Chapter 114: Ancient God Arena

Puff!

Breaking the surface, Gu Chen spat out all the seawater from his mouth.

As he gasped for breath, he felt like an idiot for even attempting to die by suffocation.

This was different from being killed by monsters or other external forces.

The game’s 10% pain feedback made deaths caused by external forces far less unbearable than imagined.

Even though fear gripped him at the time, for some reason, every resurrection left him in high spirits, and recalling it brought no discomfort or suppression.

But suffocation wasn’t pain—it couldn’t be muted by 90% feedback. Even knowing this was just a game, the process of trying to suffocate triggered an overwhelming survival instinct.

He couldn’t help but surface to gulp down air.

After several repeated attempts, he completely abandoned this stupid way of dying.

“Guidance, is there another way?” Gu Chen looked up at the floating guidance sphere beside him, seeking help.

【Yes, starve to death!】

“That’s even harder to endure than drowning.”

This time, the guidance didn’t answer—it just stared at him with the look of someone watching an idiot.

Realizing the guidance couldn’t help, Gu Chen decided to dive back down and keep searching for a fierce large fish—to finally get himself killed.

He plunged into the sea, descending deeper and deeper.

Around him, vast amounts of coral grew, but the fish drifting nearby were mostly low-hunting-level species. They saw him approach and immediately whipped their tails away, giving him not a single chance to get close.

After searching fruitlessly, Gu Chen surfaced again, gasping for air.

At that moment, he noticed a strange flying vessel hovering above him, shaped like a speedboat.

Estimated at thirty meters long and over ten meters wide, its entire structure was covered in bizarre mechanical components and unknown engraved symbols. Its shell wasn’t metal but a faintly blue-glowing translucent material, seemingly capturing ambient light and converting it into energy, giving him the contradictory impression of being both light and heavy.

At the vessel’s rear were two irregularly shaped propellers, spinning rapidly with nearly silent efficiency, providing propulsion for this massive object. Each time the propellers cut through the air, they left behind faint blue trails. On its belly was a sealed door, embedded with a crystal-like object emitting strange light, flickering like a firefly as the vessel moved.

He activated the analysis function, and a flood of information surged into his mind.

【Hunting Vessel】:

Target Description: A flying tool used by the Ancient Gods to capture Arena Combatants, operated by their servants.

…

At that moment, a gap opened beneath the vessel, and a beam of energy rope shot toward him at incredible speed.

Instinctively, Gu Chen tried to dodge—but there was no time.

The rope coiled around his body several times, then tightened and straightened, yanking him toward the gap.

Entering the gap, his vision plunged into darkness. All he heard was the grinding sound of gears meshing, followed by the heavy thud of descending metal.

The energy rope around him vanished.

Gu Chen felt around and realized he was imprisoned in a cramped metal container, too small even to crouch.

“Fuck, this is worse!” Gu Chen looked at the guidance sphere still floating beside him:

“Guidance, is this a hidden quest?”

【Unclear. Maybe.】

“Don’t you have even a shred of insider info?”

【I’m just a novice guide, not omniscient. Why don’t you ask me if your wife is having a boy or a girl?】

“Huh? How do you know my wife is pregnant?”

【Guessing.】

Unable to get help from the guidance, Gu Chen fell into thought.

Two options lay before him: self-harm to end it, or wait for the next plot development.

Remembering how lucky he’d been today—catching a Primordial Monster while fishing—he immediately abandoned the first idea.

The dark environment felt oppressive, so he summoned his guild chat channel to discuss his situation with his friends.

Hearing he might have triggered a hidden quest, his friends went hysterical, crying over how this stroke of luck always fell to him alone.

Then they all demanded he turn on live streaming to follow the unfolding plot.

Gu Chen didn’t refuse—he promptly activated the live broadcast Cultivation Mode.

Besides his friends, bored players occasionally entered the stream, saw only darkness, and quickly scrolled away.

The wait was excruciatingly long. Gu Chen passed the time chatting with his friends, occasionally hearing the clashes and screams from their battle against the Insect Black Tide.

Three hours later, a sudden, intense sensation of weightlessness struck him.

Gu Chen immediately realized the plot had advanced.

He could feel the metal container carrying him being transported somewhere, jolting violently along the way.

Soon, the container opened, and blinding light forced him to squint.

