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

The arena is a money-making machine for these base leaders, and now that Tang has caused them to lose a large number of spectators and their income to plummet, it's no wonder they're furious.

After being berated by the deputy leader, the underling stood like an ostrich, too afraid to utter another sound. At this moment, another quick-witted man nearby couldn't help but suggest:

After the old man nodded, he got straight to the point and asked the deputy leader about the arena. The deputy leader reported the information truthfully, looking anxious and as if he would resolve the issue as soon as possible.

It is precisely because of this dilemma that the deputy leader has always wanted to get rid of Tang, but has been unable to do so. This has led to the current situation where Tang wants to further regulate the arena and reduce the influence of the organizers, while they can only be filled with impotent rage.

Liao Ji stared at the middle-aged man shouting in the room, searched his memory, and finally found an impression among the many small leaders he had killed. It was the deputy leader of the Gulase base.

Their goal in killing Tang was to bring the arena back to its more profitable, bloody, and violent mode. If they ended up ruining the arena in the process, it would be a case of hurting the enemy while also losing a thousand of their own, a net loss.

The only people with the strength and financial resources to do this are the higher-ups at the Gulase base. With the change of the group, Liao Ji began to explore the surrounding area. As he walked deeper into the compound, he soon heard the sound of things being smashed and accompanied by angry curses coming from a study.

Liao Ji had already memorized these resource conversions by heart in the game and had calculated them countless times.

In recent years, Tang has not only rapidly accumulated a large number of supporters among gladiators, but also has considerable influence among the audience, and is even showing signs of becoming an iconic figure in the arena in the hearts of the audience.

Often, one unit of unpolluted soil can be exchanged for twenty-seven units of low-polluted soil and one hundred and sixty-eight units of moderately polluted soil, while the minimum requirement for crops is moderately polluted soil.

The current deputy leader, judging from his appearance, is extremely angry, the root of which comes from the arena, or more precisely, from Tang and the gladiators who have Tang as their spiritual leader.

First of all, this approach is certainly feasible. If they really tear off the mask of civility and stop caring about face, and take action openly, Tang will definitely die. But the problem is that the consequences of doing so would probably be very serious.

One of the trembling subordinates couldn't help but say, "Deputy Leader, how about we raise the bounty a bit more? I heard there's a really powerful Evil One at the base next door. If we can get him here, we'll definitely be able to take down that widow!"

"Daughter?"

The old man's words startled the deputy leader, who didn't quite understand.

The old man smiled without saying a word, and sat down in the main seat. The deputy leader quickly had his men brew him a cup of tea. After drinking the tea, the old man continued slowly:

"That's right. From now on, you all need to do your best to get along with Tang's daughter, provide her with cultivation resources, let her live in the best house, have a dedicated nutritionist prepare her meals, dress her in beautiful clothes, let her wear the most luxurious jewelry, and make sure everyone in the arena takes care of her and provides her with the best service."

Chapter 251 Tang's Determination

What?!

The deputy leader was completely bewildered, even to the point of being speechless. He couldn't understand the old man at all, and after hearing the old man's plans, he found them simply unbelievable.

Tang was their number one enemy in the arena, the most troublesome woman. But now, instead of targeting Tang, they are going to promote her daughter and give her the best treatment.

"Chief, this...this..."

Before the deputy leader could finish his stammering rebuttal, the old man laughed again, took a sip of tea, and continued, "It won't take long, about a year will be enough, and then we can start a competition."

"Contest?"

"Wouldn't it be interesting to have a new young champion compete against the veteran champion? I think the audience would flock to the match. Even if the new champion defeats the old champion during the match, the audience would accept it and be even more excited, right?"

"And those gladiators who supported the old champion, upon seeing the old champion's death, won't their first target for revenge be the new champion, who is our lackey, rather than us?"

"So, the problem now is, the old champion is very strong, so where can we find a new champion who can make the old champion willingly lose, or even be killed?"

The old man's slow explanation changed the deputy leader's expression from initial confusion to sudden understanding, followed by great excitement.

Without the old man needing to say anything more, the deputy leader trembled all over, excitedly muttering to himself, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that! Letting the mother and daughter be opponents in the arena, given Tang's personality, how could he possibly harm her daughter!"

"When they reach the most crucial moment of their fight, I'll have a gunman go to the audience and shoot Tang. His daughter won't be able to withstand the blow and will accidentally kill Tang!"

"This way, the audience will have a great time. The gimmick of a mother-daughter duel alone can generate a huge amount of publicity for the arena and attract a large audience. Afterwards, the gladiators will only direct their hatred at Tang's daughter, and it will have nothing to do with us. Perfect, too perfect. It has to be you, Chief!"

