Chapter 308 - All Eyes On You
Chapter 308: All Eyes On You
Was 50 Black Sea coins exciting enough?
It was for Tang Ling, and probably more exciting than he could ever ask for.
However, there was another more significant excitement for him which was the ring defender!
The ring defender had to go through three matches in order to win. Anything else would be considered a loss.
Once the ring defender lost, he would not be given a penny of compensation. Even if the ring defender made it to the third match and lost, the reward from the previous two matches would also be forfeited. The worst thing was after the loss, the ring defender would be prohibited from participating in any common ring matches for three years.
What if the ring defender managed to win all three matches?
On top of a whopping 300 Black Sea coins as a reward, the ring defender would be crowned with the title of Man of Darkness and be eligible to participate in the weekly matches, plus a 200 Darkness value bonus!
The price of losing was heavy, but the temptation of the prize was alluring as well!
Therefore, the Desperado Ring really lived up to its name. With such extreme rules, who would dare to ring the death knell if he was not a desperado?
It was also known as the Legend Ring because everyone who made it through the three matches would be the focus of Darkness Port for that time. In fact, there was an unverified saying that the powerful and influential figures that once or still ruled the world had once been the ring defenders of this Desperado Ring.
A legend? Tang Ling had never thought of becoming one. However, he was in urgent need of both Black Sea coins and Darkness Value.
As for the honor and glory that every fighter in Darkness Port sought after, which was the chance to step into the center ring, the Arena Of Kings, he was not overly concerned about that.
If possible, he would want to be a challenger instead since 50 Black Sea coins would be sufficient for him for the time being.
However, he only had an hour of free time and the Desperado Ring was so empty that it might not even see a ring defender in months, so his chances of becoming a challenger were slim. Moreover, he still had to locate Zero!
Who knew what kind of astronomical figure would that old cunning Boss Huang demand for the information?
He could not wait any longer!
From the first day he read about the Desperado Ring, he was excited about it.
He always loved to dance on the edge of life and death. It was branded in his bones. The fanatic gambler in him was stimulated, and when he really saw the ring with his own eyes, his inner gambler exploded.
With the excitement aroused in him, his palms started to sweat. He suddenly turned around to Higan and said, “I want to fight in that ring. What do you say?”
“Sure.” Higan nodded. No matter what Tang Ling did, she would agree to it. Besides, she had no idea what the Desperado Ring was about.
“Then, you can watch me from the audience. I’ll definitely make it through three matches.” When Tang Ling felt her support, it boosted his confidence in making the decision.
Actually, Higan had no idea. She just thought Tang Ling that wanted a little support.
“I’ll watch closely from here.” She gave him a sweet smile and even made a victory sign with her fingers.
Tang Ling said he would make it and make it he would!
Making a victory sign with her fingers made her look naive. It did not look like something a queen would do, but Higan never cared about what people thought of her. She just wanted to support him.
Tang Ling cracked his knuckles before her single-mindedly as he assured her he would win before striding over to the bell.
“Tang Ling!” Higan called him.
“Hmm?” Tang Ling turned around.
“I actually have something to ask you.” She looked bashful.
“What?” Tang Ling was curious. Why would Higan be shy about asking a question?
“Did you like me tasting your sweat?”
“What?!”
“Like your sweat, yours only. You don’t want me doing that to anyone else, do you?” Higan’s face heated up, but she could not be at peace if she did not ask the question.
“W-who told you that? Of course, you can’t do that to anyone else, but I…” Tang Ling suddenly muttered gibberish. He was unable to explain himself clearly. Plus, what was with the crazy question Higan was asking?
“Just don’t go tasting people’s sweat, okay? It’s unhygienic!” Those were the only proper words that he could think of at that moment.
Unhygienic? I see! He cares about me…
Higan smiled. Her imagination was top-notch and was probably influenced by those two little plump ladies.
Tang Ling actually wanted to ring the bell in a holistic and confident way, but after the little scene with Higan, he was dumbfounded. His mind was blank as he walked to the bell known as the death knell. Then, he grabbed the big log and rammed it towards the black bell.
Higan happily waved her hands behind him as she cheered loudly, “Go get’em, Little Tang Tang!”
Tang Ling turned around at Higan and his mouth twitched helplessly. He wanted to cry but failed to shed a tear because Higan had been influenced by the old pervert and the little plumps.
Here I am trying to become a legend and you are calling me Little Tang Tang?
******
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The slightly heavy but clear bell rang and echoed throughout the junior division ring area.
Be it the audience, the owner of different rings, the organizers, the participants on the waiting list or even those in a match, everyone was stunned for half a second.
A deafening roar and cheer erupted, followed by blazing discussion, sharp whistles. The entire junior division ring area erupted.
Han Xing was thoroughly stunned. Which stupid sh*thead rang the death knell at this time?!
Anyone with a working intelligence network would know that a lot of genius prodigies from all over the world had recently gathered at Darkness Port. Han Xing knew. Otherwise, he would have rung the bell himself.
Among the gathering crowd was a teenager with a long spear behind his buckled battle robe in ancient Huaxia style. He lifted his head up after the bell rang while his calm gaze coupled with a tinge of excitement penetrated the crowd and landed on the Desperado Ring located in the deepest corner of the junior division ring area.
