Author Note: This paragraph has a preview of YassyxAndreaxAngelxEvelyn's NSFW illustration and a link to the Patreon image~. And yes, I'm tempting you~.
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After reaching the Coliseum entrance, Elder Yu and Elder Huo entered the Coliseum and were completely free.
The entrance had plenty of reception stations. Lists of the schedule for each arena, names of the fighters, bets, merchandise, VIP seat selling, registering for fights, and many more services were listed on a few of them.
Not only that, but Yasenia also saw registrations to reserve rooms.
Curious about it, Yasenia asked. "Lady Jorey, what are the rooms here reserved for?"
Jorey asked. "You have never been to Torrent City?"
"Not to mention Torrent City. I have never been to this area of the continent."
Elder Song asked curiously. "Where are you from, Lady Yasenia?"
"Hmm. A very far away place." Yasenia showed a melancholic and thoughtful gaze.
Jorey answered her question. "These are cultivation rooms. The extensive use of energy in the area makes the concentration remarkable, and many cultivation rooms are built on the coliseum's lower floors. Using Parus to train for a while is not bad. The price is a bit high, so it's unpopular among the masses. The quality is outstanding, though."
Elder Huo nodded. "We'll send there the disciples that are not participating in the tournament or fail midway. A day in those rooms is similar to a month of cultivation outside. Naturally, there are limits. But the first use is usually that powerful."
Yasenia nodded. "I see."
Yasenia observed and saw that as many as 300 arenas were listed to fight in. Cultivation rooms were in the tens of thousands.
'Quite a huge place.'
Tatyana snorted. 'Compared to the battle arenas in my Academy, this one is a bit small.'
Yasenia rolled her eyes. 'Are you really comparing yourself with these little mortals?'
Tatyana playfully stuck her tongue out, making Yasenia almost clutch her heart at her cuteness. 'My usually elegant and powerful Mom sticking out her tongue is too cute!'
Yasenia asked to occupy her mind with an image that wasn't Tatyana's cute gesture. "Which arena should we go to? We've come here to see a match, right?"
Elder Yu scratched his bearded face as his bear ears flickered. "I'm sure it should be in the main arena. The City Lord fights usually happen in one of the ten main arenas."
Elder Huo approached a receptionist and asked him about it. The hairy Ape man answered quickly that it happened in the third arena.
Yasenia and the others walked through complicated hallways and soon reached an open stadium.
Our girls couldn't help but lift their eyebrows at the complicated web of passageways and corridors.
There were signs and, from time to time, maps to indicate where they were. But walking around for the first time was a dizzying experience.
When they approached arena three, the roars and shouts of the people were deafening.
Elder Huo commented. "Let's speed up. The battle may have started already."
They moved quickly and flashed inside the arena.
Once inside, they looked at the middle of the arena and saw two beast humans about to fight.
Elder Yu said via mental communication to avoid the shouts of excitement around them. 'Come with me. I have a place here where we can watch it from.'
They followed and entered one of the rooms on top of the stands. It was the room for their Nine Sect.
Yasenia internally sighed. 'Being influential sure is beneficial.'
Kali was speechless and answered. 'Love, aren't you, like, the most influential junior in Sky Continent?'
Yasenia blinked twice. 'Right. I forgot.'
Andrea laughed. 'Well, having Tatyana as a mother is a benefit you were born with.'
Yasenia smirked proudly. 'Mom is the best, after all.'
Tatyana chuckled at the side.
The sound of the announcer reached their ears. "And now, the battle you all have been waiting for! The Patriarch of the [Glass Seeking Feline] will fight against the new and imposing City Lord, Darragh, from the [Black Shell Minotaur Clan]!"
Kali blinked twice, and something lingered in the back of her head. 'That name…'
Yasenia raised her eyebrow as she observed a shirtless and two-and-a-half-meter-tall muscular minotaur.
Cecile commented. 'Isn't that a clan from our Sky Continent?'
Tatyana blinked and nodded. 'It is not from the Sky Continent, but the continent up north, the Black Tortoise Continent.'
The minotaur and the feline beast human rushed toward each other and began exchanging blows. The minotaur had an enormous club and swung it as if it was a twig, while the feline was highly agile and dodged, trying to attack him between his wide swings.
Their speed and strength were not bad, but Yasenia felt they lacked in both aspects. 'Hm, I'm stronger than both of them. Not bad. This means that the strength around this area is not far from mine. If they had been two Epoch Core Body Realm cultivators, I would've to be much more careful.'
Jorey explained via spiritual sense to speak over the shouts of the crowd. "The minotaur is the current City Lord. The other person should be a new challenger."
After finding one right after entering the secret realm, Kali had some impressions of that race and asked. "How long has he been in charge?"
Elder Huo answered her. "Not long. He appeared out of nowhere and challenged the previous City Lord. He uses strange techniques, and I can't guess his cultivation technique. However, his strength is undeniable."
Our girls' eyebrows jumped, and they focused on the minotaur closer. 'Is our guess correct?'
Suddenly, Yasenia saw an Earth-attributed energy layer cover the giant club while the minotaur stomped the ground and smashed the club downward.
*BOOM!*
An enormous explosion occurred as the earth violently burst in an explosion. The Patriarch was taken off guard, and the attack smashed directly onto him, making him spit blood and fly away like a rag doll.
"WAHH!!" The minotaur shouted, and the crowd exploded in cheers.
Andrea internally exclaimed and explained to the girls. "That's the [Violent Soil Eruption] skill! I've seen it in the past in the Academy's library. One of my friends talked to me about it because its strength was not bad, even if it is a basic element skill. It is very popular between cultivators that use bodily strength back in the Sky Continent."
