AGM 237 - Code Name: Kirin
After Flaming Rose defeated Hades, she left the Arena. And just after a few moments, Bailu Yi returned to the spectator stands and discovered Qin Wentian sizing her up.
“What are you looking at?” Bailu Yi involuntarily asked, upon seeing his strange expression.
“Flaming Rose,” Qin Wentian whispered in her ear, causing Bailu Yi to glare at Qin Wentian fiercely.
“How much does the Arena compensate its Yuanfu combatants per match?”
“It depends on one’s battle record, as well as the actual circumstances happening then. Normally, those with exemplary battle records obtain a high amount of compensation for each victory won, and as for newcomers, their payout would naturally be much lesser than that. For example that Asura from earlier, the amount of winnings he’s able to obtain per victory is so high that it’s terrifying,” Bailu Yi explained.
“How about you? Such an outstanding battle record.” Qin Wentian laughed.
“About 100 Yuan Meteor Stones per victory,” Bailu Yi replied, thereby admitting her identity as Flaming Rose.
“Third-layer Yuan Meteor Stones?” Qin Wentian’s expression froze. The amount of compensation obtained per victory was way too astounding.
“Naturally.” Bailu Yi laughed.
“What an excellent way to make money.” A radiant light gleamed in Qin Wentian’s eyes. “I wish to try it out.”
Qin Wentian stood up and made his way towards the tunnel. Upon seeing such a scene, Leng Ning, who was behind him, involuntarily called out in a panic, “Where are you going?”
Qin Wentian turned and smiled at her. “Participating in the Hell Arena.”
“Are you crazy? If you need Yuan Meteor Stones I can pass some to you. Don’t be so reckless, going to the Hell Arena. Are you seeking death?” Leng Ning’s worried countenance turned cool again as she berated him. “Even if by luck you won a few rounds, the payout for newcomers is absolutely not worth the risk. Only true experts with outstanding battle records would be able to profit from this.”
Qin Wentian smiled as he heard the scoldings of Leng Ning. Although Leng Ning’s words sounded somewhat rude, it was all because she was concerned for him. The nervousness in her eyes couldn’t be faked.
“How do you know I will lose?” Qin Wentian smiled, his eyes twinkling.
“Teacher Bailu, help me convince this guy.” Leng Ning turned to Bailu Yi.
“Why are you even attempting to convince him?” Bailu Yi coldly replied. How could a third-ranked Divine Inscriptionist die so easily? Even if he lost, he would definitely have some life-preservation method at hand.
“Hmph, off you go then. If you die it won’t be so noisy anymore,” Leng Ning fiercely cursed.
Qin Wentian said nothing, he merely smiled and continued walking to the tunnel. After entering, he exited to the space below the Hell Arena. This place was a connection of tunnels that led to a myriad of locations, exuding an aura of mystery.
“Newcomer or veteran?” a person inquired, upon noticing Qin Wentian.
“Newcomer.”
“Follow me.” He led Qin Wentian through a tunnel and came to a place with a variety of masks, capes, cloaks and the like.
“Choose whatever you want,” the person spoke. Qin Wentian glanced around and as he noticed a Kirin-style Mask, he couldn’t help but recall the days he spent in the Dreamsky Forest. Smiling, he chose the mask along with a battle robe and cape.“Level of cultivation base and code name?” that person asked.
“Second level of Yuanfu, code name: Kirin,” Qin Wentian replied.
“Right. Newcomer, follow me and I will brief you on the rules.” After which, the man led Qin Wentian out from the cave. Only after Qin Wentian had learned the rules, did he then take his place in the Arena.
In front of him was another combatant who wore a bronze-colored mask with the code name: Bronze.
“Bronze, second level of Yuanfu, with a battle record of eighteen victories and two defeats; Kirin, second level of Yuanfu, newcomer,” the judge stated, causing the cheers of excitement to grow even louder. These people loved spectating the matches of newcomers the most, because no one knew their actual levels of strength.
