It was as if thousands of small beasts were wrecking his body, causing havoc in his meridians. His body trembled incessantly and his face was pale. Blood kept flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Xue Wei breathed heavily. He had used much of his Qi in this attack – at least half of the Qi dragons within his body had been poured into Tiger Triplet Daddy. Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon Spirit within his dantian kept restoring the amount of Qi dragons he had used. Unfortunately, it would take quite some time before all of them were restored.
Tiger Triplet Daddy had not used a lot of Qi, but he still felt drained because of the onslaught of the Qi dragons that were swarming his meridians. His face was pale in fright; his eyes wide open.
He opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything. All that came out was blood.
Xue Wei had also stopped his chain of attacks. He had poured so much Qi into the Arcane Fist attack he sent out that he was slightly out of breath, but his eyes glistened with excitement, and his vicious smile did not lose its intensity.
Xue Wei started walking towards Tiger Triplet Daddy, his steps calm and collected. He seemed as if he was taking a walk in a park, but he kept building momentum with each step he took.
Tiger Triplet Daddy had managed to avoid most of the attacks so far, but he had never before encountered Qi with properties like Xue Wei’s. That Qi had entered his body and roared like actual living beasts, draining him from the inside.
An arm shot out. The hand clasped over Tiger Triplet Daddy’s throat like a giant claw. Xue Wei squeezed his fingers together slightly, causing cracking sounds to echo out.
Tiger Triplet Daddy gave a last struggle; he poured his remaining Qi into his machete and swung it around like a snake, aiming straight for Xue Wei's heart.
Tiger Triplet Daddy had been waiting for this moment. He had gambled with his own life, knowing that he had only enough energy for one attack. Now he poured it all into the machete, trying to execute Xue Wei in one go.
The audience was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. No one spoke. They observed with big eyes.
Lu Yuping was biting his nails. His eyes displayed boundless worry. He kept tapping his feet on the ground and paced back and forth next to Li Chen, who also looked slightly pale. Her hands clutched a handkerchief. Complex emotions were constantly swirling in her eyes, but her face itself was as stoic and expressionless as always.
Xue Wei felt the danger encroaching upon him. He did not look down. He knew where the danger came from, but he retreated before he had time to do anything else.
Forbidden Rush!
He was faster than the seriously wounded Tiger Triplet Daddy, but he had been too close. Sparks flew from where the machete came into contact with the Fierce Beast hide covering his torso, and although the attack was slightly mitigated, it still managed to penetrate the leather. Even more sparks flew out as the machete came into contact with the robe underneath, but this was easier to slice through, and then the rest of the remaining slicing force came into contact with Xue Wei's chest. A long gash appeared in his armor and robe, while ten centimeters of flesh was cut open on his chest.
Blood started to flow from the wound, dripping down to the arena floor and soiling the rest of his clothes after Xue Wei composed himself several steps away. Being wounded did not diminish Xue Wei’s smile. In fact, he seemed to be even more amused now than before. He seemed more excited.
Seeing the Tiger Triplet Daddy struggle and fight back as he did, the thrill of the hunt started exciting him even more. Xue Wei could not wait for the conclusion of the fight.
He knew that he could end it easily, either by transforming or by using Mind Infestation, but he also felt that that would ruin the thrill of the fight. He was enjoying himself. He wanted to see his opponent struggle. He felt like a cat playing with a mouse.
Tiger Triplet Daddy’s face turned dark when he saw that Xue Wei had successfully managed to evade his attack. The Qi dragons within his meridians had managed to be demolished by his own Qi threads, but the fight had given him internal injuries. It had also caused him to waste a whole lot of Qi.
He was already on the verge of collapsing, but he refused to give up. Bruises had appeared on his throat after Xue Wei had tried to break his neck. Blood stains were at the corner of his lips, staining the robe he was wearing after trickling down his neck.
His clothes and hair were disheveled. He staggered from even trying to stand up, and his eyes were unfocused. Right now, the only thing that held him upright was his willpower; his refusal to give up.
Xue Wei had to admit that he respected this man. He had a power above average Heavenly Warriors at the same layer. He had amazing survival instincts, he fought fiercely even against opponents that completely overwhelmed him, and his willpower was outstanding.
From having met a worthy opponent like this, Xue Wei could truly feel his blood boil. Such a person was worth killing!
Xue Wei activated Forbidden Rush. He vanished from where he stood and appeared next to Tiger Triplet Daddy.
Shattering Mountain Palm!
A palm strike descended straight on Tiger Triplet Daddy’s chest, right where his heart was located. The recipient of this attack felt a bit of danger, but his body no longer followed his orders anymore.
