Chapter 81: Ring of Blood (1/2)
Chapter 81: Ring of Blood
“What’s up with this? I thought I had the choice of not participating after winning the first battle,” Xu Min mumbled to himself. He was sure the voice had said it was his own choice whether or not he would want to keep going, but now he had been forced into the second battle.
“Meager human, what do you know?” The voice boomed out once again. “Although you can choose to stop after the first battle, you just became stronger. Consequently, this is also considered your first trial. Every time you reach a new rank, you have to fight someone at your level before you can leave. Unless you have already defeated someone of the same strength.”
“You already reached the fourth rank, thus you have to fight a four-star beast to leave. Only when you have defeated a four-star beast are you allowed to leave. Should you fight until you reach the rank of a five-star Warrior, then you have to defeat another five-star beast before you can leave. These are the rules you must abide by.”
“Nonetheless, reaching the rank of a five-star Warrior would require you to at least reach the King tier. For a simple human, this cannot be easily managed.” The voice snorted. Xu Min was left withmore questions than answers. Was it possible to reach the rank of a five-star Warrior from this pagoda alone? Xu Min was astonished. It seemed that Ye Ling had brought him to a truly treasured location within the Immortal Valley.
Thinking for some time, Xu Min was sincerely excited, but worry suddenly gripped him. “I have limited time within this Immortal Valley. When my time is up, I will then be teleported out of here. Is it even possible to reach the King tier before I need to leave?” he asked the formless voice and received a snort in response.
“Of course you have time. The time within this Blood Pagoda flows differently from that of the outside. While you may have been in here for a full year, you will only be gone for a week in the outside world. Do not let these facts confuse you when it comes to the Blood Pagoda’s isolated world. You will not understand it unless you join the Guardians of the Immortal Valley later on.”
Xu Min was instantly excited again. A full year was only one week? That meant he would have plenty of time to finish this Ring of Blood. Looking at the sword in his hands, he had full faith in himself in regards to fighting at least four-star and five-star beasts. Some six-star beasts were passable hurdles to him, while others would prove to be troublesome. For now, though, he was certain that he would be able to increase his strength tremendously.
Xu Min focused fully on the four-star beast after finally finishing speaking with the formless voice. He gripped tightly around the sword hilt in his hands.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a brief moment, Xu Min calmed himself. Although he was excited about the endless possibilities within this Ring of Blood, he could not take any of his opponents lightly. If he was too busy with his future fights, rather than the ones in front of him, he would very likely fall before reaching his goal.
Looking at the beast in front of him, Xu Min cleared his mind.He slashed down towards the beast in front of him. However, this Golden-Furred Blood Lion was much swifter than the one before it and, in an instant, dodged the slash, retreating several steps.
He was surprised at first, but then it dawned upon him. The beasts he was fighting were the ones who were considered talents in the Golden-Furred Blood Lion family clan. For it to have died in this Blood Pagoda, it was clear it had not died on the level that Xu Min was currently battling.
Not only was it capable of dodging Xu Min’s attacks, but it was also alert since its eyes were glued to his every move.
Xu Min focused fully on the Golden-Furred Blood Lion in front of him, neither even wondering why the difficulty had suddenly risen nor spending any time cursing the disembodied voice. Instead, his full focus was on this beast, each moment spent carefully considering his options.
His speed was not on par with the lion’s, but his advantage lay in the abundance of energy in his cultivation base. He knew he had more internal energy than this beast in front of him. Although he knew this, he was also fully aware that if he were the only one launching attacks, he would be the only one using up his internal energy. Upon using all of his internal energy, he would become a much easier target for the already dead, but still very conscious, beast in front of him.
“Come on then,” Xu Min said as he, too, observed the lion. He decided to no longer attack it and rather waited to see what sort of move it would make. It could not avoid him forever.
Just as Xu Min took a defensive stance, the lion pounced forward, its sharp claws coming straight down at his chest with frightening speed. Xu Min had been prepared and raised his sword just in time to block this powerful attack, but it made him stumble backwards three steps before he finally managed to balance himself and stand his ground.
The lion was not willing to let him relax. As soon as it had attacked, it used the momentum from its first attack to launch a series of attacks. However, this time, the attack was slightly weaker, and Xu Min protected himself perfectly well. He stood his ground, ready to launch an attack.
Xu Min gritted his teeth and poured his internal energy into his sword. The Qi around his body started rising in heat as his determination spiked.
The elements within the Blood Pagoda were filled with the essence of the heavens and the earth. Feeling these energies enter his body, he once more entered a state where his entire body was one with the world around him. He had become one with the sword in his hand, one with the world, and one with the Qi that flowed through his meridians.
The energy in his body had become increasingly agitated and volatile under this process. Soon, it started to turn red, signaling that his body was about to be set aflame. Then actual flames burst forth from his body, inadvertently increasing both his perception and his strength.