Soul Land IV (Douluo Dalu) : Ultimate Fighting

Chapter 1344: Chapter 1344: The Challenge Continues

“Phoenix rebirth?” Deng Xu Tong’s pupils contracted slightly, but he did not panic. The silver armor on his body radiated a blazing white light, and behind him, a pair of wings unfurled.

Immediately afterward, under those wings, another pair of pale golden wings silently spread out. The surrounding light elements instantly shifted from their original white glow to a soft golden hue.

With a slash of his sword, golden light rippled outward.

“Boom—” Deng Xu Tong was struck by the blazing dark-red flames and blasted backward, flying nearly two hundred meters before staggering and landing on the ground.

However, the dark-red flames also dissipated, leaving Wang Junjie kneeling on one knee, barely supporting himself with a large sword.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, unleashing the powerful “phoenix rebirth” technique had taken a tremendous toll on him.

“You… you’ve reached four wings? Then I have no regrets in losing.” After saying this, Wang Junjie collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Deng Xu Tong gripped his sword with both hands, the tip resting on the ground, as he panted heavily. The light radiating from the four wings on his back retracted.

To be honest, although he won this battle, it wasn’t an easy victory. Compared to before, Wang Junjie’s strength had risen to a whole new level. This time, he fought with all his might, evidently prepared in advance. Although Deng Xu Tong emerged victorious, he had been forced to reveal a critical trump card, which could prove disadvantageous for subsequent arena matches.

After pausing for a moment, Deng Xu Tong strode to the front of the arena and gestured toward the payment box with his right hand. Instantly, a gemstone shimmering with a faint blue aura flew out from the box and landed in his hand.

The gemstone was small, about the size of a thumb. Yet as it fell into Deng Xu Tong’s hand, his entire body was enveloped by a layer of faint blue light, and his aura began to recover significantly.

Life-restoring crystal? Lan Xuanyu’s eyes narrowed slightly. His attention had been on this side of the arena all along. Without a doubt, this must be the life-restoring crystal.

The challenge fee for Arena No. 6 was half a piece of life-restoring crystal. This surge of life energy… How could it…

As the successor to Shrek Academy’s Life School, Lan Xuanyu’s understanding of life energy was naturally profound. Moreover, he possessed a Life Affinity Constitution.

At this moment, as he clearly sensed the life energy contained within the life-restoring crystal, he was utterly shocked.

The life energy within this life-restoring crystal was nearly attribute-less.

From his past encounters with life energy, there had always been some degree of other traits mixed in. As a result, absorbing life energy required filtering out impurities and converting it into a usable form. Alternatively, life energy could be used directly to stimulate one’s vitality and elevate one’s life rank, which was its most significant utility.

However, as he now perceived the energy within this life-restoring crystal, Lan Xuanyu realized that it surpassed all his previous understanding of life energy.

This seemingly attribute-less life energy was incredibly pure and pristine. As Deng Xu Tong absorbed it, it naturally fused into his being, causing his life vitality to soar dramatically. Though it didn’t push him into the God Rank, his life force far exceeded its previous level.

When one’s life rank drastically improved, their internal energy erupted like a geyser, replenishing the energy deficit from earlier.

The process was as natural as water flowing downhill—remarkably swift, yet exceptionally stable.

What kind of life energy is this? While it didn’t directly enable evolution, it made one’s life force significantly more substantial. It was pure vitality injected without any impurities or signs of rejection, absorbed effortlessly. Moreover, absorbing such life energy didn’t lead to explosive harm, regardless of its magnitude. It was as if the energy could gauge the user’s absorption capacity and injected precisely up to the limit.

When Deng Xu Tong had restored most of his cultivation in such a short span of time, the appearance of that half-piece of life-restoring crystal remained almost unchanged, as if it hadn’t diminished much.

This truly is…

If I were to absorb it myself, what kind of effect would it produce?

He also noticed, however, that the life-restoring crystal only nourished the physical body and didn’t extend to the spiritual realm. This was evident as Deng Xu Tong’s gaze still lacked the brilliance it had at the start of the match. But as his physical state recovered, his mental recovery would naturally accelerate.

What’s more, Lan Xuanyu vaguely sensed that the benefits provided by the life-restoring crystal might be even greater than he anticipated. He’d have to explore this further when he returned later.

To think that contestants could use the life-restoring crystal to recover their cultivation mid-match—it made sense why the arena competitions were structured this way. There was no worry about the arena champions exhausting themselves. So long as they could endure for half a day, with the life-restoring crystal replenishing their energy, the strain wasn’t insurmountable.

No wonder they hesitated to challenge me; they must fear wasting their efforts only to be unable to defeat me in the end.

At this thought, Lan Xuanyu turned toward the arc of young elites from various races outside the arena and said, “During my matches, I will not resort to any resources to recover my cultivation. I’ll rely solely on my own abilities. You’ve truly lost your courage.”

Hearing “her” words, even Li Menglong thought Lan was way too arrogant. Not using the life-restoring crystal for recovery? How long could “she” last? Even with Xiuxiu by her side, there were only two of them.

Between each match, participants could rest for ten minutes, and half a day spanned over eight hours—easily enough for dozens of battles. Could “she” manage such recovery?

On both Sky Horse Star and Sky Dragon Planet, a day consisted of thirty-six hours.

At this point, some couldn’t hold back any longer. On several other arenas, young elites from various races began challenging, tossing resources into the payment boxes and stepping onto the platforms.

Perhaps spurred by Lan Xuanyu’s words, “her” second opponent finally emerged.

A being with an extraordinarily bizarre and equally peculiar appearance stepped forward. It belonged to a unique race.

Standing over five meters tall yet extraordinarily slender, it looked stretched out unnaturally. Its whole body was a brownish hue. The upper torso had six long and limp arms hanging loosely at its sides. Its head was disproportionately massive, almost a meter in diameter, with one gigantic monocular eye that alone spanned over a foot in diameter. The sight was eerily strange.

The aura emanating from this being felt deeply obscure and unfathomable, making it impossible to gauge its exact strength.

An opponent like this—seen for the first time and completely unprecedented—even facing it felt entirely unfamiliar. Moreover, in all the Sky Dragon Planet intel Lan Xuanyu had garnered, there was no record of such a species.

So, when he saw this opponent, his first reaction was astonishment.

What kind of adversary was this? How could it have such an uncanny appearance? And daring to challenge him—surely its strength wasn’t to be underestimated.

This peculiar creature had no visible mouth, no nose, just that single massive eye. Within the eye, there seemed to be countless smaller compound eyes. On its outermost edge, concentric rings of glowing halos added to its eerie appearance.

Facing such a scene, Lan Xuanyu’s gaze froze slightly, and his vigilance rose instantly.

“Golden Dragon Princess, please enlighten me.” A deep and muffled voice resonated. Lan Xuanyu realized the voice emanated from the creature’s midsection. He noticed for the first time a patch of what resembled vents in the slender torso’s center—the source of the sound.

Truly, the universe held endless wonders!

“Miss Lan, be cautious. The Monocle Rubber Clan’s combat techniques are exceptionally peculiar,” Li Menglong’s voice chimed in again. This time, Lan Xuanyu could distinctly sense the schadenfreude in his tone. Moreover, Li Menglong refrained from offering any further explanation about the Monocle Rubber Clan’s traits.

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