Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

Chapter 214 The Arena of Life and Death

Before Yang Ping'an could react, the Strange King continued, "Boy, state your name. I don't take in ants."

Yang Ping'an bowed respectfully with unusual solemnity: "Lord Death, my name is Yang Ping'an. One day, I will become the most powerful being in the world, and I will make the name of Death shake the heavens and earth."

The Mysterious King nodded: "Yang Ping'an, it's good that you have ambition. But what you're facing next isn't danger, but a matter of life and death."

"I know you're in the Death Forest program for a year to a year and a half, but it's been a year and three months now. If you can't get out of the Death Forest in the next three months, you'll never be able to avenge your grudge."

Yang Ping'an was immediately shocked. He hadn't expected that Death knew even his plans, and he felt like he had nowhere to hide.

The Mysterious King waved his black arm and said, "Aren't you a little confused? Normally, if a successor accepts the test of the gods and reaches a bottleneck, they can obtain a divinely bestowed soul ring. But here, there is no such thing as a divinely bestowed soul ring. Everything must be fought for by yourself between life and death."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ping'an was taken aback. He had already reached level 70 when he consumed the Golden Dragon Source Fruit, and his seventh spirit ring was of paramount importance, not only affecting the development of his spirit but also the most crucial issue of his spirit true form.

Moreover, based on his own strength and physical attributes, if he had a divinely bestowed spirit ring, reaching 100,000 years shouldn't be a problem. But where could he find a 100,000-year-old metal-attribute spirit beast? Even in the Star Dou Great Forest, there might not be any spirit beasts of that level. The only suitable one was the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear King, but that was something he couldn't afford to provoke, and even the Spirit Hall couldn't afford to offend it.

The Golden Titan Python is a perfect match, not only because it is a metal-attribute soul beast, but also because it has dragon blood. However, given the Golden Titan Python's strength, even if I were level 90, I might not be able to defeat it, let alone at level 70.

A hint of mockery flickered in the eyes of the Mysterious King: "For the next three days, you will face a test between life and death. If you pass the test, you may gain unexpected rewards."

After saying this, the King of Eeries waved his hand, and a black door suddenly appeared in the originally empty hall, the inside of which looked extremely sinister.

Immediately afterwards, an immense force forced Yang Ping'an into the doorway.

By the time Yang Ping'an realized what was happening, he was already at the doorway, and it seemed he was on a special arena.

This arena is a kilometer long and wide, and it looks very large, much larger than any arena I have ever participated in before. Moreover, there are two characters in the very center of the arena: Life and Death.

Suddenly, a strange voice came from the arena: "Yang Ping'an, this is a life-or-death arena. You will be on the arena for the next three days. As long as you can survive, there will be a great surprise."

Yang Ping'an felt a surge of fear. This life-or-death arena was clearly not simple. To truly escape, there was only life, no death, and the enemy would likely be extremely formidable.

Sure enough, a golden light suddenly flashed on the arena, and the largest figure appeared at the other end of the arena. Even if Yang Ping'an was calm, he felt a little scared at this moment.

On the other side of the arena was the golden Titan Python he had encountered in the Forest of Death. The impact from that collision still made Yang Ping'an feel a little uncomfortable.

The voice of the Strange King echoed from the void once more: "Yang Ping'an, the life-or-death arena competition lasts for three days. You need to survive on the arena for three days. I don't need to say anything more about the consequences of failure."

Before Yang Ping'an could say anything, the arena match had already begun, and the golden Titan Python on the other side seemed unusually excited, as if it had seen an enemy.

Yang Ping'an knew that he had no way out now. The next three days would be an extremely dangerous and brutal elimination tournament, and the enemy was many times stronger than he had imagined.

Seeing the golden Titan Serpent charging towards him, especially its gaping maw, he knew that if he were bitten, he would definitely die.

Yang Ping'an quickly summoned his martial soul and soul ring, and without saying a word, he ran wildly into the distance. This life-and-death arena was a huge square with a length and width of more than a thousand meters. Even the Golden Titan Python seemed relatively small on the arena.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Ping'an swiftly summoned his six golden wings and soared into the sky. For snake-type soul beasts, flight is their natural enemy.

However, there seemed to be some kind of oppressive force in the sky. The higher you flew, the greater the pressure became. Even when you reached the highest point, the flow of your soul power was restricted, and it felt as if your soul power was frozen.

Unexpectedly, when the Golden Titan Python saw Yang Ping'an fly, it actually coiled its entire body up, as if it were fighting a legendary eagle. Then, a golden light flashed, and its entire body flew up quickly like a dragon emerging from the sea, almost pouncing on Yang Ping'an.

Yang Ping'an's soul power seemed to be restricted by the sky at this moment, and he could not use the energy of his soul rings. In the end, he had no choice but to use the Invincible Golden Body.

While the Invincible Golden Body is useful, even arguably a divine skill, it has a limitation: it can only be used three times a day. However, on the massive arena, three times is clearly insufficient; it might not even be enough for thirty uses.

Even Yang Ping'an, who barely managed to block the Golden Titan Serpent's attack with his invincible golden body, found the immense power too much for his body to withstand.

