Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

BAM! BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM BAM!

The sounds of iron fists colliding with sharp claws, mixed with heated cheers, were echoing on an empty field in the center of the forest. A group of gladiators were standing in a circle, watching the competition of two experts.

The one on the left was the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons.

The one that was resisting his attack unhurriedly was, naturally, Li Yao.

“Moo!”

The leader of the bull-horned muscular demons roared suddenly, and his arms bulged to twice their original size with veins binding them up in circles like the whorls on a screw. The punch was mixed with a weird helical force, and Li Yao’s defense was crushed even though he had crossed his two arms to resist the attack. Meanwhile, the veins on his opponent’s arms suddenly twisted in the opposite direction, like a spring that was released abruptly after being tightened. Another new force was blown out and pressed Li Yao’s chest heavily.

Li Yao retreated almost ten steps before he hit a giant tree heavily, shaking the leaves of the tree hard. He shook his hand and smiled. “Let’s stop fighting. Brother Mo has grasped seventy percent of the ‘Boa Bondage Force’. I’m no match for you.”

Li Yao had limited his strength and speed to 7%. Without resorting to the force of his core and spiritual energy, he was truly no match for the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons with only 7% of his capability.

It was the seventh day after Li Yao arrived at the Skeleton Island.

After passing through the first battle, they had turned from new blood into official gladiators, but they were not scheduled for a second game in a hurry. Instead, they were simply locked in the deepest part of the Skeleton Island for further training.

Although they were prisoners, the place was an out-and-out training camp in Li Yao’s eyes.

Every day, they were able to drink strengthening drugs that were powerful and contained a lot of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Li Yao did not know much about the strengthening drugs of the Blood Demon Sector, but according to the standard of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, they were all invaluable treasures. Even the best students of the Nine Elite Colleges would not necessarily be able to obtain such strengthening drugs.

Other than that, the meat of demon beasts that stored abundant spiritual energy was supplied unlimitedly. The guards did not even frown when Li Yao ate seven whales in a row and simply offered more food to him.

Moreover, the information bugs that they received had been fully upgraded, too. The battle experience of many middle- and high-level demon generals, and sometimes even demon kings, was now stored inside them.

The normal gladiators might have found it difficult to understand the quick and mysterious fighting scenes. But for Li Yao, having access to such battle experience was like giving a fish an ocean to swim in.

In the special training camp, all the gladiators were mixed up. Other than the newcomers such as themselves, there were also a lot of veterans who had participated in multiple games and the real brutal warriors who had secured five victories and regained their freedom but still chose to stay on the Skeleton Island as tutors.

Under such circumstances, all the gladiators naturally started bonding with each other. The leader of the bull-horned muscular demons and Li Yao, who nailed a Soul-Splitting Behemoth at the crucial moment in the end, became the center of the newly-arrived gladiators.

Li Yao learned that the leader of the bull-horned muscular demons was named ‘Mo Tiesheng’. He had lived with his companions around Cloud Mist Swamp, which was as an underdeveloped area as the Hundred Desolation Mountain and frequented by a lot of demon beasts. They had made their living by hunting down the demon beasts. After generations of evolution and elimination, their unparalleled physical strength had been built up.

Their village had been affected by the war between the coalition army of the demon race and the Blade of Chaos, too. Because of the savaging fires of war, they had to evacuate from their hometown, only to run into the slave-catching team of Void Turmoil City.

Magnificent as the naturally-endowed techniques of the Red Blood Bronze Bulls and Fire Kirins might have been, it was not enough for them to resist the barrage of the acid cannons and the bone sting guns. A lot of their clan members who dared to fight back had been slain, and the rest of them had been paralyzed by the narcotic drugs. When they woke up again, they had already been tied up and unable to move anymore.

Therefore, Mo Tiesheng hated the high and mighty nobles’ guts.

The other gladiators were more or less the same. They had mostly been living in the far-flung areas where the environment was harsh with endless demon beasts. But because of the flames of war, they had been involved in a disaster that was unrelated to them and ended up in this place, turning from an innocent hunter in the wilderness into a finely-made slaughtering machine.

The Skeleton Island’s mode of operation is indeed not right!

Li Yao was deep in thought.

Chaotic-blood demons were certainly not a synonym for the weak. In fact, their potential was much higher than those of many black-blood and bronze-blood demons.

Before, the well-despised chaotic-blood demons usually lived in the corners of the Blood Demon Sector. They were loose sand and could not stir much trouble.

However, through slave trading, the chaotic-blood demons who were infuriated and loathed the nobles had been gathered in Void Turmoil City, and the most defiant of them had been shipped to the Skeleton Island to receive such mysterious, rigorous, and effective training.

