Chapter 73

Yunlan City, the largest town in Yunzhou, is bustling with activity.

Lin Xuan and Ye Qing landed about twenty miles away from the city gate. The spirit crane flew back to the sect on its own, while Lin Xuan and Ye Qing walked towards Yunlan City.

From a distance, they could see the dark, towering walls of Yunlan City, which were over a dozen zhang high and made of black obsidian, incredibly sturdy.

At the city gate, two rows of heavily armored guards stood, each exuding an exceptionally powerful aura, far surpassing that of Lin Xuan and his companions.

Lin Xuan estimated that these guards were roughly at the Eighth Stage of the Condensation Pulse realm. In Xuantian Sect, they would rank among the top thirty. Of course, this did not mean that the disciples of Xuantian Sect were weak; after all, there was a significant age gap between the two groups.

The disciples of Xuantian Sect were all teenagers around sixteen or seventeen, with limitless potential, while these guards were around twenty-five or twenty-six, nearly a decade older than the sect disciples.

Not only was Yunlan City powerful, but the entry fee was also shockingly expensive. Lin Xuan and Ye Qing had to pay three hundred low-grade spirit stones to enter.

As soon as they entered, the surroundings became lively, with people coming and going. About half of them were martial artists, including sect disciples and wandering knights, countless in number.

"Follow me!" Ye Qing pulled Lin Xuan towards the center.

In the center of the city stood a massive hall that extended underground.

Next to it, a tall stone tablet read: "Arena of Combat!"

Lin Xuan noticed that those entering and exiting were either highly cultivated cultivators or wealthy young masters from noble families; ordinary people rarely came here.

"Do you have an Arena of Combat token?" A guard in a blood-red robe stopped Lin Xuan and Ye Qing. His aura was as strong as, if not stronger than, the guards at the city gate.

"We don't have an Arena of Combat token, but Luo Qingshan is our senior. Any fees can be charged to his name," Ye Qing said confidently, clearly not a first-time visitor.

"Ah, so you are Senior Luo's fellow disciples. Please come in!" the guard said with a smile.

"Seems like Senior Luo has a great reputation!" Lin Xuan became even more curious about this senior he had yet to meet.

"Indeed, Senior Luo is not only an inner sect disciple of Xuantian Sect but also a member of one of the four major families. It's said that this Arena of Combat is partly owned by his family, so mentioning his name here is very effective."

Lin Xuan was surprised; he hadn't expected Senior Luo to have such a significant background. However, he soon realized that this would only benefit him.

The interior of the Arena of Combat was spacious and divided into many levels, all extending downwards.

The first level was like a grand hall, with many places for rest. On one of the walls, a light screen formed by an array displayed moving figures.

Curiously, Lin Xuan looked and saw two cultivators in combat, their moves as ruthless as if they were in a life-or-death battle.

Almost nine-tenths of the people in the hall were watching the match, many placing bets on the cultivator they favored. Young women in light silk dresses served exquisite drinks, moving through the crowd.

"What is this?" Lin Xuan asked, looking at the figures on the screen.

"It's similar to the mental space inside the cultivation tower, but the combat situation is displayed using high-level arrays. The difference is that the two people inside are real cultivators, not virtual characters," Ye Qing explained.

Lin Xuan understood; no wonder it was called the Arena of Combat. In this mental space, death was not real death, just a form of mental fatigue.

However, the benefits gained in the mental space could be fully reflected in the physical body, meaning one could engage in countless life-or-death battles to stimulate potential without fear of death.

"Indeed, it's a great place!" Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel excited.

How could one rapidly increase their strength? Just by secluding oneself for cultivation? For most people, except for some special races and exceptional geniuses, long-term seclusion did not necessarily increase strength and could even have the opposite effect.

However, there was one method that applied to all humans: combat!

Combat with equally matched opponents, over-level combat, and life-or-death battles! These could all stimulate a cultivator's potential, thus granting them powerful strength.

"Don't get too excited yet; the consumption here is very expensive, two medium-grade spirit stones per day!" Ye Qing said, dampening his enthusiasm.

"Two medium-grade spirit stones!" Lin Xuan was surprised. The quality of medium-grade spirit stones was far superior to that of low-grade spirit stones, with an exchange ratio of one to a thousand. This meant that staying in the Arena of Combat for a day would cost two thousand low-grade spirit stones!

"Damn! Indeed, it's brutal!" Lin Xuan rubbed his chin and said, "If one wins the matches, the rewards must be very generous, right?"

"Of course! Provided you can win!" Ye Qing said bluntly.

"Let's go; I'll take you to meet Senior Luo."

Lin Xuan followed Ye Qing down the stairs to the underground level.

The situation was similar to the hall, but the people here were clearly of a higher tier.

"Ah Fei! Where is Senior Luo?" Ye Qing asked a young steward.

"Ah, it's Sister Ye Qing. Please wait, I'll go get Young Master Luo." The young steward named Ah Fei quickly disappeared.

Lin Xuan and Ye Qing found a comfortable place to sit, and soon, beautiful attendants served them food and drinks. Ye Qing lounged in a recliner, picking up a spirit fruit to eat.

Lin Xuan, however, stared at the screen on the wall, where two cultivators, one in red and one in blue, were engaged in intense combat.

Although he couldn't sense their auras, the intensity of the spiritual energy they released allowed Lin Xuan to roughly determine that both were Seventh Stage Condensation Pulse cultivators, far stronger than ordinary disciples like Shi Kun.

The use of spiritual energy and the precision of their moves were commendable. Lin Xuan's eyes sparkled, as if he had forgotten everything else.

At that moment, a handsome young man quickly approached. He was about seventeen or eighteen, with a sword-like brow and star-like eyes, exuding a faint, dazzling aura, like a war god.

The young man did not deliberately release his spiritual energy, but the aura around him was still dazzling.

"Junior Sister Ye, why have you come?" the young man's voice was steady.

"Senior Luo!" Ye Qing jumped up with a delighted look, "Mourning Instructor recently took on a new disciple, and I brought him here to see."

"Oh? I have a new junior brother?" Senior Luo smiled.

"Lin Xuan, come and meet Senior Luo!" Ye Qing called out.

But Lin Xuan seemed not to hear, his gaze fixed on the screen. This made Ye Qing pout, wishing she could slap him.

"No matter!" Senior Luo stopped Ye Qing's action and walked over.