At the bar outside the ring area, a young girl, whose voluptuous body and alluring appearance was set off by the red short qipao with a phoenix sewn on her back, was tasting the glass of liquor that was known as the spiciest at the bar—Hell’s Blood. When she heard the bell ring, she put the glass down and looked towards the direction of the Desperado Ring.
After some extreme exercise, soaking in ice water appropriately could effectively cure fatigue and muscle soreness on the second day. Outside the junior division ring area were rows of ice pools prepared for the participants.
There was a young teen whose body was as gargantuan as a hill and was even buffer than Orston or even Su Siao. He was soaking in one of the icy pools all by himself. The young teen was enjoying his icy bath with his braided hair tied up. He was so big that he could occupy the whole pool by himself.
When the bell rang, he bolted up and the icy water violently splashed around as he gazed towards the Desperado Ring.
In another common ring, a young participant, who seemed scrawny and pale, was engaged in a match. He coughed from time to time, and coupled with his white attire, he really looked like he was dying, especially when he barely dodged his opponent’s attack.
When the bell rang, the sickly young boy looked towards the Desperado Ring. He paused for less than a fraction of a second before he looked at his opponent and said with a cough, “This ends now.”
His figure disappeared like a ghost and reappeared behind his opponent. Swiftly, two of his fingers stiffened like daggers and poked a certain acupoint on his opponent’s body at lightning speed.
The opponent widened his eyes and fell to the floor. The sickly young boy did not care about the opponent at all as he turned back around to the Desperado Ring.
Inside a luxurious room was an unusually handsome young boy with glistening silver hair. Before him were a dozen monitors showing all the rings in the junior division. He swirled the wine glass in his hand and the blood-like alcohol inside eddied like a whirlpool.
As the bell rang, the silver-haired boy’s elegant swirl of his crystal wine glass got messed up. He recovered his elegance quickly and picked up the remote control to switch the monitor to the Desperado Ring before he zoomed in.
The Dark Nine Feathers were hidden among the audience while the True Capital Seven were in their respective luxurious rooms. The Stardust Sixteen, who were already here in Darkness Port, were ready to make a name for themselves in the arena.
The long-haired teen with a long white robe was stroking a little peacock.
Every single one of the young prodigies, who would surely shine like the brightest stars in the sky in the upcoming events, switched their attention to the Desperado Ring.
“Tang Long, concentrating doesn’t mean simply focusing your attention blindly. I told you before…”
Zero’s strict lecture was interrupted and he went silent for a few seconds before he stared at Tang Long. “Someone rang the bell of the Desperado Ring in the junior division ring. Aren’t you concerned?”
Tang Long was distracted for a second before he recovered his composure and said calmly, “Mr. Zero, please continue. I don’t care about all those things.”
“Very well.” Zero nodded and continued his lecture.
However, other than Tang Long, all the genius prodigies fixed their gazes on the Desperado Ring. They were all genius teenagers, so the thoughts that ran through their minds were mostly similar. They ought to make a name for themselves in the most direct way possible and where they could show off their powers.
Everyone was laying low in the ring area, preparing themselves for the best opportunity to make their glorious entrance and shine like the brightest star.
However, when the bell rang, a single thought rose in every one of their minds: ‘Why didn’t I ring the bell first? How could some maniac have beat me to it?’
Then, everyone was stupefied when they saw the speechless scene.
A boy with a hideous face cloth with a dog’s head on it and an eye mask walked towards the throne of bones in the Desperado Ring.
Below the ring was a girl wearing an ugly black mask, but it did not diminish her perfect body. She naively waved her hands and cheered, “Go, go, Little Tang Tang!”
The boy with the dog’s head face cloth was Little Tang Tang? Was this a joke?
An idiot with a ridiculous face cloth was the first to ring the death knell of the Desperado Ring?
However, no one looked down on Little Tang Tang because of his ridiculous look. The person who had the courage to ring the death knell at such a sensitive timing must have some astounding trump card hidden under his sleeve.
Tang Ling was already standing in the center of the black ring.
Suddenly, a strong gale blew and carried a coquettish man to the center of the stage.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen! It has been a whopping nine months and here we meet again. I am your beloved Area S host, the Wailing Pierrot. Is everyone surprised? Is everyone excited?!”
Right after his voice subsided, a row of topless hunks with bloomers marched towards the ring in an organized fashion while carrying a heavy weapon rack to the ring.
Klunk!
A loud thud followed after the heavy weapon rack was put down. There were a dozen types of weapons laid out neatly on the rack including weapons from the Dongsheng Continent to the Light Continent. Almost all the weapons from different continents were found on the rack.
After they put the rack down, the group of hunks exited the ring.
Then, loud rattling iron chains came from above the ring and a giant cage descended from above, accompanied by a gray mist which was a 3D holographic projection effect.
Bang!
The whole ring was covered by the cage.
Right after the loud clang, even more people gushed towards the ring and the other rings automatically moved away, opening up a wide space around the Desperado Ring.
Rows of seats then emerged from the ground.
As the scene unfolded, Higan, who was beneath the ring, responded coldly.