Chapter Sixty-Eight: Challenging the Arena

Tarosa’s eyes widened at once when he heard this. “Qiankun, don’t play games with me! Challenging the seventh arena? The guardian there is definitely much stronger than the one at the sixth arena. I’m no match. If he destroys one of my divine clones, I’d suffer a huge loss.”

“How about this? I’ll be your backup—how does that sound?” Qiankun smiled wryly and quickly offered.

Hearing Qiankun would support him, Tarosa’s eyes brightened and his spirits soared; he eagerly pulled Qiankun along as they flew toward the seventh arena.

At the seventh battle arena for mid-level gods, the guardian was a handsome youth clad in white robes. As Qiankun and Tarosa landed upon the arena, the previously cross-legged and meditative youth opened his eyes, stood up, and frowned slightly at them. “Battle arenas—each challenge is one-on-one, only a single challenger.”

“It’s just one person. I’ll duel you. My companion is only here for the spectacle,” Tarosa replied as he stepped forward.

The youth said no more. With a flourish, he produced a beautiful silver-white staff and pointed it at Tarosa. Instantly, streams of white light, like threads spun by a spider, swept toward Tarosa.

“What in the world is this?” Tarosa scowled, and as he waved his hand, streaks of black light shot forth, trying to block the white rays.

But the white rays suddenly blazed brighter, enveloping Tarosa in a dense, radiant glow. The law of light elements—holy purification!

Despite his body radiating black light and the surging power of destruction, Tarosa felt he couldn’t withstand it. The force of holy purification carried a scorching might, as if it burned everything to ashes and purified it to nothingness wherever it shone.

“Fusion of light element purification and the mysteries of rays—truly formidable!” Qiankun silently praised as he watched Tarosa struggle. Without delay, Qiankun’s figure flickered to Tarosa’s side, grabbing him and retreating swiftly from the arena.

Seeing the two leave the arena, the white-robed youth withdrew his staff, and the intense holy light dissipated.

Hovering above the magma lake outside the arena, Tarosa exclaimed, still shaken, “That holy purification is terrifying!”

“Any law or rule, once refined and fused to a certain level, is not to be underestimated,” Qiankun replied.

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“Losing this fight was truly frustrating,” Tarosa shook his head in dejection, then quickly added, “Qiankun, let’s check on Dilin and the others! I wonder how far they’ve gotten through the battle arenas for lower gods?”

Roar… Tarosa’s words were barely finished when a deep beastly growl made his expression change. “Not good, it’s Dilin!”

“Let’s go!” Qiankun barked, and he and Tarosa transformed into two streams of light, racing toward the lower god battle arenas.

Moments later, in midair outside the sixth lower god battle arena, Qiankun and Tarosa saw Dilin, the High Priest, Hisey, and the obviously battered and injured Martial God O’Brien.

“What happened?” Tarosa frowned and hurriedly asked, “Was O’Brien just fighting?”

Hisey quickly explained, “Lord Tarosa, O’Brien encountered danger while challenging the sixth arena. Thankfully Dilin intervened in time, or else O’Brien might have been killed.”

“Rest assured! I had no intention of killing anyone. I didn’t even use my full strength—he’s just too weak,” a deep, booming voice suddenly sounded. Qiankun and the others turned to see a burly man, holding a giant axe nearly two and a half meters long, standing on the sixth lower god battle arena like a giant, grinning as if to show goodwill to the crowd.

O’Brien nearly coughed blood in frustration. Too weak? He’d done pretty well, hadn’t he? He’d made it to the sixth battle arena, and hadn’t the High Priest also lost to this big fellow? Hisey hadn’t even cleared the fifth arena!

And Dilin? That guy couldn’t be measured by normal standards. Dilin was already at the pinnacle of lower gods—his strength was absolutely top-tier among them. He had never bothered challenging the guardians of the earlier arenas, having long set his sights on sparring with those guarding the last three.

“I’ll fight you—show me your full strength!” Dilin called loudly, leaping onto the arena. His entire being radiated battle intent, his gaze blazing as he faced the burly giant.

The big man’s grin widened. He swung his massive axe at Dilin. As it came down, it was like a mountain crashing, shaking the very space.

Boom! Dilin met the attack with a single punch, his fist wrapped in dark golden gauntlets exploding with terrifying destructive power, colliding fiercely with the giant axe.

The burly man was sent flying off the arena, his whole body shuddering, while Dilin staggered back a few steps to the edge of the platform.

“You’ve won. I’m no match for you. With your strength, passing the seventh arena should be easy. You might even have a chance at the eighth,” the big man returned, shaking his head in admiration.

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Dilin’s face remained cold and silent; he flew off toward the seventh lower god battle arena.

Soon, intense battle ripples began and ended quickly—clearly, the seventh arena’s guardian was unable to stop Dilin’s advance.

“Tsk tsk, Dilin is indeed much stronger than before!” Tarosa agreed, and he, Qiankun, O’Brien, and the others hurried after him, preparing to witness Dilin’s next fight at the eighth arena.

This time, Dilin’s opponent was someone who practiced the law of fire elements, and seemed to have insight into the mysteries of explosive fire. The attacks were astonishingly powerful, and for a while, the battle was evenly matched. Finally, when Dilin unleashed his full power, relying on the might of the third eye at his brow, he managed to narrowly defeat his opponent.

“So he only received a mid-tier divine armor as a reward for defeating the guardian of the eighth arena?” Watching the guardian produce the prize for Dilin, Qiankun silently shook his head and muttered inwardly, “This Beirut really is stingy. Looks like the true purpose of this Divine Cemetery isn’t to give people godhoods or divine treasures, but to temper the strong from the Yulan Plane, hoping that among them someone will emerge to amaze him, and become a candidate to inherit the Chief God’s position.”

With consecutive victories, Dilin, his battle spirit surging with confidence, charged toward the final lower god battle arena.

“Oh? This is interesting!” As the fight began, Qiankun raised his brows with keen interest, noticing that Dilin’s opponent was also someone who practiced the law of destruction. Their battle promised to be worth watching.

But the outcome was soon clear, leaving Qiankun somewhat disappointed. Dilin’s opponent was obviously strong; though he initially held back, as his true power emerged, Dilin was utterly outmatched, beaten so badly he spat blood and retreated in defeat.

“How can this be? He’s also a lower god, also practices the law of destruction, yet his strength…” Retreating to the air outside the arena, pale-faced Dilin stared incredulously at his opponent standing on the platform.

The cold-eyed, black-robed guardian looked at Dilin and shook his head lightly, his tone icy. “Your strength is commendable, but the law of destruction is not as simple as you think. Reflect well—perhaps you’ll gain new insight.”

“The law of destruction, though lacking definite mysteries, is clearly understood more profoundly by this man,” Qiankun nodded to himself.

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