Chapter 00046: The Arena Battle
# The Arena Battle
Chapter 46
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 46: The Arena Battle
What if the Gene Alliance has innate experts? He could just create some gene poison mist.
If strength isn't enough, then genes will make up for it.
At least he has natural poison resistance, so the gene poison mist he creates won't harm him.
But if used on others... well, if he doesn't step in to save them, they're as good as dead.
Once someone is hit by his gene poison mist, only a gene antidote can cure them.
As for nerve toxins, they're nothing compared to gene toxins.
Based on his experience, without the gene poison mist, unless he's surrounded by innate experts, killing him wouldn't be easy.
In his past life, if it weren't for a ninth-level gene cultivator hunting him down, would he have self-destructed? No matter how strong the Gene Alliance is, they couldn't possibly have a ninth-level gene cultivator, let alone be stronger than the unique forces of the Changyi Continent.
Besides, if he strikes suddenly, even if the Gene Alliance retaliates, they'd only be left eating his dust.
Better safe than sorry, so Ding Huan decided to prepare the gene poison mist before making his move.
Ding Huan's first stop was the gene medicinal herb store.
He needed to buy more herbs and then rent the gene lab again to create the gene poison mist.
...
Three days later, Ding Huan left the Puhai Gene Research Institute No. 4. He had successfully created a highly toxic gene potion and diluted it into a spray bottle.
Since he already had poison-resistant genes, Ding Huan didn't even bother making an antidote.
This gene poison mist could completely destroy a gene chain if not treated in time.
Ding Huan was confident that no one but him could save someone hit by this gene potion.
Now, it was time to visit the Gene Alliance.
...
Puhai Martial Arts Square.
Today was livelier than usual because the fourth round of assessments had begun.
Unlike the first three rounds, where only the results were displayed on the big screen, the fourth round was an arena battle where everyone could watch the candidates' performances live.
After completing their matches, candidates could leave the waiting area at any time.
After the first three rounds, only two thousand candidates remained.
The square had been rearranged, with ten arenas set up in the center, surrounded by spectator seats.
The arena battle wasn't a free-for-all among the two thousand candidates.
Random matchups would introduce too many variables, making it hard to score fairly.
Out of the two thousand, five hundred would be selected, which was a decent ratio.
If a strong candidate was unlucky enough to face an even stronger one and got eliminated, it wouldn't serve the recruitment goals of the top ten academies on Blue Star.
Therefore, the arena battle involved fighting against simulated martial arts robots.
These robots were roughly equivalent to first-level gene cultivators in strength.
Most candidates were students, so under normal circumstances, defeating these robots would be impossible.
During the battle, the robots would automatically record points based on where and how hard the candidates hit them.
If a candidate was exceptionally strong and managed to deal enough damage to the robot, they could even knock it out (KO).
Of course, if the robot hit the candidate, points would also be deducted.
The final score would be the points the candidate scored minus the points the robot scored on them.
If a candidate was too weak or couldn't dodge, their score could even turn negative.
The results wouldn't be announced immediately; they would only be revealed after all the arena battles were completed.
The Yujiang University assessment area was still the center of attention.
Unlike the first three rounds, the fourth round had no soundproofing.
Spectators could not only watch the battles clearly but also cheer for the candidates.
This time, the three Yujiang University students—Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi—weren't the first to take the stage.
After the first three rounds, their rankings remained unchanged: first, second, and fourth, respectively.
Before the candidates stepped onto the arenas, ten martial arts robots had already taken their positions.
From the outside, these robots looked no different from ordinary people.
The chief examiner stood on the central arena and announced, "I believe everyone already knows the rules of the fourth round, but I'll emphasize them again. Although this round is scored based on how well you fight the martial arts robots, you must last at least ten minutes. If you can't last ten minutes, your score will be calculated based on a KO. Alright, the fourth round begins now!"
As the chief examiner stepped down, the broadcast called out the numbers of the first ten candidates, who then ascended the arenas.
After the chief examiner gave the signal, the ten martial arts robots charged at the candidates.
"Fang Chong, these robots look really fierce," Li Wanran said, a bit worried as she watched the robots charge at the candidates.
Their usual sparring sessions were always controlled, nothing like the robots' relentless attacks.
"Look closely. These robots may seem fierce, but they have a lot of openings," Fang Chong replied.
Although his score wasn't as high as Li Wanran's, he was more experienced in combat.
