36: Arena!

Arena!

Hao Xuan went back to sleep as it was already late. Zhurong hadn't even moved from his initial spot and was still sleeping soundly. 1

The next morning he was woken up by a knock on the door, it was First. They both had breakfast and then First asked him what his plans were.

"Brother, you only have less than two weeks left before the deadline. I see that you're already at the top of the Elementary realm, have you decided on what type of energy do you want to use to open the next meridian?"

"Something related to swordsmanship. I am not sure yet but that's my only option for now. It's just that I don't know how to go about doing this," Hao Xuan replied while shrugging his shoulders.

"How about some actual combat experience? It is the only sure-fire way of getting results," First said after thinking for a few seconds.

"You're right brother. Should I take on another mission?" while pointing at the screen Hao Xuan asked.

"No, I have a better idea. There's an arena in the inner city where many people go to either blow off steam or challenge themselves. You can fight against both beasts and men in there and even make some money while doing. Many of us go there undercover when we need to train."

Hao Xuan agreed with First. With just over 10 days left he needed to understand another type of energy quickly, and putting himself in situations like these was the best plan.

He agreed and First took him back into the inner city. This time they went to the exact opposite side of the trade market. It took them a couple of hours to reach a massive Colosseum. Up close it was even bigger. There were thousands of people entering and leaving at any one point. Entire families, strong warriors, young couples, almost all types of people could be seen there.

After walking for about 10mins they finally reached the fighting grounds, which were divided into twenty different stages, each with a radius of a hundred meters.

Many beasts and people could be seen fighting in there.

First led Hao Xuan towards the side and they entered a sort of a locker room. There were two men outside behind a counter chatting.

"Brother!" First shouted from afar and one of the men who was middle-aged with a large scar on his neck looked around. When he saw First a smile bloomed on his face and he came out from behind the counter and gave a First a bear hug while laughing.

"Brother! Its been so long since you last visited. What a nice surprise!"

"Haha, it is indeed. Unfortunately, this isn't a social visit. My junior brother wants to get some experience," First said while pointing at Hao Xuan.

"Of course, of course, any brother of yours is a brother of mine. So the usual package then?" he asked while patting Hao Xuan's shoulder, which left him a bit numb.

"Yup," said First and took out a strange mask from his storage ring and passed it to Hao Xuan.

"Brother, wear this whenever you fight. We aren't allowed to disclose our identities in public without an order. I had this specially made from the first beast I killed in here and have used it for hundreds of fights, both in and out of the arena. It's yours from now on," he said with a nostalgic smile.

Hao Xuan checked it out and it looked really cool. There were two horns on the top and it covered the top half of his face only (Img link in authors notes).

"Alright, I have to go now but you can ask for anything you need from brother Feng," first said while pointing at the middle-aged man.

"Thank you." After first left, Fei brought him into the locker room where there many weapons and armors on the walls.

"You can use any equipment you like from here. Usually, there is a charge and another small deposit for every fight, but since you're in the military yourself, it's all free. On the screen over there you can choose what type of opponent you want. Beast, human, their levels etc. And whenever a stage is empty you will be called," he said while pointing to a large three-sided screen in the middle of the room.

"Please remember to be careful, although the security measure will kick in if your life is in danger but they aren't always on time. If you need anything at all, let me know and I'll try to get it for you," Fei said and then went back to the counter.

Hao Xuan went up to the screen without wasting any time and put his hand on it. It lit up with a prompt, "Welcome "Hao Xuan" of Red Legion. Choose your opponent."

He clicked on "Choose your opponent" and a new screen appeared with two options. "Beast" or "Human". In this case, anything other than a beast was called a human.

After clicking on Beast and another page appeared with hundreds of types of brute, spiritual and demonic beasts of different levels.

****

Authors Notes:

Short link: https://urlzs.com/e2NhL

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