Chapter 10: Unleash The Ultimate Move
The gamblers who knew the game well had seen it all.
Although the Flamewing Queen was powerful, the change in battlefield had clearly worked against her.
Victory in the first match came at a steep cost, and after the exhaustion of that fight, the second round was bound to be even harder.
“Flamewing Queen, Round Two! Current odds, 1 to 1.8! Place your bets!”
Sure enough, when the second match began, far fewer people were betting on Xinyue.
The odds began to rise.
The gamblers no longer had much faith in the once-glorious Flamewing Queen.
“Begin battle!”
It was another grueling match.
There was no denying it— in the arena, the Flamewing Queen was clearly worn out.
Even if she managed to win again, it would be by the skin of her teeth.
“I can’t hold on much longer.”
Xinyue gasped.
“If my next opponent tries to harm my Flamewing Bird, I’ll surrender right away.”
“Round Two over! The Flamewing Queen wins. Odds were 1.8, after house cut, your payout is 200,000. Will you keep going?”
“Keep going. Bet on the Flamewing Queen.”
I didn’t hesitate.
I placed the bet again.
Everyone could see that the Queen was a spent arrow.
The odds for the third round began to spike rapidly.
“Flamewing Queen, Round Three! Current odds, 1 to 2.5! Place your bets!”
At this point, almost no one was betting on her anymore.
They were putting their money on her opponent— a brawny fighter just as notorious as her, whose spirit beast was a rhinoceros.
“Rhinos are kings of ground combat. Especially in tight spaces like this, the Flamewing Queen has nowhere to dodge. All he has to do is land one hit and it’s over.”
“Plus, the Queen’s already exhausted after two consecutive matches.”
“I’m betting on Rhino Bro!”
As more people bet against her, the odds climbed from 2.5 to 3 to 1.
That meant if she won this round, my original 200,000 would triple to 600,000.
Even after cuts, I’d walk away with over half a million.
But if she lost— I’d lose everything.
“Still just a kid… too reckless.”
Old Tao smirked to himself.
“Now you’ll owe me 100,000 in high-interest debt, little one. Get ready to work it off…”
In the arena, Xinyue raised her head, panting.
She was barely hanging on.
Her opponent was powerful. Deadly.
She didn’t believe she could win.
Maybe she should just—
Buzz…
Just as she was about to give up, a cool sensation spread from her arm.
Right from the spot where that strange symbol had been drawn.
“Huh?!”
Was it just her imagination, or did something cold and soothing surge through her body, washing away the fatigue from her back-to-back battles?
Not just that— her Flamewing Bird had also recovered nearly completely!
While she still looked drenched in sweat and visibly weak, she was now just strong enough to beat the opponent in front of her!
“This Kirin really does have healing powers…”
Clueless as to the true cause, Xinyue simply credited the miracle to the Kirin’s mysterious abilities.
“In that case, let’s go one more time!”
Clang! Clatter! Bang! Crash!
“Round Three— Flamewing Queen wins! Get ready, everyone, for tonight’s main event!”
Cheers exploded around the arena as Xinyue took her third hard-won victory.
But she could barely stand.
She looked every bit the exhausted, battered champion.
“Lucky break, you actually won again.”
Old Tao said, though his tone had begun to shift.
“After the cut, your balance is 550,000. Will you bet on the Queen again for the fourth match?”
“Of course.”
I wagged my tail, answering like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“If you lose, no take-backs.”
Old Tao muttered, hastily locking in my wager like he was afraid I might change my mind.
“The money’s placed too late to regret it now!”
“So, what are the odds this time?”
A wave of thunderous cheers swept through the arena.
But this time, they weren’t for the former queen.
They were for the new king— the Tyrant Dragon King, Shi Gandang.
“The Tyrant Dragon King has already racked up 19 straight wins. Just one more and he’ll surpass the Flamewing Queen’s record, becoming the first ever to hit a 20-match streak!”
“Old Tao really knows how to pick them. Nineteen wins versus nineteen wins one old king versus one rising king. This is going to be a hell of a match!”
“Except there’s no suspense. The Queen doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Yeah. The new king was made for this small arena. His dragon-ape fights like it’s in its element, while the Queen’s style gets completely boxed in.”
“And don’t forget, she’s fought three matches in a row—she’s already running on fumes.”
“Rigged! This whole setup was a trap. They just want the Tyrant Dragon King to make his debut by stepping on her!”
So that’s what this was.
I’d been wondering why they kept pushing Xinyue into back-to-back fights until she was completely drained.
Now I understood what Old Tao stood to gain.
It wasn’t about the gamble— it was about boosting the value of the Tyrant Dragon King.
Beating the Flamewing Queen in the underground arena?
That was a massive achievement.
If the Tyrant King won tonight, that win would be etched into his resume and from that point forward, his appearance fees and betting rates would skyrocket.
A shrewd plan.
“This is going to be the death of me…”
Xinyue forced herself upright, bracing on her knees.
She looked across the arena at the enormous dragon-ape.
Despair welled up in her heart.
She’d seen him from the stands before.
He was powerful, stronger than her even at her best.
And now?
She had neither stamina nor advantage.
She couldn’t even imagine how she might win.
“Maybe I’ll just throw a few punches, then surrender if it gets bad…”
Once again, the class president was already scheming her surrender.
But one glance at her opponent’s expression made her uneasy.
“Spirit merge!”
With the dragon-ape’s power surging into him, the Tyrant Dragon King’s body expanded until he was practically filling the entire arena!
“What the hell am I even supposed to do with that?!”
The arena was already small— this guy just had to swing his arm to cover half the stage.
Dodging was no longer even an option.
She had zero advantages now.
“I surre—”
She didn’t even get the words out.
The ape raised both arms high above, fists shadowing the entire arena, and smashed them down without mercy!
[Spirit Technique: Arm Enlargement + Spirit Technique: Earthshatter Smash!]
“He knows two powerful spirit techniques?!”
Xinyue panicked.
Spirit techniques were rare and expensive even owning one was a big deal.
Yet this guy had two that combo’d together.
She didn’t even have time to surrender.
If she didn’t fight back, she’d be pulverized before the referee could intervene.
She clenched her teeth and called out to the Flamewing Bird.
“Flamewing Bird spirit merge!”
But nothing happened.
The last match had already drained both of them dry.
They didn’t have the energy for a merger.
She could only stare helplessly as that massive fist fell, bracing to take the blow with her frail, human body.
At that desperate moment—
A cold surge rushed from her arm.
Power unlike anything she’d ever felt flooded her limbs, coursing along strange pathways within her body, converging at her fingertips.
Almost instinctively, her fingers rose and formed a seal.
She whispered: “Immortal Art: Beidou Flame-Heaven Technique!”
Immortal Art?
What the hell was that?
There were only Spirit Techniques.
No one had ever heard of Immortal Arts, especially not one with a badass name like “Beidou Flame-Heaven.”
Buzz—!
Xinyue thrust her fingers forward.
A crimson light engulfed the arena, a killing aura so thick it felt solid.
Every spectator stood frozen, eyes wide with disbelief.
For just a moment, it was as if a colossal flaming sword forged of divine fire descended from the heavens and drove the dragon-ape deep into the ground, melting the arena into bubbling magma.
In that instant, the stars aligned, and all spirits bowed their heads.
Seven stars blazed in the sky.