The day of the Arena arrived. On the empty training grounds, a makeshift stadium had been erected with the power of money. Commoners and Aristocrats alike made a beeline towards the stadium.
To accommodate the rich, Ikasa had to reserve a whole stand. Commander Du had specifically asked him to create a seating arrangement befitting City Lord.
And hence the entire stand for affluents had to be decorated lavishly. That one stand, by itself, cost more than the other five stands. He was glad to see the money well spent as all the seats were filled before the appointed time.
The Sun had risen fully in the east. Meaning it was the time to start the show. Ikasa entered the ring, and all the eyes were focused on him. People strained their ears to hear every word he uttered.
"What a fine morning Ladies and Gentlemen! I welcome you all to this Challenger's Arena Contest. I organized this arena to let my Battle Technique manuals find worthy owners. And I am overwhelmed and gratified by the response we received."
Ikasa turned and bowed to all six stands. His humility appeased the Nobles while winning the hearts of the commoners.
He already noticed the crowd glancing at the Fighters assembling in one corner. He addressed the popular sentiment and cut his speech short.
"I know everyone is impatient to see the combat skills of our Sal City's Path Forgers. So without further ado, let's start this event. To explain the rules of this event, I invite Ms. Xin Ruo!"
Ikasa clapped, and the crowd followed suit as Xin Ruo dressed in a beautiful red gown took the stage. Her melodious voice resounded through the arena.
"Although there are many martial artists at Stage 6 and below of Path Forging realm, we could only take in the first 100 who registered. I apologize to all those who didn't get a chance."
Ikasa watched on, amused, as the crowd was swayed by her words.
"If such beauty is apologizing, which bastard can hold a grudge?"
"I was hundred and first. That kid even took my silver. But Goddess Xin Ruo came out and said there are no more spots left."
"Hmph! Fools dancing on her fingers… But she has such smooth sunkissed skin."
Xin Ruo paused until the crowd settled down.
"There are 30 special gold coins hidden in this stadium. All hundred contestants will enter the ring at once. After half an hour, those who possess the coin will qualify to enter the actual Challenger's Arena contest."
She raised one of the Special Coins up into the air. Most of the people present couldn't see anything, but the contestants, who were closer, clearly saw the coin's appearance.
The circular coin was carved with the name Ikasa. That's all there was to know about it.
"Contestants can snatch the coin from other contestants. They can fight and maim each other. But killing each other is prohibited. Violators will be disqualified and judged before the City Lord."
She took a long pause to let her warning sink in. During this time, she withdrew from the ring. When she was back in the stands, she threw the coin in her hand into the ring.
As the coin flipping through air landed in the ring, her voice fell into everyone's ears.
"Let the contest begin!"
Like bulls stampeding out of their pens, the contestants charged into the arena. Their aim? The very first special coin.
As more and more coins were discovered, the treasure hunt turned into a battle royale. Sitting in the stands, people cheered for every drop of blood spilled. Family members winced if the source was their loved ones.
The idea behind holding this battle royale was to wear down or eliminate the strongest opponents. If one gets a coin, the mob would attack him to seize it back.
There was no way to create deterrence. Since everyone was in the Intermediate Path Forging realm, no one could convincingly overpower others.
Also, killing people was prohibited; Hence, even the slightly weaker ones dared to bite the strong.
In a corner of the noble's stand, Ikasa and Xin Ruo pointed out particularly tough opponents to the kids.
This was another advantage of this phase of the tournament. The kids would get a preview of their possible opponents, boosting their morale.
"See that tall baldie? He is good at leg techniques. So try to get close to him and attack his upper body."
"Sister Xin Ruo look! That guy is so strong! He took down two people with two punches. Ah! Nevermind. He fell down after just one kick to his shin."
"Don't underestimate that skinny guy. He probably practices a High-Grade Cultivation Manual."
Xin Ruo warned the kids as she saw the skinny guy punch another one out. Ikasa's attention was drawn by the serious tone of her voice.
"That's Xue Ni! Why is the son of the Xue Family elder here? Kids, be careful of him, okay?"
Time flew and the incense lit to keep track of time was almost burned completely.
"Only 5 minutes left for the competition to end!"
Xin Ruo announced, causing the battles below to turn even more bloody. The people waiting for the last stretch joined to snatch the coins from their existing owners.
