Chapter 101 - 81: Passionate Competitive May (Part 2)
Chapter 101: Chapter 81: Passionate Competitive May (Part 2)
His full-body armor and long staff were inscribed with numerous runes, emitting a faint blue glow. They were both pieces of Spiritual Equipment.
"Next, let’s welcome our challenger, from the Lion Race..."
After that, many heroes from the territory came to challenge Yuan Xiaobo.
At first, the challengers were all Exceptional-grade heroes. Yuan Xiaobo’s stats were so much higher that he defeated them with ease.
After he secured his 40th victory, Lin Chenxi, at a signal from Lin Yu, announced some bombshell news.
"Our esteemed Lord has just shared some astonishing news with me, all to encourage everyone to participate in the competition."
"The first hero in the territory to achieve a one-hundred-win streak will not only receive the ’Champion Gladiator’ title and a corresponding stat boost..."
"...but will also receive a prize personally bestowed by the Lord himself: a ’Heroic Badge’ that can flawlessly promote a Legendary Hero to a Mythical Hero!"
"Furthermore, they will be given one opportunity to enter the armory and choose a suitable weapon for themselves!"
"And a friendly reminder: the armory is currently stocked with a great deal of Spiritual Equipment! Unlike the standard-issue kind, each of these pieces has its own unique ability."
During the creation of Spiritual Equipment, flawed items sometimes appeared (due to errors in the inscription of a Rune Array, resulting in non-standard effects). Useful flawed items would be kept, while the useless ones would be dismantled.
Someone would then take these dismantled materials and attempt to synthesize them. The results of this synthesis were highly unstable, often producing all sorts of strange and bizarre items.
Items with unique characteristics—those that, upon inspection, were deemed potentially useful in specific situations or capable of enhancing certain special abilities—would all be placed in the armory.
ROAR—
Upon hearing Lin Chenxi’s announcement, the audience below erupted into an uproar. Many Legendary Heroes who originally had no intention of competing immediately rushed down from the stands to sign up for the challenge.
In a corner of the arena, Niu Armor also ran down from the stands to sign up.
However, he returned just a moment later, looking dejected.
"Didn’t you go to sign up?" Lin Yan, sitting beside him, asked with a curious look. "Why the long face?"
"Too many people signed up. Over two hundred have already registered, and they’ve closed registration. I took a look, and at least a hundred of them are Legendary-grade. Brother Yuan really has his work cut out for him now."
"I saw," Lin Yan replied. "But most of them are newly promoted Legendary Heroes. Their levels aren’t high yet, and their talents aren’t anything special. It shouldn’t be a huge problem."
"Brother Yuan will win for sure!" Rose suddenly exclaimed from the side. The outburst drew everyone’s attention, but they quickly shared a knowing smile and turned back to the duel in the center of the arena. On the stage, Yuan Xiaobo was once again engaged in battle with a challenger.
After Lin Chenxi announced the prize, the heroes challenging Yuan Xiaobo became a lot more formidable.
Initially, most of the other Legendary Heroes of his rank had no intention of competing. This was partly out of professional courtesy and partly because they were all well aware of just how powerful Yuan Xiaobo was.
But who could have known the Lord would offer such a magnificent reward for what was supposed to be an exhibition match? Promoting from Legendary to Mythical was the dream of every Legendary Hero in the territory.
At that moment, all thoughts of camaraderie were tossed aside.
Even Yuan Xiaobo’s own father, Yuan Dafeng, signed up. Unfortunately, he wasn’t selected for a match; otherwise, the audience might have witnessed a spectacular father-son showdown.
The territory’s Legendary Heroes took the stage one after another. The combination of their diverse skills and myriad talents made the audience’s blood boil with excitement, making them wish they were the ones fighting in the arena.
In the duels that followed, Yuan Xiaobo frequently faced perilous situations. Although his defense was the best among his peers and his offense was outstanding, his challengers were all aware of his strengths. With the exception of a few overconfident individuals, none of them dared to face him in a direct confrontation.
Instead, they tried every trick in the book to use the rules to force a loss.
The most dangerous match was against a Mouse Demon. The demon had laid teleportation traps all over the ground in his area. Anyone who stepped on one would be instantly teleported outside the ring, disqualified for being out of bounds, and would lose the duel.
Because this Mouse Demon had only recently undergone its Celestial Tribulation, almost no one knew its abilities. Yuan Xiaobo nearly fell for the trick. Fortunately, his reflexive agility saved him. The moment he stepped on the trap, he didn’t linger but immediately leaped back to his original position, narrowly avoiding defeat.
After a series of intense battles, Yuan Xiaobo finally won his 100th duel, earning the title of ’Champion Gladiator’ and a 5% increase to all his base stats.
"Let’s congratulate tonight’s one-hundred-win-streak Champion Gladiator—Yuan Xiaobo!"
"And now, let’s have our esteemed Lord personally present him with his reward!"
An ornate awards platform rose from beneath the stage, and Yuan Xiaobo walked onto it with a wide grin.
Lin Yu walked down from the VIP box and stood before Yuan Xiaobo. ’This is the same exploration team captain I remember never walking a straight line, always darting his eyes left and right,’ Lin Yu thought, looking at the man now standing obediently before him. He had to suppress a laugh.
Smiling, he took the "Heroic Badge" from his pocket.
"Congratulations, Captain Yuan! This ’Heroic Badge’ is yours. As of now, you are a Mythical-grade hero."
Yuan Xiaobo’s eyes were glued to the "Heroic Badge," his gaze tracking its every movement.
"Thank you, thank you, my Lord!"
Yuan Xiaobo accepted the "Heroic Badge," which immediately transformed into a beam of light and shot into his body.
A golden light flashed in his eyes, and his frame grew slightly taller, reaching 1.7 meters. His full-body armor expanded to accommodate his new size.
"This... This is the Mythical grade!!!" He clenched and unclenched his fists. ’I feel like I could take on a hundred of my old self right now.’
"Alright, you may go. Go back and get a feel for your new power. I may need you to accompany me to the ’Cosmic Arena’ tomorrow."
Yuan Xiaobo obediently leaped into the stands and sat down next to his squad members.
"Brother Yuan, Niu Armor went to sign up to challenge you just now. He wanted to steal your chance to promote!" Mirus chirped, flying onto Yuan Xiaobo’s shoulder. She tattled with a wide, mischievous grin.
"Brother Yuan, don’t listen to her!" Niu Armor scrambled to explain. "I was just trying to take up one of the challenger slots to make your path to 100 wins easier!"
He couldn’t beat Yuan Xiaobo before, and now that Xiaobo was a Mythical-grade hero, he stood absolutely no chance.
Still, while it would be a lie to say he hadn’t been tempted by the prize, he genuinely had wanted to help Yuan Xiaobo as well.
...
The territory’s first grand tournament came to a close. Countless residents returned to their homes, their hearts still savoring the thrill of the arena. In the minds of many, a seed had been planted—the desire to one day become a Gladiator.