Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian’s violent demolition successfully sparked a massive response.

Amid the hysterical cheers and screams, Fu Qian—a man of deep empathy—seemed to feel the crowd’s joy. He waved dashingly to the stands.

Another adrenaline-fueled roar erupted. A rain of gifts poured down, almost filling the massive crater he had left in the arena.

The White Tower’s security was undeniably efficient. A team quickly rushed into the arena, staring down at the crater with dark expressions.

While the ring from the first match could have been patched up and reused, this one practically had to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

Still, this was truly a place of unbridled indulgence. After fishing the two corpses out of the pit, the security team retreated without a single word of complaint.

This display made Fu Qian just a bit more interested in the place.

From a certain perspective, this den of depravity actually adhered to the rules better than the outside world.

A trembling new referee soon stepped up to the stage. He stood eight zhang away to announce the winner.

As Fu Qian left the ring, he was treated like a hero. The spotlights followed him all the way into the preparation room. He was already a star of the arena.”Welcome... back!”

The Priestess holding his towel and other Items stared blankly at his legs, her expression stiff. She didn’t dare step any closer.

In fact, it wasn’t just her. The blonde female fighter nearby was also staring at him with a solemn expression.

He had to admit, she was quite strong.

Looking at the blonde woman staring back at him, Fu Qian silently gave her a positive rating.

She was young and dressed in a sleek combat suit. With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and delicate features, her snow-white skin was almost indistinguishable from her similarly colored clothes.

Despite her delicate appearance, she was on a completely different level from the energetic young man he had fought earlier. Judging by her aura, she was a genuine transcendent—likely even at Tier 7.

”Veil.”

Unexpectedly, meeting Fu Qian’s gaze, the blonde woman took the initiative to step forward and introduce herself.

”Fu Qian.”

Fu Qian nodded.

”Mr. Fu, I have to say, your strength is absolutely despair-inducing.”

A hint of helplessness touched Veil’s smile.

”You flatter me.”

Fu Qian glanced at her.

It was hard to imagine what kind of mindset would drive such a young Tier 7 to participate in this.

The reward of limb grafting was certainly tempting, but that was only for ordinary people. Very few true transcendents would willingly undergo such a thing unless they had hit a bottleneck and lost all hope of advancement.

Let alone someone with such a promising future.

The White Tower Company might have offered something to move her, but if the rewards were too good and drew in too many transcendents, why would ordinary people like that energetic young man ever sign up?

After all, entertainment value was made up of many factors, and one-sided slaughter was definitely one of them.

Facts proved that Fu Qian’s judgment was quite accurate. In her second match, the blonde woman faced a fellow transcendent.

Wielding her twin Rapiers—one long, one short—she ended the fight in barely two minutes.

By the end, her opponent was kneeling on the ground, his legs riddled with wounds, while not a single speck of dust marred her snow-white combat suit.

It was a beautiful battle, though because it lacked explosive violence, the reaction it provoked wasn’t even a tenth of his own.

But judging from the strength she displayed, as long as she didn’t run into him, she was highly likely to make it to the later rounds.

Well, never mind!

Standing in the ring for his third match, Fu Qian looked at Veil opposite him and shook his head.

He certainly didn’t believe in such coincidences.

With so many participants, the two most dominating fighters just happened to clash in the third round? If this wasn’t rigged, nothing was!

Of course, Fu Qian wouldn’t bore himself by questioning the brackets. To him, it made no difference who his opponent was.

Besides, he had already guessed their likely excuse—

There was no rule saying they couldn’t rig the matches!

Veil looked equally helpless, but it seemed she still wanted to put up a fight.

After a polite bow, she shifted her Rapiers into a staggered stance and watched Fu Qian warily.

”Begin!”

Likely because Fu Qian was in the ring, the referee didn’t even bother counting down this time. He just shouted the start and immediately dove into the corner.

The moment the match began, the blonde woman launched a preemptive strike.

He had to admit, her strength was quite impressive. Her swordplay was downright stunning.

The snow-bright Rapiers transformed into specks of cold light in her hands. The long and short blades covered for each other, every thrust aiming directly for his vitals.

Contrary to popular belief, despite their slender appearance, most Rapiers carried a significant weight. Without proper training, it was incredibly difficult to wield them effectively.

The woman in front of him had clearly immersed herself in swordsmanship for a very long time.

Exquisite movements and perfect kinetic delivery, combined with a transcendent’s speed and power, gave her twin Rapiers an almost invincible edge.

Her left and right blades also formed a watertight defense around her body.

It was incredibly orthodox and dignified swordplay.

Fu Qian nodded to himself.

Genuine technique-focused fighters like her were rare. She was a precious sparring partner.

Although he followed the path where brute force overcomes all skill, he always maintained a sense of reverence for pure technique.

Thus, Fu Qian didn’t choose to crush her with overwhelming power. Instead, he slowed his pace, trying to match her speed to counter her moves.

Only by bringing their speeds to an even playing field could one truly appreciate the terror of such a technical fighter.

At first, the situation was perilous. Several times, the sharp blades nearly skewered his head.

After dodging by a hair’s breadth, Fu Qian quickly adjusted his body. He stopped relying purely on his raw speed, striving instead to dodge with the utmost efficiency.

Soon, the Thug’s absolute control over his physical body began to show its effects. The Rapiers, accompanied by the faint hiss of tearing air, could no longer even touch him.

A minute later, Fu Qian simply closed his eyes, relying purely on his hearing to distinguish her strikes.

His five senses had been vastly enhanced since he became a transcendent, but he had never truly tapped into their potential.

Trying it out today gave him a refreshing sense of clarity.

Meanwhile, Veil had gone from her initial relentless assault to eventual exhaustion. Her speed was finally beginning to drop.

However, just as Fu Qian dodged her Shortsword once again, an ice-blue ray shot from the tip of her blade. A freezing chill instantly enveloped the surrounding area.

Sure enough, she had a trump card!

Facing a massive gap in strength, she knew to show weakness, hide her trump card, and strike when he was off guard to see if it would yield a miraculous result.

He had to admit, she was an expert in both technique and mentality.

But this was where it ended!

Twisting his body at an impossible angle, Fu Qian dodged the long-premeditated killing blow.

The ice-blue ray struck a corner of the arena. Frigid air overflowed, forming a massive patch of white frost.

”I concede!”

Witnessing this, Veil finally stopped, her face full of despair, and surrendered breathlessly.

Was she afraid he would kill her?

Fair enough. He had left quite an impression on the entire audience in his last match.

Before Fu Qian could even react, the relieved referee immediately declared him the winner and sprinted away in a flash.

The spectators, who had been fully expecting him to smash a second ring to pieces, were severely disappointed. A wave of noisy complaints washed over the stands.

Seeing this, Fu Qian let out a cold snort. He looked up and locked his freezing gaze on the section of the crowd yelling the loudest.

If he remembered correctly, killing the audience wasn’t against the rules here either.

Of course, he wasn’t that cruel of a person, but the audience didn’t know that.

Sure enough, within a single breath, that entire section of the stands fell into dead silence.