of being possessed by the founder.
Looking at her opponent, they realized he wasn’t ordinary either: the sect’s only Guardian Evil Jiao.
Although Steward Hall insisted this was the sect’s guardian beast stationed at the mountain gate, everyone knew this evil jiao often snarled about hating humans, constantly trying to escape.
So many doubted whether he could really protect the gate.
“Wow, one is a notorious troublemaker, the other just became one overnight. Why are they fighting? Competing for the title of the sect’s biggest troublemaker?”
“I remember the Air Domain notice said Yun Junior Sister from Purple Mansion was injured, right? So she’s dueling while wounded?”
“Mo Aotian must be suppressing his strength, probably Qi Refining Seventh Layer?”
“Even if both are Qi Refining, the physical strength of demon cultivators and ordinary humans differs greatly, let alone Mo Aotian is a four-clawed Flood Dragon!”
“Yun Junior Sister fighting him is really unwise.”
“Not just unwise, it’s a guaranteed loss.”
“One-sided fights are boring. Forget it, I’ll go back to beating up my junior brothers.”