GOR Chapter 602 Han Bi!
Chen Xiaolian sat down cross-legged, wracking his brains.
He was neither weakling nor an indecisive person. Although he was usually calm, should the need arise, he was the type who would grit his teeth and make up his mind.
At that moment in time, the masters of this place had forced him to a dead end. Since this was a dead end, Chen Xiaolian decided not to dwell upon it anymore.
The sense of guilt, responsibility, and morality would have to be placed aside for now.
At present, he needed to carefully select someone.
Since a duel to the death was inevitable, he will have to pursue the best possible result – relatively speaking.
Relationships was something that everyone had. Since this was a duel where one would live and the other would die, he can only do his best to protect his friends.
After much deliberation, Chen Xiaolian finally decided upon the same decision as earlier.
Phoenix!
Phoenix was not an Irregularity. Theoretically speaking, even if she lost the duel, she would only be refreshed into an ordinary human. Additionally, Chen Xiaolian could utilize a metal sphere to transform her into an Irregularity, resurrecting her – should she die in the duel.
As for Nicole and Tian Lie, they could not afford to lose.
Strength wise, Phoenix was very powerful. The True Samadhi Fire skill of hers was a top-grade skill.
At present, although Chen Xiaolian had already decided on his choice, he remained seated, putting on the façade of thinking. He was, in fact, buying time.
He recalled Phoenix’s words to him. Although the True Samadhi Fire skill was powerful, it had a cool down time: 50 minutes.
His earlier battle with the Avenging Angel and the conversation he had with the two masters here had taken up quite some time. Even so, Chen Xiaolian decided that he should drag it out for 50 minutes.
The voice, on the other hand, did not urge him.
Chen Xiaolian continued sitting there. Since he had already decided on Phoenix… … his mind was, in fact, pondering another set of issues.
Especially the issue revolving what the masters here had said, about the method for resurrection.
A special version of the Lifehymn Music Score?
Chen Xiaolian thought back to the time when Zero City was under siege, to after he was saved by Miao Yan and the conversation they had.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that time was the first time that the both of them had an honest exchange.
Information wise, that conversation netted him a large harvest. He also got to know about many secrets.
Especially with regards to matters related to resurrection.
There were several crucial points within their conversation.
The first point was the speculation on Shen’s identity. Miao Yan speculated that Shen was, in fact, the first-generation GM. In other words, the GM that had co-operated with the first group of Irregularities. Of course, they had failed in the end and that GM was refreshed. As to how it became Shen, they did not know. However, Chen Xiaolian agreed with the speculation that Shen was likely the first-generation GM.
The second point was somewhat secretive. The World Tree.
According to legends, there were seven seeds of the World Tree. According to Miao Yan, Shen had acquired one of them before only to give it to someone else. It is also said that someone had used it to resurrect someone, an Irregularity.
This information was extremely crucial.
To whom did Shen gave the seed of the World Tree to and who was the one who had resurrected the Irregularity – there were no connections between those two. Chen Xiaolian also had no answers to those questions.
Chen Xiaolian speculated that after Shen gave the seed to a certain someone, that someone then used the seed to resurrect an Irregularity.
If that speculation was correct…
The next question was more interesting.
Who are the masters here?
They… … is one of them the one who had accepted the seed of the World Tree from Shen back then?
At the very least, one of the masters here had later mentioned that he or she had once loaned the Lifehymn Music Score to someone in order to resurrect someone…
Were those matters related?
The two masters here, the two incredibly powerful existences, could they be…
Irregularities?
Perhaps, the first-generation Irregularities?
Part of the group that had founded Zero City?
After all, the masters of this place appeared very familiar with Zero City, Irregularities, and resurrection.
“All right, it is about time, right?”
A voice spoke up once more. Chen Xiaolian could recognize the voice as the second one.
At present, he could confirm that there were two masters of this instance dungeon. The first was the one he hated to the extreme, the one he wanted to kill. That was the one who had controlled the Avenging Angel to beat him up. That master’s voice was more sinister.
This second voice sounded more kind-hearted. And yet, there was this inexplicable oddness in the second voice. The voice gave off the atmosphere of an odd character, seemingly an eccentric who loved playing pranks.
“This should be enough for that girl’s cool down time, right? This is such an interesting battle. I can’t wait anymore.”
“You guessed I would choose Phoenix?” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Moreover, you also know about the skill cool down.”
“Although I am not omnipotent and omniscient here, I am still more or less at that level. So, you would do well to not play any tricks on me, kid.”
“Fine, since you’ve forced my hand, I choose Phoenix to do battle,” Chen Xiaolian said softly. “Before the battle begins, may I meet up with her?”
