1296 Nether Prison's Home Court, Merciless Killing

The next day, a bright ray tore through the sky and lit up the floor of the room.

Bu Fang sighed softly and walked out of his room.

Zhu Yan and the others were already in the lobby. It was the first day of the competition, so instead of cultivating in their rooms, they waited for him in the lobby since early morning.

What Bu Fang did yesterday was a relief to their pent-up anger. They were still excited even after returning to their rooms. They didn't realize that being an Immortal Chef would make them so proud and that even a top genius of Nether Prison could be slapped in the face.

Seeing that they were still excited, Bu Fang slightly twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Adjust your mentality. Today is the team competition. It's certainly not as easy as before. I can feel Nether Prison's menace."

Zhu Yan and the others didn't think too much about that. After all, it was already a great surprise for them to reach the finals of the team competition. They didn't have much else to hope for, so they didn't care if they failed.

Still, they listened to Bu Fang's words. They couldn't afford to squander such a good opportunity. 

They left the inn and headed for the Nether Puppet Coliseum.

The Nether Puppet Coliseum was a landmark of Sacred Puppet City. It was a huge square arena surrounded by stepped seats that could hold hundreds of thousands of spectators. Every year, the city hosted the Nether Puppet Competition, and this was the main venue. The competition was a unique activity of the Nether Puppet Clan and was very popular in the city.

When Bu Fang and his companions arrived at the coliseum, there were already people waiting for them at the entrance. Following the guides, they stepped into the arena.

It was really vast and huge. The seats were full of spectators, and when they saw Bu Fang and his companions, they all roared and cheered excitedly.

A huge light screen projected down from the sky, showing the images of the arena and each contestant. Through projection arrays, the same images would also be transmitted to many surrounding small worlds.

It was a competition that many small worlds were watching at the same time. This was the finals of the Netherworld's Tournament of the Great Path, which included the team and individual competitions.

In the Immortal Cooking Ream, everyone was waiting in front of a light screen specially prepared by Nether Prison experts. Nether Prison's projection array was many years ahead of the Immortal Cooking Realm's. Everyone stared excitedly at the light screen, finally seeing the images they all had been waiting for.

Boom! 

As Bu Fang and his companions arrived in the coliseum, a terrible aura suddenly exploded out. It came from an expert who was sitting cross-legged over the arena. The aura was mighty as if it could support a small world. There was no doubt that this expert was a Great Saint. The fact that Nether Prison sent a Great Saint to guard the arena showed the importance they attached to the competition.

…

Bu Fang and his companions sat quietly in the resting room. It was a special place in the coliseum for contestants to adjust their forms and wait for their turns. On the wall, there was a small light screen so that the contestants could see what was happening in the arena. Bu Fang was looking at it at the moment.

Two teams had entered the arena. The rules for the finals were simple. Instead of one-on-one battles and the fancy best-of-five rule, there was only one battle. The contestants of both teams would all enter the arena and fight at the same time, and as soon as all the contestants of one team were defeated, the other team would be announced the winner. 

The first match was between the Earth Prison team and the experts from Nether Prison's second-best team. Bu Fang and his companions had met the contestants from the second-best team. They chose five people to form a team, all of whom had a strong aura.

The referee of the match was a Nine-revolution Little Saint from the Nether Puppeteer Clan. An expert at this level was basically enough to cope with any unexpected situation in the arena.

The battle began with the thunderous cheers from the crowd around the arena. The deafening noise that shook the skies sent a shudder through the hearts of Earth Prison's contestants, making them hesitate in their moves.

Such was Nether Prison's home-court advantage. The audience was enthusiastic, but it was for the Nether Prison experts.

"Kill the Earth Prison rubbish!"

"Nether Prison is invincible! The rest of the small worlds are all garbage! Let them feel despair!"

"Crush them! We are the overlord!" 

The cheers from the audience almost tore the sky apart, sending shudders through the hearts of Earth Prison contestants like spears.

