The road is vague

Chapter 372 Gladiator Ace (Part 5)

the next day.

Li Mo got up as usual and prepared to go to the rest area to enjoy breakfast and the morning light.

But then he saw two dragon warriors in magnificent armor standing at the entrance to the rest area, blocking his way.

"Viscount Huayue has booked this rest area so that Xiong Lishi can rest well and prepare for the duel of death in two days. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter!"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo's face darkened.

Viscount Huayue is one of the two financial backers behind Xiong Lishi.

Looking inside from the gate, several demonic beast gladiators were enjoying the service of their maids.

The table was laden with delicacies, including chilled spiritual fruits, large pieces of meat, and exquisite caviar, which were continuously fed to Xiong Lishi by the maids.

Xiong Lishi raised his head slightly, glanced at the door, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Who's making such a racket outside? Can't we get any rest? Didn't the Viscount give any instructions?"

"Reporting to Xiong Lishi, it is Thunder Punishment Venerable who has arrived. We will make him leave immediately."

Upon hearing this, the two dragonmen responsible for guarding the area immediately drove Li Mo away.

The revenue of the various arenas is largely supported by these financial backers, and behind these people are the powerful elites of Xinian City who wield immense power and are able to effectively expand the channels of the arenas and arrange duels between professional gladiators from different arenas.

Generally speaking.

If an arena can't even sustain itself with a long-term financial backer, then it's not far from closing down.

Xiong Lishi snorted coldly.

"Hmph, then hurry up, don't keep me from resting."

Knowing that this was Xiong Lishi showing off to him, Li Mo gave it a cold look and had no choice but to turn around and leave. After eating some simple food, he returned to his room to rest.

The money-stealing rat appeared out of nowhere, opened its mouth, took out a large piece of meat from the money-stealing area, and offered it to Li Mo.

"Squeak."

Li Mo couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Thanks."

Once a cultivator enters the Golden Core stage, their need for food should decrease rapidly.

But perhaps because of the dual cultivation of body and spirit, Li Mo, like these demonic beasts, found his need for food to grow stronger. He guessed that this was probably due to the characteristics of vital energy.

Two days passed by in a flash.

As the host introduced the plot, Li Mo arrived at the arena.

In the past two days, Xiong Lishi, supported by his backer, had been acting arrogantly backstage, which had already pushed Li Mo's anger to its limit. At this moment, he appeared to be smiling as he came to the stage to greet the audience, but in reality, he couldn't wait to get to the point and deal with this black bear demon.

Loud cheers erupted from the audience.

Li Mo's continuous brilliant performances over the past few days have garnered him a large number of supporters. Although these supporters are just ordinary civilians, this is the foundation for becoming an ace gladiator.

Next up is Xiong Lishi.

Due to the arrangement of the gladiator storyline, Xiong Lishi was unexpectedly given the help of Iron Fang Demon Wolf and Blood Crown Serpent.

This may seem unfair, but it is actually backed by the financial backers of Xiong Lishi.

They used large sums of money to promote the actor, giving Xiong Lishi an inherent advantage.

The three demonic beasts looked at Li Mo arrogantly, as if they were just waiting for the duel to begin so they could devour him alive.

The stands of the Fearless Arena were nearly half full, having not seen so many spectators in a long time. The supporters of Thunder Punisher and Bear Warrior were clearly divided, their shouts coming one after another, completely immersed in the characters and plot.

The publicity surrounding the three-day ticket promotion for the life-or-death duel between the two sides has certainly paid off.

However, compared to Li Mo's supporters, who were mostly commoners, Xiong Lishi's supporters clearly included two dragon people with noble seats. They enjoyed the best viewing positions and raised the odds for betting on Li Mo.

As time continued to pass and the battle countdown was about to begin, Xiong Lishi stood on the sand, separated by the barrier, and made a contemptuous gesture towards Li Mo.

Li Mo sneered and continued to cross his arms, remaining completely still.

It seems he's just waiting for the game to start before unleashing a devastating attack.

At the same time, he also realized that the terrain of the competition venue was likely tailor-made for the opponent with the support of their backer, in order to maximize the strength of this earth-attribute black bear spirit.

"It's the Black Bear Demon again."

The reason Li Mo distanced himself from the Great Qian Dynasty was because he was deceived by a cunning black bear spirit and provoked the Sky Bear King.

"start!"

As the host gave the order, the barrier between the two sides was closed, and the dragon-man spectators in the stands cheered and erupted.

"Kill them quickly!"

"Kill them!"

"Destroy this arrogant human..."