Within just a few seconds, one candidate was knocked off the arena.
Being knocked off meant a negative score.
Many eliminated candidates watching from the sidelines couldn't help but wonder if they would have been KO'd if they were on the arena.
In just ten minutes, all ten candidates were knocked off the arenas.
Not a single one lasted the full ten minutes.
"How about you guys? I think I can last ten minutes, maybe even score some points," Fang Chong said.
"I should be fine too," Li Wanran replied.
After the initial worry, she had observed the robots' movements and felt confident in her abilities.
Lü Zi chuckled, "No problem for me."
The battles continued, with candidates being knocked off and new ones taking their places.
Whenever someone was knocked off or voluntarily stepped down after ten minutes, the broadcast would announce the next candidate's number and arena.
Two hours later, the broadcast called out Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi's numbers.
All three were from Yujiang University, and their numbers were consecutive, so they were called up together.
"Fang Chong, Li Wanran, Lü Zi, you must do your best! Yujiang University is your strongest backing!" Yujiang University's principal, Tan Bei, shouted as the three walked toward the arenas.
Although Yujiang University had gained fame recently, it hadn't yet reaped the rewards.
With only him present, Tan Bei had to cheer for his students.
Tan Bei's shout seemed to ignite the crowd.
From every corner of the spectator seats, people started chanting Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi's names, cheering them on.
The voices of their families were drowned out in the sea of noise.
Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi were still just students.
The honor they had received in the past few days had only brought them excitement and joy.
But now, as they stepped onto the arenas, the overwhelming cheers made their blood boil and their scalps tingle.
At that moment, all they wanted was to charge forward, knock the robots off the arenas, and prove their strength to everyone.
Ding Huan arrived just in time.
He was here to cause trouble for the Gene Alliance.
The Gene Alliance's headquarters in Huaxia was located in the Dongxun Gene Building, not far from Puhai Martial Arts Square.
Ding Huan planned to ask Fang Chong and the others if they had any details about Geng Qianxing's disappearance before he went to the Gene Alliance.
As soon as he arrived, he heard the crowd cheering for Fang Chong and the others.
From a distance, he saw Fang Chong already engaged in battle with a martial arts robot.
Although it had only been two or three months, Fang Chong's basic punches were quite decent.
However, since it was his first time fighting a robot, Fang Chong seemed a bit inexperienced.
At first, he kept getting hit by the robot.
But after two minutes, he adjusted and started trading blows with the robot, holding his own.
Li Wanran's situation was similar to Fang Chong's.
After an initial period of panic, she stabilized and held her ground.
Lü Zi, however, gave Ding Huan a pleasant surprise.
From the start, Lü Zi wasn't suppressed by the robot; instead, he was the one suppressing it.
In just two or three minutes, Lü Zi had completely overwhelmed the robot, forcing it to retreat continuously.
Ding Huan nodded.
These robots were set at the level of first-level gene cultivators.
Compared to real first-level gene cultivators, they were far inferior.
Lü Zi was a genuine first-level gene cultivator, so he could easily handle several of these robots at once.
After watching for a while, Ding Huan decided to leave.
Since Lü Zi and the others were busy with the fourth round, he would head to the Dongxun Gene Building first.
As Ding Huan left, Puhai Martial Arts Square erupted in excitement.
There had been some strong candidates in the fourth round before, with a few lasting the full ten minutes.
But no matter how strong they were, they were always on the defensive, occasionally counterattacking and mostly dodging.
But now, what were they seeing? Three Yujiang University students had taken the stage, and two of them were trading blows with the robots, not giving them any advantage.
The most shocking was the third student on the arena—what was his name again? He was actually overwhelming the robot, his punches becoming smoother and smoother.
In just a short time, he had forced the robot to the edge of the arena.
Was he going to KO the robot?
The crowd went wild, some shouting "KO! KO!" at the top of their lungs, as if their cheers could influence the battle.
As if responding to the crowd's shouts, Lü Zi suddenly bent at the waist, as if his back had been broken.
The crowd gasped, some even covering their mouths in shock.
They saw the robot punch Lü Zi in the waist.
Had his back been broken by the robot? But in the next moment, the robot seemed to fly into the air.
This time, everyone saw it clearly—Lü Zi had grabbed the robot's ankle and swung it around.
"Whoa!" Amidst the deafening cheers, the crowd watched as Lü Zi hurled the robot off the arena.
(End of Chapter)