What Yang Ping'an could truly use on the arena was his teleportation skill. However, each teleportation required a certain amount of soul power, and although the consumption was small, it was ultimately impossible to continue.

At this moment, Yang Ping'an mentally complained that the Grim Reaper was asking too much of him. After all, the Golden Titan Python was already a level 97 Title Douluo. How could he, a mere Quasi-Soul Saint, possibly withstand it for so long?

However, Yang Ping'an was also very clear that he had no way out. If he wanted to truly persevere, he had to ensure that his soul power was at least 50%. Once his soul power was depleted too much, he would be completely at the mercy of others.

Over the next few days, Yang Ping'an scurried around like a mouse, either flapping his wings and flying quickly or running hard on the arena. But from beginning to end, Yang Ping'an dared not use his soul skills. Even the simplest first soul skill consumed too much soul power. You have to know that three days is a long battle.

As for any counterattack, forget about it. With Yang Ping'an's current strength, he probably wouldn't even be able to break through the Golden Titan Serpent's defense. It would be better to save his strength to run away.

However, it seemed as if there was a pair of eyes in the darkness, watching Yang Ping'an's monkey-like movements, and couldn't help but reveal a smile.

Normally, if Yang Ping'an were to fight a level 97 Title Douluo, given his current strength, he probably wouldn't be able to last even 30 minutes, let alone 3 days.

However, although the strength of spirit beasts is comparable to that of titled Douluo, their intelligence is relatively low, and their speed is actually inferior to that of titled Douluo. Their tactics are also relatively simple, which is the biggest reason why Yang Ping'an was able to persevere.

As time went by, the Golden Titan Serpent became increasingly ferocious, cracking even the hard ground with its massive tail.

In particular, Yang Ping'an felt that this golden Titan Python seemed to be suppressed, and its strength did not seem to reach the level of a titled Douluo. If it were below the level of a titled Douluo, he could try to fight it, but its defense did not seem fake.

Three days passed quickly. When the huge timer on the arena reached zero, Yang Ping'an collapsed to the ground, his body tattered and battered, as if there wasn't a single piece of good flesh left. He had countless broken bones, and if it weren't for the powerful soul bones in his body, he would probably have been killed long ago.

At this moment, the Mysterious King suddenly appeared on the arena, a hint of mockery on his face: "Yang Ping'an, congratulations on hiding from the Golden Titan Serpent's attack for three days. That's quite interesting."

Yang Ping'an no longer had the strength to bow, and could only nod slightly: "Lord Death, isn't this test a bit too extraordinary? It doesn't feel like a test, it feels more like a life-threatening one."

The Mysterious King merely sneered: "Yang Ping'an, do you think you can withstand the Golden Titan Serpent's attacks for three days with your true strength? This is a life-or-death arena, or rather, a death arena. As the weaker party, all you need to do is survive."

"But unlike you, the Golden Titan Serpent needs to kill you, or he will be eliminated in the arena. That's why he went berserk at the end."

Yang Ping looked puzzled: "Lord Death, I've seen the Golden Titan Serpent outside before, and it seems its strength is somewhat inferior to that outside."

The Mysterious King sneered: "This is a life-or-death arena. Naturally, the arena imposes certain restrictions on the two sides in a battle. On this arena, the maximum difference between the two sides can only reach twenty levels. Otherwise, the arena will automatically erase the difference between the two sides. Therefore, although the Golden Titan Python that you are fighting has reached 100,000 years in its body, or even more than 150,000 years, it can only exert the strength of a quasi-titled Douluo due to the restrictions of the arena."

Yang Ping'an then understood why he had been able to persist for three days, and also why the Golden Titan Python was different from the ones outside—it was because it was being suppressed by the special rules of the Grim Reaper.

However, upon closer reflection, if it were a quasi-titled Douluo, I should be able to fight against him.

The Mysterious King seemed to understand Yang Ping'an's thoughts: "The soul power of this golden Titan Python has indeed been suppressed to the level of a quasi-titled Douluo, but its body and defense have not been suppressed. If you were to fight him, you would have died long ago."

With a wave of his hand, the Strange King sent Yang Ping'an back to the main hall, where the Golden Titan Serpent lay quietly beside him, a blood-red soul ring appearing beside it.

As Death said, on the arena of life and death, there is only life and death, not victory or defeat. As the strongest of the three, the Golden Titan Python failed to kill Yang Ping'an, which meant defeat and death.

Yang Ping'an looked at the huge spirit ring, his whole body and spirit essence were trembling. This was a 100,000-year spirit ring, which could be priceless.

But at this moment, the Mysterious King spoke calmly: "This Golden Titan Python is your gain, and also a reward for victory. However, you need to think carefully. With your current strength, you are simply not capable of absorbing a 100,000-year soul ring, not to mention that this Golden Titan Python is full of hatred for you. I'm afraid your soul will be crushed by it."

Yang Ping'an said calmly, "Lord Death, since this is a reward from you, there is only life or death; there will be no other way out or choice."

Yang Ping'an sat cross-legged on the ground and began to absorb the Golden Titan Python's spirit ring, which was also Yang Ping'an's first 100,000-year-level spirit ring.

(End of this chapter)