The goblin-faced bookie was sweating.
It wasn't a normal sweat. It was the cold, clammy perspiration of a man who knew he was dead either way.
If he paid Kaelen, the Pit Boss would skin him alive for losing 2,500 Spirit Stones.
If he didn't pay Kaelen... well, he looked at the headless corpse of the Butcher.
"We... we don't keep that kind of cash on hand," the bookie stammered, wringing his hands. "It's a large sum. We need time to liquidat—"
*SLAM.*
The **Nameless Slab** hit the wooden table. The wood splintered. The iron tip buried itself inches from the bookie's hand.
"I don't credit," Kaelen said.
The crowd in the stands held its breath. The masked fighter, 'Asura', was robbing the house?
"Sir, please," the bookie squeaked. "I can give you 500 now! The rest next week!"
Kaelen tilted his head.
"Keep it."
The bookie blinked. "What?"
"The 2,500," Kaelen said. "Keep it. Put it all on the next fight."
He turned back to the cage.
"I'm betting on myself."
The crowd erupted.
2,500 stones on a single bet? If he won again at even 2:1 odds, he would bankrupt the entire arena.
The bookie's eyes narrowed. Greed warred with fear. If Kaelen lost, the House kept everything. And everyone lost eventually.
"Agreed," the bookie shouted, his voice cracking. "But since you are the Champion now, we choose the format."
He signaled the gatekeepers.
"**Survival Mode!** Release the Beast Pens! Three at a time!"
The crowd went feral.
The heavy iron gates on the far side of the arena groaned open.
Three pairs of eyes glowed in the darkness.
**1. Shadow Panther (Speed Type - Stage 6 Strength)**
**2. Iron-Hide Bear (Defense Type - Stage 7 Strength)**
**3. Venomous Cobra (Poison Type - Stage 5 Strength)**
It was a death sentence. A balanced team of monsters designed to kill cultivators.
Kaelen stood in the center. He didn't lift his sword.
"System. Music."
> **[Error: No Audio Device Detected.]**
> **[Suggestion: Screams of the enemy.]**
"Good enough."
The Panther struck first. It was a blur of black fur, aiming for the throat.
Kaelen didn't move his feet. He just leaned back.
*SWISH.*
Claws raked across his chest.
The crowd expected blood. They expected guts.
*SCREECH.*
Instead, there was a sound like metal on metal. Sparks flew.
Kaelen's robes tore, revealing his chest. The skin didn't bleed. It was grey. Unblemished.
**Body Refining Stage 7: Iron Skin.**
"My turn."
Kaelen grabbed the Panther by the scruff of its neck mid-air.
He didn't slam it. He *squeezed*.
**Strength: 70 (Stage 7 Boost).**
*CRUNCH.*
The Panther's spine snapped like a twig.
He tossed the limp carcass at the charging Bear.
The Bear roared, swiping the dead cat aside. It barreled toward Kaelen, claws the size of daggers raised high.
At the same time, the Cobra lunged from the blind spot, fangs dripping with neurotoxin.
Kaelen ignored the Cobra.
He stepped *toward* the Bear.
"**Phantom Step.**"
*SNAP.*
He vanished from the Bear's path.
The Bear stumbled, momentum carrying it forward.
Kaelen appeared directly above the Cobra. Gravity was his ally.
He came down boots first.
*SPLAT.*
He crushed the snake's head into paste.
"Two down."
Kaelen looked at the Bear. It had turned around, confused. Roaring in frustration.
Kaelen picked up the Nameless Slab.
"You have good defense," Kaelen noted. "Let's test it."
He walked toward the Bear.
The beast charged. It swiped.
Kaelen took the hit. The massive paw slammed into his shoulder.
The ground cracked beneath Kaelen's feet. His boots sank into the dirt.
But he didn't budge.
The Iron Skin held.
"Is that all?" Kaelen asked.
He swung the slab.
A horizontal cleave.
The Bear tried to block with its arms.
It was a mistake.
*BOOM.*
The impact sounded like a bell tolling.
The Bear's arms shattered. The slab continued, hitting its chest. Ribs turned to powder. The massive beast was launched across the arena, embedding itself into the stone wall.
Dead.
Total time: 20 seconds.
Kaelen stood amidst the carnage.
"System. Harvest."
> **[Multiple Targets Detected]**
> **[Absorbing Vitality...]**
> **[Absorbing Beast Cores (Remote)...]**
> **[Status: Satiated.]**
He turned to the balcony.
The bookie was pale as a sheet. He was trembling so hard the coins on his table were rattling.
5,000 Spirit Stones.
It was enough to buy a small sect.
Kaelen walked to the edge of the cage. He ripped the iron door off its hinges with one hand.
He walked up the stairs to the balcony. The crowd parted like the Red Sea. No one dared to breathe near him.
He stopped in front of the bookie.
"Pay up."
"I... I..." The bookie looked around for guards. But the guards were pretending to be very interested in the ceiling.
"We don't have it!" the bookie cried. "Take the deed! Take the arena! Just don't kill me!"
"I don't want your sewer," Kaelen said coldly.
He grabbed the bookie by the collar.
"Empty the vault. Every stone. Every pill. Every weapon."
***
Ten minutes later.
Kaelen walked out of the alleyway.
He had a new spatial bag. High capacity. Inside were 3,800 Spirit Stones (all they had), a stack of Beast Cores, and a few rare herbs they had been hoarding.
He pulled his hood tight.
"Not a bad haul," he muttered.
He merged into the night market crowd.
But high above, on a rooftop overlooking the alley, a figure watched him go.
She wore a tight black bodysuit and a silver mask. A serpent tattoo coiled around her neck.
"Interesting," she whispered. Her voice was like silk over steel.
"A Body Refiner with the speed of a ghost and skin like iron."
She tapped a communication talisman on her ear.
"Father. We found a wildcard for the Tournament."
"Recruit him?" a distorted voice asked.
The woman smiled behind her mask. She fingered a dagger.
"No. Test him first."
"If he survives my pets... then we talk."
She vanished into the shadows.
Kaelen paused.
He looked up at the roof where she had been standing.
> **[Sensory Alert]**
> **[Killing Intent Detected: Fading.]**
Kaelen smirked beneath his hood.
"The rats are getting bigger."
He turned and walked toward the Vane Manor.
"Good."