Chapter 655: Arena No. 1

Stimulated by Ye Feng and the others, the first arena match ended early. The original 128 participants were now reduced by half.
After another draw, the second arena match began quickly, and Ye Feng once again won effortlessly. Soon after, Long Tian and his group also advanced.
By the time the second match was over, most of the day had passed. Yet, after consulting with the chief referee, they decided to start the third arena match.
After this third match, only 16 people remained—calling them the top 16 was no exaggeration.
Out of 32 people, each had a one-in-32 chance of drawing Ye Feng’s number, and the same chance for Qiu Duanhun’s number.
Among the 32, Ye Feng and Qiu Duanhun were the last two people anyone wanted to draw. Even Long Tian didn’t want to draw Ye Feng too early, though he wasn’t too concerned about Qiu Duanhun.
After getting his number, Ye Feng turned it over for Ye Feng and the others to see. “Number 3!”
Long Tian and the others checked their own numbers, secretly relieved not to have drawn Number 4.
According to the rules set by the chief referee, Ye Feng headed toward Arena No. 2. As soon as he stopped, he saw Qiu Duanhun walking toward him.
“Could it be him?” Ye Feng thought to himself.
While Ye Feng was thinking this, many others watching the scene also wondered if Ye Feng and Qiu Duanhun had drawn the same arena.
If that were the case, at least one of them would have to leave the arena, meaning the rest wouldn’t have to worry so much about future draws. Some even silently wished the two would both fail and be unable to continue competing, though they knew the chances of that were slim.
Qiu Duanhun walked up to Ye Feng, gave him a provocative look, then passed by and headed straight for Arena No. 1.
This sight disappointed many.
However, the person who then headed for Arena No. 1 made Ye Feng frown slightly—it was Shi Tuo.
“Boss, I’ll teach him a lesson!” Shi Tuo said, slapping his chest.

“Don’t underestimate him!” Ye Feng was slightly worried. With Shi Tuo’s strength, he had a chance of defeating Qiu Duanhun. In Ye Feng’s view, aside from himself and Long Tian, Shi Tuo was the most likely to win against Qiu Duanhun. But so far, Ye Feng had never seen Qiu Duanhun’s true strength, which was what worried him the most. Yet, given Shi Tuo’s personality, he would never admit defeat even at the cost of his life. Such a mindset was particularly disadvantageous in a combat arena. Moreover, Qiu Duanhun didn’t hesitate to kill. If Shi Tuo truly lost but refused to admit it, he would surely perish under Qiu Duanhun’s sword.

“I’ll kill him!” Qiu Duanhun’s voice, though not loud, reached everyone’s ears clearly.

“Then it depends on whether you have the ability!” Shi Tuo stepped forward and said viciously.

At that moment, the chief referee’s voice rang out. He had clearly noticed what was happening. “Those who fight below the arena will be disqualified.”

Only then did the two stop.

When the chief referee rang the start bell, everyone rushed onto the arena quickly.

The young man opposite Ye Feng saw Ye Feng’s unfriendly expression and, before Ye Feng could do anything, shouted, “I surrender!”

Winning without fighting surprised Ye Feng as well. Only after the referee announced the result did he leave the arena and head toward Arena No. 1.

By then, Qiu Duanhun and Shi Tuo were already locked in battle.

The interplay and clashes of sword shadows and staff shadows caught the attention of many spectators.

“That man with thick hair might look like a primitive savage, but his strength is surprisingly formidable,” some in the crowd commented.

“That’s what they say—you can’t judge a book by its cover,” another added. “But I heard that men with thick hair tend to be particularly strong in that aspect…”

……

In the stands and among the guests, everyone nodded in satisfaction. After all, none of the previous two matches had been particularly exciting for them.

“The two seem to be about the same strength.”

“By integrating the Power of Destruction into his staff techniques, along with a peak-level spiritual staff, his combat strength is no less than that kid Qiu Duanhun’s.”

Ye Feng also nodded in satisfaction from below the arena. Shi Tuo truly lived up to his name—his years of hard training had finally yielded results that satisfied Ye Feng.

In fact, Qiu Duanhun had maintained an advantage throughout the battle not just because of his greater strength. He was also skilled at using the killing aura emitted from his body to disrupt his opponent’s performance, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

As for Shi Tou, Qiu Duanhun’s killing intent was nothing to worry about—after years of practical training, in the real world, Shi Tou had killed far more people than Qiu Duanhun by hundreds. Of course, Qiu Duanhun wasn’t easy to deal with either; he quickly realized that Shi Tou’s true strength was actually on par with his own, though it hadn’t been shown on the arena before. With a cold snort, he said, “Hmph, perfect—use you as a sharpening stone.” “Who’s the sharpening stone yet is to be seen!” Shi Tou retorted defiantly. At the same time, the shadow of his staff grew sharper, soon enveloping Qiu Duanhun. Qiu Duanhun’s sword emitted even more killing intent, its power increasing significantly. Each of his sword strikes targeted Shi Tou’s vital points—spots that couldn’t be ignored; if hit, it would surely result in severe injury. Shi Tou, however, wasn’t just passively taking hits. Unlike his earlier fight with Ye Feng, he was launching rapid attacks. On the arena, sword lights and staff shadows intertwined, creating a dazzling spectacle. To Qiu Duanhun’s astonishment, Shi Tou’s movement skills were even more refined than his own. It seemed he had nothing that could compare to the other man. An hour passed, and most of the matches on the other arenas had already ended. Hearing that Qiu Duanhun was fighting here, people spread the word and came together in groups. “It seems I can’t avoid using that move…” Qiu Duanhun frowned slightly. An hour had already passed, and he knew well Shi Tou’s strength. Likewise, Shi Tou was also getting a better understanding of his own strength. After hesitating for a moment, Qiu Duanhun finally resolved to use his ultimate move. He thought that although revealing his true strength with this move would expose him, he had no other choice at this point. “Your strength is indeed impressive, but running into me is just bad luck for you,” Qiu Duanhun said, his once-serious expression suddenly becoming relaxed. “Because the next move will send you to your death here…”