"This place is quite lively." Wang Tian muttered. "Yep, and this will be where we make all our money." Mu Feng replied with a devious smile on his face. Right now the two were in front of a large arena, this was the Red Ridge Arena, a place where all those below the Essence Condensing Realm fought against one another.
And naturally one could place bets on participants here. "You sure this will work?" Wang Tian asked, the structure was truly grand. People constantly flowed into the arena one after the other. Some people would watch for fun, others to place bets, and some were themselves fighters.
"Of course, back then you could fight Gong You, now you're 2 Minor Layers stronger, if you lose I'll puke blood." Mu Feng assured him, the two then split up. Mu Feng was going to go place the bet while Wang Tian was going to participate.
'Whatever I'll just trust his judgement.' He thought before placing a plain white mask on his face. Wang Tian then tied up his hair, before hiding it within his robes. 'While its a bit extra I rather avoid unnecessary troubles.' Wang Tian thought before entering the arena.
Their current plan to raise funds was pretty simple. Su Wu would enter the Hissing Forest and kill as many demonic beasts as possible, they'd then sell the materials and use that money to place bets on Wang Tian which would then further multiply their wealth. At least this is where Wang Tian thought the plan ended, but there was actually another step which Mu Feng had failed to mention.
Entering the arena Wang Tian entered a pathway with the sign "Registration" above it. As he walked through the dark pathway, he eventually arrived in a small hall with a desk at the very back. He then lined up in front of the desk to wait for his turn.
"Next." The desk clerk called, finally it was Wang Tian's turn. "Name?" The clerk asked. "Winner." Wang Tian simply replied. "Although fake names are allowed, are you sure you want to go with that?" The clerk raised a brow at Wang Tian's chosen name. "Winner."
Shaking her head in derision she simply marked him down as "Winner". "To clarify any and all injuries or deaths within the arena are not our responsibility. Prizes given out are as follows, 10 Gold against anyone a Layer below you, 50 Gold for anyone your Layer, and 250 Gold for anyone a Layer above you. Naturally this is assuming you defeat them, if you lose you earn nothing." The clerk explained before motioning Wang Tian through another pathway.
He then walked down the pathway before arriving at another hallway. It was filled with other participants. Some were beaten up pretty badly, bleeding from multiple areas, others simply stood in silence. 'Hopefully it won't take too long.' Wang Tian thought before falling into deep thought.
Some time later his name was finally called. "Winner! Winner to the arena, Winner!" Hearing himself being called, Wang Tian broke out of his thoughts and walked ahead. At the end of the hall was a large door that was frequently opened and closed whenever a participant was called up or had finished their match.
Walking out of the door, Wang Tian's eyes began to flicker as they adjusted to the light. "BOO!" The crowd chanted as he entered the stage. "How dare you call yourself Winner!" They raged at him as he stood upon the stage.
Naturally it was a pretty arrogant name, but that was the point. The more the crowd hated him, the more money he could earn.
"On the left we have the mysterious new fighter Winner, on the right side we have the notorious Blood Dagger! Both fighters are in the 8th Layer of Qi Refinement, who will win?! Place your bets now!" The announcer introduced both fighters.
Looking ahead Wang Tian examined his opponent. He was about as tall as Wang Tian, with short scruffy brown hair, and black eyes that looked almost soulless. In his right hand he held a dagger which he continually fiddled with.
A few minutes later the announcer spoke once again. "I hope you have placed your bets, remember this battle ends when one of you is either dead, seriously injured to the point of being unable to compete, or surrenders. BEGIN!"
With that the battle began. In an instant Blood Dagger shot towards Wang Tian, his dagger aiming for his neck. In response to this Wang Tian sluggishly put ups his arms to block the attack.
"SCHINK!"
Blood Dagger sliced across Wang Tian's arms, creating a shallow cut on his robes. 'What?' Blood Dagger was in awe. It felts as though he had been trying to cut through a solid piece of metal. "Ow!" Wang Tian groaned as he stepped back quickly.
Seeing this Blood Dagger was confused even more. 'Am I delusional, or is he making fun of me?' Blood Dagger simply couldn't figure it out, but he soon came to a conclusion. 'I'll just cut him regardless.'
Blood Dagger then shot towards Wang Tian once again. This time he circled Wang Tian aiming for his back with his dagger. Seemingly scared, Wang Tian turned his head left and right, before kicking backwards in an awkward stance. 'What a fool.' Blood Dagger thought, before suffering the worst blow of his life.
"CRACK!"
Wang Tian's foot, had "accidentally" hit Blood Dagger's precious gems. "AWOOOH!" Blood Dagger howled before clutching his gems, and falling to the ground, unconscious. Silence ensued, not a word was spoken, they were simply trying to rationalise what happened.
"Huh?" Wang Tian mumbled questioningly. From this the crowd understood something. 'This fool didn't even know what he was doing.' The crowd thought in unison. Naturally this wasn't the case.
While Wang Tian wasn't a great actor, it wasn't hard to fool people who already had it out for you. 'If I call myself Winner, then naturally you'd want me to be weak to pay for my arrogance. Then Blood Dagger lands the first blow on me seemingly causing me pain, and then I just need to "accidentally" inflict serious damage by hitting a vital area.' Wang Tian smiled beneath his mask.
He had been devising this plan while waiting for his turn to fight. For as much and as long as possible he wanted to keep his true strength under wraps, that way they could profit off the arena for longer.
"Winner is the Winner!" The announcer declared. Immediately the crowd was in an uproar.
"I want a refund!"
"How is this fair!?"
"Winner do you have no shame!? How can any man hit another man there!"
"Spineless!"
"Coward!"
One after another the crowd hurled insult after insult at Wang Tian. But without a word, he turned around and exited the stage. 'It seems this won't run dry anytime soon.'