On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

"So what should we do today?"

"I don't know."

The gladiators began to whisper among themselves, and after the day's competition ended, Liao Ji watched the entire event, which consisted of seventeen matches, seven of which were surprisingly without any casualties.

It's worth noting that in the original arena, it was extremely rare for a gladiator match to end without any casualties, but today there were a total of seven such matches!

This was undoubtedly due to the deterrent effect of Tang's actions yesterday; some gladiators began to feel fear, so even after winning, they did not kill their opponents.

Such a match without killing or bloodshed naturally aroused great dissatisfaction and doubt among the audience. At the same time, strangely, they began to complain that they had wasted their money on today's tickets and that the "quality" of the match was so poor.

Some viewers were even fantasizing that Tang might give them an extra "treat" today, another one-against-many slaughter feast to make up for their disappointment today.

Originally, the audience was just speculating; everyone knew that star gladiators, as champions, were treasures in the arena, and it was considered good if they could appear once a week. But who would have thought...

After today's matches ended, Tang once again appeared on time. This time, to the delight of the audience, Tang launched another crazy challenge, sending all ten contestants from today's matches into the arena.

As expected, Tang finished the battle cleanly and efficiently in ten minutes, suppressing all ten gladiators with absolute strength and executing them without a trace of mercy.

After that, the illusion began to accelerate time, and Tang's challenge never stopped—one day, two days, one week, one month.

During this period, any gladiator who fails to heed Tang's call to action and engages in killing in the arena will inevitably face a challenge from Tang—a death challenge—after the day's matches conclude.

More and more gladiators, whether out of agreement with Tang's initiative or out of fear of him, began to truly abide by the agreement and stopped attacking with deadly force. As soon as their opponent surrendered, they would immediately stop attacking and would never deliberately torture their opponent.

It even escalated to the point where one gladiator, in the heat of the fight, lost his temper and accidentally stabbed his opponent again when the opponent conceded defeat.

When he came to his senses, he was overwhelmed by a tremendous sense of fear. Despite being the victor, he kept apologizing to his opponent, shouting in terror, trying to prove that he had not done it on purpose and had not disobeyed Tang's proposal.

This dramatic scene left the audience speechless, the gladiators with unforgettable memories, and the organizers behind the arena realized that something was truly starting to slip out of their control.

From then on, the number of gladiators killed or wounded in the arena began to drop significantly. What started as a spectacle of two desperate men fighting to the death, risking their lives, has now become a contest of skill, with each side only challenging the other to a draw, and no longer involving excessive gore.

The arena spectators finally came to their senses and began to boycott the event, hurling insults and drastically reducing betting amounts for each match. But it was to no avail; the gladiators had begun to subtly rally around Tang and start forming a united force.

After all, for the vast majority of gladiators, although they earn less money, their safety is greatly improved, and some gladiators even feel that this can become a "proper job".

They are no longer caged wild animals to be watched by others, but truly earn their living through their skills.

The arena organizers were alarmed. Although they had benefited greatly from Tang's policies and made a fortune, Tang's subsequent initiatives changed the arena's environment. Uncomfortable audiences reduced their ticket purchases, causing the arena's revenue to plummet.

The organizers tried many ways to salvage the situation, such as enticing gladiators to kill each other with incentives, but the results were poor. After all, everyone knows that no matter how much money you have, you have to be alive to spend it.

For example, the organizers could try to find a gladiator who is even more powerful and stronger than Tang. As long as Tang, the core of the gladiator, is eliminated, the arena environment will naturally return to its former bloody state, and the audience will come back.

However, several years have passed, and the organizers have brought in countless so-called strongmen through various channels, hoping to defeat Tang, but without exception, they were all killed with a single blow.

Instead of suppressing Tang, the organizers made the gladiators witness Tang's terrifying personal strength, which strengthened their determination to obey Tang's rules. This even led to the emergence of more and more gladiators who regarded Tang as their spiritual leader and began to support him.

Together with Tang, they refined and standardized the original arena rules. In the process of formulating the rules, they completely bypassed the arena organizers, essentially forming an independent alliance among the gladiators and rendering the arena organizers powerless.

Just before these new rules were to be released, time stopped in the dream world, and Liao Ji found himself in Jiu You's house.

This was a small courtyard. Under the blood-red moonlight of the night, Jiu You, who was already a little girl, was diligently practicing her skills by swinging her knife under the supervision and guidance of her mother, Tang.

Liao Ji stood at the door without disturbing her, watching quietly. After Jiu You finally reached her limit, panting heavily and lying on the ground unable to get up, Tang shook his head helplessly. Then, sensing something, he shifted his gaze to the doorway.

Chapter 249 Could you... help me take care of her?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Liao Ji, I've kept you waiting."

