Tap, Tap, Tap
The rhythmic sound of sweat dripping on the stone floor sounded in the cramped room as a scrawny man sat there, his grey eyes fixed on the rusted spear in his hands.
Distant cheers of the crowd from behind the closed doors, yet the man's gaze remained fixed, unbothered by the raucousness outside.
His pale hand caressed the shaft of the spear gently, as though afraid it might get hurt.
"Contestant number forty-nine, it's your turn."
Suddenly, a voice sounded in the room, breaking the man out of his trance.
Standing up, the man sighed deeply, but the next second, his gaze turned firm, his hands gripped the spear tightly as he walked toward the wooden door.
As soon as he pushed the door open, the crowd noise intensified tenfold, hitting his ears like a tsunami.
The bright sunlight hit his eyes, blinding him for a few seconds, forcing him to quickly cover them with his hand.
After adjusting for a few seconds, he finally saw the scene in front of him.
A stone-paved hallway appeared before his eyes, leading to a giant colosseum.
With each step he took toward the Colosseum arena, his heartbeat got louder, and by the time he reached the entrance, he felt as if, despite the rowdy crowd's noise, he was able to hear his own heartbeat.
His grip on the spear tightened, and as he thought about the battle ahead of him, a nervous look couldn't help but appeared on his face.
Taking a deep breath, he thought about the deal he had made.
"Li Wang, since you want your freedom so badly, prove that you are worthy of it."
He remembered the gaze his master held as she said those words, it was filled with mockery and disgust.
Her smile had been a knife. A Nascent Soul Cultivator, her power vast enough to crush cities, yet she'd looked at him like rotted fruit, fit only to be tossed aside.
After all, he was of no use to her anymore, she had already sucked his heavenly yang physique dry.
Alas, it was his misfortune to have caught the eyes of a Nascent Soul Realm Demonic Cultivator who followed the Cauldron cultivation path.
A path similar to the Dual cultivation path, yet only one person benefited while the other suffered.
And in his situation, he happened to be the cultivation cauldron who was suffering.
Remembering all this, Li Wang steeled his resolve and took a step into the arena.
The moment his foot landed in the arena, the crowd exploded. After all, they were all demonic cultivators, and what they loved the most was to see others suffer.
"WHOOOOOOOO, TEAR OPEN HIS STOMACH, I WANNA SEE SOME GUTS," someone yelled.
"PLUCK HIS EYEBALLS AND FEED THEM TO HIM." Another shout sounded.
"PEEL OFF HIS SKIN AND RUB SAND ON IT."
Shout after shout sounded from the crowd, each more sickening and horrifying than the last
Hearing the shouts, Li Wang clutched the spear in his hand till his knuckles turned white.
After all, this was the last thing he had in remembrance of his late mother, who was killed by that evil demonic vixen.
Thinking about her, Li Wang glanced at the empty VIP section, realizing that she had not come to watch the show.
Perhaps the life and death of a weakling like him was of no significance to her.
Still, Li Wang didn't care, after all, knowing her personality, she wouldn't give him any chance of living.
As Li Wang was thinking about all this, his opponent also entered the arena.
A two-meter-tall tiger, covered in majestic white fur and bloodlust, with silver stripes covering its body.
The second it stepped into the arena, its Blue eyes locked onto Li Wang.
Without any hesitation, it directly leapt toward Li Wang with a loud roar, deafening both the crowd and Li Wang for a few seconds.
'Qi Refining Peak Stage,' Li Wang thought to himself as he looked at the giant beast in front of him, 'she really isn't cutting any corners.'
A surreal smile appeared on his lips as his leg muscles tensed, and he also moved to dodge the incoming attack.
Despite his best effort, one of the sharp nails from the beast's claw grazed his shoulder, directly injuring him.
Seeing the blood dripping from Li Wang's shoulder, the crowd's excitement boiled, and they became even more crazed.
Feeling his shoulder going limp, Li Wang couldn't help but grit his teeth, his resolve strengthening despite facing an opponent five minor stages above him.
Yet against pure power, all his resolve and unyielding will were useless, as the moment he got a hold of himself, all he saw was razor-sharp teeth coming directly for his neck.
