Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

And yet... the atmosphere here always exudes an ominous feeling.

As if it were nurturing some kind of evil seed?

What is it? Where is it?

Nova's gaze wandered and finally settled on the focus of everyone's attention—the combat arena.

No! Not there.

It's still below!

The will of everyone converged, forming an abundant flow of Spiritual Energy, creating ripples in the coexistent higher-dimensional space. An evil presence was slowly taking shape.

"Should we just leave..."

Feeling somewhat cowardly and added to the distress of not finding Bai, Nova was already thinking of fleeing...

"Ah, Captain? You don't want to stay a bit longer in such a fun place?" The acting captain's eyes were firmly hooked on the figures in the arena, even prepared to burst into action and snatch someone if things went awry, hardly willing to leave at such a time.

"Ah!" An exclamation of alarm escaped the acting captain during their conversation.

No matter how explosive Kuang Xin was in battle, taking on two almost equal opponents, he was inevitably given an opening by his enemies.

The man, much more imposing than Kuang Xin, locked onto Kuang Xin's limbs from behind with his own, while his tall and gaunt comrade revealed his weapon—the modified claw blade attached to his amputated arm.

The reflective steel blade cut through the scorching air, aimed to completely eviscerate Kuang Xin's stomach.

Scattered about the area, Kuang Xin's three companions instantly reacted as they had previously agreed upon. They would never stand by and watch Kuang Xin sacrificed in such an expendable deathmatch; the consequences of offending the indigenous people of this combat arena had never been within their considerations.

Gu Lan, who was adept at close combat and prepared for medical emergencies, and Gong Yan rushed toward the iron net that separated the spectators from the arena. Already close to it, they covered the distance in just a few strides. Gu Lan's sword gleamed with the misty light of Spiritual Energy, and the iron net that seemed so solid might not withstand her blade.

Dai Lian also drew his longbow from a distance, pulling back the bowstring harshly under the incredulous stares of the nearby audience.

The mesh was fine; the shot must be precise. He hoped the net wouldn't disturb the trajectory, causing a miss or accidental injury...

With these thoughts in mind, Dai Lian aimed at the target as best he could.

"Pfft!" No matter how quickly they acted from the outside, it was ultimately difficult to keep up with the ever-changing situation inside the arena.

The modified claw blade inevitably and remorselessly pierced into Kuang Xin's abdomen, viciously churning inside.

"We concede." Unnoticed, Bai E had lifted his disguise, revealing his attire from when he had previously competed in the arena. Standing by the referee's side, he spoke to them evenly.

"Concede?"

"Who are you?"

The referees, upon hearing Bai E speak, smirked dismissively. Some even sneered, too indifferent to reward him with a glance.

This was a deathmatch—the kind not meant for child's play that could just be stopped on a whim.
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Only when one side was completely downed would the match truly end; nothing else could interrupt the continuation of the deathmatch.

Bai E sighed softly, but he knew this was expected.

So he wasted no further words, slightly raising the Compound Bow in his left hand, flicked an arrow, and shot it into the arena.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew through the air too rapidly for anyone to react.

With a "ding," as everyone came to their senses, the tall, thin man in the arena's modified claw blade had vanished from his wrist, the wound dripping with fresh blood.

Clutching his severed limb, the man's face was covered with painful sweat.

Only then did the referees—or rather the organizers—seriously turn their attention to the sensually dressed man before them.

Perhaps due to that seriousness, memories began to resurface in their minds, and someone in the referees' seat recalled the familiar attire from a hazy memory.

The name slipped out, "White Ghost?!"

Although he had only appeared once, this contestant had already been marked by the boss for special attention. It was just a shame he hadn't been seen since that time.

And now, he reappeared...

"What do you want to do?!"

Under the watchful words, even more fully-armed henchmen were closing in.

As for those who broke the rules of the gladiatorial arena, the organizers never left an impression of being easily bullied.

Instructions from the higher-ups then started to come through in everyone's headset at the referee's seat, "What's happened?"

"Boss, there is some troublemaker..." The referee's staff gazed intently at Bai E, who appeared unafraid, as someone quietly reported to their boss through the headset.

"Who is it?"

"Seems like the White Ghost..."

Although the attire was the same, there were subtle differences.

Last time, the White Ghost wore a mask, but this time, he showed his true face—

A face unknown to them.

"The White Ghost?" The arena's boss spoke with confusion, and it took a moment to recall the person associated with that name from his memory.

"Is it him?" The contestant once considered to be on the same level as the Blood God, he's back?

This could be good news, "Find out what he wants?"

No one would challenge the gladiatorial arena without reason, even minions sent from competing arenas wouldn't act so senselessly.

He must have his own objective!

"What do you want to do?" The referee's staff, upon receiving the boss's instruction, stared coldly at Bai E, as the surrounding henchmen pressed him for an immediate response.

Bai E scoffed with the same arrogant demeanor he had shown before and glanced at the henchmen, "I am disgusted."

"Ah?"

Bai E pointed towards the stage, "It's been a while since I've been here; I thought there would be some decent opponents by now. But to see such a level in a duel to the death after being gone so long, it's disappointing!"

"Hmm?" The staff looked on, puzzled, at Bai E.

"I want to join the competition!" Bai E leant forward slightly, his lips curled in a haughty sneer, "Get those losers off the stage! Understand?"

"..." The referee's staff were momentarily dumbfounded by such an outrageous way to sign up.

This guy seemed even more arrogant than the last time he appeared. Had he made swift progress during his absence?

Only strength was the core of confidence.

"Boss, he says he wants to sign up for a duel to the death..."

"Is that all?"

It wasn't enough! Nowhere near enough!

The reputation of their gladiatorial arena mustn't be dragged through the mud; even if they were keen on the individual contestant White Ghost, for the sake of the arena's long-term development, such a meager reason was insufficient grounds for his challenge to the rules of the arena.

He had to pay a price!

"Everyone!" Bai E rounded on them with a scoff, his finger sweeping past nearly every visible figure.

"All the henchmen, all the contestants, anyone who disagrees, they can all come at me at once." Bai E pulled out all his black water coins, the currency players had handed over to exchange for faction funds, along with his winnings from the last contest, amounting to thousands of paper notes, "Whoever takes me down, all this money will belong to them! I declare war on everyone, tonight... belongs solely to me!"

It had to be said, the atmosphere crafted by the arena was wicked, but it had a real bewitching effect on the psyche.

Even Bai E could sense something was off, yet the fervor also got his blood boiling.

Maybe being reckless on occasion could help one find their true essence.

The real self shouldn't always be suppressed; he was never a character to tread carefully or be overly compliant.

If it's a fight they want, then fight it will be!

Without waiting for a response, Bai E strode to the edge of the arena, tore through the iron net in front of him and stepped boldly inside.

The unexpected turn of events stunned everyone into silence, save for the jarring music. For a moment, there was complete stillness.

As the person in charge of the duel arena stood up abruptly upon receiving the report from his subordinate through the headset, his expression was electrified, "Grant his request!"