Amidst the deputy leader's admiring praise, the kind-faced old man chuckled and shook his head again.

"You're wrong about one thing."

"The idea of ​​using a hidden shot to create the illusion that Tang's daughter accidentally killed someone is good, but you underestimate Tang's strength."

"So, Mr. Peng, what do you mean?"

"We can shoot her in the dark, but the target isn't Tang, it's her daughter."

After leaving behind these profound words, the old man departed. Before leaving, he also noticed the potted plants in the deputy leader's courtyard. He chatted with the gardener in a very approachable manner, sharing his insights and experiences in planting and cultivating flowers and plants. Only then did he leave, accompanied by numerous guards, as if taking a stroll.

"Lord Liao Ji." Looking at the old man's back, Styutia gritted her teeth, her originally sea-blue eyes now seeming to spew flames.

When the old man was devising a plan for the deputy leader to deal with Jiu You and her daughter, Si Xiutiya wanted to retaliate in anger several times, but was ultimately stopped by Liao Ji.

Indeed, Liao Ji was also very angry, extremely angry, but this was a dream, a story that had already happened. Their proper place now was to be bystanders of history.

If you break the dream here on impulse and forcibly interrupt the story, it will only lead to the appearance of the "evil dragon" again, just like last time.

Only by reading the entire story can Liao Ji find the true breakthrough in the "Dragon's Dream".

This will also allow me to better understand Jiuyou.

Moreover, Liao Ji had a vague premonition.

Tang is not a foolish mother. On the contrary, this seemingly kind and easy-going mother of Jiu You is actually very meticulous and sensitive. Completely opposite to Jiu You, she is a shrewd woman in terms of wisdom and intelligence.

The fact that Tang met with her late at night in the previous scene and "entrusted" Jiu You to him shows that Tang may have already vaguely sensed that her time was running out.

Or is it

She was prepared to sacrifice herself in exchange for "something else".

The illusions surrounding Liao Ji began to change rapidly once again.

You can sense that they are approaching the end of "The Evil Dragon's Dream".

The following year in Gulasee flashed before Liao Ji's eyes like a slideshow, with each scene a silhouette.

As can be seen, the deputy leader followed the old man's instructions and began to vigorously support Tang's daughter, frequently sending various officials to contact the young girl Jiu You. This ensured that wherever Jiu You went, the people from the arena followed, and there were always attendants surrounding Jiu You.

At the same time, Jiuyou was also invited into a big house with an endless supply of bath water and an independent air purification system. She no longer had to worry about food. Whatever Jiuyou wanted to eat, the people in the arena would soon bring her steaming hot and fragrant food.

Throughout the entire process, Jiuyou's mother neither objected nor stopped her.

Even though some gladiators felt dissatisfied and worried as they watched Jiu You getting closer and closer to the people in the arena, and began to suggest to Tang that he restrain Jiu You, Tang just smiled and brushed them off.

On the contrary, Tang strongly encouraged Jiu You not to be shy or embarrassed, but to open her mouth as much as possible to the people in the arena and ask for all kinds of resources needed for cultivation, such as the Turbid Calamity Weapon, recovery items, the Marking Secret Technique, and so on.

Because they wanted to promote Jiu You, the people in the arena swallowed their anger and granted all of Jiu You's requests, sending all sorts of resources to her. Of course, each time they did it with great fanfare, deliberately wanting all the gladiators to see that Jiu You was frequently receiving their gifts.

With Tang's guidance and the resource supply almost entirely from the Gulase base, Jiu You's talent and potential were greatly stimulated. The little dragon girl finally began to show her true colors, and her strength increased rapidly like a rocket.

It's worth mentioning that during this period, Jiu You's appetite also became enormous, eating more than a dozen meals a day. This is a habit of dragon people in their growth stage, which made the people in the arena curse repeatedly. In particular, the deputy leader almost gave up because Jiu You was going to eat him out of house and home. He gritted his teeth and continued to supply him.

After Jiu You successfully broke through and the gluttony period ended, the deputy leader breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he hated the mother and daughter even more and secretly waited for the day when the mother and daughter would kill each other.

What pleased the deputy leader and motivated him to persist was that they had finally seen the success of their plan. Among the gladiators, there were already many rumors that Jiu You had been bribed and had become their lackey.

Some of these rumors were deliberately spread by them, but a large part of them stemmed from the gladiators' jealousy and envy of Jiu You, which turned into negative emotions and accumulated secretly.

