‘Why does it always have to be some kind of arena?’

Zhang Dong found himself walking into an underground crime den that was in possession of a huge battle arena. The city that was already huge and housed multiple off millions of people also had a vast array of underground tunnels and structures.

It hadn’t been long since they left the restaurant in which he got into a verbal argument with Crimson Fiend. It was clear that this rather musclebound idiot was planning to kill the Phantom Demon that he was impersonating. It seemed that he even had some kind of agreement with the Chaos Sect member that pulled him towards this deathmatch.

He wasn’t left with much of a choice as the man wouldn’t take a no for an answer. There was a point at which Zhang Dong could not refuse. The other party could call in more support from their sect and even attack him if they wanted. At that point, his cover would be blown as he could not risk going to their version of prison. Crimson Fiend that was part of this charade was grinning through the entire thing and now both of them were slowly floating to the center of the ring.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Li Zhong and today we will see a very special bout between two masters. They have been at each other's throats for hundreds of years and today one of them will finally fall!”

The man from the Chaos Sect revealed his name while announcing the sides. His face was truly something that should belong to a snake. It wasn’t just a mirage; there was probably some kind of beast bloodline running in his veins. Zhang Dong could tell that it was due to a body refining technique that made him somewhat similar to some of the demi-humans he faced not so long ago.

“Are you mad old Phantom? Did you really think I wouldn’t get to you eventually?”

The man that looked like a strongman was standing before him with a large oversized hammer over his shoulder. The face of the hammer was wider than his entire head and would probably decimate a regular person from the weight only. It was clearly a heavenly treasure that was radiating some kind of bloody aura.

‘The weapon absorbs blood to get stronger? I guess it's a fitting weapon for a meathead like that.’

Zhang Dong didn’t reply as he just scanned the surroundings for potential trouble. The snake-like man was a nascent soul master at around the level of the Crimson Fiend. It wouldn’t be surprising if he decided to jump in to help his ally if something went wrong. There were also two early stage nascent soul masters that barely made the cut, probably some people that the Li Zhong trained as they had similar features.

‘His disciples? Would they jump in if the Phantom Demon started winning? How much of my power should I use…’

The silence that Zhang Dong gave Crimson Fiend only made the cultivator fume with rage. From his perspective, it looked like the old man was not taking him seriously. This wasn’t that far off as Zhang Dong didn’t think any of these people were his opponents. The only problem was that he couldn’t just attack people from the Chaos Sect. If they jumped in to save their friend and he killed all of them, then his infiltration mission would end.

‘I guess I’ll need to make this fast and not give them a chance to interfere…’

His original plan was to prolong the fight to not raise brows. Yet if he took too long in defeating Crimson Fiend then there was no telling of what the other party would do. There were some attacking formations on this ring that could be activated or they could be in possession of hidden treasures with curses. It wouldn’t be hard for masters to perform hidden attacks without giving themselves away.

‘I bet they will try to attack me if this idiot starts to lose…’

“You won’t be able to keep that smile on for long!”

The angered Crimson Fiend looked towards the announcer that was taking his sweet time. These two weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they were working together. Soon the snake nodded and made the announcement.

“I see that the Crimson Fiend is getting impatient, the bets will be closed. Let us start with the match!”

‘They won’t even ask me if I’m ready huh? I guess I’ll need to make a spectacle of this so that they won’t seek me out for more trouble… Not like it's impossible for old farts to progress further… luckily I came prepared.’

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Zhang Dong expected things to go wrong and for this occasion, he had made a few treasures. The demi-humans were quite the source of weaponry as their bodies were in a sense high quality treasures. With the help of some of the commanding officer's bones, he had created a fitting weapon for someone like the Phantom Demon to use. It wasn’t the only one that he created but this fit his current persona the most.

The match started with a smack to a loud gong. The moment the battle was on he pulled out something that looked like a staff made from human bones. Its top part had a skull with a large protruding horn. It belonged to one of the tribe leaders that his sect had slain and it could produce several effects.

“That’s not going to help you! Now die old fart!”

