“You’re asking for trouble!” Ivy’s voice rang out at that moment. As she spoke, she flicked her wrist, and a sword light shot out towards her opponent like lightning.
Following Billy’s instructions, Ivy, Casey, and Harleen were wandering between several arenas when they happened to see the man attacking Rakshasa.
Their attacks collided, causing both of them to retreat seven or eight steps. Clearly, this was the result Ivy intended, as there was no way the opponent’s strength alone could have pushed her back that far. Her goal was obvious: to take his life.
“Thank you, Ivy!” Rakshasa approached Ivy and spoke.
“Are you alright?” Ivy nodded slightly and asked.
“I’m okay!”
Ivy nodded slightly. “Take a rest for now, I’ll handle him!”
“Be careful, Ivy!” Rakshasa nodded in response.
“You’re tired of living. How dare you meddle in my affairs!” The man on the arena spoke angrily after taking a short break.
Ivy glanced at him but didn’t respond. Instead, she walked towards the waiting area.
“Excuse me, can I cut in line?” Ivy asked.
“Sure!” Everyone nodded simultaneously. They had sensed the oppressive aura of the man on the arena earlier, but they were unsure of his actual combat strength. Now that Ivy was willing to challenge him first, it aligned perfectly with their intentions.
“Thank you!” Ivy nodded slightly and then stepped onto the arena.
“You really don’t know your place, willingly stepping into my trap!” The man looked at Ivy and spoke in a low voice. “You must be from Glavale, right? I’ll use your head to pay tribute to Dana!”
After speaking, without waiting for the referee to announce the start, he raised his hand and attacked Ivy. His aura surged to its peak. From their previous exchange, he could sense that their cultivation levels were roughly the same. So, in order to defeat Ivy, he had to give it his all.
However, he was quite confident when facing opponents of the same level. At least, so far, within the same realm, he hadn’t encountered many people who could surpass him.
“Well, let’s see if you have that kind of strength!” Ivy calmly spoke. As she spoke, she gripped her sword and met his attack head-on. She didn’t seem to have any intention of ending the fight so quickly. Instead, she used about seventy to eighty percent of her strength to engage him.
The two quickly fell into a state of intense combat, exchanging blows back and forth. The fight was fierce, with neither giving an inch. After battling for twenty or thirty rounds, a deep thud echoed from the arena. The two fighters then stepped back, creating a distance of several steps between them. Judging from their aura, this exchange of attacks seemed evenly matched.
“Not bad, to actually fight me on equal terms!” The man coldly spoke, shaking his slightly aching arm. “But I don’t have time to play with you anymore, let’s end this here!” Without waiting for the referee’s announcement, he launched his attack once again, this time with even greater strength.
“You don’t want to play? Then let me end you!” Ivy retorted. With those words, she swiftly moved, her left hand flicking her wrist, and three silver needles flew out.
“Huh?!” The man didn’t expect Ivy to have this move up her sleeve, and his pupils slightly contracted. Without much time to think, he quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the silver needles grazing his cheek. But to his despair, just as he recovered from the shock, a sword was already slashing towards him, leaving him no time to react.
“Damn it…” The man intended to dodge, but it was already too late. Instinctively, he raised his hand to block.
As expected, the sword sliced through his wrist and flashed past his throat. First, his severed arm fell to the ground, followed by the man collapsing, blood spurting from his neck. After convulsing a few times, he went motionless.
Gasps of astonishment filled the arena as most people wore expressions of shock. They had expected the fight between the evenly matched opponents to potentially end in a draw, but they never anticipated this outcome.
“Anyone else wants to challenge?” Ivy scanned the area below the arena after the staff cleared away the body.
As soon as she finished speaking, a burly figure rushed onto the stage. Also a man from Northfortia, he held a wolf-tooth club emitting a chilling aura. At this point, no one cared if he cut in line.
“All of you Glavale people deserve to die!” The burly man glared at Ivy, his voice filled with anger.
“Is that so?” Ivy’s eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smile curling her lips. Throughout her battle with the previous man, she had only revealed her cultivation level as a Second-rank Sovereign. She had arranged it that way because she had discovered that this man before her was the strongest in this arena, a late-stage Third-rank Sovereign. Therefore, from the beginning, she had set her sights on him, as killing a strong opponent of this level would bring her a greater sense of accomplishment.
“You killed someone from Northfortia, I’ll send you to him soon!” The burly man retorted angrily.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Ivy calmly smiled.
“A mere Second-rank Sovereign dares to be so arrogant!” The burly man sneered. “I’ll make sure you won’t be laughing soon!” With those words, he charged towards Ivy like a small mountain, causing the entire arena to tremble. As he rushed forward, the wolf-tooth club created dozens of afterimages in the air, crashing towards Ivy. Explosions resounded in the air.
“See you in the next life!” Meanwhile, Ivy’s voice reached his ears. With her words, she swiftly moved like a phantom, her aura surging. Her late-stage Third-rank cultivation was now fully revealed. Without any hesitation, she unleashed the power of the Ether Mountain Sword Art. She knew that if she wanted to kill him, she had only one chance. Otherwise, after one move, he would surely surrender.
In the next moment, an incredibly sharp sword aura shot towards the burly man like a solid object, unstoppable.
“Huh?!”
By now, the burly man had already sensed Ivy’s true strength, and a terrifying aura of death enveloped him. Only at this moment did he realize that Ivy’s previous performance was just a ploy to lure him onto the stage.
But, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.