“I love abusing newbies the most.” Bronze’s eyes flashed with a cold light, staring at Qin Wentian.
Qin Wentian didn’t reply. To him, the Hell Arena was only a place that would enable him to earn a large amount of Yuan Meteor Stones. Although he brought along quite a lot of Yuan Meteor Stones with him when he left Chu, the expenses needed on the journey had consumed quite a substantial amount. If he didn’t find some method to replenish it, his future cultivation would surely be affected.
After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the battle commenced after all bets had been placed.
Bronze stepped out as a sonorous sound echoed from his body. A heavy coercive pressure enveloped Qin Wentian, while a bronze corona of light surrounded Bronze’s fist, an oppressive energy exuding from it.
“Will of a Mandate.” Qin Wentian’s expression stiffened. This person could be considered a genius, to think that he comprehended a Mandate so quickly when he was merely at the second level of Yuanfu.
Bronze’s battle record was brilliant, eighteen victories and only two defeats while Qin Wentian was a newcomer with nothing to his name. Evidently, only a limited few felt that Qin Wentian would be able to win. For the vast majority of the crowd, it was as though they could already see the scene of Qin Wentian’s skull getting smashed by the might of Bronze’s fist.
Qin Wentian clenched his hand, causing thunderous cracking sounds to echo as demonic Qi surged. The Divine Energy within his Yuanfu frenziedly circulated and covered his arms, coating his fist with layers of terrifying energy. Qin Wentian’s silhouette flickered, transforming into a blurry shadow as he directly punched out, choosing to match Bronze’s attack, fist for fist.
BOOOOOMMM!
Both of their fists collided in a showdown of strength. This method was the most direct, as well as the most decisive. Bone-cracking sounds rang out, Bronze felt his arm tremble violently, feeling as though it was about to break. Groaning in pain, another surge of energy flooded into his arms and as a deafening sound rumbled, his body was flung through the air before he landed heavily onto the ground, coughing out several mouthfuls of blood.
A pressure that felt as heavy as a mountain bore down upon the fallen Bronze. Bronze inclined his head only to see Qin Wentian looming over him, and he involuntarily trembled with fear as he shouted out, “I concede.”
Qin Wentian merely nodded his head, his cape fluttering with the movements of the wind. He didn’t go all out and deal the finishing blow.
“Thank you.” Bronze helped himself up as he clasped his hands and bowed to Qin Wentian, totally convinced in his defeat. There were too many ruthless characters in the Hell Arena that killed without blinking an eye. Fortunately, his opponent today had shown mercy.
“Kirin is the victor, will you continue accepting challenges?” the judge questioned.
“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded. He was here to create a battle record.
“This Kirin is quite powerful, he defeated Bronze with ease.” The crowd mused in their hearts.
After which, Qin Wentian continued to accept challenges while the same words spoken by the judge echoed again and again in the ears of the crowd.
“Kirin, victory.”
“Kirin, victory.”
“Kirin, ten consecutive victories.”
“Kirin, fifteen consecutive victories…”
His winning streak caused a huge commotion as many turned their attention towards the Arena on the left. It was easy to win a few consecutive battles, but the difficulty would naturally escalate exponentially when reaching over ten consecutive victories. The people here, be it the combatants or spectators, were a hot-blooded group. Within the crowd of spectators, some experts felt the itch in their hearts after witnessing Qin Wentian’s consecutive victories, and even went on to challenge him.
Hence a strange occurrence happened in the Hell Arena that day. Among those who challenged Kirin, there were many who had no prior battle records, yet were all exceedingly powerful.
In spite of this, all the challengers ended up defeated.
Kirin’s battle record currently stood at thirty victories, zero defeat.
“Hmm, is he Kirin?” Bailu Yi couldn’t be certain if Qin Wentian was Kirin. After all, there were many with zero battle records who fought in the Arena, and each of them had their features obscured, so there was no way for anyone to tell who was who.
