“You…” That enraged the man in a white shirt. His face darkened and he released a mighty aura that bore down on Lu Yun.

  “Hmph!” The Skyfall and Meteorite Kings stepped forward at the same time, standing protectively in front of their master.

  “How dare a mere third step king call himself a fellow daoist with my lord?! Take a piss and look at yourself in the reflection!” sneered the Skyfall King.

  “How dare a mere second step king be this impertinent?!” scoffed back the white shirt, before his face changed with the implications of what he’d heard. “Wait, what did you call him? Lord?!”
Judging from the expressions and actions of the first and second step king in front of him, they were plainly servants waiting upon their master. What kind of person was this youth in the common realm to make kings his servants??

  Unbidden, indecision appeared on the man’s face.

  “Pfft.” Lu Yun shook his head and pulled the little fox over. The two set foot into the Colosseum together.

  “Hmph!” The man in white scowled. “So what if you come from big backgrounds? This is Multitude City! I can crush a few outsiders like you with just a twitch of my fingers!”
His eyes remained fixed on the little fox as he spoke. Though he’d addressed Lu Yun before, his attention had been on the little fox all the while.

  As a result, Lu Yun was naturally disinclined to show him a friendly face. Fellow daoist? Lu Yun didn’t even know what species this man in white was.

  ……
The Colosseum was labyrinthine and sparring rings of varying sizes abounded, but none of it felt disorganized. All battles currently taking place were on display to anyone who walked in. They were summary projections, of course. If one wanted to observe any ring in full clarity, they needed to pay a hefty sum of purple crystals.

  Of the four great dens of crystal consumption in Multitude City, the Colosseum was ranked first and its rings sorted into three categories.

  The first was one of beasts—the fighting of arcane beasts. This was more a game for the lazy dandies in the city, an avenue with which to vent their excess energies. Of course, having beasts fight wasn’t the main draw of these rings. It was just a means to an end, the end of betting exorbitant amounts.

  The noble aristocracies and mighty clans of the city had no shortage of purple crystals and precious resources. Every bet boiled the blood with its richness.

  The second type of ring was one of slaves, and it was more or less the same as the first. Slaves were sent into the ring instead of arcane beasts that couldn’t take human form. Close body combat and the spilling of blood made for a much more gruesome and thrilling spectacle.

  The third category was the main draw of the Colosseum—of people!

  Stunning geniuses and rare powerhouses came to the Colosseum to fight to the death when they reached a bottleneck in their cultivation. Though no one was willing to showcase their ultimate moves and trump cards to the public, the conditions offered by the Colosseum were too generous for even kings to refuse.

  Only here would they find their most suitable opponents, and the brutal clashes in the ring were precisely what they most yearned for.

  Likewise, there were even more people who liked to come and observe a fight between experts. It was a chance to comprehend their own dao through the battle, and such was the heart of the Colosseum.

  ……
“Look at that ring, the entrance fee is a hundred million premium purple crystals!” gasped the little fox as she pointed at one of the sparring rings.

  “Each private booth is five billion crystals. Mm, that’s not expensive.” Lu Yun stroked his chin. “It looks like there’s a battle between half step kings there. Let’s go take a look.”
The Hongmeng qi nurtured in one premium purple crystal was sufficient for a superior realm cultivator to train for a hundred years. Five billion crystals was an astronomical figure in the Hongmeng.

  Approximately one hundred billion purple crystals could be mined from one small crystal vein. Thus, five billion was negligible to Lu Yun. He used the Redbud King’s crystals with complete peace of mind.

  That finally drew a reaction from Hua Fengwen and he swallowed hard behind Lu Yun. “Is he maybe the Redbud King’s lover? How does someone in the common realm possess so many purple crystals?!

  “…forget it, I’ll just stay quietly off to the side.” He followed the two into seating around the sparring ring.

  After paying five hundred million crystals for the entrance fee and another five billion for a booth, the group was ushered into their private seating.

  It was spacious with a strong spatial formation set up inside. An uncommonly dense concentration of Hongmeng qi drifted within and a variety of Hongmeng fruit, exotic meat, and arcane beast dishes were served.

  Though the treatment wasn't worth five billion premium crystals, such a level of service made one feel that they’d received great value for their patronage. The little fox, at least, was already stuffing her mouth.

  The fighting ring was incredibly roomy at three hundred million kilometers across. Spatial formations were set up around it so that every meter was clearly projected onto viewing screens.

  All of the booths were full and no empty seats could be glimpsed amid the regular seating. An entrance fee of a hundred million crystals was definitely a battle between half step kings!

  When half step kings fought, it ended with someone being made a titled king. The arrival of the Hongmeng Tower would clarify all of the rules and laws within the Hongmeng. Observing another person rising to kinghood was a tremendous opportunity for Hongmeng cultivators. There could be a value assigned to purple crystals, but opportunities such as these were priceless!

  ……
“They’re here!”
“…it’s him?!” Lu Yun’s eyes widened when he saw the figure that set foot in the ring.

  “Dusksnow Morningstar! He came all the way to Multitude City to ascend to kinghood!” The little fox’s eyes grew large as well.

  An awkward expression spread across the Meteorite King’s face. The first time he’d seen the genius, he’d wanted to use Morningstar and then take possession of his body. He’d failed only because Lu Yun had prevented him from doing so.

  After Morningstar’s battle with Netherdragon had been prematurely ended by the Meteorite King, the genius had come to the Multitude Region.

  Half step kings anywhere else would never fight him. Only in the Colosseum of Multitude City in Multitude Region could he find the most appropriate opponent to help him past the final threshold.

  At the same time, he could very likely die to his opponent and become their whetstone!

  Regardless, he would hold no regrets with either outcome. He wielded a black great bow and stood quietly in the center of the ring, waiting for his opponent to arrive.

  A thick streak of bloody light suddenly appeared in the sky and clarified into a bloody shadow that landed in front of him.

  “The Bloodclad Duke!” Morningstar greeted the newcomer with dismay.