“No, of course not. This is one of the entertaining aspects of this game.” The voice laughed out.
“… … despicable.”
“Thank you very much.”
Following the voice’s malicious laughter, Chen Xiaolian was teleported to another place.
It was a very familiar place. It was none other than the first stage of the three-stage game he had to undergo earlier, the colosseum.
Chen Xiaolian sat upon one of the stands and found that all the damaged parts of the colosseum had been restored to pristine condition.
He stood up and attempted to move down the stands only to find that he was confined to a small area. He could only move about within a 10-metre wide area. After that, something similar to an invisible barrier blocked his path.
“This is an energy wall, do not attempt to hit it, I am warning you.” The voice laughed. “For such an interesting game, having more spectators is necessary for a better atmosphere.”
After those words were spoken, several green coloured beams of light shone down from the sky and several figures quickly appeared in the different areas within the stands.
Tian Lie, Nicole, and Soo Soo were sent to one of the stands situated around 10 metres away from Chen Xiaolian’s position. They were able to see one another. Chen Xiaolian immediately got to his feet while Soo Soo rushed over. However, she was quickly obstructed by the energy wall.
“Don’t rush, be patient.” Chen Xiaolian said to her using their guild channel.
Soon, however, he realized that he could not use their guild channel.
“So sorry, signal blocked, ha ha ha ha It would not do to let you discuss among yourselves, would it? This is also one of the entertaining aspects of this game,” the detestable voice spoke up once more.
Chen Xiaolian sighed inwardly.
This fellow could even block off the system’s guild channel…
All Chen Xiaolian could do was to make a few hand gestures at Soo Soo’s group. As to whether or not they understood him, there was nothing he could do about it.
Thankfully, both Tian Lie and Nicole were highly experienced in this regard. After sending a few hand gestures back at Chen Xiaolian, they pulled Soo Soo with them and sat down.
The ones to appear next were Sawakita Mitsuo and Nagase Komi.
Appearance wise, the Great Teacher was not doing too well. The old man, Sawakita, appeared injured and weak. All he could do was to lean against the stands, incapable of standing up. Nagase Komi, who was beside him, was also in a heavily wounded state. After the two of them saw Chen Xiaolian, they noted the hand signals sent by Chen Xiaolian. Sawakita Mitsuo nodded. Tugging at Nagase Komi, the two of them then sat there.
The last group to appear…
A stranger.
The stranger had appeared on the stands opposite of Chen Xiaolian and the others.
Body shape wise, the stranger did not appear too old. His body was not that big either.
He wore a tiger mask on his face and a shining metal armour on his person – at least it looked like armour. However, Chen Xiaolian found it peculiar. It looked like mech armour?
Appearance wise, the armour appeared too light.
The stranger, who was opposite them, saw Chen Xiaolian. He abruptly stood up and shouted out loudly a few times.
Unfortunately, due to the energy wall, even sounds were blocked off. Thus, Chen Xiaolian was unable to hear what the other side was saying. He simply felt something peculiar about the stranger. It would appear that the stranger was shouting at him.
“?” Chen Xiaolian felt somewhat lost.
Finally, Hossein, Jenny, and Lin Leyan appeared. They appeared on the left of where Chen Xiaolian was at.
After all his companions had appeared, Chen Xiaolian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least, no one died. Everyone is here.
Next, however… in the middle of the colosseum, the two gladiators appeared.
The first to be teleported inside was Phoenix.
After appearing in the centre of the colosseum, a slight look of shock and confusion appeared on Phoenix’s face. She quickly assumed a defensive stance, ready for battle. Her eyes scanned the surrounding stands and there was a solemn expression on her face.
“Is this not interesting? Let me inform you. At present, you people can see those standing in the arena, but those standing in the arena cannot see you. Isn’t this arrangement wonderful?”
Hearing those malicious words, Chen Xiaolian scoffed.
“Next up is the other gladiator. I choose… … Awakened, Wang Sheng! He is the main powerhouse of the War Tiger Guild. He possesses quite the strength.”
The voice laughed loudly.
Within the area, opposite of Phoenix, a young man with short hair was teleported inside. He wore a sweater with a tiger head pattern.
The moment Phoenix saw the young man, she grew shocked. She hastily assumed a wary and defensive stance – the same happened to the young man known as Wang Sheng.
Next, however, Phoenix was finally able to clearly see the other party’s sweater and the tiger head pattern on it. Suddenly, Phoenix froze.
Immediately, to Chen Xiaolian’s bewilderment, a maddening look of rage and resentment appeared within Phoenix’s face.
Pointing at Wang Sheng, she released a low roar before striding forward.