They also tried to drag Tang into it and smear his image, but unfortunately, Tang's image in the eyes of the gladiators was much greater than that of Jiu You. After all, he single-handedly turned the arena environment around and was the only spiritual leader of all the gladiators.

The gladiators at most felt that Tang had given birth to an ungrateful daughter, and even felt sorry for Tang. In the eyes of the gladiators, Tang's act of allowing Jiu You to accept official gifts was just a mother's helpless doting on her daughter.

The gladiators' unwavering loyalty to Tang left the vice-leader helpless and further solidified his resolve to eliminate Tang.

On the other hand, another piece of good news for the deputy leader is that Jiu You's strength is growing too fast.

Their original plan was to train Jiuyou for a year, until she reached half of her mother's level.

Who would have thought that in less than half a year, Jiu You would be able to rival Tang, although she would definitely be slightly inferior due to her youth and lack of experience, but that would be enough.

The day of fruition has finally arrived. The deputy leader, along with his men, has moved up the plan and will spread the news of the mother-daughter showdown throughout the entire Gurasai base tomorrow night.

And on the same night

"How about that, Mom? Aren't I amazing!" In the special training ground, Jiu You was defeated by Tang after a fierce battle for several minutes. The panting girl still looked proud.

In her view, being able to fight her mother for so long is the best proof of her strength.

Meanwhile, Tang, on the other side, rubbed Jiu You's head, which was still that of a young girl.

"Jiuyou, your talent seems to be even stronger than I imagined. I have nothing more to teach you. Congratulations, Jiuyou, you are ready to graduate."

"Oh no, Mom! I don't want to graduate! I can't beat you yet! I want you to be my teacher for life!" Even though she was a young girl, Jiu You still acted like a little girl, throwing herself into Tang's arms and acting spoiled.

Tang stroked Jiu You helplessly, looking at her daughter in her arms with tenderness. She said softly, "It's okay, Jiu You will beat Mommy soon."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that after you get through this, you'll become incredibly powerful, reaching a level that your mother can only look up to and never reach in her lifetime. With that power, you'll have no problem surviving in this world."

"But if, if one day, someone can even beat you like that, I hope you can follow him, Jiuyou."

"Because I believe that if such a person truly exists, he must have abandoned all emotions. Only such a person could perhaps become the hope of the world."

Tang, speaking in a voice only he could hear, gazed up at the blood-red sky filled with turbidity and calamity, and murmured to himself.

Chapter 252 Elegy for Sinners (Part 1)

"Fellow survivors of Gurasai, first of all, congratulations on surviving another day in this damned world!!"

"Next, please allow me to introduce the next match, which can be described as the most top-level peak duel since the establishment of the arena, surpassing any previous one!"

"One of our two contestants today is someone you all already know very well. He is Tang, who emerged out of nowhere a few years ago and swept away all the gladiators with an absolute crushing force, and has continued to dominate the arena until now!"

Even though the host had gripped the microphone tightly and was shouting at the top of his lungs, the clamor of the crowd still drowned out his voice.

Not only were the crowds in the stands screaming excitedly, but many of the gladiators below were also waving their arms and cheering for the dragon girl who was slowly making her entrance.

Tang's charm remains undiminished. Whether it's the aura of a warrior or the unique charm that only a mature woman can exude, after years of accumulation, she has not only not left any traces of time, but is like a fine wine that is even more intoxicating.

On the other side, opposite Tang, at another entrance to the arena, a female dragon-human appeared.

The girl's pretty face bears a resemblance to Tang's, but she is undoubtedly younger and radiates youthful energy. At first glance, she may seem a bit carefree, naive, and clumsy, but no one would underestimate her.

Not just because she is Tang's daughter.

In the past six months, Jiu You's strength has improved by leaps and bounds. Just like her mother back then, she swept through the entire arena upon her birth. Few gladiators could withstand three moves from Jiu You.

The exquisite swordsmanship that did not belong to her mother was secondary. Even when she was empty-handed, Jiu You's slender figure contained unimaginable and terrifying strength. She once lifted a boulder weighing several tons with her bare hands, which made many gladiators sigh in admiration.

Swish!

Jiu You launched an attack on Tang like an arrow released from a bow, and the figures of the mother and daughter began to move at high speed.

But this time, perhaps due to the environment of the arena, or perhaps because it was the first time her mother had treated her as an enemy, when the girl finally swung her last sword at Tang, Jiu You's expression was one of surprise and pride.

The blade turned completely crimson red. At this moment, Jiu You seemed to become one with the blade, and everything her mother had taught her, which she had practiced and honed day and night, and which she had swung the blade thousands of times every day, was sublimated here, all for this one strike.