Dark Moon Era

“If you don’t kneel and beg me later, the only outcome is death for you in the ring,” Grady voiced his threat, provoked by Tang Ling’s arrogance.

Tang Ling did not comment though.

As for the audience, a burst of cheers exploded after Grady’s threats because they could expect a bloody and gory match soon.

The one who would end up bloody would be Tang Ling. That was what many of the arena fanatics thought.

Clang, clang, clang!

With the bell rang, the match between Tang Ling and Grady began.

Grady grabbed two blunt weapons from the weapon rack: a spiked club and a sledgehammer. Then, he charged towards Tang Ling with a roar.

The spiked club weighed 100 kg and the sledgehammer 130 kg. With those two blunt weapons in his hands, Grady looked like a tank who could mow anything down. That intimidating presence alone made some of the audience go wild as if they were given an adrenaline boost.

On top of that, Grady was also agile and he reached Tang Ling in the blink of an eye.

Tang Ling acted like an idiot in front of the audience. He did not get the chance to choose his weapon. He seemed like a complete newbie who had never stepped into the ring before.

Some of the audience tightened their lips and disdainful thoughts rose. They thought that the upcoming match would be boring. Grady would surely pummel Tang Ling to the ground with his blunt weapons and the poor idiot might not even get the chance to beg.

As they thought that way, Grady swung his spiked club towards Tang Ling followed by the sledgehammer swinging towards his legs from another angle. Grady possessed more than just the reputation he earned from the 12 undefeated matches. Other than his overpowering strength, his speed and his attacks were quick and fierce.

It was impossible for Tang Ling to dodge the attack! Such a thought popped into everyone’s mind, including Grady’s.

What about in reality?

The audience barely saw Tang Ling move, but Grady’s spiked club and sledgehammer strangely missed his target as though he was holding back against Tang Ling and intentionally missed him before the hit.

Thunderous boos came from the audience as they complained that Grady had feigned his attack.

Grady could not explain himself. His heart was engulfed in a fire of rage. How did Tang Ling dodge his attack?

As the rage lingered in his heart, Grady raised his spiked club and sledgehammer at Tang Ling again. He attacked more fervently than before, wielding the heavy blunt weapons like toys and his arms moved in a flurry like a spinning windmill.

But…

Negated!

He missed!

Negated!

In the audience’s eyes, Grady was performing madly and Tang Ling had barely moved from his spot as if he was watching the show without getting hurt.

What kind of match was that? It was more like a comedy performance than a fight!

The boos continued beneath the ring. Someone even shouted that this match in the Desperado Ring had been rigged by the owner of the junior division and was just a show.

“Sheesh! Stop showing off your ignorance! This is such a high-tier fight, yet you people claim that it’s rigged? What an upsetting comment!” the Wailing Pierrot cut in before things exacerbated further.

He extravagantly raised his arm and snapped his finger. Immediately, a big monitor descended from above the ring. The monitor was also broadcasting the match between Tang Ling and Grady, but it was not a live telecast. It was a replay of the earlier scenes and it was slowed down by 10 times.

From the replay, the audience finally saw that Tang Ling was actually dodging the attacks. However, his movements felt weird as if he could predict Grady’s actions and he shifted his body left and right, up and down accordingly.

However, was it possible for Tang Ling to predict Grady’s movements? The playback on the screen was slowed down 10 times of the normal speed!

The control of his body and the extreme sensing ability was not something commoners could understand. Astonished by the jaw-dropping scene on the screen, they could not find the words to describe their feelings.

As for the geniuses beneath the ring, their hearts throbbed when they saw what happened and some of them felt like it was all a little too familiar.

Was the person with the dog-headed face cloth in the ring Tang Long?!

His talent ability was very similar to Tang Long’s signature talent, Precise Instinct! He also had a head of black hair!

Some of the young geniuses were confused and puzzled by why Tang Long would cover his face up with a dog-headed face cloth.

Meanwhile in the ring, Tang Ling was growing impatient. Less than a minute into the simple fight, Grady had attacked him for at least 15 times, and with his Precise Instinct, Tang Ling already grasped the figures of Grady’s status.

He had the strength of six bulls unfused. His speed was around 3 seconds per hundred meters and as for his reflexes, it was slightly lower than the previous two attributes.

His general statistics were actually considered decent. Because Grady was a notable candidate, Tang Ling also picked up from the crowd’s discussion that he was only 17 years old.

With Grady’s status, he would be the genius of geniuses in the Hope Barrier, so it was reasonable for him to win 12 consecutive matches in the junior division ring of Darkness Port.

However, to Tang Ling, he was simply weak. Grady would not stand a chance in the upcoming events of Darkness Port because the port city was a stage that was prepared for the young geniuses from all over the world.

