Ninth In the World

“Fret not. This is the Five Continent Square, so I would never kill you here. However, killing members of the Ren Family comes with dire consequences. I will be waiting for you in the Five Continent City forever.” Ren Hai’s aura became stronger as he spoke, causing Di Jiu to slowly retreat.

Di Jiu scolded himself inwardly. If Ren Hai seized his ring quickly, there would be no point in detaining him.

When he saw that Ren Hai dared not steal his ring, Di Jiu said helplessly, “You’re an expert on the Soul Realm. Aren’t you ashamed that you are using your aura to oppress an Essence Soul Realm cultivator like me?”

Di Jiu’s voice was very loud. There were many people on the Five Continent Square, so someone quickly saw what was going on.

A few cultivators had already recognized Di Jiu as the Young Master Red Embellishment. After all, the red embellished saber Di Jiu was carrying on his back was too eye-catching.

“I know. That is Ren Hai, who ranks 106th on the Sea Roll.” Despite the soft mummers, Di Jiu still heard everything clearly thanks to his powerful Spiritual Force.

“Why would a Sea Roll Expert provoke the Young Master Red Embellishment? The Young Master Red Embellishment currently ranks ninth on the Potential Roll. He has a 50 percent chance of entering the Sea Roll in the future.”

“Do you know how the name Young Master Red Embellishment came about?”

“Do tell.”

“The Young Master Red Embellishment killed the entire Spirit Blaze Team by the Herald Night Lake…”

“That is a well-known fact.”

“Ren Hai is related to the team leader of the Spirit Blaze Team by blood. Do you understand now?”

…

As the crowd grew bigger, the cause of this situation became clearer.

The cultivators quickly discovered why Sea Roll Expert Ren Hai wanted to detain the Young Master Red Embellishment, who was only at the Essence Soul Realm. The reason the Young Master Red Embellishment was so well-known was because he had killed Ren Hai’s blood-related brother by the Herald Night Lake.

This kind of personal grudge took place every day on the Five Continent Square. Usually, no one would intervene. So long as the rules of the Five Continent Square were not violated, even the deacon of the Five Continent Square would not do anything.

“I would never bully you simply because I’m on the Sea Roll. I will give you a chance, even though you killed my blood-related brother. So long as you’re able to fend off a move of mine on the battle arena, this matter will be considered closed. Of course, you must still give up the Spirit Stones you obtained from Baifei. If you don’t, you better stay in the Five Continent City forever.” Ren Hai’s tone was cold.

Di Jiu was enlightened. This fella had not come there to avenge Ren Bafei. He must have heard that Di Jiu had gained a hefty harvest on the Five Continent Dao Pagoda and come to rob him.

Logically speaking, this fella should have waited to commit a highway robbery when Di Jiu left the Five Continent City. Why was Ren Hai so impatient?

Di Jiu soon understood. Ren Hai must have investigated him and discovered that the lease of the cave abode Di Jiu had rented in the Five Continent Pavilion had yet to reach its end. Ren Hai thought that Di Jiu would not be leaving the Five Continent City in the near future. Hence, as Di Jiu was wandering around the Five Continent Square, he had seized this opportunity.

As he thought of this, Di Jiu’s face paled even more. “It would be a miracle if I survived on the life-and-death arena,” he said. “Who’s the crazy one here? You are a Pioneer Sea Realm cultivator, yet you want me to head to the life-and-death arena and battle!”

Ren Hai laughed. “Did you not hear clearly? I spoke about the Five Continent City’s battle arena, not the life-and-death arena. I am a Pioneer Sea Realm cultivator, so I won’t degrade myself by challenging a mere Essence Soul Realm cultivator like you and heading to the life-and-death arena.”

“What if I could fend off a move of yours?” Di Jiu looked as if he was heavily oppressed by Ren Hai’s aura, yet his tone was unyielding.

His gaze was fixed on Ren Hai’s ring greedily.

“Ha ha…” Ren Hai laughed. He had truly never met a greedy cultivator like Di Jiu before.

A mere Essence Soul Realm weakling had actually dared use his Spiritual Force to target his ring. He evidently coveted Ren Hai’s ring. The ignorant were indeed fearless. “If you fend off a move of mine without sustaining any injuries, I will give you my ring. However, if you lose, you will have to give your ring to me.”

It was exactly as Di Jiu had guessed. Ren Hai knew that Di Jiu had obtained nearly 20 million high-grade Spirit Stones in the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. He desperately needed some Spirit Stones. Plus, it was perfectly justified for him to provoke Di Jiu. That was why he had gone there to get Di Jiu’s Spirit Stones.

His Spiritual Force had already scanned Di Jiu once. There was only one ring on Di Jiu’s hands.

Di Jiu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before he said, “Alright. I will gamble.”

When they heard that Di Jiu and Ren Hai were gambling their rings, numerous cultivators rushed over. Under normal circumstances, no cultivator would use their ring as a betting chip. Not unless it was a life-and-death situation.

Many people thought that Di Jiu was young and craved respect. That was why he had fallen into Ren Hai’s trap and was currently heading to the battle arena with Ren Hai.

