Standing in the arena, the middle-aged drunk man was well prepared, sending out an invincible power fiercely, much like a king of beasts baring his teeth.
'I have to say… there's no doubt he's a strong opponent. Fine, then. Let us fight and see who will be left laughing in the end, ' Darren thought to himself as he wholly felt his rival's power.
Though the drunk man could be considered a strong cultivator, Darren could tell that he was still weaker than Bruce. With that in mind, Darren made his move. The moment he launched his attack with the blade, overwhelming blade intent darted toward his opponent violently. The next moment, Darren flashed in the air and disappeared entirely.
The man, still seemingly drunk, continued waving his jug casually and taking swigs out of it.
Little did the crowd know that it was exactly those seemingly casual waving movements that blocked Darren's blade intent.
Since Darren had already predicted that the man wouldn't get hurt easily by his blade intent, the attack was never his main intention. While the blade intent stalled him, Darren secretly sneaked up behind his opponent.
"Cracking Attack!
Profound Nine Sword Skills!"
Without any reservation, Darren attacked using blade and sword—he had the best timing.
The power utilizing blade and sword intents together was at least a ten times more formidable attack than using any of them alone.
Surprise flashed across the middle-aged man's face. The overwhelming power shocked him enough into finally taking the battle seriously.
In an instantaneous burst, the man darted forward and kicked the jug into the air. With that, the burning fire surrounded the jug, splitting in the air before gathering together above the arena like streams merging into a river.
The man then began changing his position and launching various strikes in almost every corner of the stage, much like an invisible spirit. His every strike summoned such strong power that it could even kill a cultivator at the top level of the Mysterious Realm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening noises resounded in the air, loud and clear.
Countless collisions between sword and blade flashed as the middle-aged man transformed. It was a truly violent and fierce fight. Although the protection set around the arena had diminished the impact, the surrounding building was still shaking under the immense power.
"You sure are looking for death!" the man shouted angrily. It was made evident that Darren was a tough guy to deal with. In this way, his determination to kill Darren was stronger more than ever.
"Stop speaking nonsense! Let's see who'll be laughing at the end!"
Covered by his black armor, Darren shouted back. Apart from continuing to summon blade and sword intent in a frenzy, Darren secretly summoned a trace of demonic internal force.
With that, he moved forward to fight face-to-face. Boom! The two vague shadows collided violently.
An enormous force struck them both from the collision.
The man was forced to take a few steps back until he was right on the edge of the stage before he regained his balance.
At that moment, his casual attitude disappeared completely. There was no longer any sign of intoxication on his face—he stared at Darren with a puzzled frown.
Though Darren had great power, that didn't scare him at all. What intimidated him was somethi
lanned to keep on fighting. He flew straight to the stands and got ready to sign his name on the life-and-death contract, clearly exonerating the contestant's responsibility in causing another's death as well.
"Darren, this is your reward and the money you won. Five million two hundred and nine thousand ink stones. Here you are!" Excitedly, Jaya gave Darren a purple golden card.
With that, Darren put it in his Space Ring, knowing he could have it changed to ink stones at any time. Or perhaps he could use it the next day? The card circulated both in Prison Battle Arena and the auction house since the two places ran under the same boss.
"Oh, Darren! You're so gorgeous and powerful. I'm Eva, it's wonderful to meet you!" Eva exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Among all the strong cultivators Eva had met, no one was so powerful at such a young age—Darren was undoubtedly a genius.
With a gentle nod, Darren turned to Harvey, "Please give me the contract of the tenth battle."
Harvey's shock was indescribable—the tenth battle? It was unbelievable to think that Darren still had any energy to continue fighting.
The genius he saw yesterday was already the man of the hour… but Darren? He was even wilder and more powerful.
With those two fighting, the battle scene would be spectacular—there must have been a sea of people waiting to buy a ticket. It didn't hurt that the people could bet on two hot geniuses. The tickets and bet commissions alone would add up to at least thirty million.
As if he saw the money fly toward him, Harvey was filled with excitement. "Darren! Please don't hold back and fight! I promise you'll get your eight million ink stones whether you win or lose."
'Eight million ink stones?' Darren thought. That exceeded his expectations, indeed.
Apart from that, Harvey was determined to introduce Darren to Grunkle if he won the next battle.
Grunkle was the perfect elder of Heavenly Palace Sect. It was his existence that offered their family the opportunity to build up such a huge business network in Lotus City. Even the Holy Land still honored Grunkle—he was definitely a big deal!
A few moments later, Darren signed the contract and appeared on stage as the audience cheered.