Jiu You, who had just been practicing martial arts with her mother and was exhausted, jumped up from the ground with a start when she heard her mother call out Liao Ji's name.

Then, the little girl's bright eyes, as if fully revived, immediately fixed on Liao Ji, and then, like a girl next door, she happily ran over.

"Brother Liao Ji! Waaah, practicing martial arts is so tiring! Jiu You doesn't want to learn from Mom anymore, she's too strict. Brother Liao Ji, could you teach me instead?"

Although Liao Ji's character lost to Jiu You in the story, he was still a runner-up. He was one of the very few young and powerful gladiators, and with his outstanding appearance, he was indeed very attractive to a girl like Jiu You.

Looking at the lively and adorable Jiu You, Liao Ji rubbed the little head of the dragon girl—no, now the dragon girl—and then said, "I can't teach Jiu You. It has to be Ms. Tang herself. Your mother is much more capable than me."

"Hmph, Brother Liao Ji, you're just making excuses! If you don't want to teach, then don't teach! Oh well!"

"Alright, Jiuyou, you'll be an adult soon. Stop acting like a little kid and clinging to your brother Liao Ji. You only have one hundred more swings to do today's thousand sword swings. Once you've rested, go practice. Don't be lazy! Mr. Liao Ji and I have some things to talk about."

"Hmph, just a kid, just a kid!" Jiu You pouted. Although she was unhappy with her mother's urging, she still obediently left and continued to practice swinging her sword.

Afterwards, Tang gave Liao Ji an apologetic look and invited Liao Ji into the house. It turned out that Tang wanted Liao Ji to help him take a look at the new arena rules that were about to be promulgated, and to see if there was anything that needed to be improved.

Although Liao Ji knew it was a dream, he still discussed it earnestly with Tang. The two talked for almost half an hour before finally ending. Under the oil lamp, Tang looked at the young man's youthful face and couldn't help but sigh:

"It's so great to have Mr. Liao Ji's help. I'll be at ease if my daughter can be half as good as you in the future."

"Furthermore, Mr. Liao, there's no need to keep addressing me with such formality. I'm not some important person, you're being too polite."

For the first time, Liao Ji shook his head and denied Tang's existence. After all, Tang was Jiu You's mother, and even if it was just an illusion, Liao Ji still had to give her the respect she deserved.

Moreover, even without this identity, just looking at what Tang did, Liao Ji felt that he should also respect this dragon-human woman.

"Liao Ji, I can actually sense that you're not one of us, or rather, you seem out of place in this chaotic world, like an outsider. So I really want to hear, Liao Ji, do you think what I did was right? If you had been the one who won the championship that day, what would you have done?"

"I probably don't have your courage and determination. I'd rather be content with the status quo and try my best to use the aftereffects of winning the championship to secure a stable later life for myself."

After thinking for a moment, Liao Ji answered honestly. Tang, on the other side, didn't mind and nodded understandingly. Then, he looked up at the blood-red night sky shrouded in turbidity and the blood moon, and sighed.

"Liao Ji, do you know that if my tribe had even five more Evil Ones when the natural disaster struck back then, we might have been saved? But unfortunately we didn't. At that moment, I deeply felt the power of the Evil and our weakness."

"However, when I came to the human city, to Gurasai, and to the arena, I realized that we were not weak. There were many Evil Ones in the arena, many of whom were very strong and excellent warriors. This force was enough to destroy many Evil One leaders and liberate those polluted areas."

"But as you can see, we did not choose to do so. Instead of gathering these forces to fight against the calamities and natural disasters and to save the world, we were content with the status quo and even killed each other, letting the calamities die at the hands of our own people, constantly depleting our strength, all for the sake of amusement."

"I understand that complacency is a common trait among us. When we've already accepted that the world is beyond saving, all we pursue is immediate gratification and self-preservation."

"But if, if one day we can unite, if someone can believe that this world can still be saved, and pass on this belief so that more people can join in, if we stop fighting amongst ourselves and instead integrate all our strengths to help those suffering from calamity and hardship, so that all living beings on this earth can unite as one."

Are natural disasters and calamities truly insurmountable?

Tang clenched her hands as she spoke, a look of sorrow in her pale purple dragon eyes. If such a day had truly come, perhaps her tribe would not have perished and could have been saved by the allied forces. But alas, as it turns out, selfless saviors only exist in fairy tales.

In reality, both settlements and bases are selfish and ruthless. They build high walls not only to defend against the monsters of the turbid calamity, but also to hide and escape. As long as there is a world inside the walls, what does it matter to them what the outside world is like?

“I don’t have much ability to change the world. All I can do is start from the arena. I want to awaken the gladiators here. I am not willing to be content with the status quo, and I don’t want to see us killing each other again and wasting our strength on our compatriots.”

