Chapter 558: Chapter 269: Return to the Arena (Part 2)

Chu Xiu still remembered the smallness he felt when he first saw this enormous creature, but seeing it again now, he no longer felt the same pressure. To Chu Xiu, it was just another giant being.

"You’re back."

The Blood Attendant slowly stood up, dust shaking off its body.

"Help me contact the Gods. I’m ready to participate in the arena." Chu Xiu said.

"Oh?"

The Blood Attendant seemed very surprised: "If I remember correctly, you haven’t been in the General Tier for more than a year."

"To be precise, it’s nine months." Chu Xiu responded.

"Nine months..." The Blood Attendant pondered for a moment but ultimately said nothing.

With the existence of Cause and Effect Points, time can’t be used to measure an Awakened.

It merely knelt on one knee, a devout expression emerging on its face as it seemed to listen intently.

Suddenly, a blood-red eye opened unexpectedly in the void!

Chu Xiu’s heart tightened, as if he were being watched by something extremely dangerous. Every hair on his body stood on end, instinctively making him want to flee!

Luckily, this sensation lasted only a moment and then disappeared. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

At the same time, the Blood Attendant’s emotionless voice, as if possessed, echoed in the vast hall.

"My proud Gladiator, are you ready for the duel?"

"Though I’m eager for you to reclaim glory for me, I must tell you that each Gladiator is their world’s strongest being. Are you truly prepared?"

Chu Xiu nodded solemnly.

Even though his current power was already great, he didn’t underestimate the upcoming battle one bit.

In the Fierce Tier and Warrior Tier, he could easily take first place simply because these tiers were too low.

Simply put, true powerhouses would not stay long at these levels, moving up quickly; those who remained were weaker, and the competition wasn’t as intense.

Specifically, there were fewer than a hundred Warrior Tier gladiators, nearly a thousand Fierce Tier, while there were a full fifty thousand in the General Tier!

For the King Tier gladiators, there were over a hundred thousand! Each was a chosen Warrior from worlds governed by the Four Gods!

Thus, the challenge Chu Xiu faced was entirely different from when he was in the Fierce Tier.

However, a good thing was that the Bloody Arena he was in wasn’t the main arena. It was more of a "fun zone," with many like it, covering only a few hundred worlds, all without the presence of Gods.

This meant there wouldn’t be terrifying beings like the offspring of Gods lowering themselves to participate. At worst, they’d be at the Heroic Spirit level.

Chu Xiu had heard the Blood Attendant mention that the Heroic Spirit Arena, which housed the main arena, was truly terrifying!

There, the number of Heroic Spirit gladiators exceeded ten billion!!!

When he first heard this news, Chu Xiu was dumbfounded.

Ten billion??? Heroic Spirits???

He even doubted if the Blood Attendant got the units wrong, thinking it was thousands instead of billions.

But the Blood Attendant told him the numbers were accurate. In the main world where the Endless Blood Pool resided, every creature, upon reaching adulthood, was King Tier, and there was a high likelihood they’d become Heroic Spirits!

Besides, there were millions of worlds where monumental gladiatorial events were held annually to select the strongest warriors as offerings to the Four Gods. Among these worlds were Advanced ones that did have Gods!

Apart from directly ruled worlds, there were countless others like the Corpse Demon World, where residual power lingered.

It’s safe to say Heroic Spirit strongholds are the true focus of the Bloody Arena! What Chu Xiu participated in was just an appetizer, and even if he performed exceptionally well, it would only summon a Divine Thought from the Blood Pool. Meanwhile, in the main arena, one could face the essence of the Blood Pool itself!

Therefore, after gathering multiple pieces of information, Chu Xiu let out a breath and respectfully said, "Great God, I have thought it through."

The Blood Pool said no more, only vibrating its consciousness: "Well then, which ranked gladiator do you wish to challenge?"

"I wish to challenge the first-ranked gladiator."

As Chu Xiu finished his words, even the Blood Pool seemed taken aback.