Every professional gladiator has their own backstory. As they appear in more matches, they gradually become what are known as "stars." Some star fighters don't need a high win rate, but they must leave a lasting impression on the audience so that the audience can better immerse themselves in the gladiator storyline.

As for how to cultivate stars and attract sponsors, that is the core competitiveness of each arena.

Leaving aside these off-field situations.

As the duel began, Iron Fang Wolf and Blood Crown Serpent dispersed in different directions, clearly intending to distract Li Mo, while Bear Warrior roared to the sky and strode towards Li Mo, ready to engage in a head-on confrontation.

boom!
Without saying a word, Li Mo immediately activated the Thunderous Transformation Technique.

A violent burst of lightning spiritual power erupted, surging outwards from Li Mo's body, only to be drawn back by a surge of blood energy, forming an astonishing lightning magnetic cloak that emitted dense static currents nearby, causing the air to distort violently.

This situation startled the three demonic beasts!
Especially the Blood Crown Serpent, which can manipulate the target's blood and qi to a certain extent, making the target uneasy. However, at this moment, as Li Mo released his dual cultivation power of life and death without reservation, the vast blood and qi power bloomed with the spiritual pressure of the mid-stage Golden Core, making it feel as if it was facing a vast ocean of blood.

Let alone trying to control it.

Being able to remain unaffected by the opponent's blood and energy is already quite an achievement.

"Is this...is this still a human? He's a monster!"

The blood-crowned snake let out a hysterical scream.

However, it froze the next moment, sensing the terrifying spiritual pressure that suddenly erupted behind it.

Under Li Mo's extreme lightning speed, it had no time to react. A Thunder God Fist was unleashed, accompanied by violent lightning shockwaves and a torrent of scorching white lightning. The late-stage Foundation Establishment Blood Crown Serpent was instantly torn apart by the violent lightning.

The audience outside the stadium reached a climax almost instantly.

Even the two dragon-man patrons who came to support Xiong Lishi slowly stood up from their nonchalant postures, revealing surprise amidst the shouts of the crowd.

At this time.

The Iron-Toothed Demon Wolf in the distance reacted, opened its mouth wide, and spewed countless demonic flames at Li Mo, quickly covering the surrounding area.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom... Accompanied by a series of explosions, dust instantly filled the sand dunes, engulfing Li Mo's figure.

After its desperate outburst, the Iron Fang Wolf let out a heavy panting, but it dared not be careless in the slightest. Its eyes kept scanning the surroundings, trying to find Li Mo's whereabouts. It knew very well that this level of attack could not pose a fatal threat to Li Mo.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck it at high speed. The Iron Fang Demon Wolf barely managed to react, but its body couldn't react at all, and its face showed despair.

Fortunately, Xiong Lishi intervened in time and stopped the lightning.

The two sides briefly clashed on the sand, but the Thunderous figure was obviously too fast and agile, constantly attacking the Bear Warrior from all directions. Although it managed to defend itself, it was clear that it was on the defensive and at a disadvantage.

"Roar!"

Xiong Lishi roared to the sky, and the sand dunes exploded, seemingly about to indiscriminately strike the fast and agile lightning figure. However, Li Mo, in his Thunderous Transformation state, easily escaped Xiong Lishi's indiscriminate attack range and charged towards the Iron Fang Demon Wolf once again.

Iron-Toothed Demon Wolf was terrified.

As it continuously spewed out demonic fire, a fingernail on its left hand silently fell off, turning into a blur and shooting towards the lightning.

"Shadow Finger!"

This is the Iron-Blooded Demon Wolf's trump card, a deadly strike formed by the essence behind him condensed day and night, which is theoretically enough to pose a threat to a low-level deity.

However, the next moment, Li Mo, who was flying at high speed, suddenly split into pieces and disappeared as lightning.

"Disappeared?"

Before the Iron Fang Demon Wolf could react, more than a dozen lightning swords pierced through its chest from behind, pinning it to the ground.

This is not a Five Elements spell with a specific structure, but rather a burst of spiritual power that Li Mo casually unleashed, yet it already possesses the characteristics of a mid-level spell.

The Iron Fang Demon Wolf coughed up blood, looked up in despair, and tried desperately to find Li Mo's figure.

Crack!

The thunder dragon descended from the sky, accompanied by a deafening explosion, and rolling thunder spread outwards in all directions from the location of the Iron Fang Demon Wolf.

Once everything had settled down, the Iron Fang Wolf had been completely replaced by a massive crater.

"hiss!!"

Xiong Lishi gasped, looking at Li Mo in disbelief. It couldn't believe that a mere human could possess such strength.

