The tall boy had been quiet since his capture. He had not said a word, but he looked at his captors with ire all the time from his cage. It took only 4 sleepless nights for them to pass the job onto someone else.
Any other slave that was near him felt that something was wrong and did their best to stay pressed against the opposite walls of their cages and cells. Not even flies would land on him.
He never made a sad expression, nor did he ever complain. He simply ate his fill, stretched, and lied down on his back. Not once in his life did he question or bother to think.
That tall boy was currently having a thought. In the dark corners of his mind left abandoned and thoughtless for so long, that singular thought burnt brighter than any torch. 'He looks thoughtful'.
The tall boy walked towards that gray boy who looked thoughtful. After all, that gray haired boy was getting beaten and battered but his mind seemed so busy and focused. The tall boy could understand it from the eyes, every body else looked so afraid, entirely afraid whenever he looked into their eyes. But this gray haired boy's eyes kept shivering and shimmering, there was fear in there but also so much more.
The tall boy's current curiosity and awe could only be explained by those who had only ever seen blindingly pure white their whole life, only for their eyes to finally meet another color. The overwhelming curiosity and awe could not be more present in one's mind.
Tian Mingyun kept desperately fighting for his life, doing his best not to get overwhelmed by the mass of panicking kids currently swarming him, while trying to keep his eyes on the tall figure that kept approaching him. Tian Mingyun was afraid something bad would happen, but he was also curious as to why everyone else was this afraid. What merited their fear of that tall boy? As far as Tian Mingyun knew, this stampede was far more dangerous than whatever that boy intended to do.
Finally, they met. Tian Mingyun was covered in hand and footprints as he was basically ran over by dozens of kids, his face was bruised and bloodied but his eyes were still sharp and awake. The tall boy walked even closer to Tian Mingyun, until their toes were touching. Only then, did the tall boy throw back his messy and long hair to reveal his sunken and scary looking with burning red eyes like cinder.
Those eyes had filled all others with fear so far, yet Tian Mingyun did not run away, instead looking up at the boy straight in his eyes. The tall boy could tell that the little gray boy still had fear in those eyes, but there were also many different thoughts and emotions in there. All those new colors for the tall boy, mesmerizing.
He felt shivers all over his body, emotions starting to sprout from within his empty vessel of a body one after another. His scar covered face and body looked creepy as he shivered in place and then smiled with his large mouth and sunken cheeks. He was overjoyed, the feelings inside him were nameless to him, but he felt them very intensely nonetheless. Happiness, joy, curiosity, surprise, awe, delight, excitement, and a dozen more emotions flashed into his mind.
The tall boy was a genius, he did not freeze in place despite such an overwhelming wave of emotions, swimming on the surface of his stormy mind with ease instead of drowning. He savored every moment of this, inspecting every new color from Tian Mingyun. Such genius was rare, to be a genius of emotion was a gift often coveted by spies and courts, such a genius was instead here amidst a bloody brawl.
The genius of emotion raised his hands, with suddenness that shocked Tian Mingyun and made him raise his guard. This was no martial arts, it was just a simple observation by the tall boy on whether or not this gray haired delightful boy would break if struck.
When those raised hands from the 7 Chi tall boy were lowered upon Tian Mingyun, they fell with the force of two large hammers. Tian Mingyun barely managed to angle his arms in a slope to disperse some of the force and make the hands come to a stop on the floor instead of his body. However, even redirecting them had left Tian Mingyun's forearms bloodied and numb.
He considered running away but decided against it when looking at how tall the other boy was. His only hope was in fighting back and doing so intensely that he could not be attacked back. Now was the perfect time to do so as the tall boy's head was lowered after such a slam. Tian Mingyun quickly mounted his shoulders.
Tian Mingyun's hips were under the chin of the tall boy and pressed against his neck, while his legs were wrapped around the shoulders of the tall boy from the back and his feet firmly hooked to the boy's bony and skinny ribcage. Tian Mingyun had mounted him like this out of reflex, the natural instinct was that the nape was sensitive, and as such he had decided to claw at the tall boy's neck from this position.
Tian Mingyun's black nails fell upon the nape of the tall boy, but the tall boy was sensitive to the pain. He was scarred, but all those scars were skin deep and looked like they came from a whip. He had simply not reacted to the whipping he had received since it was filled with the all too dull and boring emotion of fear. This was the first time he was being struck with fury and determination. His long arms reached for Tian Mingyun's body and struck him as his nape was being clawed.
The tall boy's expression of delight did not change, he was smiling while brutally battering Tian Mingyun with punches from this odd position. Tian Mingyun was also clawing at the tall boy's nape like a beast, his bones audibly cracking after every strike he received from the tall boy while his own black nails kept drawing blood.
The fight between them, as brutal as it looked, was decided at the very moment the tall boy stood up, as effortlessly as if Tian Mingyun was not mounting him. He then slammed down, his forehead meeting with Tian Mingyun's abdomen the moment Tian Mingyun's back met the floor.
