Chapter Sixty-Six: The Arena of Battle

Seeing the God of War defeated so easily, the High Priest, Hisai, and even Dilin couldn’t help but show a change in their expressions. “So powerful!”

“A mere lower god, and he’s already beginning to merge the mysteries of the laws?” Tarosa’s eyes narrowed in astonishment as she glanced at the handsome man’s water-element lower god avatar, then turned to the handsome man himself. “His mid-tier god avatar is probably even stronger.”

The High Priest stepped forward, her beautiful eyes sharp as she faced the water-element lower god avatar of the handsome man, her voice cold and clear. “I’ll fight you!”

Before her words had finished, she moved like a gust of wind, closing in on the water-element lower god avatar. With a light, floating palm strike, a rich green light blossomed from her hand—full of vitality, yet faintly radiating an unsettling, chilling sense of danger.

With a dull thud, the handsome man’s water-element lower god avatar responded with a palm strike of his own, forcing the High Priest to stagger backward. A cold smile curled at his lips. “The Rule of Life? Unfortunately, your understanding of it is still far too shallow.”

“Fall!” With a low shout, the water-element lower god avatar shot toward the High Priest again, his palm gathering visible layers of ice as it moved, a terrifying chill spreading through the air.

She dodged to the side, but still took the blow to her shoulder. The High Priest shuddered, spat blood, and was sent flying, only to be caught mid-air by Qian Kun, whose form flickered into place.

Qian Kun landed gracefully, holding the High Priest at his waist. He glanced at the shards of ice left on her shoulder, then his gaze hardened as he looked at the handsome man. “Defeating you earns us a mid-tier god’s divine core. I wonder—if we kill you, what else might we gain?”

“Killing me?” The handsome man’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Qian Kun, pausing before replying in a low voice, “If you kill me, you’ll gain nothing.”

Qian Kun shook his head with a cold smile, his expression tinged with murderous intent. “I don’t quite agree.”

Before his words had fully settled, Qian Kun released the High Priest and, like a gust of wind, struck at the handsome man. A fierce, azure sword-light flashed, distorting space and slicing out a clear fissure.

The handsome man’s body radiated intense green light as he hurriedly raised his hands to block, but the sword-light pierced his face with ease. Blood welled from his mouth and nose, then his head split in two. The green-glowing divine core inside was struck by the sword’s energy, and the soul within dissolved in trembling agony.

Turning, Qian Kun swung his sword again, splitting open the head of the water-element lower god avatar before it could react, cleaving the divine core and dispersing its soul as well.

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The God of War and the others stared in disbelief at the scene. A mid-tier god, unable to even draw a divine artifact to defend himself, was so effortlessly and casually slain—both main body and avatar—by Qian Kun!

Even Tarosa couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. Though she had sparred with Qian Kun and witnessed his strength, she realized now that she had perhaps underestimated him after all.

With a wave of his hand, Qian Kun summoned the two divine cores and a spatial ring left behind by the handsome man’s death. He pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the ring. When the blood rolled off and did not merge, Qian Kun was unsurprised. “As expected, this fellow still has another divine avatar alive.”

“Let’s go! Into the fourteenth layer of the Gods’ Tomb,” he said, pocketing the divine cores and ring, and headed straight for the entrance to the next level.

Tarosa, the God of War, and the others, after glancing at the corpses of the handsome man’s main body and avatar, hurried to follow.

The fourteenth layer of the Gods’ Tomb was a world of magma. Vast, ocean-like lakes of molten rock were dotted with dark red islands. Each island was a huge slab of special dark red stone, resembling battle arenas.

Upon entering, Qian Kun and his companions saw a dark red stone plaza extending out over the magma lake. Seated cross-legged on the plaza was a bald, burly man clad in dark red armor. He sat there like a volcano, his surging aura suppressed but ready to erupt in terrifying violence at any moment.

“Big brother, he—he killed my two divine avatars!” A blue phantom shot from a distant island, landing beside the burly man and pointing angrily at Qian Kun. He looked identical to the handsome man Qian Kun had just slain.

The burly man’s eyes snapped open, shooting out two intense beams of red light like shrunken stars. He stared at Qian Kun with a wild, fierce gaze and a rough voice. “You killed my brother’s divine avatars?”

“That’s right. He harmed my companion. If you wish to avenge him, go ahead! But let me warn you: if you fight me, you must be prepared to die,” Qian Kun replied with a casual smile.

The burly man’s aura flared violently, flames seeming to gush from his eyes, but after a few breaths of silence, he suddenly calmed. “My brother was outmatched. If you destroyed his avatars, he simply wasn’t strong enough.”

“Big brother!” The handsome youth in blue robes and blue hair paled at the words.

“Enough! Don’t forget our mission!” the burly man snapped, then addressed Qian Kun and his companions. “I’ll explain the rules here. There are eighteen battle arenas, from near to far. The first nine are guarded by lower gods, each stronger than the last. The last nine are guarded by mid-tier gods, whose strength also increases. Your task is to challenge them in order, or selectively. Defeat the first three, and there is no reward. Defeat the last six, and you will earn some divine artifacts, divine cores, and other treasures. The quality of the reward depends on the strength of the opponent you defeat.”

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The handsome youth sneered at Qian Kun. “If you dare, come challenge me! Remember, I’ll be waiting for you at the eighth mid-tier god arena.”

With that, his form flickered like the wind and flew deep into the vast magma lake.

Qian Kun narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness flashing through them as he watched the handsome youth depart.

“Brother Qian Kun, so what should we do now?” Tarosa asked, seeking guidance.

Qian Kun nodded calmly. “Go ahead and try your luck! If you’re lucky, you might win a fine artifact or divine core.”

“I’d like to see just how strong the mid-tier arena guardians are here,” Tarosa said, then flew ahead toward the depths of the magma lake.

Dilin, the God of War, the High Priest, and Hisai exchanged glances, then likewise flew toward the nearest arena.

Qian Kun did not move, instead looking with interest at the burly man. “Among the mid-tier gods here, you must be the strongest. If I defeat you—or kill you—will there be a reward?”

The burly man looked at Qian Kun. “If you can kill me, you wouldn’t need to come here. The so-called rewards—divine cores or artifacts of the upper gods—should mean little to you.”

Qian Kun smiled, lips curling. “No, no. I might not covet an upper god’s core, but a handy upper-tier artifact would be worthwhile. By the way, if I defeat your brother just now, I should get an upper-tier artifact, right?”

The burly man frowned, silent for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”