Chapter 119: Invitation for Arena
Chapter 119: Invitation for Arena
Solomon cracked the wax seal and unfolded the parchment. A brief sentence scrawled across the page offered an open invitation to an illegal fighting ring operating beneath Tianfeng City.
A shadowy syndicate hosted unregulated death matches for local cultivators and wealthy merchants at the provided coordinates.
He crumpled the paper into a tight ball. Tossing it into the corner of the corridor, he stepped back into his room and shut the wooden door.
[LazyCat: what did the note say?]
[GamerGuy: secret quest unlocked!]
[User12: Solo Man is ignoring us.]
He lay down on his mattress and stared at the ceiling planks. He closed his eyes, but sleep refused to arrive. He craved action. He wanted to test his limits in a real fight. Stepping into the morning spar with sheltered students would hold him back.
He sat up and looked at the bronze owl hovering over his bed. Sneaking out of the Sword Pavilion presented a problem. The drone broadcasted his every move to thousands of viewers. The instructors would easily spot his escape on the local network.
Unfortunately, he could not just turn the stream off.
Once again, a sharp knock echoed from the door.
Solomon walked over and pulled the iron latch. The hallway sat empty, but another folded parchment rested on the floorboards.
He picked up the paper and opened it. The sender had mapped out a specific escape route leading down the mountain. The letter detailed exact directions to the underground arena in Tianfeng City.
A postscript at the bottom outlined a crucial loophole. Specific zones within the pavilion blocked the streaming owl’s magical signal. He could leave the drone behind in one of those dead zones to bypass the guards.
Solomon grinned. He grabbed Eden’s Penance and strapped the S-Rank greatsword to his back.
"Chat, I am unable to sleep, so I am going to explore the pavilion," Solomon told the chat.
He stepped out of his room and followed the handwritten map. He navigated a narrow servant staircase leading into the lower cellars. The stone walls grew damp. The blue projection from the owl’s crystal eye glitched and flickered.
Then, the stream turned black.
Solomon commanded the drone to stay put. He slipped out of a small cellar window and sprinted down the mountain path under the cover of night.
He reached the bustling streets of Tianfeng City an hour later. Following the coordinates, he found a rusted iron door hidden inside a dark alleyway. A red serpent crest marked the entrance. Solomon pushed the door open and walked down a long stone tunnel.
The tunnel opened into a large subterranean cavern. Hundreds of people cheered around a sunken fighting pit. The syndicate members collected coins and managed wagers at wooden booths.
A metallic chirp sounded near his ear. The bronze owl materialized beside his shoulder. The system reconnected the broadcast the moment he left the restricted airspace.
[GoonLord: WE ARE BACK!]
[LazyCat: where are we right now?]
[BloodKnight: This looks like an unregulated fighting ring. Very dangerous.]
"Chat, we have a problem," he muttered. "I was just walking around and then I slipped and when I opened my eyes, I was here. It seems I was kidnapped. What should I do? I am scared of getting hurt, so I will just do what everyone else is doing."
Solomon approached the betting counter, and pulled up his floating system interface. He converted a portion of his accumulated stream points into the local currency.
The merchant handed him a pouch of silver coins. Solomon placed the entire bag onto the table and bet everything on himself.
He walked down the stone ramps and entered the fighting pit. The crowd jeered at his academy uniform. A local champion, a man wielding spiked gauntlets, stepped into the ring from the opposite gate.
Solomon kept Eden’s Penance strapped to his back. He refused to draw the weapon. He was already great with swords, so he wanted to get better in other fighting styles and polish his skills.
He wanted to blow off steam using his bare fists. He relied purely on the thirty-four basic combat foundations he had memorized during his mercenary days.
He intentionally restricted his internal energy, choosing not to use his aura.
The champion charged forward and threw a wide hook. Solomon ducked under the attack. He used Basic Footwork to step inside the man’s guard. Twisting his hips, Solomon delivered a punishing uppercut to the champion’s jaw.
The man stumbled backward. Solomon chained the movement into a sweeping kick. The strike caught the champion’s ankles and sent him crashing onto the dirt.
The crowd fell silent instantly.
Solomon shook his hand and waited for the next challenger.
The syndicate sent fighter after fighter into the ring. Solomon dismantled every opponent with swift precision. He parried strikes with his bare forearms and retaliated with precise boxing techniques. He tossed challengers across the arena using basic grappling moves.
Any minor scrapes he sustained healed instantly. The immortal angel heart inside his chest knitted his flesh back together before a drop of blood could fall.
[User12: bro is cleaning house!]
[GamerGuy: mid-night tournament arc is fire.]
[NewbHunter: Solo Man is literally untouchable right now.]
Solomon smiled and dodged another punch.
The Convergence talent remained entirely passive, converting his physical fatigue directly into strength via the Indefatigable ability. He grabbed the attacker’s wrist and flipped the man over his shoulder.
A tattooed fighter threw a wide right hook toward Solomon’s jaw. Solomon smoothly slipped underneath the swinging arm and drove a precise palm strike into the man’s floating ribs.
The impact lifted him off his boots. Solomon pivoted on his heel, grabbed the falling man by his leather belt, and tossed him across the dirt pit. He crashed into the stone retaining wall and slumped into the dust.
The underground arena erupted into a frenzy of screams and flying betting slips. Spectators leaned over the iron railings, waving their silver coins and screaming for more blood.
A chaotic chorus of cheers echoed through the arena as another fighter hit the floor.
[LazyCat: solo man is untouchable right now lmao.]
[Xander_Man: look at the crowd going crazy!]
[OldTimer: transition from evasion to grappling. His foundation is terrifying.]
[Last_Fables: bro is casually cleaning out the entire underground scene.]
The stream chat cheered wildly as the midnight tournament continued into the early hours of the morning.