Chapter 800: Chapter 628: A Distant Reunion
As the challengers of the day, the brothers were the first to enter the arena. Accompanying them were seven others, making a group of nine in total. These nine weren’t particularly famous; their combat records were mediocre at best, managing only to survive in the matches without displaying any significant strength. As they made their way to the arena, waving smugly at the audience, a chorus of boos erupted from the spectators.
Then Long Yi made his entrance, and all at once, the jeering turned into a thunderous roar of cheers!
However, Long Yi was somewhat distracted, for as he stepped onto the battlefield, that inexplicable feeling in his heart became increasingly intense.
What on earth was going on? What was the problem?
Long Yi scanned the surroundings, seeing nothing but a sea of people.
It was at that moment that his contract suddenly stirred!
Immediately afterward, a sweet voice he hadn’t heard in a long time rang out from the contract.
"Brother Long!"
Long Yi froze on the spot!
It was!
Ai Lin!
She was here watching my match!
Bang!
A massive fist enlarged before Long Yi’s eyes, and he didn’t even have a chance to react. A heavy punch landed on his nose, and he was sent flying backward.
The assailant was dumbstruck by his own sneak attack; Long Yi’s reaction was odd. It wasn’t at all like the legends.
In truth, the attacker had been mentally prepared to be blown away by Long Yi before he made his move, simply trying to buy his teammates time. But the result caught everyone off guard. Long Yi, the renowned Long Yi, had failed to dodge even the most basic strike!
Everyone could see that Long Yi was distracted; his mind was not in the fight!
"This Long Yi doesn’t seem as impressive as you described,"
Ai Lin said, turning to Saint Cassio with a puzzled look.
Saint Cassio’s eyes twitched, and he hastily replied, "It looked like Long Yi wasn’t quite ready just now, that must have been a feint!"
Saint Julio laughed heartily, "Big brother, stop bluffing. A feint? I think he’s about to be punched to death with the next blow!"
Long Yi, naturally, couldn’t hear what they were saying about him; he had already located Ai Lin through the contract. But he didn’t turn around, quite certain that looking for Ai Lin at that moment was a bad idea.
The person who threw the initial punch was elated by his success. Could it be that Long Yi was off his game today? Or was he Long Yi’s natural nemesis?
Whatever the reason, that punch gave him boundless confidence. He let out a fierce yell as his Fighting Aura exploded outward, his entire being radiant with light, as he charged at Long Yi with all his might!
But Long Yi had already snapped out of his distraction — how could he just stand there waiting?
You have a punch, and so do I!
The Fighting Aura erupted simultaneously, but only to vanish in an instant!
Boom!
After the punch, Long Yi slid back several meters on the ground, leaving skid marks from his shoes. Far off, a man slammed into the arena’s boundary wall, his entire arm along with his shoulder missing, and he had already lost consciousness.
"Sorry, I just woke up and didn’t realize the match had started,"
Long Yi chuckled and looked around him.
Instantly, all the spectators shouted their cheers.
Yes! This was the Long Yi they knew and loved in the arena!
Inside the luxurious box, Saint Cassio let out a sigh of relief. He had been truly frightened just now. After all, he had introduced Long Yi with great emphasis. A misstep by Long Yi at this point would not only be embarrassing in front of his clueless brothers but failing to please Ai Lin might be an even bigger problem.
"There are eight left." Long Yi clenched his fist and raised it high, his signature move. Almost simultaneously, many in the audience raised their fists as well.
"Today, I will face these two despicable scoundrels and their cohorts. But how I win is up to you!" Long Yi bellowed. He then casually pointed at someone.
This was a traditional gesture of contempt in the Arena, asking the audience how victory should be achieved, and victory only counts if realized according to the wishes of the spectators.
This is generally used at the end of a duel.
Yet, Long Yi chose this route almost immediately at the start.
Suddenly, a huge wheel appeared in the sky above the arena, with nothing on it. The crowd went wild, shouting their terms of victory, compiled by the arena’s magic into a list. In the end, one option far surpassed the others.
To hang from the highest flagpole.
Around the arena stood many flagpoles, with the highest always left empty. A fighter hung on the flagpole for a day could not be taken down, making it a supremely humiliating spectacle.
"Alright!"
Long Yi yelled and charged forward. The opponent, seeing Long Yi rushing towards him, panicked and retreated swiftly. They had been somewhat confident at first, but after Long Yi dispatched the initial attacker with crisp efficiency, their confidence vanished. Everyone realized this was the same old Long Yi!
Since the way to victory was specified, he had to complete it, or else the audience would be displeased. And an unpleased audience meant even the Arena would be unhappy. If the Arena was unhappy, then a warrior’s life in all the Stellar Realm’s arenas would be untenable. A warrior ousted from the Stellar Realm’s arenas carried a bad reputation. Usually marked as cowardly, such a label meant struggling to get by anywhere else.