“Idiots that charge in never live long lives…”

Demonic cultivators normally weren’t fools but the more they progressed through the ranks the more they were consumed by hubris. Even though they should be aware of their own deficiencies they tended to overestimate themselves if they were convinced of their superiority. This was the case during this clash, the man charging at him was assured of his victory.

From the sides, he could feel the gazes of many people but the ones that he was paying attention to were the two nascent soul masters. With his current level, he could tell that they were waiting for something. Their auras were already quickly rising as they were up to no good.

The man that was charging at him expanded in size. His entire body which was a mix of fat and muscle became a lot more muscular than before. With the increase in size came a side effect of his skin turning crimson. In a matter of moments, the man didn’t look like a human anymore and was more similar to a devil with a complete set of black horns.

‘So that’s why they call him the Crimson Fiend?’

The demonic energy around the man became really thick and quickly filled the entire area. Black smoke that looked like volcanic ash started blocking out the view. This was certainly all a ploy to allow his allies to act as it didn’t take long for them to launch their hidden techniques toward Zhang Dong’s location.

‘Transparent needles coated in paralyzing venom?’

To block this attack he just raised the occult-looking staff that was in his right hand. A shroud of green flames surrounded his entire body that halted the needles from connecting with his neck. They were quite small and made from expensive materials but his enemy seems to be waiting for this opportunity.

Perhaps this hidden attack was not meant to work but just took the focus of the Crimson Fiend that was already swinging the giant hammer down on his body. If the weapon connected there would be nothing left of the man once known as the Phantom Demon. Yet no one could have known that the old man was already dead and they were fighting someone that was far more deadly.

From within the gray shroud, the man that looked like a red demon emerged. His body looked like it was burning up as a small number of fire elements gathered. His target was the decrepit old man with the staff that looked like he would collapse at the smallest tap.

Yet suddenly a ferocious mass of green flames erupted. These flames did not burn the flesh, no instead they aimed at the core of what this Crimson Fiend was made of, his eternal soul. The man was in shock, it was as if he was separated into two existences the moment the burst of green energy collided with his body.

The Crimson Fiend could see his body moving forward while his spirit remained behind. He knew that the Phantom Demon was versed in wielding wraiths and creatures like phantoms but he did not expect him to be able to directly affect his nascent divinity. This one attack of his was capable of separating it from his main body that without it around was just a mindless husk.

It continued to perform the last action that his brain sent but instead of colliding with the old demon it just clobbered the rocky ground. The entire place shook along with the audience which was mostly unaware of what was happening.

A loud shrieking sound escaped from the blast of green flames that turned into ferocious demonic skulls. This sound was coming from above and the audience finally noticed what had transpired. When they looked they could see the Crimson Fiend’s nascent divinity being ravaged by these green phantoms that were clearly produced by the decrepit old man.

Zhang Dong was floating to the side as he left an afterimage behind in the spot the hammer hit. To others, it looked like it was some kind of phantom but he only utilized his astonishing speed that even a late stage nascent soul master would not be able to fathom.

His Dao of the Soul was a higher form than the one that Phantom Demon was using. While he could not truly summon demonic phantoms that would eat up his opponent's nascent divinity he could produce a similar effect. Only a person that was efficient in the Dao of the Souls would be able to see through this ruse. Yet there was no one like that here, to them it looked like the demonic green ghosts were just eating up a defenseless Crimson Fiend.

“Was this what you wanted to show me, Crimson Fiend? I am not impressed…”

Zhang Dong watched as the simulated phantoms devoured the soul while he used other ways to apprehend that nascent divinity along with the increase in his understanding of the demonic Dao.

“Hm, shouldn’t you announce the winner, young man?”

He called out to the Chaos Sect member that could not understand the situation that unfolded before him.

“...”

After his victory, he returned down to the ground where the intact body of the Crimson Fiend resided. It looked like the large man was just sleeping as there were no visible injuries. Without a nascent divinity or his soul, it was just an empty shell of his former existence. The only use for him now was turning it into blood crystals…