A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Chapter 910: Stop Running

"Now that I think about it, this Li Feiyu has shown himself to be quite courageous. It's only his first time taking part in the Five City Martial Gathering, yet he already dares to provoke the top gladiator of Profound End City in public. I think he has some good qualities that make him very much worth nurturing, City Lord Chen," E Kuai remarked.

"Indeed, City Lord E. Our Green Goat City doesn't have as strong a foundation as the other three cities, so I do need to work on nurturing some talent," Chen Yang replied.

Han Li and the others weren't paying any attention to what was happening on the elevated platform. After all of the spectators had placed their bets, the two battles commenced.

Zhu Ziyuan's battle against Jin Dong was hardly even worth watching, and the odds for betting on Zhu Ziyuan were extremely low. Hence, very few people chose to bet on that battle, while the majority of spectators placed their bets on the battle between Han Li and Feng Wuchen.

Han Li was a previously unknown dark horse that had stormed into the top sixteen in stunning fashion, while Feng Wuchen was the top representative of Profound End City. On paper, there was a clear power gap between the two, so Han Li's odds were far higher than Feng Wuchen's.

The higher the odds, the smaller one's theoretical chance of securing victory, so among the people betting on this battle, over 90% of them had placed their bets on Feng Wuchen.

As for the rest, they were simply hoping to essentially win the lottery by betting on Han Li.

Gu Qianxun and and all of the other spectators stepped down from the platforms, and prior to her departure, Gu Qianxun suddenly made a request to Han Li through voice transmission.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please inflict some severe injuries upon Feng Wuchen if possible, and it would be ideal if you could kill him altogether. If you can do that, I'll be sure to compensate you for your efforts."

"You think far too highly of me, Fellow Daoist Gu. Having said that, it doesn't look like Feng Wuchen is keen on a peaceful resolution, so I certainly won't be holding back against him," Han Li replied with a smile.

He had a rough idea of Gu Qianxun's bad blood with Profound End City, so he wasn't surprised by this request.

"I'll be counting on you then, Fellow Daoist Li," Gu Qianxun said before departing.

Toxic Dragon and the others were still yet to fully recover from their injuries, but all of them were able to move at this point, so they were all gathered in the spectator stands to watch Han Li's battle against Feng Wuchen.

Out of all of the Green Goat City cultivators, the two most severely injured ones were Tu Gang and Yi Liya, both of whom were only able to reach the spectator stands with assistance from others.

After everyone had sat down, Yao Li cast her gaze toward Han Li with mixed emotions in her eyes.

Back when they had first met in the Green Goat City arena, he had been a completely unremarkable looking human, yet for some reason, Gu Qianxun had taken an interest in him.

Looking back now, Yao Li realized that she had indeed been mistaken about Han Li, and that he was far more powerful than she imagined. No wonder Gu Qianxun had warned her not to make an enemy out of him.

"What do you think of Fellow Daoist Li's chances, Fellow Daoist Toxic Dragon?" Yao Li asked.

Toxic Dragon took an awkward glance at Yi Liya upon hearing this, then replied, "That's... really hard to say. Honestly, I feel like Fellow Daoist Li has never shown his true power, so I don't know what he's capable of."

Yi Liya was already in a terrible mood, and he harrumphed coldly, "So what if he's concealed some of his power? Even Gu Qianxun may not be a match for Feng Wuchen, you think he can win? What a joke!"

"Just because you're too weak doesn't mean everyone else is the same. I don't know if Fellow Daoist Li can defeat Feng Wuchen, but Fellow Daoist Gu definitely can," Yao Li sneered.

"She'll have to worry about Fang Chan first," Yi Liya harrumphed in a disdainful manner.

Yao Li had no response to this, and she could only clench her fists in a disgruntled fashion.

It was true that Gu Qianxun had been defeated by Fang Chan during their last encounter, so her chances of winning certainly weren't great.

"Let's all settle down now, the battles are about to begin," Toxic Dragon mediated.

Yao Li gave a cold harrumph before falling silent, while Yi Liya glowered at Han Li from afar.

Daoist Xie was also sitting nearby, and he took a glance at Yi Liya before shaking his head with a faint smile.

