Chapter 1251: Colosseum
Imperial Nether Clan, one of the four paramount devil clans. They were an incredibly mysterious race of devils born with powerful abilities, granting them an advantage over many other races. However, their reproductive rate was far lower than other races. Thus, their numbers were still relatively low despite having existed for many years. Due to their low numbers, each Imperial Nether Clan member that had awakened their talent would receive great care from the clan.
Not every single member of the clan would be born with a powerful bloodline, and not all of them would grow into a powerful combatant. Like all the other races, some would be born with incredible talent, while some would be born with inferior talent. Those with great talent would naturally receive more care from the clan, while those with inferior talent would remain unremarkable and unimportant.
Understandably, not every Imperial Nether Clan member would awaken their unique bloodline abilities. For example, Ming Helian only had a single talent of invisibility. He had neither the Nether Soul Domain nor the Nether Yin Gate.
Most Imperial Nether Clan members would only awaken a single ability. Those with two abilities would receive care and protection from the clan. Only those whose bloodlines were the purest—those with the primordial bloodline—would awaken three abilities like Xiang Shaoyun.
That was why even someone as important as the Nether Monarch would send someone to take Xiang Shaoyun back to the clan upon sensing his existence. Xiang Shaoyun was unaware of that. He had assumed that all Imperial Nether Clan members would awaken the three abilities.
After all, he knew little about bloodlines. He had thought that it was only natural that anyone with the Imperial Nether Clan's bloodline would awaken all three of the abilities. Ming Helian brought Xiang Shaoyun along as they traveled rapidly toward the clan's heart.
But right as they were about to reach their destination, someone appeared before them. Ming Helian trembled and knelt down in fear. He greeted, "I greet Lord Cigeng."
Xiang Shaoyun saw that a group of Imperial Nether Clan members had appeared before him. There were 18 of them, and each had a powerful cultivation level, their enchanting eyes radiating an oppressive aura. The leader of the group was sturdy and tall. On his forehead was a rune shining with a dazzling radiance, a proof of his incredible strength.
The moment Xiang Shaoyun felt that person's gaze on him, he felt as though his entire person had been seen through. It was the kind of feeling he would only have when facing the Holy Hall's master and his master. He guessed that this person was an actual Devil God.
Ming Cigeng nodded and said, "Hand him over to me. I'll take him to the Nether Monarch."
Ming Helian did not dare to disobey just so he could take the credit for capturing Xiang Shaoyun. He hurriedly agreed, "Yes, lord. I'll have to trouble you."
"Um. Well done," praised Ming Cigeng. He then looked at Xiang Shaoyun and said, "You actually have human blood in you. I wonder if the Nether Monarch will be infuriated after seeing you. Come with me, kid."
His hand reached out and sealed Xiang Shaoyun before he left with Xiang Shaoyun in tow. Xiang Shaoyun was completely helpless. He could only accept any arrangement these people had for him. Despite his helplessness, his mind was still constantly thinking of ways to free himself.
Before long, he was brought to a massive circular construct surrounded by chairs. Imperial Nether Clan members were seated on the chairs, cheering as they watched the battle ongoing at the circular construct.
After studying his surroundings, Xiang Shaoyun found that he was actually at a colosseum. A battle between an imperial nether devil and some other devils was ongoing in the middle of the colosseum.
He personally witnessed the imperial nether devil slaughter one opponent after another. The ability used by the imperial nether devil was none other than the Nether Yin Gate. He had an impressive mastery over the gate, easily shifting numerous attacks away before murdering his opponents.
The rune on his forehead seemed to possess a mysterious power. It constantly pulsed, seemingly capable of strengthening his devilish energy and maintaining the devil's ability activation for a long period of time.
However, the imperial nether devil had also sustained numerous injuries on his body. After all, he was battling those with higher cultivation levels all by himself. With so many of them surrounding him, it was already impressive of him to stay alive.
After the imperial nether devil withdrew, Xiang Shaoyun was tossed into the colosseum, catching him by complete surprise. He also found that his astral energy was completely sealed. His mind instantly blanked, not knowing what to do without his astral energy. The imperial nether devils all around the ring were astonished.
"Why is there a human here? And such a weak one at that? Which lord tossed him in there?"
"But he is quite a handsome one. I wonder what's special about him? It would be boring if he's killed immediately."
"It has been a while since I've last seen one of those tender humans. I suppose he will make for a fine meal."
"This human seems so weak. Is he here to serve as food?"
...
"Silence. Send some Emperor Realm gladiators in to fight him," Ming Cigeng's voice rang out.
He seemed to be the master of this colosseum. At his command, the crowd sank into silence. Next, a Devil Emperor was released into the ring. The Devil Emperor was a powerful hawktiger devil. It had the body of a tiger and a pair of wings, looking exceptionally ferocious.
Its eyes were filled with bloodlust—most likely the result of being fed some devilish substance that turned it into an empty husk that only knew to kill. With a roar, it pounced at Xiang Shaoyun, trying to swallow him whole.
Xiang Shaoyun felt incredibly gloomy. Without access to his astral energy, how was he supposed to fight this hawktiger devil? Thanks to his rich combat experience, he was still able to evade the attack by pure instinct.
His body had been strengthened by the Limit Stimulation Technique and had also been tempered by lightning origin energy. Because of that, his body was almost as strong as the body of a Saint. Even without astral energy, he still had an incredible reaction time.
Roar!
The hawktiger devil roared furiously when it found that it missed. It flapped its wing and sent two clumps of energy shooting forward. Once again, Xiang Shaoyun dodged the attack. However, he wasn't fast enough and was struck by one of the energy clumps and was blasted away. He collapsed heavily onto the ground, cutting quite a sorry figure.
If his body wasn't resilient enough, that attack alone was enough to tear his body apart. The surrounding Imperial Nether Clan members were finding the match boring. But since they knew that this human was brought here by that lord, they still held some expectation for him. Therefore, none of them left. The hawktiger devil pounced on Xiang Shaoyun again, aiming for his heart.