Chapter 965: The Alluring Prize

To be fair, the organizers of this Void Arena have shown great sincerity, and this is the main reason the Void Arena has thrived to this day.

I announce that the prize for first place in this year’s arena is… the Essence of the Rebirth Dragon!

Hake raised the Essence of the Rebirth Dragon high toward the spectator seats.

“Roar!”

The spectator seats erupted instantly; if anyone had not recognized the object before, they all knew its origin now.

The Essence of the Rebirth Dragon is not something like a dragon crystal—most dragons do not possess dragon crystals, and only a tiny fraction ever develop them.

As for what a dragon crystal is, in simple terms, it’s an energy storage organ; most dragons store energy in their bodies and never evolve such a useless crystal.

Dragon crystals are not as miraculous as legends claim—when a dragon dies, its internal energy dissipates rapidly, and the energy within the crystal does the same, leaving only an empty shell; only mages cherish them, using them to store elemental energy for easier combat use.

As for a dragon’s essence, it is not something naturally occurring—it is artificially created by extracting and compressing the dragon’s energy and soul within a short time after its death, then storing them together.

Dragons contain immense energy; when forcibly infused with the dragon’s soul and later catalyzed, this yields the essence—a rare item, though its applications are not widespread, at least under most circumstances.

But the Rebirth Dragon is different—its internal energy is high-purity life energy; once formed into an essence, this life energy can be directly absorbed, with most of it not clashing with the user’s own energy. Absorbing high-purity life energy brings many benefits: healing wounds, extending lifespan, and if one’s own energy has extremely high compatibility with life energy, it can even rapidly enhance one’s strength.

Now, the Void Arena has produced a single Essence of the Rebirth Dragon—a gem-like emerald essence that stirs uncontrollable greed in all who see it.

Thud. The insectoid Banke swallowed hard; he felt that if he consumed this, his life rank would rise dramatically.

The stone man nearby clenched his fists, equally moved by the Rebirth Dragon’s essence.

Su Xiao lit a cigarette, his gaze locked on the essence—his Qinggangying energy stirred violently.

The moment he saw the essence, Su Xiao could not look away; he was certain—this essence contained high-level biological energy, precisely what the Devouring Core required.

If he could devour this dragon essence, Su Xiao’s Qinggangying ability would skyrocket beyond imagination.

If there was any chance, he must obtain it—Su Xiao silently resolved.

“The ten contestants have entered. The prizes for the top three lie before you—fight! For these treasures within reach! If you wish to become a mighty legend in the future, defeat your rivals, crush them into the sand! Free-for-all… BEGIN!!”

Hake proclaimed the start of the match with a drawn-out cry. All ten contestants surged forward simultaneously.

Su Xiao scanned the field, observing his opponents—yes, in this free-for-all, the other nine were all enemies.

Pí Pàng needed no explanation; the past four Devil Castle games had given Su Xiao insight into his fighting style.

Prince Wind was a formidable rival—his fusion of wind and water elements was endlessly variable, capable of both violent fury and eerie subtlety.

The insectoid Banke relied purely on strength and speed; his innate arm-blades were razor-sharp, and combat seemed instinctive to him.

The Stone Man stood like an immovable boulder—motionless until he moved, then like a mountain collapsing; from his appearance alone, his durability was clearly immense.

Iron Man was the Void Arena’s version of Iron Man—no, more accurately, a retro version; his seemingly ancient knight armor was in fact a lightweight battle suit, the retro design meant to deceive enemies—a classic old schemer.

The Drunken Woman’s ability was unknown; her scorpion tattoo on the face had turned crimson from her intoxication—her nickname, Red Scorpion, likely came from this.

Beyond these six, the remaining three bore light injuries; they had clustered together from the match’s start, showing a hint of mutual sympathy. They barely made it into the top ten—had this been a past tournament, all three would have been seeded contenders, but here they were cast into the “fish” category, entering mainly to shuffle rankings.

“Looks like there won’t be a one-on-one chance with you.”

Pí Pàng shoved a large bite of spicy beef jerky into his mouth, staring straight at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao said nothing—the situation on the field was unfavorable, at least for him.

“Don’t worry—I won’t gang up on you yet. I plan to deal with those three bystanders first.”

Pí Pàng walked toward the three bystanders. This seemed like a waste of energy, but it was a clever move—after engaging them, others would be less likely to target him, preserving his strength and possibly securing him the final victory.

Prince Wind, the Stone Man, Iron Man, and Red Scorpion subtly showed signs of alliance—their target was not anyone else, but Su Xiao.

After a moment’s hesitation, the insectoid Banke also walked toward the three bystanders, leaving them in dire straits—they only came to shuffle rankings, yet now faced attacks from both Pí Pàng and Banke.

“Gentlemen, the situation is clear. Though I hate to admit it, the strongest fighter here is this Destroyer of Laws.”

Prince Wind smiled broadly at Su Xiao.

“We’re thinking alike. Let’s form a temporary alliance—eliminate the others first, then settle our own scores. With only four of us, securing the top four is no problem.”

Red Scorpion agreed to Prince Wind’s proposal.

“Agreed. Forming an alliance now is the best choice.”

Iron Man’s arms extended two electric whips, arcs of electricity dancing and stretching along their length.

“Mm. First, eliminate the salesmen. Salesmen are all liars.”

The Stone Man rumbled, rubbing the few yellowish blades of grass on his head.

After reaching a preliminary consensus, the four began to encircle Su Xiao.

Su Xiao took a deep drag from the cigarette between his fingers, exhaling a thick plume of blue smoke.

Zing~

The Dragon-Slayer blade unsheathed with a clear, ringing cry—he said nothing. Anyone else in this position, even if not hopeless, would have felt doubt.

But Su Xiao smiled, revealing a row of stark white teeth.

Qinggangying energy clung to the Dragon-Slayer, turning it into a blade of lightning; his full ability was unleashed, and a faint crimson aura surged from Su Xiao’s body—beyond, the four sensed a faint scent of blood.

Su Xiao dropped the cigarette between his fingers, lowering his stance.

Boom!

Sand exploded like a splash of water—Su Xiao vanished from his spot. Facing their encirclement, he charged forward himself, locking his first target: Iron Man. The man wielded electric whips, but his ranged firepower was even greater than Prince Wind’s.

As he surged forward at high speed, Su Xiao’s black hair whipped back, his coat flaring behind him.

Iron Man realized Su Xiao’s target was him—his heartbeat spiked. In that moment, he felt not a man charging at him, but a furious beast unleashed.