Free Web NovelChapter 1284: Chapter 99: I Let You Run 29 Meters First
The smoke cleared, and Su Xiao propped himself up with one hand on his knee, gasping for breath; each breath felt like a dull knife slicing into his lungs.
A gaping hole as wide as a bowl appeared on Su Xiao’s chest. Through this hole, one could even see the scenery behind him. The muscle, bone, and organs inside had evaporated due to high heat, and the surrounding area was severely burned.
The confrontation between Su Xiao and Huang Yan was nothing short of terrifying to other third-tier contractors. The horror wasn’t in the overwhelming power they displayed, but in the seemingly calm exchanges that suddenly exploded into lethal moves.
Saving your big move for last? Not possible. If either side had the chance, they would end it immediately. If the cooldown for Demonic Hunt Time hadn’t been up, Su Xiao would have already activated it on Huang Yan, showing him what unavoidable cleaves are.
Su Xiao’s situation was dire, but Huang Yan’s was no better. One of his arms was severely twisted, and all the ribs on the right side of his chest were broken, with several piercing into his organs.
Huang Yan’s survival was impressive. Despite taking a kick from Su Xiao, he hadn’t shattered but was now shakily standing up.
"Heh, heh heh."
Huang Yan leaned against the energy wall, looking at the miserable-looking Su Xiao in the distance. For some reason, he started laughing. The hostility between him and Su Xiao was entirely due to their opposing positions.
"You... come here!"
Huang Yan shouted. Su Xiao, who was half-squatting and coughing in the distance, was taken aback, looking at Huang Yan in surprise, thinking he might have heard wrong.
Su Xiao originally thought Huang Yan was a gloomy person, but at this moment, he realized that might not be true. At least, the Huang Yan in combat wasn’t a gloomy man.
If Huang Yan truly were a gloomy man, how could he awaken an ability like Heart Flame?
Su Xiao stood up, took a few steps forward, and then stopped. The previous attack from Huang Yan was too fierce. If not for his survival that surpassed a main tank, that attack would have killed him instantly.
"Then I’ll come over."
Huang Yan painfully took a few steps forward but began to vomit blood after just five steps. Having 60% of his organs shattered was no joke.
In the arena, besides one’s own healing ability, healing items can’t be used. Even if they could, no one would use them. It’s not part of the derivative world here, and there’s no real life-and-death consequence.
The situation was slightly awkward as both looked at each other. Their attack abilities were overly strong, and after mutual harm, neither could even manage to walk to the other’s front.
The Dragon Slash reversed in Su Xiao’s hand, pierced into the soil beside him, and he braced his leg against it.
In the distance, Huang Yan sensed something was wrong. He intended to release the Heart Flame but was unable due to his severe injuries.
Realizing this, a golden-quality revolver appeared in Huang Yan’s hand, firing several shots at Su Xiao.
Blood burst from Su Xiao’s body in several places. He used his left arm to protect his head, while his right arm guarded his heart.
Enduring six shots from Huang Yan, Su Xiao’s body ignited in flames. His life value plummeted and he was close to entering a brink of death state as Huang Yan started reloading.
While Huang Yan reloaded, a completely black sniper cannon appeared in Su Xiao’s hand.
Huang Yan glanced at Su Xiao’s sniper cannon, then at his own roughly thirty centimeters long revolver, and his mouth twitched.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, raised the Duke of Extinction with all his might, and aimed at Huang Yan using the iron sights. Meanwhile, Huang Yan aimed his revolver at Su Xiao. This is the advantage of being well-rounded, with no glaring weaknesses.
In the audience, Stan stood up and vanished from the spot.
"NO!!"
A desperate shout echoed from the audience, not from a Blood Gate member, but from a middle-aged fat man, the chairman of the Black Sail Merchant Group, Qian Da Pang.
Qian Da Pang’s face turned white with despair as, at that moment, Su Xiao and Huang Yan simultaneously pulled their triggers. Compared to Su Xiao’s +13 Duke of Extinction, Huang Yan’s golden revolver seemed weak and feeble. It was like a fight where one person had a wooden stick and the other wielded a thirty-meter-long knife.
Boom!
One figure vanished from the arena, and another fell to the ground with a crash.
Su Xiao lay on the dry soil as flames roared beneath the earth.
Whoosh!
White-hot flames surged from underground, enveloping the entire Death Swamp. Yet, Su Xiao felt no heat. The match was over. He had won, defeating an opponent who was once unbeatable.
In Qian Da Pang’s despairing gaze, Su Xiao disappeared from the arena. In the audience, Bubu Wang and A Mu simultaneously gave the middle finger to the Blood Gate members, feeling triumphant. The faces of the Blood Gate members changed continuously before they turned and left, all aware that from now on, they’d need to be cautious. Some fourth-tier team members who witnessed that kick were secretly impressed.
More importantly, Su Xiao was a lone ranger. If he advanced to the fourth tier and they ran into him alone, the outcome was obvious.
Of course, this concern was only for a small portion of the fourth-tier team members, mainly those newly advanced to the fourth tier. Core members like Iron Rat and Grey Smoke Gun wouldn’t fear Su Xiao.
As Su Xiao vanished from the arena, returning to the resting room, the chest wound disappeared, replaced by a wave of fatigue.
[Hint: Arena Competitor rank has risen to second place, you receive the following rewards.]
[You obtain 3 attribute points, totaling 22 points gained.]
[Would you like to upgrade "Glory of Victory (Mark)" to an arena exclusive title?]
[Hint: The Hunter can continue to challenge the top of the arena. Success will greatly enhance the quality of the arena exclusive title.]
...
Su Xiao had two choices: immediately upgrade "Glory of Victory (Mark)" or first challenge Crazy Fox, then upgrade to a higher quality arena exclusive title.
Su Xiao opted not to upgrade "Glory of Victory (Mark)" immediately. Having secured second place, why not seize the opportunity to challenge for first place? He needed ten hours.
Ten hours was enough for Su Xiao to recover his stamina and reset the Spirit of Wood’s active effect.
Su Xiao refrained from seeking out the Black Merchant for debt settlement immediately. There was no rush, as the contract ensured the Black Merchant wouldn’t default.
Sue Xiao relaxed entirely. The battle with Huang Yan seemed fierce, but without a life-and-death outcome, it didn’t heavily tax his heart power.
Ten hours passed in an instant. Su Xiao sat up with a whoosh, choosing to challenge the first rank of the third-tier arena, Crazy Fox.
[Matching opponent...]
[Match successful, opponent’s rank: First place.]
...
The matching speed was astonishingly quick. The teleportation sensation hit, and Su Xiao found himself on a rocky ring, still in a semi-public match.
The field was still half a kilometer, but this time it was a flat stone platform, with the energy shield behind which lay the audience seats.
At this moment, besides Bubu Wang and A Mu, there were only four people in the audience: Divine Emperor, Old Goat (finance manager of the God Emperor Adventure Group), Matcha (twin-tailed chief healer), and Crazy Healer.
Besides Matcha, the healer, Su Xiao had met the others before.
"Brother Fox, teach him a lesson."
A shout came from the audience, from Combat Healer Crazy Healer, who had taken a beating from Su Xiao before. Crazy Fox was actually his mentor, but in Reincarnation Paradise, master-disciple relationships were rare, and they interacted more like brothers.
"Bai Ye, smash that damn fox!"
Hearing this yell, Su Xiao felt surprised. The one shouting was a cute-looking girl from the God Emperor Adventure Group. Judging by her attire, she was most likely a healer. This girl was not in her right mind, actually cheering for the enemy.
