The group of five opponents, though hesitant to fight, had heard Old White Dragon in the Waves' words. If they only had to face the chubby guy, they might actually stand a chance!
Winning was out of the question, but if they could muddle through, fight the guy, and then surrender without breaking any rules, that would still be a great outcome! So some ran, while others grabbed their weapons to resist—finally, the scene became lively.
But when their machetes actually struck, it felt no different from hacking at a mountain. Aside from the pain vibrating through their wrists, they gained nothing.
Master Chef flinched briefly in fear, then suddenly perked up, finding the whole thing rather amusing. He started running around, chasing people and letting them slash at him...
Eventually, he noticed they stopped attacking and switched tactics, trying to shield themselves and ram him off the stage!
But embarrassingly... he couldn’t catch a single one of them. Worse, he nearly lost his balance mid-chase and almost flung himself off the stage. At the critical moment, Brother Jin stepped in, yanking him back with brute strength, and the situation fell into another stalemate.
Not wanting to drag things out, once Master Chef was too exhausted to run, the other four quickly moved in, tossing all five opponents off the stage one by one.
By this point, both sides were actually quite happy. The team from District 666 of Region 88 wanted victory, while the team from District 273 of Region 122 just wanted to survive.
No conflict there—their goals didn’t clash at all, so they could still part on friendly terms.
The final 8v8 match was far more entertaining, with Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly controlling the field as everyone found their own opponent.
The only issue was that Blessed by Luck’s opponent got knocked off too early, so he tried stealing someone else’s fight. This successfully riled up the team’s competitive spirit, pushing them to perform beyond their usual limits—now they had to guard against both their opponents and their own teammates!
Especially Blessed by Luck. He’d lost in the last arena challenge and had since trained relentlessly under Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly, pouring almost all his hard-earned money from side gigs into the gym.
Now that he’d finally made progress, he wasn’t about to let anyone steal his opponent!
Since his mentor was Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly, his weapon of choice was a long staff, and his moves carried traces of her style. The improvement was undeniable.
Watching from below, Qi Xu felt deeply gratified. Everyone was growing stronger, moving in a positive direction!
Without any suspense, they secured the final victory, and the arena challenge came to an end, the stage vanishing immediately after.
"Congratulations to the players of District 666, Region 88, for your victory! Not that you looked particularly strong, but your opponents were certainly weak enough. Call it luck."
Luck was part of strength. Qi Xu completely ignored Qiuqiu’s words—it was just jealousy!
"Players from both districts, please wait here momentarily. The other four team battles are still in progress. Members of District 273, Region 122, prepare to pay the 100 Survival Coin penalty immediately. Failure to do so will result in permanent confinement within this space."
Warwolf 006 was genuinely remorseful now. Thankfully, their opponents had been decent enough not to kill anyone in the arena.
Otherwise, he’d have been a true sinner.
Gritting through the pain, he stood up and bowed to his teammates. "I’m sorry. I didn’t think things through. I’ll cover everyone’s penalty."
With that, he began transferring coins one by one.
The District 273 team had been ready to curse him out, but since he’d apologized, most held back—except for a few foul-mouthed individuals who muttered complaints.
Having someone pay the fine was a relief. They’d worked hard to save those Survival Coins; losing them all would’ve been devastating. And since Warwolf 006 had been the one to provoke the challenge, it was only fair he took responsibility.
If he was offering, why refuse?
Only the twin brothers and the most vocal critic, Grass is a Plant, refused Warwolf 006’s coins.
The twins were polite about it. "Forget it. We just weren’t skilled enough. At least we got to see something new. No real loss."
Grass is a Plant, however, couldn’t resist the sarcasm. "Stop pretending to be all pitiful. I don’t want your coins—you’re just annoying. Not everyone’s as strong as you!
"You chewed me out so badly last time I couldn’t sleep all night. Do us all a favor and shut your mouth next time. If you want to pick a fight, find someone else, not me!"
Warwolf 006 said nothing, only sneaking a glance at Old Seven and Old Nine... The two were on their way over, but he subtly shook his head at them, sighed, and walked away to sit alone in the farthest corner to rest.
Warwolf Egg Seven and 009 were baffled. What was that about?
"Sixth Brother?"
Warwolf Egg Seven, who’d sworn never to call him that, broke his vow the moment they met—mainly because Warwolf 006’s mood was clearly off, and they’d just seen him voluntarily paying his teammates’ fines.
They’d even remarked how much Sixth Brother had changed... so why was he acting like he didn’t know them now?
Qi Xu was also baffled. Wasn’t the whole point to admire strength? Hadn’t he shown enough of it? Why did it feel like he’d beaten the other person into complete withdrawal?
"Old Six, what are you doing?"
"Ignoring us—what’s that supposed to mean?"
War Wolf 006 spoke in a low voice, "You two should head back. And from now on, be more mindful. Old Seven, stop being so unreliable. At your age, you ought to know better. Always bouncing around without a care, no sense of discipline—you’ll end up paying for it sooner or later. Just look at your nickname, ‘Egg Seven.’ Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. How can your leader trust you with important tasks if you carry on like that?"
"And Old Nine, you... well, stop being so stubborn. Both of you, behave. Stick with them, learn the ropes. If you ever run into any of our other brothers and sisters in the future, lend a hand if you can. Having more trustworthy people around makes life easier—and safer."
Egg Seven had always hated Old Six’s lectures, usually bolting before he could finish. But now, it suddenly felt like Old Six was delivering his last words, and he couldn’t help but soften.
"Why go this far? Just come to our district. Our leader’s amazing."
"I won’t be joining. I’d just be dead weight, and no one wants me around anyway."
Egg Seven nodded without thinking. "Finally, you see it."
War Wolf 009 couldn’t resist rolling his eyes at Old Seven...
Qi Xu, having overheard most of it, stepped forward. Just as he was about to speak, Egg Seven and 009 suddenly snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight and shouting in unison, "Leader, sir!"
The sudden display left the entire 273 squad stunned. They scrambled to their feet, flustered, a couple even blurting out, "So big!"
It was exactly like a corporate executive making an unannounced inspection—employees caught off guard, workstations a mess, but forced to stand and greet anyway.
True embarrassment leaves no room for expression. Qi Xu’s clenched fingers were already digging into his palm. Ever since Egg Seven started running wild, Old Nine had been getting more and more out of hand...