……

The four gladiators participating in the two battles were already in place, and as the referees stepped onto the platforms, the cheering from the spectators gradually subsided.

On one platform, Zhu Ziyuan was standing in a suit of bone armor with a bone spear held in his hand. Judging from the radiant starlight emanating from the spear, it was clearly an extremely formidable star artifact.

Standing across from him was Jin Gong, who was also from Profound City. He was a giant of a man standing at over twenty feet tall, with bulging muscles all over his entire body and a layer of green fur growing on his skin, giving him the appearance of a hulking ape.

On his right arm was a bone glove that seemed to have been stitched from some type of beast hide with star bones of different sizes embedded onto it, and even though it wasn't quite on the level of a star artifact, it still appeared to be quite formidable.

After announcing the rules of the battle, the referee declared for the battle to commence before flying down from the platform.

Jin Gong let loose a near animalistic roar as he clenched his fists tightly while stomping a foot down onto the ground, and the platform quivered beneath his feet as over eighty profound acupoints lit up over his body one after another, sending powerful shockwaves erupting in all directions.

At the same time, a layer of starlight appeared over the glove on his right hand as well.

"How many times have I told you? Releasing your aura like this will only discount your power. It puts on a good show, but it provides no other benefits," Zhu Ziyuan scolded in a cold voice.

Jin Gong's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he took a deep breath as his aura became far more restrained, looking as if he had suddenly run out of power.

However, all of the experts present could clearly see that the starlight emanating from the glove on his right fist had become far more condensed.

"That's better, but it's still not enough," Zhu Ziyuan said with a shake of his head, and a wry smile appeared on Jin Gong's face upon hearing this.

As opposed to an arena battle, it appeared more like the two of them were having a casual sparring match, and it was clear that Zhu Ziyuan had instructed Jin Gong quite extensively in the past.

A short while later, Zhu Ziyuan finally gave a nod of approval as he said, "Alright, I want you to remember this feeling and replicate it in your future battles. Come at me now."

Jin Gong nodded in response, then charged at Zhu Ziyuan while all of the spectators looked on with speechless expressions, booing at the terrible show on display.

……

Meanwhile, Han Li and Feng Wuchen were also facing each other from afar on their platform.

Feng Wuchen was dressed in his usual white robe with his willow leaf sword in his hand, and many of the spectators in the stands were cheering for him.

As for Han Li, he was dressed in a simple black robe with his hands joined together in his sleeves, looking very calm and relaxed.

"Before we begin, I'll give you a chance to kneel down and beg for forgiveness. If you pass up this opportunity now, you won't get another chance," Feng Wuchen said in a cold voice.

"Hurry up and fight, don't waste time with all this chit-chat," Han Li said in an indifferent manner.

Feng Wuchen's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this, and he harrumphed coldly, "Alright, I gave you a chance!"

As soon as his voice trailed off, dozens of profound acupoints lit up over his legs, and in the blink of an eye, he completely vanished from the spot.

The spectators had completely lost sight of Feng Wuchen, but Han Li was able to see him very clearly, and he sprang into action as well.

The profound acupoints of his Wingform Ascension Arts lit up over his legs, and he vanished from the spot as well.

Immediately thereafter, an explosive boom rang out from the spot where he had just been standing a moment ago, and the ground there was completely shattered by hundreds of streaks of white swordlight.

Feng Wuchen flashed past that spot without pause as he continued to pursue Han LI like lightning while lashing out with his sword once again.

A string of explosions rang out in rapid succession alongside flashes of light as Feng Wuchen pursued Han Li all over the platform, while the latter continued to take evasive measures.

Initially, the spectators were watching with keen interest, but this repetitive show of flashing lights and explosions quickly became boring to watch, and boos began to ring out from the stands.

All of a sudden, Feng Wuchen stopped in his tracks, and Han Li did the same a safe distance away. The former was glowering intently at the latter with a furious look in his eyes. Feng Wuchen had thought that he would be able to completely dominate Han Li with his speed, but Han Li was able to keep up with him just fine.

"Stop running like a coward!" Feng Wuchen sneered.

"Maybe you'd be able to catch me if you weren't so slow," Han Li countered with a faint smile.