Chapter 38: Gu Cage

The man before his eyes was covered in blood, yet no wounds could be seen. Combining this with the black-robed man's words of "two wins," Pei Ye nodded cautiously.

This was clearly a place where everyone was his enemy; Pei Ye had already guessed where the blood on these people came from.

Different from his previous guess, Wu Zai Gu's status was not that important; he was not the only chosen one, but merely qualified to participate in the competition.

In fact, this was only reasonable; although Wu Zai Gu had looked like a powerful enemy impossible to resist at the time, for a mysterious plot that could swallow a figure like Zhu Gaoyang, the core of the plot must always involve a Master.

And the competition before his eyes was clearly a fight to the death; those who could walk out of these twenty-plus people were likely only one.

But the man seemed not to view him as an enemy, saying: "You don't look old, and being able to kill their host can be considered young and promising. Who is your master, and how did you end up in this godforsaken place?"

"I have no master; I am a commoner from a nearby county town."

"No master?" The man was amused, "No master, then where did your martial arts for wielding True Qi come from? Did you figure it out yourself?"

"I also have no True Qi."

"... No True Qi, then how did you kill the dragon tongue host? They should all be in the sixth or seventh life realm, right?"

"... By chance." Pei Ye said.

"By chance? Chance allowed you to kill him without True Qi, relying only on technique?"

"Yes."

The man leaned close to his face, opening his eyes to look at Pei Ye from bottom to top in detail. Only then did Pei Ye discover that his pupils were a faint silver-gray, while his face was ruined by scars from burns and knife wounds, quite terrifying.

This pair of strange, beautiful pupils stared closely at Pei Ye. Pei Ye shrank back and frowned: "What is it?"

"I'm seeing which Arm Master of the Bai Lugong you are."

"..."

The Bai Lugong was hailed as the pinnacle of technique in the world; this remark was clearly a tease.

The man looked at the calluses on Pei Ye's hands: "Do you use a sword?"

Pei Ye nodded, "My sword technique is quite good; what about you?"

The man's expression seemed a bit strange: "I... my sword technique is also passable."

"How did you end up here?"

"I was upholding justice, and ended up a scapegoat." The man leaned back against the wall and sighed long, "Now I just regret it, regret it very much."

"What is your name?"

"You say yours first."

"My name is Pei Ye."

"Reporting your real name directly? So honest?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"In the pugilistic world, generally reporting a nickname is enough, like Little Fish, Little Horse, Little Turtle, etc." The man's tone shifted, "Since you are so sincere, then if I hide it, it would seem petty. Listen well—I do not change my name or surname, Zhang Siche is the name."

"Oh, Brother Zhang." Pei Ye bowed slightly, "May I ask what place this is?"

"What place? A dog-fighting arena, a Gu-refining cage." Zhang Siche grinned, "Selecting the most ferocious one."

"The most ferocious..."

"Don't misunderstand, it's not selecting people." Zhang Siche raised his hand and patted Pei Ye's dantian. Pei Ye was startled and went to block, but he missed, his hair standing on end for a moment, but the hand just patted him once, "What is being selected is them."

"..."

"Everyone's meridian tree has been digested by it; no one has True Qi on them. What do you think they rely on to fight?"

"..."

"They rely on the one inside your body." Zhang Siche laughed, "It's like selecting a concubine; whoever is the most badass can nurture the dragon seed."

Pei Ye was speechless, because he thought that all the energy he had accumulated had been poured into Jing Ziwang. Only a bare light cocoon remained in his dantian, and not a drop of energy could be squeezed out.

This light cocoon was the "contestant," and those energies were the weapons and armor it used to fight, yet he had plucked it bald.

"I'll lend it to you." Zhang Siche leaned against the wall, looking at him lazily.

Pei Ye was stunned: "Why?"

"Because we are the only two humans in this beast's nest; is that enough?" Zhang Siche stretched out a slender, powerful hand, his palm spread open, dark blood dried along the palm lines.

Pei Ye was silent for a moment, then stretched out his hand, and two dust-covered hands gripped together.

Extreme environments often sweep away the obstacles between people; probing and guessing are omitted. Surrounded by wolves, leopards and tigers will also prioritize forming an alliance.

"Nine out, thirteen return." Zhang Siche laughed.

Before Pei Ye could think about the meaning behind these words, a surging energy had already poured in along his arm. The light cocoon in his dantian drank like a sweet spring, immediately attracting this energy to swirl around it.

This energy was continuous and endless; before long, it was actually more than twice what he had accumulated before, and the light cocoon in his abdomen felt "full" for the first time.

Pei Ye looked at Zhang Siche in surprise. Zhang Siche returned a lazy smile and withdrew his hand: "The bottle must first become larger to hold more water."

Pei Ye subconsciously looked at the door. Zhang Siche said: "They won't care, as long as it is circulating 'internally.' Anyway, the rank of that thing in your dantian won't change."

"Rank?"

Zhang Siche revealed an eerie smile: "Win one round, and you become a second-rank."

Pei Ye immediately understood the meaning of the man's "two wins": "You are—"

"Not bad, I killed 【Eighteen】 first and became a second-rank, then killed 【One】, who was also a second-rank. Now I am the only third-rank here, looking down on the heroes, looking down on the heroes."

Pei Ye was speechless, feeling the abundant energy returning to his body, and said: "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Zhang Siche revealed a mouthful of white teeth, "As a reward, satisfy one of my wishes."

"What wish?"

"Tell me a story."

"... What?"

"'Heroic Bones Remnant,' the new issue in August is the grand finale, and I haven't seen it yet." Zhang Siche sighed, "I couldn't expect anyone in this place to have seen it; I thought I was going to die with hatred."

"But!" Zhang Siche patted Pei Ye's shoulder, "Fortunately you came—what is that expression? You haven't seen it?"

Pei Ye glanced at him and said slowly: "The twentieth chapter, 'Already a withered ghost for eighteen years, what day will I fly to the first floor of the immortal?'"

Zhang Siche hissed and grinned: "I knew it, there must be a reversal. How could the hero Xi Wu Chou be defeated just like that?"

After finishing, he blinked his silver-gray eyes and looked over: "Continue."

Pei Ye shook his head: "That's it, I only read the chapter title."

Zhang Siche stared at him for about seven or eight breaths, finally sighed long, and bumped his back against the stone wall: "Do not force it when it is not in your fate."

Pei Ye poked him with his finger. Zhang Siche glanced at him sideways: "What are you doing?"

Pei Ye said a bit embarrassedly: "But you can tell me—I only just read the first chapter."

Just at this moment, the wooden door was opened, and a man covered in blood walked in, his black clothes sticking with dark red strip-like tissues, unable to tell if they were crushed muscles or shattered internal organs.

"【Nineteen】 wins, next group 【Twenty-one】, 【Twenty-two】."

The two people who were talking raised their eyes to look, and Zhang Siche withdrew his gaze and said: "That works too." ===== CHAPTER 39 =====