At this moment, facing the threat of death, Li Wang's thoughts started to move faster, his mind got clear, and the surroundings seemed to have slowed down.
'Since I am going to die anyway, I'll at least take you with me.' Li Wang thought as he moved his hand and stabbed directly towards the beast's heart.
As soon as the beast's teeth touched Li Wang's neck, his spear got embedded into the beast's chest, sending waves of pain through his body.
Li Wang, on the other hand, also started to lose consciousness as his eyes dimmed. The last scene he saw was of the beast struggling to remove the spear, only for its rusty shaft to break, allowing it to get deeper into its heart.
Seeing this, a satisfied smile appeared on Li Wang's face as his legs gave in and he fell down on the sand, his consciousness fading away.
After Li Wang's eyes dimmed, the arena medics quickly got to work. dragging his and the white tiger's corpse aside, clearing the arena for the next battle.
White Serpent Peak - Snake Demoness' chamber
A sweet scent filled the room as the incense slowly burned and the spirit stones embedded in the walls bathed the room in a soft glow.
"Ah, Mistress, I can't take it anymore." A voice sounded in the room, filled with weakness and defeat.
Hearing the voice, Bai Meilin, the White Serpent Demoness, increased her pace as she replied, her voice filled with irate, "Silence," her fingers digging into the man's spine, "your purpose is to break."
Hearing her words, the man, her newest cauldron, showed a despair-filled expression, though it failed to even register in Bai Meilin's mind.
Just as Bai Meilin was planning to increase her pace even more, a timid knock sounded from the room's door.
The sound made Bai Meilin pause, anger flashing in her golden eyes.
"Enter," she said, her voice so sensational that even the toughest men might kill to hear it once more, devoid of the previous irate tone she held.
As her voice fell, the room's door opened, and a young disciple entered. After taking a few steps inside, he knelt on the floor, making sure his eyes never left the floor.
"Mistress, your cauldron, Li Wang … is dead. He killed the White Tiger before dying."
As the disciple's words fell, Bai Meilin paused for a moment before continuing her rhythm.
"How?" she questioned.
"He impaled it through the heart. Broke the rusty spear he always carried with him in the process."
Hearing this, Bai Meilin let out a soft chuckle as her hands dug into the man's spine, ripping it out as he convulsed in pain.
"How… pedestrian," she said while putting the man's spine to her soft pink lips.
Slurp
After sucking the marrow out of it with a single slurp, she turned to face the still kneeling disciple.
"Bury him intact in the wretched village nearby, let the dirt cherish his… tenacity."
Listening to her words, the disciple placed his head on the floor, "As you command, mistress," he said before leaving the room.
Unnamed Village - graveyard
Rain poured down like a river as the disciple threw Li Wang's body into the shallow pit he had dug.
"Stupid bastard, because of you, I have to work hard," the disciple said, his voice filled with anger, "and that bitch Bai Meilin, I swear the moment I get stronger than her, I will rape her till her mind is broken."
Rumble, Rumble
Thunder crackled in the sky as the rain's intensity increased.
Seeing this, the disciple spat on Li Wang's soulless body once before running away, having no intention even to bury the body.
A few hours later
The rain had stopped pouring down, and various insects and small animals crawled out of their burrows, eager to bask in the fresh weather and cool winds.
Birds chirped as they sat in the nearby trees, filling the area with a strange calm.
Li Wang's body remained motionless in the nearby pit, and his wounds became clear after the rain washed away the blood sticking to his body.
Suddenly, as if caused by divine interference, the wounds on Li Wang's body started to heal at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"Ughh, what happened?" The moment Li Wang's wound completely healed, he sat up, clutching his head as if going through immense pain.
[Creation System integration initiated]
[Progress 1%]
[Progress 20%]
[Progress 50%]
[Creation System integration complete]
[Congratulations on becoming the new host of the creation system.]
[Status]
[Host Name: Li Wang]
[Cultivation: First layer Qi Refining Stage]
[Age: 19]
[Constitution: Heavenly Yang physique (Severely damaged)]
[Creation Points: -30]
[Daily sign-in: unclaimed]
[System Shop]
[System Remark: You should apologize to the tree responsible for replenishing the oxygen you waste.]
Li Wang blinked. "...What the FUCK?"