"Liao Ji, I hope to transform the arena into a training camp, where outstanding warriors can be cultivated and become the force that saves the world in the future. I know it sounds naive and absurd, but I want to take this step. No, someone in this world has to take this step. We can't stay inside the walls forever, can we?"

"I'm afraid I won't live to see that day, but I believe that perhaps Jiu You can. I can sense that she is very talented, far more so than I am. If she were a little smarter and more sensible, perhaps I could still dream of her becoming a savior, but now..."

Tang shook his head at Liao Ji.

"She's still too weak. I don't know how much longer I can protect Jiu You. Liao Ji, I'm telling you all this today because I have a lot of selfish motives. After all, you're the only person Jiu You likes here. So, can I ask you for a favor?"

“I’m really worried about Jiuyou, that silly child. She’s too easily manipulated. It’s also my fault for protecting her too much, letting her focus solely on martial arts.”

"I was thinking about what would happen to Jiuyou if I were gone one day. After thinking about it, I could only think of you, Liao Ji."

Speaking of Tang, the last of the three, one could see the helplessness and hopes of a mother in this middle-aged dragon-human demi-human. Tang looked at Liao Ji and said, word by word, in a very serious tone:

"If I really pass away, could you please take care of her for me?"

Chapter 250 Evil Scheme

"I promise you."

The young man's voice was calm but firm and powerful. After receiving Liao Ji's reply, Jiu You's mother seemed to have a great weight lifted from her heart.

She nodded to the young man, then turned her gaze once more to the night sky shrouded in gloom, with the blood moon hanging in the sky.

Tang seemed to be looking at something in the distance, his expression blank.

Before Liao Ji could say anything more, the dreamlike scene around him began to change.

Tang's figure on the opposite side quickly blurred until it disappeared, and the dilapidated hut where Jiu You and her daughter lived deep inside was quickly replaced by a grand mansion.

Bright paint on the walls, beautiful bricks and tiles, servants moving back and forth in the courtyard, wiping the exquisite furniture and mopping the floor tiles until they gleam.

Liao Ji even saw gardeners specifically responsible for caring for the potted plants, carefully pruning the dark green potted plants in the courtyard that were purely for ornamental purposes.

It's worth noting that in the Old World, an ornamental plant was probably more valuable than gold.

These plants have the lowest tolerance for turbidity and often require a great deal of resources to purify and refine them to obtain unpolluted soil suitable for their growth.

“Your thinking was wrong from the start. I’ve told you so many times, the arena is a business, and in business, harmony is the most important thing.”

But after hearing this, the deputy leader's expression only softened slightly, though he still showed some hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the deputy leader stammered slightly and tentatively asked, "You...you mean, I should cultivate a good relationship with Tang?"

However, back then, they were only interested in Tang's popularity, which is why they didn't touch Tang and let him continue to make money for them. Now that they've realized their mistake, they've really raised a tiger that will eventually harm them.

The deputy leader, who was still furious and about to berate the person who had just barged in, immediately swallowed his anger upon seeing that it was an old man, and greeted him with utmost respect and humility:

"My Lord."

The fact that the arena could continue operating undoubtedly indicates that the organizers behind it have close ties with the base's higher-ups.

If this had happened before, when Tang was still unknown, or after winning the championship and causing all sorts of trouble, it wouldn't have been difficult to suppress him before he even "gained momentum."

He seemed to understand better what Jiuyou's mother had said earlier.

"Boss, why don't we be more straightforward? If one-on-one doesn't work, we'll use force. This Tang is indeed powerful, but no matter how powerful she is, she can't escape the restraint marks of our arena. We'll use the marks to suppress her power, and then bring over seven or eight gunmen. I refuse to believe we can't kill Tang!"

If all the polluted soil in a sample were used to grow food, it could meet the basic survival needs of ten people.

"It's not with Tang, it's with her daughter."

If they were to act utterly unreasonable and kill people without restraint, it could very well lead to a gladiator riot, and the arena's reputation among the audience would plummet.

"Pull! Still pulling! I'll pull you—! How many times have you said this yourself? How many wicked ones have you hired? Has it worked? You're all a bunch of useless trash! You can't even hurt that mother dragon!"

As the atmosphere in the deputy leader's room was oppressive and somber, Liao Ji, an observer, turned to look at the door. Soon, footsteps sounded from there, and then a kind-looking old man pushed open the door and entered.

The old man shook his head at this.

"Damn it! What is Tang trying to do?! Is she planning a rebellion?! Or is she going to introduce new rules for gladiators?! Who does she think she is?! The queen of the arena?!"

He still remembers how stupid he must be when he came to this conclusion. What kind of brain-dead player would waste such precious resources on buying ornamental plants? Wouldn't it be better to grow more crops and increase the population?

but now

Liao Ji looked at the rows of potted plants in the courtyard, which looked like a small garden.