"First place..." The Blood Attendant opened and closed its mouth and suddenly froze and fell to the ground, while simultaneously, three other beams of light shot skyward from the remaining sculptures of the Gods!

As the beams disappeared, the statues of the four Gods seemed to come to life, each undergoing a transformation.

The Blood Pool spewed endless blood, the ancient tree sprouted green buds, dirt crumbled from the enormous maggot exposing what seemed like flowing lava underneath, and the six-eyed, eight-winged humanoid bird monster’s eyes spun around wildly.

Chu Xiu stirred, familiar with this scene; he knew another Godly Gamble was about to begin.

As he expected, he felt four conscious streams focus on him as they flowed between the Gods.

These streams exchanged rapidly; it seemed they were having a heated discussion.

With the conscious streams calming, a majestic thought descended into Chu Xiu’s mind!

"My proud Gladiator, I have a proposition for you."

"We will arrange a special duel for you, where the other three Gods will personally select an opponent for you and grant blessings at most S-Class."

"If you win, your rank will leap directly to first place, earning you double points, and besides, you’ll receive the wager rewards from our bet."

"Do you have confidence?"

Chu Xiu pondered briefly and then nodded, saying, "I do."

The Blood Pool pressed further: "Are you confident about it?"

Chu Xiu nodded.

The Blood Pool, as if reassured, confidently went back to communicate with the other three Gods.

It was apparent that the three Gods were somewhat hesitant.

On one hand, they had suffered a significant loss to Chu Xiu before. Though the stakes weren’t much to them, importantly, they lost face!

Thus, they would be doubly cautious this time.

But on the other hand, they were puzzled.

Having advanced to the General Tier for only nine months, even if using Cause and Effect Points to make up for the cultivation process — what about Equipment? Traits? Blessings? Battle experience?

None of these were present, so how could he challenge the first-ranked gladiator?

Moreover, the three Gods were each granting an S-Class blessing!

They wanted to redeem themselves fiercely and win back what they lost, yet they couldn’t understand Chu Xiu’s unfaltering confidence.

Ultimately, the gamble was confirmed. For these Gods, it was all just entertainment. The three other Gods were curious to see how much Chu Xiu had improved in such a short time.

Four pillars of light ascended, linking together in mid-air as the bet was confirmed and the three Gods vanished. The Blood Pool stayed briefly to remark that the stakes were high this time, urging Chu Xiu to prepare well and not to disappoint it.

It then vanished as well.

"The three Gods are calling for the gladiator to enter; the duel will begin soon. Do you have any other questions?"

The Blood Attendant beside him spoke up.

"No." Chu Xiu shook his head, then seemed to recall something: "Oh, yes, show me what items and blessings I can exchange for."

He planned to see if there were any suitable artifacts for him to exchange during this time.

The Blood Attendant handed him an ancient book, and Chu Xiu immersed his consciousness into it, swiftly browsing through.

Before long, he had a general idea.

Reaching the General Tier increased the number of items and blessings he could exchange for by a magnitude, with powerful S-Class, even SS-level blessings, and a wide variety of items. There seemed to be Legendary Equipment everywhere, like they cost nothing.

"With the rank points I’ll earn after reaching first place, I should be able to exchange for an SS-level blessing. However, since it’s doubled, I can obtain two SS-level blessings!"

Though they were only General Tier blessings, the astonishing level of SS could still significantly benefit Chu Xiu.

"As for items, it depends on the mood of the Blood Pool and the Gods’ gamble, but based on past experiences, I should at least be able to exchange for two or three Legends."

Of course, Chu Xiu no longer needed much Legendary Equipment; he hoped to exchange for more special artifacts, like those that could eliminate pollution or enhance life essence, things only Gods could achieve.

"I hope to find an Advanced blessing that increases movement speed, so I can cover my last shortcoming."

With his mind made up, he started perusing in detail.

However, before he could fully review all the High Tier blessings, the Blood Attendant beside him emitted a humming sound like steam.

"Gladiator, the duel is about to begin."