Naturally, a possible explanation would be that only through such refinement could the gladiators offer entertaining matches and even become the sharp claws and teeth for the nobles.

However, would the claws and teeth really never tear open the throats of their masters?

Other than that, all the gladiators had been locked up in the same place, but there was not any surveillance at all. Wasn’t it very convenient for the gladiators to connect with each other?

In fact, that was exactly what had happened.

After only a few days, Mo Tiesheng had established his prestige among the gladiators and in effect became the big brother for them, and Li Yao and a few other gladiators were also respected for their marvelous capability. Many gladiators were willing to listen to their command.

During the casual chitchats at night, there was no telling who started it first, but everybody started sharing the reason and process of their capture. After they heard that everybody had such similar experiences, it was unmistakable that flames of empathy and comradery were burning deep down in their eyes.

If the chaotic-blood demons had been loose sand in the past, right now, they already had their basic organization.

If the gladiators were to rise up and fight their oppressors, the experts such as Mo Tiesheng and Li Yao would be the natural leaders!

This place is totally a boot camp for the rebels!

While he was pondering, he smelt a pungent smell, only to find that Mo Tiesheng had sat down next to him and was staring at the gladiators who were training hard far away.

“Another four victories, then we will be able to go back,” Mo Tiesheng said slowly.

Despite his brutality and valiance in the games, Mo Tiesheng was rather friendly and easygoing. His greatest goal was nothing more than to bring his companions back to their hometown and live their poor but peaceful lives again.

Before Li Yao could reply, laughter resembling the cackles of a crow echoed behind the two of them. An old demon, whose skin was wrinkled with gray feathers and whose eyes were red, moved close.

The old demon was named Ba Mingsong. He had been a gladiator in the past, too, but his wings had been broken during a game, and although he had luckily survived, he was not able to fight any more games.

He was working in the training camp as a servant and a masseur. Sometimes, he was responsible for answering the questions of the newly-arrived gladiators, too. But in general, he was just an insignificant worker.

However, mysterious brilliance was beaming out of Ba Mingsong’s eyes. He chuckled and craned his long neck toward them. “You think that you will be allowed to go home so easily? In your dream!”

Mo Tiesheng bulged his eyes. “Does the master of the Skeleton Island not honor his words?”

Ba Mingsong sneered, “Of course, the master of the Skeleton Island honors his words. However, you must bear in mind that you must secure five victories instead of one or two. There’s a huge difference between one victory and five!

“Mad Bull, Bloody Claw, you are among the most distinguished gladiators of the newcomers over the past few years. You are going to be great money-makers for the arena. Will they let go of you easily?”

After they entered the Skeleton Island, their names were meaningless, and they had been nicknamed according to their own characteristics. Mo Tiesheng was called ‘Mad Bull’ while Li Yao was addressed as ‘Bloody Claw’.

Ba Mingsong blinked and said in a low voice, “Tell you what, there are a lot of ways to keep you in this place. For example, after you win four games, somebody will declare that you’ve misunderstood the rule, and that you will have to secure five victories in a row—not separately—in order to be set free!

“Or rather, they will grant you strengthening drugs that are very powerful but have a limited time of effect. At the beginning, you are naturally free to take them. However, after you’ve tasted the gratification of strength, you will be charged if you want more of such drugs! You don’t have any money? That’s easy. The Skeleton Island will loan you money! After you borrow the first sum of money, you will never be able to walk out of the place anymore. Even if you’ve regained your freedom, you will still have to linger on the Skeleton Island or work for other nobles!”

Mo Tiesheng snorted. “So, in your opinion, we are never going to be free again, are we?”

“Free? Hehe. Hehehehe!”

Ba Mingsong chuckled in amusement and said, “Even if you miraculously win five games and find your way back to your hometown, do you think that you will be free? In the Blood Demon Sector, the silver-blood demons and the bronze-blood demons are always the high and mighty rulers while the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons are the most humble ants. What’s the difference between living on the Skeleton Island or somewhere else?

“Right now, a lot of demons are being enlisted in the outside. You will die either as a gladiator of the Skeleton Island or as cannon fodder that is sent to the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Do you think that you can be free when you’re out?”

Mo Tiesheng was rendered speechless and lost for words.

But Li Yao thought of something. He observed Ba Mingsong in secret and felt that the demon’s countenance was rather mysterious. It was clear that he was much more than a simple servant.

As it turned out, Ba Mingsong turned his neck around agilely and, seeing that nobody else was around, said in a low voice, “We will never be free unless we overthrow the reign of the silver-blood demons and the bronze-blood demons and restore the social position of the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons under the guidance of God Chaos!”

Brilliance suddenly beamed out of Mo Tiesheng’s bull eyes. He clutched Ba Mingsong’s wings and bellowed, “You are with the Blade of Chaos?”