Click!

The sound of metal locking echoed. Gu Chen felt a sharp pain in his right forearm. He looked down and saw a black bracelet had appeared on his wrist.

He’d seen this device before in the Ban Ban Zhuan guild’s livestream—it was a special apparatus that suppressed strength.

Immediately afterward came a powerful sense of weakness, identical to the feeling of logging out of the game.

“Out!”

His eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness, and he saw the speaker’s Iron Face.

It stood nearly three meters tall, its body a fusion of metal shards, broken rock, and flesh. Every inch of its skin radiated raw, savage power. Its breath caused the metal and rock on its surface to ripple with its flesh, like a machine in motion, emitting a deep, rumbling growl—like the breathing of an ancient beast—shaking the surrounding space. On its head were a pair of bull horns, one broken halfway.

In its hand it held a chain of bone spikes, staring coldly at Gu Chen, delivering a powerful visual impact.

Clearly not someone to mess with.

He mentally cursed, but obediently stepped out of the metal container.

Looking around, he saw a field overgrown with wild grass, stained with dried blood, the air thick with a faint metallic scent.

One by one, other metal containers opened, revealing figures from different intelligent races—all visibly terrified.

Gu Chen’s gaze returned to the hulking monster, and he activated his analysis ability:

【Barbarian Slave】:

Hunting Level: 139

Target Description: Servant of the Ancient Gods, responsible for overseeing the operation of the Death Arena.

…

As Gu Chen was stunned by the Barbarian Slave’s terrifying hunting level, the slave stomped its foot.

Instantly, a streak of bloodlight swept over their bodies. Gu Chen felt a sharp sting in his right forearm and looked down—complex symbols had appeared on his skin.

The analysis data revealed the symbol represented the number: 0.

The Barbarian Slave’s cold gaze swept over them all, and it spoke in a deep voice:

“Listen well. I will now explain your situation here and the rules you must follow.”

“First, this place is called the Death Arena—one of the three arenas created by the Ancient Gods. You are all captured Death Combatants, your sole purpose being to fight bloody battles to please the Supreme Ancient Gods. In return, the Ancient Gods grant each victor a boon—even the supreme power of eternal life. But only if you prove your strength in the arena.”

“The blood mark on your arms represents your number of victories. Each time you kill an opponent in the arena, the number increases by one, granting you victory in that round. In the next round, you will fight another combatant with the same victory count: one.”

As he spoke, the Barbarian Slave pointed toward a distant sky where an energy staircase hovered:

“The Sky Ladder holds fifteen arenas. Each level you ascend grants you a period of rest and lavish rewards from the Ancient Gods. The Death Combatant who reaches the summit will receive the Ancient Gods’ blessing and be transferred to the higher-tier Dark Arena, becoming a Glorious Combatant.”

Hearing the Barbarian Slave’s explanation, Gu Chen muttered inwardly:

“Guidance, how many opponents must I eliminate to reach fifteen victories?”

The guidance, unimpressed, replied:

【Obviously, you must eliminate fifteen opponents. But if you count the opponents your victors have eliminated, to reach fifteen victories, you must eliminate a total of 32,767 combatants. By the time you kill your fifteenth opponent, 32,767 other combatants will have already died in battle, becoming the stepping stones to your fifteenth win.】

“Holy shit, that many!” Gu Chen was startled.

While listening to the Barbarian Slave, he’d thought fifteen victories didn’t sound like much—but the guidance’s answer shocked him.

The numbers would only become more absurd beyond that.

He instinctively asked again:

“Guidance, how many combatants would die to reach ten victories?”

【1,023】

“And thirty victories?”

【1,073,741,823】

“Whoa, that’s insane!”

Through the guidance’s answers, Gu Chen now understood just how terrifying the Ancient Gods were.

Every single 15-victory combatant was built upon the blood of over thirty thousand others.

The intensity of the arena battles escalated exponentially. The difficulty of advancing through later tiers was unimaginable.

“Now follow me. You will be taken to Arena Level One for your first battle.”

Saying this, the Barbarian Slave turned and walked toward the Sky Ladder.

Gu Chen, without hesitation, followed.

…

Meanwhile, Qi Sheng, watching from behind the scenes, was observing the arena.

