I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense-Chapter 205: 206: Competing in the Arena

Cultivators within the city received the news that Li Xiaobai had already entered Central Province and would have a fair fight with the young sect heir of Xingtian Sect on the stage at noon today.

At this moment, the area around the stage was packed with a sea of people, completely surrounded and impassable.

“Hey, brother, what do you think, who is more powerful between Li Xiaobai and Young Master Xing?”

“Do you even have to ask? Of course, it’s Young Master Xing. He comes from a well-known family, nothing like some rural bumpkin.”

“That’s not quite right. If you ask me, it should be fifty-fifty between the two. No matter what, Li Xiaobai is ranked first in the warrior’s list, and he created quite a stir in the Northern Region not so long ago, showing that he doesn’t fear the major sects at all, so he must have some real strength.”

“Brother, you show a lack of insight, if you ask me. The only reason Li Xiaobai has been so impressive is that he has Elder Tianwu backing him up. Otherwise, what could he have done today to suddenly become first on the warrior’s list?”

“Exactly. The guy is just a product of nepotism. It’d be good for Young Master Xing to give him a lesson!”

The cultivators chattered noisily, eager to see Li Xiaobai make a fool of himself.

On the side, in a teahouse above.

A few young men and women were sitting together, sipping tea and conversing.

“Xi Yao sister, we were just talking about Li Xiaobai yesterday, and now today we’re going to see him. This guy really doesn’t know the breadth of heaven or the depth of earth, coming to Central Province all by himself, and even daring to challenge Big Brother Xing Mohan. He really should be taught a lesson!”

The girl in purple had a cold and hostile expression.

“Xiu’er, don’t speak such words. We have no grudges or grievances with that Young Master Li. How can you turn your anger towards someone just because of an elixir?”

Xi Yao frowned slightly, somewhat displeased. This junior sister of hers had been getting a little too carried away lately.

“But Xi Yao sister, this guy overtook your ranking!” The girl in purple said resentfully.

“Rankings are nothing but empty fame; I’ve never taken them to heart. Besides, to climb to the top of the list indicates that a person has notable cultivation skills and is a true elite among the youth,” Xi Yao said.

“I think it’s all about connections,” the girl in purple muttered.

“Xiu’er, what your senior sister said is right. Li Xiaobai is not simple; Xing Mohan is not his match,” said another young man in white, lightly waving his feather fan and savoring his tea. This person was none other than the Saint Heir of Array Formation Sect who had an encounter with Li Xiaobai in front of the bronze gate in the Tianbei Secret Realm.

The image of Li Xiaobai repeatedly hacking at the gate with his sword was vivid in his mind—that feeling of being out of control of one’s body remained inconceivable to this day, and he still found it impossible to discern what technique had been used.

“Saint Heir, do you really believe in him?”

The girl in purple asked incredulously. She didn’t know Li Xiaobai and had already prejudged him as a nobody clamoring for attention.

“Hehe, the Qiankun Holy Son is not joking. I heard that in that small world, the Holy Son even knelt before Li Xiaobai.”

Another young man, with a teasing look in his eyes, laughed heartily. He was the Saint Heir of Qi Sect, known as Artifact God Idle.

“Qi brother, don’t make fun of me. If you were in front of him, I’m afraid you’d also have only the option to kneel!”

True Qiankun bantered, not taking the incident of kneeling seriously.

Xi Yao and the girl in purple both looked surprised. The Saint Heir of Array Formation Sect had actually knelt before Li Xiaobai? Considering that the Saint Heir could rank on the earth list as an elite youth, with no one knowing the full extent of his cultivation level, and even he had knelt, what kind of strength did Li Xiaobai possess?

This was a lot to take in.

…

Li Xiaobai had heard much of the conversations along the way, all discussing him.

Li Xiaobai, accompanied by Ji Wuqing, approached the arena and immediately spotted Xing Mohan, who appeared to have been waiting for some time.

“Excuse me, I’m here to challenge the arena.”

The crowd parted, creating a path for them.

The cultivators looked serious, staring intently at Li Xiaobai. They could be said to have heard of his reputation for a long time and had been following his movements in the Immortal Spirit Daily. Today, they finally got to see him in person.

They only hoped that the contest wouldn’t end too quickly.

“Li Xiaobai, you have finally arrived. Xing has been waiting for you for a long time!”

Xing Mohan stood up, his eyes emitting a cold gleam, determined to teach Li Xiaobai a lesson today.

“Brother Xing, you seem so eager to be defeated by me. In front of so many talents today, I would feel bad bullying you. So, how about this: I’ll let you have both hands and feet, and if you can land a hit on me, I’ll admit defeat right away!”

Li Xiaobai said with a grin.

The bystanders below the stage were shocked. They hadn’t expected the challenge to be so intense from the start. Allowing the opponent the use of both hands and feet was quite arrogant.

They knew that the figure standing across from him was none other than the Xingtian Sect’s Young Sect Master. In terms of cultivation level and breadth of knowledge, he was not someone ordinary cultivators could compare with.

“Nonsensical ramblings. Elder Wang, I request to start the arena battle immediately!”

Xing Mohan clasped his fist in salute to the middle-aged man beside him, a powerful individual who was responsible for starting the arena matches. However, this man had another identity as well: a guest elder of the Xingtian Sect.

Elder Wang nodded and smiled, signaling, “Be safe.”

Li Xiaobai instinctively felt that something was wrong. This place was Central Province’s territory; frankly, Elder Wang was on Xing Mohan’s side. It was possible that among the spectators, there were some heavy hitters ready to strike at him.

Perhaps Xing Mohan was planning to backstab him? But seeing his brainless demeanor, he didn’t seem to possess the intelligence for such scheming.

“Hehe, boy, this guy looks like an idiot. Hurry up and take him down!”

Ji Wuqing hopped around on the ground, her gaze towards Xing Mohan quite unfriendly.

“You two, please enter the arena.”

Elder Wang signaled for Li Xiaobai to go up to the stage and then formed seal spells with his hands to activate the Formation’s restrictions.

“Arena martial contests are not to the death; you must not harm each other’s lives. What you can use in combat is only the cultivation techniques that randomly appear in the arena. The techniques you two have acquired are different, but they’re of the same tier. Whether you win or lose is up to yourselves.”

Elder Wang briefly explained the rules and then began the arena matches.

A semi-circular Formation restriction rose, and two beams of light entered the bodies of Li Xiaobai and Xing Mohan. These were the restriction forces meant to suppress cultivation levels, jointly created by several Mahayana Realm greats on the Mainland. Even Transcendence Tribulation Stage cultivators would be forcefully suppressed to the Nascent Soul Stage.

However, this was useless against Li Xiaobai, who never cultivated; he relied purely on incrementing his defensive power to become stronger.

In contrast, Xing Mohan’s cultivation level was suppressed to the Nascent Soul Stage, causing his momentum to rapidly decline, and the cold light shooting from his eyes was no longer as frightening as before.

At the same time, two golden pages appeared at the center of the arena, drifting towards Li Xiaobai and Xing Mohan, respectively.

These were the cultivation techniques randomly assigned for this arena contest.

Below the stage, an elder appeared beside Elder Wang unnoticed. He looked at the scene above the arena, his eyes flickering: “Is everything in place?”

“Rest assured, Patriarch, the Young Sect Master holds the most superior cultivation technique, which I personally added in yesterday.”