There were many battle arenas in the Five Continent City, in both the Five Continent Pavilion and the Prophecy Pavilion. When one could obtain a certain amount of Spirit Stones by winning a certain number of matches, it was considered an arena competition.

Ren Hai and Di Jiu could still use the space of the Five Continent Pavilion’s battle arena to fight.

Although this was a one-move match, the battle arena was filled with people by the time the two of them arrived. These people all wanted to see if the new-rising Young Master Red Embellishment would be able to fend off a move by Ren Hai, who ranked 106th on the Sea Roll.

“The Young Master Red Embellishment is really anxious. The cultivation levels of the perfected Essence Soul Realm and the perfected Pioneer Sea Realm differ significantly. This move is very dangerous.”

“This battle is not very fair.”

Thanks to the difference between his strength and Ren Hai’s strength, which was way too big, Di Jiu was quite popular. Nearly 90 percent of the cultivators believed that Di Jiu would not be able to fend off Ren Hai’s move.

“That’s not quite true. The Young Master Red Embellishment has killed seven cultivators of the same cultivation realm with one sword. He also ranks ninth on the Potential Roll…”

“Actually, fairness is not an issue when it comes to this battle. The Young Master Red Embellishment is at a disadvantageous position in terms of fighting. However, Ren Hai is at a disadvantage regarding the bet. How could an Essence Soul Realm cultivator’s ring compare to the ring of a Sea Roll Expert?”

As Di Jiu landed on the battle arena, his surrounding Essence Soul Realm aura surged. He was obviously ready to do his best.

“Are you ready?” Ren Hai stood on the battle arena and looked at Di Jiu, who was standing before him, as he spoke calmly. He was not as nervous as Di Jiu, as he was not treating this battle seriously.

He was using taking revenge for his cousin as an excuse. However, as a Sea Roll Expert, he would not sneak an attack on an Essence Soul Realm cultivator like Di Jiu. He still wanted to save some face.

This match had been instigated by Di Jiu, who had repeatedly used his Spiritual Force to scan Ren Hai’s ring, causing Ren Hai to actively bet the ring. To Di Jiu, this was a performance he could not make any mistakes in.

“Do it. I don’t believe I’m unable to fend off even one move!” hollered Di Jiu as his surrounding Quintessential Essence surged even more.

Ren Hai snorted coldly as he extracted his sword.

As Ren Hai took out the sword, Di Jiu took a step back unconsciously. Meanwhile, Ren Hai took a step forward and slashed out with the sword in his hand, creating a sliver beam.

To the naked eye, this silver beam seemed to directly cross the spatial distance between him and Di Jiu. Then, Di Jiu’s Quintessential Essence barrier was split open.

As he let out an angry roar, the saber in Di Jiu’s hand transformed into a saber flare that lashed out.

When the saber flare and silver beam collided, the Quintessential Essence explosions created were shockingly powerful.

Crack! The saber in Di Jiu’s hand cracked into two. The momentum of the silver beam did not stop. Instead, it landed on Di Jiu’s chest.

A bloody mist exploded as a two-foot long wound appeared on Di Jiu’s chest. Di Jiu opened his mouth and spat out blood, flying backwards towards the edge of the arena. He would have been sent out of the arena if it had not been for the restrictions present there.

There was a collective sigh from the spectators. Everyone could see that Di Jiu had used his full strength, yet his move was useless against Ren Hai.

Ren Hai looked at Di Jiu with a cold, mocking expression. It was truly ignorant for a mere ninth-stage Essence Soul Realm cultivator to say that they could face a move from him, considering that he was a Sea Roll Cultivator.

Di Jiu’s face was extremely pale. He silently took off his ring and threw it towards Ren Hai before turning around to leave.

It was not unexpected that Di Jiu had failed to fend off Ren Hai’s move. After all, it would be no easy feat for a ninth-stage Essence Soul Realm cultivator to fend off a move from a cultivator on the Sea Roll.

Huan Mingzi, who was standing a fair distance away, watched as Di Jiu retreated after getting injured. He nodded his head. Perhaps he had not chosen the wrong candidate. Di Jiu had actually made Ren Hai actively ask that they use their rings as betting chips, which was not easy.

In his opinion, Di Jiu would not be able to fend off Ren Hai’s blow. However, it was completely impossible for one of Ren Hai’s moves to split open Di Jiu’s chest and create a bloody wound. Di Jiu’s performance had been perfect. There had been no flaws whatsoever.

Di Jiu’s and Ren Hai’s one-move gamble had ended quickly. Most people were not complaining that Di Jiu had been unable to fend off Ren Hai’s move. They actually appreciated Ren Hai’s magnanimousness as a Sea Roll Expert. After all, given the circumstances, he could easily have killed Di Jiu if he’d attacked again. That was not what Ren Hai had done, however.

No one knew that Di Jiu had let Ren Hai injure him. Even if Ren Hai attacked him again, he would definitely remain unharmed.

It was Shu Haolan, not Ren Hai, that Di Jiu was afraid of.

…

After leaving the battle arena, Di Jiu was too lazy to return to the cave abode. Instead, he left the Five Continent City swiftly. When he was outside the city, he took out a flying Spirit Weapon and walked away.

He needed to find a place where he could enter reclusive cultivation. Ren Hai was not the only person targeting him in this area.