Seeing Gu Chen follow the Barbarian Slave toward the first arena platform, he turned to the guidance sphere beside him:

“Do you know the Ancient Gods?”

【No. But they’re definitely a later-arriving faction. Their mass capture of combatants must relate to the world rules they control.】

Qi Sheng heard this, his gaze sweeping toward the Arena.

“You mean this race, like the Mechanical Dominator, has mastered a world rule?”

【Correct. The entire Death Arena is shrouded in a layer of rule-characteristic energy. Allow me to analyze it.】

After a brief silence, the parsed information flooded into Qi Sheng’s mind.

【World Rule · Duel Soul】:

Rule Characteristic: A rule-characteristic from the Blood Soul World. Within its range, all duels generate Duel Soul energy; each strand of Duel Soul energy carries potent destructive power (the more determined the will of the duelers and the higher their life strength, the more Duel Soul energy is produced).

This parsed information made Qi Sheng understand what the Savage Slave meant by the Ancient God Clan.

The Savage Slave claimed the Arena fighters battled to please the Ancient Gods—but in truth, the Ancient God Clan harvested rule energy from the life-and-death duels of the fighters.

They built the three Arenas precisely to let countless fighters kill each other for their own gain.

As for why they don’t keep a fixed group of fighters and reuse them, the analysis explained in detail: the more determined the duelers’ will, the more Duel Soul energy is generated.

The Ancient God Clan wants the Arena fighters to fight with death in their hearts.

At this moment, Qi Sheng’s viewpoint switched to the player’s perspective.

…

Following the Savage Slave, he arrived at the first-layer Arena.

The first-layer Arena’s shape resembled a coiled giant serpent, its head raised high, its tail vanished into shadow; at its core stood a massive circular arena, its surface covered in strange runes, the floor constructed from translucent spiritual stones emitting a soft glow.

Following the Savage Slave’s instructions, Gu Chen entered a private room embedded in the wall and began to wait.

Through the room’s window, he could see the arena below.

Two alien warriors were already battling on it—clearly, like him, newly captured 0-win Death Fighters.

He glanced at the livestream window in the upper-right corner of his vision—it had already exploded with chatter.

Everyone was discussing the origin of the Ancient God Clan behind the Arena, wondering how they could be kidnapping people to force them into duels.

Some players joked: “Pleasing the Ancient Gods? My ass. Just kill myself and go back to the black room.”

But more players expressed interest in seeing how the plot would unfold next.

Gu Chen closed the livestream display—he too was curious how the story would develop.

Especially what the Savage Slave meant by the victory reward.

While waiting, the room suddenly shook; spatial spiritual runes surfaced on the floor.

After a strong sensation of weightlessness, he found himself standing on the arena.

“Layered space?”

The two Death Fighters he had just seen fighting were still locked in combat—yet now he was teleported to an empty arena. He realized the arena, like the Test Tower, must have multiple layers of space.

At that moment, a flash of white light appeared ahead; his opponent’s figure materialized.

The arriving Death Fighter had a humanoid body, clad in light armor woven from animal hides and metal plates, wearing a helmet shaped like ram’s horns, revealing only tightly pressed lips and slightly panicked eyes.

Gu Chen could even clearly hear its breathing growing heavier.

His parsing ability activated; the opponent’s information flooded his mind.

【Iron Helm】:

Hunting Level: 26

Target Info: Cangxing Sea Insect Cave Island, Young Warrior of the Hide Clan.

…

Seeing the opponent’s hunting level, Gu Chen exhaled in relief.

His Power Barbarian Axe and Shattered Blade were both level 25—winning this fight clearly wouldn’t be hard.

【Begin your duel. The fight ends when one side dies.】

At that moment, the Savage Slave’s voice echoed overhead; the black wristbands on their right wrists vanished automatically.

Before Gu Chen could act, the horned warrior lunged forward, swinging his clenched right fist straight at Gu Chen’s head.

Facing the assault, Gu Chen decisively summoned his Power Barbarian Axe to meet it.

But the opponent reacted with astonishing speed—he ducked low, dodging Gu Chen’s slash at his neck, then drove his coiled right fist straight into Gu Chen’s abdomen. As Gu Chen instinctively bent forward, a brutal knee strike followed instantly.

Thud!

The knee strike sent blood spraying from Gu Chen’s nose; stars exploded in his vision.

