Chapter 7: The Black Shadow’s Smile

　　“The next warrior to take the stage is a newly contracted Iron rank warrior, the ‘Nameless Warrior!’ Please give him a warm welcome!”

　　Following that short announcement, a masked warrior wearing a set of black robes emerged from the passageway, before stepping into the battle cage.

　　“Wow!”

　　“A new warrior!”

　　“I wonder if he’s powerful.”

　　“Seeing as he’s a new warrior, his first beast must be an easy one, so it should be an easy win!”

　　Outside the battle cage.

　　An Ruyi’s eyes immediately fell upon the Nameless Warrior.

　　“His left hand…”

　　An Ruyi had always suspected that the person who had saved her that day was Qi Ying. This was because at that time she had caught sight of a silver gleam coming from the left hand of the mysterious warrior, who had crushed the Demonic Blood Wolf’s battle technique. That silver gleam was extremely similar to Qi Ying’s silver glove, and that person’s figure and height also bore an uncanny resemblance to Qi Ying’s.

　　After following Qi Ying and witnessing him crushing Duan Renshan’s Gale Monarch Fist with his bare hand, she was even more convinced that Qi Ying was her savior.

　　However, blocking Duan Renshan’s Gale Monarch Fist was completely different from blocking a Demonic Blood Wolf’s attack.

　　Furthermore, there was a disparity of an entire major rank between a Seventh Strength Martial Stage and Seventh Energy Martial Stage cultivation base!

　　She had come to the Colosseum again in order to search for that mysterious person; that person’s left hand appeared to be the biggest lead she had.

　　However, she was slightly disappointed after seeing the Nameless Warrior’s left hand as both of his hands were sheathed in black leather gloves. Furthermore, the Nameless Warrior was only a newly contracted Iron rank warrior.

　　“He will be battling a Yellow Tier First Rank Blood Wolf!”

　　“We will begin taking bets now and all bets will close in fifteen minutes. The battle will commence once all bets have been taken!”

　　…

　　Within the Colosseum.

　　A few shadowy figures were gathered in a secluded corner and conversing with one another in quiet voices.

　　“Have you given the medicine to the Blood Wolf?”

　　“I have. As soon as the Blood Wolf becomes afflicted by pain, it will transform into a Demonic Blood Wolf for a short time. That Nameless Warrior is only at the First or Second Energy Martial Stage at most. He’s not using a weapon, either, so he’ll be easy pickings!”

　　“There won’t be mishaps this time, right?”

　　“Last time, that Blood Wolf was frightened by a Land Stalking Dragon beside the cage, thereby activating the effect of the medicine in advance. This time, I made sure to feed it the medicine right before the battle, so there won’t be any mishaps.”

　　“Haha! We’ll definitely be able to haul in tens of thousands of crystals this time!”

　　“It’s all thanks to Administrator Li’s stroke of genius! Newly contracted warriors will generally come out on top in their first battle, so a lot of people would put their money on the warrior, thinking that it would be a safe bet. In that situation, the pay rate for the Blood Wolf would be extremely high, allowing us to make massive profits by placing our bets on the Blood Wolf!”

　　“You’re far too kind. Administrator Duan is the main contributor to this plan. The pill capable of transforming a Blood Wolf into a Demonic Blood Wolf is restricted medicine that Administrator Duan stole from the Duan mansion. Even the higher-ups of the Colosseum do not know of this medicine’s existence.”

　　“It’s a pity that this Nameless Warrior is about to die here!”

　　“So what? A paltry human life pales in insignificance when compared to the riches we are about to make!”

　　“Hahahaha!”

　　The shadowy figures cackled in a sinister manner.

　　…

　　Qi Ying looked at the Blood Wolf being held captive in a cage several dozens of meters away. He wore a relaxed expression as he flexed his gloved hands.

　　His shiny, silver glove, and his cloak had both been stored in a locker outside.

　　The administrator told him that the metal glove would be considered as a weapon and that defeating a beast without a weapon would result in an extra twenty crystals in rewards.

　　Twenty crystals were enough to buy Mother Yu another high-quality bamboo cane. The previous cane was now cracked and unusable after Mother Yu had struck him with it.

　　As such, Qi Ying had refrained from wearing his silver glove in his colosseum battles, both on the current occasion and the previous one.

　　A ring girl in a revealing outfit strode past the battle cage in a seductive manner, while holding a sign above her head. “The battle between the Nameless Warrior and the Blood Wolf will now commence!”

　　“Roar!”

　　The beast cage was opened and the Blood Wolf howled as it rushed to the center of the battle cage.

　　The Blood Wolf was a wolf, but it was roughly the size of a calf and its crimson fur danced like flames. The Blood Wolf bared its sharp, white fangs and its large, red eyes shimmered with bloodlust.