In the resting room, the West Little Buddhism Realm team fell silent. They felt that they would also be in a disadvantageous position if faced with such a scenario. Psychologically, Earth Prison's contestants were already losing ground. The home-court advantage was not just a myth. Although Sacred Puppet City was only a major city in Nether Prison, it was still the territory of Nether Prison contestants.

Zhu Yan and the other experts from the Immortal Cooking Realm were already struck dumb. They suddenly became a little timid and even lost the courage to enter the arena. For them, it was a terrible scene.

Amid the tsunami-like cheers of enemies, Earth Prison contestants couldn't even summon their fighting spirit. By the looks of it, they were likely to be completely crushed. Their overall strength was nowhere near as good as that of the Nether Prison team, and now, even their spirits had been suppressed. How could they fight?

Bu Fang was very calm, however. He just watched the match and said nothing.

…

The match began. The contestants in Nether Prison's second-best team were all experts who had visited Earth Prison. Although the absence of Zhang Xuan had slightly weakened their overall strength, they still had a big advantage over the Earth Prison team.

The Earth Prison contestants were mediocre, and there were no experts worthy of attention, so the Nether Prison contestants were very relaxed.

The team was made up of the Fire Demon, Lu Yang, and other experts who had almost no weaknesses.

… 

There were huge light screens in several major cities in Earth Prison, showing images transmitted by projections arrays. Looking at the screens, every expert in Earth Prison was silent. They seemed to see a few lambs facing thousands of tigers.

Even Jin Jiao, Yin Jiao, and the other Prison Overlords sighed at the sight.

… 

At last, the battle broke out with the sound of a bell.

The arena was huge, its ground made of hard stone. Although uneven, it was hard enough to withstand any attack.

The Earth Prison experts spread out in formation and began to charge. Unlike individual matches, team matches were about cooperation. In the middle of them was an Earth Prison genius, who was a peak One-revolution Little Saint. However, this kind of cultivation base was hardly worth mentioning in this competition. Upon learning his cultivation base, the Nether Prison audience laughed scornfully. This left the Earth Prison experts feeling aggrieved.

In the face of the Earth Prison team that charged toward them, the Nether Prison contestants were still talking and laughing, looking remarkably calm. Suddenly, one of them kicked the ground and shot forward in a flash of fire. The man seemed to be glowing, and magma could be seen surging under his skin. With a rumble, his skin began to burn, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely enveloped in flames. 

"Hehehe…" A burst of cold laughter rang through the arena.

The appearance of the Fire Demon immediately heated up the atmosphere. The audience were all screaming with excitement.

Two streams of flames stretched out of the Fire Demon's arms, and he flung them at the leading contestant of Earth Prison. The flames rolled in midair and turned into two large, colorful serpents, which opened their mouths and spat flames.

Boom! 

The Earth Prison experts unleashed their auras. Powerful energy collided with the flaming serpents, causing sparks to fly in all directions.

The battle broke out in an instant. The Fire Demon kept letting out sharp screams as he waved his arms, blocking the attack of the five Earth Prison experts with the two flaming serpents. The scene brought the whole audience's cheers to a climax. For a moment, laughter, shrieks, and taunts filled the air.

The faces of the Earth Prison experts were all flushed with anger. They attacked with all their might, but only managed to block the Fire Demon's attack.

In just a flash, the battle had reached its culminating point. 

On the other side of the arena, several Nether Prison experts were talking and laughing, pointing fingers at Earth Prison experts. Then, another figure rushed out at full speed, his body turning into tens of thousands of dark shadows.

An expert from the Shadow Demon Clan was making a move, and the audience cheered even louder! 

The Shadow Demon's move immediately caused the Earth Prison team to collapse like a dam.

A flash of fire swept through the air. An Earth Prison expert was suddenly hit by the Fire Demon's flaming serpent, which then coiled around his body.

"Hehehe… Earth Prison contestants are really rubbish!" the Fire Demon said with an evil grin on his face. 

With a rumble, the flaming serpent's flame grew stronger and instantly set the expert on fire. Soon, he was devoured by the flames and completely turned into charcoal. 

…

Slash! 

A spray of blood spilled in all directions as a human head was thrown into the sky. Another Earth Prison expert was beheaded.

