Age of Evolution#

Chapter 636: Chapter 638: Opponent in the Arena

A legend was born in the Star System Arena of the Inter-dimensional Competition.

A martial artist had set up a cash prize pool that he wouldn’t withdraw from, allowing martial artists from all over the world to challenge him. Yet, after two whole months, no one had succeeded in defeating him, and the cash prize had accumulated to more than 40 billion, with no one able to claim it.

Inside the arena, this person’s battle videos were constantly being spread, attracting more and more attention.

In the videos, at first, that martial artist named Lin Zhen didn’t seem very strong, using just a pair of fists, and his skills didn’t appear to be very proficient, with many of his victories being barely won.

However, as the battles continued, he fought match after match, and his skills became increasingly refined. By the time he reached the later videos, very few people could withstand even three moves or two techniques from him.

As the prize pool reached 50 billion, some experts were finally tempted.

Some called for a top player to come forth and claim Lin Zhen’s 50 billion, and indeed, a top player did appear. However, after a fierce battle, they still lost.

Niu Meng, the king of the 7399 small battle zone, with a Star Power of up to 750,000, fought Lin Zhen for a day and a night. In the end, Lin Zhen used a punch like a comet falling, knocking Niu Meng out of the arena!

Niu Meng was the strongest in the 7399 small battle zone, and yet he lost to Lin Zhen. Thus, no one in the 7399 small battle zone could be Lin Zhen’s opponent.

Under Niu Meng’s pressure, Lin Zhen finally mastered the Comet Fall, and his subsequent battles became even easier.

Not using a gun, nor a sword, nor mental power, Lin Zhen had swept through the Star System Stage with just his fists, becoming invincible!

Originally, there were tens of thousands of people queued up to challenge him, but under Lin Zhen’s nearly one-minute-per-match frequency, they were all defeated as the third month approached.

The prize pool had reached 100 billion, and no one dared to challenge him anymore!

Having just mastered the Comet Fall, Lin Zhen couldn’t bear not having any opponents. So, he did something astonishing: he opened up cross-zone permissions for his arena.

By spending 10 billion cash, he made it so that his arena could be challenged by Star System Stage fighters from the entire Original World!

This action caused a huge stir. It was well known that each small battle zone had its king, but such a direct challenge across zones was rare; it was a complete disregard for all Star System Stage fighters.

In the vast universe, who dares to claim to be the best?

Countless Star System Stage fighters began to challenge him. The number of challengers, which had been reset to zero, soared to more than a hundred thousand, and continued to increase.

Seeing the ever-increasing number of challengers, Lin Zhen said, “It seems I won’t be bored for a whole year.”

**********

Lin Zhen originally thought that his strength could challenge any Star System Stage fighter, but only when he opened the cross-zone arena did he realize that there was always someone better.

The vast universe was never lacking in geniuses. When he had fought for just one day short of three months, and the prize pool had accumulated to 220 billion, a swordsman appeared.

“Your name is Lin Zhen, right? You’re very arrogant. The people in our circle called me to come out and stop your haughty behavior. Your 220 billion, I’ll take it all!”

After hearing countless boasts for so long, Lin Zhen didn’t care at all. Although the man had a Nan Liang accent, it didn’t matter, and Lin Zhen immediately attacked.

The two figures interlaced, and after a series of flashes, the man’s sword pierced Lin Zhen’s chest!

The heart, a fatal hit, right on target!

At that moment, Lin Zhen realized that he had been careless. Not having any opponents for a long time had given him an unavoidable sense of pride, or perhaps numbness.

The man’s strike was a finishing blow, and Lin Zhen treated it as normal, naturally resulting in a bad outcome.

However, Lin Zhen’s physical strength was far beyond that of ordinary people. In the final moment, he launched an attack with his divine infant!

The swordsman thought he had won, but he didn’t expect Lin Zhen to counterattack just before dying. The swordsman’s skills were not bad, but his mental power was no match for Lin Zhen’s.

He couldn’t withstand the damage caused by the divine infant with his 99% Level Cui Mang mental power and was also killed on the spot!

Interestingly, both of their times of death were exactly the same, so the battle was deemed a draw!

Lin Zhen didn’t win any money, and the opponent didn’t lose any either.

Lin Zhen had never seen someone who could take on a 220-billion bet all at once. This person must have a considerable background, and after the battle, Lin Zhen was drenched in cold sweat.

That was close, he had been somewhat numb and nearly had his three months of accumulation taken away.

For the rest of the day, Lin Zhen was much more cautious during battles, not giving any opportunities to others. He finally managed to pass the first three months without any major incidents.

With the 220-billion cash in hand, Lin Zhen did not stop. Instead, he set up another 10-billion prize pool arena, still challenging the entire Star System Stage.

However, the second challenge didn’t go as smoothly as the first. After defeating the swordsman, another expert finally arrived.

Not even three days after the second arena was set up, a dual-wielding martial artist came to challenge him.

