Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 21 - Beautiful Reversal

Everyone watched as a strange red pill flew out from the beast tamer’s hand. Everything was too abrupt, and the Bloodstripe Lion ate the red pill before anyone could respond.

After consuming the red pill, the Bloodstripe Lion underwent a sudden transformation. Blood oozed from its pores, intensifying the redness of its fur. Its aura grew stronger as it ascended to a second-grade demonic beast. A powerful shockwave emanated from the lion, knocking the Iron Centipede back three meters.

“The Berserk Demon Pill!” gasped the onlookers. “It can boost a demonic beast’s strength fivefold!” The pill was a rare and precious commodity worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins. But the Wan Clan couldn’t afford to lose this round.

“You’re cheating!” Song Ling stood up and protested. Without the Berserk Demon Pill, the Bloodstripe Lion would’ve already died in the arena with the outcome concluded.

“I didn’t expect the Wan Clan to be so despicable by cheating publically!” Those who bet on the Iron Centipede stood up and protested. The Wan Clan made themselves the public enemy by doing this, and they could do nothing about it. After all, they couldn’t just kill everyone present.

“There aren’t any rules that forbid the use of Berserk Demon Pill. So it’s all within the rules.” Those who bet on the Bloodstripe Lion stepped forward, gloating at this scene. They didn’t think this was cheating since it wasn’t written in the rules. After all, human cultivators consumed pills to replenish their energy in a fight, so why couldn’t demonic beasts do the same?

An intense argument began between the two factions, but they ultimately turned to look at Liu Wuxie. After all, Liu Wuxie would be the biggest winner if the Wan Clan didn’t resort to cheating. If Liu Wuxie lost this round, he would lose the Xu Clan’s protection and have to release Xu Lingxue from their marriage.

“Big brother, why aren’t you saying anything?” Song Ling was anxious, wanting Liu Wuxie to find a solution. But Liu Wuxie was calm as he remained in his seat.

Then again, the colosseum was owned by the Wan Clan, and the Wan Clan were beast tamers. So Liu Wuxie winning two rounds was no different from embarrassing them.

“Just watch,” said Liu Wuxie, briefly opening his eyes before closing them again and tuning out the surrounding chaos.

Back to the arena, the Bloodstripe Lion had gone berserk, and it couldn’t feel the pain of its broken paw. It was frantically chasing after the Iron Centipede, biting down with its jaws. But the Iron Centipede maintained its curled form, allowing the Bloodstripe Lion to attack. It didn’t take long for the Iron Centipede to be covered in blood, with large fragments of its armor falling off.

Xu Lingxue felt like her heart was in her throat. Her feelings were complicated at this moment. She did imagine that Liu Wuxie would change someday, and she would be satisfied if he could become an ordinary person even if he couldn’t cultivate. Since she was young, her parents had instilled the thought that she was betrothed to Liu Wuxie.

Wan Zhuoran sat down as the fight intensified with his fists balled together. This round was disgraceful even if he won, and the Wan Clan’s position would plummet compared to before. As a result, the colosseum’s business would decline due to its decreased credibility after what happened today.

“Tear it apart! Tear it apart!” Overcome with emotion, Tian Yequan rose to his feet. He longed to see the Bloodstripe Lion triumph over the Iron Centipede. He wanted the battle to end quickly so he could confront Liu Wuxie.

But the Iron Centipede lasted stubbornly as time passed. Even if it was covered with injuries, it could still roll around in the arena, waiting for an opportunity.

Fifteen minutes passed, and the Bloodstripe Lion’s aura began to fade as the effects of the Berserk Demon Pill wore off. Without the pill’s support, the lion started to wither. The pill had drained all of its potential during its brief period of effectiveness, leaving the lion to die slowly. It was a gamble to see if the Bloodstripe Lion could defeat the Iron Centipede within those fifteen minutes.

The Bloodstripe Lion let out a roar and staggered. It could no longer hold on. The backlash of the Berserk Demon Pill had turned its internal organs to blood, causing it to vomit mouthfuls of the crimson liquid.

This scene dumbfounded everyone from the Wan Clan. They couldn’t believe the Bloodstripe Lion had failed to kill the Iron Centipede even after taking the Berserk Demon Pill. This had never happened before in their past century of beast taming.

The Iron Centipede also took this opportunity to bare its jaw and shoot forth.

“Stop it!” Wan Rongzhe let out a roar. He cast aside his dignity as the patriarch of the Wan Clan and ordered the beast tamer to intervene and stop the Iron Centipede from killing the Bloodstripe Lion.

But it was too late. The Iron Centipede shot forward like a comet, striking the Bloodstripe Lion’s head and causing blood and white matter to erupt like a volcano. The Bloodstripe Lion collapsed on the floor while the Iron Centipede returned to the edge of the arena, signaling the end of the battle.

The entire colosseum fell into a dead silence, and no one spoke. They could only hear each other’s breathing from the surrounding, and this scene sent a chill in their hearts.

A cold breeze swept over their heads, sending shivers down Wan Zhuoran’s spine. He felt the chill seep from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Unbeknownst to him, his back was slick with cold sweat.

On the contrary, Master Huo and Lei Tao exchanged a gaze. From what happened today, they realized that Liu Wuxie wasn’t garbage but a peerless talent.