The next moment, the Shadow Demon appeared in the arena, his eyes cold.

The Earth Prison leader's eyes went wide, and he was furious. "You've pushed us too far!" he growled. The next moment, he took a step and came in front of the Shadow Demon in an instant. He made over a dozen attacks in a row, but he couldn't even touch his opponent's sleeve.

All of a sudden, a flaming serpent swept over and lashed him with a loud bang, throwing him backward.

The bloody scene excited the audience and made their blood boil. Their eyes were wide with excitement, and their faces were strangely twisted.

"We surrender!" After having his leg broken by the attack, the Earth Prison leader reluctantly chose to surrender. 

However, the Fire Demon ignored his words. While laughing evilly, he let his flaming serpent devour the Earth Prison leader completely.

"Killing… Killing is the joy of this competition!"

"It's exactly the reason we made you come to Nether Prison!"

"Haha… Are you desperate now?!" 

Soon, there was only a mass of flames burning on the ground. The experts from the Nether Prison second-best team stood together. The Fire Demon's face was full of excitement, with a trace of cruelty still lingering on his lips.

Looking at the tragic scene on the light screen, the eyes of all the experts in Earth Prison turned red. It was a humiliating slaughter. No one expected Nether Prison contestants to be so ruthless.

"They are taking Earth Prison for a complete joke! Dammit!"

Many Earth Prison experts were roaring in anger. At the same time, they felt a sense of powerlessness. The eyes of the Prison Overlords, including Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao, were very cold. They clenched their fists and gritted their teeth in smoldering anger.

Nether Prison really pushed people too far.

… 

The first match was over with the complete annihilation of the Earth Prison team. This result excited the Nether Prison audience. 

The competitions in arenas always involved betting. Nether Prison's victory made those who had bet on it extremely excited. Although the odds were low because of the disparity of strength, they still won some money. As long as they won, they were happy.

The second match would be between the West Little Buddhism Realm team and the Nether Prison's best team. As the team who won first place in the semifinals, the Immortal Cooking Realm would only fight in the third match against the Nether Prison's second-best team. The winning team between them could compete with the Nether Prison's best team for the championship.

The rules were simple. In the eyes of many people, however, there was actually no suspense in the final. The epic Netherworld's Tournament of the Great Path would eventually turn into a civil war, with the geniuses from the best team fighting against the geniuses from the second-best team.

All that was left in the arena were the charred bodies of Earth Prison contestants.

The Fire Demon turned his head, stared at the projection array, raised his hands with his middle fingers poking up, and grinned. "What happened to Earth Prison will happen to you… Look forward to it! Hehehe…"

The magma under his skin shone brightly, and his actions and words made the audience cheer even louder.

In the resting room, Zhu Yan and the other contestants from the Immortal Cooking Realm were silent. They felt tremendous pressure. Their hearts were full of humiliation and anger, but those were nothing compared to the sense of powerlessness they felt.

The Earth Prison team was completely wiped out. The Nether Prison experts finally showed their fangs.

"Is this where we're going to die?" Zhu Yan murmured with a blank face.

The finals seemed to be a road of no return, a road that led to Nether Prison's killing. 

"Calm down… That charcoal ball is nothing but a clown."

Suddenly, Bu Fang's faint voice rang out, making them feel at ease.

Zhu Yan and the others turned to look at him, only to find that the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. His eyes stared with great interest at the Fire Demon, who was acting cocky in the light screen. The look in his eyes held them all in a trance. It was a look that wanted to stir up trouble.

…

After the arena was cleaned up, the second match began.

The West Little Buddhism Realm contestants slowly entered the arena. Wearing robes, their hands were put together before their chests, their faces grave and dignified. 

All of a sudden, the ground shook with a loud bang. The audience fell silent and turned their eyes to the other entrance. There stood the geniuses from the Nether Prison's best team.

The three Kings didn't show up. This team of geniuses was currently led by Lu Yu and Zhang Wudi, a genius from the Sword Demon Clan.

As soon as they appeared, the audience, who had been quiet for a moment, erupted into a deafening uproar.