The fight was easy to decide, so the tall boy was not sated. He wanted to feel more emotions from Tian Mingyun, to see new colors. So he just picked up the passed out Tian Mingyun, very casually as if he was picking up a pouch, and then put him on his lap and then sat down.
Lian Lingzhu was ready to interfere if the fight between the two were to continue, but he could not understand what that creepy boy was doing. He was just glad that he did not have to look that way much longer due to how eery that tall boy felt to even look at.
Meanwhile, Huo Lan had been busy with her own fight. She was like a mad demon grabbing pieces of flesh from the horde of kids around her as she kept running. This was helping her, she could feel it. As more and more carnage she caused and the more she focused on what to grab and maim next, she was getting the sense of her circulation. Her main opponent was an older looking girl with a beautiful face and an impressively healthy body.
Yet, that girl's cause for not being sold to the brothels was clear as day. She had a large scar from her forehead all the way to her chin, with one of her eyes black as charcoal. That girl kept ordering around other kids and told them what to do and where to go. Shockingly, they seemed to listen to her as she kept running away from Huo Lan.
Huo Lan knew no pause, breaking limbs and tearing flesh apart with her bare hands as she kept charging at that girl like an animal. That girl simply had an air that Huo Lan disliked, Huo Lan was the first one that engaged in this fighting with that girl's group.
The girl was still yelling orders while fiddling with some cloth in her hands.
"Try to tie up her movement! She is small so her legs are small too!" Her words were quickly followed by her followers.
One of those followers was an agile and healthy looking boy in his teens with no hair on his body, he quickly tripped up Huo Lan before picking up one of the limbs Huo Lan had torn off of someone.
As soon as Huo Lan was face first on the ground, the other kids piled on top of her like rats, holding down her limbs to restrict the use of her hands. That hairless boy quickly gave the torn off limb to the scarred girl and she bit off some of the flesh and used some cloth to fashion a broken bone into a makeshift sword for the hairless boy.
The scarred girl had used cloth bandages to fashion some better clothing for herself clearly, as she looked neat instead of haggard while wearing rags. The hairless boy was also dressed in the same manner as the girl, though he looked really scary while holding a broken arm as a sword, and clasping its hand as if it was a handle. The boy soon spoke after gasping for air from how tired he was from the fight.
"Killing you one hundred times would not suffice, you monster! I, Huoli Jingzi, shall end your wretched life! Revenge for our fallen friends!" He raised the gross makeshift blade and was ready to strike Huo Lan down until he was interrupted by a large cloud of dust emerging between them after a thunderously loud noise.
As the dust cleared and a chain was revealed within, Lian Lingzhu spoke from his high and mighty podium.
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"Enough! You shall not kill her. You lot can fight her again in the final tournament, move to the side!" Nobody understood why Lian Lingzhu said what he said, none among the slaves at least. But this was very much so the norm for this arena, the precious slaves would not be killed.
Huoli Jingzi tried to strike Huo Lan down regardless but was stopped by the scarred girl.
"We managed to secure this many of our friends at least, let's move to the side and wait, brother. Please, we can not fight against the slavers just yet." The scarred girl spoke very kindly unlike when she was yelling out orders.
Huoli Jingzi looked over at his sister and bit his lips, forcing himself to not attack.
"As you say, Yue... As you say. Come on guys, let's go to the side. We are done fighting for now." The others reluctantly listened to him and let Huo Lan go, only for her to try and attack them in a frenzy once freed.
However, she quickly found herself tied up by the chains, Lian Lingzhu had easily ensnared her skillfully without even getting up from his makeshift throne. He would not let her haphazardly destroy merchandise any longer. She had already proven that she was strong enough to fight in the tournament, and had already killed too many other kids.
Huo Lan was unable to free herself from the chains, so she was forced to stop struggling and calm down. Which made her finally look and realize how many she had killed. A violent nature or not, a 9 year old kid could not help but be terrified after realizing the weight of such reprehensible actions. She was crying while trying to close her eyes and look away.
Shupi Juren was glad he did not have to intervene. He was observing all the others from his position and was determined to save them if they were within an inch of their lives. He was still holding himself while fighting fodder after all. This kind of brawl posed no risk to him as a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator after all.
Shupi Juren was mostly making sure that Yanku Zhimei was not being overcrowded and that she could rest. He was also worried that Tian Mingyun was beaten and now seemingly kidnapped by a creepy tall boy, but at least it seemed like he was not being harmed after being knocked out.
Just everything the fighting in the arena was losing its fervor and victors were being decided, Lian Lingzhu's roaring voice echoed once again.
"RELEASE THE THIRD AND FOURTH BATCHES!"
These were the last batches, the ones who were not favored in the least, but there were still some expensive ones among them that Lian Lingzhu had to keep an eye out for and protect.
As soon as those batches were introduced into the arena, chaos ensued once more. The smell of blood and sweat filled the air and was only overwhelmed by the scent of cheap wine. The slavers were having a good time and drinking while laughing. Watching kids violently beat each other to death and betting on who would live or die was always a joy for them.