The two sides had just exchanged blows. Although they seemed evenly matched and neither could do anything to the other, in reality, it couldn't even touch the other's shadow. It was just passively enduring the blows and relying on its strong physique to hold on.

"Humph."

Li Mo stopped about twenty feet away from Xiong Lishi and looked at him with a cold smile.

"Weren't you planning to devour me alive in the arena?"

"You mere human, don't get too cocky!"

Xiong Lishi roared to the sky once again.

This time, it pounded its heart violently, accompanied by loud "thump" sounds. A layer of crimson blood flames ignited on its body, and earth elemental energy from all directions continuously converged on it, forming a dark brown armor.

The surrounding air collapsed and distorted violently.

In the stands, the dragon people who knew something about Xiong Lishi immediately cheered excitedly.

"It is the power of Crimson Blood. It is said that every time Xiong Lishi activates it, he will lose his lifespan. So far, it has only been activated four times, and each time it was against a powerful enemy. Once the power of Crimson Blood is activated, it will be tireless and relentless, becoming a true fighting monster!"

"Haha, our family is so lucky today! We actually witnessed the power of crimson blood with our own eyes. The tickets were definitely worth it..."

Suddenly.

Xiong Lishi's figure vanished on the spot, leaving two clear footprints on the ground, which then formed craters in all directions.

next moment.

It suddenly appeared in front of Li Mo and slammed down hard.

The crimson demonic fire swept past, and just when it thought it had succeeded, it discovered that it was merely an afterimage of Li Mo.

It suddenly realized what was happening and swung its other paw behind it, but Li Mo dodged it again.

A giant foot, crackling with lightning, suddenly descended from the sky!

Xiong Lishi let out a deep roar, concentrating all his blood and energy in his head to withstand Li Mo's attack. He then swept his claws across the area, but Li Mo easily dodged them again, appearing more than thirty feet away in a flash and lightly tapping Xiong Lishi repeatedly.

The pure lightning spiritual energy condensed into lightning swords, shooting continuously and leaving a series of afterimages in the air.

However, the seemingly huge and clumsy Xiong Lishi actually dodged and weaved as he charged toward Li Mo, narrowly missing the lightning swords.

"Oh?"

A look of surprise appeared in Li Mo's eyes.

No wonder this black bear spirit was so confident; it certainly had some strength.

If he were still in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, it would have been quite troublesome to deal with him bare-handed. But now that he is in the middle stage of the Golden Core realm, he has the suppression of his realm. In addition, he can use the Thunder Transformation technique with the minor completion of the Extreme Thunder Body, and with the continuous operation of the "Li Mo Inner Classic", this black bear spirit is nothing more than a dying resistance in Li Mo's eyes.

"Well, it's just a closing exhibition match after all."

The figures of the two sides flashed rapidly in the air, colliding and intersecting. Each exchange of blows would elicit gasps from the Dragon Man spectators outside the arena.

Since it was a life-or-death struggle between the two sides, there was no option to surrender.

Furthermore, this bear warrior probably won't last much longer than an incense stick's time.

Only half an incense stick later.

Xiong Lishi's strength was clearly beginning to wane, but Li Mo, with the support of his minor-stage Extreme Thunder Body and the continuous operation of the "Li Mo Inner Classic," showed no signs of exhaustion. He gradually suppressed Xiong Lishi and knocked him down from the air with a Thunder God Fist.

The battered and bruised Xiong Lishi lay in the center of the crater, coughing up blood as he looked at Li Mo.

"This is impossible……"

Within the span of half an incense stick's time, it had very few attacks that truly threatened the opponent. The two sides seemed evenly matched, but in reality, it was only passively enduring the attacks with its powerful physique. However, under the opponent's thunderous power that emphasized explosive force, its body was already covered in wounds.

The once vast arena is now riddled with ravines and in ruins.

Li Mo had no intention of wasting words with him and simply uttered a single word: "Explode."

All of a sudden.

The lightning accumulated within Xiong Lishi's body suddenly erupted with the activation of the Yin Lightning Technique, instantly dispersing his remaining vital energy and causing his body to enter a state of paralysis and stiffness.

Immediately, five-colored lightning descended from the sky, striking Xiong Lishi squarely in the chest.

Under the continuous onslaught of the Five Thunders to Dust Divine Power, Xiong Lishi's flesh and blood body crumbled and disintegrated, turning into blood mist and dust that vanished.

"Wow..."

The audience outside the stadium had completely erupted in cheers.

The two wealthy patrons who had come to support Xiong Lishi in the noble seats both showed surprise. Then they chuckled and waved to the arena attendants, saying something to each other.

(End of this chapter)