He tried to move, but all that happened was that a tremble went through his body before the Shattering Mountain Palm collided with his chest. Blood sprayed from his mouth and he was shot backward like a kite that was let loose from its string.
A raspy breath escaped from Tiger Triplet Daddy, a final breath before his eyes turned dull. The entire place lapsed into silence. Only the sounds of fights from the other cages could be heard, but these cages did not have much of an audience; most had been drawn to Xue Wei's battle.
The silence did not last long before a cheer erupted from Lu Yuping's mouth. He jumped up in the air with his arms above his head and cheered loudly as though he were the one who had won the battle.
Xue Wei, who was in the cage, smirked slightly. This had been the most thrilling fight he had ever experienced. This was without a doubt a new experience, though he was aware that he could easily become addicted to the feeling of killing if he was not careful. The hunting instinct was immensely strong in him.
Having heard Lu Yuping’s cheer, everyone else woke up from their stupor. They all erupted in cheers. Even the ones who had lost money in the betting pool were excited. This was a fat sheep that had killed someone from the Tiger Triplets. That was quite astounding, a feat worth quite a bit of respect.
"His performance was brilliant! Though I have a feeling that we will most likely not see him again," someone in the audience said with a sigh of regret. "The remaining two Tigers will not let him go. As long as he sets foot outside of this cave, they will be waiting for him and will kill him."
Xue Wei listened to the voice while leaving the cage. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had no say in who his opponent was, the Tiger Triplet Daddy was the one who had jumped at the chance to fight him, so to be the target of others because of this was rather annoying.
Since he could not choose, he could only fight. There was no giving up. He was not going to allow his challenger to kill him just because he feared retaliation from the remaining two of the Tiger Triplets.
"Mister Lu, these Tiger Triplets, what exactly are they like? What is their strength like, and what exactly can I expect from them?" When Xue Wei exited the cave, he went back to Lu Yuping and Li Chen and asked the former his question.
"The Tiger Triplets? Those three-legged cats cannot do you anything," he laughed. "Although Cai Ming, the guy you just fought, is the weakest of the Tiger Triplets, he is not that much weaker than the other two. I would like to see them try their hands at attacking you."
Xue Wei had expected the two other triplet members to be much stronger than himself because of what he had overheard, but it seemed he had been mistaken.
Feeling a bit calmer, Xue Wei nodded his head. Hours had gone by during the cage battles. Xue Wei had observed multiple fights and partook in one himself, but now the cages started being cleared. One after another was left empty and the crowd was thinning.
Li Chen and Lu Yuping were still there, both conversing with Xue Wei, telling him about the important characters in the underworld of Cloudsoar City.
"The biggest player within the underworld is without a doubt the Intelligencer." Both Lu Yuping and Li Chen agreed on this. "He is much stronger than any other high profile member of the underworld. In fact, there is no one stronger than him in the entirety of the Chengzi Kingdom."
“His connections go so deep that it doesn’t matter where you go, kingdom, empire, and even the center of the continent – he’ll have a man there.”
"After the Intelligencer is Li Chen. Li Chen has gained much fame for her appearance, but also because she has the strength to back up her beauty. She is a dangerous person, so watch out," Lu Yuping warned him teasingly after seeing that Xue Wei and Li Chen somehow had already established a sort of friendship.
"After myself comes the Earth Knight Primordial Beasts," Li Chen took over. "Lu Yuping is one of them, but he is not alone. There are a total of three Primordial Beasts within this underground world, all of which are strong enough to rattle the city’s foundation if they truly wished to do so."
After the Earth Knight Primordial Beasts came the humans of the same realm. After these came the Ordinary Knights and so on and so on.
Xue Wei had a clearer understanding of the entire hierarchy of the underground world. He understood that there were various people excelling at various things. In fact, there was nothing that he could not get on the black market as long as he had the resources or money to pay for it.
"Well that was it for this week," Li Chen said while they walked through the tunnel leading out of the cave. "Why don't you come next week as well?"
Xue Wei gave it a thought. "If I have time, then I will," he said and nodded his head.
Before leaving, Xue Wei picked up the prize for winning his fight. It turned out to be seven pills suitable for Heavenly Warriors, alongside two spiritual fruits and three herbs. There were no low-grade essence stones in his reward as it had been considered an easy, low-class match.
The stronger the contenders were considered, the more the prize would be. However, since Xue Wei had been a hitherto nameless combatant, the stakes in his battles would be rather mediocre until he made a name for himself.
As Xue Wei came out of the cave, he was met by the crimson morning sky. The entire evening and night had passed by while he had been underground.