This time, stepping out was a young man dressed in a blue long robe, holding a long spear.
"I am Liu Zhou and today I shall..."
"Enough, I don't need to remember a dead man's name," Xu Zimo interrupted before the young man could finish.
"Arrogant," the young man snorted coldly, brandishing his spear, unleashing a sky-shattering spear intent as he charged toward Xu Zimo.
Clang!
The sound of a blade being drawn rang out.
Before the watching crowd could react, the young man's spear had already snapped in two, and even his body was split in half.
"One move," Xu Zimo sheathed his blade and stood still, speaking calmly.
"That strike..." the nobleman in ornate robes who had lent him the blade squinted slightly, rubbing his chin, deep in thought.
As Xu Zimo claimed victory again, the crowd's emotions continued to rise.
More challengers entered from the waiting area.
But each of them was defeated by Xu Zimo in a single slash.
He didn’t even use any powerful meridian techniques, just a single Sword-Drawing Technique, fast to the extreme, too fast for the eye to follow, and enough to end each opponent instantly.
Ten opponents. Twenty. More and more fell before him.
Such a spectacle drew the attention of the host family, the House of Fury.
At the gambling den, someone even set a bet on Xu Zimo winning one hundred matches in a row. But most people didn’t think much of it.
Everyone knew that once someone started winning too much, the House of Fury would secretly intervene. They wouldn’t allow that kind of streak to continue.
...
The person in charge of the House of Fury’s arena was the Patriarch’s younger brother, Nu Shiwu.
At the moment, after listening to a report from a subordinate, Nu Shiwu frowned slightly and said, “What do you mean there’s no one left in the hundred-tier division who can fight?”
“It’s not that there’s no one,” the subordinate replied hesitantly. “Young Master Dark Blade hasn’t gone up yet. But we can’t control him.”
“Fools,” Nu Shiwu said coldly. “Dark Blade doesn’t care about fusion stones. He’s at the arena purely to refine his meridian techniques and gain combat experience.
Go tell him there’s a youth his age dominating the arena. If he still considers himself a sword heir, he’ll definitely take the challenge.”
“Yes sir, I’ll go now,” the subordinate replied quickly.
Back at the arena, Xu Zimo had already won twenty-nine matches.
In the hundred-tier waiting area, there was basically no one left, or more accurately, no one dared to go up.
So far, no one had survived even one strike from him. Stepping onto the stage meant only one thing: death.
With no one entering, the hundred-tier division entered a short period of silence.
The audience began discussing among themselves.
“With no one stepping up, how’s this match supposed to continue?”
“Just wait. If no one shows up, the thousand-tier or even ten-thousand-tier division guys might come. They’re just waiting for the betting odds to peak.”
“You think he’s aiming to win a hundred in a row? Since the arena was founded, no one’s ever managed that.”
“Not likely. Do you know how hard it is to win a hundred straight? There’s no rest in the hundred-tier bracket. Does he even have enough spiritual energy left? What about injuries and fatigue? Plus, the opponents get stronger the longer it goes on. It’s unrealistic.”
Just as the speculation grew, the waiting area doors opened again.
A refined young man walked out.
“It’s Young Master Dark Blade,” someone on the stage shouted.
The loudest voices came from the women in the audience.
The young man wore a long robe with tied sleeves and flowing ribbons. The robe had four layers, with white and light blue on the inside.
The collar was patterned with white and blue swirling clouds, while the shoulders had white ribbons and blue gems. The outer robe had subtle wave-patterned dark textures that were hard to notice.
His gaze was clear, and his long black hair was tied into a topknot with a black hairpin. A white band was tied around his forehead.
With a high nose bridge, fair skin, sword-shaped eyebrows, and bright eyes, anyone who saw him would sigh and say, “What a handsome face.”
At his waist hung a blue-and-white longsword. The characters “Sword Heir” were engraved on the blade, along with other unreadable runes.
His aura was otherworldly, like a character from ancient poetry.
“Dark Blade,” the young man said calmly, looking at Xu Zimo.
“So Dark Blade finally stepped up,” some of the women watching said admiringly.
Most of the men scoffed at his appearance, but no one could deny his strength.
“Since coming to Fury City three years ago, he’s held the top spot in the hundred-tier division.”
“Yeah, he’s won fifty-four straight matches. That’s the current record.”
People discussed animatedly. The ten-thousand-tier division didn’t count, since it was filled with old monsters with long cultivation histories, no match for the younger generation.
The thousand-tier division consisted of established veterans.
The hundred-tier division, aside from a few low-level cultivators, was mainly a battleground for the younger generation.
According to arena rules, those in the hundred-tier division could challenge up to the thousand-tier three times per month.
Winning a challenge would earn them a spot in the thousand-tier matches. The same went for thousand-tier challengers wanting to ascend to the ten-thousand-tier.
To keep things fair, ten-thousand-tier cultivators also had three opportunities per month to fight down in the hundred- and thousand-tier matches.
But usually, the top-tier fighters didn’t bother stepping down. The rewards were smaller, and most people wouldn’t dare face them anyway.
Only in cases like Xu Zimo’s, when someone dominated an entire bracket and the betting odds surged, would they take interest.
...
Dark Blade was surrounded by sword intent as he calmly looked at Xu Zimo.
When the sound of a blade being drawn rang out, Dark Blade closed his eyes slightly and drew his sword.
Amidst the swirling sword energy, he dispersed Xu Zimo’s blade aura.
Though the blade aura was neutralized, the force within still made Dark Blade take three steps back.
Dark Blade’s pupils shrank. As he drew his sword, wind and thunder surged around the blade, and sword intent surged skyward.
“You’re strong,” Dark Blade said, looking at Xu Zimo.
“So what, planning to surrender?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.
“Only the strong are worthy of battle,” Dark Blade replied firmly, stepping his right foot back slightly.
He held his sword in his right hand, tilting it at a slight angle. As the sword aura intensified, countless long swords formed from condensed sword energy appeared behind him.
“Myriad Swords Return To Sect,” Dark Blade said softly, thrusting his sword forward.
Boom!
All the swords behind him shot forward at once, tearing through the void, shattering space.
Xu Zimo looked up and gently pointed his long blade forward.