Marrying Wives and Attaining Immortality in a Chaotic World

Chapter 159: Arena Battles

“9th Stage of the Realm of Transformation Strength-not bad. If nothing goes wrong, you should have no problem making it to the elimination matches. However, advancing to the finals and winning the Consort title is unlikely.”

The old man looked at Xu Lian with a smile. “Among the top geniuses in the imperial capital, several have already reached the Grandmaster realm. As far as I know, some Grandmaster-level geniuses from major factions have also come to participate.”

Xu Lian was shocked. Without revealing his strength, even the head of the Jiang family couldn’t sense his cultivation level – only the White Fox could. Yet, this old man could also sense it, proving how profound his abilities were.

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I’ll do my best,” Xu Lian clasped his hands and bowed his head.

The old man said nothing more, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked into the city gate.

The soldiers at the gate saluted him and addressed him as “Minister”.

Xu Lian’s eyes widened. He finally realized that this old man was a high-ranking official in the Yin Dynasty court, holding a position as one of the six ministers-a high-ranking official, probably of the first or second rank.

Xu Lian and the three women followed him into town.

They arrived at the first layer of streets.

Now that they were in the capital, Xu Lian wasn’t in such a hurry. He didn’t want to neglect the three women for the sake of the consort selection, so he found an inn to settle down first.

He spent time building rapport with Miao Yueyue, increasing her favorability from 80/100 to 85/100. Traveling together was indeed great for building rapport, no wonder there was the concept of a honeymoon.

Next, he tried to build rapport with Huo Xin’er, but unfortunately, there was no increase. Her favorability remained at 80/100.

Finally, noticing Jiang Yunyan’s eager expression, Xu Lian knew that he had to spend time with her as well. To his surprise, her favorability increased from 90/100 to 91/100, earning him another progression point.

[Name: Xu Lian]

[Realm: 9th Stage of the Transformation Strength Realm]

[Skills: Sacred Spirit Record (Complete Immortal Technique), Breaking Wind Sword Technique (Volumes 1-23), Seven Styles of Primal Gang (Complete), Short Strike – Shadow Chase…]

[Items: Sword of Destruction (Not Equipped)]

[Note: You currently have two unused progression points.]

Back in Pingyang County, he had obtained the cultivation manuals of three families, amassing so many skills that he couldn’t be bothered to check them all. Among them, the Sacred Spirit Record was more than enough – the rest could be ignored.

“Add points to the rank,” Xu Lian thought silently.

He needed to know the ingredients required to advance to the Grandmaster Realm so that he could purchase them all at once and prepare for his future breakthrough.

[Points added to rank. Consume one Spirit Enhancement Pill to advance to the 1st Stage of the Grandmaster rank].

Now that he knew the required ingredient, Xu Lian left the inn and asked around for places that sold cultivation resources. He then went to make his purchase.

In a place like the imperial capital, it was likely that most of the cultivation resources were available. After all, this was the capital of the entire Yin Dynasty.

Arriving at the place that sold cultivation resources, Xu Lian inquired, and sure enough, they had what he needed. He bought 500 Spiritual Strengthening Pills in one go.

However, the price made his heart ache – 4,000 spirit stones per pill, costing him over 2 million spirit stones in total.

He had received over 12 million spirit stones as gifts from the Thirteen Clans, and had embezzled about 17.8 million from the confiscated assets of the three families in Pingyang County. After finally amassing over 30 million Spirit Stones, this purchase wiped out two-thirds of his wealth.

Storing the over 500 spirit enhancement pills in his storage bag, he didn’t rush to consume them in order to advance to the Grandmaster Realm. Instead, he decided to participate in the Arena Battles first. He could wait until he reached the elimination matches before advancing, catching his opponents off guard… playing the role of a hidden ace.

“I want to participate in the arena battles,” Xu Lian announced as he approached a registration desk at one of the arenas on the first layer of streets.

The official in charge pointed to the arena, signaling that he could go up.

Xu Lian entered the arena.

At that moment, there were already seven people on the stage. With Xu Lian, there were eight.

Soon, two more people joined them, bringing the total to ten.

This was how the preliminary arena battles worked – a ten person free-for-all… with only one winner.

Except for Xu Lian, the other nine participants were all on high alert, keeping their distance from each other to avoid being ambushed.

The area below the arena was filled with spectators. While most were there to watch the excitement, some were vendors selling snacks… taking advantage of the business opportunity.

“Begin,” announced the official in charge of registration, who also served as referee.

With 3,700 layers of arenas in the preliminary and initial rounds, Xu Lian knew he couldn’t afford to waste any time. He needed to fight hundreds of arenas each day to make it to the elimination matches before they began.

He held out a hand, and golden energy flared up like flames.

The other nine contestants paled, turned around in panic, and jumped out of the arena… They were only in the Bone Refining Realm, and here was a cultivator from the Transformation Strength Realm. What was the point of fighting?

The crowd fell silent.

Then, whispers began to spread.

“A Transformation Strength Realm cultivator who is only seventeen or eighteen years old? He must be a direct descendant of a major faction. Why is he participating in the preliminary round?”

“Maybe he’s from a once great faction that has declined. Without a direct entry into the elimination matches, he has to start from the preliminaries.”

“How can anyone fight him? As soon as he steps onto the arena, everyone else has to forfeit. It’s no fun at all.”

Xu Lian stepped down from the arena and approached the registration official. “I have won. Please give me the token for the second-tier arena.”

The official smiled and handed him a token, pointing to the upper streets. “With your strength, you could easily enter the elimination matches directly. However, my position is too low to grant you that. The best I can do is to let you skip the first nine levels of the preliminaries.”

Xu Lian took the token which bore the character “十,” indicating that he could proceed directly to the tenth layer’s arena.

He clasped his hands in thanks. “Much obliged.”

“Young man, wait a moment,” the official called to him.

Xu Lian turned around. “Is there anything else?”

The official chuckled. “I have a daughter of marriageable age who is quite beautiful. Would you be interested in getting to know her? She doesn’t have to be your main wife – a concubine would suffice.”

“…” Xu Lian politely refused and left the area, heading towards the upper streets.

The official wasn’t upset. He hadn’t held out much hope in the first place, knowing that a genius like Xu Lian would probably have no interest in the daughter of a minor official. He had simply asked on the off chance that the young man might be impulsive… and he could gain a talented son-in-law.

Xu Lian arrived at an arena on the tenth layer, presented his token, and stepped onto the stage.

After ten participants had gathered, the match began…

Just like before, golden energy flared from his palm, and the other nine participants fled the arena in fear.

The official here also gave him a “Ten Layer Jump” token.

And so, Xu Lian quickly climbed up the arenas.

By the end of the day, he had reached the 1,000th layer of the arenas. The participants here were at least at the level of the Bright Strength Realm, but they still had to forfeit. The gap between them and Xu Lian was simply too vast.

Xu Lian returned to the inn.

Miao Yueyue asked him about his arena battles.

Xu Lian showed her the token for the 1,000th layer and explained the rules for “layer skipping” to her.

He took Huo Xin’er, Jiang Yunyan, and Miao Yueyue downstairs for dinner. After dinner, they strolled through the bustling streets of the Imperial City, getting to know each other.

When it grew late, they returned to the inn.

The night passed… with no need for further details.

The next day, Xu Lian continued his arena battles, climbing another 1,000 layers to reach the 3,000th layer, entering the initial rounds.