36: warn

At night, Xie Ning put on a mask, once again becoming the Incarnation of the Mantis King, and arrived at the Black Market Arena.

Old Smoker at the entrance saw him and greeted Xie Ning.

"Are there any interesting opponents tonight?" Xie Ning asked.

Old Smoker grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy eyes: "There actually is one, nicknamed the Devil King. His Demon Tamers Beast is of Excellent quality, a Rank 7 Bronze Devil Mantis. His odds are the same as yours, both 0.5, and he happens to be here."

Since Xie Ning had remained undefeated at the Black Market Arena, his odds had dropped time and again, now reaching a freezing point of 0.5. Even so, countless people still bet on him to win, causing the Black Market Arena to lose quite a bit of blood.

Xie Ning said, "Him then. Arrange it for me."

"Alright, alright." Old Smoker, with a cigarette in his mouth, took Xie Ning's card and registered him with a few swipes. There was no need to queue; he was up in the next match.

Seeing this, Xie Ning frowned slightly and walked into the chaotic and noisy arena. At this time, the people in the arena also saw the change in the match schedule. The duel between two mantises attracted many people's attention.

"Look! The Mantis King is here! He's going to fight the ever-victorious Devil King!"

"Ever-victorious my foot! Our Mantis King is the true ever-victorious general. The Devil King only seemed ever-victorious because he hadn't met our Mantis King yet, making you brainless fans think that way."

"Now this will be a good show."

"The arena is such a pain. The odds are so low now, how are people supposed to bet?"

"In my opinion, they're just afraid of losing more money, haha~"

Xie Ning didn't pay attention to what the noisy crowd was saying. He stood in the contestant area and looked at a person wrapped in black clothes in the opposite contestant area.

This person also noticed Xie Ning's presence, raised his hand to his neck, and made a decapitation gesture, being extremely arrogant.

Xie Ning glanced at him and ignored it.

This scene formed a sharp contrast. Gamblers and fans didn't care about the strength of the two; just by looking at their performance, the black-clad man nicknamed the Devil King, with his arrogant aura, was more to their liking. For a moment, support for Xie Ning decreased, replaced mostly by mockery.

The duel on the stage was affected by the surrounding audience. The fighters also knew they were an eyesore, so the two ended it hastily, and the people around didn't say anything.

"Next is a highly anticipated match, a duel between two ever-victorious generals, two mantises. Who will ultimately become the champion? Who will have their 'ever-victorious' title stopped here? Let's wait and see." The host's voice came from above.

"Now, please welcome the Mantis King and the Devil King to the stage!"

The atmosphere on the scene was instantly ignited as everyone cheered wildly, shouting the two names.

Xie Ning walked onto the stage and looked at the opponent, who didn't speak but only let out a sinister laugh.

Both summoned their Demon Tamers Beasts at the same time.

The handsome Supersonic Mantis appeared before Xie Ning.

On the other side, the 'Devil King' summoned a mantis over four meters long and two meters high, its entire body emitting black Qi. The head of this mantis was covered in eerie red patterns.

[Yao Beast Name] Devil Mantis

[Yao Beast Grade] Excellent Low Grade

[Yao Beast Rank] Rank 9 Bronze

[Yao Beast Attribute] Dark

[Yao Beast Weakness] Light

[Yao Beast Status] Excited (Consumed Bloodlust Pill, remaining effect: 1 hour)

[Yao Beast Description] A type of mantis that grows in the Dark Forest, known as the insect-type killer, with powerful strength.

[Evolution Path]... After Xie Ning finished reading the attributes, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

This Devil Mantis was indeed unusual, but what surprised him even more was that it was drugged and its Rank had been concealed.

One should know that Demon Tamers Beasts undergo an inspection before a battle. Using drugs would lead to disqualification. Looking at the duration, two hours had already passed; it was impossible for the Black Market Arena people not to have noticed. Moreover, things like Rank couldn't be hidden unless it was a special Demon Tamers Beast.