Before he could recover, Iron Helm closed in again, grabbing Gu Chen’s right arm to disarm him.

Gu Chen made no resistance—he let the warrior take the Power Barbarian Axe.

Just as Iron Helm raised the axe to cleave Gu Chen’s skull, Gu Chen’s Iron Face twisted into a feral grin:

“You hit way too hard, asshole! Say sorry!”

As he spoke, the Power Barbarian Axe in Iron Helm’s hand vanished; Gu Chen’s hand reformed a new, pale golden Power Barbarian Axe, which he slammed down onto Iron Helm’s neck.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Iron Helm staggered backward several steps, his eyes beneath the helmet filled with unmistakable terror.

Seeing Gu Chen gain the upper hand, the livestream erupted in cheers—especially from his support group, who flooded the chat with celebratory messages.

Now it was Gu Chen’s turn to press the attack—he aimed to finish the fight with one swing.

But Iron Helm, despite his wounded neck, proved far more stubborn than expected. Dragging his half-dead body, he kept throwing punches, overwhelming Gu Chen with superior technique.

Five minutes later, as Gu Chen, his arm broken, tried to dodge Iron Helm’s heavy punch, he noticed the fist never came down.

He turned his head—Iron Helm’s body was slowly toppling forward, crashing to the ground.

“Holy shit, finally won.”

【Pathetic. Two level-25 Ming Hun fighters couldn’t beat a level-26 hunter.】

“Not the same—Bug Black Tide and Black Black Tide have no intelligence. This kid’s clearly trained. His technique is insane.”

【Just an ordinary warrior. Technique insane? Your technique’s weak.】

Just as Gu Chen was about to retort, the Savage Slave’s voice rang from above:

“Duel ended. One win.”

As the words faded, the array beneath Gu Chen’s feet glowed again. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the room.

Compared to before, the room had noticeably expanded, now containing a wooden bed. Looking out the window, he no longer saw the first-layer Arena—he saw an entirely different Arena, shaped like a colossal sword, the arena positioned before its blade.

He realized he had been teleported to the second-layer Arena space.

【Ancient God Blessing: One win grants one Low Wu Hun Pearl. Remaining rest time: 69 hours 39 minutes (time displayed in hours).】

The Savage Slave’s voice echoed again. After the array on the floor flickered, a crimson spiritual pearl rose into view.

Curious, Gu Chen immediately activated his parsing ability to examine it.

【Low Wu Hun Pearl】:

Item Description: A special item forged from the soul of a living being. Consuming it activates latent physical potential, enhances physical attributes, and rapidly heals injuries. Can be sacrificed to Emperor Zhao for 2134 Sacrificial Power reward.

…

Seeing the pearl’s value, Gu Chen’s eyes widened.

The Savage Slave had said Arena rewards increased with win count—but he never expected the first win to grant 2000 Sacrificial Power.

“Guidance, how much Duan Ti experience does this thing give if I eat it?”

【About 1342 points. The extra benefit is rapid injury recovery.】

“Only a fool eats it. Better to give it to Emperor Zhao, my big bro.”

Gu Chen immediately picked up the hovering Low Wu Hun Pearl with his left hand and stored it in his spatial satchel.

Then he pulled out a healing potion and drank it down in large gulps.

As Gu Chen happily imagined his extra earnings, the viewers watching the livestream lost their minds:

“Holy shit, you get rewards just for fighting here? I want in! Any way to get in?”

“If three wins means a Duan Ti rank upgrade, maybe even more—I’m coming too!”

“I’m dying to know what the reward for 15 wins is. Can’t even imagine. Give me coordinates—I’ll show up myself, no need to kidnap me.”

“I’m crying. I just came to watch the show, and now I see others getting rich while I’m broke. You’re all millionaires and I’m stuck here.”

“The duels don’t matter—I just want to please the Ancient Gods. Like, please them to death.”

…

Gu Chen’s experience and the livestream clips spread quickly across the forum.

Learning there was a place where defeating opponents granted rewards, every player turned envious, all vowing to enter the Arena and fight to please the Ancient Gods—until they dropped dead.

10,000 characters. End.

Created a Cuigeng group—link in the bio. Come chat plot, nag for updates.

[192]  [193]  (This chapter ends)

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(End of Chapter)