Appraiser Tong was the only one that looked upset. Shupi Juren was holding back, while Huo Lan had gone too far. Tian Mingyun was disappointed as he was quickly defeated while Yanku Zhimei had lost her only ever one on one fight. His chances for the tournament victory with his slaves did not seem likely now, and the bets were quickly turning against them in the odds. What he viewed as a guaranteed win of a small sum with a huge bet, had just turned into a near impossible win of a great fortune with nearly a guaranteed loss of his huge bet.
Lian Lingzhu was very satisfied in contrast. Whoever won or lost, this year was a fine selection. He would truly be rich. He would finally have his own sect. He was confident that he would make a fine cultivator, even if his starting point was late. After all, mastering the Body Arts often paved the way for a smooth cultivation path up to a certain point. He was convinced that his way was smooth and paved, he needed only to take the first step.
Hou Yun was finding fine practice for himself in this brawl of weaklings. He was performing every move he had learned, save for the taxing or finishing ones. This was the dream of every wrestler and grappler, to be able to perform their moves on all kinds of different bodies. His current favorite was a large and strong boy in his teens with a huge round belly.
Such unique physical attributes made people precious for wrestlers, after all their bodies would have certain strengths and weaknesses. A short limbed person was harder to joint lock, while a taller person was harder to pick up. Someone with a robust and rotund physique would often be weak on the knees, but this body did not get tripped easily either. Hou Yun played around with the rotund boy, not knowing that the rotund boy would have laid on his back, and pretended to have lost out of laziness if not for the tournament's prizes of meat, wine, and a slave concubine.
Wei Shixian was a boy never sated. He had drank from his mother's tit until he was 6, and left her a skinny woman. He had eaten every piece of meat in their village until they were a famished folk. He was strong as an ox, but he also kept training because he was never sated with his power. He would drink a keg of wine and not get drunk where others would be sleeping after the third cup. His life was one where he would always be chasing, be it food, drinks, women, or gold. However, he was fated to never be sated.
Wei Shixian only ever dreamt of being fulfilled one day. A single day of closing his eyes and sleeping while wanting for nothing in life. He was 14 years old and had slept thousands of nights while always feeling nothing was ever enough. He thought it was not a big ask to go to bed smiling and fulfilled one day. Yet for now, he could not help but chase for more, trying to hit the agile and handsome boy with the evil smile in front of him to no avail.
Hou Yun finally figured out how to wrestle with the large Wei Shixian in front of him. He simply tripped his feet from under him by sliding his leg in between them. He could not trip him by the knee, so he would trip him by the foot, for even a boulder would only remain without rolling if its foundation was thick, not if it was heavy.
Yet, Wei Shixian did not have enough of fighting either, getting up and fighting against Hou Yun again and again. Only ever lying down on his back and taking deep breaths after being made to fall on his ass and face for 50 times straight. However, Hou Yun was just as tired, breathing heavily while still devilishly smiling.
"Haaaah... Were you the son of a bull or something? Hah... I am Hou Yun, you are the only one to ever get up so many times." He did not even introduce himself fully, he was just too tired and gulping down his spit to do so.
Wei Shixian spoke as well, his voice thick and deep as if he was talking from his huge round belly.
"Hoh... Wei Shixian is the name... Hah... We will get back to it after I nap." Hou Yun thought the big boy was joking, only to hear Wei Shixian snoring right after. He was feeling so unthreatened in this sort of arena that he was actually sleeping.
Hou Yun could not help but laugh. Such good fortune it was to get captured as a slave! Such violent days he was having! He was drenched in sweat, so he sat down and gathered his breathing. His scary smile faded and his handsome and stoic was all that remained.
It did not matter whether there was a brawl or a war, some of the teen girls could simply not avert their eyes from him as he sat there with his muscly physique and broad shoulders, combined with his extremely elegant and handsome face.
As soon as the fighting slowed down, some girls made their way to Hou Yun's side, fawning over him and trying to get close to him. This was not simply because he was handsome, but also because those girls' minds were desperately looking for a way to absorb this mental shock. Such a bloody and gruesome battle was the opposite of the life their parents had embellished and hoped for them. Without any guiding figures and at such a young age in these horrid conditions, they simply flocked to him as if he was a shelter and a return to that promised life. He was gallant and strong, handsome and pretty. He was the kind of man that their dead parents would want for them to be with.
There was one glaring exception, one who was so angry that she was stomping the dirt just from looking at the non-caring Hou Yun being surrounded by girls fawning all over him. She was the girl with two buns fixed with sticks as her hairstyle that Hou Yun had threatened to form a circle. She was complaining about her anger and yelling it out for Yanku Zhimei to listen to. While Yanku Zhimei only looked at her confusedly.
Yanku Zhimei could not understand how this girl even had the energy to vent after fighting and getting beat up so much. She could only sit on her ass and listen to the girl bicker while gasping for air with her burning hot and exhausted lungs.
Tian Mingyun was still half asleep on his enemy's lap while that tall and scary enemy boy in question only smiled at him as if he were a cute pet. He knew that if he was not being harmed, so the best he could do was try to recover from the beating he had just received, after all his entire body felt like a broken clay pot.