Chapter 826: Chapter 642: Ladder Tournament
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Just moments ago, the captain who believed he had performed a great service had already prepared a temporary welcome ceremony. As the overall commander of the rescue, it was only natural for him to stand at the forefront of the welcoming party.
The container was completely sealed, ensuring the survival of the people inside. Now, the task was to open the container.
However, just as the staff had drilled a small hole, the entire front end of the container exploded, and a massive burst of air sprayed out like an explosion. At that moment, the hostages inside the container swelled up like balloons. Then, right before the captain’s eyes, all the hostages burst into a mass of blood and flesh.
Almost instantly, the captain realized what had happened.
The air pressure inside the container was extremely high; although the people inside only felt some discomfort, their lives were not in danger. However, as soon as the pressure dropped suddenly, the air previously dissolved in their bodies rapidly expanded.
Damn! I’ve been had!
And completely had at that!
This had turned what was supposed to be a glorious rescue operation into a disaster that cost the lives of the hostages! And he was going to bear full responsibility for all of it!
"Who was the first to drill the hole just now?"
The captain roared as he came back to his senses.
At that moment, almost everyone looked towards the side, where a staff member responsible for drilling was lying in a corner, his head covered in blood. The explosive decompression had blown him away, and he had hit the back of his head on the sharp edge of a workbench, dying on the spot.
"This staff member’s violation of the rules led to the death of the hostages! Although he has sacrificed his life for his duty, everyone must take this as a warning! I also bear responsibility for lax supervision as the commander, and I will go back and write a report right now. Seal off the scene immediately with magic! We return to base immediately!"
Having said that, he left without looking back.
Long Yi finally began his journey in the ladder tournament. Naturally, all participants in the ladder tournament were capable, but since Long Yi had even defeated opponents like those wielding the Destruction Staff, the initial ladder’s lower-ranked fighters posed no trouble for him. He breezed through twenty floors of the hundred-floor ladder in just one day. This meant that the warrior originally ranked in the hundredth place was officially eliminated from the ladder, and the last twenty participants all dropped one rank.
In the Arena, a person’s income comes from their ladder ranking, as well as from ticket sales and gambling profits. Some highly favored fighters also received generous tips, like Long Yi, who would often receive a lot of extra income after matches. Ladder ranking determined the percentage share of this income one could earn. Dropping in rank typically meant reduced earnings, something many fighters couldn’t tolerate.
However, even if they couldn’t tolerate it, seeking revenge against Long Yi was impossible.
The next day, another twenty floors.
The day after, yet another twenty floors.
And on the fourth day, still twenty floors.
Long Yi advanced at a terrifying speed, rendering the so-called ladder participants no match for him.
Holding the Destruction Staff in his left hand and the Crystal Greatsword in his right, do you want to fight him from a distance? Destruction Ripple will reteach you humanity in minutes. And if you want to fight melee? The fearsome hardness and sharpness of the Crystal Greatsword had already proven itself on the weapons of countless others.
An adversary who was proficient both up close and from afar, in both magic and Fighting Aura, was an enemy that almost no one dared to challenge any longer.
In the blink of an eye, it was the fifth day, and by now Long Yi had already reached the tenth position.
Just when everyone thought Long Yi would continue to climb, the owner of the Arena appeared.
"That’s enough, Long Yi! Do you think you can keep climbing like this? No! I will not tolerate such willful behavior! Starting today, you will embark on a circuit tournament journey! You can only continue your challenge after earning enough points from the other three grand Arenas!"
The owner’s sudden announcement led to a chorus of boos in the Arena. People loved watching the overwhelming battles fought by Long Yi, which brought a sense of unrestrained liberation. This feeling was brought about precisely by the victories he achieved in one go.
But the owner interrupted this feeling, and naturally, people expressed their dissatisfaction.
However, the owner had actually discussed this matter with Long Yi several days before.
Indeed, what the owner did was all about making money. He had no conflict with any fighter, so of course, he wouldn’t target anyone specifically. Making money always came first.
Actually, all the Arenas were essentially owned by one Family. The consensus within the Family was that Long Yi could bring a lot of popularity to the Arena. Clearly, one Arena was not enough to satisfy the demand for Long Yi’s popularity, so the owner hoped that Long Yi would participate in the circuit tournaments to help the other three large Arenas increase their popularity. For this, Long Yi would be handsomely rewarded.
Of course, Long Yi could choose not to agree. They wouldn’t force him to participate in the circuit tournaments, and in the end, Long Yi chose to accept the challenge. There was still time before the Stellar Realm Arena Championship, and Long Yi hoped to encounter many different types of opponents.