“He shouldn’t be that powerful, right?” Bailu Yi exclaimed. After his 30th consecutive victory, there were no longer any challenges. Kirin could only choose to step down, causing many to sigh, feeling regret.
After a short moment, Qin Wentian returned to the spectator stand with a wide smile on his face. Thirty consecutive victories, he had made quite a tidy sum today.
“How was it, the feeling of being abused?” Leng Ning glared at Qin Wentian, before commenting, “Which one were you? Ice Sabre? Cold Moon? Ancient Tree?”
The names Leng Ning mentioned all suffered defeat in the hands of Kirin.
“I’m Kirin.” Qin Wentian laughed. Although the Hell Arena would keep the identity of the combatants secret, it didn’t matter if the combatant themselves chose to divulge it.
Leng Ning rolled her eyes, this fellow was still boasting as per usual.
“You’re really lucky that Kirin’s character wasn’t ruthless. If not, how would you still be standing here? In future, don’t do this again, okay?” Leng Ning frowned.
Thirty consecutive victories, could Kirin’s combat prowess have already reached the realm where he could jump levels and fight evenly with combatants at the third level of Yuanfu?
“Okay, let’s go back, ” Bailu Yi stated. It was already late afternoon, the time for them to return.
On the way back, Bailu Yi and Qin Wentian still walked together at the front, causing Leng Ning to constantly have a smile on her face. This braggart was really an expert in the field of skirt-chasing.
“Are you really Kirin?” Bailu Yi glanced about before stealthily asking Qin Wentian, curiosity flickered in her beautiful eyes.
“Yeah.” Qin Wentian knew that Bailu Yi also had a naïve side to her. Upon hearing his answer, her eyes glowed with radiance as she stated, “You are truly mysterious, come to my White Deer Institute tomorrow, we shall study Divine Inscriptions together. Follow me, I will bring you to tour around the Institute later.”
“Right.” Qin Wentian nodded. After all of them arrived at the academy, Bailu Yi turned and faced the group of learners, “The one-month time frame shall conclude at this moment. If you are interested in pursuing a higher level of attainment or doing further research on Divine Inscriptions, you can apply to enrol in our Institute. That’s all. Thank you.”
After speaking, Bailu Yi cast a glance at Qin Wentian, signalling him with her eyes as both of them walked into the White Deer Institute.
“Hold on.” A cold voice abruptly rang out. Yan Kong’s countenance was incredibly hideous to behold. Bailu Yi planned to leave before announcing the name of the person that would study with her? Back then, everyone assumed that he would definitely be the person chosen, so now Bailu Yi’s current actions made him feel severely humiliated.
“Is there something else you need?” Bailu Yi coldly asked.
“Miss Bailu, I thought you wanted to choose one among us to study Divine Inscriptions together with you?” Yan Kong politely inquired.
“I’ve already made my choice. Do I need to report my actions to you?” Bailu Yi remarked with dissatisfaction. Her meaning was extremely clear. Who did Yan Kong think he was?
“So who the hell did you pick?” Yan Kong glanced at Qin Wentian before forcibly calming himself down, yet the rest of the group could clearly feel waves of anger gushing from him.
“Scram.” Bailu Yi made her stance clear.
“Tut tut, initially Miss Bailu said that she would pick the person with the highest attainment in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions to study together with her, but in the end she actually picked him?” Yan Kong’s sneer grew colder and colder.
“Miss Bailu, are you sure your decision is not affected by your emotions? Have you become so infatuated with him that you’ve lost your logic?”
“You…” Bailu Yi’s body trembled from anger at the disrespect in Yan Kong’s words.
“Let me take over.” Qin Wentian nodded towards Bailu Yi upon seeing how angry she was. His countenance gradually turned frosty. People like Yan Kong needed to be taught a lesson, otherwise they would never know when to give up.