The first floor of Sky Arena was divided into four zones: A, B, C, and D, each containing multiple small arenas.
The spectator seats on the first floor were free, open to anyone who wanted to watch.
However, starting from the 10th floor, matches required tickets, which were inexpensive—about the cost of a bottle of juice. The higher the floor, the pricier the tickets.
Beyond the competition areas, Sky Arena also had numerous commercial zones, making the entire arena a massive commercial hub.
The city itself gained fame due to Sky Arena, thriving because of it.
Under the guidance of a referee, Luci arrived at Zone B.
His appearance drew some attention.
"Look at that!"
"Isn't that a referee's uniform?"
"Is there really a referee that young?"
...
Luci's clothing was easily recognizable to some spectators, who immediately began whispering.
Becoming a referee at Sky Arena wasn't easy. It required passing an assessment and possessing a certain level of combat ability.
For participants stuck below the 100th floor, often limited by money, some chose to apply for referee positions.
Given these requirements, it was rare for someone as young as Luci to become a referee.
Luci was assigned to stand beside an arena to observe.
Soon, a match was scheduled for the arena he was watching.
With Sky Arena's growing fame, countless people flocked to Kuri City daily. After all, this was the only place where you could earn money just by fighting.
Although Sky Arena was built for martial artists, what truly attracted so many challengers was the generous prize money.
Matches on the first floor were the most frequent, as it was the starting point.
There were likely tens of thousands of matches held on the first floor every day.
Luci observed, and when there was downtime, he would check out other arenas.
On the first floor, the skill levels of competitors varied widely.
Many matches resembled street brawls. Fighters with actual combat skills stood out during their bouts.
Luci noticed that fighters with some combat foundation were often sent directly to the 30th floor by referees, though reaching the 50th floor standard was rare.
Only exceptional fighters qualified.
There weren't many fighters on the first floor whose techniques were worth copying with Luci's Sharingan, so his focus was on learning the referee's workflow.
After a day, he had gained some insights.
Tomorrow, he would officially start his duties.
Unlike the heavy workload of first-floor referees, Luci would judge a maximum of 20 matches per day, as he still needed time to train.
The next day.
Luci was assigned to Arena 85 in Zone C as a referee.
The spectator seats buzzed with discussion once again.
"Contestants 2558 and 3648, please proceed to Arena 85 in Zone C for your match," the announcement blared, notifying the fighters.
Soon, two contestants stepped onto the arena.
Both were young men in their twenties, one with bandages wrapped around his hands.
From their stances as they entered the arena, Luci could tell they weren't ordinary fighters—they had combat experience.
"Sky Arena has referees as young as you?" the bandaged fighter asked directly.
The other fighter expressed skepticism. "Can a referee like you really judge fairly?"
For their questions, Luci chose not to respond.
Instead, he asked, "Are both contestants ready? If so, the match will begin."
"Whatever," the bandaged fighter said, uninterested in pressing the issue. He just wanted to fight and climb the ranks.
The other fighter, however, was visibly annoyed by Luci's indifference.
With Luci's signal to start, the two fighters immediately clashed.
Both had decent combat skills, quickly drawing the attention of the spectators.
As they fought fiercely, Luci could see that the bandaged fighter was less skilled but still able to hold his own.
The bandaged fighter's reaction speed was faster, allowing him to respond quickly even when at a disadvantage.
While observing, Luci judged that both were at the level of ordinary martial artists, likely capable of reaching the 70th or 80th floor at most, but not the 100th.
Having spent time at Sky Arena and watched countless matches, Luci was familiar with the skill levels across different floors.
When you're outmatched, defending too long leads to mistakes.
The bandaged fighter eventually slipped, failing to react in time, and was sent flying by a kick.
He landed in Luci's direction.
Luci easily dodged.
"Clean hit. Contestant 3648 scores one point," Luci announced.
He glanced at Contestant 3648, who smirked at him.
That move had been intentional.
Was it retaliation for Luci's earlier silence?
What a petty mindset!
The fight continued, and the bandaged fighter quickly got back up.
Though he had some combat skills, his style was more like a street brawler.
As Luci watched, he analyzed further.
Soon, Contestant 3648 scored another five points.
The match's outcome seemed decided.
As the fight dragged on, the bandaged fighter appeared increasingly exhausted.
"You're not bad, but too bad for you—I'm your opponent," Contestant 3648 taunted, as if he had already won.
He knocked his opponent down again, earning another point.
Luci announced the score expressionlessly.
But he could see something others couldn't—Contestant 2558 was feigning weakness.
Was he trying to lower his opponent's guard?
To win this way, he'd need a single knockout blow to leave his opponent defenseless.
When Contestant 3648 reached nine points, Contestant 2558 fell in front of Luci again.
Luci looked at him, noting the repeated provocations.
"Why isn't it over yet?" Contestant 3648 shouted at Luci.
He glared at Luci, clearly frustrated. If Luci weren't a referee, he might have wanted to fight him too.
Luci glanced at the bandaged fighter, who seemed too weak to get up.
But Luci knew he was acting.
"Ten, nine…" Luci began the countdown.
Contestant 3648, annoyed by the slow count, approached to kick the bandaged fighter off the arena for the final point.
But at that moment, the bandaged fighter, lying on the ground, launched a sudden attack.