“That’s it? Are there no other explosive skills or astonishing techniques?” Tang Ling asked as he looked at Grady in doubt.

Tang Ling was a battle fanatic to the bones and always wanted to fight to the extreme, hence he gave Grady a minute to prove himself. If not for his curiosity, Grady would not have lasted 5 seconds in the ring.

Tang Ling was asking his question sincerely, but in Grady’s ears, it sounded like a provocative insult. “You must have a death wish!” Failing to recognize the situation, he growled and raised the weapons in his hands, swinging them towards Tang Ling with even stronger force.

Tang Ling was bored by the dull attacks, so he easily dodged Grady’s attack and he made his first move.

80% of the audience did not see how Tang Ling moved. All they saw was him grabbing Grady’s arm single-handedly. Soon, Grady was stripped of the sledgehammer and it was sent flying away.

In the next second, despite how buff Grady was, Tang Ling lifted him up single-handedly and simply tossed him out, sending him flying towards the iron cage surrounding the ring.

A heavy clunk came from the iron cage which slightly shook when Grady crashed into it. His body softly slid down the iron cage and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. After that, he did not move anymore.

On the other hand, Tang Ling barely left his spot throughout the match.

Dumbfounded, the excited crowd was silenced by Tang Ling’s action as if they were attending a musical rather than a fighting match. No one knew what had happened. How had Grady been defeated so easily?

The Wailing Pierrot chuckled in mockery. He then explained, “Don’t you people understand? Most of you aren’t qualified to experience the fight directly. Please look at the screen if you want to know what happened. It’s just like the matches in the master division. All you people can do is watch the screen.”

As his words acted as a reminder, a realization hit the crowd right after that. Since when did the matches in the junior division reach such a high level? The audience could only find out what happened through the slow-motion screen.

The Wailing Pierrot ignored the foolish audience and walked to the fallen Grady and simply touched his body. “My dear Grady, your arm is broken. Three of your ribs are also broken. Do you still want to fight?”

Grady mustered all the strength he had left and shook his head. He was the one who had fought Tang Ling, so he knew better than anyone how terrifyingly powerful was Tang Ling.

“Great, Grady has surrendered!” The Wailing Pierrot stood up and walked to the center of the ring to raise Tang Ling’s arm. Then, the large screen played back the last scene when Tang Ling made his move.

He had dodged the spiked club and extended his right hand to grab Grady’s wrist quickly, much to the futility of Grady’s struggles.

At the same time, he had dished a kick to his left and landed on Grady’s other wrist, disarming him of his sledgehammer.

“I hereby announce the results of the first match in the Desperado Ring. The ring defender, Mad Tiger, wins!” the Wailing Pierrot excitedly announced the result while he raised Tang Ling’s hand high in the air.

The audience finally responded to the situation. Earth-shattering cheers followed and Mad Tiger’s name was chanted furiously.

Judging from Tang Ling’s performance, his strength would surely be one of the best of the junior division.

“What are you people waiting for? The bets are still open. Do I need to remind you to increase your stakes? Or should I tell you who should you bet on? But I don’t think you can earn a lot by now.” As he announced, Wailing Pierrot’s expression somehow looked strange. He added, “But who knows?”

“Let me tell all of you a secret! The arena in Darkness Port, especially the junior division, will be the most eye-catching place in the upcoming months because more than half of the young prodigies, the geniuses, the rising stars of the world are here!

“You people might find my words unbelievable and you might not believe me, but I’ve told you the secret, so it’s up to you to decide.” The Wailing Pierrot concluded his speech with a strange smile.

He no longer instigated the crowd or the candidates waiting beneath the ring. He gazed upon the possible challengers with a dull gaze and said, “Who’s next? There are only two chances left. I’ve always expected the first to be wasted. An ignorant fool will surely step up for the challenge. The outcome proved my expectations to be right.”

The crowd failed to understand what the Wailing Pierrot was referring to, but the young geniuses beneath the ring did.

There were only two chances left, so there was no room for hesitation anymore even though there was a 50% chance that the Mad Tiger was actually Tang Long in disguise.

Even though the Mad Tiger was casual with his attacks, his performance and his ability highly resemble Precise Instinct.

If it was really Tang Long…

All of a sudden, someone leaped out from the crowd and stepped on people’s heads and shoulders to reach the ring.

Who the hell is that?

While everyone was upset and confused by the rude steps, the young man had stepped into the ring.

“Han Xing here. Let’s fight!”

Tang Ling saw a teenager with a bright presence and a radiant smile. His eyes were overflowing with confidence!

He’s Han Xing? A Dream Seed?!

That was the first impression Tang Ling had, but right after that, the List of Seed that he always carried with him started to heat up.