In this frenzy, Xue Ni fell and lost the coin. Ikasa sighed a breath of relief. Almost every strong person had been eliminated. Those who were still in the fight were worn down and exhausted.
Ikasa turned to look at the burning stick of incense. But instead, he saw perverse smirks on some faces.
He was reminded that these Nobles love when Commoners fight like dogs for limited resources. And what was happening in the ring below was no different.
He felt disgusted with himself for being a catalyst in fulfilling these nobles' depraved desires.
Xin Ruo turned to Ikasa when he still did not signal her to end the battles below. She saw him trembling with fury while his eyes were shut tight.
She touched his hands, her eyebrows questioning the cause for his fury. He took a deep breath and centered himself. Shaking his head he told her to proceed as planned.
"Time is up! Please separate and maintain a distance of two arms from each other."
Everyone stopped unwillingly. They stepped away from each other.
"Everyone who obtained the Coin, raise it above your heads and come forward."
Once the winners were separated she bowed to all of them.
"I thank all of you for participating. Apprentices of Medicine Master Hao will tend to your wounds backstage. Please come this way."
Xin Ruo led the remaining 70 people to the apprentices of the Medicine Master. Ikasa stepped in to take the reins.
"I congratulate all of you for securing the coin. With that coin, you can challenge one of them." He pointed toward the Kids.
"If you win, the Battle Technique they use will be your reward. Everyone will only get one chance, so make sure to make the most out of it."
Ikasa motioned one of the Kids to come forward. Chu Qing came to the front.
"Hello! My name is Chu Qing. I use the defensive battle technique, {Peek-a-Boo Defense}. Does anyone wants to challenge me and witness the power of this Battle Technique?"
His declaration was met with silence. All thirty of the winners were tired and injured. Anyone who stepped up now would obviously be at a disadvantage.
The challengers fidgeted, but no one came forward. Seeing this situation, Ikasa discreetly raised his finger.
He had already anticipated such a situation. He had hired five of the weaker contestants to act on his orders. The promise of twenty gold coins was too lucrative, and they had readily agreed to his suggestion.
How did he make sure that they would enter the top 30 despite being weak?
The number of coins hidden in the arena was five less than announced. These missing five coins were on the people he hired when they entered the arena.
Even if they were discovered, he had a perfect explanation. Since the coins hidden on their person were also within the arena, it did not count as bias. Thankfully, they mixed in well, and he didn't have to explain.
And now he was asking one of those people to challenge Chu Qing.
A man with a long thin mustache but no beard came forth. He cupped his fist and bowed to Chu Qing.
"Greetings! I, Ma Peng, want to test the defense of your battle technique."
"Please, try your best!"
Chu Qing responded in kind.
In the stands, Ikasa was fuming as Chu Qing deviated from the rehearsed lines. 'It's 'go easy on me' not 'try your best'!'
The challenge began, and Chu Qing took a horse stance; Ready to activate his skill at a moment's notice. Ma Peng also took an offensive posture.
As soon as the referee's raised hand went down, Ma Peng winked at Ikasa and charged!
He aimed a punch at Chu Qing's face. It was blocked easily. On his next maneuver, he sent a round kick targeting Chu Qing's waist. Chu Qing took a step back, and the kick didn't even touch his clothes.
In a few seconds, Ma Peng and Chu Qing had exchanged several such moves. The audience was quite entertained by the pure skill they had shown.
"It is time to take this to the next level!"
Ma Peng's shout raised the expectations of the spectators. Even Chu Qing heightened his guard.
He rushed at full speed. Within a few breaths, he was before Chu Qing. His hand was ready to jab at his jaw.
Chu Qing instinctively used the {Peek-a-Boo Defense}. Ma Peng's jab hit his strengthened arms. And then Ma Peng took multiple steps back and directly rolled on the ground.
"Aaah! So strong! I hit him, but his technique shattered my arm!"
He writhed on the ground as if in extreme pain. Sometimes he held his right arm, the other time his left arm. Amusingly enough, his left arm had not even touched Chu Qing.
Chu Qing looked at his arms in confusion.
'Was this technique this strong?'
But Ikasa and those with discerning eyes were not fooled. His face darkened further when Ma Peng continued shouting loudly about how powerful the technique was.
He made a mental note; 'Deduct 50 silver for overacting!'