Wang Sheng appeared stunned. Even so, seeing that the young woman opposite him was rushing him, he quickly responded. However, both of them had only managed to take a few steps when an invisible barrier suddenly stopped them. There were only several metres left between them.
“The duel has yet to begin, don’t be impatient.”
A voice spoke up from the sky above and descended upon the ears of everyone within the colosseum.
Still, Phoenix and Wang Sheng did not know they were other people on the stands.
“All right, then. Now, as the master of this instance dungeon, I have arranged an interesting duel. The two sides for this duel will be… mm, the former Guild Leader of the Coffeehouse Guild, the beautiful Miss Phoenix! Ha ha ha ha! Why did I say former? According to the results of my probing, all the members of Coffeehouse Guild had died. As a Guild Leader whose guild has no members, according to the rules of the instance dungeon, if she cannot find enough members before the next instance dungeon, her guild will be taken down by force.
“On the other end of this duel is an emerging persona within the Awakened circle. In the past few months, he displayed aggressive momentum as a member of the War Tiger Guild, Mr Wang Sheng! Ha ha ha ha! According to my probing, War Tiger Guild has recently managed to rack up quite the decent battle record. As for Wang Sheng’s strength, it is quite good as well. Personally, I am looking forward to this decisive duel.”
Phoenix struck the energy barrier before her furiously and shouted, “What do you want to do?”
“Something that you are looking forward to. I will let you fight someone from the War Tiger Guild. The winner lives while the loser dies. How about it? Phoenix, are you not satisfied with this arrangement?”
Phoenix suddenly grew silent. She cast a cold gaze at the distant Wang Sheng.
Chen Xiaolian, who was seated on the stands, was able to see everything that was unfolding within the arena. He quickly realized something was amiss with Phoenix’s state.
She… … seems to know that Wang Sheng? She appears very begrudging of him?
“As the master of this place, I will now announce the rules of this duel to the death, ha ha! Truth be told, there is nothing much to say. This is a true battle to the death. You can use any tricks, skills, moves, there are no restrictions at all! The only objective here is to kill the opponent before you! Remember, killing your opponent means victory, getting killed by your opponent means you lose. Of course, there is one restriction. For the viewing pleasure of the audience and for the sake of creating the proper atmosphere, the battlefield between you two is limited to this arena. Remember, you are not allowed to step foot into the stands or leave the colosseum. Your battle cannot occur outside this place.”
On the opposite corner, the man with the tiger mask, after hearing that, frantically slammed at the energy wall. He went so far as to pull out an energy gun to shoot at the energy wall blocking him. However, the shots were in vain.
“Next up, I want to reveal something. The two parties in this duel must give their thanks to one person, because he was the one who specifically selected the two for this duel… ha ha ha ha ha! The one you have to thank for this is, the Guild Leader of Meteor Rock Guild, Mr Chen Xiaolian. This duel is a special request from him. Thus… regardless of whether you are eagerly awaiting this duel or not, first give a round of applause to Mr Chen Xiaolian.”
After hearing that, War Tiger, who remained on the opposite side of the stands, froze. He stopped what he was doing and stared right at Chen Xiaolian.
Phoenix, on the other hand, maintained that cold expression on her face. She cast a hostile gaze at her opponent and said slowly, “Chen Xiaolian arranged this? Excellent! I am most satisfied with this arrangement!”
Wang Sheng, on the other hand, collected himself. Clearly, he was not some average character. He slowly pulled out a metal hilt from his waist, which swiftly transformed into a sharp warblade.
“What nonsense! You want a fight? Then, bring it? The rest can wait until the fight is over!” Wang Sheng snapped haughtily.
“Ha ha, I like this fighting spirit of yours! Only duels that have fighting spirit is worth watching! Finally, I hope that you two will display your true abilities! Your lives are not the only things at stake for this duel, your companions’ lives are also at stake! So… … fight hard, my dear toys!”
Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath. He kept getting the feeling that something was amiss. When he turned to look at the stand opposite him again, he suddenly became stunned.
The man with the tiger mask slowly took off the mask covering his head to reveal a very familiar face.
That was especially true of the pair of thick, brush-like eye brows.
“Han, Han Bi?” Chen Xiaolian blurted.
Han Bi stared at Chen Xiaolian. Within his eyes were rage, helplessness, pain, and… … resentment.
Han Bi shouted at Chen Xiaolian, but he was unable to hear what Han Bi had shouted out. Even so, looking at Han Bi’s mouth movements, Chen Xiaolian was able to understand somewhat.
It seemed Han Bi was saying:
“Why… … choose him… ... let my little bro go… … let me do it…”
Little bro?
Chen Xiaolian’s face sank and he turned to look at Wang Sheng, who was down in the arena.
…