　　All of the spectators were reinvigorated by the sight of the ferocious Blood Wolf.

　　“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

　　“Kill the stupid beast!”

　　“Kill that thing, Nameless Warrior!”

　　“Fight!”

　　Amid the thunderous commotion within the Colosseum, Qi Ying stood on the spot and stared intently at the Blood Wolf through the holes on his mask. The Blood Wolf was also glaring at Qi Ying; both of them regarded one another as their prey.

　　Bam!

　　The Blood Wolf slammed its front paws into the ground and dust and debris instantly permeated through the air. The Blood Wolf shot forth like a bolt of red lightning and pounced toward Qi Ying at an astonishing speed!

　　The Blood Wolf had covered a distance of over twenty meters within two seconds and a foul, pungent odor wafted from its cavernous mouth as it rushed toward Qi Ying.

　　Qi Ying unleashed a series of powerful punches, all of which struck the Blood Wolf on the head, and stirred up gusts of wind around him.

　　Bam!

　　Bam bam!

　　The Blood Wolf fell to the ground after being struck multiple times on the head before jumping back several meters. It seemed to have been stunned by that onslaught and it shook its head violently before letting loose an enraged roar, then throwing itself at Qi Ying once again.

　　“Stupid c*nt!”

　　“Idiot!”

　　A bunch of spectators began to hurl abuse.

　　Even the most uneducated person knew that wolves were known to have extremely hard heads and backs, while their sides were much more vulnerable. As such, the key to fighting a wolf beast was to avoid its head and strike its sides. However, this Nameless Warrior seemed to be unaware of this and was striking the wolf on the head; was he an idiot?

　　In a short few seconds, the Blood Wolf exchanged several blows with Qi Ying, but all of their clashes were extremely brief.

　　The Blood Wolf was trying to tear Qi Ying’s throat with all its might, but Qi Ying was always able to swat the Blood Wolf away with punches to the head.

　　A disdainful smile appeared on Qi Ying’s face as he heard the abuse being hurled at him by the spectators.

　　‘These people sure are idiots… Wolves aren’t retarded, do you think they’ll just let me attack their vulnerable regions? A Blood Wolf is much larger than a normal wolf; if you try to strike its side, it would be able to turn its head and bite your head off… It’s not a concern if you’re only uneducated, but if you’re uneducated and think of yourself as a know-it-all, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble!’

　　Bam bam bam!

　　The Blood Wolf was clearly the one initiating all of the attacks; all of them were aimed at Qi Ying’s vital regions. Initially, it tried to bite Qi Ying’s neck, then his leg, then his waist, and finally his forearm… However, Qi Ying was like an extremely agile beast; he was able to keep the Blood Wolf at bay with his peerless strength.

　　Slowly, some of the spectators began to realize something.

　　“This Nameless Warrior doesn’t appear to be an Energy Martial Stage warrior! He hasn’t used any battle techniques at all!”

　　“Eh? You’re right! Several dozen exchanges have already passed and all he has done is punch and kick!”

　　“I remember now; the Nameless Warrior appeared seven days ago as well, but he wasn’t a contracted warrior at the time and he killed a Wind Wolf. The last time I saw him, he slew that Wind Wolf with ease and didn’t use any battle techniques either. Could it be that he really is just a Strength Martial Stage warrior with superior strength?”

　　Some of the spectators who had placed bets immediately flared up with rage. “What the f*ck?! Why would the Colosseum pair up a rookie Strength Martial Stage warrior with a Yellow Tier beast? Are they trying to scam us? Is this a fixed battle?”

　　Just as many people were beginning to protest, a howl of anguish suddenly erupted from within the battle cage.

　　“Howl!”

　　Everyone turned their attention back to the battle to discover that Qi Ying had struck the Blood Wolf in the chin with a vicious punch. At the same time, his leg shot forth like a viper and struck the Blood Wolf on the lower abdomen, thereby launching it seven or eight meters through the air!

　　The Blood Wolf rolled several times on the ground and its crimson fur was completely stained by mud.

　　All of the spectators who were previously in uproar immediately fell silent. They began to patiently await the result of that battle of life and death. The first one to fall to the ground was most likely the one that would be killed.

　　Qi Ying quickly strode over to the Blood Wolf and straddled its back before clenching his fist in preparation to smash that wolf’s skull.

　　All of a sudden.

　　“Howl!”

　　The Blood Wolf let loose a howl that was completely different from its normal howl and immediately afterward, a series of pops and cracks erupted from its fur. Its entire body then began to expand in size.

　　“Is this Blood Wolf going berserk? Is it about to transform into a Demonic Blood Wolf?!”

　　A spectator exclaimed in shock.