At the same time.
The burly man's face was hidden behind a mask, obscuring his exact features. Next to him stood a petite woman, around 1.3 meters tall. Her presence beside the nearly two-meter-tall burly man seemed jarring, especially since she leaned against him with a look of adoration, creating an odd "beauty and the beast" effect.
Upon seeing them, Tang Yin instantly realized the source of the earlier indecent sounds from the room—this petite woman.
Tang Yin's gaze was cold and devoid of emotion as he looked at them as if they were already dead. Zhu Zhuqing, standing beside him, frowned slightly.
The man's words were crude, but she chose to ignore him, focusing on the upcoming match. This competition would pit ten teams, twenty people, against each other. The pair in front of them was their opponent, making further words unnecessary.
The burly man ogled Zhu Zhuqing with lecherous eyes, clearly disappointed at the thought that he'd soon have to kill her in the match.
Suddenly, the golden lights above the main arena grew even brighter, narrowing to focus directly on the central stage, creating a huge spotlight that enveloped the entire combat ring. The dazzling effect of the soul tool used for this illumination highlighted the wealth and power of the underground arena.
The most anticipated match of the night—the brutal combat match—was about to begin.
In the middle of the stage, a circular platform about two meters in diameter rose from the floor, supported by a thick golden pillar. A woman stood atop it. She floated down gracefully to the side of the stage, and the platform gradually lowered back down.
She glanced around and spoke clearly, her voice resonating through the arena: "Tonight's main event will feature a team battle with ten groups, twenty participants in total. Although the names of the contestants are irrelevant, what matters is that the audience gets to enjoy this thrilling slaughter match!"
"The contestants are numbered one to ten, and everyone is free to place their bets accordingly."
Without further ado, she invited the fighters to enter the stage.
The crowd's cheers erupted as the contestants stepped forward. Occasionally, a few names were shouted from the stands.
The first to appear was Team One. Both members were around two meters tall, with broad shoulders and thick muscles like granite. Their bare torsos revealed bulging muscles like dark green snakes winding over black skin.
The taller of the two let out a thunderous roar as he stepped onto the stage, radiating powerful energy. Without a doubt, they were power-type spirit masters—a pair of twin brothers, identical in appearance.
Next came the "beauty and the beast" duo Tang Yin had encountered in the lounge—Team Two.
Coincidentally, Tang Yin and Zhu Zhuqing were Team Three.
Soon, the remaining seven teams joined them on stage, totaling twenty contestants. With everyone assembled, the crowd began choosing their favored teams and placing bets.
Most bets went to Team One, the twin brothers, followed by the beauty and the beast pairing in Team Two. Tang Yin and Zhu Zhuqing, as new participants, were relatively unknown, so they attracted little interest, resulting in exceptionally high odds for them.
Meanwhile, in the first VIP booth, a man observed Tang Yin and Zhu Zhuqing through the glass with keen interest. He had come to the arena to scout promising talents to recruit under his banner. He didn't expect to find anyone particularly interesting, but the appearance of Tang Yin caught his attention.
This man was none other than the prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, known as Xue Qinghe—but secretly the disguise of Qian Renxue.
"Place one thousand gold coins on Team Three," he ordered his guard.
With odds of 1:100, if Tang Yin and Zhu Zhuqing won, that would yield one hundred thousand gold coins. While it wasn't a fortune to him, it was still a decent sum.
The guard quickly carried out the order.
Moments later, as the crowd finished placing their bets, the referee gave the signal, officially starting the brutal competition.
All contestants immediately unleashed their martial spirits. Beside Tang Yin, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes changed color—her left eye turned dark green, while her right eye became light blue. Adorable cat ears perked up atop her head, and sharp claws extended from her ten fingers.
She crouched, her eyes fixed coldly on the petite woman from Team Two as if she were prey. Two yellow spirit rings appeared around her, exuding a sharp, chilling aura that was almost suffocating.
Zhu Zhuqing knew this was her fight.
The petite woman was her first target. Despite the opponent's stronger spirit power, Zhu Zhuqing could sense it was now or never.
With a single thought, Zhu Zhuqing launched forward, creating a series of afterimages as she lunged directly at her opponent.
She activated her Nether Thrust, her claws extending mid-air, her speed doubling in an instant, darting sharply toward her target.
As an agility-type spirit master, Zhu Zhuqing specialized in stealth, assassination, and reconnaissance. This kind of head-on fight wasn't ideal for her kind, but the underground setting, though illuminated, still had dark corners. Guided by Tang Yin's earlier training, she moved faster than ever, reaching the petite woman in a blink.
The petite woman, a level-32 spirit master with a Blood-Claw Rat martial spirit, scoffed as Zhu Zhuqing approached, convinced of her own superiority. But as Zhu Zhuqing's speed surged and brought her face-to-face in an instant, the woman's expression shifted, and she raised her claws defensively.
In that moment, Zhu Zhuqing's claws struck down.
Clang! Clang!
Their claws clashed, sending sparks flying.
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