Everyone in the colosseum was petrified and didn’t know what to say.

“Big brother, we won!” Song Ling screamed as he grabbed Liu Wuxie’s arm. He was so excited that he ran around in circles because their victory was tough.

As for Liu Wuxie, he opened his eyes as though nothing had happened, and this had nothing to do with him. He said, “Brother Wan, thanks for the 100 spirit stones.”

With 100 spirit stones, he could set up the Spirit Convergence Array and use it to cultivate, killing two birds with one stone. The spirit stones could rapidly speed up the progress of tempering his body.

But Xu Clan’s crisis still hadn’t been resolved. He still had to find the culprit in the darkness, and it wasn’t time for him to relax now.

Wan Zhuoran’s eyes blazed with murderous intent as he fixed his gaze on Liu Wuxie. If looks could kill, Liu Wuxie would have died a thousand times over. “Young Master Liu,” Wan Zhuoran roared, “do you dare to wager with me again?

Wan Zhuoran no longer looked as gentlemanly as before. Instead, he looked like a madman at this moment.

“Zhuoran, let’s put a stop here today.” Wan Rongzhe interrupted before Liu Wuxie could say anything. What happened today was too bizarre, and he couldn’t determine why. So Wan Rongzhe wanted to stop here today before the Wan Clan suffered more losses. Losing 10,000,000 gold coins would only shake their foundation at best. But if Wan Rongzhe continued to bet with Liu Wuxie, they might become bankrupt.

Upon hearing what Wan Rongzhe said, Wan Zhuoran could only sit back down reluctantly. He didn’t dare to disobey his father and could only glare at Liu Wuxie with murderous intent brewing in his eyes.

“I must apologize,” announced the old man who was hosting the beast battle. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, we must conclude the beast battles and proceed directly to the beast-taming segment. Are there any talents who wish to participate?” The beast-taming segment was distinct from the beast battles.

“I’ll sign up!” Tian Yequan stood up and signed up for the beast-taming segment. Descendants of the three major clans, with the exception of the Xu Clan, signed up to participate.

“Young Master Liu,” said Wan Zhuoran, once again adopting the guise of a gentleman. “Won’t you participate in this segment? You needn’t worry about your safety. We’ll assign you the weakest demonic beast.” Wan Zhuoran owed seventy-odd spirit stones, but he could easily repay them. The Wan Clan could afford to take a loss. So he began to goad Liu Wuxie into participating in the beast-taming segment.

Martial cultivators could hone their skills and willpower by battling demonic beasts. It was an excellent opportunity for training and one that usually came at a cost. But today, it was free, and no one wanted to miss out.

Xu Lingxue glared at Liu Wuxie vigilantly. She wouldn’t hesitate to kick him to death if he dared to agree to it. After all, her heart was still pumping violently with what had happened earlier.

“Can I refuse it?” Liu Wuxie rubbed his nose. Everyone knew he was garbage who couldn’t cultivate with his clogged meridians, and he had been stuck in the Houtian Realm.

“Hahaha!” A burst of laughter came from the surroundings because everyone finally found an opportunity to laugh at Liu Wuxie wantonly. The beast-taming segment was different because one had to go on the stage personally and face the demonic beast, using their abilities to tame it.

“Young Master Liu, if you publicly declare that you’re afraid and admit to being a coward, I’ll take back what I said.” If Liu Wuxie were to admit to being a coward, it would be tantamount to slapping himself in the face. He would lose all standing in Azure Billow City. Even the Xu Clan’s reputation would suffer since Liu Wuxie was their son-in-law. To mock Liu Wuxie was to mock the Xu Clan.

“That’s right. If you admit you’re afraid, we’ll pretend that we said nothing today.” Tian Yequan followed suit. The Wan Clan’s disciples echoed with him, revealing their disgusting nature before Liu Wuxie.

Xu Lingxue frowned because she didn’t expect them to be so aggressive, and they were simply going overboard. But Liu Wuxie held her down just when she wanted to protest.

“It looks like I have no reason to refuse,” Liu Wuxie smiled. His smile was weird. After all, the beast-taming segment differed from beast battles because one had to face the demonic beasts themselves. There was a possibility that they would lose their lives, and this was no joke.

“As Xu Clan’s son-in-law, do you think it’s appropriate to back out?” The crowd chimed in. The Xu Clan was one of the four big clans, and Liu Wuxie would be unworthy to be Xu Clan’s son-in-law if he didn’t dare to take up the challenge.

The taunts and jeers came at Liu Wuxie like a tsunami, threatening to engulf him.

“Coward, get lost if you don’t have the guts to participate. In the future, you can hide in the Xu Clan and spare yourself the embarrassment of appearing in public.”

“Ha! He probably got kicked out of the bridal chamber on his wedding night because he wasn’t man enough!”

“Get lost! Get out of the colosseum!”

“......”

Many of Wan and Tian Clan’s disciples chimed in, making Xu Lingxue’s face ugly. There were several moments she wanted to intervene, but Liu Wuxie’s gaze stopped her. This was because she would suffer more ridicule if she spoke out. At that time, more vicious words would await her. How could Liu Wuxie let such a prideful beauty lower herself to argue with others like hooligans in the street?