The news of the Life and Death Arena spread rapidly, soon reaching the entire base. Even so Awakeners who usually stayed as far away from the arena as possible were shocked when they heard it.
"What, Life and Death Arena? The kind where two people go up, and only one cos down alive?" a female Awakener exclaid, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets upon hearing her companion’s words.
Weren’t arena battles supposed to stop at the point of victory? How could this be a fight to the death?
"Chang Fei, you must have heard wrong, right?"
"Yeah, in all these years, our Stone City Awakened Association has only had a couple of Life and Death Arenas. And all of those were years ago."
"That’s right."
Chang Fei’s face was exhilarated. "Surely you haven’t checked the group chat yet? It’s going crazy in there. The Life and Death Arena is real, 100% sure! And you won’t believe who the two combatants are this ti."
"Who is it?" They knew Chang Fei was teasing, but they couldn’t resist their curiosity and asked imdiately.
Although the association had nearly two hundred Awakeners, they might not recognize the nas Chang Fei ntioned.
Chang Fei seed to have guessed their thoughts and let out a gleeful laugh.
"You’ll know one of them as soon as I say his na."
"?"
The few people exchanged glances.
"Chang Fei, who is it? If you keep teasing, we’re going to look at the group chat ourselves."
"Yeah, stop beating around the bush and just tell us."
"Yang Hu."
At that mont, Chang Fei finally uttered a na.
"Who?"
The few people around him almost jumped like startled cats.
"Chang Fei, did you just say Yang Hu?"
"Chang Fei, you can’t be serious, right? Brother Hu is a C-level Awakener! It’s rare for soone of his level to even participate in an arena match once a month. How could he be in a Life and Death Arena?"
"No, I’m not joking. You accuse of teasing when I don’t tell you, and now you think I’m joking when I do. Do I seem like soone who would lie about sothing this important?" Chang Fei retorted, a bit annoyed.
They were all stunned.
Yeah, a Life and Death Arena is a huge deal for the Stone City Association.
And one of the participants was Yang Hu, a C-level Awakener and a core companion of the president. No way would Chang Fei dare to spread false rumors about sothing this big.
"Gulp."
The female Awakener who had spoken earlier swallowed nervously, her voice lowering. "So, Chang Fei, you’re saying Yang Hu is fighting in a Life and Death Arena as a C-level Awakener?"
The nearby people’s expressions turned serious at this statent.
The association didn’t have many C-level Awakeners.
They hadn’t noticed any open conflict between them. What had happened to escalate things to a fight to the death?
"Not quite sure." Chang Fei frowned. "Yang Hu’s opponent isn’t one of the other C-level Awakeners in the association. It’s a newcor."
"What, a newcor?"
"A newcor who just joined our association?"
"Is that a joke? A newcor daring to fight Yang Hu in a Life and Death Arena? Does he have a death wish? Are you sure you got this right?"
"Absolutely!"
Chang Fei’s expression showed exasperation and a hint of laughter.
When he first saw the ssage in the group chat, he had been stunned for a long ti before he believed it.
He had checked several tis before accepting it as fact.
"You’re not mistaken and neither am I. Indeed, it’s a newcor fighting Yang Hu in a Life and Death Arena. And supposedly, the newcor requested the fight."
"!!!"
The surrounding people were once again shocked.
"I heard that this newcor was quite the gambler, hiding his strength and betting all his points on himself during arena matches. He actually won three matches in a row..." Chang Fei explained the situation.
His companions displayed unusual expressions.
"Are newcors getting this wild nowadays? When we joined the association, we all earned points by completing tasks honestly. It’s still that way now."
"Yeah, most bets lose. Over the years, anyone who bet in the arena ended up broke."
"This newcor must be pretty ruthless, betting this way. If he succeeds, he might earn a lot of points."
"Luckily, Brother Hu refused him. Brother Hu is loyal indeed, deserving respect as the president’s right-hand man."
"Absolutely!" Chang Fei slapped his thigh. "After being refused, the newcor got angry and insisted on a Life and Death Arena. Brother Hu had to agree. So people just can’t be reasoned with."
"Indeed."
Their words resonated with many around them.
"This match starts in ten minutes. Should we also go and take a look? Maybe place a small bet on Brother Hu?" soone suggested with excitent.
"This might not be right."
Voices of hesitation arose. "We agreed not to engage in gambling, didn’t we?"
"Hey, with such guaranteed winning, how can it be gambling?"
"Exactly! We all know Brother Hu will win. That newcor is dood."
"True, then place a small bet, just for fun?"
"A small risk, nothing major."
Awakeners who got the news rushed toward the basent, even those outside, abandoning their tasks and hurrying back.
Even if not betting, watching could be amusing.
Such reckless newcors were rare, maybe once in years.
anwhile, Vice President Wen Jian, who had assessed Chen Fan before, noticed the flurry of ssages in the group chat.
"Life and Death Arena?"
He frowned.
Every community had its conflicts, and the Awakened Association was no different. This arena was an effective way to settle those.
But seeing Yang Hu’s na startled him.
Of course, he knew Yang Hu.
A C-level Awakener, trusted by the president.
"He’s involved in a life-and-death fight? Could it be?"
Cold sweat broke on Wen Jian’s back. Every C-level Awakener was vital to the association. Losing one would be a significant blow.
If two C-level Awakeners fought, both would likely be gravely injured, and the survivor would be weakened.
"I can’t let this fight happen."
He thought, but then he saw the opponent’s na and paused.
"Li Ping?"
The na seed familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
Until he saw the mocking ntions of "newcor" and realized.
Yes!
Today’s newcor evaluation, wasn’t he called Li Ping?
Li Ping, speed ability, E-level Awakener.
Wait a minute!
His expression changed drastically. How could an E-level Awakener face a C-level in a life-and-death duel?
This was suicide!
After a few minutes, he pieced together the story.
"So that’s it."
A cold smile crossed his lips.
He knew the arena’s inner workings, having profited from it.
This newcor had so skills, attracting Yang Hu’s recruitnt efforts. The talks failed.
So be it.
A lone wolf like this, defying order and being uncooperative, should be ousted early.
But was Li Ping foolish or arrogant?
After this, even if he left the association, no one would stop him or follow him to another city.
But he chose this duel.
It was like an old man hanging himself—courting death.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Clicking his tongue, he pocketed his phone and thought he might as well watch this rare spectacle.
After all, with the president absent, these things fell under his domain.
The basent was packed with people.
Despite fewer than two hundred Awakeners in the Stone City Awakened Association, nearly three hundred people were present.
They evidently ca from elsewhere too.
All eyes were on the screen above the ring.
The screen showed Yang Hu and Chen Fan’s profiles, with their betting points below.
The countdown showed ten minutes.
Many bet on Yang Hu, with hundreds of points changing every second, totaling over fifty thousand in two or three minutes.
Chen Fan also had bets, with over ten thousand points, increasing by the tens each second.
Though everyone knew Yang Hu would win, hedging on Chen Fan offered big returns if he miraculously won.
Wagering a bit for substantial returns seed wise.
This looped, and after three minutes, bets on Chen Fan’s points reached 30,000, quadrupling the odds for Chen Fan.
Half of Chen Fan’s points were his own.
Standing quietly in the ring, ignoring the taunts, Chen Fan waited for the last three minutes to pass.
Yang Hu watched Chen Fan’s previous three matches in detail, ending with a cold smile.
The newcor was rely so-so.
A waste of ti.
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