This man wore a golden-trimmed robe with dark red patterns, signifying his extraordinary identity; ordinary people didn’t have the qualifications to wear such attire.

“Lin Zhen, do you realize that your attention-seeking behavior is tarnishing the reputation of Nan Liang? There are countless powerful figures in the universe beyond your imagination. Now I’m going to dismantle your arena and save Nan Liang from the embarrassment you cause.”

From the tone of the speaker, it seemed that he was a native of Nan Liang, but Lin Zhen didn’t care. In the arena, what mattered was the strength of the fighters.

When the two battled, Lin Zhen finally found his match. In the three-minute clash, Lin Zhen was completely suppressed. The opponent used two knives, one long and one short. The longer knife was held in his right hand, while the shorter one was held in a backhand grip called the Backhand Blade. His moves were extremely unpredictable, making it difficult for Lin Zhen to defend. Lin Zhen did not use his weapons but managed to injure his opponent by using Comet Fall. However, Lin Zhen still fell under the opponent’s blades in the end.

Lin Zhen decided not to use his Divine Infant’s outburst because he saw the opponent’s Mental Defense treasure—a colorful necklace that could resist his Bronze Level Divine Infant.

Lin Zhen’s 3.2 billion cash was taken away. Afterward, Chris informed Lin Zhen that the opponent’s Star Power was as high as 1,030,000!

Even the previous Martial Artist who wielded the sword had a Star Power of 1 million!

After Lin Zhen’s Divine Infant came out, this man equipped himself with a Mental Defense treasure so as not to give Lin Zhen a chance for a Mental Shock.

Without a doubt, these two men knew each other. The only question was, what was their relationship?

After suffering two consecutive losses, Lin Zhen stayed in the subspace and didn’t immediately set up another arena.

He had two options.

First, he could pick up his own spear or sword, set up an arena again, and believe in himself to win. If worst came to worst, he could use Black Hole Devour to instantly kill any Star System level opponent.

But, in that case, his Star Fall Five Skill wouldn’t get the training it needed. He hadn’t even mastered Comet Fall yet, let alone his goal of achieving Satellite Fall.

The alternative was to continue setting up the arenas and keep fighting!

Although he occasionally still lost, Lin Zhen believed that one day, he would never lose on a Star System Stage arena again!

“Chris, all the people who challenged me have names. Can you find out who these two people are?”

“Master, I have checked, and the identities of these two people are confidential.”

Lin Zhen nodded. Since it was confidential, he had a basic idea of who they were.

Judging from their attire, accents, and behavior, these challengers were likely from the Royal family of Nan Liang.

Not only did the Royals have unparalleled resources and a multitude of Longevity Realm Martial Artists, but their children were also bound for greatness.

For example, Lin Zhen knew that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were both in the Longevity Realm.

Only such families and environments could nurture such powerful descendants, especially considering their young ages. This further confirmed Lin Zhen’s speculation.

Losing to them wasn’t unbearable.

After collecting himself, Lin Zhen returned to the arena and set up a 1 billion cash prize again!

Over the next year, Lin Zhen mostly continued winning. However, occasionally, he still lost a match. Those two opponents with 1 million Star Power seemed to treat Lin Zhen as a cash cow, challenging him whenever the prize pool accumulated a large amount of money.

Lin Zhen didn’t mind losing; after all, he only invested 1 billion. If he lost, then he lost.

Gradually, Lin Zhen figured out the pattern of the two challengers.

The swordsman would never really seize the entire prize pool. It was always the young man with the dual blades, the one who used the Backhand Blade, who ended up defeating Lin Zhen in the end.

This person was also quite foul-mouthed, insulting Lin Zhen after winning, as if that was the only way to show his superiority.

As Lin Zhen continued to cultivate, he silently calculated the time, determined to find the right opportunity to teach him a lesson.

Time passed day by day…and half a year went by.

********

There was still no news about the Vermilion Bird’s blood. Lin Zhen didn’t worry too much about it, spending most of his time in the arena and occasionally checking on the status of the shops.

With his avatar refining elixirs, the business continued to operate, albeit at a slower pace. With daily earnings still in the millions, it wasn’t too bad.

There was no movement from Gu Yunting either; he seemed to have forgotten about Lin Zhen. Lin Zhen had secretly inquired about his situation; apparently, Gu Yunting was busy researching Ancient Alchemy Recipes in Tengtian Tower and didn’t have time to go out.

Since Gu Yunting stayed put, Lin Zhen did nothing as well. Right now, he needed time the most.

During this time, Lin Zhen lost several billion more, but the money wasn’t wasted. Through the hard training in the arena, he finally mastered Comet Fall and even started to perceive the mystery of Satellite Fall. However, his Star Power wasn’t enough to execute Satellite Fall yet.

The prize pool had accumulated 4 billion again.

A challenger appeared before him—the swordsman who had fought Lin Zhen to a draw in their first battle.

“Hey, Lin! I came to collect my money again. I’ll bet 2 billion this time,” he said.