There was only one possibility: they did it on purpose.

Thinking of this, Xie Ning's eyes turned cold. He whispered a few words to the Supersonic Mantis. In the next second, the originally calm Supersonic Mantis became full of Killing Intent.

As the referee shouted "Start."

The two mantises moved.

The Devil Mantis tapped its blade arms and spread its wings, preparing to fly. This was its usual hunting method.

But before it could take off, the Supersonic Mantis had already rushed in front of it, striking down with a blade arm and sending the Devil Mantis staggering back.

The Supersonic Mantis didn't stop after the successful hit. Its two blade arms attacked from both sides, slashing at the Devil Mantis's body.

The Devil Mantis let out a silent scream and used its size to knock the Supersonic Mantis away. Before it could catch its breath, the Supersonic Mantis closed in again. With its blade arms dancing, it broke the momentum the Devil Mantis had struggled to build.

The battle between the two mantises unfolded. The four blade arms clanged against each other. Their attack power and defense were very close. The only difference was that the Supersonic Mantis was faster, while the Devil Mantis was larger and stronger.

After countless rounds, neither mantis could land a decisive blow, and they both pulled back.

The Supersonic Mantis landed on the ground, the golden horn on its forehead gathering strange fluctuations. On the other side, the Devil Mantis's massive body flew into the air, looking like a dark cloud. It looked down at the Supersonic Mantis, the patterns on its body lighting up as black Qi surged around it.

Suddenly, the Supersonic Mantis vanished from its spot, soaring into the sky like a cannonball. Before the Devil Mantis could launch its attack, the Supersonic Mantis reached it, and its golden horn pierced straight into the Devil Mantis's body. This move was precisely its talent—Sound Kill.

With a 'pop', the Supersonic Mantis burst through the Devil Mantis's body, flew half a circle in mid-air, and slowly landed in front of Xie Ning.

[Ding! Supersonic Mantis successfully killed the Devil Mantis. Level gap: 5 Ranks. Gained 6 evolution values.]

The whole place fell silent... until a second later, the Devil Mantis's corpse fell from the sky with a dull 'boom'. Only then did everyone snap out of it, and the crowd instantly erupted.

"Won... it won?"

"What just happened? How did the Devil Mantis die all of a sudden?"

"So powerful! Within the Bronze Rank, it's almost invincible!"

Xie Ning patted the Supersonic Mantis, not even glancing at the 'Devil King'. He didn't choose to fight again, but turned and left with the Supersonic Mantis.

Xie Ning knew he could no longer go to the Black Market Arena in the future.

Although the black market also followed rules, that was based on being able to make money. The appearance of the Supersonic Mantis had caused the black market to lose a lot of money. They were now desperate, otherwise they wouldn't have used today's trick—both drugging and hiding the Rank... Today's event was likely a warning from the Black Market Arena to him... While thinking, he left the arena and passed the registration desk.

Xie Ning suddenly stopped, glanced at Old Smoker, and then turned to leave.

That one look made Old Smoker feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His whole body went cold, and his heart skipped several beats.

He didn't dare to move. He didn't even dare to wipe the ash and sparks that fell on his hand. Only after Xie Ning left did he let out a breath and start cursing toward the entrance.

"Damn it, how dare he glare at me like that. Sooner or later, I'll show him. Just you wait..."

Just as he finished speaking, a spark drifted in from outside and landed on the cigarette in Old Smoker's hand.

Not long after, Old Smoker finished his cigarette and felt a dry heat all over his body. No matter how much water he drank, it didn't help. He simply took some crushed ice and rubbed it on himself.

Unexpectedly, he got hotter and hotter. In the end, his whole body turned red, his expression was pained, but he couldn't say a word. His throat had been burned, and fire began to break out on his body.

A cool breeze blew by, fanning the flames. With a 'boom', Old Smoker was burned to ashes.

This was Xie Ning's warning to the Black Market Arena.