Yasenia lifted an eyebrow and spoke aloud to the elders. "That bodily strength is impressive to make the soil explode like that with one stomp. His cultivation level should surpass the Patriarch by a large amount."
Elder Yu shook his head. "You are wrong, Lady Yasenia. He used a skill to make the floor explode like that."
Elder Hao said with bewilderment. "It's truly bizarre because the body of that minotaur is a bit underdeveloped. I feel like the ability-focused Catkin has a better foundation and strength than him. However, he has been at a disadvantage since the beginning."
Yasenia's eyes flashed. 'They can perceive these things while looking at the combat. Well, I can't be surprised when they practice Body Cultivation. It should be similar to our ability to sense overall strength. Thankfully, my dears and I have aura disguise on us, making it impossible to look at our strength.'
Yasenia commented lightly, with a clear interest in her voice. "Hoh? If it is like you said, it feels similar to our combat style, to be honest."
Elder Song asked. "You combat style?"
Yasenia leaned on the railing as she looked at the battle. "I won't say much, but I also use plenty of skills. However, unlike that minotaur, I haven't ignored my body."
Elder Yu nodded in praise. "Lady Yasenia did well. Those tricks can only help you slightly. The core of combat is an invincible body. The strength is also not much higher than a traditional attacking method."
Yasenia chuckled. "Who knew that we weren't that special? I'm still young and haven't seen the Continent."
The catkin that was sent flying stood up hastily, his skin mangled and blood flowing from one arm dangerously.
Yasenia was impressed at the skin's durability. He received that attack head-on and only had muscle-level damage. The bones appeared intact.
However, the minotaur didn't let the opportunity go and charged with an earth-based movement skill.
The ground below his hoofs trembled as his strength increased.
Tatyana commented. '[Earth Surging Steps], a skill that increases the next attack the more steps you take toward them.'
The catkin felt danger, and his eyes thinned as he focused on the minotaur running toward him.
When the minotaur arrived, glowing with spinning earth-yellow energy, the enormous club flashed speedily and zoomed toward the catkin.
The legs of the catkin shone as he didn't shy away and stomped against the ground, also speeding against the minotaur's weapon with fierce eyes.
*BANG!*
A shockwave of dust was blown apart as the leg and club collided.
The elemental armor around the minotaur increased his power and defense exponentially. Together with the advanced techniques, the catkin's body was blasted, flying away one more time.
However, the minotaur was not unharmed as his hoofs slid on the ground, the club in his hand clearly trembling as blood dripped from his arm. The muscles had ripped because of the impact strength!
Evelyn was stunned. 'He kicked that attack and injured the minotaur back!? My leg would have probably broken.'
Angel commented. 'Is the catkin's leg broken?'
The crowd shouted with crazed joy at the brutality of the battle.
Yasenia personally thought that the battle was over. Receiving an attack like that head-on was suicidal. Even if she herself was confident in doing so, she didn't expect the catkin to be able to continue fighting.
However, that catkin stood up with determined eyes.
The body had ruptured in some parts, and he was full of blood. However, the leg was not pulverized but twisted at a strange angle.
Andrea commented. 'With that leg, fighting should be impossible, right?'
Tatyana smirked.
Then, the catkin's energy converged and rushed toward his leg. The leg untwisted and straightened, becoming practically normal in a few breaths.
Andrea was so surprised that her voice leaked. "Huh?"
Elder Yu laughed at Andrea's reaction. "Such a wound won't stop a Body Cultivator, human. Are you surprised?"
Andrea honestly nodded. "I am surprised, senior Elder Yu."
The catkin didn't lose time as his body blurred and ran as if his leg was not broken a few moments ago.
Yasenia's and the other girls' expressions became a bit more serious.
Tatyana smirked and commented to them. 'Surprised? Body cultivators won't go down as easily. Even if they break every bone in their body, they can still fight. Body cultivation has very few fancy skills. However, the body is pushed to the limits and past those limits. Or so I heard.'
Tatyana continued. 'Unless you completely obliterate their limbs or waste their energy reservoirs, they can maintain a combat-ready body. The leg is not really healed. The bones in that leg are still shattered. However, the Body Cultivator technique can keep everything in place as if the wound didn't exist. Naturally, the pain is enormous. However, Body Cultivating is a painful thing per se, so they are more than accustomed to pain. Remember, if they have a breath left, a real Body Cultivator can still fight.'
The minotaur was also surprised, and the catkin caught him off guard.
He hastily used a defensive skill as the catkin's fist approached him. "[Thousandth Punch]!"
Yasenia saw that in that split second, all the muscles in the catkin's body seemed to tense as his fist became a shadow.
*BOOM!*
The explosive sound of the fist hitting the minotaur's muscular body exploded in the arena as the minotaur was sent flying like a streak of light.
He went from one side of the arena to the other while his internal organs were almost smashed into a pulp.
Even if he was saved from lethal damage thanks to his defensive skills, his organs had been displaced as blood poured from his bull mouth.
Yasenia leaned on the railing and muttered. "Impressive."
Joey heard her and smiled. "Right? The minotaur's skills are fascinating. Although his body is weaker, he makes up for it with his skills. That defensive art absorbed most of the shock of the famous [Thousandth Punch], which is impressive."
Yasenia didn't correct her as to why she was impressed.
The battle didn't end there, as the minotaur stood up and rejoined the fight. After their initial exchanges, they weren't sent flying as taking by surprise was more complex, and keeping the feet on the ground became easier.
The back-and-forth fight went on for twenty more minutes, with the catkin receiving most of the attacks.
The minotaur's skill arsenal was too varied in the end, and the Catkin succumbed to tiredness.
The minotaur's final strike to the head knocked him flying as his body spun and smashed into the stand.
The stadium burst into cheers.